Natalie hadn't left Boris' shop yet. She still sat on the upper floor with Aulikki, hiding in the unknown girl's bedroom, watching the library for any signs of movement. Rain continued to pour down. After the radio message, they'd waited for a few minutes for any further warning of activity, but nothing came. Eventually, Natalie assumed she had to be wrong, that nothing terrible had happened—or at least, nothing new.
Just more people hurt from last night… because of Dad.
We will talk to him. We will determine the best course of action.
"I don't know," murmured Natalie, as much to answer the voice as to Aulikki's unspoken question from earlier.
Aulikki didn't budge from her own perch, still sheltered from the ongoing downpour. The wind did blow the occasional drop their way, but it mostly just hit the floor, or Natalie. None of it managed to land on the woman.
Her left eye twitched over in Natalie's direction. "Whatever you decide, I am with you."
"...Thanks."
Natalie's phone suddenly began to buzz. She scrambled for it in a panic, worried someone might hear. Likewise, she heard faint ringing sounds way down the street… inside the library. A moment later, they fell silent as well, just as she grabbed her phone and tapped a button to get it to stop.
PRESIDENTIAL ALERT
'Awakening', or the process of reading from a piece of paper to gain access to magic, is now deadly as of approximately twenty minutes ago. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ATTEMPT TO AWAKEN. If you find a strange piece of paper with words you can't understand, DO NOT READ IT. YOU WILL DIE. More details to follow.
"Oh god…" Natalie murmured.
"What?" asked Aulikki.
"I think… I think something happened to Grey-eyes."
Aulikki turned to look at Natalie. "What do you mean?"
"She's not awakening anyone. I think… that radio message we heard… I think somebody just died because they tried to awaken and she didn't help them." Natalie looked back out down the street into the rain. "This is really bad…"
"Many may die," agreed Aulikki, shifting back to watch the library. "There's nothing we can do about it though."
"How can you…" said Natalie uncomfortably. "How can you just say something like that?"
Aulikki hesitated. She glanced back at Natalie again, and a look of concern crossed her face. Rain continued to pound on the half-caved-in roof above their heads, dripping onto the floor at the edge of the room and running off onto the street below.
She frowned. "I can only keep those closest to me safe, and at the moment, that list is very, very small. All of them are awakened, as far as I am aware, except for my daughter. She is on the other side of the world. I don't wish for anyone to die, but I also don't have any way to save them either. Do you?"
"...I don't," said Natalie. "I can't do what Grey-eyes does."
"And the best possible method to warn them has already been employed," Aulikki added, nodding at Natalie's phone. "There's nothing more that can be done."
She is right.
I guess so…
Aulikki makes a valuable ally, and she is wise. We can only protect our own, just as she does, and we must not extend your resources so far that we no longer control our territory.
So what do we do?
Focus on our objectives. We need to reach your father, we need to protect him, and we need to create a home for ourselves and our own. Everything else can wait.
Right.
Natalie cleared her throat. "So… How do we—"
"Stebbins, tell me you just got that, over."
"I got it, sir. Weren't planning on awakening anyway, over."
"No shit. But things are gonna heat up again fast. We might want to make a move, over."
"Ashe, this is Cinza," cut in Makoto's voice suddenly on the net. Natalie glanced at Aulikki's headset, sure she must have misheard him, but Aulikki didn't look confused at all.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"...Go ahead, Cinza."
A shuffle through the headset, and suddenly Cinza was speaking over the radio, her echoing voice diminished but not completely suppressed by the crackling noises of the transmission. "...That alert would have gone to everyone, including Hendricks. They will know we are weak right now."
"...They're weak too, Cinza. We gave 'em a serious beatin' last night, and the Guard hunted them for hours afterward, over," said Jeremy, but he didn't sound convinced, even to Natalie.
"So there is no better time to attack."
"Dammit, Cinza," cut in the sheriff. Natalie had a confused mix of emotions flood through her at Jackie's voice, unsure whether or not the sheriff was on her side. "What about that little girl? We all agreed to protect her. Don't you forget about that, over."
"You should go, now," murmured Aulikki, as Cinza launched into an argument about her dad being a traitor.
"What?"
"I think they've forgotten we can hear them. While they're still arguing, they're distracted. This may be your only chance. I don't believe anyone will shoot you, and you must not wait for them to take a foothold."
Natalie hesitated. "Are you coming with me?"
"I will make sure they do not follow."
She nodded. "I'll leave—"
"Take your friends. You will need them." Aulikki looked at Natalie and smiled, a sad smile Natalie wished she didn't understand. "I'll be okay, Natalie. I'll see you again."
Natalie turned and ran down the stairs, Percy fluttering to her shoulder as she went. Gwen got to her feet just as the tip of Natalie's toes touched the dust-covered floor of Boris' shop. Natalie pulled herself on top of the wolf, wrapping her coat tighter around the black funeral dress she still wore.
Gwen roared, a huge growl that rumbled through every bone in Natalie's body. Scrappy yowled at the sudden noise, but Gwen was already bounding out into the street.
The rain slammed into them as they rode out. Natalie clutched onto Gwen's back as she bounded down the slick streets, leaping over the upturned street light, the trash cans which still rolled around the sidewalks, the trashed car near Dan's diner. Water splattered her back, soaking Gwen's fur, but Natalie held on tight.
A gunshot rang out, and mud spurted out of the ground a dozen feet in front of them. Gwen swerved, but didn't slow down.
They shot at us!
Do not stop!
Natalie couldn't turn back. She kept riding, while another gunshot pierced the downpour, this time without the accompanying crack of the first one. Instead, she heard a burst of rubble behind her, and whipped her head around to see chunks of a building burst out and land in the street. Aulikki shot at them? I think… I don't know.
It does not matter!
She didn't need to know, because the library was only a few dozen feet away. Gwen kept running, even though the doors were boarded up. She was trusting Natalie to clear a path. Natalie murmured a quick spell, throwing out a lance of magic into the boards.
They shattered, wood chips flying in every direction.
Gwen dove inside, practically skidding on her claws as she landed in the dusty old library. Scrappy was only a few steps behind, while Percy fluttered in shortly after—all three dripping wet from their wild run across Rallsburg. Out of the gathering storm, the library seemed eerily quiet.
Someone was talking, just down the hallway.
Natalie pressed Gwen forward, step by step. She could hear something else… the slide of a gun. They were armed… four of them, if Natalie's senses were right. She felt more confident than usual… ever since the rituals in Quinn's house, nearly a month ago, Natalie was really good at telling what was around her.
Four people… but none of them are talking… is one of them Dad? I… I think so.
Wait until we are sure.
"Definitely a shot," whispered someone, just inside the next doorway, which had heavy old wooden planks criss-crossing the entrance to provide a makeshift barrier. Natalie put a hand on Gwen's neck, bringing her to a halt.
"Two shots," said another voice, much more confident—and much harsher.
"We didn't get any reports," murmured a third voice. None of them sounded like Natalie's father. "And none of our people should be anywhere near here. They're all supposed to be out of the forest by now, if they could manage it."
"Amateurs," snorted the harsh voice—a feminine voice, now that it was longer longer whispering. "Fucking amateurs, all of 'em."
"Crusaders," said a fourth voice, and Natalie's heart threatened to explode into her throat. She lurched forward involuntarily, nearly falling off Gwen's back. The wolf had to take a few light steps to keep her upright. "They carry out our cause. Don't be so quick to judge."
"I know," said the harsh voice. "But damn, we need better discipline."
"I heard something," muttered the first voice, just inside the doorway. A faint knock echoed down the hallway, filling the space below the rain pounding against the rooftop. Someone had just grabbed at the planks blocking the doorway.
We've been found out. We must act!
A shrill burst of panic up Natalie's spine. Every muscle tensed in unison. Gwen growled as Natalie's knees tightened around her back.
"The fu—"
She threw magic into the room. The planks fell away. Natalie felt for the guns and plucked them out of their hands all at once. The bundle flew out into the hallway and crumpled into a ball, useless.
"What the—"
Natalie turned the corner, right on top of Gwen. A one-armed woman was just inside, along with a heavyset man who looked like he couldn't believe his eyes. On the far wall, a rat-faced man with his mouth open wide, missing several teeth. By some chance or fate, Natalie didn't know, but they were gathered in the very same room she'd been in only six months prior—with the high turreted ceiling above, empty shelves in every direction, and a bench on one side.
Her father sat on that bench, in almost exactly the same spot Rachel had been six months ago. His eyes were wide, and he looked tired—so incredibly tired.
Gwen took another step forward, and then another. Natalie emerged fully into the room. She opened her mouth, and her voice caught in her throat.
"Is that…" started the rat-faced man in the back, but he trailed off as Gwen growled, her yellow eyes turning to glare at him. Next to the wolf, Scrappy prowled in, purring menacingly, while Percy fluttered on her shoulder and glared at the one-armed woman next to them.
Natalie ignored all of them, though. She ignored her friends, ignored the three bodyguards, ignored the rain on the rooftop and the gunfight possibly happening outside and the attack which might come any moment.
She ignored everything, because after seven long months—after begging the council over and over, after her home was destroyed, after living with the Laushires and the Kincaids, after so much time alone, in fear, in terror, learning to rely on herself and trusting no one else—she'd found him.
Natalie had found her father.