Return Fire

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

  My eyes bulged open with shock.

  Simone was supporting my head in her hands. “She’s alive!” she shouted. “Cassie, can you say something? How do you feel?”

  “Firghln,” I answered, trying to say the word fine. My head spun, and I had a hard time concentrating on any one thing.

  “Arshrhg,” I said, attempting to call out for Asher. I needed to see him. Find out if he had survived, too.

  “The poison might still be affecting her system.” Asher bent down next to me and took my hand in his. “She’s not bouncing back like I did.”

  A wave of relief washed over me and filled me with new energy. Asher was alive! Tobias had saved us both.

  “Well, you didn’t get poisoned,” Simone pointed out. “You were just a rag doll while I was cutting off those zip-ties.”

  “You’re really okay?” I mumbled, feeling better by the second.

  Asher smiled. “Yeah, you can’t get rid of me that easy. You think you can stand? We need to get out of here.”

  I suddenly realized that the helicopter was still rattling the windows. We weren’t safe yet.

  I sat up, trying to get my bearings, but something else was wrong. There was an emptiness deep inside me that I’d never experienced before.

  It was the spear.

  My connection to it was gone. I’d lost the power. It felt like I’d lost a part of me, but at the same time, I felt more like my old self than I had in days.

  “And Tobias?” I asked. “Did he …”

  Simone and Asher exchanged glances. “He used the spear to save you, and while in the Realm, he took off his ring.” Simone paused. “He died, but I think he did it. He released destiny.”

  Tobias being dead meant the part of my vision where I saw him in Paris couldn’t come true. Perhaps now none of what I’d seen would happen.

  The future was no longer scripted. Free will had returned.

  Suddenly, the sealed steel panel covering the bedroom door slid open, revealing only the regular wooden door behind it.

  “My mother!” Simone exclaimed. “She got to the main panel and must have hit the override. She’ll be here any minute.”

  Asher helped me stand as I glanced at Tobias on the bed.

  I still detested everything he’d done earlier, but maybe I wasn’t the daughter of a monster. Maybe I was just the daughter of a man who, in the end, did the right thing. He had released the world and released me.

  My eyes drifted over to Tobias. His ring had rolled off the bed and onto the floor, but his left hand was still clutching the spear. My fingertips suddenly tingled and for a moment I thought about picking the spear up. It wasn’t the strong urge I’d had while I was bound, but a subtle siren song asking me to use it. An awareness of the power being nearby, up for grabs again.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Asher said, putting the spear in the backpack along with his other things.

  Simone opened the doors to the balcony and looked up. I could hear a helicopter whirring up above the building. She waved her arms back and forth.

  Asher slung the backpack over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting us out of here,” Simone answered with a smile. A rope ladder dropped onto the balcony with a thud.

  I walked over to where Simone was standing and looked up.

  Papi was leaning out of the open helicopter door.

  I clung to the rope ladder with white knuckles as it swayed back and forth. I had never been a fan of heights, and this was pushing my limits.

  “Keep going!” Asher shouted from a few feet below me. “Don’t look down!”

  Grabbing another rung and pulling myself up, I glanced at my father, who leaned out of the dark blue helicopter, his hand outstretched. It was too noisy to hear what he was saying, but his look of concern was clear.

  Adrenaline kept me moving.

  As I got closer to the top, I heard Papi’s voice. “Apúrate, Cassie,” he called. “Hurry.”

  I lifted myself up one more rung and took hold of Papi’s hand.

  The moment his fingers wrapped around my wrist, it felt like I was finally safe. He pulled me into the helicopter, hugging me tight and showering me with kisses on my cheeks, forehead, and hair.

  “I was so worried, m’ija!” he yelled, trying to be heard over the chop-chop-chop of the helicopter blades. “So worried!”

  Asher climbed inside and motioned to us that Simone was still coming up.

  “I got her!” Papi shouted, leaning out the door again.

  Dame Elisabeth sat in the copilot’s seat next to someone in a gray business suit. She said something to me, but I couldn’t hear her. “What?” I shouted.

  She touched her headphones and pointed to a pair clipped above my seat. I took the headset off the hook and slipped it over my ears.

  “I said that I was happy to see you,” Dame Elisabeth said with a smile. “That you are quite tenacious. Definitely my granddaughter.”

  Papi glanced at her disapprovingly, but then turned to help hoist Simone into the chopper.

  Asher put on his own headset and pointed down at the ground below us. “Simone’s mother is down there.”

  I leaned over my dad and saw her standing on the back terrace, screaming up at us at the top of her lungs. Although there was no way we could hear her, it didn’t take a lip-reader to realize what she was yelling: “SIMONE!”

  As Simone took a seat by the open door facing my father, Papi reached over me to grab the seat belt and buckle me in as if I were a toddler. It didn’t matter that we had deciphered a centuries-old mystery, escaped assassins, and had very likely saved the world; to him, I was still his little girl.

  And a part of me liked it.

  I sat back as Simone put on her headset, and the helicopter banked to the left, heading out over the open water. The three of us looked at one another, Simone and Asher sitting side by side, facing me. It dawned on me that while the power had only been in me, I had never been alone. None of this would have been possible without my friends. We had done it together. Destiny had been released. And now it was all finally over.

  Papi squeezed my hand and smoothed back my hair, almost as if confirming that I was really here. “Estaba bien preocupado,” he said, his voice coming in clearly through the headset. “I’ve never been so worried.” He shook his head and hugged me again. “When we saw that cottage destroyed, por poco me muero.” He paused as if his eyes could soak me in … making sure that I was really there. “Seriously, Cassie. I almost died. And then when we heard that they had picked up that man at the gas station who was with you, it gave me hope that—”

  “Gisak!” Asher interrupted, his voice coming in through the headset. He turned to look at Dame Elisabeth. “Do you know what happened to him? Is he all right?”

  “Yes, yes.” She nodded. “He’s been detained by the police, but we’ll make sure he gets released.” She tapped the pilot’s arm. “Get that done.”

  It was then that I saw the pilot’s profile, and my blood ran cold.

  He was one of the men who had shown up at the cottage with the Hastati assassin. We were still in danger!

  I tapped Asher’s leg and pointed to the pilot. We had to do something, except I had no idea what. We were thousands of feet in the air, and he was at the controls.

  Asher scrunched up his face and shrugged. He didn’t understand what I was pointing at. I silently mouthed the words to him: “The pilot was at the cottage. He tried to kill us.”

  He replied by mouthing, “What?”

  I repeated myself, but this time Dame Elisabeth saw as well.

  “No need to worry, Cassandra.” Dame Elisabeth’s voice through the headsets startled me. “Ottavio didn’t go to the cabin to kill you, even if our purposes weren’t quite aligned at the time. Sarah Bimington may have wanted to kill you, but the Hastati had decided that you were someone who required further investigation. Your fate was yet undetermined, but I’ve already resolved all that.”

&nb
sp; The pilot took a moment to turn his head and give us a quick once-over. “Voglio vedere la lancia,” he said in Italian. He wanted to see the spear.

  “But I saw him there,” I argued. “At the cottage.”

  “Of course, because they were searching for you, but not to kill you,” she explained. “We all recognize your importance. And now we’ve reached an accord where both the Hastati and the Knights will assist in protecting and developing your … abilities.”

  My palms became sweaty. I realized that they still thought I was bound to the spear. That they wanted me to use it.

  “You said I would have final say on anything to do with Cassie.” Papi’s voice had an edge to it.

  “Yes, well, plans change. We will gladly keep you posted on Cassandra’s progress.”

  “That’s not what we agreed to!” Papi exclaimed. “Cassie is just a girl. She deserves to have a normal life.”

  “We’ve already gone over this.” Dame Elisabeth spoke through clenched teeth. “There is nothing normal about Cassandra. She is special. I will guide her to her full potential.”

  “Why, you lying—” Papi leaned closer to the edge of his seat, even though there was nowhere for him to go.

  “Please, Felipe.” Dame Elisabeth raised a hand to stop him. “Save the melodrama.”

  “Voglio vedere la lancia,” the pilot repeated.

  “Yes, yes. Give me the spear.” Dame Elisabeth held out her hand. “It needs to be authenticated.”

  None of us moved.

  “Cassandra,” Dame Elisabeth instructed, “give me the spear. You know that this is your destiny. Don’t make Ottavio upset. He can make things more difficult for you … and your father. Remember, Felipe is not necessary in our plans.”

  Perhaps this was why my mother never told Dame Elisabeth where I was. My grandmother was more concerned about the spear’s power than she was about me.

  My thoughts flew back to the riddle that Dame Elisabeth had given me to solve. The one with the farmer and the chicken. It had all been about thinking things through logically and seeing the consequences of each action. I had to think of this the same way. I knew which outcome I wanted. I might not have the spear, but the future was within my grasp.

  “Give it to her,” I told Asher. “Dame Elisabeth is right, and I’ll need her help to lead the world to a better place.” I turned to my father. “I’m sorry, Papi. It’s the way things have to be.”

  “I knew you would understand, Cassandra,” Dame Elisabeth said smugly.

  Asher hesitated. “Cassie … are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked. I could tell by the way he was looking at me that he had doubts.

  “Trust me,” I said.

  Asher opened his backpack and handed Dame Elisabeth the spear.

  She inspected it, then showed the spear to the pilot. “È la vera lancia.” Dame Elisabeth’s voice was laced with awe and hints of amazement.

  The pilot took his eyes off the controls for a moment to look at the spear. He nodded in agreement. “La vera lancia,” he said. The true spear.

  “Pass it to me!” I shouted, gripping the sides of my head.

  Dame Elisabeth and the pilot glanced back at me.

  Both Simone and Asher had puzzled looks on their faces.

  “Cassie.” Papi put his hand on my back. “What’s happening?”

  “Ughhh!” I covered my eyes with clenched fists and pretended to be in agony. I hated scaring my father, but it was the only way. This had to be convincing. “It’s an echo tracing.” I gritted out the words through clenched teeth. “The spear. Give it to Simone.”

  I peeked through my fingers and saw Dame Elisabeth exchange glances with the pilot. “It’s not needed for an echo tracing …” she told him.

  My eyes locked with Simone’s and I gave her a quick wink. “Ughhh!” I shouted again for added effect. “Please, give it to her. It’s critical.”

  “Hurry up!” Simone reached for the spear, going along with whatever I was doing.

  Dame Elisabeth pulled it away from Simone’s grasp.

  That was when Simone dove into my story, headfirst. “Cassie needs it. In the Guardian’s Journal, it says that she could become permanently detached from the power … She could die right now!”

  Simone was going a little over the top, but it was making Dame Elisabeth reconsider.

  “She doesn’t have time,” Asher added.

  Neither of my friends knew what I was up to, but they both trusted me enough to follow my lead.

  “For heaven’s sake, give it to Simone!” Papi yelled.

  “Fine.” Dame Elisabeth passed the spear to Simone.

  I dropped my hands away from my face.

  “THROW IT, SIMONE!” I yelled, pointing to the sparkling blue water, thousands of feet below. “NOW!”

  Simone froze for a moment, unsure if she had heard correctly.

  I could only hope that she realized what I was planning. With destiny released and no one bound, losing the spear to the waters of the ocean meant that the future would never be controlled by anyone.

  Simone flung the spear as far as she could out the open helicopter door.

  “NO!” Dame Elisabeth screamed as the spear spiraled toward the sea.

  “Stupida!” The pilot put the helicopter into what felt like a dive, but it was too little, too late. There would be no way to find the spear in the vastness of the sea. I could already imagine it sinking to the bottom, never to be discovered.

  “Why?” Dame Elisabeth demanded. “Why would you do that?”

  “She’s free,” Asher declared, understanding what I’d done. “Now you have no reason to keep her.”

  Papi looked confused. “What? Cassie is free?”

  “I’m not bound to it,” I told him. “I don’t have the power. We were able to release destiny.”

  He wrapped his arms around me, not really understanding but happy to wait for further explanation.

  But it was more than my being free.

  It was about choices. Choices created destiny.

  And we’d given the world a choice.

  Nothing was predetermined anymore.

  Destiny was now in everyone’s hands.

  Writing this book has been its own kind of adventure, and I’d like to express my deep appreciation to the people who helped bring this story to life.

  My first words of thanks go to my wonderful agent, Jen Rofé, who believed in this idea from the very beginning, and to my talented editor, Emily Seife, whose guidance and brainstorming sessions helped me develop the storyline … I am so lucky to be able to work with both of you.

  Then there are all the incredible people at Scholastic (David Levithan, Lizette Serrano, Saraciea Fennell, Phil Falco, Antonio Gonzalez, Robin Hoffman, Ed Masessa, C. M. Reedy, Emily Heddleson, and Rebekah Wallin—just to name a few) who have welcomed me with open arms. Thank you for your friendship and all the work given on my behalf.

  My family, as always, is my foundation. Gracias for all your support and encouragement (with special thanks to my son, Daniel, who came up with the title for this book). I am grateful to God for each and every one of you. You give meaning to my life.

  I am much indebted to Danielle Joseph, Gaby Triana, Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld, Stephanie Hairston, Alexandra Alessandri, Adrienne Sylver, and Alexandra Flinn, who kept me focused and on track by giving me valuable feedback while I crafted this story. Our critique group is my not-so-secret weapon.

  Thank you to Alison Wood Gri—an, friend and teacher extraordinaire, for being a sounding board for my plot ideas and for continually reminding me of the impact that a passionate teacher can have on her students. Teachers rock!

  Finally, to all my readers who inspire me on a daily basis … thank you, thank you, thank you! I get to live my dream of being an author because of YOU!

  Christina Diaz Gonzalez is the award-winning author of Moving Target, a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, The Red Umbrella, which was named an ALA Best Bo
ok for Young Adults and Called an “exceptional historical novel” by Kirkus Reviews, and A Thunderous Whisper, which was heralded by the Children’s Book Council as a Notable Social Studies Book. She lives in Florida with her husband and two sons. Learn more at www.christinagonzalez.com.

  Copyright © 2016 by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

  First edition, October 2016

  Cover design by Phil Falco & Iacopo Bruno

  Cover art © 2016 by Iacopo Bruno

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-77324-9

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