by Kate Sparkes
The soldiers gave us time to hit the ground running. Decent of them, I thought, and wondered whether they shared Verelle’s love of cruel games or were just following orders. Gus took off down the street, away from the school, one soldier behind him. I dashed for the park.
No footsteps behind me. I ran into an alley, where wings would be useless, and stopped to see if my soldier was going to try to cut me off. A trash can hit the ground behind me, and I continued forward. Beyond the end of the alley, the thick trees of the park beckoned, promising at least the illusion of safety. If I could make it to the creek and into a drainage culvert, I might lose him.
If.
I ran. The sneakers I’d found in a school locker slapped the ground, echoing like gunshots. Thirty paces to the woods. Twenty. Ten.
My ankle went out from under me as a familiar sharp pain shot up my leg.
I cried out in surprise as much as pain as I hit the ground. Gravel tore into my palms and ground into the knees of my pants. I turned to see eight winged soldiers approaching slowly, swords drawn.
I didn’t know which had started the pursuit, so I spoke to all of them.
“Had to call in reinforcements to deal with one little girl?”
Their blank, beautiful faces didn’t register understanding or irritation. They stepped closer, circling around me.
I tried to stand, and my ankle buckled again. One of the soldiers raised his sword.
Heavy footsteps approached, accompanied by a roar that shook my bones. I gasped and curled into a ball on the ground, making myself as small as possible as the clash of weapons rang out above me.
Someone kicked me, and I looked up long enough to see that the way to the park was clear. I dragged myself to the edge of the trees and turned back. The scene was chaotic and the street dark, but I would have recognized my rescuers anywhere.
Auphel stood with a soldier pinned under her foot. She brought her axe down, cleaving his torso neatly in half, and swung at another who ran at her from the side. His sword caught her arm as he ducked under the axe, and she roared in pain. A moment later his throat was in her hand, and his neck snapped. Zinian and Jaid each took down two soldiers with swords and claws, then turned to finish the others. One took off into the air, and Zinian followed. The feathered body hit the ground with a sick thud a moment later, gutted and bleeding.
Zinian landed, and all three turned to me. Jaid’s wide eyes took in the buildings that faced the park as she caught her breath. Her tail swished madly, and her hair stood on end. “Are there more?”
I stood and leaned my weight on my good ankle. “More around. I think that’s all for that bunch. Where… How…” I stopped to take a breath, and let out a short, shocked laugh. “It’s really good to see you guys.”
My heart swelled as I drank in the glorious sight of monsters in Fairbrook. I hadn’t let myself fully understand how much I’d missed them until I had them back.
My dear Auphel. The fearsome and loyal Jaid, on my side at last. And Zinian… God. Had I really thought I could keep myself from falling for this strange, beautiful person?
Zinian looked me over, taking in my obvious injury. He didn’t smile, but his relief was clear in his eyes. “The where and the how can wait. Verelle might not know exactly what happened, but she’ll know someone killed her soldiers. Where can we go and be hidden?”
“We’re all taking shelter at the school. It’s a few blocks away, though. Auphel, are you okay?”
The ogress nodded, but held her arm out. Blood flowed freely from her wound. “I should wrap this so I don’t leave a trail.”
Jaid removed her sash and bandaged Auphel’s arm. The ogress winced as Jaid pulled it tight, but didn’t complain.
“Better to get away from here,” Jaid said, and nudged a body with her foot. “I’m guessing by the fact that they’re not disappearing that Verelle is here and alive?”
“Very much so,” I said. I explained what I understood of the situation as we walked, speaking quietly. Zinian’s arm around my waist and his body pressed against mine felt so good that they almost made it worth getting attacked and almost killed.
Again.
“But how did you get here?” I asked.
Jaid clucked her tongue. “Zinian nearly lost his mind when you disappeared and Verelle didn’t come back. Grys believed that Verelle was either dead or had reappeared somewhere else.”
“But you disagreed?” I asked Zinian.
“I didn’t know. That was the problem. I wasn’t willing to let it go until we were sure she wasn’t here with you. Verelle is clever, and knows how to control magic. I thought she might have found a way to stay if she wanted to.”
“Guess you were right,” Auphel said glumly.
“But I had the key,” I said. “Until I lost it.”
Jaid’s whiskers twitched. “It turns out that the spark is a myth, as many of us suspected. We haven’t found a monster who’s gifted with magic as Verelle is, but then, not many humans were, either. Creating another key was a matter of finding the right information, equipment, and materials. It’s not the same as yours, but it worked.”
“It took far too much time, though,” Zinian added. “I didn’t think we’d find you alive.”
“I was going to comment on your impressive timing,” I said, “but I think it moves more slowly here.”
“Oh, good,” Auphel said. “Maybe we’ll get back before Grys notices we’re gone.”
I smiled at her. “I appreciate you all coming.”
Jaid grunted. “I couldn’t let Zinian pursue his obsessions without me. And when Auphel found out, there was no stopping her.”
“I don’t like this place,” Auphel whispered. She knocked into a pile of crates and scrambled to catch them before they toppled. “It smells funny.”
We approached the rear doors of the school. I didn’t want to cause panic in the school, but felt certain that we needed all the help we could get. Between my friends and the townspeople, we could handle Verelle.
I couldn’t wait to show them all how entirely not-crazy I was.
The others hung back as I knocked. Mr. Hicks from the tourism hut opened the door.
“Did the others make it?” I asked.
“All but Gus. He’s not with you?”
“No. But I found some help.” I hesitated for a moment. “Bring a few of the leaders. No one who’s easily spooked. I have a secret weapon, but we’ll want to keep it quiet for now.” I wouldn’t force my friends to sleep in the school, but an introduction or two would warm people to the idea of our odd saviours and allow the townspeople to help plan our attack.
Mr. Hicks gave me a suspicious look, but let me take the door and headed off toward the teachers’ lounge. I motioned for my friends to come in.
“It smells worse in here,” Auphel grumbled. “Like humans, but dirtier.”
She sat on the stairway beside the door and picked at her bandage.
“How will they react to us?” Zinian asked. “I don’t expect we—”
A scream interrupted him.
“Maybe not so good,” I admitted.
The scream had come from Mr. Hicks. He’d brought a dozen people with him—not all leaders, but likely all curious. A woman grabbed the child who had accompanied her and sprinted off down the hall. My mother stood with a pale face, trembling.
Perfect.
“It’s fine!” I yelled. “These are the monsters I told you about. They’re here to help us!”
Someone sobbed at the back of the crowd. Auphel stepped deeper into the shadows.
I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that I’d been scared at first, too. “Listen to me. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
“This is the end times,” an old woman moaned. One of the church ladies who had been friends with my gran, but I couldn’t remember her name now. “Angels and devils and monsters!” Her fingers scrabbled at her throat as though searching for pearls to clutch.
“Shut up,” I ordered. She
gasped. “You’re all acting like these guys are worse than the ones who are trying to kill us. They’ve taken Verelle down before, and now they’re willing to help us. Are you going to let them come in?”
No one moved.
“You see, Hazel,” Mr. Hicks said, having regained a little of his composure, “we don’t know them. And maybe they’re helpful as you say, but we have the children to think of. And we don’t want to draw more attention. We’ll have to talk it over.”
I glanced at Jaid, who rolled her eyes. I couldn’t have agreed more.
“Fine,” I said. “It’s probably better if you just let us handle it. Verelle will be gone before you know it, and you can start rebuilding before the tourists descend. But I need you to promise that you’ll stay put. No one leaves the building for any reason until we come to get you. Clear?”
Mr. Hicks nodded.
“Just a moment,” my mother said, having found her voice at last. I’d never seen her speechless for so long. “Hazel Anne Walsh, you will come back to the gymnasium right now.” I was touched by her concern for my safety until she added, “No daughter of mine is going to go gallivanting about with demons and monsters and God knows what else.”
“Mom.”
She didn’t hear me. She was working up to a proper rant. “Your grandmother must be rolling in her grave. What did you get mixed up with when you went away, young lady? I can only imagine what Pastor Tulk would say about—”
“MOM,” I bellowed, and she stopped.
“Hazel Anne—”
“Loretta Jean. Please fuck off.”
Her lips disappeared in a tight line, and she stalked away. I felt bad. But only a little. I’d wanted to say that for the past decade, and it had been even more satisfying than I’d expected.
“We’re going to take care of this.” I made eye contact with everyone to make sure they were listening, and one by one they nodded.
“She can see your thoughts,” I added. “I know a lot of you didn’t believe me when I talked about magic, but my friends here are proof that I’m not crazy. I don’t want Verelle knowing about these secret weapons. So don’t move. Bar the doors until tomorrow night.”
I turned on my heel and left in as dignified a manner as I could with most of my weight on one foot. Auphel scooped me up under her good arm, erasing the last of my dignity but preserving some of my energy.
“Where to?” she asked, and I pointed toward the bookstore.
Tomie greeted me with a loud mew, then hissed at my guests and ran to hide behind a stack of thrillers. “Don’t take it personally,” I told them. “In this world, you’re terrifying.”
Jaid sniffed. “I’m terrifying in mine, too. How quickly you forget.”
Zinian smiled at his friend.
Auphel wasn’t going to fit up the narrow staircase to the apartment, so we stayed among the stacks of dusty books on the ground floor. Tomie showed his face again after a few minutes and planted himself on Jaid’s lap, purring. The felid woman scratched his back gently with her claws.
I sat in an armchair, and Zinian sat on the floor next to my legs with one hand wrapped gently around my injured ankle. I drank in the sight of him, though I could barely see him in the gloom of the shop. He leaned toward me as I ran my fingers through his hair.
“I can see everything you’re doing,” Jaid noted. “Fair warning.”
At least she seemed used to the idea of us. That was something.
I explained what had happened the night the people attacked the town hall, and the conclusions I’d drawn.
“I can’t disagree,” Zinian said, “though it troubles me that she has different powers here. This would be easier if we knew exactly what we were dealing with.”
“What’s the plan, then?” Jaid asked.
We sat in silence, thinking. The sky outside the windows began to lighten in spite of the grey clouds that had gathered in the past few hours.
“We can’t have a plan,” I said, almost to myself. They all looked at me. “If we have a plan, she’ll know it as soon as she looks at us. There’s no element of surprise with her now.”
“And we don’t have the forces for an open attack this time,” Zinian added. “We could just try to sneak up, but she’ll be alert.”
“We need someone with no knowledge of any plan to distract Verelle,” Jaid said. She scratched under her chin. “Someone who can hold her attention. It’ll make the rest of our jobs easier, and her soldiers get sluggish when she’s not focused on them. I would offer to do it, but—”
“But we want to keep you three a secret,” I finished for her. “The less she realizes about the comings and goings between our worlds, the better. It has to be someone from town. Someone who will try not to think about the fact that monsters have arrived, even though I’m sure everyone has heard by now.” I swallowed hard. “Someone who cares enough to want to keep you safe.”
Zinian’s hand tightened around my ankle, and I winced.
The idea of leaping without looking, of walking up to Verelle with a head full of nothing and trying to keep her distracted terrified me. I liked plans. I needed control. Anything else was a recipe for disaster. And yet there was nothing else for it.
I leaned over and rested my cheek against one of Zinian’s horns. “I’ll get out of your way while you make your plans. Make them good. I’ll figure out my distraction.”
“For when?” Auphel asked.
“She holds outdoor meetings for her faithful every morning,” I said. “Assuming the rain holds off, that would be a good time. She’ll be exposed then.”
I went up to the apartment and rewrapped my ankle, grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water, then slipped the ancient, untitled copy of the Verhumn into my bag. Zinian met me near the top of the stairs as I started down. His wings filled the space behind him, preventing escape.
As if I’d want to.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face against him. We stood like that for several minutes, not speaking, bodies pressed together.
“I can’t believe you came for me,” I murmured.
“I had no choice,” he said, and pulled his claws through my tangled hair. “I thought I was going to go insane with worry.” He kissed me, long and deep, and for a brief moment I forgot everything else. “I should never have let you come back.”
“I guess it was a good thing for Fairbrook that I did.”
“I don’t care about Fairbrook. I care about you.” He pressed his forehead to mine and looked into my eyes. “Be careful, Hazel. I promise we’ll do everything we can to finish her before she hurts you.” His thick brows gathered into a concerned frown. “You know what you want to do?”
“I have an idea.”
An idea, but not a plan.
It would have to be enough.
Chapter Seventeen
Deep breaths.
I considered the mental exercises that were supposed to help when I felt anxious. I didn’t want to close my eyes and picture serene surroundings, but I tried to clear my mind and ground myself in the quiet of the park as I sat hidden in the bushes, waiting for the appointed time.
And I tried to ignore the eerie lack of bird sounds that I’d been too distracted to notice before.
I watched a pair of soldiers soar over the pond and wondered whether the loss of so many yesterday had affected them. They’d be on high alert, surely. I hoped Verelle was going mad as she tried to figure out how the stubborn people of the school had killed her warriors.
I hoped she was terrified.
I paged though Verelle’s book, deciding that it would be my focus. I let my indignation and anger grow, followed my thoughts down rabbit holes of what might have been if not for her. The book in my hands may or may not have been divinely inspired, but it seemed a fine blueprint for a peaceful world. Of course, people would have found a way to reinterpret it to fit their own views and desires, picking and choosing passages and probably ignoring the larger message. But it would have h
ad a chance to do good, and that was what pissed me off. I didn’t know how she’d managed it, but Verelle had rewritten a religion to suit her, warped it to create a world of oppression, inequality, and chaos. She’d used it to hurt people I loved dearly.
I’d never cared for anger. It seemed pointless, and became frightening when it got out of control. But just this once, I let it take me. Hot tears slipped down my cheeks as I thought of the deaths she’d caused, of the humans who might have been good if they’d believed they served a kind and loving Mother or been free to choose for themselves. Or maybe they would still have been assholes. Thanks to Verelle, we’d never know.
I started for the town hall building. Verelle’s faithful would be gathering now. I had to keep my eyes on the sidewalk, but kept looking back to the pages.
Focus. This is all there is.
No thoughts of Zinian and the others, no fear that they wouldn’t come up with a plan that would end her and save me. Only my anger, and the desire to reveal to the town what she really was.
The townspeople had set up folding chairs below the steps in spite of the threat of rain: two sections in neat rows with a wide aisle in the middle, like a church. I’d heard about it from the others, how she stood and spoke to her faithful, how they stared adoringly. Actually seeing it nauseated me. Verelle stood in a flowing white gown not unlike the one I’d worn to my first supper with Zinian. She looked positively angelic, but it was the two soldiers standing at the bottom of the steps who bore the wings. I hung back at the edge of the square and watched. No more soldiers flew overhead. The others would be out patrolling.
Verelle knew her own strength well enough that she felt confident sending them elsewhere. I just hoped I wasn’t wrong about her weaknesses.
Don’t think about weaknesses. This isn’t a plan. Just be angry.
I opened the book, not realizing how tightly I was gripping the pages until one pulled free of the ancient binding and fluttered away on a gust of wind.
Verelle saw me coming, but kept speaking to her people. A low chuckle rippled through the crowd, but I was still too far away to hear what she’d said.