Chapter 20
I can’t fucking believe it.
I’m barred from entering the infirmary.
To see my own fucking brother.
Orders of the Conclave.
Thankfully, Feniks can come and go as he pleases, and Cosmo has been greenlighted too.
But not me. Fucking cunts.
“Babe, you’ve got to breathe.” Theo looks at me, worry written all over her face.
“Sorry, Tee. I know, but you’d think our parents would show at least a little interest in what’s happening to their son.” Especially if Theo is right, and it’s that fucking dark spell that’s the problem.
“Honesly, it’s probably best they’re not around. Who knows what they’d plan for him next.”
“That’s true. What’s the opposite of Parenting 101? Neglect 2.0?”
If being a decent mom and dad was a sport, my folks wouldn't even qualify for the participation trophy.
I kick the wall of my bedroom, the impact vibrating up my leg.
It doesn’t hurt as much as the knot in my chest. Wes is in there, maybe dying, and I’m stuck out here being useless as normal.
Theo’s voice slices through my thoughts. “Shit, Dono.”
“What’s wrong?”
—I’m plugging everyone into this conversation. Lu? Cosmo? Lexi? Max?—
The dudes all reply.
—Willow? Dunc?—
—Bestie check-in—
—I’m here, Theo, but I won’t lie, I’m all-worried right now— Dunco sounds frazzled.
Theo’s worried voice comes back into my brain.—Hey, Cosmo, can you explain to everyone?— I go across the room and hold her hand.
Cosmo is irritated even when it’s just his thoughts. —Someone in the Conclave has a new bio-magical scanner…it’s programmed for the unique signature of the vessel children. They’re sweeping the grounds right now, looking for the girl—
—Yikes— Willow’s voice pipes up. —We’re already in the tunnels heading to River. Me, Ludo, Dunc, and the kid.—
Theo and I meet eyes. “This is bad,” she whispers.
No kidding. Those bastards can’t take her again. The little girl with haunted eyes has already been through too much. It's more like she’s already seen the very end of time, when the last star goes out and there’s no one left to hear you scream.
Gods, that sounds lonely.
“How can I help, Tee?”
—The scanner is in a proto-stage— Alexis cuts in, being his usual know-it-all self. —The output of an Elite spark is like a flare; it’ll blind the sensor. Dono, Max—you should get down there. If you escort the child, your readings will bury hers.—
—Like looking at a bright light with night vision goggles?—Max asks.
—Exactly—
I’m up and moving before the link goes quiet. I plant a kiss on Theo’s head then race down the back stairwell, meeting Max at the service exit.
“Plan?” I grunt.
“Run like hell to the tunnels,” he says.
—You pricks need to hurry. Guards have picked up a trail and are heading to the laundry—
Oh shit.
There’s more head chatter but I don’t pay it any attention, just pull open the door and charge.
My centaur is close to erupting out of my skin, and the campus blurs as I whizz along. In under a minute, I’m charging down the basement stairs.
—They’ve broken into squads. They’re closing in.— Cosmo’s voice has a rare hint of panic.
—I can see them as well— Theo adds —Hurry—
I don’t know these tunnels, but my feet do. Left, straight, duck a low beam, right. The stone floor barely touches my soles. Speed is as natural as breathing.
Then I round a corner and hit a wall of light.
Ludo stands like a man-tower over the huddled group. “Give her to me!” I yell. I don’t slow down. I don’t negotiate. “Get yourselves safe back to wherever.” Without waiting for a reply, I snatch up the kid and keep going.
She lets out a startled yelp. “Sorry, kid. Needs must.”
Without being conscious of a decision, I head towards the aquatic center.
—Go under the diving pool— Alexis’s voice booms in my skull. —The water volume will amplify your signal and drown out hers.—
—Already on my way—
Literally, like a handful of seconds later I’m directly below the swimming pool and skid to a stop.
Seems like I’ve picked up some of Bully’s tunnel-sense from somewhere. Cool.
I plonk the little girl down onto the floor.
She’s tiny, wrapped in a Communis hoodie that’s thirty sizes too big.
I squat down on the floor next to her, ignoring the damp stone, and look at the girl. She’s clutching a wooden bird. No idea where that came from. Her small knuckles are white as she grips the hand-carved thing so hard.
"That's nice," I say, making my voice the most friendly it can be. “Do you know what kind of bird it is?”
I don’t get an answer, but she does release her grip on it slightly, almost as though she’s showing it to me. “Huh, looks like a kingfisher. Is that right?”
The kid keeps staring at her toes.
“Did you know kingfishers are great at hiding because they look like just another piece of the sky. Kind of like how dirty we are makes us look like a part of the tunnel, right?" I point at the dust and grime on her legs and my pants.
The girl’s head tilts just a fraction. Her eyes are like those big jawbreakers candies you get at the fair. Those things are really too big for your mouth, and in the same way the girl’s eyes look way out of proportion with her face.
—Sparkles?— Max reports in. —I’ve got Willow, Ludo, and Dunc. We’re doubling back to Communis first then I’ll take Dunc to Defectivum. Guards missed us by a hair—
—Me and the kid are under the dive pool— I reply-all —Tell us when it’s clear to meet River—
—Is she OK?—Theo asks.
—Is she freaking?— Willow adds.
—All good here—
“I'm Donovan, by the way. What's your name, little bird?"
I don’t get an answer. The poor kid is terrified, she needs a distraction.
"Imagine if a kingfisher was actually, like, bird royalty," I say, staring at her tiny fingers. "Would they be able to fly if they had to wear little crowns? And maybe they’d start taxing the other birds and shit. What would a bird palace look like?” I ask, warming to my topic. “Nests seem a bit too twiggy for the monarchy, don’t you think?”
I glance up at her and see her eyes are fixed on my face.
“And here’s a thought; is a kingfisher’s wife called a queenfisher? And if not, why not? Doesn’t seem right.”
She blinks a couple of times, and I think I see a hint of a smile, so plow on. “Obviously, their babies would be princefishers and princessfishers. So the big question is, is your carving a king, queen, prince or princess?”
I settle back against the stone wall and look at her expectantly.
“Princess,” she whispers after a minute.
Yes! I feel ridiculously pleased with myself for getting her to talk.
“Yeah, she’s definitely got a princess vibe. So now we need to name her. Any ideas on the perfect princess name?”
She chews her lip, then nods.
“Don’t keep me in suspenders,” I grin. “What’s the big reveal?”
She mumbles something. “Sorry, love. Didn’t catch that. Can you repeat?”
This time she says the word much more confidently. “Zola.”
“Whoa, Zola! That’s a great princess name.” That makes her smile fully. “That’s the best name I’ve ever heard. I’ve never met a Zola before. Do you know anyone called Zola?”
She nods and almost giggles.
“No way!” I exclaim. “Who? You’ve gotta tell me.”
With an actual giggle, she points a finger to herself.
“Stop the presses! You and the princessfisher have the same name? That’s a crazy fucking coincidence, pardon my French.”
Note to self, don’t cuss in front of the kid.
Into my moment of success, Alexis’s voice booms into my brain, bringing down the vibe completely.—Problem. We see guards questioning River—
Shit.
—What’s going on? Is he in trouble— Willow’s panicked voice comes down the mind line.
—Wait. He’s moving the car. The guard is pointing down the drive. I think they are making him leave now—
Leave? He hasn’t got Zola yet. That’s not the plan at all.
—He just texted me…Guards were suspicious of his loitering, told him his leave-pass would be rescinded unless he got underway immediately…..now he’s asking what to do—
—Tell him to wait somewhere close by. We’ll have to get the girl out ourselves, and then meet up with him—
I can hear the worry in Tee-Tee’s voice.
Can’t have that.—Leave it to me…me and Zola have this—
—Zola?—
—That’s her name…OK, Tee, let me think for a minute…—
—Dono…—
I don’t like doing it, but I shut down a mental wall in my brain and block all their voices out.
I’m not very good at concentrating if someone else is talking.
Now…what to do.
Run.
What was that?
Be fast
Oh, shit, my centaur has joined the chat. I think about what it said. I know I’m a real speedy Steve these days, but I’m not so sure I can run fast enough to avoid bullets or whatever.
Shift.
Fuck yeah! I suddenly realize my body is fully willing to shift for the first time since returning to the Earth realm. “So, Zola, this might be a little freaky, but I’m going to change my body into a half-horse. Then you can climb on my back and we are going to gallop on out of here. Sound good?”
I can tell she’s mega confused, but who can blame her.
That’s not an everyday sentence.
I scoop her up onto my hip, then head up into the aquatic center basement. Putting on my best listening ears, I can’t hear anyone around. “Sshh, quiet as a mouse,” I tell her as I pull open the door and we slink into the main corridor.
Outside the big glass windows, I see the silhouettes of soldiers carrying green-glowing lights.
“Clippity clop,” I whisper as we sneak towards the emergency exit. “I’m going pony-style now, then once you’re on my back, make sure you hold on real fucking tight, OK?”
“Swear,” she whispers back.
“Shit, sorry.”
I hear a giggle. “Alright, here we go.”
My spine stretches, my muscles tear and reform, and in a flurry of heat and snapping bone, I become a centaur.
Feels sooo good. Totally been too long.
Zola’s eyes get even bigger, which doesn’t seem like it should be humanly possible, but she scrambles happily onboard when I kneel down. “Good job, kiddo. Now let’s Bojack out of here.”
Taking a deep breath, I put one hand on the exit bar, then shove it open. I head for the campus perimeter, almost flying with speed, within seconds me and Zee are in the shadows of the forest.
—We’re in the trees, thinking of jumping the main gates—
—Dono, wait, be careful, the wards—
Nah. My centaur brain is completely convinced this is the right course of action and who am I to question him?
I’m a blur of hooves and torso as we race around the perimeter wall. Only a few seconds to go. No way anyone can see us at this speed, and if the bio-scanners pick something up, it’ll only be a tiny beep.
I hit the gravel driveway at a full gallop. Gates coming up. Time to…
Leap.
We’re airborne, the cold November air cooling my hot skin, then my hooves hit the asphalt road on the other side.
Did it!
No idea where River is, but I decide it’s not a good idea to stop just here, so veer into the treeline and keep galloping.
—We’re out— I tell the link—I’m in the trees. Where’s River—
I tear through the underbrush, my hooves skipping over roots that would have tripped a lesser man, or horse.
Zola has her face nestled against my back. I can feel her little chest pounding.
—He’s two miles down the forest road—
Two miles? That’ll take less than a minute.
And lo and behold, up ahead, through the thick curtain of pine, I see a faint glow of car lights.
I burst out of the treeline like a myth coming to life. River is leaning against his car and looks like he’s about to shit himself.
Not surprised. I’m four legs with a heartbeat of pure thunder.
"Donovan?" he gasps, clutching the hood.
"Who else could pull off a stallion like this?" I say, carefully lowering to the ground, so Zola can dismount. Deciding River looks a little overwhelmed by my magnificence, I shift back to human-Dono.
The dude is still gaping like a goldfish.
“Get it together, Bloomhower. This is Zola…” I open the back door of his sedan, place her inside and make sure she’s buckled up. I notice River has a box of snacks and a blanket on the back seat.
Good job, buddy.
“We’ll try and keep in touch as much as possible, Zee,” I tell her, ruffling her hair. “And once it’s safe, let's have a date. We can go birdwatching and look for queenfishers, sound good?”
She smiles and nods. “Please,” she whispers.
“Now, be a good kid for Mr. and Mrs. Bloomhower, but don’t let them boss you around too much.” I shut the door then pat the roof of the car. “Get going, and let us know as soon as she’s safely there.”
River nods, his face set with determination, but still mixed with a little shock.
As the car speeds away, Zola looks back through the rear window, and waves the wooden bird at me.
I wave back, then exhale, feeling a little exhausted if I’m telling the truth.
—She’s clear— I think out to the group —The princess-fisher has flown the nest.—