“I think he… broke in, tried to get the ruby but then… fainted from… is this blood, or what?”
A third stranger in black crouched by Shadow’s body and touched his neck. “Nope, fucker’s dead.”
Another, who only now entered the car, whistled. “What a dumb way to go.”
Inside Shadow, Gray slowly relearned breathing, increasing the capacity of his lungs with each inhale. Watching the guards must have calmed him down, because even his heartbeat was now only slightly elevated. The rhythmic thud of the wheels below provided just enough noise to mask the rustle of clothing when Gray unbuckled a pouch attached to his belt at an agonizingly slow pace. His skin produced the faintest current, which tickled Shadow so frankly it was almost like a deliberate message.
Gray was excited.
A total of five guards gathered around Shadow’s body with their weapons lowered. One of them, a bulky guy with a large dark birthmark on the cheek, pinched his nose and moved his other hand through the air in a broad movement. “Damn! This one hasn’t seen a shower in weeks! How did he get in here?”
“Hobo genius?” asked another, shrugging.
Under the guise of Shadow, Gray pulled out a small tube reminiscent of a straw, along with a couple of tiny darts, which he held between his fingers. Keeping quiet, he leaned forward until he crouched above Shadow’s body, between the towering silhouettes of the men.
Shadow clung to his flesh, torn between the will to aid Gray in whatever he wanted to do and fear of discovery, but his human’s movements were so deliberate that he kept still, following his lead. Shadow didn’t have a body to produce all the unpleasant signals of fear humans had to deal with, but once Gray acted, the cover of shadow would lose its effectiveness. Still, Gray’s mind seemed perfectly balanced—aroused rather than frightened.
If things got out of hand, Shadow could still attempt to take Gray with him under another table, hide in plain sight again, but once the men knew they weren’t alone, a bloody confrontation would be a only a question of time. Maybe Shadow should solidify his form around Gray? But that was a choice between staying hidden and attempting to be bulletproof, because he had no idea if it would even work.
What would he have done if a stray bullet hit Gray? If he bled out inside Shadow before they even got the chance to connect the way they were meant to? Just thinking about it was a crack inside of Shadow, threatening to tear him apart even before anything dangerous happened.
Gray moved before Shadow could make up his mind. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation when he pushed two of the darts into the thighs of the men closest to him, then blew another one into the guard standing farthest away. Just like that, the safety blanket of Shadow’s empty body taking all the blame was gone. Gray shot up, spreading his limbs wide as if they were the hands of a clock, and kicked one of the poisoned men back while punching another. The third slid down the wall while scrambling for his gun, but that one was already a goner, taken over by the fastest of tranquilizers.
The unsuspecting men didn’t see what hit them at first, and dispersed like bears running from a damaged wasp nest, but Gray was in his element. And knowing that it was him who gave Gray this kind of rush made Shadow’s heart soar.
Gray grabbed a fallen rifle and smashed the stock into the face of its owner, sending him to the floor with a dull crack. Not wasting any time, he buried another dart in the man’s neck.
It was almost as if it were a game to him, a way to prove that he was in fact superior to his opponents despite relying on a trick to up his chances.
That last guard didn’t wait and ran before Gray could reach him. Somehow, seeing him walk out from the fight had fury bubbling up in Shadow. He slid off Gray as easily as he’d covered him earlier and sent the shadow arm after the bastard. It stretched into a whip-like shape and rapidly twisted around the man’s ankle. There was no fighting his force, and the giant of a man dropped like a fallen tree about to be lumbered.
Frantic screams meant nothing to Shadow, and he dragged the massive body closer, presenting him to Gray as if he were a rodent thrown into the vivarium of a pet snake. Gray had been prepared, and another dart sunk into flesh, though they held the man until he stopped struggling.
The car was once again almost perfectly silent, with just the usual clatter of wheels against the tracks.
Gray inspected the carnage he’d caused while he stood in the middle of the aisle, catching his breath, with a messy halo of silver hair. It was only when his gaze settled on Shadow that his shoulders lost some of their steadiness and trembled. Compact in size but strong and agile, Gray was the perfect human specimen, someone worthy of Shadow’s devotion.