Chapter Nine(16)

‘Us?’ Alberto repeated, a smile lighting up the features that didn’t change even when he was teasing the unknown girl, ‘Us? There are only three of us here. And you are not Lydia.’
His tone was sure, leaving no place for the doubt as a moment before.
Lydia wouldn’t have been truly offended by his words. Their arguments were purely because of the willingness of both parties. But this girl didn’t seem to know the rules.
‘So, you are the opposite side, aren’t you?’ He was thinking fast, delaying the girl with unhurried words as he considered what to do. His arrows were of no use at such close range, and in such a narrow hallway he couldn’t be sure what he would hit. 

But the girl seemed to gage his responses. ‘You needn’t be worried. If I wanted to hurt you, you would have been down before you stepped into the stairway on the first floor. And besides.’
She sighed and pressed down hard on his right hand, which had drawn a small vial of liquid from one of his pockets, and said matter-of-factly, ‘You’ll melt the mat of this hotel. Put it back. I’m here to help you guys with something.’
‘Why would you help us? This is the opposite of your mission, isn’t it?’