“Why not?” I asked.
“Because my guild doesn’t want me to say.”
“Glitter,” I said gently. “Your guild is gone. We need your help now.”
His ears drooped down a bit, his eyes studying his folded hands. “I liked them. My guild. They were nice.”
“I’m sorry,” I wished I knew how to comfort him.
“But they’re gone,” Ian reaffirmed. Glitter’s shoulders dropped even more.
“They are,” he said in his raspy voice, then seemed to gain resolve. “But I can help you?”
“Yes,” Ian said. I glanced back his way. His arms were crossed, his feet firmly planted, his jaw slightly clenched, like he fought a deathly battle against impatience.
“Okay!” Glitter said, grinning again. “I overheard the guild leaders discuss it. They said that no one could find out about the monster that had been unleashed to gather the pieces of the portal. They wanted to figure out how to trap it and get the portal pieces for themselves. Good research.” He nodded as he finished, as though backing their point.
He then frowned. “I guess they didn’t expect the monster would find them, first.”
“Thanks, Glitter.” I said, looking back to Ian. I stood back up, and Glitter stared up at both of us.
“How did they know that pieces of a portal even existed,” Ian asked, not sounding convinced. “Or something that might be used for a portal?”
Glitter shrugged, then held up his hands in defeat. “Research?”
Ian sighed. “Okay, well, that tells us very little, but thank you, Glitter.”
“You’re welcome!” Glitter said. “Can I help more?”
“Only if you can tell us more about this monster,” Ian asked, distracted as he parsed all of the information.
“No,” Glitter paused. “I guess it’ll be coming here?”
“Why would you say that?” Ian asked, and I groaned. Glitter had overheard Clay and I talk about the canister and had put two and two together. Hell, we might have mentioned it was a piece of the portal. I didn’t remember. Glitter blended into the background too easily.
“Because you have a canister here. And the canister is for the portal?”
Ian turned toward me, eyebrow raising ever so slowly.
“I, um, well,” I started.
“You talked with Clay about it and Glitter overheard.”
“I was the lookout!” Glitter said.
“We don’t even know what it does for sure,” I mumbled.
“He’s not wrong though,” Ian said. “If the creature has been following a trail, then it might lead it to us.”
“That’s how they found the Wolf Pack League,” I suddenly followed Ian’s logic from earlier. How they’d been trailing me. “Who was the league that we stole the canister from? Was that league hit?”
Ian gave me a dark look that told me all I needed to know.
“They might not be able to trail us here,” I said. “I mean, only a few people know…”
“Can you be sure no one listened in on you and Clay?”
I flushed bright purple. “Well, no.”
“We need to move,” Ian said softly. “This will take some time. We must alert the Watch. And we have to figure out how to move everyone without drawing attention.”
“Could we head to another guild?” I thought of Clay’s League and wondered if they’d be so willing to welcome another guild, now. But I had saved them. I’d managed to stop the creature, with Glitter’s help. Maybe they’d be glad to have us around.
“I’m afraid not,” Ian said, dashing my blooming hopes. “The guilds are all blaming each other for the deaths, and this during our first all-guilds meeting! I don’t think we’ll be supporting each other again for quite some time.”
“Then what? Do we wait until the creature comes for us?” I asked. Until it comes for me?
“We’ll move as quickly as we can,” Ian said. “I have to go speak with Sonsil about this. Tira…”
“I know, I know,” I said. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Please,” then he added, for good measure. “We don’t want anyone to panic.”
Glitter raised his hand. Ian looked at him and nodded at him to speak.
“I’m panicking.”
“Well, panic quietly,” Ian said. “And keep your powers at the ready. Next time, maybe give it a suggestion to fall asleep so we can capture it?”
“Oh, that’s smart,” Glitter said. “No more sushi.”
“Not for now,” Ian turned to me. “Make sure he stays in his room. Let’s keep this contained.”
“Got it,” I said. “But, please keep me in the loop?” He seemed poised to argue, so I added, “As a friend?”
That won him over and he nodded.
“I’ll go see Sonsil now.” He slipped out. The door closed behind him.
“I’ll be back,” I told Glitter, who folded in on himself, the fear like a weight on his back. “I promise I won’t go far.”
“Can Glitter come with you?”
I sighed. I wanted to head back to my room and wash up, gather my thoughts.
“I understand if not,” Glitter said, lowering his head. Good manipulation. He had saved my life today. And I knew he was good at following instructions.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But, try not to be too weird.”
He glanced sideways, obviously confused. “Okay,” he said.
I shook my head. This would have to do.
#
Barely three doors from my room, where I could finally pull off my boots, put up my feet, and relax a bit, I heard a shout coming from Rachel’s room.
No, not a shout. A scream. No, a wail.
I shared a quick glance with Glitter and we headed to her room. The door was ajar, Dame Zallir standing near it. Rachel held a piece of paper in her hand, angry tears streaming down her face, eyes deep blue with grief.
“When?” she asked, her voice shaking, the piece of paper crushed in her grip.
“Unclear,” Dame Zallir said, her stern voice softened as far as I guessed it could go.
“But…this…it’s... I mean, to attack them? …I need to see them,” Rachel said, mourning replacing the anger.
“You can’t,” Dame Zallir said. “We’re in lockdown, and their bodies are being taken care of.” She glanced at Glitter and I, then focused back on Rachel. “I’m sorry, Rachel. Focus on your training. Contain your anger.”
She walked out without any further words.
“Rachel?” I asked, stepping into her room.
“It killed them,” she said, the vitriol returning to her voice, ready to burn everything in its path.
“I’m sorry?”
“The damn monster! That thing that killed your guild,” she pointed to Glitter, who flinched under the harsh gesture. Rachel started gathering some things and throwing them in a bag.
“Who did it kill?” Glitter asked, as though trying to strike up a conversation.
“My crew!” She wailed. “It killed all of them! It eviscerated them!” She grabbed a knife, then whipped around and threw it at the wall. “It mutilated them! Left them to rot!”
She grabbed her bag. “Out of my way! I’m going to go find it and kill it!”
“Rachel,” I stood square in her path. She looked at me with daggers in her eyes.
“Think I can’t kill it?” she asked, her skin beginning to glow as she clenched her teeth, as though swallowing the pain. “Think I won’t?”
“I don’t think that,” I said gently, placing my hands on her arm. Warmth turned to heat. Shit. She was going to blow up unless we stopped her. Glitter looked at her with growing fascination.
“How would you even find it?” I asked, hoping to distract her.
“I don’t know!” she shouted. “I’ll…I don’t know! I’ll find a way! And I’ll hold it until I explode on it, cutting it up in as many pieces as it turned my crew into!” She
pulled out of my hands, her skin growing brighter, light surrounding the irises of her eyes and then filling them.
She was so distracted by her anger that she didn’t notice me reaching to my belt, where my Guild insignia currently resided (barrettes weren’t really my thing. Horns got in the way). I pulled free the small needle and took another step toward her.
“Tira, it killed my crew!”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” I said, reaching out to her neck and pricking her gently. She never even realized what was happening, her anger dissipating into sleep, her skin regaining its natural tone.
I caught her before she struck the ground and carried her to her bed. If I’d have known a sleeping agent worked so well on her, I’d have done it in the training sessions. I sat beside her on the bed, made sure she was breathing okay. Her features were still troubled, but more peaceful.
“Will she be okay?” Glitter asked.
“Probably not, no,” I answered. “But she’ll figure it out.”
With that, I left her on her bed to rest, and gently closed the door behind us.
Down the hallway, Dame Zallir observed our exit. Three operatives backed off as she waved them away, nodding to me before vanishing herself. They’d been ready for Rachel.
But she’d still let me head in there, to see if I could calm her down first, instead of just taking her down.
I couldn’t decide if that made me feel better or worse.
Chapter Eighteen
Exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep. Glitter snored softly from the floor, but it was much more than that which kept me awake.
Rachel’s crew. Clay’s League. Glitter’s Guild.
I felt like I’d skirted disaster every time and survived. I don’t think I suffered from survivor’s guilt, so much as a sense of impending doom. Any second, my luck would change and I’d lose everything.
I’d lose Clay. Ian. Hell, even Glitter.
If the creature cut me in two, it would be a gentler fate. Death would be more welcoming than living without my few friends.
I shifted again, annoyed with my inability to sleep. I sat up. Glitter didn’t move, curled up half under my bed.
Well, might as well do something else to tire myself out. I stood up, quietly threw on some pants and a shirt, and exited the room. The hallways had minimal light at night, but it was easy for me to navigate in the darkness.
A soft light glowed from Rachel’s room. The sleeping agent must have worn off. I debated just walking past her door, but sighed and knocked gently.
A bit of shuffling later, the door opened a crack. Rachel glared at me, but let me come in.
“Sorry about that,” I whispered, sitting in her chair as she sat back on her bed, only the small table lamp casting gentle light.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I would have taken out half the Guild.” Her pale features were drawn, her eyes shadowed by dried tears.
“Understandably,” I offered. “Listen, I’m not against you leaving. I just don’t want you destroying everything as you go.”
She gave me a wry smile. “Thanks. That actually means a lot.” Her mood darkened again, the shadows dancing around her face.
“Dame Zallir was right, though. It wouldn’t help anything. They’re gone, and there’s nothing I can do to save them.”
“I’m so sorry, Rachel.” I hesitated before pushing through. “Do you have any idea why she’d have targeted your ship?
“She?”
“I saw her. Mostly.”
“What did she look like?” Her words were hesitant, much more than the first time she’d asked it of me, when I’d barely seen it. I wondered if being able to imagine what slaughtered her crew would help her cope with it.
“Tall. Strong legs. Four arms like swords that can form two bigger arms with bigger swords? Her features weren’t clear.”
Rachel had grown still, her eyes slightly wider. “Look,” I said, “she can turn invisible, and I’m pretty sure she can teleport, or something very much like teleportation. Like, she can walk through stuff and sometimes, stuff doesn’t connect with her.”
“In-spot teleportation,” Rachel whispered. She shrugged when I looked at her questioningly. “I’ve heard of it.”
“She’s deadly,” I continued, and then softened my voice. “Listen, I’ve seen her handiwork. It’s quick, Rachel. Like, stupid quick. They probably never saw it coming. They didn’t suffer, either.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, and I shifted uncomfortably.
“I’ll go,” I said. “But, look, if you do decide to go, just let me know, okay? So I don’t worry?”
The shadows shifted slightly on her face as she gave the slightest of nods. She found comfort in the shadows, too, and I liked her more for it.
I closed the door quietly behind me, leaving Rachel to her own dark thoughts.
I wandered up the hallway, everyone else apparently asleep. Near a training room, movement caught my attention. A raccoon ran across the ground, stopping near me, dark eyes staring at me intently.
“Ian?” I asked.
As an answer, he turned around and started waddling toward the training room. I followed, his tail forming a little butt target, and resisted the urge to pick him up in my arms and hug him.
I don’t get nearly enough credit for all the things I don’t do.
Raccoon Ian stopped in the training room. The walls were equipped with bands of light, currently dimly glowing green. It gave the room a magical quality, a bit like the Wolf Pack League. I smiled.
No equipment lined the room. It was specifically designed for sparring. I sat cross-legged in the middle of it, enjoying the green glow.
“Come here,” I told Ian. He looked suspiciously at me, but still came over. “You are one cute raccoon,” I pulled him up on my lap and patted him. He settled down. Ian retained his human thinking as an animal, but acquired some of the beast’s traits, too. It made for an interesting combo.
But also a good one, because when he turned into a dog, he loved getting pats. And, apparently, so did raccoon Ian. I wove my fingers through the coarse fur, and he stretched out his sharp little claws.
“Rachel lost her crew,” I whispered. “You probably already know that,” I said, and he shifted his head down on my leg. “Yeah, I guessed you would.”
“Clay lost a lot of friends, today. And Glitter lost his entire guild,” Raccoon Ian lay very still in my lap. “We need to kill this monster, Ian,” I whispered. “No matter how cool she looks.”
He nuzzled his head into my hand. I smiled and scratched his cheek. “Do you think others will get involved? Like the Watch? What about Rachel’s crew? I mean, that’s not a guild.”
He pulled his head up and looked at me. “Were they human?” He lowered his head again, his cheek finding my fingertips. I obliged the request.
“So, won’t the Watch get involved? Isn’t that what you’d said? Is that good, now, or bad?” I stopped asking questions a raccoon couldn’t answer. But Ian had grown very still. He looked up at me, his dark eyes impossibly wide, before lowering his head on my lap, closing his eyes slowly.
“Oh,” I said, thinking I understood. “They’re human, but not the right humans. Her crew didn’t matter to the right people.”
His little paw wrapped around my index finger.
“That’s even shittier,” I whispered, lowering my head to form a shadowed veil of hair as I closed my eyes.
Nobody would grieve them except for Rachel. And, if Rachel died, nobody would grieve them at all.
Just like no one would mourn for me if my few friends were dead. The world seemed very small suddenly. And growing smaller by the second.
I focused on the breathing of the raccoon on my lap, on my own breath, and on the soft green light that made this moment seem like eternal peace, even though it felt like the world bled out and nobody knew how to bandage it.
Chapter Nineteen
I woke up
to a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Tira,” Ian said.
I pushed the hair out of my face. Damn. Sleeping on the floor of the training room left me feeling rather stiff.
“I conked out,” I said around a yawn, sitting up and stretching.
“We both did.”
“I think I used you as a pillow.”
“You did.”
“How long ago did you shift back?” I asked. My neck hurt. Raccoons were not comfortable pillows.
“Just a few minutes ago,” he said. “You rolled off of me.”
“Ah. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said, sitting cross-legged beside me. “Your hair makes for a nice light blocker.”
“Thank you!” I said, glad I hadn’t accidentally hurt him with one of my horns. “Do you know what time it is?”
He looked down at his smartwatch. I really wanted one of those, even if it was basically a tracking device.
“Not quite evening yet, so not time to get moving,” he shifted, the infinity symbol woven into his sleeve barely visible unless you knew to look for it.
“Good.” I paused, hesitated. “I have a question that’s been bugging me.”
He waited patiently. Sometimes, I thought that Ian kept some animal traits even when he turned human. He typically didn’t speak as much, or feel the need to fill in the silences. It was a good trait, but could prove a bit disconcerting.
“The old woman who got taken at the Wolf Pack League…was she one of ours?”
He shifted. “Until you’re an operative, Tira, I can’t tell you that kind of information.”
“Right. But, like, apparently I’ll be an operative soon?”
The other thing about Ian was that, much like an animal ready to attack or befriend you, the slightest movement, the slightest shift in posture, revealed a world of intention. And, right now, with the slightest tensing of his neck and lowering of the head, I knew that Ian was sad.
I placed my hand on his arm. “You’ve been an operative a while,” I said softly. “You became one much younger than me, in fact. You’re fine, and I will be, too.”
He met my gaze. “I know,” he spoke the words softly. “I just wish I understood Sonsil’s reasoning for doing this. Why does he want to put you in danger like that?”
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