Chapter 28 · He's trying. He's just bad at it

"He's trying. He's just bad at it."

The dealer clawed at my wrist. His face had gone gray.

"The identity was never the problem," he said. "The scanner is reading your core."

"You knew?"

"I suspected."

"You suspected and still brought me here?"

"You needed the lift."

"You needed the money."

"Both things can be true!"

The iron shutter dropped another foot.

The guard drew a crossbow from his back. The bolt was short, black, and wrapped in silver wire.

That would hurt.

The bolt would not kill me right away. It would pin my shadow to the floor and force my real shape out through the mask. Everyone in the checkpoint would see what I was.

Then the cutters would have a clean shot.

I released the dealer.

He hit the floor and rolled away.

The guard aimed at my chest.

"Kneel," he ordered.

"No."

"Kneel, or I put the bolt through your heart."

"That only works on people with hearts."

The guard pulled the string back.

The woman with the silver case screamed.

Not because of me.

Because the case had started to shake.

A black line crawled across its silver surface.