As I neared the city that had once been my prison, it looked nothing like it used to. I had been too young to remember anything when I’d been brought here, of course—I’d been only an infant—but I’d had visions of it since then in my later years. Gone were the tree houses carved of wood, straw and leaves, and gone were the rope bridges connecting one trunk to the other. In their place was an intricate network of metal and glass boxes, linked together by cylindrical walkways. An odd green mist hung in the air, obscuring parts of the IBSI’s constructions entirely. It didn’t look like a natural gas that might occur in Aviary. It looked to me more like some sort of insect or animal repellent, probably to keep the hunters undisturbed in the dark hours. It appeared to be spreading quickly, moving in my direction. I breathed in, sensing no strong odor to it.
I sank into the nearest box and found myself in a dark bedroom. Gray venetian blinds were drawn against the window. A bunkbed lined one of the walls, where two men slept. I leaned over the hunter on the bottom bunk to see if I recognized him—a man in his late twenties. I didn’t recognize him, nor the man sleeping above him.
After our kidnapping of Atticus, I found it strange that any hunter would be sleeping. I would’ve thought that Atticus would have immediately sounded an alarm and put everyone on alert for an impending attack.
I moved through the walls to the next room and found yet another sleeping hunter. As I continued to travel from room to room through the spidery network, practically every one contained sleeping hunters. And those hunters I passed who were awake had been relaxing, playing cards with a roommate, or reading a book.
Something odd was going on.
But I couldn’t allow my mind to wander too far off my goal. Lawrence. I’d promised my daughter I’d find him. As Atticus’s son, I figured that he would be positioned in one of the more central rooms, where in theory he would be surrounded by more security. By the time I had worked my way toward what seemed to be the most central area, the atmosphere outside had become completely choked with smoke.
Finally, I came across Lawrence. Despite the transformation of his physique, I recognized his face instantly beneath dimmed lights. He was lying on his back on a mattress in a room he clearly had to himself. His eyes were closed, though he was breathing lightly. It was hard to tell whether or not he had fallen asleep yet.
I paused, considering what my next move should be. I was tempted to grab him from his bed and carry him away, but that would be more complicated than it sounded. He wasn’t a fae like me, and he couldn’t pass through solid walls. I had spotted a trap door above a kitchen nearby that appeared to be unlocked, but I would have to transport him there first. If he started yelling, it would attract attention.
I didn’t know what the IBSI was playing at by not immediately gearing itself up for a fight, but I sensed in my gut that none of us should be causing a disturbance until our recruits arrived. He might be shocked to open his eyes to a strange girl in his room—I would be sure to keep out of sight—but less so than a strange man carrying him off in the middle of the night.
My eyes lingered on Lawrence a few seconds more. Then I left his room and emerged once again in the smoke. I raced back the way I came, toward the tree where I had left Grace and the others.
The smoke truly was spreading rapidly. It had now engulfed the area of old Aviary city and was drifting its way through the jungle.
Where was it coming from? There must have been hidden canisters somewhere that released the substance.
On arriving among the peachy-leaved trees, the smoke hadn’t reached them yet. The air was still clear and crisp.
I reached the tree where my family awaited. Grace was lying on her back, River beside her, holding our daughter’s forehead. I searched my wife’s face for indication of whether Grace had had another incident in my absence. “Grace is doing okay,” River managed.
Grace sat bolt upright on spotting me through the gloom.
I took her frail hand in mine. “I found Lawrence, Grace. Come with me.”
Her lips parted in relief. “Oh, thank God,” she breathed.
“If you’re heading back there with Grace, take Horatio with you,” my father said, looking worried. “We can manage without him for a short while… Just don’t be too long.”
I nodded, gritting my teeth. “We won’t.”
Derek
This was becoming torturous. Now we were waiting not only for my brother to return with recruits, but for my son, granddaughter and Horatio. Nobody uttered a word as we perched wide-eyed in the trees. I kept my eyes fixed on the portal on the ground, willing my brother to appear. I didn’t think I had ever wished for his presence as much as I did now.
A chorus of cawing broke out above us. It sounded like the noise of large birds flying overhead, booming and sonorous.
Startled, Sofia moved closer to me and placed a hand on my knee. She didn’t say anything, but the gesture was reassuring. Sofia’s touch always had a way of reassuring me, no matter the circumstances. I wrapped an arm around her and held her closer to me on the branch as we waited.
Twigs snapped beneath us. Leaves crunched. I heard the noise of an engine. Leaving Sofia’s side, I quickly swung lower down the tree to gain a better view of the ground. A motorcycle thundered along the wide track that led to the portal. A trailer was strapped to it, its contents covered by a tarpaulin sheet. I was dismayed to see a vehicle working, though it was unreasonable to think that they had kept every single piece of machinery in the clearing for Horatio to tinker with.
The motorcycle’s bright lights flashed in the darkness, and then it stopped about twelve feet in front of the portal. It was impossible to see who was riding it, though it appeared to be a man. He was wearing some kind of mask that obscured his head and face entirely.
He pulled back the tarpaulin and dipped down into the trailer, withdrawing a large cylinder. As he offloaded it, placed it upright and swiftly yanked down on a lever to its right, alarm bells were already ringing through my head.
A hissing sound burst from the cylinder, followed by streams of thick greenish vapor.
“We need to get out of here,” I breathed, rushing back up to the branches where my family waited. “We need to move!” I urged. I had no idea what that green smoke was, but I knew it wasn’t good news.
“Wha-What’s happening?” Rose stammered.
“Where do we move?” Sofia asked, alarmed. “We need to keep an eye on the portal.”
“Forget the portal for now,” I shot back. “We have no—”
The hissing intensified to almost a scream. I swung back down to the lower branches in time to witness the cylinder shoot upward through the trees like a rocket. It imploded with a dull crack as it reached the roof of leaves, and the green gas that had been shooting out in streams spilled out into the area with such force, it surrounded us in a matter of seconds. I heard the motorcycle retreating.
“What in the world…” Sofia gasped next to me. I clung to her, barely able to even make her out in this fog. It stung my eyes like it was toxic.
We have to get away from here. As I cast my eyes about, trying to figure out which direction appeared to have been affected by the strange gas the least, a heavy nausea set in. It felt like I had just run headfirst into a brick wall, or been walloped by an iron bar. One moment I was racking my brain for an escape route, and the next I could barely form a coherent thought. As if the smoke surrounding us wasn’t thick enough, my vision began to cloud. I could hardly see even a foot in front of me. Sofia slipped from my grip. I struggled to hold on to her, even as my limbs felt like jelly.
Everything started happening in slow motion. Members of my family dropped from the tree like flies, unable to support their own weight. The smoke intensified… and then my eyes gradually closed.
In my last few seconds of consciousness, I cursed myself for not getting everyone down to the ground the moment that hunter had pulled out a cylinder. We might have not known what danger we’d meet with dow
n there, but at least we wouldn’t have had to contend with the fall…
But it was too late now.
Far too late.
Grace
As I traveled with Horatio and my father, we soon encountered a strange greenish fog. Before I could draw in more than a breath, my father clamped a hand over my mouth and blocked my nostrils. “Horatio, put up some kind of vacuum around us, will you?” he addressed the jinni.
Horatio’s nose curled as he eyed the smoke before he proceeded to create a bubble of clear air around us. My father removed his hand from my face, allowing me to breathe normally again.
“I passed through this smoke before,” my father explained, “and it doesn’t seem to have any effect on fae, but Grace might respond to it differently.”
“What is this?” I asked, gazing around.
“I assume it’s some kind of strong pesticide the hunters are using to keep this place clear of dangerous predators. But… I’m not sure,” he added, concerned.
My focus left the smoke and returned to Lawrence. My gut writhed. The thought of seeing him again, of standing face to face with him, was both exhilarating and terrifying. I knew it could be a completely wasted attempt—he might not be able to recall anything about me, and refuse to even hear me out… but I had to try.
“All right, we’re close now,” my father announced, our bubble passing through a particularly thick patch of smoke.
I could make out only the vague outline of square-shaped constructions among the treetops. We moved to the roof of a cylindrical walkway.
“You can take us inside, Horatio,” he whispered.
The jinni made us invisible, removed the protective bubble, and then used his magic to transport us within the cylinder. Inside, all was deathly quiet. It was like being locked up in a soundproof box. A chemical smell filled my nostrils, some kind of mild detergent.
Our breathing seemed loud in the quiet. “Follow us, Horatio,” my father said. He gripped me and pulled me forward, out of the walkway, through a small communal kitchen, and then down a hallway lined with doors leading to rooms on either side. When he finally stopped outside one of the doors, my skin was tingling.
“Now, Horatio,” my father whispered in a voice barely louder than a breath. “You and I need to stay invisible. But you can remove your magic from Grace. Then transport all three of us to the other side of this door. We will stand by, and watch what happens… Grace.” My father’s mouth lowered to my ear. “We won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
I nodded, though strangely, that was the last thing on my mind. Given the fact that I had no idea what state Lawrence would be in, perhaps my safety around him was something I should’ve been concerned about.
Horatio proceeded to execute my father’s instructions. The dimly lit hallway surrounding us disappeared and we found ourselves in a much darker room. Square and lit by a single dimmed lamp in one corner of the room, the room contained little more than a narrow desk, a chair, and a bed… A bed that held a young man. Lawrence.
My voice caught in my throat as I laid eyes on him, spread out across his mattress on his back, his face panned to the ceiling. He wore nightclothes—a white shirt that parted to reveal his toned upper chest, and loose black pants.
I looked behind me instinctively toward where I imagined my father and Horatio were standing, and gave them a final nod. It was more a gesture of resolve to myself than to them.
I moved cautiously across the slate-gray carpet toward the end of Lawrence’s bed. My eyes felt wide as saucers as I looked him over. His eyes were closed, and all signs indicated that he had fallen asleep. He breathed evenly, his firm lips ever so slightly parted. Gulping, I made my way around the side of the bed until I was standing level with his head.
“Lawrence,” I managed to whisper.
No response. Not even the slightest twitch of an eye. He remained still, as if I hadn’t spoken. “Lawrence,” I repeated.
Still no response. I dared reach out a hand and place it over his forehead. Surely my coldness should be enough to wake anybody up.
Still, he remained in slumber.
I had wanted to avoid grabbing him and shaking him—that certainly wasn’t the best way for him to wake up to a stranger in his room. But it seemed that I would have no choice. I planted both hands on his shoulders and shook him hard.
Still he didn’t wake.
What the heck is going on? It’s like he’s dead.
“Horatio,” I hissed. “I need some help.”
The jinni manifested himself and grabbed Lawrence by the ankle. With his supernatural strength, he yanked him right off the bed and dangled him upside down in mid air.
Okay, I’d been hoping Horatio would have been a little more subtle than that… but it still didn’t work.
I gaped at Lawrence’s sleeping form as Horatio plonked him back down on the bed. I found myself reaching for his neck to verify his pulse, to confirm that the heave and sigh of his chest was not just some kind of illusion. Yes, he was alive.
Then why in heaven’s name isn’t he waking up?
Lucas
My mind was still flitting embarrassingly often to Marion as we traveled to the portal in Bermuda. I supposed I had a thing for French girls.
But as we arrived and prepared to leap through the gate to Aviary, it was time to push her from my mind.
It had come as a surprise to all of us to find the portal unmanned. After what we’d done to Atticus, I would have thought hunters would be teeming everywhere by now.
But nope. It was quiet as a cemetery.
We gathered around the portal and piled through one by one. This portal was wide enough for the dragons—led by Jeriad—to pass through in their beastly forms, which was convenient. We let them jump through first to clear the way, in case there was any opposition waiting for us on the other end. Then the rest of us—witches, jinn, vampires, werewolves and another fae, Kailyn—followed. Arwen, Brock and Heath, three of the League’s newest recruits, had accompanied us, too.
I was the last to shoot through the abyss, and the second I arrived on the other side, I already knew something was wrong. Very wrong. The jungle was choked with thick green smoke, so thick that I could hardly see three feet in front of me. The sound of everyone coughing filled my ears. I breathed in cautiously, trying to detect if the smoke had any scent, but at least to my nose, it was odorless.
“What is this?” Jeriad rasped.
“We need to get away from this area!” I hissed, even as I tried to keep my voice down. We had no idea where hunters might be located. This could be some sort of trap for all I knew. We had to get to the cave where I’d left my brother and the others. I hoped they’d still be there.
“Shayla,” I called to one of the witches who had been spared to come with us. “Safi,” I addressed the nearest jinn I could make out through the smog. I pointed eastward, the approximate direction of the cave. “You need to start transporting us that way.”
“Argh!” Yuri choked just behind me. I whirled and, to my horror, found him fallen on the ground. He was clutching his throat and wheezing uncontrollably. Claudia, a couple of feet next to him, stumbled and tripped beside him.
I cursed.
All around me, our people were collapsing.
As I turned to yell at Shayla and the jinn to hurry the hell up, I realized that Shayla had broken down coughing too. Dashing to her in a panic, I almost tripped over Kiev’s form in the undergrowth. It seemed that the only supernaturals left unaffected were the fae and the jinn. Vampires, witches, werewolves, and heck, even the dragons had collapsed.
Dammit! What is this stuff? Fumes so strong they can debilitate even a dragon?
Whatever this smoke was, I prayed that it wasn’t fatal. As the jinn hurried to gather everyone together so that we could be sure to not leave anyone behind, Kailyn’s voice rang through the trees. “Oh, my God! Look!”
I swiveled and rushed toward her voice. She came into view about six feet
away from me. She was crouched down on the ground, hovering over… my sister.
“Vivienne,” I gasped, dropping to my knees and clutching her shoulders. She was sprawled out on the damp soil, eyes closed. Her lips were swollen and purple, her clothes ripped. On one side of her head was a protruding bump. What in heavens…
I scooped my sister up in my arms, relieved that she was still breathing at least.
But what was she doing all the way over here? They were supposed to be waiting for us in the cave.
“Where are the others?” I demanded aloud, as if expecting the jungle to throw me back an answer.
Then my eyes fell on another body, partly obscured by a bush. I hurried over and pushed the shrubbery aside to uncover Caleb. He was in no better state than Vivienne, bumps and bruises littering his body. It was like they had fallen… a long distance.
My head panned upward. More bodies hung above me, scattered awkwardly among the branches. Members of my family. All of them unconscious.
I didn’t have time to ask more questions. Thank God we hadn’t left here yet, and Kailyn had ventured a little further out in her search.
“Guys,” I called to the jinn, fearful they might leave prematurely. “Wait! We’ve got more people over here!” I carried Vivienne to the rest of our unconscious army while Kailyn carried Caleb, before we returned to begin disentangling the others from the trees. I spotted Sofia next, balancing precariously on her midriff, her hands and feet dangling on either side of a thick branch. I gathered her to me and handed her to Kailyn, who zoomed her back to the jinn. Next, we helped Xavier, Aiden, River and her siblings, Orlando and Rose, who had alarmingly wound up in the coils of a monstrous red-scaled snake. She’d been lucky to get out of its grip without being squeezed to a pulp, or eaten—I assumed her bitter vampire blood had been the only thing stalling the snake from digging its fangs into her. I approached the snake from behind, gripped its head and squeezed its neck until it gave her up.
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