Worse than that, though, was the feeling of eyes on him. He strode forward, trying to seem nonchalant, and picked his way up the road’s shoulder. But with every step he took, he had to fight the urge to glance around. Every instinct in his body screamed to turn, inspecting his surroundings. The whispers in his head screamed louder, filling him with the uncertain terror that if he did that, he’d find someone staring right back at him.
But he couldn’t hear anyone, and when he cast a few surreptitious glances around, he couldn’t see anyone, either. It was still the ass-crack of dawn, and the few cars that drove past seemed completely disinterested in him. It was hard to tell, seeing as they were cars, not people, but none of them so much as slowed.
His GPS beeped. Daniel glanced down, taking in the sight of the dot glowing on the map. His mind whirled. If it was there, and he was here, then-
Looking both ways, he darted across the road, vanishing into one of the half-hearted clusters of trees that dotted the landscape. If he was right, then his destination was one of the houses around here, which meant he needed to start playing this a little more careful. His steps slowed, moving with deliberation through the underbrush. His ears strained, picking out each and every noise.
Silence. That was all. The worry in his chest loosened, just a little.
Exhaling, Daniel hurried forward, lifting his gaze at last. The houses out this way were spaced out a little better—but in the same breath, they all had that sort of run-down, lived-in look to them that rented houses did. His target, then.
He pushed his way through the low-hanging branches, praying that none of the residents had gotten up early to go to work. If one of them was sitting at their kitchen table, looking out the back window, then seeing a strange hooded man come running out of the forest would be damn sure to get the cops called on him.
Daniel paused, his brow furrowing. Would...Was he an idiot? Would that work? If he called for help, would they-
Before the thought was even fully formed, he snorted, shaking his head derisively. As if. If Indira really was working with mages, then something told him they wouldn’t be caught out by something as simple as mundane police. And the cops would have questions for him, too—questions he couldn’t answer. No, this was on him.
He glanced up again, sliding out of the treeline, and stopped.
The back of the houses waited before him—and his eyes were glued to one in particular. A white number, small but not dirty. The remains of a bonfire waited in a firepit in the backyard, carefully away from their neighbor’s fence.
Leon’s house. Daniel forced himself to stop, taking a hard look around. If Olivia was right, then Indira would already know Leon’s identity. Had he beat her here?
Knocking on Leon’s front door would be a sure way to give up the game. He’d have to try something else. With a final glance and another murmured prayer, he darted forward.
Windows lined the side of the house. Smaller ones—about the right side for a bedroom, if he was any judge. Maybe, if he peeked in-
Daniel pressed his nose to the glass of the first one, his hands braced on the white-painted siding. A bedroom lay beyond, sure enough. Just...an empty one. The bedsheets lay thrown back, half-ripped off the mattress.
“Shit,” he whispered, sinking lower again. A roommate that’d already left—or was it Leon’s room?
If Leon had already taken off, running around somewhere in town, there’d be no telling where he was. Or when Daniel would find him. What if Indira and them found him first?
Daniel bit off the thought with an irritated hiss, again glancing to the homes around him. He didn’t have time for this. Hurrying away from the window, he fixed his eyes on the next one down.
Slowly, moving carefully, he inched up alongside it, peering through.
He was the Librarian, he thought with a hint of woe. A respected and honorable rank. He was a guardian of knowledge, the protector of all who entered his domain.
And here he was, peeping into people’s bedrooms like some kind of voyeur. How far he’d fallen.
Any guilt or worries about his current actions vanished behind an electric surge as another bedroom appeared before his eyes—and this time, the bed was occupied.
Daniel’s breath caught in his throat. He froze, his eyes narrowing as he leaned in. Was it-
He...couldn’t tell. Whoever it was, they were swathed in their bedsheets, wrapped up like a burrito. His heart raced. Decision time, yet again. This was the right house. He was...pretty sure this was the right house. And it wasn’t that big a place. The other bedroom had been empty. Should he risk it?
But if he was wrong, and this wasn’t Leon, then he really might get the cops called on him. He couldn’t afford that.
So what did he do? He squirmed, raising himself up a little taller as though the extra inch would give him the confirmation he needed. Maybe...Maybe he could-
A creak echoed around the block. A door opening on one of the other houses. The sound lanced straight down to Daniel’s core, stirring him awake. If it wasn’t Leon, then he’d just run. He’d figure something else out. But he couldn’t stand here out in the open.
Steeling himself, he brought his hand up—and rapped on the window. “Hey!” he hissed, pressing his lips to the glass. “Hey!”
Again, he froze, in time to hear a snore erupt from the bed.
“Damn it,” Daniel muttered, shifting uncomfortably. “H-Hey! Wake up!”
His knuckles battered the window pane, harder and harder.
The figure shifted, writhing beneath the bedsheets—and rolled over.
Daniel’s heart froze. He knew that face, the one that peeked out from beneath the blankets and the mop of brassy hair. Leon. He’d done it. He’d found him. Now, he just had to-
Leon rolled back over, spread-eagled on the mattress. The steady
