Wade and Jen came bursting through the little door, long before Christina had expected them. In fact, Wade had barely gotten out of hearing range, when suddenly he was back again.
“I found her.” He wheezed the words, out of breath. “She was already on her way here.”
Jen looked as frantic as Christina had ever seen her. “They're storming the edges of the property,” she warned, her breath coming in harsh rasps. “They want their bones back!”
She gestured to the table with a sharp cut of her hand and then stopped, stunned, just as the rest of them had been, when she realized what she was seeing. Jen had known they’d brought the bones down here, but it was a different thing to have the full skeleton laid out on the table in the middle of the library in all its glory.
Christina got the distinct impression that they were standing in a sacred place where the vast majority of the family wasn't even allowed. But Will had no time for anyone to stop and take stock of the situation or worry about it.
“Where are they?” He grabbed Jen by the shoulders, directing her attention to him, even as he turned to GJ and Noah and barked, “You two figure out how to get these things.” He gestured to a list in the book.
Walter was listening intently to Jen, gleaning intel about the invasion. She felt she was even less suited to spellwork than Christina was.
Noah dove for the book, starting work on a translation. As he and GJ mentioned bowls, white fabric, and stones, Christina looked around, confused. She had no idea where to get any of these things, but she knew Jen and Will would.
Will was nearly shaking his coordinator in an effort to gain information. “Where exactly are the soldiers?”
“The line that went out to meet you guys—” She turned to Walter and found a welcoming motion to go on. Jen took a breath, tears leaking out of the edge of her eyes. “It’s almost decimated. There's just so many of them.”
She sounded surprised, and Christina felt her eyes flick toward Will, who gave nothing away. Had he known that and kept it from her? Or was he actually shocked and just so good at hiding it?
“They're on the property now. They came in from all directions at once. They corralled us, Will! They've hit one of the outer houses. It's in flames, and probably several more are by now. I ran here as fast as I could to tell you.”
Her breath heaved and she turned as though she were leaving. But Will grabbed on to her shirt and held her back. “Jen, stay here. This is how we fix it. We need you.”
She looked to the bones and then to him, almost as if to say, Oh, hell no, but he didn't let her go.
Noah and GJ were rattling off items that they needed. But Wade was already out the door again. Christina had forgotten for a moment that he grew up here and he knew his way around as well as any of them.
“I’m getting the fabric,” he announced as he disappeared down the hall.
Behind him, Jen took a deep breath and steeled herself, seeming to make a decision. “I'll get the stones. Which ones exactly do you need?”
And then they were gone.
Even Will trailed out the door, leaving Noah, Walter, and GJ sitting at the table, poring over the book, and Christina standing there wondering what the hell to do.