by Lee French
Beside him, Kay blinked then raised a shield. “You should do something useful.”
Drew gulped. And panicked.
Chapter 22
Claire
“Did you hear that?” Claire snapped her head around as a distant scream faded.
“Sounds like pain,” Enion said.
Claire shifted away from the dragons hunkering down for the night in the hollow. “It sounded like Drew, except not. He screams like a little girl when he’s scared. That sounded deeper and more…I don’t know.”
“Pain,” Enion repeated.
“Yeah, I guess.” She saw nothing special in the dark, and had no ability to see better than she had when alive. After the last time she surprised him, Claire chose not to use the binding to locate him. “Enion, help me find him. I think he’s spending too much time with only Kay to talk to.”
“That way.” Enion pointed and leaped into the air.
Claire followed as her dragon flitted from branch to branch. In a different direction, she heard Mutt shouting, “Master,” over and over, muffled by the trees. Enion angled toward the dog. Still resisting the urge to snap to Drew’s side, Claire stayed with the dragon.
Mutt’s shouts grew closer, suggesting the dog ran toward them. In a different direction, Claire heard a muffled grumble, then she caught a flash of white light. She turned to chase it. Drew squeaked.
As she passed through a tree, Claire saw a ghost with a human shape. Thick muscles defined a man with a vague face. He had the same build as Justin. The ghost’s arm ended with its wrist against Drew’s chest, leading her to the conclusion it had plunged its hand inside him. Based upon her own experience with a ghost, and the terrified expression on Drew’s face, she assumed that to be bad.
“Enion, go back to the dragons. I don’t want you getting caught up in this.” Without waiting for him to comply, she tried to grab the ghost and pull it off Drew. Her hand sank into its side and the world spun.
She stood in an unfamiliar kitchen full of glaring light with Drew, an unknown man with an undefined face, and a vaguely familiar teenage boy. The man’s clothes reminded Claire of jeans and t-shirt, but lacked detail. His face had only a muddy suggestion of features. The strange boy wore the same clothes as Drew and struggled against the man’s meaty hand wrapped around his neck. Drew cowered against the kitchen cabinets, flicking his hands toward the man with no effect.
Because of the clothes, Claire guessed the boy must be Kay. Without hesitation, she launched herself at the man, who had to be the other ghost. Her fist connected with his jaw, snapping his head to the side. The man threw Kay aside. Kay hit the cheap table and smashed it in half, sending glasses, plates, and utensils flying.
“Not on my watch,” Claire growled. She threw another punch at his gut and kicked his knee.
The ghost roared and slammed his hand against Claire’s shoulder, tossing her aside. She hit the refrigerator and fell to the floor. In one short day, she’d forgotten what it felt like to get thrown at things. Everything ached as it healed.
Drew lurched in front of her, offering himself as a protector. “What’re you doing here?”
The man stomped on the floor, making everything bounce. Kay leaped at his back and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck.
“Me? What about you? Why is Kay separate?” Claire scrambled to her feet. She dropped her shoulder and rushed the man, hitting him and shoving him back. He hit the counter. Kay grunted.
“It’s trying to dominate Kay. I’m just a useless piece of baggage dragged along.”
Though Claire wanted to dispute the baggage comment, she had her hands full trying to avoid the man’s blows. He punched her in the side with enough force to shove her to the floor. Her face hit blood spatter and smeared it. Kay fell on top of her. Both groaned.
“Still too powerful,” Kay gasped. The man grabbed him by the neck again and lifted him off the floor.
“How do we escape this time?” Drew wailed.
The man stomped a foot onto Claire’s back, breaking bones she didn’t think she had anymore.
Unable to move, Claire wheezed and reached her hand toward Drew. “This time?”
“Later,” Kay rasped.
Drew darted in and took her hand. Their eyes met. Claire thought Drew might dissolve into tears. She also had no idea if she needed to grab Kay to get him out of here with Drew. He must have thought something similar, because he ducked under a swing to snatch a handful of Kay’s leg.
Claire yanked on her connection to Enion, dragging both boys with her. She snapped out of the kitchen and into the dark. Drew fell through her ghostly mist to land on his side next to the entire flight of dragons.
The ghost came with them. Its form had gained more definition. Although its face still lacked fine detail, she thought it bore a great deal of resemblance to Justin. It had the same square jaw and general facial features.
“Why did it come with us?” Drew shrieked. He spun mist around them.
The ghost frowned and stopped in the act of reaching for Drew again. When the mist cleared, they’d all moved to a sidewalk Claire recognized. Lamp posts provided bright light outside Nine Cans, Ki’s bar. For once, no parked cars lined the street and it had no traffic.
Nearby, a puddle of yellow liquid bubbled and smoked on the concrete. Shards of glass littered the sidewalk on the other side of the street where windows had been shattered. Large chunks of concrete pierced the street as if they’d fallen from a great height. Down the street, Claire saw a crunched car lying on its side. In the other direction, a fountain of water sprayed into the air from a hole in the ground.
Drew scrambled into the street with a whimper, pointing at the ghost he’d inadvertently brought with them. “Leave me alone!”
Drifting away from the ghost and toward Drew, Claire said, “Enion, take the flight and find Justin. If you see any mutant bugs, go ahead and fight them. Don’t worry about being seen.”
The dragons launched into the air as a group, Enion in the lead.
“Why did you sent them away?” Drew asked, his voice high-pitched and screechy.
“They can’t see the ghost. Get us out of here, and don’t bring the stupid ghost again!”
Mist billowed and took them to Skidmore Fountain. The distant wail of sirens competed with splashing water. Only a few days ago, Claire, Justin, Drew, and Tariel had accidentally destroyed a building on the edge of the square. The debris hadn’t been cleaned up yet. In addition, several streetlights lay on their sides, giant scrapes marred the cobblestones, and the fountain’s pool had been smashed. Water streamed out through the gaping hole and rushed to the nearby street’s gutter.
Before opening her mouth, Claire checked for the ghost. Not seeing it, she shook her head. “What the heck happened to Portland? It looks like an apocalypse hit.”
“Justin said they needed help. I guess he meant it.”
“How do a swarm of ants this big,” she held her hands about two feet apart, “cause all of this?”
Drew gulped and pointed at the subway tunnel under Burnside Street. “With the help of much bigger bugs?”
A metallic blue cockroach bigger than a tow truck emerged from the darkness. Electricity crackled between its antennae. Its giant black eyes glittered in the light as it noticed them and waddled in their direction.
“Something something frying pan and fire,” Claire muttered. She tried to wrap her hands around Drew’s arm to pull him away, but she’d become mist again. “Can you fight that thing?”
“Fight it? Yes. Kill it? I don’t think so!” Drew stumbled back, eager to get away from the bug without prompting.
“Good thing I sent the dragons away. Can you find Justin? Ganging up on them might work.”
“Find him how? By shouting his name and hoping more of these things ignore it?”
Claire wanted to slap Drew until he did or said something useful. “I don’t know what you can do. Ask Kay if he can find the weapons I made for him and Avery.”
While waiting for an answer, they fled from the giant roach. Claire streamed along behind Drew as he ran up a pedestrian walk. She wondered where they’d find the cops making their stand, and if the National Guard had been activated or not. Did any other cities have these kinds of problems, or was Portland special? And where were the reporters?
“He says he thinks he can do kind of a compass thing. This way!”
They rounded a corner and ran up Naito Parkway, toward the Burnside Bridge. Ahead, Claire saw a news van parked under the bridge overpass. Gunshots echoed in the distance. A quiet ambulance sped past them on the otherwise empty road, headed north. Overhead, an explosion of fire announced dragons battling flying bugs.
Claire wanted to help. She focused on becoming solid while following Drew up the road. As she floated, she tried to touch everything in their path—trees, signposts, and walls. Nothing affected her. She kept trying, willing the world to let her do something. Anything. It ignored her.
At the on-ramp for the Steel Bridge, the ambulance blared its siren for a moment, then crossed to the east bank. Lightning flashed and crackled on the bridge. Drew ran for the on-ramp, panting and gasping for air. Claire rushed past him to find Justin and Avery with their sprites, facing a giant cockroach.
The roach’s antennae whipped around, keeping anyone from approaching. From behind it, a dragon swooped down and filled the space with fire, forcing the Knights to retreat. Two more dragons followed, breathing more flames at the roach. When it cleared, the roach seemed unaffected.
“Fire’s not working, Enion!” Justin called out.
Tariel lurched into a gallop over the MAX rails, carrying Justin around the antennae and drawing the bug’s attention. Avery stood on Stirin’s hood as the car charged in. He leaped from the hood to the roach’s back, sword held out. Claire had never seen Avery do anything that lunatic before. While he drove his blade into the bug’s side, Stirin drove himself into the roach’s legs, causing it to stagger.
As Tariel carried Justin around the back of the bug, he noticed Claire. He groped at the small of his back and threw something at her with a heave. The thing flashed in the air. Her dagger clattered to the asphalt and slid to a stop several feet from her. She swooped and picked up the one thing she could use against these stupid bugs.
She turned the dagger over in her hands. Drew shambled to a stop beside her, bent over double and wheezing.
“I promise,” he managed between heaving breaths, “that I’ll practice running. Every day.”
Claire smirked. “You bet your butt you will.”
The news van they’d seen screeched to a halt behind them. People piled out, scrambling to set up a camera and microphone.
“Why are you attacking Portland?” the male reporter shouted at them.
“We’re not,” Claire said. “We’re saving it from mutant bugs.” She turned her back on them and floated closer to the battle.
Drew shambled in her wake. Avery and his sprite had backed off. Enion swooped in and pounced on the bug, digging his claws into its back. The roach flipped its antennae up and snapped them around Enion, jolting him with an electric shock. The dragon screeched in pain and fell to the ground. Two more dragons stooped on the thing, distracting it while Enion dragged himself out of its reach.
“We need to stab the brain!” Avery called out.
“Because of course we do,” Drew grumbled.
Claire shrugged. “They’re cockroaches. Did you think smashing them with a giant shoe would work?”
“No, but that would be kind of cool.” He held his side and flung a jet of fog at the roach.
The bug backpedaled under Drew’s assault, but seemed unharmed. It reached a lattice of towering steel girders over the MAX rails and roared at them. Protected from the dragons there, it thumped its front legs on the bridge. Its antennae hit the steel and lit up the night with crackling blue tendrils of electricity crawling across the structure. Streetlights up and down the bridge exploded in showers of sparks.
Claire reached the two Knights. “I don’t think it likes being stabbed and blasted.”
“These things are incredibly difficult to deal with,” Avery said. “We’ve only gotten one so far, before we went to Iulia’s. There are at least three more in the city besides this one.”
“We noticed they’re kind of destructive,” Drew said, finally catching his breath.
Across the bridge, Claire noticed the lack of headlights and taillights on I-5. “Has everyone holed up or fled already? How long has this been going on?”
“Excuse me,” the reporter said, standing well behind the group. Everyone turned to look. The cameraman beside him filmed the scene on the bridge, but the reporter held his microphone at his side. “Who are you people?”
“Portland Detective John Avery.” He strode toward the reporter and shook hands with him. “Adam, right? I think we met a few months ago, during a murder investigation.”
“Yes. I remember. Are you willing to make a statement on the record?” The reporter lifted the microphone.
“I can’t speak for the department on this subject.” Avery produced a business card from a pocket and handed it to the reporter. “But I can say a couple of things as myself. And please don’t put any of their faces on the news if you can help it. They have families to worry about.”
“What about you? Can we air images of you fighting the bug?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Through all of this, the bug remained quiet. With dragons sitting on the bridge behind it and people in front of it, the thing had boxed itself in and had nowhere to go. Claire wondered if it felt fear or only took a long time to evaluate its options. Cockroaches weren’t known for their brains.
“Here’s your quote,” Avery said. “Magic is real.”
If she still breathed, Claire would’ve sucked in a breath. The blunt statement would cause all kinds of controversy, and she suspected it might get Avery fired.
“These bugs won’t be the only bizarre thing the people of Earth see over the coming weeks and months. Here in Portland, I strongly recommend not approaching these creatures. They’re not very intelligent and may be hungry. Humans appear to look like food to them. There are also smaller ant-like creatures in the city that can spit acid capable of dissolving human flesh, rock, even metal. If you see an unusually large insect, my best advice is to hide and dial nine-one-one so the police can track them. Don’t try to shoot them. Their outer shells are resistant to bullets.”
“Can you comment on why these creatures appeared today?”
“For the same reason all the unusual phenomena happened yesterday. It would take too long to explain the cause, and I have some bugs to deal with. Thank you. You should probably get to some safety, Adam.”
They shook hands again.
Avery jogged back to the cockroach standoff. “I hope that was the right thing to do.”
“You and me both,” Justin said. “Everybody attack at once?”
“Sounds like the best plan to me,” Claire said.
“Be careful of the steel parts of the bridge,” Drew said. “Pretty sure if you touch it, you’ll get zapped. Steel is a pretty good conductor.”
“I’ve already been electrocuted by one of these things,” Avery said. “I’m happy to avoid a repeat performance.” He raised his sword and led the charge.
Chapter 23
Drew
Drew nudged the dead cockroach with his shoe. Between three dragons, three Knights, and two sprites, it hadn’t stood a chance. But he’d contributed nothing. Spewing superheated steam at bugs took too much effort for too little benefit. They had no need for him and Kay.
“We could try lava again,” Kay said. “That worked well.”
“Sort of.” Drew watched Claire drift in Justin and Tariel’s wake as they followed Stirin off the bridge, wishing he could touch her again. For one reason only, he craved facing that ghost again. He’d held her hand. If only they could meet someplace like
that without a stupid ghost trying to dominate them all.
When Claire glanced back at him, he hurried to catch up. She slowed to wait for him, something he didn’t expect. The dumbass ghost-boy could be left behind without worry. No one needed to worry about his safety because he had no trouble fleeing danger.
“You’re not useless,” Claire said, reading his expression better than he expected. “We’re just all better at fighting than you are. We’ve all had more experience. I’ve been punching people since long before I met you.”
“Yeah.” Drew sighed. “I just don’t want to be in the way. And Kay wants to help. He said so.”
“Kay wants to help, huh?” Claire tried to nudge his shoulder, chilling it as she passed through instead. She grimaced. “This is so irritating. You need to come to my demesne.”
Kay gave the impression of smacking his forehead. “Oh, she has a demesne. She’d be solid there. Because nothing in a demesne is real. But really, of course she has a demesne. We should’ve thought of that right away.”
“Justin said he got there through his couch. It’d probably work for you too.”
“Yeah. I’ll check it out. Maybe I should hang back for now, though. Or go hunt ants. You guys don’t need me to help with the roaches. Not when you have dragons helping.”
Claire held up her dagger. “I’m not exactly a giant help either. Let’s go. Enion will work with Justin, and they’ll clear these roaches up in no time. Any ideas on how to find the ants?”
Drew couldn’t help but smile. She wanted to come with him instead of chasing glory with the Knights and dragons. Even though these things couldn’t hurt her, she chose him. He should’ve trusted her from the beginning. So much would’ve turned out differently. “I’m sorry,” he said, wishing he could hold her.
“For what?”
He shook his head and looked away. “Nothing. Later.”
She shrugged and tried to touch his shoulder again. “Okay. Can Kay help us find the ants?”
