I’M DOWN THE STEPS and into the woods before I even realize it’s started snowing. Great. Just what we need right now. My boots are already crunching through about an inch of the white stuff. If it gets too deep, the trip to Bridgelake is going to be a real pain. We’ll have the truck, but there are only so many seats, and no one will want to sit in the back and freeze. And that’s if the roads are still intact the entire way there. I wouldn’t know since my trip here from Bridgelake was on foot through the woods.

Driving is not optional now though. Not with Jace’s injured leg. What if we were to get way out there and run into a problem? Jace can hobble around the cabin well enough, as evidenced by his quick movements earlier, but he won’t be able to handle much more than that.

A lopsided circle in the snow details my pacing as the thoughts and worries keep hitting. What if Bridgelake’s not there when we get there? And what if it is? What will Dane do? I disobeyed his orders, broke almost every rule imaginable, and I’m going to show up like nothing happened?

There’s not really much choice though, is there?

A hand on my arm stills my steps, and I lean in to it for a second before realizing my brother is still passed out and the hand’s owner is too tall to be Flint or Peter. Without thinking, I throw my elbow back; there’s a grunt as it lands in someone’s stomach. I spin around to find myself looking at Stu. “What are you doing out here?”

He takes a step back, eyes narrowed. “What was all that back there? Some sort of show?”

“Show?”

His voice turns caustic. “Did you mean any of that? Or were you just hoping to lure me out here so your… erk could get my father out of the way? You know what? It doesn’t matter. I don’t give a damn about that old man. He’s never done anything but cause pain.”

“Then why’d you bother to drag him all the way here?” As soon as the words are out I want to snatch them back. Lenny is his father. Who am I to question the validity of his loyalty? I’d follow my brother pretty much anywhere.

His response is not what I expect. “I didn’t do it for him. I did it for Peter.” That statement is said in a quiet tone, but then his voice turns back to a rigid sarcasm. “Seems like Peter was just fine though, huh? How is it that you murdered my little brother but let the old man live?”

I shake my head and swallow back the lump of guilt that’s nearly choking me. My voice wavers as I search for the right words. “I didn’t—”

“You’re denying it?” He steps forward, his whole body instantly going tense and redness creeping up his neck. Obviously my word choice was awful.

“No.” One deep breath. “I didn’t know he was there to help. And… I didn’t mean to.” Stu doesn’t move forward, but he doesn’t relax either, so I continue. “You saw it back there. How Jace was. It’s something from that other part of us, the alien part. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“In other words, you’re completely unbalanced? Like a rabid animal? There’s only one thing you can do with a rabid animal.” He stalks forward until he’s looking down at me and his chest is only a few inches from mine. Then he leans down and whispers his next words directly into my ear. “Put. It. Down.”

At any other time, with someone so close to me whispering threats in my ear, I’d give in to the instinct and let the darker part of me take over. I’d defend myself with anger and rage and fear. But not now. Instead I curl my hands into fists, dig my nails into my palms, and push those feelings away. I’m not a bad person. I’m not an animal. That means I have to control the darkness, not let it control me. My breathing is ragged and my heart pounds in my chest, but I still manage to force my lips into movement. “I am not that person anymore. I can control it now.”

“Too late for Zach though, isn’t it?” His voice is pure rage, but a deep pain radiates from his eyes.

I open my mouth to respond, to apologize, to something… but Flint’s voice breaks in before I can. “It’s about to be too late for you if you don’t back up off of her. Just because she can control it, doesn’t mean that she should.”

“And what’s it to you? You taking over the erk’s sloppy seconds?” Stu steps away from me and puffs his chest out.

Flint strides into the clearing, shoulders back and jaw tensed. “She’s my friend, that’s what. You and your father locked her up and threatened to sell her. You can’t blame her for defending herself. Now leave her alone.”

All Stu’s venom gets turned on Flint. “She killed my brother. I’ll do whatever I want.”

Five more steps and Flint pushes back on one of Stu’s shoulders. “I told you to back off.”

Stu angles his body and sneers. “And I told you—”

“Stop it!” With one hand on each of their chests I push the boys away from each other. Unbidden, a little extra something sizzles down my arms and through my fingertips, adding a zap to my touch and sending them both backward about three feet. Stu looks at me with confusion and a little fear, while Flint’s eyes widen slightly.

“What was that?” asks Flint.

“I don’t know.” Two months of working with Jastren, two months of struggling to harness the powers that come along with my alien heritage, gave me nothing. But today I’ve added at least three new tricks to my repertoire and I’ve at least partially linked with Jastren. What’s different? Could these be aftereffects of seeing Lir again, of linking with him again? No. The first new ability developed on the way to the city, not after.

“I need to talk to Jastren,” I say. And I take off back toward the cabin before either boy can say another word.

 

 

 

 

When I crash through the back door of the cabin, Peter jumps, nearly dropping the bowl he’s washing in the sink.

“Where’s Jastren?”

“He’s in with your brother,” says Peter. “He still hasn’t woken, but from what I can observe, he’ll be fine. Did Flint find you? I sent him out to get you, or rather to get Stuart. Leonard isn’t doing so well and I don’t expect he’ll survive much longer. I assumed the boy would like to be there when his father passes. Is he headed back here now?”

I simply nod and then dash down the hallway to Jace’s room.

Pushing the door open, I enter to find Jastren sitting on the bed beside my brother with his eyes closed and his hands resting on either side of Jace’s head. His face is contorted in concentration and his mouth is turned downward in a frown. Given what I know about the E’rikon’s aversion to touching, this is odd.

“What are you doing?”

A barely perceptible jerk of Jastren’s hands is the only sign that I startled him, but coming from my nearly unflappable grandfather, it’s enough for me to know that something is… not right.

“I am trying to assess his mental state,” he says.

“And…”

He turns his head to look at me but leaves his hands in place. “And I believe he will recover. But this is not something I have ever seen before. What did you do?”

“I’m not really sure.” I shrug. “I took his anger from him, and when it went back to him, it… blasted him or something.”

“Took his anger?” Jastren drops his hands and rises from the bed. “How exactly did you accomplish that? The dhama does not have that capability.”

I roll my eyes. “I already told you I don’t know. There’s something else—”

“Do not be impertinent.” Jastren has never been particularly fond of me—at least not once he realized I couldn’t do anything he wanted me to—but the harshness in his words is new. “I believe you have caused enough damage for this day. When are you leaving?”

“Leaving? You mean going to Bridgelake? We’re all going…” My words trail off when he shakes his head.

“Nonsense. Jace is in no condition to be moved. I imagine you are capable of making it a short trip?”

His clipped and dismissive tone grates on my nerves. There is no possible way I’m leaving my brother behind when the E’rikon could target this place next.

At my irritated look, Jastren’s face softens… in a very calculated manner that could be meant to humor me. “He will be safe here, Jasmine. You still have the kifa, correct?”

I nod. The small silver device I pulled from Dane’s desk is sitting on a shelf in my room.

“Perfect. I can alter it to project a barrier much like the one that encloses the city. Will that put your mind at ease?” A self-satisfied smile crosses his face, and subtle waves of reassurance roll from him to me. The flow of his emotions is gentle but persistent—a splash here, a drop there—and gradually I relax.

If he can truly do what he says he can, then Jace is clearly better off staying here. But…

Doubt creeps in through the light fog in my mind, too brief for me to grasp it. What in the world? Then realization hits and my eyes widen. Jastren is doing… something. Could he be using Jace to calm me? I gently pull away from the mental connection I share with my brother—and immediately the fog clears.

Is this awareness of the manipulation another new ability manifesting, a side effect of finally linking with my grandfather? Has Jastren been doing stuff like this all along and I didn’t notice? But what would be the point in that? My eyes slide to Jace, lying on the bed with a peaceful look on his face. Maybe Jastren was calming him and it leaked through to me. That’s got to be it, though it’s a little disconcerting to think that our grandfather has that much influence.

I shake my head briskly to clear it further. “Why are you just now offering to alter it? Why weren’t you hiding us all along?”

If he’s noticed my momentary confusion, he doesn’t mention it. “The kifa is not designed to be used that way. With so many people here, always in and out, it would have caused a strain on the tech. I was unsure about its effectiveness under those conditions.”

My head bobs in a slow nod. Jastren’s plan actually makes a little bit of sense, but do I trust him enough to leave my brother in his care? We haven’t gotten along, or really even gotten to know each other. Jastren might be blood, but our relationship has been strained at best.

It suddenly occurs to me that Jastren hasn’t mentioned linking with me earlier. Maybe he doesn’t know I did it. He’s worked with me for weeks and gotten nothing. If he knew, he would have said something. For once, I have an advantage.

Keeping my eyes open, I reach out and find the glowing red thread of connection with my brother. Skimming along it, I find a spot where another thread, this one red and yellow, branches off. It’s faint, even more so than it was earlier, and nothing remotely close to how I can communicate with my brother, but I’m able to sense a few emotions. A hint of worry, determination, and something almost like anticipation. Only a few snippets of actual words come across, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that worries me.

Finally I’m able to distinguish one clear thought. And knowing how much the E’rikon value family, it’s enough to make me feel comfortable leaving Jace here with him.

She’s so much like her grandmother.

 

 

 

 

An hour later and we’re ready to head out, dressed in boots, coats, and warm layers. Well, Flint, Stu, and I at least. Lenny isn’t going anywhere and Peter’s staying behind to… give him last rites or something I guess. Not that I think Lenny deserves it.

After our confrontation, Stu has calmed down a bit and his shoulders are drooping now, his expression more sad than angry. He barely says three words to Lenny on his way out the door even though his father is dying and he’ll probably never see him again. He shrugged off my offer to wait until…

I shake the thought out of my head.

It’s obvious they don’t have much of a relationship. It actually reminds me a lot of how Flint acts around Dane. I guess the whole “tyrant daddy” thing is its own issue.

From the cab I watch Peter pull Stu aside and lead him to the side of the house. The younger man leans down so the priest can speak directly into his ear for a minute, then straightens, nods, and heads over to the truck where Flint and I are waiting.

I never quite got the hang of the manual transmission, so Flint’s in the driver’s seat and Stu slides into the passenger seat beside me, slumping down and turning his head to stare out the window. He’s on edge, his jaw tensed and his arms crossed. No matter his relationship with Lenny, it can’t be easy leaving him behind to die.

“Do you—”

He cuts off my attempt at conversation with a sharp glare. “Just don’t.”

Maybe his attitude has more to do with my presence than anything. Not that I blame him.

Peter ambles across the driveway and up to Flint’s window. “All set now? You should have plenty of fuel, but I’m not sure how the roads will be. I’ve never made the trip all the way to Bridgelake, obviously. Though I believe I told you once, Jax, that I’d thought about it, yes?” He nods to himself. “And don’t you worry about your bird, Jax. I can take care of him until Jace wakes up. It’s not too difficult, right? I’m assuming he’ll come back home when I let him out to hunt, right? I don’t want you to come back and have him be missing.”

Neither do I. I don’t quite know what Tiercel will do without me around. He’s always listened to me. Hunted when I told him to hunt. Went back to his perch when I told him to go home. Jace knows how to handle him at least on a basic level, thanks to our dad, but my hawk’s never taken to Jastren. Hopefully Peter can keep Tiercel in line until I come back for him.

I smile at Peter. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s in good hands.”

“I’ll keep an eye on that brother of yours too,” says Peter. “He’s not going to take it well that he was left behind, but he can’t complain too much since Flint here is going with you. You’ll watch out for her, right my boy? She’s a handful, but I’m sure you know that already. What with that trip into the city earlier and—”

Stu perks up. “Trip into the city?”

“Oh, nothing to be worried about, Stuart. Obviously they made it out fine. Jax had to take a quick trip to visit with… uh… and after all that mess…” Peter’s voice falters at my silent glare. There’s some stuff Stu simply doesn’t need to know. “Well, have a good trip then. Stay safe.”

“We’ll do our best,” says Flint with a subtle grin. “As long as Jax doesn’t go running off with any more aliens.”

I elbow him in the stomach. “Shut up.”

He chuckles as he throws the truck into gear and rolls down the driveway.

I don’t bother to crack a smile, instead joining Stu in staring out the window in silence. There’s only one alien I’d “run off” with, and he’s stuck in the city having who knows what done to him.

Lir hid it well, but I could feel the loneliness practically gushing out of him earlier. His kind isn’t meant to be alone. I didn’t understand the sacrifice he was making when he broke the bond. I never stopped to consider what he was giving up. But I know now. He gave up everything for me. I can only hope I deserved it—and that I can find a way to make it up to him.

I’m not off to the best start with that though, heading back to Bridgelake with Stu. Lir would not approve of me placing myself in danger like this. But it’s more than just a way to relieve my guilt over Zach. And it’s more than just keeping my promise to Emily. It’s what I hope to get from this trip that I’m focused on. I don’t approve of Dane’s methods, but right now my mind tells me he’s the lesser of two evils, and I’ve got to find a way to get Lir and Stella out of that city—even if that means I have to play nice with the overbearing jerk to get him to help me.