Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free (40 page)

“Maybe they're all waiting to jump out and yell ‘welcome home'?” I asked hopefully.

“Unlikely,” Silene replied.

“Yeah, I thought that was a stretch.” I pulled the collapsible baton out of the back pocket of my jeans, but did not extend it.

Silene and I reached her clearing. Still no brightbloods in sight. Just her tree, swaying in the moonlight on the river's shoreline.

And her tree had been yarn-bombed. Dark yarn wrapped in tight lines from the base up the trunk at least six feet.

“Ash and fire!” Silene said, anger making her voice shiver as she marched toward the tree. “When I get hold of that sasquatch, I'm going to—”

The roar of a half-dozen battle cries cut her off as brightbloods charged out of hiding all around the clearing. Challa loped at us with a savage look on her face. Dunngo rode his wave of earth straight for me, because of course. And several others—two fauns, a man with buck antlers, and the waerbear—charged with them.

“Stop!” I shouted, and flicked the extending baton. Form Blazing Sword!

“Cousins!” Silene said. “Halt!”

Her words fell on deaf ears, most of them pointy or fur-covered ears and all of them mere inches away from eyes filled with Clubber Lang craziness.

Silene ran for her tree.

All of the brightblood altered their direction to intercept her.

The tree leaned toward Silene, and she lifted her hand. If she made contact with it, she could join with it and easily defend herself against the entire gang, except perhaps Challa.

I raised the now-glowing baton, ready to strike the first brightblood who attacked me.

Sal staggered out from behind Silene's tree, and then leaned heavily against the trunk.

He was naked.

By naked, I mean his fur had been shaved off, leaving only pale gray-tan skin, and a small strip of fur around his waist that hung down like a loincloth. And there were a number of nasty-looking cuts across his chest, arms, and legs that were far too large to be from shaving, even if he was as bad as me with a razor.

Sal shouted, “Stop! Herself be realtrue Silene.” His voice carried over the shouts of the charging brightbloods, and their charge slowed in jerking strides until they closed around us cautiously. Silene stopped short of her tree as well, staring at the injured sasquatch.

“Sal!” I said, striding toward him. “You okay? What's going on!”

“And what in the moon's name did you do to my tree?” Silene demanded.

“He save tree,” Dunngo rumbled, and stopped several feet away from Silene, his obsidian eyes narrowed. “You is you?”

“Who else would I be?” Silene asked.

“The jorōgumo,” Challa replied. “Badbright spider came, looking like youself, and tried to bighurt youself's heart tree.”

For a second, I feared that Hiromi had somehow, impossibly, returned. But then I realized it must be her little sister Kaminari, the girl who liked to jump rope, rhyme, and threaten to eat us. That made me feel no better at all.

“She attacked my tree?” Silene asked, true fear in her voice, and resumed walking briskly toward it.

Dunngo, Challa, and the rest followed her, and I trailed behind.

“Like say,” Dunngo said. “Seeahtik save tree. He champion.”

Silene reached her tree, and put her hand on the yarn. “This is your hair,” she said to Sal in a surprised voice.

He nodded. “Seeahtik hair is bigstrong. Protects tree.”

“You—” Silene looked at Sal. “Thank you. Your wounds, they are from protecting my tree as well?”

Sal shrugged, in that same self-deprecating golly-gawrsh way that Pete sometimes did, and looked down at his feet, still in their boots but looking even odder now with his stubbly legs. “Youself healed me. And went away to help all brightbloods. Youself have a bigbright heart, and I did not want heart to die.”

“I—you are my champion for true,” Silene said. “Come, let me heal your wounds.”

Sal shook his head. “I not worst. Others need youself more.”

“Others?” Silene demanded.

Dunngo nodded with the sound of scraping stone. “Take to cave. Two bad hurt. One very bad. And two dead.”

“The jorōgumo did all of that?” I asked, surprised.

“No,” Sal said. “The spider-shifter came first time and only tried reaching the tree by fake-facing Silene. But I know herself not be true.”

“You—how did you know she wasn't really Silene?” Not even Veirai had realized when Hiromi had shapeshifted into Silene, and she'd known Silene well.

Sal looked embarrassed. “Silene smells like sunshine and … heart home. Jorōgumo smelled like moths and crazy. I not letting herself reach tree, so herself fled, and returned with many shadowbrights.”

“But we fight!” Dunngo said.

“And Saljchuh protected tree,” Challa said.

“The spider-shifter will come back with more shadowbrights,” Sal said. “Herself seeks blood vengeance against Silene for sister's death. And many Silver brightblood are death-sick with Grayson's Curse, theyself cannot fight.”

This was exactly the kind of escalation we'd been trying to prevent. I felt like I'd just Quantum Leaped into Sisyphus.

“Oh boy,” I muttered.

Silene's shoulders slumped. “A shadowsbright seeking blood vengeance cannot be easily stopped.”

“Stopped, no,” I said, remembering Kaminari's crazy eyes. “But … maybe it can be deflected onto someone else. If she learns that someone faked orders from the Forest of Shadows and tricked Hiromi into trying to hurt you and your clan, maybe she'll see that you actually have a common enemy.”

*La, what could go wrong, speaking to a revenge-crazy jorōgumo?* Alynon said.

At the same time, Silene shook her head. “Tricked or no, her sister died at my hands. I fear that words of peace or reason will take no root in her heart.”

“What option is there?” I asked.

*If you wish to stop a jorōgumo seeking vengeance, her Archon must bring her to heel. You alone have neither the power nor the influence to hope for success.*

Ugh. “Alynon suggests having the Shadows Archon rein in the jorōgumo and her clan.”

“Yes. That … may work,” Silene said. “But if I attempt to address the Shadows Archon it will seem but an act of fear and weakness, and further open our clan to attack.”

“Then have your Archon speak to theirs,” I said. “That's what he's there for.”

Silene nodded. “I will try, of course. Though … I fear our Archon may not be willing to pay the costs the Shadows would demand in exchange, not when I have brought such trouble to him and our patrons both. But I shall offer whatever it costs to protect my clan, even my life to the Shadows.”

Ah, frak.

“Look,” I said. “Maybe—”

“I thank you for all you have done,” Silene said. “But you and your brother should depart quickly, lest the Shadows attack.”

My brother.

Double frak.

“I'll go talk to the Shadows Archon,” I said, words I could have happily gone my whole life without speaking. “It was my fault you faced Hiromi, anyway.”

“I don't—” Silene began, then stopped, her shoulders sinking with resignation. “Thank you. I shall send word to the Silver Archon still, for what good that may do, and prepare for the Shadows' return.”

“Then I stay, too,” Sal said.

“That would make me—” Silene began, then frowned, and glanced at Challa. “That is, I'm sure you'd be welcome. But I alone may not decide, not when it affects others.”

“Saljchuh deserve to stay,” Challa said. “Besides, himself too strange to be scary.”

“Umph!” Sal said in a sharp cough.

Challa shrugged, and walked away.

“That is … good to see,” Silene said, though she didn't sound convinced of it. “You seem to have connected with her.”

Sal shrugged. “Herself remind me of sister-mine.”

“Oh? Well, that's—I should go and heal my wounded cousins,” she said, and turned to follow after Challa.

“Wait,” Sal said, stopping her. “Is not just brightbloods hurt by shadowbright attack. Is Grayson's Curse, too. Youself's clan not strong enough to stand against shadowbrights with so many bad-sick.”

Silene looked to her tree, and shook her head. “I cannot heal them, too, not quick enough to be ready if the Shadows attack.” She looked at me. “If you cannot gain us a cure, can you perhaps get us more of Grayson's Curse?”

“What?” I asked, shocked. “You want to drug your own brightbloods?”

“They are drugged already. Without more, they will die before we can heal them. With it, they will at least be able to fight for their lives, and the lives of their fellow brightbloods should they need to.”

I sighed. I could understand Silene's argument, but it still felt somehow wrong. It was not my choice to make, however. “I … may know someone who can make the drug for you,” I said. “An alchemist. I will try and bring her to you, if you promise she won't be harmed.”

“I would not harm someone come to help my clan.”

“Okay,” I said. “I'll try. I can't guarantee she'll come, though.”

“Thank you. You are a true friend to the brightbloods,” Silene said, and then hurried after Challa again.

Sal watched her leave, then said in a hesitant tone, “If youself need I for protection—”

I gave his arm a pat. “Stay,” I said. “Probably best if no Silver brightblood go with me to the Shadows Archon anyway. I'll ask Reggie to go with me instead.”

Sal shook his head. “The Archon would have to lock horns with enforcer to look bigstrong to himself's followers. Youself better to take wolfbright brother. Wolfbrights trusted by the Shadows.”

“I'm not putting Pete in danger,” I said.

Sal frowned. “Is himself not in danger go or not go? Why not let himself fight for life and clan, too? It is a big choice youself take from brother-yours, unless youself being true-sure can keep himself safe alone?”

“No,” I said. Damn it. “But you don't know Petey. He's been through enough. And I don't want him to lose his, I don't know, his innocence. Not any more than he already has. Not if I have another choice.”

Sal scratched at the stubble on his chest. “
Does
youself have other choice?” he asked.

I watched the river glinting in the moonlight for a minute. “I'll think about it,” I said finally, though I already knew the answer. Taking Pete really would help, not only to be heard by the Shadows Archon, but to be trusted. And Sal was right. If Pete's and Vee's lives were at stake, I didn't have the right to leave them out of the decisions, or the risks. “Well, if I'm going to do this, I'd better get to doing it. I'll send word, whatever happens.”

“And weself be ready,” Sal said. “Whatever happening.”

I started to turn away, then stopped. This whole thing had started with a promise to Sal, and I thought perhaps there was still a chance I could fulfill that promise at least. “Look, about Silene—”

“Yes?”

“I, well, if you like her, I think you should tell her so.”

Sal blushed. “I don't think herself like I so much.”

“I think maybe she does,” I said. “Or at least, she will if you give her time. But she has reasons to think you won't like her, that she is no longer, uh, beautiful. You'll need to be patient, and make her understand the reasons you do like her. I mean, if you do.”

Sal gave a shy shrug. I smiled.

“Okay. Well, good luck, and think about what I said. I'll keep in touch.”

I made my way back along the trail, past the humming dam. As I marched along the trail, my phone began playing “Always on My Mind” and vibrating in a heartbeat staccato.

Dawn was calling.

*La! She will not be pleased that you are risking your life once again.*

I stopped, and pulled the phone out of my pocket, looking at Dawn's smiling face displayed on the screen.

*If she knows you are passing this close to home, she'll want to go along,* Alynon added in a warning tone.

She knew I was back, alive and well. I'd called her from the ARC facility to let her know. But Alynon was right.

If I answered, I would have to either lie to her about why I'd be delayed, or tell her I was going out to face the local Lord of Darkness, and neither was likely to lead to a good result in the end. I needed to speak with her in person. If I tried to explain the situation with the brightbloods over the phone, now, she might not give me the chance later to tell her my feelings about us, my decisions. Or I'd be forced to try and do so over the phone.

I was too afraid of losing her to risk everything on a phone call.

I pushed
ACCEPT
anyway.

“Hey,” Dawn said. “Why aren't you in my arms yet, damn it?”

“Uh, well, I may not be back until the morning, actually. I need to take care of one more thing for Silene, something she can't do herself. Petey's going with me for backup, I think.”

“What one more thing?” Dawn asked, her tone skeptical.

“Something risky and possibly foolish, but necessary.”

“That's become the flavor of the week.”

“No, you're thinking of Totally Fudged.”

“Uh huh. Details?”

“I just need to have a talk with someone. I'd rather explain it when I get home. Do you trust me?”

Dawn was silent for a second, and then said, “Yes. Thank you for trusting
me
. I love you. Be careful. And hurry your butt home to me.”

“I will. Good night.”

“Like I'll be sleeping. Good luck.”

Dawn hung up. I grinned in spite of myself. “I love her.”

*Obviously.*

I reached the parking lot. Pete stood on a log facing in the direction of the Elwha steading, illumined by the yellow glow of a streetlamp and sniffing at the air.