by Lena North
Beds were organized for everyone, and I knew it was Mary’s doing. She seemed disorganized most of the time and had a way of speaking before she thought her words through, but I knew that when it was needed, she was the steadiest rock to lean on that a friend could have.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as we hugged goodnight.
“Nothing to be sorry about, sweetie. Hilarious moment, all in all,” I whispered back.
Then I walked into the room I’d slept in most nights of my life and got into bed with the man I was falling in love with. He held me, and we talked a little before settling into our usual way of sleeping, him on his back and me tucked into his side.
“Willy would have liked this,” I murmured, knowing that my grandfather would have loved the late night gathering, the laughter, and good mood.
Mac didn’t reply, and I could tell from his breaths that he had fallen asleep, so I relaxed, and did too.
***
I opened my eyes slowly and looked at the watch next to the bed. It was early still, but I was awake in a way that I knew falling back to sleep would be impossible, so I started to shift away from Mac, trying not to wake him. He immediately rolled with me, and on top of me, pressing me into the bed. Then he started kissing me, and I felt his hands move slowly over my body, so even though I had woken up early, it was late when we got into the kitchen.
Miller glanced up from the cup of coffee he’d been staring at as if it would suddenly blurt out some secret way to reach nirvana.
“Jesus,” he snorted.
“What?” I asked as I walked over to the counter to get cups for Mac and me.
I was bouncing with energy and had my back to him when he muttered, “Only one thing that would put that bounce in your step, Wilder, or put that lazy grin on Mac’s face.”
“What?” I breathed and turned slowly.
“Just saying,” he grunted and turned his gaze back to the coffee.
I looked at Mac, and when he winked at me, I felt a blush creep up my neck. Kit was also at the table and was about to say something when Sloane walked into the kitchen, calling out chirpily over her shoulder.
“I’ll make coffee!”
Then my father ambled through the door with a smile on his face that could only be described as lazy.
Oh god.
Mac and Kit immediately burst out into loud laughter, and Miller looked at me with a distinct smirk on his face.
“Right,” I said, desperately trying to figure out what to say that would move the discussion to a topic that wouldn’t make me blush more than I already did. “Do we have more news from the b-”
I cut myself off and glanced at the door. I’d told Mickey about the birds, but I had also told him to keep it a secret, so my girlfriends didn’t know. Aunt Gwen could be around as well, and I didn’t know if she knew about our secrets.
“Don’t worry, Wilder. They’re sleeping,” Hawker said.
“Okay, but it’s late, and Jinx is always up early, so they’ll be here soon. I want to tell them, Dad. They’ll figure it out eventually so I’d rather explain it to them now,” I said.
“We’ll see,” Hawker muttered, which I figured meant no, and then added, “They’ll sleep for a few more hours.”
I stared at him. Then I glared at him because I knew what he’d done.
“You drugged them,” I barked.
“Drug is an ugly word to use, Wilder,” Miller murmured, and I rounded on him.
“Miller? Were you involved in medicating my friends without their knowledge?”
“Course he was,” Hawker murmured. “You should be grateful. I don’t know shit about sleeping pills but being a Vet, he’s at least almost a doctor. I could have sent them on a sleep that lasted a week.”
His lips twitched, and I felt my own do the same because he was in no way repentant and looked a little like a young boy that had been up to mischief.
“Hawker. Really? You drugged my friends?” I said with a sigh.
“Of course he didn’t,” Jinx said from the doorway.
All heads turned to her when she walked into the big kitchen, followed by Mary and Mickey.
“What the hell?” Hawker muttered.
“You are in no way a hot chocolate kind of guy. And I am in no way stupid,” Jinx said calmly and poured coffee into a cup. “Though, if Gwendolyn thinks the plants in the living room looks sleepy, I’m telling on you,” she added with a smirk.
I started laughing.
“Can I tell them?” I asked, still laughing.
Hawker got immediately that I meant about the birds, and he sighed but nodded.
“Okay, so there are a few things that I should tell you. It might sound a bit weird, so I’ll ask you to keep an open mind about it all,” I started, but Jinx gave me no chance to continue.
“Yeah, so you’re a descendant of people who could change into dragons, and it’s likely that you’re all still able to do it. And, you live in your ancestors’ house, and they were called Varg, Vildman, and Vilda.”
“Wh –”
“And I have to add that your ancestors were unquestionably mostly under the influence of whatever they drank back then. Because – the prophecies they wrote down? Jeez.”
“Wh –”
“Have you found the pendant?”
I stared at her and pulled out the necklace from under my tee, holding it up.
“Sweet. I’d like to do some tests on that. Have you found the swords, or maybe Vildman?”
“Jinx,” I breathed. “Stop. You are the devil. How…”
The silence in the room was thick and then she started laughing.
“Don’t look so shocked everyone. It really wasn’t so very difficult to figure out. Mary and I had nothing to do, so when we found the stories in that box next to your bed, Wilder, we read them. I thought Willy wrote them but then Mary told me the paper was thousands of years old and I started to think.”
I sat down with a thud and waved my hand in front of me to indicate that they should do the same. My eyes met Hawkers, and he looked just a shocked as I felt, but when I looked at Mac, he was grinning.
“Tell them,” he prompted.
So I did. It took some time to explain everything about birds and papers hidden in the wall and the dead man in the cave. Then I went on to explain about Paolo and how we thought that he was digging for something north of Double H.
While I talked, Mary started making breakfast and Kit immediately got up to help her. He kept glancing between my two girlfriends and I wondered what he was thinking. I’d been so sure he and Jinx would hit it off immediately, but he had a soft and sweet smile when he looked at Mary so maybe I’d been wrong.
“Can I look at this latest prophecy?” Jinx asked. “The one in the other stories was just a lot of mumbo-jumbo, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why they wrote it down that stupid way.”
I pulled up the picture I’d taken of the paper and handed her my phone. She looked at it for a while and then she started laughing.
“Yes indeed. Mumbo with a little bit of jumbo.”
“Jinx?”
“But Wilder? If they wanted you to get help from your bird to use parts of the swords while wearing something that you got from your mother – why didn’t they just say so?”
I stared at her.
“Though I don’t know what Mac has to do with it,” she added and got up to top off her coffee.
“Explain,” Hawker growled.
“Sure. Read it out slowly, Wilder?” she asked, and leaned on the counter, calmly sipping coffee.
“Turmoil will reign yet again, unless one from the three –”
“That’s you, Wilder. Descendant to all three groups from back then,” she interrupted.
“… avails of her father's mark –”
“The hawk. Hawker,” she said.
“…to bring the world back from the brink of destruction. One is the re
moval of one,”
“Well if you hook up with Mac then won’t there be one less birdie-family?”
“Adorning in the legacy of a shadow that passed is two.”
“Your mother was a friggin’ shadow in your life. Don’t know if you should wear a one of her skirts or something, though.”
“Wielding the heart of swords forged in fire is three,” I finished, but my voice was shivering with laughter.
“Naturally, you will need to avail yourself of the swords of the fire dragons, or parts of them,” she concluded with certainty.
I stared at her, full of admiration and Kit whispered quietly, “I’ll be damned.”
She shrugged and threw her hair over her shoulder, but then Miller leaned forward to face her.
“You talk a good talk,” he murmured.
His gaze swept over the group and then his face hardened a little.
“You’re all so impressed, and I have to give you, Jiminella, you have a confidence that is larger than life.”
Uh, what?
He pointed at her, and his face had softened again, but his voice was sure and strong when he continued talking.
“Most of what you said we already knew. We knew it was about Wilder. We knew about the swords. And we still don’t know what the hawk is supposed to do, what she’s meant to wear or why Mac is even included.”
Her face was completely blank, but I could see that she was hurt, but Miller pushed his point even further.
“You made it sound as if you’d solved everything, standing there looking down on us, but in reality, you haven’t told us anything we can actually use.”
Then he turned toward Mary.
“You’ve used your time better, little girl, and I’d gladly eat some breakfast now.
Jinx turned and walked outside without uttering a word, closing the door quietly behind her.
“Miller,” I hissed.
“I’m not wrong, and we are not quite the country hicks she thinks we are. She is a genius, no one can argue against that. But Wilder, it doesn’t give her the right to be an ass,” he said, shoveled a huge chunk of scrambled eggs into his mouth and murmured, “She was one, I called her on it. No big deal.”
Then he continued eating, and Mary started bringing more plates and silverware to the table. I looked at her, and it took some time, but finally, her eyes met mine.
“I think he’s right,” she whispered, and I could tell that it hurt her to continue. “Sometimes she makes people feel stupid when they aren’t. But if she’s so clever, shouldn’t she know better?”
I felt Mac’s arms circle me from behind and then he murmured in my ear, “You need to go talk to her, baby. Mill was harsh, but he wasn’t wrong. It’s no big deal, but he wasn’t wrong, and you know it.”
I did know it, but I didn’t like how the morning had shifted. The mood had been so good, but suddenly everyone was tense and annoyed.
Then I nodded and walked out on the back porch. Jinx was standing at the far end of the porch, looking up toward the mountains.
“Crap,” she murmured when I stopped next to her.
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” I asked.
“No,” she said immediately.
I waited a while and thought about what to say. Jinx did have an enormous confidence, but Miller didn’t know her. She also had a huge heart, and there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her family or her friends.
“He was right,” she whispered, and I jerked.
I’d never thought she would acknowledge that, not even to herself.
“I didn’t see it like that, Wilder, and I didn’t do it to impress…” she turned to me, and her eyes were sad. “At least not much.”
“Jinx…”
“You are so cool,” she started and held a hand up when I wanted to protest. “You are. And Mary is the sweetest. So who am I? How do I fit in? Everyone expected me to be the genius, so I gave them that. Went too far, though.”
She made a face and turned toward the mountains again.
“I’ve dropped out of school.”
“What?” I gasped.
“I hate being me, Wilder. I want to be someone else, so I’m taking some time to figure out who that is.”
She turned to me, and her eyes were shiny.
“Maybe I just want to be normal,” she whispered.
I swallowed and raised an arm to hug her when I heard heavy footsteps behind me.
“Go inside, Wilder,” my father said gently.
I turned and watched Hawker and Miller walk up to us. I searched their faces, but they were not showing any emotions.
“Why?” I asked and placed myself in front of my friend, prepared to fight for her if they were about to chastise her more than they already had.
“Honey, no one is angry,” Miller said, though I didn’t know if it was to Jinx or me.
“Go inside,” Hawker prompted.
“It’s okay, Wilder. I need to talk to them,” Jinx said quietly.
I looked at her a long time, but she seemed to have calmed down and finally, I nodded. Then I walked inside.
Chapter Twenty-one
As easy as that?
Jinx was pale when they got back inside, and Mickey went to her side immediately, sliding an arm around her shoulder and scowling at Hawker.
“Mickey, no,” she murmured.
Then she took a deep breath and turned to the room in general.
“Right. So, I was a bit of an ass before, and I’m sorry,” she said, and added softly, “I didn’t mean to be one, though.”
I knew it cost her to say that, but Mac started speaking before I could get a word out.
“You’re in good company then.”
“What?” she asked, clearly confused.
“I hadn’t planned to tell you, but Hawker is more of an ass than anyone I know,” Mac said, and clarified, “most of the time.”
“Mac,” Hawker barked.
Sloane started laughing and patted his arm, adding softly, “But he’s right, baby.”
I giggled, because of the funny look on my father’s face but also because I knew they said what they did to make Jinx feel better.
“What are you laughing about?” Mac asked curiously.
“Uh,” I murmured.
“Because that’s just strange when you are exactly like your father,” he said, and added sweetly, “You said so yourself, didn’t you?”
“Mac,” I barked.
“See, you even sound like him,” Mac said and grinned.
I frowned at him, thinking that what he did was nice for Jinx, but the joke wasn’t quite as funny when it was on me.
“Jesus,” Jinx murmured. “Can we sit down and talk about the shitgibbon?”
Mickey and I started laughing, but since we were the only ones understanding that this was a reference to Paolo Fratinelli, it took a while before we were seated quietly around the kitchen table.
“Okay,” Hawker started. “Here’s what we know,” he continued and took a moment to gather his thoughts before he continued.
“We know that they’re digging in the mountains north of Double H. They have some equipment up there, and the birds mentioned huge black logs, but my eagle showed them to me, and it isn’t logs. It’s huge pipes.”
He stopped to take a sip of coffee, and I saw how he grabbed hold of Sloane’s hand under the table.
“We suspect, but we don’t know, that they are digging for the crystals that make up the energy fields. We have one section of it on the Norton side of the mountains, and there’s another one just north of here.”
I blinked. Of course, I thought, they had mentioned in the stories how the Dreughan lands were protected on each side of the forest, and the border had been just north of the Heather Houses.
“If they find the crystals, would it even be possible to get the energy out of them?” Mickey asked curiously, looking at Jinx.
“A
bsolutely,” she responded confidently but then she turned to Kit, adding politely, “Or what do you think?”
His lips twitched, but he answered calmly, “Yes, Jinx. I believe you are perfectly right. I would even go so far as to say that it would be incredibly easy.” Then he added with a voice that was quivering a little, “Or what do you think?”
She snorted but murmured, “Wise-ass,” under her breath.
“Getting just one crystal out of the ground would make them incredibly rich. At least, wealthy enough to continue digging for more,” Mickey said, ignoring their antics.
“They would destroy the mountain,” Sloane said slowly. “Destroy the eco-system and if they continued there would be a risk of landslides.”
“Yes,” Jinx murmured. “It would be even worse if they decided to process the crystals on site, though.”
“Shit,” Kit barked. “The pipes. They would need a lot of cooling water to operate some kind of power plant up there, but they’d have to get rid of that water somehow. That’s why they have the pipes.”
“And that’s why they want me to sell,” I said.
They all turned to me.
“The only water they have up there is the dam, and maybe that would be enough water for what they need. They couldn’t shift the water back into the dam, though.”
I swallowed and turned to Mickey because he knew exactly what I was talking about.
“The dam provides freshwater for Double H but it’s also the main water supply for most of Prosper City,” he whispered.
“Exactly,” I said, finding my voice again. “They would have to use pipes to transport the water around the city, and they can’t do that without passing Double H land. At least not without going far out on the plains and that would cost them a whack.”
“Where would it go,” Mary asked quietly. “The water, I mean. If they could transport it over Double H, then where would it go?”
“Into the ocean,” Kit replied grimly. “They’d have to set up some sort of cleaning system, but however they do it, there are always bi-products from that kind of operation. The impact on the ocean could potentially be disastrous.”
I stared at him, suddenly realizing why Snow, and perhaps also Dante, was helping us.