Cheating Death

by April White

  “What was that all about?” I asked her.

  Mr. Shaw came into view carrying Daisy.

  “Guys being jerks,” Raven grumbled. She got up to help Mr. Shaw lay Daisy on the granite. The young woman was unconscious, and her face was bloody. “What happened to her?” Raven asked him.

  “She was guarding two of the Mongers with their gun. They jumped her and beat her unconscious,” he said grimly.

  “Animals,” Raven glared.

  “Mongers,” Shaw growled back. He surveyed the assembled group of injured people and nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Archer held my face for a brief moment, and then stepped back. “We’ll head out to the shack now. Come find us.”

  “Be safe,” I said as Charlie and I linked everyone through touch.

  Mr. Shaw’s parting words to Archer closed a fist around my lungs. “Alive or dead, bring them back.”

  I Clocked the wounded directly into the classroom next door to Mr. Shaw’s laboratory. Charlie ran for my mom and Millicent while I helped Mr. Shaw get Colin to the table in the other room. He was already prepping for surgery when my mom arrived. I kissed her quickly, then found Charlie. “I need you to come back with me. I can’t transport that many people alone.”

  She glared. “I would get out there on foot if you didn’t Clock me.”

  We were back in the woods an instant later, with as much discomfort as if we’d walked through a door. “Will you go around to all the traps and make sure our people have what they need to keep guarding those guys?” I asked Charlie.

  She clenched her jaw, and I knew she wanted to come with me out to the shack. But she finally nodded. “If you take too long, I’m coming to find you.”

  “I know. I’d do the same. Thank you, Charlie. The last thing we need is a bunch of escaped Mongers coming at us from behind.”

  She picked up her bow and quiver from the base of her tree and slung them over her shoulder before heading out into the woods. That girl was a good match for Ringo, and I hoped they would get a very long life together.

  I stopped long enough to pull both daggers from their ankle sheaths before I ran. The relative quiet of the woods only lasted the first two hundred yards, and then the clash of metal and the shouts of men reached my ears.

  I put on a burst of speed, but then slowed as I got closer to the shack. I was going to be the unexpected guest at this party, so I tried to use that to my advantage. The smell of smoke suddenly hit me, and it fueled a spike of adrenaline. I didn’t see or hear any flames, but that was somehow worse, and I moved silently through the woods to the clearing.

  The burned out shack was still smoking, and small flames continued to burn the bits of wood that weren’t already charcoal. The adrenaline rush was quickly turning to panic as whispers of no, no, no raced through my brain.

  I forced calming breaths into my lungs and then crept around until I could see the source of the sounds of metal-on-metal. Three people were ringed around one, and all had swords. Someone else was huddled in against the trunk of a big tree nearby, and I couldn’t spot any others. I snapped at the chorus of ‘no’ in my brain and told it to shut up as I moved in closer.

  I nearly tripped over Adam and had to clap a hand over my mouth not to shriek. He was pale under all the soot that covered his features, and his breathing was shallow, as if the air hurt his lungs. There was a sword next to him, its blade still clean, and I nearly shrieked again when his eyes opened to look at me.

  I dropped to my knees next to him. “Adam! Where are you hurt?”

  “Can’t … breathe. Fire …” His voice came in whispered gasps. “Tried to … fight. Can’t … hold.”

  “Shhh. Where are the others?”

  “Woods,” he gasped. “Hiding.”

  God, I hoped so. I kissed Adam’s sooty forehead, left him with one of my knives, and grabbed the sword. “I’ll be back,” I promised him. I skirted the edge of the woods so I could approach the surrounded man, whom I assumed was Duncan, from behind.

  My run took me past the tree where I’d seen someone crouching, and I realized it was Tom crouched over a Wolf.

  No! I slipped up as quietly as I could without being seen by the others, and whispered to Tom from behind a tree. He looked up as he tied a binding around the Wolf’s leg, and I saw that he was covered, head to toe, in black soot. Connor’s Wolf whimpered once and looked me in the eyes. His fur was singed, and there were patches that had burned off, but the bloody bandage around the upper part of a leg was the most concerning. Tom threw a glance back at the sword battle in the clearing behind him.

  “They can’t win this,” he said tiredly. He sat back and rubbed his eyes, which were red from smoke and unshed tears. “They can’t kill him, and he’ll keep fighting until he has what he wants.”

  “What does he want?”

  “The ring.”

  I put my hand to my pocket in an unconscious gesture, but Tom saw the motion and glared at me. “Don’t you dare give it to him, Saira. It’s not his!” he hissed fiercely, and Connor’s Wolf growled in response.

  The clash of metal rang behind him, and then a female voice cried out. I clenched the sword in my fist and rushed forward. Tom’s hand shot out to stop me, but I leapt it and ignored his whispered, “no!” as I sprinted.

  “Duncan!” I yelled as I hurtled headlong into the battlefield. Archer had engaged him in swordplay while Ringo helped move Raven back out of reach. She was bleeding from several places, but the wound that had knocked her back was one to the thigh.

  Raven batted Ringo’s hands away and sent him back in to help Archer, then caught my eye and said grimly, “Finish this.”

  I called out again, “Duncan!” and this time he heard his name. He sent a flurry of slashes at both Archer and Ringo, and even with the two of them battling him, he was clearly winning. He looked up at me with a scowl but didn’t break the onslaught of his attack.

  “I have the ring you want,” I yelled. This made him pause just enough for Archer to lunge. He stabbed Duncan in his sword arm, and it was deep enough to seriously wound.

  Duncan roared in pain, but switched his sword into the other hand and dove for Ringo, who just barely danced out of the way in time to avoid being cut in two. All three of them were bloody, and at least two of them were tiring.

  “I’ll give it to Aislin unless you stop,” I called.

  Abruptly he let the sword tip fall to the ground, and he breathed heavily as he glared at me.

  “GIVE ME MY RING!” he bellowed. I swallowed against the fear his rage inspired.

  Archer and Ringo were backing away, out of range of Duncan’s sword. Ringo passed close enough to me that I could murmur to him. “Adam is in the woods back there,” I jerked my head, “and Tom and Connor are over there. Get them and head to the rock.” He nodded, and then the two of them melted into the woods. I began swirling my foot in the dirt below me as I stalled for time.

  “It’s not your ring, is it? The ring belongs to the Immortal Dream.”

  “The Dream is dead,” he growled at me, and he picked his sword up and held it menacingly.

  “Tell that to your Council when I bring it to them.”

  “Give it to me!” Duncan pointed his sword and me and walked forward. I forced myself not to run. “I will kill you where you stand and take what’s mine,” he growled.

  I heard something in the woods behind me, and I caught a glimpse of Tam, crawling toward me from the bushes, covered in soot from the fire. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued to swirl my foot in the dirt as Duncan advanced.

  “It’s against your rules,” I said as I slipped the ring from my pocket and put it on my finger. “You may be War, but you lose your voice at your Council if you interfere with us.” Whatever evil had winked at me from the red stone the first time I saw it in Seth Walters’ office had been replaced by something cool and soothing, and I felt calm confidence sweep through me.

  “There are no witnesses.” He smiled slowly, as if
he would enjoy what he planned to do to me.

  “Aislin is watching this whole scene play out, Duncan. She can see you, and she can see me, and if you kill me here, the Immortals will know it.”

  Duncan whipped his head around as if expecting Aislin to walk out of the woods. When nothing happened, he scowled at me. “She’s not here. She can see nothing.”

  I had one last spiral to trace with my foot, and the humming was growing louder. Tam stood up behind me and grabbed my belt. “She sees through my eyes,” he said to Duncan, right before we Clocked out.

  I took us straight to the granite rock spiral and almost Clocked right into Charlie. She was with six of the mixed-bloods, and they were up on the rock, completely surrounded by about ten Mongers with rifles.

  “You’re the Clocker Walters wants,” one of the men growled at me. Archer and Ringo weren’t back yet with the others, and I didn’t know if Duncan was going to follow, so this needed to end now.

  “Every one of us has been battered by this thing that one power-hungry man started. He told you to hate us, and you believed him,” I said. The calm, confidence of the ring still flowed through me, and I hoped I could do this without causing more damage.

  “You attacked us.” The Monger’s voice was angry, and the others murmured their agreement as they began to close in.

  “We defended ourselves,” I said. “But we’re all Immortal Descendants, no matter what Family we come from, no matter what mix we’re made of. My blood runs just as red as yours does, and I love and hope and dream just like you do. We are not born better or worse than anyone else, we’re born human, and we build ourselves up from the same ground floor.”

  I saw Archer and Ringo emerge from the trees supporting Adam, Cole, and Raven between them. Tom followed right behind with Connor’s Wolf slung over his shoulders. A few of the Mongers saw them too, and tensed, but others had lowered the guns they held, and they seemed to be listening to my words.

  “This place,” I gestured toward St. Brigid’s, “is where we have a chance to learn the skills we’re capable of. It’s also a place to understand what other people can do, who they are, and how we can work together. I’m called a Clocker, but it’s a skill I can do, not who I am. I get to choose who I am, just like you get to choose for yourselves – no one else has that right. It’s called freedom, and it’s a thing worth defending against those who would take our rights from us.”

  More Mongers relaxed their tense poses, and two of them put their weapons on the ground. “Any child that’s afraid of the dark knows to turn on the light so they can see the thing they fear. Do that now. Look around you at the people you’ve been taught to hate, because hate is just the cloak that hides fear. The light’s on in these woods, and there’s nothing to be afraid of here.”

  There seemed to be a collective sigh, as though the last of the tension running through the Mongers let go. I felt it, and Charlie stood up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “I’m going back now. I think it’s time to walk in the front gates.”

  She stepped down off the granite slab and made her way through the Mongers closest to her. They stepped back to let her pass, and when the other mixed-bloods, in various states of battered and bloody, began to follow her, some of the Mongers fell into step with them too.

  I let myself exhale slowly. I was afraid to let too much air out in case it was all just a ruse, but two of the remaining Mongers gathered up the guns and waited patiently for me.

  “We’re going to take these back to our vehicles and pull out. We don’t belong here.”

  “You do belong here – just as much as we do. It’s the guns that don’t.” I said. The man nodded and they started to leave. I called after them. “If any of your people are hurt, bring them inside the school. We have a doctor.”

  He looked up again, and this time there was a hint of relief. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said.

  They trudged away, and I flung myself off the rock and into Archer’s arms. He held me tightly, and I whispered, “I’m too young to be ma’am.”

  He chuckled, and then Tam and I got on either side of Adam, Cole, and Raven, and our small family went back to St. Brigid’s through the front door.

  The Aftermath

  Aislin was gone when we got back to the school. Ava told us she’d been white-lipped with anger after she saw Tam’s view of my exchange with Duncan, and she’d gone to call an Immortals’ Council.

  The laboratory and adjoining classroom had been transformed into a makeshift surgery and recovery room, and my mom, Millicent, and Olivia took firm and efficient charge of their patients. Three of the Monger guards had taken me up on the offer of medical care, and a couple others had helped move furniture to get the rooms set up.

  Mrs. Arman and Alex were both at Adam’s side, and Ava and come to inspect Tam to make sure he truly was uninjured. Cole had been burned getting out of the fire, but he sat by Raven and held her hand while Millicent cleaned the various cuts and slices she’d been dealt by Duncan.

  Liz Edwards had rushed over from Elian Manor and was tending to Connor’s Wolf. The burns were worse than the cut, but they would all heal faster if he was in Wolf form. Logan had Shifted into a Kitten again and was curled up under his brother’s chin, purring softly.

  Mr. Shaw was still operating on Colin Zhang’s leg in the laboratory side of things, so one of the Mongers, who had been an army medic, stabilized the worst wounds and treated the cuts and burns. Tom clutched the black knight in his hand and sat across the room lost in thought as he watched me clean and bandage Archer’s injuries. There was a gash on Archer’s forearm that was pretty nasty, but everything else would likely heal well. Ringo had avoided major injuries but had gotten a slice on one cheek that Charlie was cleaning thoroughly so it wouldn’t infect.

  I leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Bringing everyone back to school through the gates was brilliant, and I’m so proud of you for making it happen.”

  She grinned. “You gave such a wonderful speech, it needed a grand gesture.”

  “We make a good team, Charlie. I’ve never been able to transport so many people on my own, and definitely not without being sick afterwards. Thank you so much for your help.”

  She looked at Ringo, then whispered back to me, “There’s no place I’d rather be.”

  When Archer was patched up, Tom came over to us and murmured under his breath, “If you can get your mum to take five minutes, I’ll get my aunt and meet you in the solarium. We need to talk.” His expression was grim, and I knew he’d been thinking about Duncan.

  “We’ll be right there.”

  My mom was sitting with Daisy, who was conscious again, and whose wary eyes followed the uniformed Monger medic around the room as he worked on people. When I asked her to join us, my mom moved a couple of feet away from Daisy to speak quietly. “I can’t leave her alone. She was beaten by men in that uniform, and she’s in shock.”

  “We’ll sit with her,” said Raven from the nearby bed. My mom started to shake her head no, but then considered.

  “It could be good for her to have a Monger ally right now.”

  Raven held my mom’s gaze. “We won’t leave her, Ms. Elian. What happened to her wasn’t right. None of this was.”

  My mom nodded. “Thank you, Raven.”

  Mom followed me to where Archer waited by the door, then she looked back and surveyed the room. “It’s like a war zone,” she said sadly, and she was right.

  Camille Arman waited with Tom in the solarium. She was studying the chess table, which looked as though an entirely different game had been played on it. I knew Tom had been moving pieces on both sides as Ava fed him information, and it was like a map of everything that had happened in those woods. My mom hugged her. “I’m sorry about Adam’s injuries. How is he doing?”

  “He’ll be better when he gets on some oxygen, but as long as there’s no infection in the next couple of days, he should be fine.” Camille included Tom and Archer in her gaze. “He told us what you
did to get them out of the burning shed. You saved my son’s life.”

  I yanked on Archer’s hand. “What did you guys do?” Retroactive fear spiked in me, and I tamped it down as too little, too late.

  “I’ll tell you later,” he whispered.

  Tom took a deep breath. “We need to talk about the Immortals.”

  Camille’s expression froze. “I don’t think there’s anything for us to discuss.”

  “They’re not gods, Camille,” Archer said gently.

  “Talk to us, Tom.” My mom ignored Camille’s tension and put on her most reasonable voice.

  “Duncan knows that Saira has the ring, and he would have killed her in a heartbeat to get it.”

  Both women stared at me – Camille with shock, my mom with horror.

  “We must make it known that the Descendants’ Council has the ring and will keep it safe from any further abuse of its power.” Camille had the most pompous upper-class voice when she chose to use it. Unfortunately for her, the voice didn’t work on me. Or Tom, it seemed.

  “No,” he and I said at the same time.

  “It doesn’t belong to you,” Camille said.

  “No, it belongs to the Immortal Dream.” Every set of eyes swiveled to me, and I met every person’s gaze. “I’m going to the Immortals’ Council meeting.”

  “There is no Immortal Dream,” declared Camille.

  “Dream is Jera and Goran’s child. Seth Walters knows it, Aislin knows it, and Duncan confirmed it,” I looked Camille straight in the eyes.

  “Well,” she said, reaching for her next argument, “you’re a mixed-blood, Saira. They can have you condemned.”

  “I guess I’ll just take my chances,” I said with steely-eyed confidence.

  “You may need witnesses,” Archer said quietly. “Take me with you.”

  “And me,” said Tom. He held up his hand. “I have the battle scars to prove Duncan’s interference.”