Chapter 20 #2
Tanner smiles through the kitchen pass-through window and grins. “Oh, yeah? What are we celebrating?”
I think about how to phrase that in mixed company. “Freedom of the people.”
He understands immediately and smiles. “Well, all right. Let the celebration begin.”
Marty grins. “I’ll help you set up.”
Asher takes a look at the lunch crowd he’s already dealing with and waves away the offer. “We’ve got this, big guy. We’re completely housebroken, and this is our second home.”
Marty winks. “I guess that makes you kids family.”
“Yeah, it does,” I say.
Asher lights up. “Can I be the hot but exhausting black sheep of the family?”
“You got it.”
The two of us head into the private room and start pulling out the chairs stacked in the corner. In no time at all, we’ve got enough chairs set around the two tables we’ve pulled together that we’re ready for the festivities to begin.
Tanner comes in to check on us and gives me a hug. “Congratulations! Tell me all about it.”
I give him the abbreviated version because I know he’s got a diner full of customers, but hit all the highlights. By the time I’m done, Sebastian has returned from the cemetery.
“I hear congratulations are in order.” Tanner extends a hand toward Sebastian, and they shake.
“It wouldn’t have been possible without Poppy, and yeah, it’s nice to be on the winning side.”
Rowan arrives and high-fives everyone. “So, how deep are your pockets, dude? Cuz I’m starving.”
Sebastian hands her a laminated menu. “Whatever you want. I’ve got you covered.”
“Pie!” Asher shouts. “I’m thinking a slice of lemon meringue next to a slice of chocolate cream. That way I can balance between sweet and tart.”
Rowan laughs. “I’ll get there. First, I’m having a chicken club and fries.”
Tanner nods. “What about you, Poppy?”
“I’ll start with cherry pie and a hot chocolate, thanks.”
“Just coffee for me,” Sebastian says.
Tanner leaves us to our celebration as Wylder arrives and sweeps me up in a hug. “You rock, Hallowind. Well done.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and let the win sink in. We did it. Odds are… there will be another disaster around the corner, but for this moment, we win.”
Clara arrives with Mica, and we all settle in.
"I'm just saying," Asher declares around a mouthful of meringue ten minutes later, "we deserve a parade."
"A parade," Mica deadpans.
"Yeah. Like, with confetti. Maybe fireworks."
"And how do we explain it to the nocana?" Rowan pushes away her empty plate and leans back in her seat as if she's never been more relaxed. “What do they think the parade is for?”
“We’re smart people. We can think of something. Besides, whether or not they know why, a lot of citizens will suddenly be feeling lighter and livelier than they have in weeks. Maybe it’s a celebration of life parade.”
Wylder tips his mug toward Asher. "You’re right that we should acknowledge the win, but it’ll likely need to be a private party.”
Asher sighs. “Parade pooper.”
I bump Asher’s shoulder. “We’ll take the win, and when this is all over and Tharuzel is vanquished, we’ll go somewhere tropical and join in on a Caribana celebration or something. And we’ll make it our own.”
He turns to me, beaming. “Yeah?”
“Absolutely. You can make the plans. We’ll bring Ro, Wylder, Orion, and anyone else who wants to join the fun.”
“Orion will die. He’ll—”
Rowan steals a bite of Asher’s pie and dodges the swat aimed at her hand. "Hey, no stealing pie.”
“You snooze, you lose."
"I wasn't snoozing. I was talking."
"As Elvis says, little less conversation, little more action, please."
Clara laughs, light and bubbly, and glances at her phone for what has to be the fifth time since we sat down.
"Still nothing?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "Izzy texted a while ago saying she and Orion were on their way, but now… I don't know. It's not like her not to respond."
"She’s probably driving." Asher pulls out his phone. “I’ll try Orion.”
Marty comes in with another round of pie and the coffeepot. “Tanner told me the good news. Congratulations, all. How did it feel to finally break those sigils?”
Wylder leans back and grins. "Like pulling toxic roots free from the soil."
"Poetic, man." Asher grins. “You’re more than a chiseled jaw and a pretty head of hair.”
Rowan laughs. “No, he’s right. It was like a shadow peeling off glass. It was smooth and easy."
Asher arches a brow. "Mica? What was it like for you?”
"Like cutting through wire with bolt cutters."
He snorts. "Why is yours violent?"
"Because I'm a metal witch and we don't do poetic."
I'm about to jump in when Clara checks her phone again, biting her lip. "Okay, now I'm actually getting worried.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m wondering if they got caught by Laurel."
Mica opens her mouth to reply—
And then it hits.
A massive wave of fiery, viscous energy slams into me like a fist to the chest. It knocks me backward, and my chair tips, my head cracking against the black-and-white checkered floor.
The pulse of power rolls through the diner, thick and wrong, clinging to my skin like oil.
Asher curses as he and Wylder right my chair and help me sit up. “What the hell was that, Pops? And why does everyone look like they just got kicked in the nutsack?”
“There was a burst of power,” Wylder says, frowning.
Rowan is rigid in her chair. “It was really nasty energy.”
Clara's eyes are wide. "What do you think it means?”
Sebastian scans the room, and lets out a long breath. “It means Tharuzel just breached the first ring of wards.”