I glanced around the room in search of a likely hiding spot. Wendell wasn’t exactly present, so I considered going through his desk drawers. I reached a hand toward the desk, and he snapped to attention.
“What are you still doing here? I thought I said to move along.” He gave me a menacing jeer.
I moved my hand away, and his attention drifted off. After a minute or two, I tried again.
As my hand crept toward the desk, his eyes came to life and a tiny dagger plunked into the wood next to my thumb. I hadn’t even seen him move.
“Oh, for the love of...” Silas marched up to the desk, riffled through the drawers and finally produced the key. He held it up, dangling from a black ribbon. “Perks of being invisible.” He reached back into the drawer and grabbed something. “Also, I think we should relieve him of this.” He tossed a green rock at me, and I caught it, much to my surprise.
“Nice.” I pocketed the gargoyle snot without Wendell so much as flinching. After deliberating, I placed the tequila bottle back on the desk before I left.
From the hallway, I heard a crash, followed by a string of curses. Silas popped out a second later, his face filled with wicked glee.
“I’m afraid he dropped the bottle,” he said. “What terrible luck.”
Well, at least I didn’t have to feel guilty about Wendell possibly drinking himself to death.
Silas led me through a maze of hallways so complex, I wondered how he could have found the locked door we sought. The interior was inky dark. I couldn’t see my feet without the light from my phone. We stopped in front of a carved wooden door.
I held my hand out for the key. “Okay. Here’s the plan. I’m going to open it just a crack so we can see what we’re dealing with. It could be this isn’t even the right place. We’re going on my instincts and your hunch, and nothing much else.”
Silas folded his arms. “Why is it you have instincts, but I only have a hunch?”
I blinked at him. “What?”
He made a disgusted noise and handed me the key. “Typical.”
I turned the key in the lock until it clicked. In the quiet darkness, it sounded like a gunshot.
Deep breath, Zoey. The sun is shining out there. If you see him, slam the door and lock it.
I took my own advice and inhaled slowly, held the breath, then let it out twice as slow. The brass handle on the door was smooth and cold, and I pulled it down with a gentle touch.
My eyes took a moment to adjust to the sunlight pouring through the inch I’d opened the door. The courtyard was awash with morning light. A few twisted trees dotted the overgrown lot, and weeds sprouted from dry dirt.
I recognized several faces sitting on the ground—a satyr wearing a bow tie, a harpy chewing gum and blowing bubbles and an angry-looking chupacabra were especially notable. I’d seen them all in my driveway a few months before, chanting to call forth creatures through the portals their priest had opened—creatures hypnotized to kill my mother and me.
Their presence wasn’t surprising. Neither was the cage they were babysitting.
Janey sat in one corner of the contraption, rocking a crying Dasho in her arms, while little green Fern poked a chubby finger out of the cage and made patches of grass grow.
“Look, you have to bring us bottles for the babies soon. And fresh diapers.” Janey pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “If the Aegis finds out you didn’t take good care of us, she’ll be angry.”
The satyr sitting closest to her twitched a little at the word Aegis, but didn’t say anything or make a move toward fulfilling her request.
“Yeah,” Toby said. “She’ll probably kill you dead and stuff. Then your moms will be really sad.”
Kid logic. I wanted to kiss those faces so much. My heart was filled with pride.
The brownie kids huddled in a hamster cage next to the larger one. I bit my lip to keep quiet. Abby and Aaron sat together playing a weird form of patty-cake that involved elbows, knees and the occasional head bump. At first, I thought they were pretending not to be scared. But it was more than that. They were putting on a show to keep anyone from noticing Fred was trying to pick the lock with a twig.
Hungry. Cold. But not scared, no. Our wonderful kids were the bravest little things I’d ever seen. And most important—they were alive.
Oh, Shadow Man. I don’t know where you are right now, but taking these little guys was a big mistake. Big.
I closed the door without making a sound, then pulled out my phone. “I’ll text Riley and Kam that you’re coming out, but you’ll have to guide them in. I’ll wait here.”
Silas snorted. “I don’t think so, lady. Nice try. If I left you here alone, that reaper would suck my soul out my left ear.” He grinned. “I already left a trail for them to follow. Just send the text to tell them to follow.”
I glanced behind us the way we’d come. Sure enough, a trail of glowing footprints led off into the darkness. “How’d you do that?”
“Dollface, you don’t want to know. Just go with it.”
I started to press but decided against it. Now would not be the time to find out pooka urine glowed in the dark. I sent the texts calling for Kam and Riley to come help us.
We didn’t have to wait long. Kam and Riley showed up, a little out of breath but ready to do battle.
Kam glanced over her shoulder at the footprints they’d followed and wrinkled her nose. “Is that—”
“Shh.” Silas waved his hand in front of her face. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
“Dude.” She addressed him, though she couldn’t see him. “You’re gross.”
Riley kissed my cheek. “What have we got?”
I placed my hand flat against the door. “Square courtyard. Couple of trees. Kids are in two cages, one large and one small. About ten cult members sitting around examining their belly-button lint. Same guys we dealt with before.”
He put his hand on the door handle to open it, then swallowed hard. “Are...are the kids okay?”
I laughed. “The kids are giving them a hard time, and I think Fred’s about five seconds from getting everybody free without us.”
He grinned. “Well, then. Let’s go help him, shall we?”
He threw the door open to the inner courtyard, and we all charged into the sun to do battle.
Chapter Eighteen
It was a surprisingly short—and ridiculous fight. They all recognized the three of us—the Aegis, the reaper and the djinn. We’d chased them down before. The surprise on their faces when we burst through the door was comical.
At first, they made a run for the door on the opposite side of the courtyard. Apparently, they already knew their chances with us were slim. To be fair, I wasn’t as useful as the others in a fight. I’d learned a few moves along the way, but most of them involved swinging a blunt object at my target. My reputation for badassery didn’t come from my physical prowess.
When the group realized their exit was locked, they scattered. This was where it all went so, so wrong. At least for them, anyway.
The chupacabra, realizing he could leave the others behind and fly himself out, took a mighty leap into the sky. In a phenomenal display of poor judgment coupled with bad luck, courtesy of Silas, he smashed into a tree limb and knocked himself unconscious.
The kids cheered.
Riley lunged for the nearest cult member, the satyr wearing a bow tie. The goat-man stepped away, his fist raised to punch Riley in the face. He tripped into a bush, fell backward and got his bowtie stuck, nearly strangling himself. Riley actually had to rescue him.
Kam took her time, corralling the harpy into a corner so she wouldn’t take flight. The creature’s face was an ugly snarl of anger. She screeched, then cut off abruptly, her eyes wide and frantic. It took a second before I rea
lized what was going on.
“Kam,” I yelled. “She’s choking on her gum.”
Kam’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “For real?”
The harpy nodded, wings flapping.
Kam wrapped her arms around the space where woman ended and bird began. “I hope this is the right spot.” After the fourth attempt to Heimlich the harpy, a huge wad of bubblegum spewed from the creature’s mouth, made a beautiful arc through the air, then stuck fast in a gnome’s beard.
All around us, havoc and mayhem fit for a cartoon happened with little assistance from us. Two dwarfs smacked into each other in their rush to get away. They both landed in the compost bin, then turned on each other in a flurry of beard tugging and face slaps.
The rest, a hellhound and two tree sprites, stopped trying to get away and simply dropped to the ground in surrender.
Kam came to stand next to me, hands on her hips. “Worst. Fight. Ever.” She looked dismayed. “What a disappointment.”
I laughed. “You’d think they’d have snagged a little good luck snot off Pansy before she took off and left them.”
“Wow,” Kam said. “What a bitch, not blowing her nose for her friends.”
Riley joined us. “So, now what?”
“Uh, you’re welcome.” Silas stood on top of the unconscious chupacabra with his arms folded across his chest.
I smiled. “Thank you, Silas. That was surprisingly entertaining and not at all difficult. You rock.”
“Silas rocks!” The voice was small and close to my ear. “Who’s Silas? Is he that pooka guy?”
I turned my head and found Fred sitting on my shoulder, looking every bit as self-satisfied as Silas did.
“How did you get up there without my noticing?”
He shrugged. “You were paying attention to everything else.”
Abby’s voice came from my other shoulder. “I liked the part where the bird lady spit gum in that guy’s beard.” She giggled, and Aaron climbed up beside her.
He smiled at me and waved. “Hi, Zoey. Thanks for coming to get us.”
A second later, I nearly lost my balance as Toby and Janey slammed against me and wrapped their arms around my legs in a pair of bear hugs. I disengaged from their grip and dropped to my knees so I could hug them back.
“I knew you would come, Zoey,” Janey whispered.
Tears prickled my eyes, and I glanced up at Riley. He held a squirming Fern in one arm and a furry baby Dasho cradled in the other. His beautiful gray eyes shone bright with tears of his own.
I kissed the tops of both kids’ heads and straightened. “Okay. We have to make some calls.”
Kam was corralling the cultists into the center of the courtyard, while Silas dragged the unconscious ones over.
“I’ve already got the O.G.R.E. squad coming to pick them up,” Kam said.
“Make sure they know to pick up the drunk in his office, too,” Silas said.
I relayed the message to Kam, and she nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on these guys until they’re in custody.”
Our local O.G.R.E.s weren’t all that efficient, since their boss had turned out to be a high priest of this very cult. Gris was still working on finding the squad a qualified overseer, but I felt confident they could handle this. It wasn’t complicated to arrest and transport prisoners who’d already been neutralized.
I pulled out my phone and called home with the good news. Maurice answered on the first ring.
“Zoey. What happened? Did you find them? Are they okay? Are you okay? Please tell me everybody’s okay.”
I laughed. “Everybody’s fine. We’ve got the kids and we’re coming home.”
I waited while Maurice repeated what I’d said, and the room erupted in cheers.
“Okay, listen, Zoey. I left some stuff in the back of your car, you know, just in case you found them. Do not put those babies in that car without their car seats. There’s a diaper bag with bottles and diapers and clean clothes for both of them. And sandwiches and juice boxes for the older kids. I’m sure they’re all starving.”
It hadn’t occurred to me to wonder how we were getting all these people home. And car seats were beyond my expertise. I never would have thought of it.
“Thank you, Maurice. You’re the best.” And I really meant it.
“Oh, one more thing.” He paused to speak with someone on his end. “Gris is taking Sara’s car and coming out there to help Kam with the O.G.R.E.s, then drive her and Silas home.”
Sara never let anyone drive her car. But then, in her present condition, Sara couldn’t drive her car, either. I hoped Gris knew how to drive.
Riley and I split the baby preparations. I took Dasho, changed him, then fed him the bottle Maurice had thoughtfully marked with the half-yeti’s name. Riley got the pleasure of changing the little lady’s stink bomb, but was rewarded with holding her while she ate. Since Fern was half dryad, she needed to drink her bottle in sunlight in order to combine the goat milk with photosynthesis. By the time the bottle was empty, her head was a glorious array of blooming wildflowers. Riley couldn’t take his eyes off her, a soft smile lighting up his face.
After a few minutes of fighting the car seats, we were on our way. A reaper, an Aegis, two goblin kids, three brownie kids, a green toddler and a hairy baby. I couldn’t imagine what one of those stick-figure families would look like on my back window.
The kids slept on the way home, from the oldest brownie all the way down to the smallest yeti/skunk-ape. Riley held my hand as he drove, and I drifted off as well, awash in a feeling of contentment and—at least temporary—safety.
The scene at home was so beautiful, it was almost overwhelming.
The big kids all piled out of the car on their own. Walter, Molly and Rene rushed to grab their little ones, sobbing and exclaiming over them. Nick and Mari stood in the yard, wringing their hands, waiting for me to unlatch Fern from confinement. Once she was free, she squirmed so much I had trouble keeping her in my arms while I handed her over. They smothered her in kisses, checking her over for scratches and bruises.
And then there was Tashi. Poor Tashi had already been through so much. I cradled the soft baby, tucking his head under my chin as I carried him to the tree line. Like his father before him, Dasho smelled of fresh-cut flowers. I inhaled the sweet scent, and my heart filled with joy. Phil smiled beside Tashi as I handed Dasho to her. The baby squealed and cuddled into her thick fur, and Edie squealed back, nudging closer to her brother.
Tashi nuzzled them both and made a soft crooning sound. She looked at me with her clear blue eyes and touched my face with one thick finger.
“You’re welcome, my friend,” I said. “I won’t let it happen again.” Making impossible promises was something I still hadn’t broken myself of doing. I needed to work on that.
She patted my head and turned toward the forest.
“Fissures run in chaotic leaf blowers,” Phil said. He held out an envelope.
I took it from him. “Oh. Thanks.” The envelope was smooth and unmarked, so I had no idea who’d given it to him for me. It was sealed, but there was definitely something in it.
For some reason, I didn’t want to open the envelope. My gut told me it was something horrible. I opened my filters a little wider and took a metaphysical peek at the paper, bracing myself for the hostility and hate that was probably packed into such a tiny space.
What I found was far worse. The person who had written it had been devastated—nearly overcome with sorrow. I didn’t stop to try to figure out if I knew the person. Anyone hurting this much needed my help.
I ripped open the envelope and pulled out a letter in perfect, elegant cursive.
My darling Zoey,
I’m so sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth about what the Simurgh said to me. You needed to find the ch
ildren without distractions, and knowing the truth about me wouldn’t have changed what should—what must—come next.
I’ve known for some time there was only one way to solve our dilemma. The message from the Simurgh verified it: In two there is sorrow, in one there is hope. You are the one, my sweet girl. You are the one who can save the world. I don’t have the strength. It has to be you.
The Simurgh affirmed my suspicions. The answers are all in the book Aggie sacrificed herself to give us. But the book won’t give up its secrets for two. The Covenant was written when there was only one Aegis. It can only be read when there’s one of us.
I don’t know where Shadow Man is, but I don’t imagine it’ll take long for him to find me. We all have our individual strengths. This is what I can do to help save everyone we love.
Please know that I am so very proud of you and love you so much my heart feels like it could burst with happiness. You and Maurice take care of each other, and look after Darius for me. He’s going to take this especially hard.
I left a gift for you in my closet for when this is all over.
The answers are in the book. Trust in the Simurgh, and she will guide you.
All my love,
Mom
I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat and read the letter again, disbelief and denial making my head shake so hard a pain shot up my neck. I didn’t know what to do. Phil and Tashi had already retreated into the woods. Everyone else was in front of the house, rejoicing in our success. I needed someone to tell me what to do.
My knees buckled, and I fell to the grass. I barely noticed. I read the letter again.
It didn’t make any sense to me. Where was Darius? Why didn’t anyone stop her? Maybe she hadn’t left yet, and I could change her mind before it was too late. I tried to climb to my feet, but my legs felt like mozzarella sticks. Mom loved mozzarella sticks. Somebody should let her know we have mozzarella sticks.
What the hell was I thinking? I gave myself a mental slap and forced my legs to stand upright. They were still rubbery, but I ran anyway. I ran through the woods, branches slapping at me and rocks threatening to trip me. I broke into the clearing and ran into the kitchen that still smelled like Aggie’s cookies. Or Mom’s cookies.
Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) Page 18
