Ranger and his mate, Penelope, flank us as we approach the gathering, and I’m humbled by the loyalty of my furry friend. My father sees me from the far side of the group and his worried eyes relax into an expression of gratitude. He smiles. Nick breaks away and walks toward me purposefully, relief and hopefulness in his viridian eyes.
Everyone’s here—the animals, the archers, the humans—and Orville motions for me to join him in the center. Before I join him, however, I welcome Nick’s gentle embrace.
“We will eat and rest here and listen to what Celeste has learned about those who wish us harm. Sit now, and eat. Celeste?” Orville looks at me to begin, and I walk, holding Nick’s hand, to where he stands.
“We’re close to the lab,” I say. “You made it here faster than I expected, faster than even you expected, I think,” I hear chuckles in the group, “and my guess is that before the sun reaches its zenith, we’ll meet the scientists and their followers here on this beach.”
Looking around at all the different expressions I see from fear to excitement, I wait until the murmuring stops.
“We outnumber them already, and they have no powers other than what they’ll do out of fear for their leader, Lilith. She’s the one to be stopped, but we can’t underestimate what her followers will do for their reward. She’s protected by some sort of invisible barrier, but with this,” I hold Omega high, “she’ll fall.”
I tell them about the defunct blob army, the training I witnessed with the sinewy humans, and the careless bat creatures.
“What about Blanche,” someone asks. “Whose side is she on? And the Overleader—Sharon, I think her name is. What do we do if we see them?”
“Blanche wants to come home,” I say, and Chimney’s face lights up. “She’s afraid of Lilith, though. She’s watching over Bridger and Sharon—Sharon isn’t a threat anymore. Blanche has been through a lot—we’ve all been through a lot—and I hope you’ll find a way to forgive what she’s done.”
Some of them nod, others remain undecided.
I tell them more about Sharon’s odd condition and how the girl who once terrorized them all as the Overleader is now just an infant. “And I understand some of you with powers are experiencing fluxes.” Many of them nod. “Nevertheless, we will prevail over Lilith’s army. Every particle of my being is certain of this!” I raise Omega again and look around to see nods and confident smiles.
Orville pats my shoulder, and I nod toward a place outside the group. He follows me.
“We should stay here,” I tell him. “Let everyone rest a bit and then dig in. Scatter the boats along the beach with some closer to the foliage so they don’t look too suspicious, and then position everyone in places they won’t be seen. Lilith’s force will come from there,” I point eastward down the shoreline toward where I know the lab is, “and she’s expecting to march all the way to our village. We’ll take them by surprise.”
Orville nods slowly. This is not a job he wants, commanding an army of citizens and displaced creatures, but he’s the one who should share this plan with them. It’s clear the villagers trust him. Regardless of his initial reluctance, he’s a natural leader.
“How will they know what to do, and when to do it?” he asks. It’s a good question.
“I’ll stay unhidden on the beach surrounded by the rest of you in your positions—”
“That is not going to happen,” Orville cuts me off and starts to walk away.
“Wait! Hear me out. Lilith will recognize me, and she’ll be confused because of how I disappeared from her lab, and I’ll have the advantage because I have this,” I remind him of my spear. “I’ll tell her we have her force surrounded by superior numbers, and she has to surrender or lose them all.”
“And when she refuses and sends her people after you?” I knew he’d ask that.
“Then, we all attack with whatever powers and weapons we have. If Nick can stop time just to our front—I don’t know if that’s possible—we can remove their weapons and, you know, kill them. And if he stops everyone, I’ll still be able to disarm them since I’m immune to other people’s powers. The bottom line, though, is that with Lilith down, there’s no leader.”
“What about the bat things?”
“Merts and his archers and you, right? If they come at all, that is. They’re lazy and not really loyal to Lilith. They’ll be easy to take down.
“How much time till they’re in sight?” he asks, and I know he’s willing to carry out this plan.
We both squint at the sun, which has risen fully above the horizon.
“I’d say when the sun is there,” I point to a place in the sky. “Maybe a bit longer.” It’s my best guess. “I’m sure Lilith has given up on her blob creatures by now. She’ll be angry. That’ll be to our advantage too. It’ll wear her out.”
Orville returns to the gathering to tell them the plan.
I plop down in the sand with Omega on my lap and hope our plan is sound.
~ 35 ~
OMEGA FEELS HEAVY in my lap. Not a good sign.
“Can you penetrate her invisible barrier?” I ask, expecting Omega to glow or shake or turn cold—anything to let me know if I’m preparing to do the right thing—but it remains unchanged.
It doesn’t know.
Orville delivers his plan with authority, and as I stand to join the villagers, I see them getting to their feet as well. Their time to rest was brief, but I see in their actions they’re ready for this encounter to unfold as it will.
Orville is talking directly to Nick when I arrive.
“Is there any way to test your power before they’re here?” he asks.
Nick looks at me before answering, and I sense hesitation. “We’d need people down the beach at different distances for me to try.”
“Then we will do this.” Orville calls several people by name and tells them the plan.
“Me and Layla’ll go too.” Lou has woken. He stretches his iridescent head forward from between Layla’s ears and spreads out his magnificent tail feathers behind her. A peacock trapped in a metal horse—it’s a baffling, beautiful sight. “Just say how far down we gotta go. Don’t know about all’a youz, but I’m plumb tuckered. Could use a little down time.”
I’m grateful for Lou’s ability to make us all chuckle in a time of great uncertainty. Layla walks through the crowd, bows her head low and nudges Orville gently, awaiting instruction.
“I’ll place you all and then fly back,” he tells our test group. “The rest of you find your places and stay alert. Riku—you, Mac, Celeste, and Ranger, help disperse and conceal our people. Thunder, you and your children will be best hidden in the foliage. Let’s go.”
With a surge of adrenaline, I feel myself start to glow and come apart.
“Celeste!” Nick’s voice snaps me back quickly. He takes my hand and squeezes it. He looks worried. “Help your father hide the kids. They’re the least able to defend themselves, and I don’t know if I can do this.”
He’s afraid of trapping himself in time again—he hasn’t used his power since his recovery. I hadn’t considered that possibility until just now.
“You don’t have to do this, Nick,” I say, and Riku nods her agreement. “We’re well armed and in better physical condition than they are.”
“I have to try,” he says, but I’m not so sure. What if he does trap himself along with everyone here but me—and Lilith’s force shows up? It would be a slaughter.
As if reading my mind, Riku makes the decision.
“No. It is too dangerous. We cannot risk a mistake this close to contact. Nick? You will arm yourself. Mac, you will help the younger adults. And Ranger, you will help our other friends.” Her decisive yet gentle way is strangely reassuring. “All should scatter behind Merts and those with weapons, and Celeste, you tell Orville our change of plans.”
I feel the burden lift from Nick.
After some initial confusion and much pointing to places from shore to tree line—none of us has d
one this before—everyone scatters to find concealment, and I meet Orville in the air on his way back.
“That would be disastrous,” he agrees. “I’ll bring them back, though Lou won’t be too happy about the extra effort.” He smiles.
“Hey, what was youz thinkin’?” I do a lousy imitation of the snarky peacock and we both laugh, but then a shadow crosses Orville’s face.
“Would you . . . could you safely fly east and determine how close they are? I wouldn’t ask this if I didn’t think you could.”
“Of course!” I say. The stress of waiting is exhausting, and I have to put my extra adrenaline to productive use. “I’ll know in a jiffy.”
And it’s good he’s sent me on this mission. Lilith and her force will find themselves in our midst before the sun’s zenith. From my position in one of the fuller treetops, I see her in the lead, Thurston by her side, and surprisingly, all five bat creatures circling the humans from above. Lilith carries a slim saber, and Thurston, a staff. Walking to the rear of the horde is Blanche, carrying a baby in one arm and holding Bridger’s hand with her other.
I expected Blanche would be left behind with the little ones, but I suppose Lilith is confident they’ll go on to their next village after conquering ours.
Could I stop her right here, right now? Maybe there doesn’t need to be a battle at all! With one throw of my spear, I could take down their leader and shatter their resolve!
“Omega,” I whisper, “do I kill Lilith before she reaches our defenses?” Please-oh-please tell me yes. The orichalcum in Omega’s shaft turns a cold blue and the spear shudders in my hand.
No.
This is troubling. If I can’t take her down here, how can I be confident in my ability to stop her when the battle begins? I have to get back to warn them. A flicker of fear sends my blood surging through my veins and I feel like I might explode.
I’m somewhat relieved when I approach our defenses. Other than a few empty or upturned boats here and there, I see no indication of a living presence. Everyone is well hidden, even Thunder, who must be crouching in the underbrush with his multicolored cubs. I’m sure he’s camouflaged Eenie and her kittens far behind him.
Orville appears from behind a sandy dune and waves me to him, and I tell him what I know. He takes me to each defensive position—behind trees, in foliage, under some of the upturned boats, dug in behind dunes and in hasty trenches—and we share words of encouragement with every member of the village before returning to his place behind the dune, where Riku and several others are dug in and out of sight.
We don’t have to wait long.
“What are these?” Lilith’s screeching voice shatters the unnatural silence surrounding us. Even the water seems fearful of splashing onto the shore. “Boats? Find the people!”
I can’t let them get to the boats, under which several frightened villagers hide waiting for a signal to attack, and suddenly, everything happens too quickly.
I leap to the top of the dune. “You’re surrounded, Lilith!” I scream, holding Omega high. Throw down your weapons and surrender!”
“Deceiver!” she yells, pointing her saber at me, and then she laughs hideously. “Get the girl, batkins! Destroy her!”
“Fire!” I shout, and arrows whizz through the air, taking down three of the bats, but two are nearly on top of me. I leap into the air holding Omega above me with both hands and plunge it into the closest bat, which releases a grotesque grunt before falling to the ground. Orville attacks the other—they grapple in the air and I fear for my friend—as I land and pull my spear from the repugnant creature’s belly, my first kill, and all around me is chaos.
Lilith’s humans battle with ours, whose weapons are better than theirs, though our close-in fighting has never been tested, and I see our children start to appear—they stand still in their places, like innocent statues, and the horde becomes distracted by them, they don’t know what to do, and here and there I see a person freeze in place—Katie’s power! She’s freezing them all, one by one!—and I hear them shatter and see them fall when our villagers strike, and when Thunder and Ranger and Layla burst from their places, Lilith starts her retreat with Thurston and I have to kill her, I have to kill her, and I hurl Omega with all my strength and my aim is true but when it reaches Lilith it bounces back and returns to my hands—DAMN IT!—and I hear her cackle again and then I see Bridger break from Blanche’s side and run past Lilith who tries to grab him but he’s too fast, he’s running toward me, toward me, but I’m too far away and before I can reach him, Chimney rushes out to rescue him and then . . . and then—
“You’ll not work for them, builder!” Lilith screeches and hurls her saber at little Bridger—he’s just a boy!—but Chimney’s already between him and Lilith, his back to the impending projectile, his arms reaching for his friend . . . and then no! No! NO! My beautiful young buddy stumbles, his eyes grow wide, he’s still reaching . . . reaching . . . there’s pain in his eyes . . . and he stumbles and stumbles and falls—he falls at the feet of the boy who builds things—
“NO!” My voice joins with Blanche’s and others across the blood-splattered beach and the surf suddenly rises and crashes with our screams and Blanche runs to her brother—
“NO!” Thurston’s voice booms over the wailing and there’s no one on their side left to fight and we all watch as he drops his staff and lifts his wife from the ground—she kicks and punches at him and struggles to free herself—but he stands tall, he stands tall like a man, and yes! Yes! He reconnects to a glimmer of humanity deep inside him—I feel it! I feel his sorrow, feel his regret!—and he marches purposefully with Lilith writhing in his grasp past Harmony into the pounding surf—
“NO!” Lilith screeches for the last time before they’re both submerged and her hideous voice is swallowed by the sea—
Ah!
Harmony stands in the water at the edge of the shoreline and turns back to me and smiles—
Orville—his right wing torn away from his shoulder from battling with a bat-creature—limps toward the circle forming around Bridger, the baby, and Blanche, who cradles her brother in her lap.
“No, Chim, no! Don’t disappear on me now! I’m back! I’ll never leave you again, I promise, I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry! Help! Someone please help! I should have taken you with me! NO! I should have stayed!”
Blanche’s tears soak Chimney’s cheeks as she rocks him like a baby. “We’ll go home now, and you can rest, and I’ll be nicer to you, I’ll be nicer to everyone, I promise I will! And I won’t be such a boss, and I’ll—”
“It’s okay, Blanche. I love you too,” he whispers, and Ryder pushes his way through the solemn crowd—Yes! He’ll save our sweet, gifted snoodle gatherer!
But no.
No. He’s too late.
For the last time, Chimney Maxibillion McDade fades from sight. Not even I can see him.
~ 36 ~
“WHERE IS HE? Where is he, Celeste? You can see him, I know you can! Chim? Wake up, Chim! Tell me he’s here, Celeste, right here in my lap, and we’ll take him home now!” Blanche looks up at me with tragic eyes blurred with tears. Her hands search for a boy who’s no longer here.
I sit by her side and wrap my arms around her. She leans into me and sobs, and I cry with her. We all cry with her. Time feels suspended and everything feels unreal. Nick drops to his knees behind us, encircling us both in his arms for minutes or hours until there are no more tears.
The sea is calm again, Harmony remains at its edge, gazing out over its gentle swells—vigilant—and the infant Sharon cries.
Nick helps me to my feet, and I offer Blanche my hand. After one last futile search for her brother, she takes my hand and stands.
“Let’s go home, Blanche,” I say. “Lilith is gone. It’s over.”
She takes Sharon from Bridger, whose tears have washed streaks of grime from his little face, and rocks the baby gently until she’s quiet.
Looking around at this circle of friends,
I see sorrow, exhaustion, injury, and pain, but no fear. Chimney was our one loss, our most heartbreaking loss.
Ryder will have much to do to heal our injured, if his powers remain steady.
Our enemies lie shattered in frozen fragments across the sand like pieces of some morbid puzzle, and Harmony walks back to us slowly. She looks over her shoulder once, but no one follows her from the sea.
“I’m going home,” she tells us all. “Goodbye, baby sister.” She strokes Sharon’s wet cheek and without waiting for a response, turns and runs back to the water, back to what she knows. And when she leaps from sand to sea in a graceful dive, we gasp as her glimmering, opalescent tail appears before vanishing beneath the surface.
We stand, quietly watching, until we know she too will not return from the sea.
And then, without another word, we leave the boats and walk together, as one, toward the setting sun, toward home.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Just before we reach the village, our silent trudge is halted by the raucous caw of two huge ravens circling above. Huginn and Muninn. Why are they here? We find our answer as soon as we see the houses.
“Welcome home, Celeste!” Odin’s voice carries across the space between us. He squints his one eye at me and stands from where he’s been sitting on the porch steps. His wolves sit by his side. He appears as he did when I first saw him in the sandcastle a lifetime ago, when I thought I was home, and he delivered a package as George, the ham man—his cloak, his floppy hat, his eye patch, all unchanged.
Ranger and Penelope and Thunder surround me in an instant, their guttural growls warning the wolves they’d better stay where they stand.
“I won’t go back with you!” I shout.
“I am not here to take you away, girl. Come. Come, all of you. We are here in peace.” Huginn and Muninn settle on a rooftop, and his wolves recline at his feet, their backs toward us.
We all walk toward him together.
“Do you trust him, Celeste?” Nick whispers in my ear.
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