An Hour of Need (10 page)

I
traveled back
to The Shade with speed and focus. Hardly any time was wasted in getting lost over the ocean. Over the past couple of decades, I had traveled the waters surrounding The Shade and America so much that I knew the landmarks like the back of my hand…
well, almost.

Since I didn’t have automatic permission to enter The Shade—only witches and a select number of jinni had that—I was forced to yell my throat hoarse for someone to come and let me in.

It was Corrine who arrived. Perfunctory at first on eyeing me, as always, she performed a routine check to verify that I was not an imposter before asking, “What is going on, Lucas?”

“I need to gather an army,” I replied grimly, soaring with her through the redwoods and touching down on the forest ground.

I proceeded to explain to her what had happened since Ibrahim left our company—which wasn’t long ago. Corrine informed me that it’d taken the witches and jinn a while to respond to my yelling because they’d all been so wrapped up with the tree specimens Ibrahim had brought back.

“So far, we haven’t made any breakthroughs,” she confirmed. “But we haven’t had much time.”

“Okay,” I said. “Well, I’m going to need to borrow a few witches to help us chase the hunters out of Aviary. I will also need dragons, wolves, more jinn, and anybody else who is able and capable.”

Corrine agreed to gather the witches and jinn, while I headed off to gather the rest of the League. I informed them that if they were willing to embark on this mission, they needed to gather by the Port within half an hour. I deliberately left out my son, Jeramiah, however. Derek rebuked me for it on occasion, but I tried to keep him out of the League’s activities as much as I possibly could. It had taken me decades to be reunited with that boy, and I wasn’t as tolerant about watching him ride into danger as the other parents of the island were… even though he was a fully grown adult.

Yuri, Kiev and a couple of the dragons helped me gather weapons and explosives from the Armory, and then all we could do was wait for the rest to arrive before the deadline.

I was about as good at waiting as I was at cooking—always had been that way. I found myself pacing up and down, leaving the clearing and heading to the beach to try to distract myself by watching the waves.

I mulled over question after question relating to the IBSI and the so-called antidote. I hoped that, for Grace’s sake, we weren’t barking up the wrong tree… so to speak.

I glanced back again at the Port after a couple of minutes and was pleased to see more League members had gathered by now. I was about to return to speak to the newest arrivals when a feminine voice called behind me.

“Monsieur Novak.”

I turned on my heel to find myself gazing down into a pair of pretty hazel eyes. A delicate face, framed by locks of blonde-streaked brown hair. It took a few seconds for it to register in my brain that this was Marion, the young woman I had saved along with her baby back in The Trunchlands. She looked so different now than when I had last seen her. She had a healthy glow to her cheeks. Her hair was clean and combed in soft curls. The witches must have also managed to make her put on a few pounds, because her previously emaciated form had become distinctly curved beneath a light yellow dress.

The vision of her caused me to temporarily abandon my resolve to greet the new recruits, and I found myself standing before her and staring. “Uh, hello,” spilled from my lips. “I mean,
bonjour.”

She smiled broadly. A smile that emphasized the delicate apples of her cheeks… and even a small splash of freckles across her nose, now that her skin was bright and clean.

“How is your, uh,
enfant
?” I asked.
Damn
.
My French ought to be better than this.

“Avril is happy,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “She… sleeping in hospital. With nurse.”

“Oh, good,” I said. My chest tensed as she continued gazing up at me.

“Monsieur Novak—” she began again.

“Please, call me Lucas.”

She smiled coyly. “Lucas.” My name coming from her lips sent an odd tingle down my spine. “I thank you again for helping me and my baby.”

“Oh, that’s… really no problem.”

“Hey, Lucas!” Kiev yelled. “Everyone’s arrived.”

As selfish as it was, I realized a small part of me had actually been hoping that some League members would arrive a little later. I returned my eyes to Marion’s bright face. I let out a breath. “I’m sorry, Marion. I need to go.”

“Where do you go?” she asked curiously.

“To battle.”

She raised her brows. “Battle?”

“You know… War. Fight.” I balled up my fists and held them up in a stupid gesture of combat.

Understanding dawned on her face. “Oh. You are… warrior.”

I couldn’t stop a small smile from cracking my lips. “Well, yes… I guess you could say I’m a warrior—”

“Lucas!” Kiev roared. “What the hell are you doing? Get over here!”

“I have to go,” I told Marion apologetically.

“
Mais oui!
Of course! Be careful… Lucas.”

That shiver again.

I lowered my head slightly in a bow. Meeting her wide eyes once more, I turned on my heels. But before I could take a step, her hand reached out and closed around mine. The next thing I knew, I was being tugged downward, and her heart-shaped lips were pressing against my right cheek. Her kiss was both soft and firm, and infused with passion.

Then she pulled away just as suddenly, her cheeks flushed… As I knew mine were.

“Adieu,”
she whispered breathlessly.

“A-Adieu,
” I managed.

I finally tore myself away from Marion and sped back toward Kiev, who had by now descended from the jetty and appeared to be on his way to physically grab me. Though my right cheek remained tingling far longer than it should have.

I
stared
down at my daughter’s pale, sweaty face as she begged me, “Please. I need to speak to Lawrence.”

I could hardly bear to glance at River. Neither of us had ever experienced as much pain as this before—to witness our daughter turning before our very eyes while we watched helplessly.

But we had to hold it together. Neither of us could crack in front of Grace. I swallowed hard and set my focus firmly on my daughter.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll go find him.”

“Thank you,” she breathed, settling her head back down against the branch.

I was doubtful that a talk with Lawrence would gain us anything, even if I did manage to arrange it. He appeared to have been completely reprogrammed—an ally of the IBSI, no longer the confused boy who’d woken up in The Shade and developed a friendship with my daughter. But I couldn’t deny Grace’s request. Not at a time like this. After kissing her forehead and exchanging a fleeting glance with my wife, I left the group on the branch, even as I prayed that Grace would not undergo another fit while I was gone.

I hurried toward Aviary city. Along the route, I couldn’t help but notice the peachy, poisonous trees growing sparser and sparser, until I couldn’t spot a single one and they gave way to another species of tree entirely.

As I neared the city that had once been my prison, it looked nothing like it used to. I had been too young to remember anything when I’d been brought here, of course—I’d been only an infant—but I’d had visions of it since then in my later years. Gone were the tree houses carved of wood, straw and leaves, and gone were the rope bridges connecting one trunk to the other. In their place was an intricate network of metal and glass boxes, linked together by cylindrical walkways. An odd green mist hung in the air, obscuring parts of the IBSI’s constructions entirely. It didn’t look like a natural gas that might occur in Aviary. It looked to me more like some sort of insect or animal repellent, probably to keep the hunters undisturbed in the dark hours. It appeared to be spreading quickly, moving in my direction. I breathed in, sensing no strong odor to it.

I sank into the nearest box and found myself in a dark bedroom. Gray venetian blinds were drawn against the window. A bunkbed lined one of the walls, where two men slept. I leaned over the hunter on the bottom bunk to see if I recognized him—a man in his late twenties. I didn’t recognize him, nor the man sleeping above him.

After our kidnapping of Atticus, I found it strange that any hunter would be sleeping. I would’ve thought that Atticus would have immediately sounded an alarm and put everyone on alert for an impending attack.

I moved through the walls to the next room and found yet another sleeping hunter. As I continued to travel from room to room through the spidery network, practically every one contained sleeping hunters. And those hunters I passed who were awake had been relaxing, playing cards with a roommate, or reading a book.

Something odd was going on.

But I couldn’t allow my mind to wander too far off my goal.
Lawrence
. I’d promised my daughter I’d find him. As Atticus’s son, I figured that he would be positioned in one of the more central rooms, where in theory he would be surrounded by more security. By the time I had worked my way toward what seemed to be the most central area, the atmosphere outside had become completely choked with smoke.

Finally, I came across Lawrence. Despite the transformation of his physique, I recognized his face instantly beneath dimmed lights. He was lying on his back on a mattress in a room he clearly had to himself. His eyes were closed, though he was breathing lightly. It was hard to tell whether or not he had fallen asleep yet.

I paused, considering what my next move should be. I was tempted to grab him from his bed and carry him away, but that would be more complicated than it sounded. He wasn’t a fae like me, and he couldn’t pass through solid walls. I had spotted a trap door above a kitchen nearby that appeared to be unlocked, but I would have to transport him there first. If he started yelling, it would attract attention.

I didn’t know what the IBSI was playing at by not immediately gearing itself up for a fight, but I sensed in my gut that none of us should be causing a disturbance until our recruits arrived. He might be shocked to open his eyes to a strange girl in his room—I would be sure to keep out of sight—but less so than a strange man carrying him off in the middle of the night.

My eyes lingered on Lawrence a few seconds more. Then I left his room and emerged once again in the smoke. I raced back the way I came, toward the tree where I had left Grace and the others.

The smoke truly was spreading rapidly. It had now engulfed the area of old Aviary city and was drifting its way through the jungle.

Where was it coming from? There must have been hidden canisters somewhere that released the substance.

On arriving among the peachy-leaved trees, the smoke hadn’t reached them yet. The air was still clear and crisp.

I reached the tree where my family awaited. Grace was lying on her back, River beside her, holding our daughter’s forehead. I searched my wife’s face for indication of whether Grace had had another incident in my absence. “Grace is doing okay,” River managed.

Grace sat bolt upright on spotting me through the gloom.

I took her frail hand in mine. “I found Lawrence, Grace. Come with me.”

Her lips parted in relief. “Oh, thank God,” she breathed.

“If you’re heading back there with Grace, take Horatio with you,” my father said, looking worried. “We can manage without him for a short while… Just don’t be too long.”

I nodded, gritting my teeth. “We won’t.”

T
his was becoming torturous
. Now we were waiting not only for my brother to return with recruits, but for my son, granddaughter and Horatio. Nobody uttered a word as we perched wide-eyed in the trees. I kept my eyes fixed on the portal on the ground, willing my brother to appear. I didn’t think I had ever wished for his presence as much as I did now.

A chorus of cawing broke out above us. It sounded like the noise of large birds flying overhead, booming and sonorous.

Startled, Sofia moved closer to me and placed a hand on my knee. She didn’t say anything, but the gesture was reassuring. Sofia’s touch always had a way of reassuring me, no matter the circumstances. I wrapped an arm around her and held her closer to me on the branch as we waited.

Twigs snapped beneath us. Leaves crunched. I heard the noise of an engine. Leaving Sofia’s side, I quickly swung lower down the tree to gain a better view of the ground. A motorcycle thundered along the wide track that led to the portal. A trailer was strapped to it, its contents covered by a tarpaulin sheet. I was dismayed to see a vehicle working, though it was unreasonable to think that they had kept every single piece of machinery in the clearing for Horatio to tinker with.

The motorcycle’s bright lights flashed in the darkness, and then it stopped about twelve feet in front of the portal. It was impossible to see who was riding it, though it appeared to be a man. He was wearing some kind of mask that obscured his head and face entirely.

He pulled back the tarpaulin and dipped down into the trailer, withdrawing a large cylinder. As he offloaded it, placed it upright and swiftly yanked down on a lever to its right, alarm bells were already ringing through my head.

A hissing sound burst from the cylinder, followed by streams of thick greenish vapor.

“We need to get out of here,” I breathed, rushing back up to the branches where my family waited. “We need to move!” I urged. I had no idea what that green smoke was, but I knew it wasn’t good news.

“Wha-What’s happening?” Rose stammered.

“Where do we move?” Sofia asked, alarmed. “We need to keep an eye on the portal.”

“Forget the portal for now,” I shot back. “We have no—”

The hissing intensified to almost a scream. I swung back down to the lower branches in time to witness the cylinder shoot upward through the trees like a rocket. It imploded with a dull crack as it reached the roof of leaves, and the green gas that had been shooting out in streams spilled out into the area with such force, it surrounded us in a matter of seconds. I heard the motorcycle retreating.

“What in the world…” Sofia gasped next to me. I clung to her, barely able to even make her out in this fog. It stung my eyes like it was toxic.

We have to get away from here
. As I cast my eyes about, trying to figure out which direction appeared to have been affected by the strange gas the least, a heavy nausea set in. It felt like I had just run headfirst into a brick wall, or been walloped by an iron bar. One moment I was racking my brain for an escape route, and the next I could barely form a coherent thought. As if the smoke surrounding us wasn’t thick enough, my vision began to cloud. I could hardly see even a foot in front of me. Sofia slipped from my grip. I struggled to hold on to her, even as my limbs felt like jelly.

Everything started happening in slow motion. Members of my family dropped from the tree like flies, unable to support their own weight. The smoke intensified… and then my eyes gradually closed.

In my last few seconds of consciousness, I cursed myself for not getting everyone down to the ground the moment that hunter had pulled out a cylinder. We might have not known what danger we’d meet with down there, but at least we wouldn’t have had to contend with the fall…

But it was too late now.

Far too late.