Chapter 39 #3
As Leo nears my side, I hold out the gun.
A squawk stabs my ears, and rustling whips my hair. All at once, I’m blinded by feathers and claws. I beat at the flapping wings. Another caw and they’re gone.
I peer down. I no longer have the gun.
I look at Leo.
Who’s looking at Juniper.
As a hawk drops the gun into her waiting hands.
With a flick of her wrist, the rats disperse. She yanks Rime up by the shirt until he’s sitting, head hanging and eyelids fluttering. Sneering, she points the gun at his head.
A strangled whisper seems to echo off the trees, Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo. It’s me, trying to breathe. It’s me begging Leo to make this nightmare end.
Burdock approaches, the hawk on his shoulder. “The keys, plant weaver.”
Eyes glued to Rime, Leo digs in his front jeans pocket and produces his car keys. Burdock grabs them before I can blink and strides over to the car. It takes only one wrong guess for him to find the correct fob. He hits the button, the lights flicker, and the trunk latch pops.
Rime groans, his eyes opening. He knows what’s happening, but he’s too dazed to act.
Leo and I jump when Burdock slams the trunk closed. He stalks our way, the lead box in his hands. “Interesting piece, saoi.” He turns it this way and that, pretending to study it from all angles. “Research artifact?”
Leo doesn’t respond.
Suddenly impatient, Burdock opens the lid, snatches the bracelet, and flicks the box into the trees. “Hmm, so it’s not a ring.”
“Could be a decoy,” Juniper warns, attention still on Rime.
“It’s not,” Burdock assures her, flipping it between his thumb and middle finger. “I can feel it.”
I’m already planning, wondering if Leo is doing the same. Burdock and Juniper may have the bracelet, but they still have to get away. Their car isn’t close by, and that’s assuming they drove.
We just have to get that gun away from Juniper.
I glance up at the towering pines. Above them, the bare branches of the deciduous trees slash the moonlit sky. From where we are by the car, they seem too far away to use, but maybe with my help… I grab Leo’s hand, ready to feed him energy at a moment’s notice.
He turns to me, eyes flashing in alarm as he tries to wrest his hand free. I glare back at him, informing him without words that I will use my power if I need to.
Just try to stop me.
For someone who has to orchestrate a getaway, Burdock is surprisingly calm. But not Juniper. Even from a few yards away, I can see the gun shaking in her hand.
My heartbeat pounds in my skull.
She’s going to kill Rime.
From behind us, Burdock shoves between Leo and me, breaking our connection. “Playtime’s over,” he calls to Juniper. “Let’s go.”
She doesn’t speak, doesn’t blink. Instead, she stills the shaky gun by pressing the barrel to Rime’s skull. “A life for a life,” she snarls. “To restore the balance.”
Panicked, I reach for Leo, but Burdock and his hawk block my way. I’m petrified, afraid to move and startle Juniper into pulling the trigger.
“Juniper—” Burdock warns. “It’s time to go.” The bird on his shoulder twitches and flutters its wings, sidestepping and bobbing its head.
It seems… agitated.
It feels agitated. Or is that Burdock?
“Now, Juniper!” he commands. “You’re wasting my time.” Annoyance, impatience, arrogance. I’m in charge, fall in line.
Between waves of panic, it hits me: Leo’s tunnel was a barely conceived idea, born of need and desperation. And because I strengthened his emotional connection to the roots, they understood his impulse and carried out his desires.
Click-click. Juniper cocks the gun.
I can stop her. Not through Leo, but through Burdock.
Her jaw tightens and her eyes home in on her target.
Burdock steps toward her, irritation following in his wake.
I spring for him and grab his arm, shooting all the energy inside me out through my hand like a rocket launcher.
He convulses, and the hawk takes off from his shoulder, making straight for Juniper. In a frenzy of feathers and talons, it tears the gun from her hand and takes off into the night sky, skimming the tops of the trees. She curls her hands into fists and lets out a howl of rage.
Burdock whips around to glare at me. “What did you do?” He rubs his arm, blinking the shock from his eyes as he stomps in my direction. “What are you?”
Leo grabs me, pulling me back with just enough of a jerk to get me breathing again.
Bewildered, I blink up into Burdock’s cold eyes, a strange sound mixing with the blood rushing in my ears. Rhythmic words. A chant. Is it the bracelet? Am I hearing the caillecha Ember killed?
Shaking out of his stupor, Burdock pivots and marches to Juniper’s side. “Let’s go.”
She nods, watching him take the bracelet from his pants pocket. “Let’s see if Brier’s theory proves true.”
“I’m fine,” I hiss at Leo, pushing him off me. “Fight them! Get the bracelet!”
He complies, rushing them as Rime pushes to his feet and braces himself against the car.
Unfazed, Juniper and Burdock link arms as Burdock slips the bracelet around his wrist.
And the two of them disappear.