Rise of Rain - Sequel to Tower Falling

Chapter Nine

Hey everyone! Last chapter was pretty long, but I can't promise that this one will be quite up to that standard. Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long. I'll do better. Hope you all are having a happy holiday season!

Chapter Nine

~Andie~

It was tense the next morning between the five of us; nobody, aside from Danny, liked that we had agreed to steal whatever it is that Walter Mabry had asked us to steal for him. Despite me having said that I would choose to trust Danny for the time being, there was still an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach as the five of us, in addition to Chase and a few of Walter's guys, made our way through a crowded Macau street in search of the oldest magic store in the world.

"Steal something for this narcissistic little man boy? I don't like it," Merritt said sourly, glowering at Danny. 

I glanced over my shoulder at the guys who were tailing us, gauging whether or not they could hear what Merritt was saying. As busy as the area was, and, consequently, as loud as it was, I figured it'd be pretty hard for them to hear much of anything. As long as we stayed where they could see us, we'd be fine.

I turned back to the conversation just as Merritt went on. "But what I like less is you deciding for us," he said, eyes still locked on Danny.

Danny was unfazed, if a little irked. "Yeah? Do you like that we're the laughing stocks of the magic world, and the fugitives of the actual world?" No one had an answer for that. "Walter is right. We have nowhere to go."

Lula spoke up from the back, "But we can fix that."

"We can fix it?" Danny said snidely, barely glancing her way.

"Yeah," Lula said.

Danny snorted. "Oh, so you're officially part of the team now?"

Admittedly, I was not the biggest fan of Lula - in fact, I found her rather annoying - but hearing Danny dismiss her so easily didn't settle well in my stomach. But I said nothing. Lula, however, was quick to snap back, "Excuse me?" Danny didn't respond to her.

Jack wormed his way up toward where Danny and Merritt were leading the rest of us. I myself was just a step behind Danny, keeping my fingers locked around the back of his shirt, both to keep myself from getting separated from the group and to give myself something to yank if he said something rude again. Jack gave me a small smile before glaring at the back of Danny's head. "I'm sure this is what Dylan meant when he said we should all work together - "

" - as a single organism?" Danny said, cutting Jack off. I pulled on his shirt; he only looked at me, then rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that is a fairy tale that Dylan tells himself, and tells us." Jack's lips pulled away from his teeth in a scowl. "Look, even if we get this stick, he'll never let us go. We can't trust Walter, okay?" 

Danny and I both looked back at the men following us again; none of them were paying much attention to us. Danny turned to face forward again, still speaking. "The Eye has a history in Macau. They're the only ones we can trust. Now, if we can get it to them, they can clear our names and get us the hell out of here."

Lula was shaking her head. "It's a bad plan, man." I didn't have the heart to tell her to shut up; she wasn't wrong, after all.

We rounded a corner and spotted the magic shop not too far ahead of us. The sign read "Iong's Magic Shop," and as soon as Danny saw it, he broke into the first genuine smile I'd seen from him all day. It faded quickly, however, as we walked inside. 

He strode immediately up to the counter and tapped his palm against the service bell a few times. The old woman sitting behind the counter watching something on TV barely looked over at him. Danny was undeterred. "Hey. Hi, how are you? Um, we need some things custom-made. Actually, by tomorrow. We're kind of in a rush. And, uh..." The woman gave him a blank look. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"