Heart of Obsidian

through it stall by stall. “Women’s West 2 cleared,” he said into his cell phone just as an older woman with red cheeks pushed through the door.
    “Excuse me.”
She sniffed. “I know you young people like your ‘unusual environments,’ but really.” With that, she bustled into one of the stalls and slammed the metal door with a loud bang.
    Sahara kept her mouth shut until Vaughn cleared the men’s restroom and indicated they had to move on to the next set. “‘Unusual environments’?” she murmured, doing her best to appear innocent. “Did she mean to imply something sexual? Where, other than the bedroom, do people exchange intimate skin privileges?”
    “Talk to Faith.”
    “She’s not here.”
    “You’re just like an annoying little sister, you know that?” A sadness in his voice, in his eyes, that was old and worn. “Always asking questions.”
    Seeing the smile that balanced the sorrow, Sahara decided not to pull back. “So?”
    The smile grew wider, deep grooves forming in his cheeks. “So, talk to Faith.”
    Having arrived at their destination, Sahara checked to make sure the coast was clear. Except this time, she pressed her hand against the door once inside to make sure they didn’t inadvertently shock anyone else. “You’re checking for small incendiary devices?”
    A nod. “The Arrows found one at the other end of the station—cheap and easy to make, small range but big noise. Vasquez might have seeded the station with them to fool people into believing the entire place was mined to blow.”
    “To delay rescue efforts once people began to collapse from the gas.” Intelligent in the most psychopathic of ways.
    “Ye—” Vaughn’s sudden silence told her he’d found something. “Stay behind the wall until I give the all clear.”
    Sahara didn’t argue, well aware that, protective as he’d become of her, Vaughn wouldn’t be able to focus if she flouted his command. Earlier, he’d thrust a chocolate bar into her hand with an order that she eat the whole thing. “Psychic muscles use energy,” he’d said. “And don’t even try to argue. Faith doesn’t get away with that and neither will you.”
    Sahara had taken great pleasure in pointing out that he was acting exactly like Kaleb. His growl would’ve raised every hair on her body if she hadn’t been grinning and eating chocolate at the time.
    “Done,” he said now, three minutes after he’d asked her to stay behind the wall. Placing the remnants of the device into his duffel bag, he rose. “Let’s go.”
    They had just stepped outside when—
    “—may have been compromised. Push go!”
    Sahara was speaking to Kaleb even as the final word echoed in her mind.
They know! Kaleb!
So close to the poison, he’d never survive the exposure.
    A minuscule pause that sent her heart into her throat before Kaleb said,
It’s all right. We’ve defused the poison bomb. I’m in the process of teleporting the container out now.
    There were three small booms on the heels of Kaleb’s words, but though people hesitated, looking around for answers, no one panicked. Acting as planned in the event of a possible panic situation, the Arrows ducked their heads and merged into the flurry of people in the station, as changeling teams moved in to cordon off the damaged areas.
    Since Vaughn was one of those changelings, she heard him feed the curious a story about teenagers playing with banned fireworks. The explanation wasn’t wholly believed, but the travelers, regardless of race, relaxed as soon as they realized the changelings had the situation under control. It gave Sahara a glimpse of exactly how much San Francisco had become a changeling—specifically leopard—city.
    In the end, that was the only damage done that day, but Vasquez, faceless and unidentifiable, remained in the wind. Accepting Kaleb’s offer of a teleport, the changeling trackers used the faint scent found at the fan to begin their hunt, each changeling accompanied by an Arrow who could scan for and block possible psychic attacks.
    Not strong or fast enough to keep up, Sahara decided to stay at the station. “In case Vasquez or his men decide to circle back,” she said to Kaleb.
    He nodded, his eyes connecting with Vaughn’s. “Take care of her.”
    The jaguar male’s responding nod was quiet, the grim look he laid on Sahara after Kaleb left not the least unexpected. “He’s not the kind of man you want to be involved with.”
    Sahara made a face at