Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

JASON

T he crack of the pistol and flash of white at Kevin's head propelled me up and running. I saw the kid stagger but not fall. How… the unicorn! I dove and slammed a shoulder into the nearer guard who was staring at Underhill, taking the man to the ground but losing my grip on my knife. We grappled for his rifle. I heard shouts, gunfire, but couldn't spare attention from the guard I was fighting.

Then Underhill's voice rang out, shockingly loud above the fighting. "Stop! Hold! Everyone!"

The man below me froze in reflex obedience and I tore the rifle free, rolling away and bringing it up to point at him. He glanced my way and raised his hands, but his attention was on Underhill, who lay sprawled on the ground, his face contorted, bloody fingers touching a long knife that protruded from his shoulder. Underhill had probably not barked out that command?—

"Hold!" The tall, thin man who'd stood beside him through all of this raised his right hand, palm out, peering around, a pistol held in his left. "The commander is out of action. How delightful. I'm now in command." He looked upslope to the other guards standing in front of a bullet-dented inverted truck- cover, guns aimed in all directions as if unsure what to shoot. "Stand down, all of you."

"But, Captain Poe, sir—" my guard protested.

"Now! The spell globe's gone, the sorcerer's gone…" He turned to the Pond and froze, an instant of surprise widening his eyes before he resumed a calm mask. "Well, isn't that fascinating?"

I followed his gaze and gasped. Alan! No!

Alan knelt on one knee at the edge of the Pond, both hands pressed to the ground. A slick, undulating wave of darkness loomed over him, far taller than the one that killed Sylvester. And yet, this darkness didn't fall. Alan's green shields surrounded him, rising from the earth to fill the curve of that looming wave. Where green met black, sparks of power flickered, red and white and green and gold, like the spray from a welding torch, running up and down the boundary.

"Erin!" I shouted. "Help him!"

"I can't," she yelled back from my left. "I don't dare."

I could see what she meant. That balance looked so precarious, even moving toward him to offer power might distract him and tip the wave over.

As we stared, the green light around Alan thickened and changed. Other shades played through it, not just greens but blues and browns, pinks and whites. His shield rounded, opacified. I was reminded of those photos of the Earth from space, a globe of swirling light against the looming dark. Slowly, the globe expanded. The dark wave was pushed back and down, toward the surface of the Pond.

I couldn't see Alan now inside his magic. The globe grew large enough to begin to stretch back across the Pond on one side while its perimeter spread toward us on the other. Underhill and Kevin scrambled backward. My guard retreated a step, then another, and I moved with him.

The globe brightened, flared so huge and white I had to shield my watering eyes, then vanished. When the afterimage cleared and I could see again, Alan lay on a patch of lush green grass, motionless. Behind him, where the Pond had been, a flat meadow of wildflowers stretched to the distant rim.

Erin sprinted toward Alan and dropped to her knees. "Still alive," she called. "Dale!"

The end of my rifle sagged in my relief, but I jerked my aim upward before the guard could jump me. He scowled and raised his hands again.

Captain Poe turned in a small circle, shifting the muzzle of his pistol around all of us, his people and mine alike. "Well, now. That changes things."

I tried to focus on him while watching Erin and Dale bent over Alan out of the corner of my eye. Sunny swooped down to land beside Alan, but Underhill's people still had more firepower. I wrenched my attention away. "What do we do now?" I called to Captain Poe.

"A détente, I believe," Poe said. "I could just have my men shoot you all?—"

"More illegal orders!" Kevin sputtered. "You can't. They won't just murder people for you."

Captain Poe gave him a small smile. "Oh, my sweet summer child. You are a disappointment to your father, aren't you?" He shook his head. "Still, is that the best decision here?" He tapped his lips with a forefinger.

"You'll lose men trying," an unfamiliar voice called. I spotted one of the captive sorcerers up on the hillside behind the guards, and guessed they'd crawled out from under the truck cover while everyone was distracted.

"Perhaps. Although I would walk away from it, personally."

"Don't be too sure." Zahira held out a hand and her knife ripped free from Underhill's shoulder. He shrieked and jerked as the blade flew back to Zahira, flipping so the handle smacked neatly into her palm.

"Impressive," Poe drawled. "Do you juggle knives, too?"

I threw another glance at Alan. Erin looked worried but not frantic. I didn't think Alan had moved. Fuck this shit!

"Listen," I said. "Just take your men and go. Call it a wash." I wanted to beat the shit out of Poe and Underhill, but even more, I wanted to be free to go to Alan. "You have trucks up over the hill. Get the fuck out of here."

"An interesting proposal?—"

"No!" Underhill groaned, sitting up clutching his shoulder. "Kill the sorcerers! Kill them all! Fire! Destroy?—"

A shot rang out and Underhill collapsed, silenced, blood streaming down his face from a hole in his forehead.

Kevin screamed and dropped to his knees by his father.

"Oh, dear." Poe eyed the pistol in his hand. "My gun seems to have gone off unexpectedly. Must've been all that residual magic."

The guards shifted uneasily, but none of them seemed to want to challenge Poe. He turned and climbed the hill toward the disassembled truck, walking between the guards. They parted to let him through, looking shellshocked. He strolled around to the open end and peered inside, then stepped back. "Ripped free, flipped, and no casualties. And people say magic is weak and silly." Making a tsking noise, his gun trained on whoever was still inside, he shook his head and backed up.

Once he was clear of the truck, Poe swung his aim back to Zahira as he recoiled, one step at a time. "Such a mess. I told Underhill, you know. Said that losing Hiranchai would come back to bite him and we should regroup. Man had zero patience. What a shame." He reached the rim of the crater and looked down at us all. "Playing with NSEP has been fun, a perfect occupation for a sadist. But the cleanup promises to be full of boring rules. I think I'll take a pass." He whirled, plunged over the lip of the hill, and was gone. A flash of silver through the air marked Zahira's knife flung after him, but it hit the dirt, its target gone.

An engine rumbled to life over the hill, then a dozen shots rang out. The sound of the motor roared a moment longer, then headed off into the distance and was gone.

The guard nearest me said, "What the hell?"

"You tell me." My heart screamed to go to Alan, but there was still that cluster of armed guards up on the hill, and the one now kneeling over Underhill. I swept my rifle across them. "Any of you planning a slaughter? Who's next in command?"

A tall woman stepped forward, her rifle aimed at me in return. "I guess that's me. Lieutenant Ivanova."

"Underhill's dead," I pointed out. "Captain Poe, whoever he is, has fucked off, leaving you to face the music. I figure you can slaughter a bunch more innocent people, or we can call a truce and get the fuck out of here."

She hesitated, looking around. "Jesus, what a clusterfuck."

"Put down your guns." That was Underhill's voice, loud and clear. I turned to stare at the body, but he was still dead. Kevin peered back at me, open-mouthed in shock.

On the roof of the overturned truck, Coal crowed a loud laugh. "Well played, sister."

"Huh?" Ivanova stared over her shoulder. "A talking crow?"

"Well trained," I said. "Amazing mimics sometimes, like a parrot." I was pretty sure the voice hadn't been Coal's, but I'd take what I could get in the way of an explanation. "Come on. Let's just?—"

"Whatever you're doing, make it fast," Royal shouted from the hilltop near where Poe had disappeared. "We've got a fire up here." He plunged down the slope toward us. "That creep who ran away shot up the fuel tanks on the other vehicles and lit the spill. It's taking hold fast."

"Shit!" Ivanova lowered her gun. "That does it." She turned to the others, gesturing at one guard. "Weapons down. We're heading out. Johnson, check out the vehicles."

The guards all shifted to a more casual stance, although they kept their eyes on us and the sorcerers. The woman Ivanova had indicated ran upslope past Royal, then quickly back down. "He's right. We're not using those. They're all burning now."

"And this truck's a mess. Damn that Poe. I never liked him. On foot then." Ivanova asked me, "Which way did you come?"

The tall sorcerer from the hill called in my direction, "We're not just letting these motherfuckers go?"

"We'll sort it out later." Smoke began thickening over the rim of the crater. "When we're not about to burn." I whipped an agonized look at Alan. "Royal, can you take charge of getting everyone moving?"

"Yeah. Come on, folks! Where is everyone? This way!" He gestured, heading the way we'd come.

Finally, finally, I slung the gun over my shoulder, ran to Alan's side, and dropped to my knees in the dirt. "How is he?" I clenched my fists so I wouldn't reach out to touch him. His face looked so pale.

Erin had his head in her lap. "Alive. Unconscious. Not sure why, maybe just shock. I don't sense any damage, but I can't wake him."

Across the crater, smoke climbed toward the sky with a bright spray of sparks. "We have to get out of here. I'll carry him."

Kevin appeared beside me. "Let me help?"

I wouldn't refuse anything that let us move faster. "Take his feet. I'll take his shoulders. No," I added, as Kevin bent and reached for Alan's ankles with bloodied hands, "Turn around, face forward with one of his legs on either side of you, squat and get your hands under his knees." We got Alan up between us. I supported his shoulders with a grip under his arms as we straightened to our feet. "Right, move out."

Alan was limp but he wasn't heavy. I could carry him as long as I needed to. Forever, if that's what it takes. I yanked my attention from Alan's uncharacteristically still, blank face to watch my footing, as Kevin strode out quickly.

Royal stood on the crest of the hill, directing a stream of people over the lip of the crater toward the narrow track we'd used. Most of the sorcerers did not look like athletes, although even the eldest-looking walked well enough. I bet half of them wouldn't be able to jog far, though. And the helicopter was small. I called, "Wait a sec," to Kevin and paused by Royal to ask, "How many can your chopper hold?"

"In a pinch? Ten, maybe."

"Fuck."

"Yeah. And we have to get there."

I tilted my face to the breeze at the highest point. "Crosswind. Could be worse." A glance over my shoulder showed darker smoke spreading eastward on the far side of the little valley. "Could be better."

Our group straggled over the rim, down the slope, and up toward the next ridge. Erin stuck close behind me. Dale waved a hand up ahead. "I have your pack." Alan remained a limp, unmoving weight, his head lolling against my chest. My hands cramped under his armpits but I ignored the discomfort. He kept breathing evenly, and that was what counted.

At the top of the next rise, I spotted Ivanova directing two of her soldiers to carry a third in a chair lift.

"One of the sorcerers whacked him with a branch," she complained. "Wrecked his knee."

I could imagine the sorcerer had a reason, but hated anything slowing us down. "Keep them moving. No retaliation, you hear me?"

"You herd your cows, I'll herd mine," she snapped.

Some of my "cows" were definitely slowing down. Several of the sorcerers had dropped to a foot-dragging, dogged walk. Even carrying Alan, I could've passed them by, but I slowed behind them, calling encouragement. We dipped into another boggy valley, then up the next taller slope.

Royal met me at the top, dropping out of a tree, sap on his hands. "We're losing ground."

"Dammit." I turned to Dale. "Can you put down my pack and take Alan?"

"Sure." They set my bag on the dirt and came over.

We made the handoff. I watched a moment to be sure Dale had a good grip on Alan's shoulders and they were safely moving out before eyeing the tree Royal had climbed. "You get a good view from there?"

"About twenty-five feet up, yeah."

"Right." I unslung the rifle and scrambled up into the branches, looking for a good fork high above. I heard Royal climbing after me and startled as Zahira hauled herself onto the branch to my left. Royal appeared to my right and pointed.

Flames flickered in the round crater we'd left behind. That central meadow of wildflowers sat untouched, unnaturally serene, but on either side of it, fire crept along the ridgelines, spreading left and down the near side. As I watched, a tall hemlock caught, gold and white flames rushing up the trunk to the crown. The fire front widened and roared deeper into the first depression we'd crossed. "Dammit." I turned to Royal. "Any natural firebreaks around? Rivers? Cliffs?"

"Not close by. Not between here and the chopper."

"Maybe I could set a backfire. There." I pointed to the far side of the second valley. "Light a torch, wait till the fire gets close enough for the drafting to suck the backfire in, light it up. Tricky timing, and I'd have to sprint like hell?—"

"You're no good to us dead," Zahira said.

"I could do it." I was lying through my teeth, probably. No flamethrower, no protective gear, no radio to direct the positioning, nothing but me and a flaming torch of some kind? That was suicide, but if it might buy the others time…

"I can do it," Royal said. "I can start fires with my power, better than most. I have an affinity. Can't stop a forest fire, but I bet I can start one. If you tell me exactly where."

"No one else can fly the helicopter," Zahira pointed out. "We lose you, and we're trapped worse."

"We need a magical flamethrower." I waved at the distant valley. "Poof, burn, there and there from a distance."

Royal said, "I can light things up from a distance." He frowned. "Not sure about that much distance, though. Where would you need it?"

I pointed at one visible starting point— a pair of dead spruce trees just below the farther ridge, their tops brown and lifeless. "See those two dead white spruce? Can you start those burning?"

"Not sure." Royal clung to his perch more securely and extended a hand toward the tops of the two trees. " Burn. " For a moment, something shimmered out from his hand, but it faded in the bright sun and was lost. He tried again, his teeth clenched, then sighed. "Sorry. That's out of my range. I could do half that much."

"Placement is everything." I took another long look at the terrain, but the only thing worse than the wildfire now slowly spreading our way would be to start another one a quarter-mile closer. "It needs to be positioned to get sucked into the backdraft."

"Maybe we can hike halfway back," Royal suggested. "Find a viewpoint that's within my range."

Zahira said, "I don't want to see you two heading into the fire. Our pilot especially. Sorry, Jason."

Sunny hopped down from where he'd landed above me, perching on a branch at eye level. "I could try to carry something burning over to where you need the fire to start, and drop it. Has to be lightweight, though, and not extinguish before I get there."

"And not burn your feathers off along the way," I told him. "Could you carry a matchbook and strike them once you're over there?"

"We could try." Coal settled on a broken branch by Zahira's head. "Between the two of us. One holding the book steady, one striking the matches. Beaks aren't really made for that."

"Don't want to catch your faces on fire, either," Royal told him.

"Maybe there's an alternative," Zahira said slowly. "Maybe. How many metal items do you have in your pack, Jason? Any kind of metal."

"A few," I said. "Pocket knife, carabiners, tweezers, scissors, stuff like that. Why?"

"Targets," Zahira explained. "Like-to-like. I can make one forged metal object go seek another metal object. If we plant half of them as targets, then come back here, send flaming stuff to seek them… Crap, that's probably too slow."

Sunny asked from behind me, "If I'm understanding the plan, how big do the targets have to be? Would coins work?"

"I think so."

"Right then." Sunny turned to me. "You point out where you want them. Coal and I drop the coins, Zahira does her thing."

"I don't even know if it'll work," she said.

Ahead of us, the leading edge of the fire crested the distant ridge. Smoke and flames created a flickering hell in the valley behind it.

"What do we have to lose?" Sunny landed on my shoulder. "Jason, dig out some quarters and show me where."

I fumbled some coins out of my pocket, then turned to the little valley. Sunny put his head next to mine, his soft feathers brushing my cheek. I pointed. "Start there. Those two tall trees with the leaning one between them? See it? At the base of those."

"Got it." Sunny grabbed a coin from my palm and launched into the air, clutching it in one foot.

I heard Zahira climbing down through the branches but had no time to wonder.

As the brilliant flash of Sunny's feathers winged toward the three trees, Coal's bigger weight took his place, his voice in my ear. "Target?"

I pointed out the two dead spruce. Coal snatched a coin in his beak and sped after Sunny.

By the time they'd seeded the next valley with six coins, Zahira had hauled a bag from my pack up into the tree. "Fucking hope this will work," she said.

Coal asked, "What's your method, my lady?"

Zahira dug in the bag she'd hung over her shoulder and pulled out a carabiner she'd tied with a twist of fabric— torn from the sleeve of her shirt, from the pattern— and then a book of matches. "I hold this by the metal. Jason, you light the fabric. Then I send it to find a matching target like-to-like and we hope it doesn't burn out along the way and lights up the brush when it lands."

Royal said, "I could make it catch fire in midair. Less risk, and less chance it will go out than using a match."

Coal eyed him. "You think you can?"

"Worth a shot, right?"

Zahira gave him an approving look. "Teamwork, huh?"

"You got it." Royal moved around the tree and wedged himself in a crotch by her side. "Better if we share magic. If you're willing?"

Their eyes met. I could imagine trust didn't come easily to either one, but a tree on the ridgeline across the valley crashed in a shower of sparks and Zahira said, "Fuck it." She reached out. Royal closed his wide fingers around her slimmer ones. They each took a breath. I saw shock, fear, and then something like peace on both their faces.

As one, they faced the valley. Zahira lifted the carabiner on one palm. Smoky gray magic rose around it. Staring across the open space, she murmured, "Metal. Power. Like-to-like. Like-to-like! "

The carabiner leaped from her palm, flashing through the air. Halfway to the trees beyond, the cloth around it burst into flame. The burning missile lodged itself into the underbrush below the first group of trees, where Sunny had dropped his coin. The small flame flickered, ebbed.

Then the bushes caught, flaring bright, silent at this distance but I could imagine the crackle of new flame, right where it needed to be between the wildfire and us.

"Yes. Fuck yes!" Zahira raised a pair of fabric-swathed scissors. "Again, you wild man. Ready?"

The second missile flew slower but just as true, lit in midair by Royal, setting fire to the spot I'd pointed out to Coal.

"Again. Like-to-like ." Zahira launched another fabric-knotted carabiner across the valley. Then my pocketknife trailing cloth from its keyring. Royal lit each one, his brow furrowed with concentration.

On the sixth item, Zahira yelped, "Abort," as it left her hand.

Royal held his fire and the hand axe with its fluttering tail tumbled to the ground a long way short of its target. Zahira swayed, clutching the tree. "Shit. I got nothing left."

I eyed the five patches of flames we'd set. The crosswind was pulling them down the valley the way I'd hoped, creating a bright but patchy strip squarely in the path of the oncoming flames. The big fire behind sucked the new one toward itself, leaving burned ground behind. That backfire was a really shabby job, though… "Might not be enough." I willed that line of scorched earth to spread.

"You want more flames between the spots that are already burning?" Royal asked.

"Yeah, exactly. Right along that line." I turned to him, hope flaring. "We need a wall of fire across that section. Can you do that?"

"I can give it a shot. Spreading fire's a hell of a lot easier than creating it from scratch." He peered out across the valley, then gestured. Flames leaped from one burning bush to a tall tree in a well-chosen spot, then to a clump of dying poplars, then jumped to a stand of spruce, filling in the gaps. Another tree, a tangle of brush, the backfire strengthening… Royal coughed and lowered his hand. "That's me tapped out. Best I can do. Let's get the fuck out of this tree and run."

Zahira started down. Coal hopped limb to limb below, directing her where to put her feet. She didn't grump at him, which said something about how tired she was.

I took one last look at our spreading firebreak— be enough, dammit — and hurried down on the other side of the tree, landing on the needles below, ready to catch Zahira. Or hell, Royal, if he needed the help. When Zahira's foot slipped off the last branch five feet up, I guided her against me and eased her the rest of the way down. She jerked free, but muttered, "Thanks," before brushing herself off, grimacing at the sticky sap.

Royal landed and staggered but didn't fall. "Whew, haven't stretched that hard in a long time."

"Let's go." I waved them ahead of me, scooping up my pack and taking the rearguard. They both headed out at a walk, stumbling at first, then moving more steadily. I kept my impatience to myself but couldn't help glancing over my shoulder as we went, watching the smoke rising behind us. Five minutes farther on, we caught up with Dale and Kevin pushing through the brush carrying Alan, with Erin at their backs, and a cluster of sorcerers ahead. Zahira slowed and fell in behind Erin. Royal ducked past the sorcerers, picking up his pace, and called back, "Not far now, folks." He vanished into the tangled woods ahead.

Sunny swooped to look down at Alan, then came back to my shoulder, murmuring in my ear, "I'm off to check the fire."

I'd have warned him about drafts and hazards, but there might be NSEP humans listening. Anyhow, I was pretty sure he'd chased his share of fires last summer. He probably knew the risks. I watched his jewel-toned body dart into the sky and crossed my fingers.

We straggled into the clearing where the helicopter sat waiting. A group of the NSEP guards stood clustered around the chopper, and Royal shoved his way through. "Back off, people."

Several of them glared at him, hands hovering over holsters, and I realized I'd left my rifle back at the tree, but Ivanova snapped, "Stand back for the pilot." Her people took a few grudging steps away.

Zahira hurried over to stand by Royal, who said, "I can take maybe ten. So anyone injured, anyone older, goes in the first load…"

I stopped listening. Between him and Zahira, they'd get the evacuation started. Sunny was checking the fire. I could finally go to where Kevin and Dale had laid Alan down, his head pillowed on Dale's sweater. Erin pressed her palm to Alan's forehead, a look of concentration on her face. Dale laid two fingers on the back of her hand. I ditched the pack and knelt beside them. "Can I touch him?"

"Sure," Erin said. "In fact, call him. Say his name. It's like he's a long way off."

I took Alan's hand in mine, weaving our fingers together. His face held an unnatural stillness and he had dark circles under his eyes, like when he'd stayed up late grading homework. "Hey, Alan, come on. Time to get up." His hand lay limp in my grasp, and I squeezed his fingers, tugged a little. "Come on, babe. School's starting. You don't want your kids to get a substitute." Nothing. I raised his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles, then licked one, not caring who might see. "Come on, up!" I nipped his thumb. "Alan!"

Erin frowned. "I thought for a moment… He's gone very deep."

"But he will wake up?"

"I hope so."

Fuck. Hope wasn't a yes. "That Pond thing killed Sylvester, and he was damned powerful." My voice shook, my heart aching for that gutsy old man I was just getting to know, with a dark undercurrent of deeper fear. "What if it ate part of Alan too?"

Erin shook her head. "I couldn't see what happened at the end, but I don't feel that Pond in Alan. None of that ashy darkness, no smoke, no barren taste. If anything, he feels more Alan than ever, but just… not here."

Something fuzzy and gray dropped from a branch overhead onto Alan's chest. I went to brush it away and it jumped over my fingers, not a decaying leaf but alive.

"Yuck. Off!" As I aimed my next swipe, the little gray thing sat up. Erin grabbed my wrist just in time to keep me from hitting the creature.

It waved a tiny paw and said, "Who are you calling Yuck? I'm Roxi. She, her. Hello!"

I blinked. "You're…"

The little mouse-thing looked around, then lowered her voice. "A familiar, yes—" She froze, staring at Erin. " You're my sorcerer!"

"I'm what?"

"My sorcerer. At last! I thought I'd never find you. This was not at all the way my instructors said it worked."

"Instructors?" Erin whispered.

"At the Institute. There was supposed to be a circle and a vow and a bond. Not two years running in the walls eating spiders. No matter how tasty spiders are."

"Spiders?"

"Oh dear." The little creature rose higher on her hind legs, peering up at Erin. "Are you defective? Or am I not speaking your language?"

"Shh!" Erin admonished.

I did a quick check for the human guards. They were all sticking together, clustered around the helicopter, arguing with Zahira and Royal and probably out of earshot. Royal had a couple of the younger sorcerers at his side, too, but they looked nervous.

"Hey!" I called to the nearest sorcerer.

She hurried over. "Yes?"

"My backpack." I pushed it toward her. "There are several ziplocks of magical lotion. Smear it around your wrists and the suppressor cuffs slide off. It's how Alan got free."

"The cuffs come off?" She dropped to her knees, rummaging urgently.

"Might not be enough for everyone," I told her. "Give some to people strong enough to back Royal up against NSEP."

"Oh. Right." She pulled out a baggie, her hand shaking. "I… I'll get on that. And send some folks back here to screen your lot from sight. That little familiar's loud."

"Thanks."

Erin and little Roxi were still staring at each other. I clutched Alan's hand. "Erin, if this is your familiar, can you maybe help Alan better? They increase your power, right?"

"Not so much increase as temper it." Erin didn't look my way, eyes fixed on the little rodent. "But… I didn't summon Roxi."

"Does it matter?" Dale asked. "She's here, she wants you."

"Maybe you don't want me ." Roxi hunched, whiskers drooping.

"Oh! No." Erin reached out a trembling hand to touch Roxi's shoulder. "I do. But it's hard to believe…"

"Believe what?" Sunny came in for a landing beside Alan's head. "Oh! Greetings, fellow Voyager. Who are you?"

The little familiar had crawled onto Erin's hand and Erin raised her to eye level. "She's Roxi. She says she's mine."

"Congratulations," Sunny said. "Now, can I suggest we speed things up? The fire was detoured by that break Jason made, but I don't think it's stopped."

"How do we…?" Erin turned to Sunny. "I didn't do the ritual."

"A bond is a bond." Sunny turned to Roxi. "Do you wish to bond to this sorcerer, Erin, to help and guard and guide her in times of need?"

"Oh, yes." The little creature wiggled its long, pointy snout.

"Erin, you've wanted a familiar for a long time, but this one fell in your lap unasked for—" Roxi snickered. "The summoning ritual's intended to bond like to like, but sometimes all it takes is one look. Will you accept Roxi or choose to wait for someone better?"

"There couldn't be better!" Erin swallowed. "Oh. Yes. Please."

"There." Sunny waved a wing. "Bonded. You can mess about with runes and candles later. Now help Alan."

"I've tried," Erin said. "I don't know how." She laid her fingers back on Alan's forehead. "Alan. Come on!"

Roxi ran across Erin's shoulders and down her arm, ending up on her fingers. "You're calling him? Alan. Come on! " Her voice mimicked Erin's perfectly.

Erin blinked. "Can you do that inside the magic?"

"Perhaps? Let me see."

"Here." Erin's eyes unfocused.

Roxi repeated the summons, her mimicry of Erin hollow, like she was speaking at the bottom of a well.

"Now do Jason," Erin said.

To my shock, I heard my own voice with the words I'd recently spoken, resounding in those hollow depths. " Come on, up! Alan! "

"Like that." Erin closed her eyes. "Jase, you call him. Roxi, you echo it way down inside. Dale, a bit of a push."

Dale set their hand on her wrist and looked at me.

I fumbled for what to say. "Alan, wake up. Hurry!"

My words echoed softly from Roxi.

"Come on! I need you."

"That," Erin urged. "I felt something. Tell him you need him."

"I need you. Jesus Christ, you know that." I clutched his hand to my chest and begged. "Come on, babe, there's a fire coming. I won't leave you. Wake up, before we both die!"

Alan's chest heaved in a deeper breath.

"Come on, come on!" I heard my voice echo louder now, the little familiar's mimicry wrapped in Erin's magic. "Alan, I need you! Help me!"

He took another shuddering breath, his eyes popped open, and he clutched my hand in a white-knuckled grip. "Look out!" His voice rasped hoarsely. "There's…" He blinked hard and turned his head. "Jason?"

"Jesus!" I yanked him up sitting and into my arms, muttering, "Sorry," to the little familiar I'd almost thrown off Erin's fingers. Alan buried his face in my neck and I hugged him so tight he probably could hardly breathe, rocking us both back and forth. "I was so scared," I muttered. "I was so fucking scared. When that wave rose up…"

"Yeah. Me too." Alan suddenly scrabbled and pushed free of my hold. "Sylvester!" He whipped his head around to scan the meadow, then looked back at me.

I clenched my teeth and met his gaze, shaking my head. His eyes widened and he turned to Erin. "He's…"

"He's gone." She pressed her fingers to her mouth.

"Oh, hell. No!" Alan turned and spotted Dale. He held out an arm to them and the other to Erin. I scooched back to give them room and Erin grabbed Dale from the other side as they scrambled into Alan's seated embrace. The three people who'd loved Sylvester best held each other tight, silent, locked in mourning.

I wiped my cheeks with the back of my wrist, watching Dale rock back and forth, and Alan fist a hand in Erin's shirt, his eyes screwed shut against the tears.

Off to the side, Kevin murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," with his gaze on Dale.

I told him, "Hey, you stood up to your father. You did everything you could and more. Are you okay?"

He stared at me, then shook his head. "I thought I was dead. I thought…"

He thought his father had shot him in the head. Of course he wasn't okay. I'd have offered a hug, but I could tell he wouldn't take it. "Give yourself time. And give yourself credit." I looked up as Coal swooped over our heads and came in to land close by.

"First chopper load's going out," he said under his breath. "Royal's going to land them at a halfway point for speed and come back. Fire's working its way around the break, but I think we have time." The sound of rotors spinning faster and faster backed up his words. "They got the cuffs off several strong sorcerers and Royal's making the NSEPs leave their guns behind if they want to fly. Hopefully, none of them will kill each other."

Alan broke free of his three-way hug, spotted me, and scooted over into my arms. I wanted to know what had happened when he fought the darkness, but not now. Not when he'd just come back to me, and the forest fire's smoke still rose all too close for comfort, thickening in the air above us. I pulled his lean body against mine, rested my cheek on his hair, and tried not to squeeze him too hard.

After a minute, he pulled free. "I need to go find Oscar, make sure he's okay." He gripped my hand with clammy fingers. "Come with me?"

I stood and pulled him to his feet. "Of course." Like I'd let him anywhere near those NSEP goons without me.

Alan led me over to the group of sorcerers clustered near the helicopter. They turned our way as we approached. Five of them had visible shields raised and stood between the others and the group of NSEP guards, while a couple of the others were busy trying to coax the last dregs of lotion out of the little bags.

A tall woman with iron-gray hair looked us over, then pointed at Alan. "You. You're the one that held off that dark power. What was it? What did you do?"

"Shouldn't you be thanking him?" I snapped, irritated at her tone. "If he hadn't escaped in the first place, hadn't dealt with the Pond, you'd all be dead in there by now."

"Yes, indeed," one of the shielded sorcerers said. "We're in your debt, of course, to all of you. We just have questions."

"Later," Alan told him. "Right now, I need to know, there was a sorcerer named Oscar in the cell beside mine. Is he… here?"

The tall woman looked at a young man, who said, "Oscar? Oh, um, short guy, dark hair, about forty?"

"I guess?" Alan gripped my fingers hard enough to hurt.

"No, he's gone."

I grabbed Alan as he slumped against me, shaking.

The young sorcerer jumped forward, gesturing toward Alan. "No, wait, not into the dark entity, not one of the dead. He's okay. I promise. He went out on the first helicopter load. His foot got pinched by the truck canopy when it flipped, and he probably has a couple of broken bones, so we sent him with the first group."

"Oh." Alan pressed his forehead to my chest and I hugged him, probably glaring at the young sorcerer because he stepped back, his hands held up like I might attack him. After a couple of deep breaths, Alan straightened. "Okay, good. Thanks for telling me."

"He'll be fine, I'm sure," the tall woman said. "Who are you? Can you explain what happened?"

"Not now." Alan shook his head. "I'm exhausted. I need to rest. Once we're all safe from the fire, right?"

She looked like she was about to protest, but I turned my glare on her and she said nothing as we retreated across the meadow. The other sorcerers watched us go, too, but none of them followed. Just as well, because I'd take them all on if need be. Alan had gone through enough and he was damned well going to rest until we got safely out of there. They could wait on their answers.

I found a spot near Erin where a drift of dead leaves underfoot would provide a cushion, tossed away a few sticks, and pulled Alan down to sit with me. He gave Erin and Dale wan smiles, then closed his eyes and let me hold him.

Dale and Kevin stood side by side, shoulders an inch apart. They weren't talking, but when one shifted their weight, the other did too. Kevin's gaze was fixed on the NSEP group, but his closed expression didn't give a clue to what he was thinking.

When Royal got back from his first run, he dug out a bag of rations from the chopper and tossed it our way before loading the next batch of sorcerers and a couple of disarmed guards. The heavily loaded helicopter climbed back into the smoke-hazed sky.

Zahira sat down with her back against a tree beside Erin, eating doggedly, while Erin passed her granola bars and chatted with Roxi. I should probably have tried harder to get food into Alan, but he seemed to want to be held more than calories. I breathed the scent of his skin and tried not to think of that wave of dark, lethal magic, and how close it had come to crushing the man I loved into oblivion. The sorcerers turned our way now and then, but kept their distance, seeming mainly focused on the NSEPs and the logistics of escape.

Once Royal took off on his fourth trip with the last sorcerers and Ivanova's final two, only our original team was left in the clearing. Minus Sylvester. I tightened my grip on Alan and sent a wish to the universe that the old man hadn't suffered, and that his indominable spirit lived on somewhere, somehow.

Coal and Sunny had been circling overhead, monitoring the fire. Once the sound of the helicopter faded into the distance, Sunny swooped down to land near us. "Fire's still mostly heading south. The firebreak's holding in the direct line. But there's a new offshoot creeping back our way. Should still be okay unless Royal crashes the chopper."

"He seems pretty competent," Zahira noted.

Coal landed on a branch above her. "We got lucky to find him, that's for sure."

Enough smoke thickened the air that I should've been restless, but somehow, here in the wilderness among the birdsong and the bugs, even with that haze overhead, I was filled with an unreasonable confidence that we'd make it out all right. I pressed a kiss to Alan's hair. We were sticky, sweaty, dirty, redolent of bug spray, and wearing yesterday's underwear, but we were alive.

Erin mused, "I wonder how the Carnival knew we'd need Royal and his helicopter. Or how Errante knew, since I think he is the Carnival."

"Persephone, maybe?" Alan suggested without moving his head off my shoulder. "She saw the Pond, and the firedrake, and what we needed to do, long before it happened. Her talent for telling the future's obviously real."

Dale said, "I wonder where the Carnival is now. And the unicorn. It was… special."

At the mention of the unicorn, some of the rigidity faded from Kevin's face and he nodded.

"Somewhere out there in space and time, I guess." I had no clue how any of this worked. I was just the ordinary guy along for the ride. But the Carnival had saved my life and Alan's twice now. I'd probably never be in a position to do someone like Errante Ame a favor, but I owed him everything. "More power to them."

Alan let go of me and sat up straighter as the sound of the chopper reached us. "There he is."

"And we don't even have to run for it." I stood and braced him to his feet. "No sweat."

He chuckled and leaned against me, still looking like he'd staggered through a marathon.

Royal brought the chopper in for a landing and we walked over, bending low under the idling blades, most of us too tired to hurry. Royal motioned me to the front seat and Alan waved me off when I asked if he wanted it. Erin guided Zahira into the back and they both shook their heads at my offer. I'd planned to stay with Alan, but he, Dale, and Kevin were already grabbing places in the hold side by side. With a sigh and a "Look after him" gesture to Erin, I buckled in beside Royal and put on the headphones.

We lifted off smoothly. Once in the air, Royal banked and swung us toward the fire. That damned thing was growing and fuck Poe anyway. "Did you radio it in?" I asked.

"Yeah. Alerted the forest service and they're scrambling crews."

"God bless 'em one and all," I muttered. I had no ambition to be a smoke-jumper, but I'd heard plenty of stories from folks who were. The worst brush fires I'd fought couldn't match this kind of wilderness wildfire situation.

We paralleled the fire front for a while, far enough away to avoid the drafting. I couldn't spot the original meadow behind the lines. After a couple of minutes, Royal banked away. "Got a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Services from Baden's Creek will be coming out to pick up the NSEPs and the sorcerers from the clearing where I left 'em. Question is, do you all want to join them, or shall I drop you somewhere else?"

The idea of skipping all that mess— the cops, the feds, doctors, whoever, and just going home? God, I wanted that. "We shouldn't."

"Bit of advice." Royal flew the chopper easily, his touch light on the controls. "This is going to be a big stinking deal. NSEP kidnapping people? The commander murdering sorcerers? The captain killing the commander? I'd bet the authorities are going to want to sweep as much of it under the rug as they can. If you all can stay out of sight for a few days, by the time they get around to you, they might even help you keep a low profile."

I glanced over my shoulder. We had two Healers, three familiars, and an AWOL NSEP agent back there. Alan was so tired he was listing sideways with Erin propping him up. Zahira could probably use twelve hours of sleep and a six-course meal. I was usually a by-the-book kind of guy, other than when I'd been in the closet and lying about it. But for those people back there? "Where else can you take us?" I asked.

Royal grinned. "That's the spirit. I know a dude who has a small transport plane. He owes me a favor. Alaska to Washington by ground transport means two border crossings, and that's nearly impossible to hide. By air? It's just another jaunt state to state. You'll have to pay him, but he does a run to eastern Washington state every week. He can do one more."

If I had to sell everything I owned, I'd do it, to get us back where we belonged. "You're a lifesaver." I leaned back in the seat and let my eyes drift shut. "Make it so."