by Bella Jacobs
“Like the Parallel had been destroyed?” she asks in a tone that says my worry is catching.
Neither of us live there anymore, obviously, but we know people who do. Almost everyone living Human Side has friends and family in the Parallel and the majority of the supernatural populations of the world live there. Its destruction would be genocide on a scale our kind has never experienced.
My shoulders hunch closer to my ears. “Maybe? Or maybe just…cut off in some way. Maybe the wraiths Bane was working with go ahead with their plan to blow things up and it goes awry somehow?” My breath rushes out. “Or maybe Kelley has something planned that we don’t know about. Either way, Maxim should hear this before they land.”
Hermione is already backing toward the enforcer bull pit at the front of the offices. “We’ll call him now. They won’t land for at least another hour. We have time.”
But when we try to reach the lead helicopter, the call won’t connect. We try the other helicopters with the same result. Then we try Maxim’s cell and the cell of every person in the lead chopper with him and get more radio silence.
“The cloaking spell must be interfering with the signal,” the man running the communications desk says, sweat breaking out along his receding hairline. “This is why we don’t put together a mission without a dry run first.” He curses softly and runs a hand over his head. “We should be able to reach them as soon as they land and the spell is banked, but that won’t give them much notice. And that’s assuming the other side doesn’t have some kind of scrambling device and that there’s a steady cell signal in the deep woods.”
Hermione nods calmly. “And we shouldn’t count on either of those things. Call up to the roof and have them get one of our smaller, faster choppers ready to fly. If we move quickly, I should be able to catch up to them before they reach the landing point.”
The man says, “Yes, commander,” but Hermione is already in motion, charging across the room toward the lobby.
I hurry after her, jogging to keep up with her longer strides. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not,” she says, not slowing for a second as she pushes through the doors and starts down the hall toward the elevators. “You’re staying here and staying safe.”
“But what if I have another vision?” I press, darting in front of her after she pushes the up button. “Or something from my earlier vision takes on new meaning, the way it did in there with Pax? I won’t be able to reach you once you’re in the woods, either.”
“Maxim doesn’t want you there.” Hermione brushes past me as the doors open. “And he’s right. Knowing someone you love is in danger doesn’t make you a better fighter; it makes you distracted. And distraction easily equals death in situations like that.”
I hop in after her. “That’s why we don’t tell him I’m there. I ride in the helicopter with you, but I don’t get out. I stay inside, hidden, and communicate with you via ear coms.”
She sighs, casting a tortured look my way.
“I’ll be completely safe,” I say. “You can even have the pilot stay with me in the cabin so we’re ready to bolt the second you say it’s too dangerous for me to stick around.” I clasp my hands together. “Please, Hermione. I don’t want to put myself or the baby at risk, either, but I have a unique gift that we should use to our advantage. You better believe the other side will be using all of their gifts to theirs.”
Her hands ball into fists, releasing with a spasm as the car arrives on the roof with a sharp ding. “Fine,” she says. “But when I tell you to go, you go. No arguments or hesitation. Agreed?”
I nod eagerly and tail her out of the car. “Agreed. You’re the boss.”
“Right,” she grumbles, striding past the bathrooms and closed snack bar toward the rooftop park, gardens, playground, and the helicopter launching pad beyond. “You’ve proven how good you are at taking orders.”
I scamper along beside her, lifting my palms toward the darkening sky. “But maybe that’s a good thing. I’ll keep Maxim’s bossy side in check.”
“Or give it a good workout at least,” she agrees, shooting me a sideways glance. “If he tries to demote me for this, I’m counting on you to change his mind.”
“I’ll re-promote you myself,” I promise.
Her lips twitch. “You don’t have that power, but thanks.”
“You’re welcome. But seriously, don’t worry. Maxim owes me for saving his life several times in the past few days. If needed, I will absolutely call in one of those vouchers to get you out of the doghouse. But hopefully everything will go smoothly, and he’ll never know I was there. At least, not until the fighting is over.”
And he might die during the battle, and this will be a non-issue.
Ignoring the voice in my head and the anxiety tightening my throat, I ask, “Don’t suppose you have any enforcer uniforms in my size hanging around, do you? I can change on the way, but I should probably wear something that’s easier to fight, run, and shift in. Just in case.”
“I’ll have them send one up while the helicopter’s fueling,” she says, hopping on her com to put in the request.
She doesn’t question me or insist I won’t need to fight. She just gets the job done. I appreciate that about Hermione. She’s practical.
Even when it’s hard or scary.
Or both.
Chapter Seventeen
Maxim
We’re still several miles from our landing coordinates when we see it—smoke on the horizon.
A lot of smoke.
“That doesn’t look good,” the pilot, Vance, an old friend of mine, says through our headphones. He leans forward, squinting into the setting sun. “Reasons they would set fire to their own camp?”
I shake my head and lean forward beside him. “As a distraction maybe. Or bait. We show up to see what’s on fire and they’re waiting to ambush us.”
“Or it could just be bad luck for them, good luck for us,” Vance counters. “It’s been a dry fall. Could just be a campfire that got out of control or something.”
I grunt and Vance laughs.
“Yeah,” he says. “I don’t think we’re getting that lucky either. I’ll have our lead deploy a drone, see if we can get some visuals through the smoke and see what’s happening on the ground.”
Ten minutes later, grainy footage of the burning forest flickers onto my tablet’s screen, cutting in and out as the signal struggles to filter through our shielding spell. But I don’t want to disable the spell just yet. This many helicopters zooming toward Middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania, would attract attention from the human authorities we can’t afford right now.
But so will this fire, sooner or later…
“Do you think they’re trying to get humans involved?” Vance asks, proving we’re on the same page. “This won’t go unnoticed or unaddressed by their forest fire teams for long.”
I chew my bottom lip and narrow my eyes on the screen. “Maybe, but if the firefighters send in a drone first, like we are, maybe not. It looks like the fire is mostly under control. Lots of smoldering brush and a couple structures still burning, but things don’t seem to be spreading. And there aren’t any trees on fire.”
Vance makes a thinking noise. “So maybe it was a campfire accident? And they got it under control before it reached the forest?”
“But there are hardly any people there,” I say. “Just older women shoveling dirt on the brush and some younger kids, not quite teenagers, tossing water on the cabins. Where are the rest of them? The army and Kelley and her people?”
And the prisoners, I think, praying that Diana wasn’t locked away in one of those structures as it burned. If they’ve hurt her in any way—let alone killed my little sister—I’m going to have a hard time leaving a single one of them alive.
“It doesn’t feel right,” Vance says.
“No, it doesn’t,” I agree. “We’ll talk it over with the other unit leaders when we reach the ground and send more drones to c
heck out the areas beyond the flames. Could be they set the fire to keep us busy while they made a run for it. Maybe they’ve decided they don’t want to fight.”
“But we can’t afford to let them run,” Vance says. “Willow’s vision said you have to stop her sister tonight, right?”
I nod. “It did.”
I roll the problem over in my head as we reach our destination and the choppers touch down, one by one, in a valley between two mountains.
What if Kelley has a Pathfinder of her own? Or one of the witches on her team is skilled at telling the future?
If she knows that all she has to do to doom my cause is stay alive and uncaptured until morning, she may have decided running is her best bet. Willow’s vision wasn’t clear about whether I had to kill Kelley or simply take her into custody, but neither will be happening if I can’t find the woman.
Outside, the last flush of dusk casts the valley in a violet glow and the soft burble of the river rushing over stones not far from our landing spot seems to promise a peaceful night. But that promise is betrayed by the smoke filling the air, making my men and women cough as they gather their things and flood out of the copters.
But by the time our defense team has ringed the perimeter and our liaisons have left to meet the troops hiking in to join us from the next valley over, where our plane has already touched down on an old stretch of country road, the smoke is thinning a bit.
My unit heads meet me a short distance from the riverbank, looking as concerned about our current situation as I feel.
All five of them agree their instincts are screaming that this is a trap.
“But what choice do we have?” Samantha asks after we’ve discussed the matter at length and reviewed the night vision footage from our other drones. “We’re not getting any heat signatures from the woods around their camp. Nothing but animals, anyway. Natural animals. Not a few thousand shifted wolves ready to attack.”
“And if we don’t move soon, we might lose our chance to capture the few people still at the camp,” Cox agrees. “Even if their leaders kept their escape plan a secret, there’s a good chance at least one of the people still here knows where they went.”
“And those people might not be Kelley’s,” Samantha adds. “They might have stayed behind because they’re loyal to Bane and not on board with making Kelley queen now that he’s gone. For all we know, there could be significant in-fighting in their ranks right now.”
“A lot of people won’t want a woman in charge, at least not by herself,” Liam pipes up, before lifting a hand and adding, “No offense,” clearly for Sam’s benefit.
Her lips twist. “None taken. I live in the same world you do. I get it.”
The same world…
The phrase sets off a chain reaction in my head. “Portals to the Parallel,” I say, snapping my fingers. “There aren’t any on the map around here, but there’s a chance they might have found one, right?”
“Absolutely,” Sam says, clearly catching my excitement. “Portals are everywhere. Old Native American records show a lot of them way out in the woods. They aren’t on modern maps, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still there.”
“And if the portal’s large enough,” I say.
“Or if they’ve found more than one,” Cox adds.
I point at his chest. “That’s where their ambush is coming from.”
“All right, then.” Sam exchanges glances with the other unit heads, who are all nodding along. “So, we just need to find out where they are. With the right tools, a small scouting team should be able to sort that out pretty quickly.”
I’m about to agree and tell her to prep her top ten people for the mission, when a high, plaintive screech from overhead draws my gaze upward. I find the source of the sound almost instantly—the white owl stands out against the darkening sky, her silver-streaked feathers catching the light of the rising moon.
Somehow, I know the bird is female.
And I know she’s not just a bird.
I sense it even before she shifts direction and dives straight down, coming in for a landing on the grass a few feet away.
A fairly…rough landing.
She lands on one claw and trips, tumbling head over feet to land in a tangle of wings before flopping over onto her back and letting out a huff that’s so human sounding—and so familiar—that I don’t hesitate to cross to her side.
“Careful, Maxim,” Sam says behind me. “It could be a witch’s familiar sent to activate a spell.”
“I will be,” I murmur as the bird hops onto its claws and looks up at me with wide, pleading eyes. “But I think it’s…” I shake my head before adding in a voice so soft only the bird and I can hear it, “My sister?”
The bird’s eyes go even wider. It hops up and down excitedly before holding out a leg and shaking it. A closer look reveals a piece of paper wrapped around the bird’s limb and tied with a piece of twine.
I kneel down, reaching out without worrying about the creature’s sharp claws or sharper beak. I don’t know how, but I know this bird is Diana, even before I unroll the note and read—
Maxim, it’s Diana.
I know this is crazy, but it really is me. I’ve been turned into an owl. It’s some kind of curse—and there’s probably a cure—but we don’t have time to worry about that right now.
We have much bigger problems.
VERY IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW—
Kelley’s army is waiting to ambush you if you head into the camp, but my allies know where they’re hiding. They’re on their way here to help you. Just don’t shoot the good guys when they come out of the woods, okay? They’ll be coming from the north. They’re on the move now and should be here within the hour. The leader’s name is Axe and he’s about your height with dark brown hair and eyes.
Also, most of his allies are birds and bears, but not like me.
They’re actual birds and bears.
Also FYI—Axe didn’t turn me into an owl, but he can hear me speak telepathically. That’s how I was able to write this note. As soon as he gets here, you and I can have a real conversation.
Until then, if you have yes or no questions, I’ll answer them like this—raise my wings for yes, shake my head for no.
Also, just in case you shoot me before I can deliver this note, it’s okay.
I forgive you.
Also, I love you, and I’m sorry I ran away. I know you’re not the Shadow King. Bane was, and I’m pretty sure he killed our mother. Seeing him again brought up a lot of old, buried memories for me, and Kelley said that Bane confessed that he’d murdered Mom to her a year ago. Kelley is full of shit, but I don’t think she was lying about that.
Everything I remembered…
Well, it pretty much confirmed that Bane is responsible for Mom’s death.
But I also remembered that you were the one who rescued me that day and every day since.
But not by being my bossy big brother. You saved me with sleepovers and taking me to the playground and listening to my kid problems and letting me stay up late and watch movies with you and your friends. You saved me with love, Maxim. You have a great big heart under all the alpha stuff, and it’s more powerful than you know.
If you end up ruling our people, I hope you’ll use that heart as often as possible.
Trust me, it’ll be your superpower.
All my love,
Dee
By the end of the note, I’m fighting tears.
“What does it say, Maxim?” Sam asks from behind me.
I hold up a finger, needing a second to pull myself together before I talk to my team. I kneel down, my throat tight as I meet Diana’s large yellow eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry I forgot that for a while. Can you forgive me?” I ask in a rough voice.
She lifts her wings for “yes.”
“And can we start fresh?”
She lifts them again and gives an enthusiastic shake.
“And if I die tonight, will yo
u take care of Willow and the baby for me?” I ask, my throat squeezing even tighter. “I know you’ll do a great job with that. And a great job ruling our people.”
The next thing I know, I have a mouthful of feathers and claws scrabbling at my chest. Sam and the other unit leaders come to my defense, but by the time they reach my side, I’m cradling Diana in one arm, where she’s curled into a ball with her claws tucked, looking embarrassed.
“It’s okay,” I tell the team. “I think that was…a hug.”
Diana hoots in affirmation and Sam’s eyes go wide. “Is that…” She trails off with a shake of her head. “That can’t be… Can it?”
I forgot that Sam used to babysit Diana way back in the day, when we were both fresh out of high school. She must be able to sense my sister’s spirit inside the owl, too.
I nod and hand over the note, “Yes, it is. It’s Diana. And she says help is on the way.”
By the time the sound of another helicopter approaching fills the air, my team has been brought up to speed on the contents of the note and a heated debate is underway.
Sam, as usual, is playing devil’s advocate—arguing that Diana might be being used by this Axe person, and it’s all a trap. Cox is insisting we should at the very least see what this Axe person has to say, and Liam is arguing that we don’t have time to waste and should make the first move before Kelley and her forces take the option out of our hands.
The helicopter, however, stuns us all into silence.
“Positions!” Cox shouts to our troops. “Anti-aircraft team assemble.”
“Wait,” someone else calls out from inside one of the parked choppers. “It’s one of ours. We spotted it on the radar a few minutes ago and made contact. Hermione’s on board and…”
“And what?” I demand, stalking across the grass toward the chopper with Diana still in my arms, glaring at the young man at the computer panel. His name is David, I think, and I know he’s new to the force, but— “I should have been made aware of this the moment it showed up on the radar, soldier.”
