Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

ALAN

T he compound outside my cell buzzed with activity all day, so frustrating to hear but not be able to see through the high windows. I retreated to my bed as the afternoon lengthened, sometimes singing nonsense, clutching the almost-empty ChapStick tube in my palm. Roxi had left before the morning light, saying she needed to hunt and keep her strength up. If any watcher had spotted her scurrying along the base of the wall to the hole by the pipe, I guess they just figured the prison had mice. She'd promised to return after dark. I listened to the rumble of engines and the distant thud of doors, even a helicopter a couple of times, and hoped nothing would change before then.

The light through the windows had dwindled beyond dusk and the stars were out when I heard Sunny's arrival under the bed. I sat up and began singing. After realizing that Roxi understood Pali, I'd thought about singing in Thai to convey my words. Sunny would understand any human language. We could have a real conversation. What were the odds NSEP had anyone around who'd know Thai or would even recognize the difference from random lyrics?

Low odds, but… not zero odds.

I gritted my teeth, tapped my foot once, and belted out "It's My Life."

Something cool and almost slimy touched my ankle inside my sock. I managed not to jump.

"Baggie," Sunny murmured. "Same-day delivery. Don't say I never gave you anything."

The tight clench of fear inside me relaxed a fraction. Lotion. Freedom. Yay, Sunny.

"We found a sanctuary to run to," he continued softly. "Errante Ame's back, and he's agreed to take us in."

I choked on a lyric and caught my breath. The Carnival! If anywhere or anyone had the magic to hold off NSEP, it surely was Ame. I steadied, changed to a chant that took less of my attention, and tapped yes .

"Midnight," Sunny said. "Or twenty to, anyhow. Time to get you free, run like hell, and make it to the Carnival."

Yes , again.

"I'll duck back in to give you the five-minute warning. We're creating a distraction and I'll pass out some slippery to any sorcerers I can find. You get through that wall and run like hell for the fence by those trees. Zahira will open it for you. I'll be with you all the way."

I swallowed hard. Now that the moment was getting close, all the ways it could go wrong rose in my mind. Would it be smarter to wait? It's the government. We're going to be in such deep shit. What if I can never teach again? What if Jason loses his job? What if he goes to prison?

Sunny said, "I just hope we have time to delay till midnight. I heard the command guy on the phone saying the mission was a go, they were packing up and moving out, and would transport the packages . But he didn't say when or where."

Any bet the packages are me and Oscar and the rest? No one had come in to ask me anything all day, or to threaten or demand anything. Oscar said he'd been basically warehoused for two years, ever since the early days when they checked out his powers and skills. Why collect sorcerers? And then not do anything with them except lock them up? We hadn't been a threat, hadn't done anything to gain attention. Oscar said he made glass lamps as a hobby, using spells to build them, but not to power them. I'd been practicing my control on houseplants. We shouldn't have attracted human NSEP's attention.

"Whatever they're up to, they're serious about it," Sunny said. "Haven't seen so many grumpy faces since my first sorcerer put a spell on the punch at a wedding and gave all of the groom's family the runs. One of the guys they brought in today tried to make a break for it and they Tasered the poor bastard and dragged him inside."

I shivered at the echo of violent electric shock down in my bones.

"We found a record of your friend Oscar. Vanished two years back. No trail, no fuss. Just gone."

That made me shiver for a different reason. I hugged my arms around my stomach. I'm a lucky guy. I have friends, and Sunny, and a man who'll drop everything and face down anyone for me.

"We've worked out some good distractions. Ignore any bangs and flashes from the front of the compound. Run like hell for the big trees and the fence. Four hours, Alan. But we need to know from your point of view. You're taking the biggest risk. Can you get out? Do we do this?"

Do we? I didn't want it to be my call. What if someone else gets hurt? What if they shoot Erin or Jason? Was getting free worth that risk? Shouldn't I be willing to sit in a cell to protect them?

But I remembered Oscar, sitting forgotten in his concrete prison for two long years. And I remembered the cruel smile on Poe's face as he thought ahead to whatever they were planning. Sunny said five more people had been brought in yesterday. However many today. Disrupting NSEP's plans wasn't just about me.

I took a deep breath, returned to Bon Jovi's defiant lyrics, raised my right foot, and tapped, once. Yes .

Sunny ran his beak against my calf. "I'll be hopping back and forth between you, coordinating. If you don't get all the way out…" He hesitated. "Well, the others will pull back, and I'll follow you wherever NSEP goes. We won't give up. But boy, as your familiar, I'm telling you, this would be a good time to shove all that over-the-top power into your escape spell. Just don't bring the building down on yourself. And when you cross the compound, run a zigzag."

Is it too late to change my mind? My hands shook, and I clasped them together.

Sunny said, "I'll be back later. Don't start anything until I give you the go-ahead." The soft pop told me he'd left.

I sat there and sang, my thoughts whirling. Okay, we were committed, unless something blocked Jason and the rest. I didn't know what would happen when we reached the Carnival. Would Ame sit there and hold off the armed forces of NSEP? Would he smuggle us somewhere else? I had to trust that Jason had thought the next steps through. Or at least, that Erin had. Jason might go off half-cocked when someone threatened the people he loved, despite all his firefighter problem-solving skills, but Erin had a Healer's cool even on the brink of death. She'd make sure they had a plan?—

The door of my cell opened.

Not now! I whirled to look, but it was just the evening meal. The older guard held his Taser ready, same as ever, but he looked me over intently rather than staring off into a bored distance. The young guy with the tray went to one knee and set it down more abruptly than usual. He cursed under his breath as a little of the stew slopped out of the bowl. Jumping to his feet, he pointed down. "There's your meal, sorcerer. Better eat up. You'll need your strength." He looked excited and nervous, like a racehorse about to run a dangerous course for the first time, his chin up and eyes a little wide.

The older guy muttered, "Come on," gesturing the young guy out first before sliding the door shut behind them.

My dinner sat there by the door and I eyed the bowl. I'd need my strength tonight, for sure, if not for whatever they'd planned. At the same time, the young dude had never spoken to me before. Why now?

I picked up the tray and brought it over to my bed, setting it on the blanket at the foot and seating myself cross-legged in front of it. The baggie in my sock held all my attention, like a kid in a police station with meth hidden on them. Or something. My analogies were crappy tonight. I wouldn't be trotting that one out to share with my students.

With casual motions, I pulled the blanket up over my lap, tucking it around me like I was cold, or afraid of getting stew on me. Under the cover, I eased the baggie out of my sock and felt it blindly. Maybe as much lotion as the full ChapStick. Enough for two uses. The aroma of the stew, more appetizing than last night's, tugged at my hunger. Lunch had been a bit meager, dinner now late. On purpose?

I opened the bag by feel and squeezed out a little slick onto my left wrist, then smoothed it around. A little more on the back, a breath, and I eased the cuff off my hand.

Oh, fuck, that's good! I forced myself to hold still, to not grin, not close my eyes in pleasure, as my magic vaulted up from my core and raced down to my fingertips. The world gained colors, scents, sounds, in a wave of power. Wait, wait, wait. I held myself frozen while the parts of me realigned, whole again. Except for Jason. Well, I'd be fixing that soon enough.

The tree roots under the floor called to my power, eager to grow again. I held my magic back. Not yet. First things first. Every sorcerer knew how to check for magic. I bent over the tray, picked up the bowl with my left hand muffled in the blanket, and lowered my face as if to sniff the food. With fingertips just barely above the edge of the thin wool, I sketched a tiny magic here? rune and slipped it against the bowl on the side toward the wall. The rune faded and died without sparking.

Not magic, then. But these were humans, and while the cuffs were magic, the main barriers of walls and guns and Tasers were not. I'd never checked something for poison or drugs, but I could imagine how it would work. Sylvester had taught me like-to-like , a way to search for something that matched a rune, to find water, for example, or bread. I'd never been any good at it— No negative thinking.

I scooped a spoonful of stew from the bowl and pretended to eat while tipping the spoonful down underneath the blanket. After setting the spoon back in the bowl, I sketched one-handed, down out of sight by the spilled food. Poison like-to-like.

The rune nosed around the gravy and lumps and faded, unmatched.

That made sense. They'd hardly go to all this trouble and then kill us. Poison was probably too literal, but I didn't know a rune for drugs . What else could I use? If there was something in the food, being drugged to make us easier to handle was most likely. I sketched, control like-to-like.

Nothing.

Sleep like-to-like.

My green rune complex slid across my sweatpants to where a lump of potato sat, buzzed around it, and brightened, pulsing. Here, here.

Crap. I stared down at the little rune and quickly pulled its power before the increasing light could shine through the blanket. They did drug the food.

I wondered if they were behind the cameras, watching us eat it. How long would a drug take to work? Probably not three hours. Not all the way till midnight, anyhow. Once we were drugged, they'd begin whatever they'd planned.

Sunny? Where are you? Our timetable may be wrecked.

I turned my back on the camera corner and pretended to eat, bite by bite, spilling the food onto the bed, keeping my left wrist out of sight. The mess increased. I'm not sleeping in the bed tonight anyway. I set the spoon back in the empty bowl and stretched.

No drug could hit in seconds. I figured I was okay to get up, carry the tray back to the door, then head to the bathroom like usual after dinner. With the water running in the sink as I splashed my hands and face, I murmured, "Oscar?"

There was no reply.

"Roxi?"

Nothing.

I peed and flushed, saying, "Oscar," again under the rush of the water.

Nothing.

There were important things I wanted to tell him, and no way to bring him near. I ran the sink again, scrubbing my face with damp paper towels, rubbing the back of my neck, keeping my left wrist hidden as much as possible. Come on, Oscar. Talk to me.

My last murmur of his name also went unanswered and then the water shut off.

Without an excuse to linger, I headed back to the main room, left hand in my back pocket so the loose cuff was masked, yawning as if the day was catching up on me. Or the drug. Was that last yawn clearly fake? My mother had a cat they had to give sedating medication for trips to the vet, and she'd been told to give the med an hour in advance.

My shoes over by the door caught my eye. If I was going to run through a desert landscape in the dark, I sure as hell wanted something on my feet. But… in the whole time I'd been here, I'd never put my shoes back on. Shoes were for outside, not inside. Would I give the whole plan away by grabbing them now? How well do they know me?

Casually, I wandered toward the door and by pretend-accident, stepped on the edge of the food tray. Cursing and hopping on one foot, I paused, rubbed my sole, then slipped my feet into my sneakers. Believable? No one slammed the door open. Gritting my teeth against how wrong the shoes felt, I shuffled over to the bed and stretched out on top, curling around the wet spot. Wrong kind of wet spot.

Shoes in bed were like nails on a chalkboard, but I arranged the blanket in a casual drape from my shoulders to the floor and closed my eyes, focusing my power on the soil below. Roots, trees, ready. My runes for grow and break slid from my hands and seeped through the floor behind the corner of the blanket. I added more and more, a steady flow of magic to fill the soil, dancing green light alongside those waiting roots. Slowly they thickened, spread out under the wall.

Not too much, not yet.

Come on, Sunny.

Minutes ticked by. I hummed to myself for a while, songs I knew were four or five minutes long, trying to gauge the time. I added, "Roxi, Roxi," to the lyrics, trying to call the little familiar to me, but she never appeared. After twenty minutes, I fell silent. Perhaps now they'd expect to see the drug starting to work. Either way, pretending to sleep was probably the smart choice. The silence filled my head. Scenarios of how everything could go wrong broke past my mental barrier, filling my mind with images of Jason shot, Sunny bludgeoned, Erin begging for help.

We'll be okay. We've got plans. We've got smart people. Sunny thinks it'll work. That last thought steadied me. Sunny might be a quirky old bird, but he'd been through dangerous situations and he was no blind optimist.

More noise rose outside, but not the kind of chaos I figured Jason and Erin would make. I made out a larger motor approaching, a truck perhaps?—

A pop under the bed jolted me. Yes! I took the chance and chanted in Thai, " Poisoned food. "

"Your neighbor's out cold," Sunny murmured. "And so are several others. There's a bus coming up the road. I think they're going to move you all tonight."

" Can't wait till midnight, " I sang, then went back to nonsense.

"No. We've all discussed that and agreed. Give it a few minutes. I'm listening for Jason's whistle."

A few minutes. We're going to do this. I stuck the bracelet in my back pocket, down under the blanket, and lay still, gathering power from my core, holding it ready, nudging those roots. Wait. Soon. The need to crack that wall, to get out, escape, run, built inside me. Soon.

"Go!" Sunny said. "Now. Break the wall."

Break! Grow! A hundred iterations of those runes swelled and glowed as I slammed power into them. No control now, just the raw force of my will. Under the floor and wall, my roots swelled and grew, screaming upward toward the surface. A crack appeared in the floor, then another. More! Grow!

Brown roots emerged from the concrete by the wall. Puffs of dust erupted around them. If anyone was watching, they'd see?—

Bang! An explosion outside echoed. A siren wailed. Now that was a diversion. Gunshots answered another explosion.

I shut down my worry for Jason and focused on the roots. Big! Grow! Break! My vision filled with apple-green haze as I stood up and walked toward the wall.

Sunny said, "Checking the others. Get out fast!" and vanished.

Break! Break!

For the first time, I heard pounding footsteps from the corridor, but I didn't turn. Hands out, I called every living thing in that soil to me. Rise!

The floor heaved and broke, slabs lifting, concrete fracturing. A big crack opened in the wall. Dust puffed around me. Then, with a muffled roar, a five-foot section of the wall crumbled outward in a heap of rubble.

A voice behind me yelled, "Hey!"

I dove forward, staggering through the irregular opening, banging my shins on the rubble. Trailing my power behind me as I got free, I pushed a last blast of Rise! Break! at the roots back under the floor. Concrete fractured with loud cracks.

Someone yelped, then screamed.

Sunny swooped by my head. "This way! Run!"

The darkness was lit by floodlights and flashes, the air crackled with fireworks or shots or both. I ignored it all to follow Sunny, racing across the sandy ground. When he dodged left, then right, I dodged, cursing my loose sneakers.

"Faster. Fence ahead. Truck. Go!" Sunny took off up high into the sky.

I lowered my head and sprinted. Something zinged past me in the dark. Shots! I dodged left and kept going. Ahead, I spotted the four trees filled with my magic and the metal fence I'd seen when I arrived, but this chain-link section looked like it'd been used as a play toy by King Kong. Bent posts stretched up into odd shapes, and the wire mesh crossed through the air five feet off the ground.

I ducked under it and heard Erin shriek, "Alan! This way."

Another volley of shots screamed by to my left. Ahead, a pickup truck with a fanned metal tail like a strutting turkey stood behind a big SUV. Beside the open door of the SUV, Erin waved frantically. I charged toward her. A shot past me pinged off metal somewhere and Jason bellowed from inside the SUV, "Get in!"

Erin disappeared. Three more strides and I reached the door and scrambled through. Erin clutched me from the other side of the back as Jason in the driver's seat floored the gas. The door slammed with the momentum, narrowly missing my foot. Shots rang out behind us.

"How does it look?" Jason asked, apparently to Dale, who sat twisted halfway around in the other front seat.

"Zahira is awesome . Fence is back down." I almost didn't recognize Dale with that feral grin on their face. "Their cars are trapped inside."

Erin told me, "Zahira fused the gate and now she dropped the fence back in place. They're trapped inside unless they climb it?—"

"Fuck!" Jason flicked a look at a sideview mirror before snapping his attention back to the rough, sandy terrain lit by our headlights. He veered left, dodging a small pine and throwing me against Erin. "What's that on the road?"

"The bus." Dale waved their hands. "It's paralleling us."

"Seatbelt," Erin told me. "Hang on."

I fumbled to buckle in as Jason shifted gears and picked up more speed. A cloud of dust rose around us. Jason grunted. "Bus. Fuck. Well, better than one of their pursuit vehicles."

"Whee!" In the third row, Sylvester leaned forward to peer at me. "This is quite the adventure. About time you joined us, boy. Where've you been?"

I exchanged looks with Erin. "Sorry I'm late, sir."

"Don't worry. There's plenty of adventure yet to come." Sylvester yelped as we hit a washout and bounced over the ruts.

"Four miles to the road," Jason said.

"Would we be better to stay off-road all the way?" Dale asked. "The bus can't follow us out here."

"If we were trying to hide, maybe, but they had a chopper somewhere, and I can't run without lights, so they'll find us. We mostly want speed to get to the Carnival and the road goes right there."

"Will Errante let us in?" Erin asked. "We're early."

"Fingers crossed."

I'd been looking around the SUV, panic rising. "Where's Sunny?"

"Coming with Zahira and Coal in her pickup," Erin said. "They're rear defense."

"Oh." I slumped. "Okay."

Dale clung white-knuckled to the Jesus-bar, still twisted to face backward. "Zahira used all the scrap metal in the bed of her truck to build this shield thing." They gestured behind us with their free hand.

I peered through the dark, but all I could see was a pair of bright headlights and, farther back off to one side, the lights and looming bulk of a bus. Both kept pace with us as we roared and bounced across the dark landscape. "How far to the Carnival?"

"Ten minutes after we hit the road." Jason cleared his throat. "Welcome back. I've fucking missed you."

"Drive," Erin said tightly. "Reunion after."

I had a thousand things I wanted to ask, but the words dried in my mouth. I stared at the dimly lit side of Jason's face, drinking in the sight of him as we tilted and shuddered, charging through the night.

"Ditch! Hang on!" Jason ordered.

I grabbed the door handle tighter and clenched my teeth as we tilted, plunged into a dry ditch, churned up the other side, and the sound of the wheels changed as we hit blacktop.

"Now we'll see how fast this thing is." Jason floored the gas again.

"Whose SUV is this?" I didn't recognize it.

"The rental company's." Jason grinned without taking his eyes off the road. "I might owe them for a couple of bullet holes. Not sure my insurance covers damage in the commission of a felony."

"Ouch." I hadn't thought too far past getting free. I still wanted to pretend it would all work out.

Dale said, "Look back, Alan. You can see the shield on Zahira's truck."

I twisted around. The pickup behind us was silhouetted by the lights of the bus, backlighting the turkey-tail fan on the rear end.

"Do you think that's—" I was cut off by the distant crack of a gun. "Uh, necessary? Okay, yeah." If the men in the bus were shooting our way, I had no objection to a steel shield between them and us.

"We'll outrun the bus," Jason said. "Fingers crossed they can't get local law enforcement to help them."

"Help kidnappers?"

"Help NSEP and Homeland."

"Oh. Yeah." Running from regular cops was an experience I could do without. "Fingers crossed."

We passed a few vehicles going the other way and had to dodge the occasional slower car. We got honked at several times, and I hoped no one was calling nine-one-one. The hour was late enough that Jason rarely lifted his foot off the gas.

"There." Erin pointed ahead.

I caught sight of the multicolored lights of the Carnival and took a deep breath. "That's a pretty sight."

"I hope they sent all the ordinary customers home already," Dale said.

"Fuck, yeah," Jason agreed. "We don't need little kids getting shot at. How early are we?"

They looked at their phone. "It's almost ten. Errante Ame said midnight."

"We can't drive around the countryside till midnight. I hope he's in a forgiving mood." As we reached the entrance to the parking area, Jason hung a fast right turn.

"No other cars," Erin noted as we bounced up the lane to the lot. "Means everyone's gone."

"Thank God." Jason drove right up to the entrance and stopped, turning off the engine. "Out, come on. Let's go!"

By the time I'd untangled myself from the seatbelt, he was at the back, pulling a pack from the cargo space.

The turkey-tail pickup skidded to a stop right behind us. A tall woman jumped out of the cab, with a crow fluttering to her shoulder.

Sunny?

A green and orange-gold feathered arrow flashed from the pickup to my shoulder. "Good," Sunny said, giving my earlobe a nip. "You didn't get lost. We should head inside, now!"

The woman, who had to be Zahira, strode up. "Sunny's right. They're close behind—" She whirled as the bus roared up the drive toward us. "The gate! Come on."

We sprinted toward the arch inscribed with "Welcome, Traveler."

"Tickets," Jason said. He shoved a scrap of cardboard into my hand. "That's yours."

The bus plowed to a halt right behind Zahira's truck and the door winged open. Shots rang out. Jason shoved me ahead of him through the arch and followed with the others hot on our heels.

Errante Ame stepped out of the shadows by the gate. He looked exactly the same as I remembered. "Welcome back, Alan Hiranchai." His poise seemed unruffled by the gunfire in his parking lot.

Jason said, "Where can we hide?"

"You don't need to." Errante strode past us to stand in the arch and raised his voice. "Who are you and how dare you disturb the sanctuary of my Carnival?"

"NSEP. Homeland Security. Stop!" The first of the four men who'd left the bus charged into the arch after us and rebounded off something invisible, hard enough to stagger and fall on his ass. "What the hell?" The other three plowed to a stop.

Errante stood in the multicolored glow from the bulbs around the archway, his arms crossed, his white shirt pristine. "This is a peaceful place. Your kind are not welcome here."

"The hell we're not." The oldest of the four men strode forward. "You're obstructing justice. We're here to arrest those people. Step aside."

"If you can pass through my archway, you may attempt to arrest them."

The older man was smart enough to put out a hand as he stepped forward, wincing as he hit solid air in the center of the arch. "What's that?" He patted at the transparent obstacle in the opening. "There's a barrier or something." He slapped the air hard and winced.

"That barrier only stops those who mean harm to others," Errante said. "Clearly, you mean harm."

The man turned to one of the younger men with a rifle. "Shoot a hole in that archway."

I grabbed Jason, pulling him to one side off the path.

Errante smiled at me. "Jason is safe, I promise."

The older man gestured Jason's way. "The hell he is. Wing him, Pullson."

Despite my faith in Errante Ame's power, I flinched and tried to shield Jason. Who, of course, put me behind him instead. The guard on the left laughed, unslung his weapon, and fired three times. They all yelped and ducked as the bullets rebounded at them off thin air.

"Harm cannot enter my Carnival," Errante repeated. "But perhaps it is time we were on our way." He raised his hand. A thick, dark fog swirled outside the Carnival, spreading along the perimeter of the grounds.

"Sorcery!" The older man waved at the other three. "All together now, come on, break through." As the fog rose, obscuring them from view, I heard running steps, the thuds and yelps as they hit the barrier.

Except one of them popped through, his rifle held in one hand, waving a square of cardboard. "I've been here before. I have a… ticket." He plowed to a stop, looking over his shoulder. The mist was fully opaque now. Beyond it, the sound of the other guards came muffled and angry, thumps and shouts, gradually fading away to silence. The young guard, the one usually on meal delivery, gaped, openmouthed, his weapon sagging in his grip.

A wide-shouldered man in a ringmaster's coat and top hat loomed up behind the young guard. "You won't need this." Before the guard could react, the ringmaster lifted the rifle from his hand and stepped away.

"Give that back!" The wide-eyed guard lunged for his weapon.

"You have no need of it here." The ringmaster flung the gun over his shoulder into a dark corner. I winced, but the gun didn't go off. The big guy looked over at Errante. "Everything okay?"

"All is well," Errante said. "A bit ahead of schedule."

The ringmaster grinned, a boyish expression on his handsome face. "Persephone called it."

"Yes. I owe her a bottle of wine."

"Hey!" The young guard's tone went shrill, and he fumbled to draw a sidearm from his holster, his hand shaking like a leaf. "You're all under arrest. NSEP. Homeland Security. Stay right there. Don't move."

The ringmaster shook his head and confiscated that gun too, in a smooth gesture that left the guard gaping at his empty fingers. "You don't need that either." He raised an eyebrow at Errante as he tucked the handgun under his coat. "How did this one get through?"

"Lucky enough to have bought a ticket at lunchtime, and harmless."

"Who are you calling harmless?" The guard actually stamped his foot.

Errante turned to him, staring intently. "Those who mean harm will be cast out into the void, to drift forever." He gestured at the formless gray beyond the gate. "A fate worse than death. So, are you or are you not harmless?"

I remembered the force of will behind Errante's stares, so I wasn't surprised when the guard looked down and mumbled, "I guess."

Errante swept us with that fathomless look, then spoke in a voice that echoed all around the fog-enclosed space, between the tents and across the empty booths to the trailers beyond. "It is time to sleep, my friends, my family, my fellow Travelers. Lie down, close your eyes, for tomorrow is another day." He turned to us with a more normal tone. "You can just lie down right here. Don't worry, it won't be too uncomfortable. Hurry, now."

"Right here?" Erin asked. "On the grass?"

"Why yes. It's time to sleep and you will be safer lying down. Only horses sleep standing up. Well, and unicorns, of course."

"Where's the unicorn?" Sylvester asked.

"Sleeping." Errante's voice changed again to a hollow, soft, engulfing cloud that dragged me down toward the earth. "Lie down. Rest. All is well. Sleep safely and wake to a new world."

I found myself sitting on the grass. Around me, I saw Zahira on her knees, shaking her head as if fighting the spell, her crow staggering on the grass at her side. She turned a worried look on Erin, but then slumped to the ground, her eyes drooping shut. Sylvester lay already curled on his side, apparently asleep. Dale crept to Sylvester's back before lying behind him, setting a hand on my mentor's shoulder. Erin lowered herself to the ground, folding her hands under her cheek like a child, pillowed on the green lawn.

Jason reached for me and I leaned into his shoulder. His arm around me was all I'd dreamed of. I didn't resist as we slid down on our sides, my head tucked under his chin, his leg thrown over mine.

"Sunny?" I murmured, blinking hard.

I felt the touch of a feathered wing across my wrist. "Here. Sleep."

A little part of me worried about that NSEP guard loose here among us, but Errante and the ringmaster seemed to have him controlled. I took long, exhausted breaths and relaxed in Jason's hold.

As I drifted off, I thought I heard the ringmaster say in a voice warm with affection, "A fate worse than death? Seriously, Errante?"

And Errante replying, "Sounded good, did it not?"

The ringmaster's chuckle became a bubbling brook, a flow of clear, dark water, as I was sucked into sleep, exhausted but content, knowing the people I loved most were safe and close at hand.