When Rhynehart glanced at Corian, the nightstalker rolled his eyes. “Fine. We’ll play the game.” He pulled the vest on over his loose shirt and pants, and the goblins lost it all over again.
“A game. Yes.” L’zar stared at Rhynehart and snapped his fingers. The dampening vest disappeared from his outstretched hand and reappeared around his body a split-second later. “Something I very much enjoy.”
“As long as you’re not playing your psychotic games with me, drow, I really don’t give a shit.” Rhynehart stared at L’zar and Corian. “We’re not going any closer to that prison until you get rid of all the fur and gray skin.”
Corian moved his fingers in a series of quick gestures. Silver light flashed around his hand, then his human illusion appeared, complete with black fatigues beneath the dampening vest. “I hope this will do.”
Rhynehart looked him up and down and turned to L’zar. “Come on.”
The drow thief widened his eyes at Rhynehart over a coy smile. “You really are a fan of details, aren’t you?”
“I’m a fan of not being made by the people I’m supposed to be working with to keep assholes like you behind bars. If I have to turn against my own guys to get this shit done, you can look like a damn human for an hour,”
“Oh, it won’t take us nearly that long.” L’zar’s fingers moved in a blur as he cast his illusion spell. His pointed ears disappeared, long white hair shrank into close-cropped brown curls, and he lost at least four inches in height.
Cheyenne swallowed. Jesus. Just a few months ago, I was staring at that face on Mom’s computer screen. “You really think it’s a good idea to walk around looking like the guy who turned himself in twenty-one years ago before he turned into you?”
L’zar playfully rolled his eyes. “No one’s going to remember this face, Cheyenne.”
“I did.”
“Hmm.” His fingers twitched again, and the bridge of his nose ballooned out into a sharp, angular hook as his hair went from brown to sandy blond. “There. I’m a new man.”
Lumil shook her head. “Gotta say, L’zar. Not a good look for you.”
“This isn’t a damn beauty contest,” Rhynehart grumbled. “Get in the car.”
L’zar clasped his hands behind the thick dampening vest covering his back and strolled to the open back seat. Corian turned to Cheyenne and nodded. “Let’s go.”
“I can put on a mask too,” Ember said, floating to the FRoE’s SUV and getting ready to cast the spell. “I wanna see the inside of this place.”
Corian shook his head. “Not a good idea.”
“What? Why not?”
“Ember, if you have a reasonable explanation to give the guards in that prison as to why your feet don’t touch the ground when you move, then by all means, come with us.”
She glanced down at the inch of open space between the soles of her feet and the asphalt. “Shit. Okay, fine. I’ll stay in this car.”
Persh’al frowned at her. “You say that like we’re a bunch of losers.”
“Not what I meant. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He opened the driver’s side door of his SUV and climbed behind the wheel. “It’s not like I’m sensitive about the tech geek always being shoved aside as the least cool one or anything.”
Before Ember could say anything else, the troll closed the door and started the engine again.
“He’s fine,” Cheyenne reassured her friend. “And you’ll have fun watching him work all that tech he rigged up to the back seat.”
“I can’t wait.” With a snort, Ember opened the back door and climbed in beside the goblins. “See ya on the other side, Goth drow.”
“Hey!” Bhandi slammed the trunk of Rhynehart’s vehicle and pointed at the fae girl. “That’s my line.”
“Yeah, it’s a good one.” Ember grinned and pulled the door closed behind her, wiggling her fingers at the troll through the window.
Bhandi waved her off. “She’s crazy, Cheyenne. You know that?”
“Why do you think we’re friends?”
“Yeah, I like her too.” They got into Rhynehart’s car with Tate, Yurik, L’zar, and Corian as Rhynehart started the engine. “She kick ass in a fight the way she kicked ass with that black shit at the portal?”
Cheyenne strapped herself in. “Yeah. She does okay.” If I told them about Ember blasting Ba’rael back through the portal at the binding ceremony, these guys wouldn’t have a clue what that means.
Chapter Seventy-Two
Cheyenne watched Persh’al park outside the exterior gates opening into the parking lot in front of Chateau D’rahl. “We’re all sure that’s the best place for them to hang out and wait for us?”
“Persh’al’s sure,” Corian said. “That’s all I need to know.”
“Fair enough.”
Yurik turned around in the front passenger seat as Rhynehart drove them into the parking lot. The brown eyes of his human mask settled on Cheyenne. “Has that troll really been watching this place?”
“Since it was first built,” L’zar answered with a slow nod.
Cheyenne shot her father a quick frown. “What he said.”
“And no one picked up on it. Huh.” With a snort, the muscular goblin turned around again and thumped back against the seat. “Man, somebody needs to get this place some better security.”
Rhynehart ran his tongue over his teeth in irritation. “So I’ve noticed.” He parked the car, turned off the engine, and practically threw off his seatbelt. “Let’s get this over with before I remember what a fucking terrible idea it is.”
L’zar shot Cheyenne a playful grimace as Rhynehart slapped the driver’s side door shut behind him. “Someone’s a little touchy.”
“I mean, with your track record, he kinda has a reason to be.”
“I don’t plan on jeopardizing this little jail-break, Cheyenne.” He raised an eyebrow and opened the door. “I hope your friend can say the same.”
She rolled her eyes and followed him out of the car. With Corian, Bhandi, Tate, and Yurik following closely, they headed after Rhynehart toward the front gates of Chateau D’rahl.
Bhandi leaned over to Cheyenne and muttered from the side of her mouth, “You’ve
