Chapter Ten
“Feeling all right?”
I groan as I exit the bathroom to spot Luiza grinning at me. “I don’t think I can do any more binge drinking.” I let out an otherworldly burp. “Not after last night.”
Luiza laughs and follows me to my bed, where I start pulling out my regular clothes. “You’re not wearing your dirndl?”
“Actually, I had a better idea.”
I stop a second and stretch my neck to either side. It’s sore from sharing the bed with Erin last night, and although my stomach is in turmoil after last night’s escapades—my head is surprisingly clear. I’m aching to stretch my fingers and get in on a hunt. I’m going to need all the practice I can get if I’m going to thoroughly humiliate Piers over Christmas.
I had a moment of weakness last night, but that was all. Just a moment.
Luiza’s face flickers, but behind her, Erin perks up.
“I’d like to come too!” she says happily, reaching for Luiza’s hand to give it a squeeze.
Sawyer rolls over on his bed, his hair a matted bird’s nest at the crown. “It’s a good morning for a hunt,” he says sleepily. “I’d be cool with skipping out on the festival—at least til the afternoon. I gotta meet up with Piers then.”
“Some extra pairs of eyes may help you,” Erin says brightly. “Let us come!”
Luiza stands awkwardly surrounded by people wanting to tag along on her hunt. Her gaze falls on Erin, who’s bouncing on the balls of her feet with glee, and she sighs.
“Okay. All right. Come along.”
Erin, Sawyer, and I take turns in the bathroom getting ready while Luiza sits on her bed looking at her phone, a frantic look in her eyes.
“What’s going on? Something wrong?” I ask her.
“Hm? No, everything’s fine. Just fine.” She tilts her phone screen away from me, and I can’t help but smirk. If she didn’t actually come here with a hunt in mind … it looks like she’s scrambling to find one now.
Once everyone is ready, we follow Luiza outside, where she hails a cab and directs the driver in halting German.
“Where are we headed?” I ask, peering out the window as the car takes a turn down a street in the opposite direction of yesterday’s festival.
“You’ll see when we get there,” Luiza replies tersely. She turns to look out the window, hiding her expression from everyone, and I know why. I share a glance with Sawyer, and we both smirk and look away. There’s no hunt. There’s no missing brownie. Luiza just wanted to go to Oktoberfest with Erin. Exactly like I thought.
The cab drops us off at some sort of park bordered by a forest, and I know what she’s thinking even before she says it. “Would the brownie run off here?” she asks.
“The guy was in this area when he noticed it was missing,” Luiza says.
“Maybe we can split up and look for it,” Sawyer offers. “You guys take this side of the park, and we’ll head in the other direction?”
The three of us look at each other—me, Luiza, and Sawyer. Luiza narrows her eyes shrewdly at us.
“Sure,” she says. “Me and Erin will take this side.”
“Sounds good.” Sawyer grins, and he and I head off on our own, letting Luiza and Erin be alone together.
It’s a nice park. The trees have started to brown at the edges, and stone benches line the path. I shove my hands into my jacket pockets, glad to have brought something to ward off the chilly autumn air.
Sawyer points out a few things and talks about what sorts of monsters may live in the area, and I nod and mumble answers, but I’m not paying much attention. I can tell he’s happy about yesterday, even if it ended a little awkwardly. I’m biding my time, wondering when I’ll have to break it to him that this won’t happen again.
Because, after all, it can’t. Not when I have so much I’m supposed to do.
The moment seems to come when he reaches for me, catching me gently by the elbow to draw me closer. He’s pointing to a man-made pond surrounded by wildflowers.
“Some alps may live in there,” he says excitedly.