Chapter 20 · Lucas Gets a Message Home

"You good?" Jenny caught Lucas by the wrist before the textbooks hit the floor. "You just went white."

Lucas yanked free. Fire shot through his palm and up his arm, deep enough to make his teeth hurt. He caught the books against his chest and forced a grin.

"I'm fine. Just a cramp."

"A cramp makes you look like you're dying?"

"Apparently mine are dramatic."

Jenny watched him for another second, then pointed at the register. "Five minutes. Bathroom. Go."

Lucas didn't argue. He shoved the books onto the counter and locked himself in the store's single-stall restroom.

The glyph beneath his skin pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

"No," he whispered. "Not here."

A line of text burned across his palm in a language he shouldn't have known but understood anyway.

*Delivery complete. Package inbound. Confirm receipt.*

Lucas stared at the words.

"What package?"

The glyph answered with another pulse.

His stomach turned. Someone was coming through. Someone—or something—and they expected him to be ready.

He pressed his thumb to the center of the mark. Heat bit into his skin.