by K C Otenti
“Wahf smo?”
Del took the cloth as Aideen helped him to his feet.
“Come on,” she said.
They raced to the back door of the main building. Once inside, Del stumbled and fell to the ground. The cloth dropped from his hand, smearing blood on the white tile.
“Del?” Aideen kneeled by him and shook him. He wasn’t responding. “Help!”
She didn’t know if there was anyone left inside, let alone in earshot. After tucking the idol into her waistband, she grabbed Del’s arms and dragged him down the hall toward the infirmary. Rounding a corner, she encountered a nurse.
“Please help. He was shot in the face. His jaw’s a mess, and he fainted.”
The nurse helped Aideen carry Del to the infirmary, where they laid him on a bed. The nurse called for Julie, who was rushing between other patients. Casualties from out front. Aideen wondered if Sterling was still alive.
Sterling, she broadcast. Are you okay?
Not a good time, he thought.
Responding was a good sign. She’d take it.
Julie came to Del’s bed. “I can save him, but I won’t be able to reconstruct his jaw. He’ll likely never be able to speak again. Maybe even eat.”
Aideen squeezed Del’s hand. He still hadn’t regained consciousness.
“Do you know how it’s going out there?” She asked Julie.
“All I know is we’ve got more injured than I and the other two nurses can handle. We’ve got some others who know first aid helping us, but we need more than first aid.”
“Is there anything I can do to help? I only have first aid experience, too, but I’m good with my hands and at following directions.”
“Find Jesse. Bring him back safe.” Julie looked Aideen in the eyes. “He’s my only family. I don’t know that I could bear it if he . . .” Julie turned to Del and attended to his face.
Aideen put a hand on Julie’s shoulder as a twinge of pain flared in her heart. She wouldn’t let this war tear another family apart if she could help it.
“I’ll do what I can.” She turned for the door then paused, pulling the idol from her waistband. “I don’t want to lose this.”
Julie pointed with her elbow to a cabinet across the room.
“It should be safe in there for now.”
Aideen placed the idol among medicine bottles and raced back the way she came, headed for the gym again. Everyone seemed busy with the fighting out front; she saw no one else behind the main building. Retrieving her sword and a scabbard, she secured it to her waist then slung a full quiver of arrows over her shoulder. She grabbed a bow, pulled out an arrow, and hoped she remembered enough from Jay Ridge High School gym class to be of some use.
Go Hummingbirds. She ran toward the front of the main building.
Swords clanged, guns fired, people yelled and screamed. She slowed as she reached the corner and took a deep breath. Raising her bow, she stepped into the action. No one noticed her yet, so she got off a few shots before a Trapper whose shoulder she just missed started toward her. She shot straight at his heart and nearly hit her target. He fell, arrow poking out of his stomach.
Aideen stepped closer, searching for Sterling, Gideon, and Jesse. She didn’t know if any of them had been part of the group who had posted here. She glimpsed Sterling, back to back with a Refuse who stood a full foot taller than him, holding off three Trappers.
Aideen aimed and shot an arrow into one of the Trapper’s backs. He went down. Sterling’s eyes followed him, then shot up, looking for the archer. He frowned at Aideen.
Idol? he thought.
Hidden inside. Aideen nodded her head toward the main building and turned to shoot down another Trapper who had spotted her and was fast approaching.
Several more Trappers broke away from the battle and headed for her. She flung three arrows in quick succession before abandoning the bow for her sword.
Two Trappers confronted her, their own swords raised. Not daring to think, Aideen attacked with every ounce of energy left in her body. She parried a few blows before knocking the sword out of one of the Trapper’s hands. The other Trapper retaliated in kind, and Aideen backed away, stomach knotted.
The Trappers closed in before falling, one at a time, revealing Sterling and Hightower (as she had dubbed his sword-fighting companion).
“Thanks.” Aideen retrieved her sword.
“It looks like they’re retreating,” Hightower said. “We actually got to them.”
“Yeah, but how many more didn’t come today?” Sterling asked.
“Geez, could we get just two seconds of victory, for morale’s sake?” Aideen asked.
Sterling waited for a two-count before continuing. “They’re not done with us. Not with Aideen and the idol still here.”
“What if they’ve decided Gideon is the Prophesied One and they’ve captured him?” she asked. “They’d settle for that, wouldn’t they?”
“Not this time.” Hightower pointed west as what remained of the Refuse army returned.
Gideon was among them. So was Jesse, to Aideen’s relief. The men saw them watching and joined them.
“They retreated,” Gideon said, flashing a timid smile at Aideen. “That’s a good sign.”
“Sterling says there’s more of them,” Hightower said.
“There’s definitely more of them,” Aideen said. “Have you seen their ‘village’?”
“What’s the plan now?” Jesse asked.
“You should go see your sister,” Aideen told him. “She was freaking out earlier. She’d love to see you’re okay.”
Jesse nodded and jogged inside.
“We should go after the retreating Trappers,” Aideen said.
“What good will that do?” Sterling asked. “We’re just as exhausted as they are. We need to rest and regroup.”
“Aideen’s right,” Gideon said. “Catch them while they’re not expecting us. We stand a chance against them if they’re tired.”
“I don’t think we should act without thinking this through—”
“We can’t give them the chance to think,” Gideon said. “Strike now, and this could all be over soon.”
“I’m ready for it to be over,” Aideen said.
Sterling shook his head.
“I don’t recommend this, and I don’t think you’ll find many Refuse left who’ll be willing to help. That said, I will join you. One of you must be the Prophesied One, so if you’re both set on doing this, it must be for the best.”
They stopped a few of the Refuse heading inside, sharing their plan. Only three others were willing to join them. They set out west at a jog, hoping to catch up with the retreating troop before they returned to Jay Ridge, and reinforcements.
THEY CAME UPON the Compass pond, remains of the tower still strewn about the island. Aideen assumed Sterling’s priority had been helping to rebuild the Bo and he had put the tower on hold. But something else was going on: Nox hunched over something in front of the remains of the elevator. She hadn’t noticed them yet.
“Sterling.” Aideen pointed as he looked at her. He spotted Nox and slowed.
“What is she doing here?”
“Who is she?” Gideon asked.
“Nox.” Sterling frowned. “Jimmy’s girlfriend and acting leader of the Trappers while he was Away.”
“Jimmy is the Trapper she was seeing?” Aideen shuddered. It would have saved the Trappers a lot of trouble had Nox killed Aideen when they first met. How lucky that all Nox had done was threaten her.
“She’s the one who ordered the Trappers to destroy the Bo?” Gideon asked. “The reason Michael is dead? Nox!” Gideon stormed toward the island.
Nox jumped, revealing what she had been hunching over. It was Lux’s body.
“Oh my god!” Aideen nudged Sterling. “Gideon, wait!”
Aideen, Sterling, and the others hurried after Gideon.
Nox stepped toward Gideon, sneering.
Why isn’t she running?
Nox put he
r hand to her neck, and panic flushed her face. The necklace she had been wearing when Aideen last saw her was gone. Nox spun toward her sister’s body and bent, just as Gideon reached her. He grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground, out of reach of her sister.
Aideen stopped on the other side of Nox from Gideon. “What are you going to do?”
“Kill her,” he said. “Like she killed Michael. And Dawn. And everyone else.”
“Stop!” Sterling arrived and grabbed Gideon’s arm before he could throw a punch at Nox, who was scrambling to her feet.
Gideon swung wildly, fighting against Sterling’s grasp. When he couldn’t reach Nox, he spun toward Sterling and swung again. Sterling ducked but let go. The others spread out around Aideen, keeping Nox from escaping across the bridge. Gideon composed himself and faced Nox.
“You filth will never win,” Nox said.
Sterling and Gideon stepped toward her. She had nowhere to run.
“Brave words for someone who’s surrounded and alone,” Aideen said.
Nox spun and reached toward Aideen. Gideon leaped at Nox and slammed the butt of his sword into Nox’s head. She crumpled to the ground.
“What if you killed her?” Aideen crouched to check.
“Good riddance.”
“She’s still breathing,” Aideen said.
“Look at this.” One of the Refuse had crouched next to Lux’s body and was now holding a necklace. “The chain’s broken.”
“That looks like Nox’s necklace,” Aideen said.
“Lux must have torn it off in the struggle,” Sterling said.
“What struggle?” The Refuse stood and brought Sterling the necklace.
“She wouldn’t have gone without a fight.” Sterling took the necklace and looked at it. The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Nox panicked when she realized she didn’t have it,” Aideen said. “What’s so special about it?”
“The white stones are communication stones. This is how she talked to Jimmy while he was in your world.” Sterling put the necklace in his pocket and stared at Lux.
“What are we going to do with Nox?” a Refuse asked. “Tie her to a chair at the Bo?”
“Let’s throw her in the Chasm,” Gideon suggested. “And watch her try to climb out.”
“They’d just send Turkeys to rescue her,” Aideen said. “Now that there’s no Ostrich to keep them away.”
“We don’t have secure rooms in the Bo,” the Refuse said. “The Underground?”
“I have a better idea,” Sterling said. “Bring her.”
Gideon scooped Nox off the ground and slung her over his shoulder. How he could have so much strength and energy left after all this was beyond Aideen. She was ready to collapse. Of course, when had she last eaten a proper meal? She’d feel better once her appetite came back.
Sterling led them across the bridge and around to the south of the pond.
“There’s an old tunnel, used in the Legendary War. I’ve got the key.”
They arrived at the tree that looked like a brain. Sterling explained that it was the power plant, serving the village and the pile of rubble on the Compass Island. He opened a bulkhead under the power plant. Aideen had never gotten close enough or looked long enough to even notice the door. Gideon threw Nox down into the tunnel. The landing woke her up.
“What are you doing? Where am I? You can’t do this!”
Gideon slammed the door closed, muffling Nox’s protests. “Will they think to look for her here? Should we try to camouflage the door?”
“There was a cave-in in the center of the tunnel years ago,” Sterling said. “No one has used it since. The entrance at the other end is locked, and I believe the key to be lost.”
Aideen thought of the tower Shay had taken her to and wondered if that door was the other end of the tunnel. I’ll have to ask Sterling when we don’t have more pressing things to handle.
“What now? What do we ask of Jimmy in exchange for Nox?”
“I don’t know that making a deal with Jimmy will be that simple,” Sterling said.
“A deal,” Aideen whispered.
“What’s that?” Gideon asked.
“What if we talk to Imuhn?”
Imuhn appeared and looked at Aideen.
“Remember, I’ve fulfilled my deal with you. You saw me leave.”
“Our deal is done.” Imuhn nodded. “I asked for no more and no less than I wanted from you. What is it you want now?”
“I need to meet with Jimmy, leader of the Trappers, alone. What do you need to ensure I won’t be ambushed?”
“I should go with you,” Gideon said.
Imuhn eyed Gideon, then nodded to Aideen.
“You will give me what you have stolen from Jimmy, and I will send Jimmy—alone—to the Chasm in the craglands. You know it?”
“Yes,” Aideen said. “But I can’t give you the idol. Isn’t there something else I can give you? I could leave again. I promise not to come back this time.” She pretended not to see the hurt looks on Sterling’s and Gideon’s faces.
Imuhn chuckled. “Your leaving does not serve me any longer, Alk Girl.”
“What would serve you, Jay Man?”
“I need to fulfill a deal to return the idol to the Trappers. Unless you can relinquish the idol, I cannot help you.”
Aideen couldn’t give Imuhn the idol, because it may end up in Jimmy’s hands before their meeting, and that would be the end of her. But if she could hang onto it until they met …
“Get Jimmy to the Chasm alone—no ambush—and I will personally deliver the idol.”
Chapter Eighteen
Aideen, no!” Gideon pulled her by the arm to face him, then immediately let go and dropped his eyes. “You can’t let him have it.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Would Gideon connect the dots?
Sterling must have, but he didn’t sound happy about it. “Gideon, it’s the best deal we can make at this point. We’d be fools not to accept.”
“What?” Gideon turned to Sterling. “Are you—oh.” He nodded slowly and turned to Imuhn, puffing out his chest. “That is our offer. What do you say?”
“I say we have a deal.” Imuhn nodded. “Five hours past midday. Jimmy will be at the Chasm.” He disappeared.
“You meant giving him the idol by killing him with it, right?” Gideon asked.
“Yeah.” She smiled. “Took you long enough to catch on.”
Gideon frowned.
“You have some time before your meeting,” Sterling said. “Anyone else ready for a shower and some lunch?”
AIDEEN SAT IN THE dining hall, looking over the idol. A few drops of juice were all that was left of her gojoos. Her kahsihvee sat untouched on the tray.
Upon their return to the Brown Ostrich, she had parted ways with Sterling and Gideon. The thought of a shower and a nap lured her to her private suite in the dorm section of the building. She’d fallen asleep for much longer than she expected to and had awoken to a knock at the door.
It had been Sterling, inviting her to a late lunch before it was time to set out to meet Jimmy. She wasn’t hungry, but she figured if things didn’t go well in the craglands, it would be nice to have a last meal.
“Aideen, your lunch is getting cold.” Sterling pointed his fork at her tray.
She set the idol down between her tray and his and picked up her fork. She loaded it with kahsihvee and hovered it in front of her mouth.
“Shay took me to a tower at the western edge of the forest. Inside was a door. Is that the other entrance to the tunnel?”
“Yes, it is.”
“You said the key was lost.”
“I believe so.”
“What kind of key? There’s no lock on the door.”
“It’s a long story.”
“It’s a lock. How is it a long story?”
“It’s not a normal lock.”
“Aideen, Sterling,” Gideon called from the doorway.
Aideen turn
ed to see Gideon waving them over. She pushed her tray away and took up the idol before she and Sterling followed Gideon down the hall to the foyer, where he had gathered some weapons.
He looked Aideen straight in the eyes. “We go armed.”
“Of course,” Aideen agreed. “Jimmy will probably have his gun.”
“We recovered a few guns from the Trappers we killed,” Gideon said. “But I’d rather leave them here, in case Trappers attack the Bo again. We’ll take bows and arrows for long range, in case he shoots, thinking he’ll steal the idol off our dead bodies.”
“And swords in case he lets us get close enough to pass him the idol. Got it.”
“Be careful,” Sterling said.
“You’re not coming with us?” Aideen asked. “Part way at least?”
Sterling hesitated. “Someone should explain to the others what’s going on. They’re rested and fed. They’ll want to know what’s next.”
“Make sure they’re prepared, in case things go wrong,” Gideon told him. “If we fail at the Chasm, Jimmy may send the rest of the Trappers to the Bo. Fortify the main building, bring all the weapons in from the gym, and hold them off, if you can.”
“Glad to see you’ve got faith in us,” Aideen said.
“I’m being pragmatic. If we fail, they won’t know until the Trappers show up, guns blazing.”
Sterling pulled Aideen to him. “Come back alive.”
“You can’t get rid of me this easy.” Aideen smiled. Sterling kissed her.
“Let’s go,” Gideon said gruffly.
AIDEEN AND GIDEON REACHED the place where the grass thinned into the crags of rock that blanketed the southern region of D’Nal Harrim. Aideen grabbed Gideon’s arm and stopped.
“We should be careful. There’s no cover from here on. I don’t know how good Jimmy’s eyesight is, but he could conceivably stand at the edge of the woods and shoot at us. We wouldn’t know where he was to shoot back.”
“Bows out, then.” Gideon nocked an arrow and moved forward with his bow at the ready.
Aideen followed suit and raised her bow, tracing the horizon with the tip of the arrow. They saw Jimmy at the Chasm before they were close enough to shout to him.
“What’s the plan?” Aideen asked.
“We could shoot him and be done with it,” Gideon said.