Shadows of Glass (33 page)

“Stay back and stay hidden,” Stone advises. “That knife you’re holding won’t do much
against these odds.” I want to say that his weapons aren’t that much more than mine,
but he is gone before I can open my mouth. He charges into the melee with a yell and
blades in both hands. Levi must recognize his voice because he doesn’t flinch or turn.
He just keeps on fighting, ducking and swinging as four men advance on him at once.

I can’t just stand in the shadows and watch. I move forward, looking from side to
side to make sure there aren’t any more rovers lurking about that may surprise us.
One of the rovers turns as Stone charges in and meets him with a wicked-looking blade
that is three times the size of the ones Stone holds. I hear the clash of metal as
four against two do a deadly dance among the trees.

Levi manages to get off another shot with his pistol and the man staggers back, wounded
but not killed. The man with the ax is not killed either and he staggers to his feet
and charges at Stone.

I yell but it is too late. The ax lands in Stone’s spine. His head jerks back and
he falls limply to the ground as the rover jerks it free.

Now they know I am here.

“Run, Wren!” Levi yells as the man with the ax swings at him. He pulls his stomach
in and barely misses being gutted as he turns and shoots his pistol again before flinging
it away and grabbing for the other one.

I see his crossbow leaning against a tree on the opposite side of the raging battle.
I also see the rover, who decides I am an easier target than Levi. All I can do is
try to outrun him or else I will be dead too. I take off across the path of the battle
to the crossbow. I feel the rover breathing down my neck. I hear Levi yelling. I hear
more shots and more yells in the direction of our encampment. Something touches my
back and I know the rover is trying to grab onto me. The crossbow is just ahead. I
dive for it and in one motion I pick it up, roll over, and pull the trigger. I don’t
have time to aim, I just shoot. The arrow jabs into the rover’s chin and goes straight
up into his skull, pinning his mouth shut, and he falls to the ground. I point the
crossbow to the ground, step on the end and slide an arrow into the chute. Levi needs
my help.

Levi is fighting three now: the one with the ax and another one with long knives.
He can’t take a moment to shoot his pistol because all he can do is block. He’s got
to be tired. He keeps ducking and jumping and twisting while using his rifle to block
the ax strikes. He keeps moving backward and sideways until he trips over Stone’s
body. As he falls I aim at the rover with the ax and pull the trigger as he raises
his arm to strike at Levi. I hit him in the back and he falls forward, landing on
Levi who slashes at the closest one with the knife at the exact same time the rover
with the ax lands on him. There is one left and he looks between Levi and I as if
he’s trying to decide who is the biggest threat.

Levi shoots him with his pistol and he falls to the ground.

“Quick, Wren, reload,” Levi says. I do, fumbling this time because I can’t believe
we are both still alive. Levi shoves the rover who fell across him away and staggers
to me. He reaches me just as I slide the arrow into the slot.

“Are you hurt?” Levi shoves his pistol into his belt and pulls me to him in a bone-crushing
hug. “You’re covered with blood. What happened?”

I shake my head. “I’m fine. I’m fine.” I hold on to him because I’m afraid I’ll fall
down without him. The moonlight shines down on us, highlighting the bruises and cuts
on his face. He takes the crossbow from me and slings it over his arm and then pulls
me close again. He puts a hand to my face and his warm brown eyes search mine as if
he’s not certain if I am telling the truth.

“You’re covered in blood,” he says.

“It’s not mine.”

“Wren.” He gasps, and then his mouth claims mine in a kiss that is full of the heat
and desperation of the battle we just fought. I feel the pull of it, down to my toes,
and I give it back to him, pressing harder, and kissing deeper until Levi pushes me
against a tree and picks me up by my thighs and my legs instinctively wrap around
his hips. I feel his hardness pressing against my juncture and I moan.

This is passion beyond reason and my head and my heart swell with it until I cannot
breathe and Levi finally pulls away with a rugged gasp for his own air.

“I’m glad to see you’re not hurt, Wren.”

Pace. He looks at me with such pain that I can well imagine what a knife thrust to
the heart must feel like. There’s a bloody cut on his head and his shirt is ripped
across his chest. “Adam is hurt. He’s been shot. I thought you’d want to know.” He
turns and walks away.

“Pace!” I cry out and start to follow, but he ignores me. I stand there torn, not
knowing what to do or what to say. Should I follow? Should I stay? Should I explain
what happened when I’m not even sure what it was, or should I give him time to get
over his anger and hurt? Jonah looks at me and then scampers after Pace with his tail
straight up in the air as if he is saying I made the wrong choice. The thing is I
don’t remember choosing, I just remember desperately trying to stay alive.

The air is defiantly quiet. All sounds of battle are gone. As we stand there, Levi
and I, the sounds of nature come alive again. The hoot of an owl, the nervous call
of a bird, the scampering of a squirrel, and farther away the heavy crashing of a
stag. Levi gathers up his weapons and looks at me for a long moment when I don’t know
what to say or even think. I see the guilt on his face but I also see the resolve.
Neither of which helps the myriad of confusion that surrounds me.

“Let’s go then,” he says.

I nod and follow him and we make our way silently back to the Quest.

23

Adam’s been shot.
Pace’s words ring in my ears, but it’s the memory of the look on his face that haunts
me.

What have I done? I killed three people today but the hurt I gave to Pace haunts me
more. And now Adam has been shot. I don’t know if I can stand any more. But I have
to. There is no turning back from the things I’ve done. Lives cannot be restored and
actions cannot be undone. I might have been carried away by the moment when Levi kissed
me, but I kissed him back. I can’t deny it. I cannot change it. I cannot take it back.

Once more my actions have caused pain, and there isn’t a single thing I can do about
it. Maybe I should leave so my friends will be safe.

Yes, I am a coward. The truth is I would rather be anywhere but here so I don’t have
to see Adam hurt, so I don’t have to see the pain in Pace’s eyes. I know him well
enough that he won’t let anyone else see it. He will be stoic because he is proud.

And I am a coward.

Levi and I walk in silence and we walk past bodies. I know Levi has questions about
how I came to be so bloody. I saved Stone, only to have him die in the next few moments.
If I’d left him alone maybe he’d be alive now. Or he could have been shot by the woman
I killed. From what I know of men, I know he’d rather die fighting than as a prisoner,
but that doesn’t help the fact that he is still dead and always will be.

I look at the bodies as we walk. They are all rovers. None of my friends is among
them, nor does it look like Lyon lost any more men, although they could have collected
them already.

We’re on the road now and still we walk in silence. I can see the lights from our
encampment and the shadows of people moving around. I am terrified to go there, terrified
of what will be waiting for me, afraid that everyone’s eyes will be on me and they
will know how I hurt Pace, even though I know his pride will not let him say anything.

I dwell on that and let it consume me because I am so afraid for Adam. If he dies …

“I’m sorry, Wren,” Levi says without looking at me. “It’s all my fault.”

“No,” I reply. “We’re equally to blame.”

Levi nods and says, “Thank you for saving my life.”

I don’t know what to say so I say nothing as we come to our encampment. It bustles
with purpose. Guards are stationed close in and lamps light the entire area. Rosalyn,
Jane, James, and George, along with Dr. Stewart, are gathered around Adam, who lies
prone on the table.

“Wren! Levi!” Zan exclaims from the catwalk and runs to us. I see Sally and some of
the children behind her in the door of the Quest cabin. They must have brought the
children inside at the first sign of attack. Lyon is also on the catwalk, talking
to the airship pilot. Zan hugs me and then hugs Levi. “You’re not hurt?”

“Just a few scratches. If not for Wren I’d be dead.”

“What happened?” Zan asks.

“Later,” Levi says. “How is Adam?”

“Shot in the shoulder at close range, but he should recover,” Zan explains.

“Thank heavens you’re not hurt.” Jane looks up from Adam as we come closer.

“We were just sending out a search party,” Lyon says.

“Wren!” Alcide joins us from the side and gives me a quick hug. “You survived!”

“So did you. Adam?”

“The bullet is still in him,” he says. “If not for Pace he’d be dead right now.”

Of course he wouldn’t mention that. “Where is Pace?”

“Out looking for you,” Alcide says. “Do you know you’re covered with blood?”

“It’s hard to miss.” Alcide gives me a half smile and I go with him to Adam while
Levi goes to his uncle Lyon.

“You survived,” Adam says. “And thanks to Pace so will I.”

“That’s what I heard,” I say with a smile. “I want to hear all about it when you’re
feeling better.” Adam’s shirt is off and Rosalyn washes the blood from his shoulder
with a cloth. A hole is there, right next to his collarbone, and blood continually
seeps from it.

I look at Jane and she smiles and nods in agreement. “First we have to get this bullet
out, which might be a bit tedious.”

Dr. Stewart feels the wound area when Rosalyn moves the cloth away. Adam grunts in
pain. “I’m afraid the bullet may have broken this bone. You will likely be out of
commission for a while. I’ll just fetch my bag and we’ll fix you up, good as new.”

“Don’t you worry.” Jane soothes Adam’s forehead as Dr. Stewart leaves. “He is a qualified
physician, along with being a brilliant scientist.”

“What happened?” I ask James.

“We saw the flare and started shooting. They were mostly in front of Adam’s position,
so it took a while for us to come in on one side and Peter and his partner on the
other.”

“There were so many of them, they over ran us,” Adam continues. He grimaces in pain
as he shifts his position on the table. “I got shot and it knocked me flat. Then another
came at me with a sword. I’d lost my weapon and had nothing to defend myself with.
Pace came out of nowhere and took him out.”

“I almost hate to admit this, Wren,” James adds. “But your guy gave it his all. If
not for him things could have gone horribly wrong. I guess it was all that bluecoat
training he had.”

James’s praise shames me. While I was kissing Levi, Pace was risking his life for
my friends. The fact that James says anything speaks for how impressed he is by Pace.

“He didn’t even pause when it was over,” Alcide says. “He was so worried about you.”

If only he had paused, then maybe he wouldn’t have seen me with Levi. But him not
seeing does not change the fact that it happened. I look around, hoping beyond hope
that Pace will show up, but there is no one about, except the guards, Pip in his cage
hanging in its usual spot, and … then I realize who is missing. “Is Peter hurt?” I
ask. “Jon?”

“They are both fine,” Alcide says. “They’re taking care of the animals. The ponies
panicked when all the shooting started and scattered.”

“I should help.”

“They didn’t go far,” Alcide assures me. “Freddy and Nancy are helping them. We all
know how much you love them. We got them back and they’re fixing the pen.”

Of all the things that have happened to me, this is the thing that makes me tear up.
I’m ashamed for anyone to see me crying, especially now after everything that has
happened. Adam is the one who notices since I have my head down.

“We’re going to be fine, Wren,” he says. “All of us.” I smile and nod because it is
quite a bit easier than explaining why I don’t think things will ever be fine again.
I’ve made a mess of things with Pace.

“Why don’t you come wash up?” Zan slides her arm around my waist. “You look a wreck.”

“I feel a wreck,” I say. I turn and look once more into the darkness that surrounds
us. “I should go find Pace.”

“You shouldn’t go out there by yourself Wren,” Alcide says. “More rovers could be
about.”

“Pace is out there and he doesn’t have the benefit of our eyes,” I say. Alcide puts
a hand on my arm as if to stop me. “I’ll be fine too,” I assure him.

“Let her go,” Levi says from behind me. “Take this.” He hands me his crossbow that
is fully locked and loaded while his eyes search my face. “I know you know how to
use it,” he says as if we’re the only two there. I see the apology in his eyes, along
with a longing that is very familiar to me. Mine is for answers that I still don’t
have the questions for.

“At least wash your face first,” Zan says. She strokes my hair. “You’ve come undone,”
she adds with a grin. If only she knew how undone I really am on the inside.

“There’s water over there.” Rosalyn points to another table that has two basins of
water and a stack of cloths. I go to wash my face and Levi follows me. A small mirror
hangs on one of the supports for the awning, and I catch his reflection in it as I
wipe the blood from my face.

“I need to do this alone,” I say.

“I know, Wren. Pace is hurting and you’re hurting too.” Levi looks at his hands. They
are battered and bruised, and he washes them in the other bowl. My face is scratched
from my fight with the woman, and I hold the cloth against it to soothe the wounds.
“Jane has some balm for that,” Levi adds.