We burst through the front door of the Company building looking like we'd crawled out of a sewer.
Well, we kind of had.
Odelia was at the reception desk. She looked up from whatever she was cataloging, took in our appearance — soaked, filthy, Milo's glasses cracked on one side, my arms still faintly steaming from residual flames — and blinked once.
"You smell terrible."
"Get everyone," I said. "Now."
Something in my voice must have cut through her usual indifference, because she didn't ask questions. She stood, disappeared through the back door, and within two minutes the available members of the Black Snow Company were filing into the main room.
Cressida came in first, mid-bite of something she'd stolen from Ophelia's kitchen. She saw us and the food stopped halfway to her mouth.
"What happened to you two?"
Ophelia was right behind her, wiping her hands on a cloth. She took one look at me, then at Milo, then went to get water without being asked.
