make it a hundred feet?” She tapped my shoulder in silent assent. I dove with her, then raced toward the shore.
We emerged from the water. Sera crawled onto the shore on her hands and knees, gasping for air. I only felt recharged. With the crisis over, anger blossomed in my gut, a sure sign that my fire wasn’t far behind. I kept my magic in the water, drawing on its power until I felt something akin to calm. Well, in the general neighborhood of calm. Maybe the same zip code.
Once I confirmed that Sera was safe, I turned back to the water. A dark head moved in our direction. It seemed he could swim, after all. Without the magical boost, it would take Josiah longer to reach the island, but he’d make it.
David still stood on the shore, watching Josiah swim toward us. I don’t think his position or expression had changed since we’d first spotted the boat. I spoke his name twice before he seemed to notice I was there.
“You saw that, right? Sera had the chance to escape and turned it down. Maybe this will buy us some good will, if you tell the council.” He nodded, but his expression was so distant I wondered if he’d heard a thing I said. “Can you get them? The council and my family? They should be here for this. The council’s staying with my Grams, in the red brick house.”
He gave one terse nod, then took off for the other side of the island at a run.
While we spoke, Sera pulled herself upright. She still looked worn, but the steel behind her eyes told me she hadn’t even begun to fight yet.
“If we return to the cottage, what are the odds he’ll burn down the house?” I asked.
“If he does, I’ll stop him.” Sera might have only been three-quarters fire to Josiah’s full-blooded status, and a fraction of his age, but the set of her chin told me she’d find a way.
I nodded, seeing no better option. “Let’s get inside and wait for the cavalry. I have a feeling things are about to get ugly, and I’d rather you not be accused of whatever havoc that man is about to unleash.”
Together, we stepped inside our temporary home and bolted every door, and I pretended those small metal locks would keep the world at bay for a bit longer.
More than that, I pretended Josiah’s presence didn’t mean things had just gotten far worse.
“Should we open the door? Tell them our side of the story?”
Sera pulled back the curtain just enough to observe the confrontation happening outside our front door. Josiah stood nose to nose with four council members, my grandmother, and my very pissed off mother. While we couldn’t make out individual words, their raised voices and emphatic gestures told me this was not a calm discussion.
“Why would we do that? It would just invite that whole mess inside.”
She had a point.
“Should we make popcorn?”
One side of her mouth lifted. “No, look. They’ve reached a decision.”
She was right. Though Josiah still pointed toward us, he was moving away. I wasn’t so naive as to think he was giving in. There was a spring to his step that suggested he was exactly where he wanted to be, and this had been his plan all along. For once, I took some comfort in Deborah Rivers’s presence, along with the rest of the council. On her own, Deborah might be a match for Josiah. In combination with so many other fulls, Josiah could actually be contained.
Of course, even a contained Josiah was more dangerous than a human with an AK-47, a belt full of grenades, and laser beam eyes. I wasn’t going to relax anytime soon, particularly as no one was giving him a one-way ticket off the island. In fact, they appeared to be inviting him to stay in one of the other guest cottages, or perhaps the houseboat just behind it.
I swore. “Oh, hell no.”
“What?”
“I’ll be right back.” I stepped outside and slammed the door before she could ask any more questions. It was poor form to take advantage of her inability to leave the cottage. I planned to feel quite bad about it
We emerged from the water. Sera crawled onto the shore on her hands and knees, gasping for air. I only felt recharged. With the crisis over, anger blossomed in my gut, a sure sign that my fire wasn’t far behind. I kept my magic in the water, drawing on its power until I felt something akin to calm. Well, in the general neighborhood of calm. Maybe the same zip code.
Once I confirmed that Sera was safe, I turned back to the water. A dark head moved in our direction. It seemed he could swim, after all. Without the magical boost, it would take Josiah longer to reach the island, but he’d make it.
David still stood on the shore, watching Josiah swim toward us. I don’t think his position or expression had changed since we’d first spotted the boat. I spoke his name twice before he seemed to notice I was there.
“You saw that, right? Sera had the chance to escape and turned it down. Maybe this will buy us some good will, if you tell the council.” He nodded, but his expression was so distant I wondered if he’d heard a thing I said. “Can you get them? The council and my family? They should be here for this. The council’s staying with my Grams, in the red brick house.”
He gave one terse nod, then took off for the other side of the island at a run.
While we spoke, Sera pulled herself upright. She still looked worn, but the steel behind her eyes told me she hadn’t even begun to fight yet.
“If we return to the cottage, what are the odds he’ll burn down the house?” I asked.
“If he does, I’ll stop him.” Sera might have only been three-quarters fire to Josiah’s full-blooded status, and a fraction of his age, but the set of her chin told me she’d find a way.
I nodded, seeing no better option. “Let’s get inside and wait for the cavalry. I have a feeling things are about to get ugly, and I’d rather you not be accused of whatever havoc that man is about to unleash.”
Together, we stepped inside our temporary home and bolted every door, and I pretended those small metal locks would keep the world at bay for a bit longer.
More than that, I pretended Josiah’s presence didn’t mean things had just gotten far worse.
“Should we open the door? Tell them our side of the story?”
Sera pulled back the curtain just enough to observe the confrontation happening outside our front door. Josiah stood nose to nose with four council members, my grandmother, and my very pissed off mother. While we couldn’t make out individual words, their raised voices and emphatic gestures told me this was not a calm discussion.
“Why would we do that? It would just invite that whole mess inside.”
She had a point.
“Should we make popcorn?”
One side of her mouth lifted. “No, look. They’ve reached a decision.”
She was right. Though Josiah still pointed toward us, he was moving away. I wasn’t so naive as to think he was giving in. There was a spring to his step that suggested he was exactly where he wanted to be, and this had been his plan all along. For once, I took some comfort in Deborah Rivers’s presence, along with the rest of the council. On her own, Deborah might be a match for Josiah. In combination with so many other fulls, Josiah could actually be contained.
Of course, even a contained Josiah was more dangerous than a human with an AK-47, a belt full of grenades, and laser beam eyes. I wasn’t going to relax anytime soon, particularly as no one was giving him a one-way ticket off the island. In fact, they appeared to be inviting him to stay in one of the other guest cottages, or perhaps the houseboat just behind it.
I swore. “Oh, hell no.”
“What?”
“I’ll be right back.” I stepped outside and slammed the door before she could ask any more questions. It was poor form to take advantage of her inability to leave the cottage. I planned to feel quite bad about it
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