Burnt Sugar (4 page)

I jerked my head in his direction. “Better check on your friend.” She scuttled over to Reggie, crooning over his injuries, and turning her back to us. Maybe she thought it was all over. That we were taking her into custody or something. Laughable. Ezra covered me as I started to back toward the door. The gingerbread house wasn't going to burn like a normal house, but I could manage, especially with the oven roaring like it was. I pushed the fire there out and up—crawling on the walls and the floor. Then we backed out of the house. Dolly was too preoccupied to hold the door. We retreated out onto the lawn, but I didn't take my eyes off the house as I burned it.

“Ovens,” I said with a scoff. “We don't need no stinkin' ovens.”

The smell of burnt sugar filled the air. I could hear the screams over the hiss and pop of melting sugar and chocolate, but they didn't go on for long. In the end, the roots shot up, waving like drunken tentacles, before pulling the last of the mass of sugar into the ground. By the time it was finished, all that remained of the house was a heap of churned earth and far too many tiny white bones jutting up like flowers. How long had Venus been ignoring them, giving Dolly and Reggie time to feed the house? I shuddered. Ezra put an arm around me and led me further into the field where Lock had gathered the kids.

All of them were dirty, thin, and tired looking. It was going to be a long walk back to the car. And cell service. We needed to call in a cleaning crew. I didn't want another gingerbread house growing out of this mess, and Venus wouldn't want anyone stumbling across the impromptu graveyard. Not that she cared about the victims or the sanctity of a burial, even one such as this, but she wouldn't want attention drawn to our world. Venus hated complications unless she was making them.

“So many tiny bones,” Lock whispered. The little girl was back in his arms, and Julian had a firm grip on his leg.

Ezra pried him free. “You're with me. Us naked guys have got to stick together.” Julian took his hand. “You know, I think I saw a creek a while back. You could probably rinse off if you want. Though you might consider leaving it on—that wasabi glaze could double as a cologne. Who knows, you could be a trend setter.” Julian looked up at him and smiled. The other kids followed Ezra as we went back into the woods. Birds tweeted. The air was warm and fresh if you were upwind of the house. In a few weeks, this part of the forest would be back to normal. It would be like nothing had ever happened.

Lock waited for me as I caught up. I couldn't tell who was more tired, me or him. We were both pretty drained and I'd lost any resources to recharge when they took my jacket. It was hard to walk in one boot, so I took it off and left it. I would have to step carefully.

He offered me a hand to help me over a downed log. “I was thinking,” I said, twisting to avoid some nettles, “that maybe ice cream might not be the best thing right now. I'm kind of off sweets for a while.”

Lock squeezed my hand. “Can't say I blame you.” He cast a look back the way we'd come. I knew where his mind was going.

“Evil, Lock. Eating children.” We were all uncomfortable when our roles dipped into the judge, jury, and executioner zone, though better us than Venus. But as I watched the trail of bedraggled kids ahead of us, I didn't feel bad this time. Later, in my nightmares, I might have regrets. But not right now. Out of the three of us, though, Lock always took this stuff the hardest. At some point down the line Ezra and I had become too pragmatic.

“Thanks,” he said. “I needed the reminder.” He cleared his throat. “So, lobster roll? A burger? A nice, cold, soda? Condensation dripping down the side …”

I groaned, my stomach rumbling and my throat parched. “You keep that up, it's going to be a long walk to the car.” But Lock kept listing food, and the kids got in on the game, some of them talking for the first time since we'd rescued them.

It didn't take nearly as long to get back as I thought it would.

Copyright © 2014 by Lish McBride

Art copyright © 2014 by Junyi Wu

eISBN: 978-1-4668-8585-1

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