“I can’t,” Lottie whimpered, legs buckling. She was disgusted with herself for being so weak, but fear overwhelmed her. It was almost as though she could smell Leviathan, a pungent smoke snaking into their lives to suffocate them.
A snarl like a wolf registered in her ear, followed by calm warm breath as she was lifted from the ground. She looked up and saw the world rushing past, the candy-colored streets of Harajuku a blur behind two hazel eyes.
Jamie was carrying her. No, not just carrying her, but running with her, as if she weighed no more than a kitten.
“I won’t let it happen again,” Jamie muttered, and for a split second she really truly felt safe.
Ellie helped Lottie into the car, while Jamie made for the driver’s seat.
“It’s going to be okay, Lottie,” Ellie said soothingly. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. They’re not even moving—they’re just . . .” Ellie trailed off at the sound of engines revving assertively. “They’re just watching us.”
Lottie sat up, the world still a strange blur of fear, and through the back window of the moving car she could see them: four of them now. Pink, yellow, purple, and blue, flowers on the horizon, and they weren’t moving. They slowly grew smaller as the car crawled away from them. But neither did they turn their bikes around. They stayed frozen in place, watching them, until they had turned the corner.
No matter how far away they got, Lottie still felt the presence of Leviathan, as if a shard had punctured the car and driven itself into her heart.
10
“WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT to assume they are part of Leviathan.”
Jamie was pacing up and down the decking outside the paper door of their room.
It had been several hours since their encounter with the Pink Demon, and Lottie couldn’t get the image out of her head. The way she had torn through the city like a hurricane, Ellie’s fascination with her, how her gang had just watched them, and watched them, and watched them . . .
“We don’t know they were looking at us specifically, but why are they riding around on motorbikes?” Ellie lay back on her futon in the bright topaz light that leaked through the paper, playing devil’s advocate.
“Maybe they know we’re in Japan. Maybe they’re looking for us?”
“Can’t be. The news said they’ve been popping up since before we got here.”
“I know, but . . .” Lottie winced, looking out over the pond, still unsettled that Leviathan were nearby. “I just think we need to remember to be careful. They have the Hamelin Formula—goodness knows what they’re planning to do with it. It’s safe to assume their lackies Julius and Ingrid could be out for revenge after we escaped them.”
Saying their names conjured up the deadly and furious duo, Ingrid’s round feline face and Julius’s Southern twang.
“Lottie’s right.” Both girls turned at Jamie’s voice.
“I am?” Lottie practically choked, not sure if she’d heard him right, and he met her confused expression with no humor. It had been so long since he’d agreed with her. “Yes. I am,” she said quickly. “We can’t take any risks. Just because we’re in another country doesn’t mean we’re safe.”
“We can’t throw accusations around, though,” Ellie said. “We have no proof at all that the Pink Demon—I mean, that those bikes were after us. They made no attempt to follow us.”
Jamie was firm, unflinching. “Haru was also disturbed by them. It’s a Partizan’s instinct to sense danger, and we both felt it.”
“Where is Haru anyway?” Ellie asked, rubbing the back of her head.
“He’s gone to alert Sayuri to a potential threat.”
There was a gentleness in Jamie’s voice when he spoke of Haru, and Lottie wondered if seeing him switch into Partizan mode had warmed him to Haru again. It had had the opposite effect on her; she’d never be able to look at Haru in quite the same way again.
“You’re not going to bring the queen into this, are you?”
“Is that all you’re worried about?” Lottie asked, not hiding her irritation. “We might have had a run-in with Leviathan. You could . . . we could have been in danger, and you’re worried about Sayuri?”
Lottie wanted to be kind, she really did, but right now she was simply too tired.
Silence, sour and full of simmering frustration, filled the air, until finally Ellie let out a long sigh.
“I’m just saying.” She stood up. “We shouldn’t panic. There’s no point in ruining our trip because of paranoia. This is meant to be our respite, remember?”
“Need I remind you this isn’t a holiday, Ellie?” Lottie flinched at Jamie’s words, knowing they’d only annoy Ellie even more.
“The whole reason we’re here in the first place is because of Leviathan.” Sure enough the comforting smile Ellie had put on for Lottie turned into a snarl. “Yes, Jamie, I’m fully aware this is all my fault, and none of us would even be in this mess if you didn’t work for my fam—”
The paper door slid open with hasty efficiency, cutting Ellie off and revealing Sayuri in a spectacular blaze of white, bathed in the calming scent of lilies. Miko stood just behind her, the dusky evening light making her hair look like a purple shade of poison.
“Are you all okay?” Sayuri asked. She was dressed in a dazzling white robe that floated behind her, ghostly and graceful.
“We’re fine,” Ellie said.
“And Haru. How was he?”
“Very helpful, a model Partizan.” Jamie relayed to her how calm he’d been and even added how good a tour guide he was.
A pensive look overtook Sayuri.
“Is something wrong?” Lottie couldn’t stop herself from asking.
Sayuri’s face became a perfect mask of calm once more. “I am quite fine. I think you should get an early night tonight.”
Lottie nodded, relieved to have an end to the discussion. Until all hell broke loose.
“Would you shut up?”
Lottie’s mouth hung open. She
