Wildcat Fireflies (46 page)

“If we get through this?”

“Right,” Meridian whispered.

“What if I go with Kirian?” I asked. “Will they let Bodie and Sema go?”

“You have that choice. We can’t stop you.”

“I have to protect Bodie and Sema.” Thoughts and images swirled in my head, whirling me around until the dizziness was too much to bear.

“I know.”

Does Kirian really love me? Or is it a trick?
There was a time before he left that we lay wrapped in blankets by the creek in the wee hours of the morning and talked about our futures, the family we’d make together. Places we’d travel to and see.
He’d been the one person that made my world feel less scary. “He loves me.” Until Nicole and Mini, he was the only person I could count on.

“Sure.”

“No, he has to love me.”

Meridian seemed to hesitate. “I heard a woman talking to a young man one day by the creek.”

“When?”

“I was on my way to see you. Minerva tripped me. The woman—I think it was Ms. Asura—told the man he had to do whatever it took to be ‘Romeo.’ ”

I gasped. I had called Kirian “Romeo” quietly, when no one else was around.

“I think Kirian was that man. I think maybe he’s changed.” She offered each word cautiously.

“Is Tens your boyfriend?” I asked.

“He’s more than that, he’s a Protector.”

I nodded, as if that made sense. “Have you and Tens—?”

“What?”

I blushed, but I needed to know. “Um, you know, yeah?”

“No, not yet.” She shook her head and bit her lip.

“Why not?”

“I think—” She shrugged. “I don’t know. We haven’t known each other long enough. I don’t think we’re in a rush. He goes above and beyond to not pressure me.”

“Why not? It’s what you do when you love someone.”

“Maybe, but it needs to be right.” She shredded a piece of toilet paper. “So you’ve—”

I swallowed. “Yeah, once.”

“With Kirian?”

“Mmm.” He was leaving the next day, his sixteenth birthday. His meager belongings were packed. That night, we crept into the vacant Train Room. In the dark, we groped and undressed. It wasn’t the first time we’d made out. I wanted him to stay. I wanted to go with him. I wanted to give him a reason to stay with me. “It’s pretty common for kids to hook up at DG. Sometimes it was the only thing that felt good. I loved him.”

“I get it. How old were you?”

“Thirteen.” Saying it aloud it made it sound young, too young. Kirian wasn’t inexperienced, not like me. I gave him my virginity. “It felt right at the time.”

“Now?”

“He still left without me.”

“That hurts?”

I nodded.

Tens knocked on the door. “Ladies? We have a plan to go over, when you’re ready.”

I stood, knees shaky.

“Can you do this?” Meridian asked. “We can go without you.”

“Kirian told me to come alone.”

“Well, you’re not alone and you’re not going alone. We’re a team and we’ll get the kids and then maybe you can talk to Kirian. Maybe he does love you and he’s not working with the Nocti.”

I nodded.
Or maybe he used me, too
.

T
he worry about Juliet’s physical and mental health was overwhelming. I kept silently praying that Nicole really was her guardian angel and she’d appear to help. I didn’t think Juliet could take one more blow. She was stronger than anyone I’d ever come across. To live in that horror and be able to nurture kids and love, without turning bitter and cold, blew my mind.

Tens hugged me tightly to him. We didn’t speak. There were no words. Besides, I knew Tens didn’t need them.

Rumi was fumbling with his stereo. “What’s he doing?” I whispered to Tens.

“He says he has Juliet’s anthem for her to hear.”

Juliet sank onto the couch, clutching Minerva to her chest.

Tony brought over a plate of take-out food and urged her to eat. I watched her take a few bites to appease him. He hovered around her, like the father I thought he identified as.

Rumi pressed Play and said to Juliet, “Your mother named you well. Take a listen.”

The B-52s called her name and Juliet lowered her head to her hands. The beat and lyrics flowed over us.

I can’t explain it completely, but the song warmed our souls. It was as if the sun came out and filled us with hope. I could almost see Auntie and Roshana clapping their hands in the corner of the room, smiling and laughing.

As the last note of the song faded, Juliet lifted her head. “Play it again?”

Rumi hit Repeat, turned the volume up high enough to rattle the windows and shake the glassware in the next room. He swung me into his arms for a twirl around the room. Tens’s toes tapped and he bopped his head to the rhythm. Tony played an invisible drum set with the gusto of a rock star.

Custos wagged her tail and I swear Minerva batted a paw to the beat. Juliet picked the cat up and swayed with her. It was the first time I’d seen Juliet relax and even smile.

The third time through, Tens cut in, embracing me. Who knew Tens was such a good dancer? His feet moved and mine followed his steps. Tony escorted Juliet to the dance floor of the kitchen, while Rumi pranced back and forth with Custos on her hind legs and front paws on his shoulders.

We all let loose and boogied. Pure joy and a common love united all of us. We were going to rescue the kids and defeat the Nocti and heal Juliet. We
would
. There was no other possible outcome.

As the song faded, Juliet broke the silence. “So what exactly is the plan?”

“We’re going to kick some ass,” Rumi answered her with a grin.

We were ready.

F
ather Anthony—
No
, I mentally corrected myself,
Tony—
called on everything he knew about the military to help us formulate the plan. “We turn toward the ambush and fight. We don’t run. They won’t be expecting it. Let them think things are going their way until it’s too late.” He made sense. When he reminded Meridian and Tens about a man named Josiah who’d told them unity was their strength, I remembered to mention the words I’d heard from whoever, whatever, that
had saved Enid and me from the tornado. Those too talked about standing together.

We’d mapped the spot where I was supposed to meet Kirian and Ms. Asura. That was where I headed now. Alone. At least it looked that way. We had no idea if they were watching me. A few minutes before midnight I stumbled over a tree root and swore.

I had a flashlight, but it didn’t seem to make a bit of difference. My heart thumped a wicked, heavy tempo. Kirian had changed, but then, I knew I had too. I was no longer the little girl he’d left. I’d grown up in these three years; I’d taken care of the house and raised the kids he and Ms. Asura now threatened. I felt fierce and unstoppable. Maybe I didn’t really understand our enemy, but that was okay. I trusted Tony, and Minerva. I knew it would take time to completely trust Meridian and Tens, but I was on my way to having a group of people I could count on. Right now, Bodie and Sema, maybe even Nicole, counted on me to come through for them.

In these woods, my new friends were prepared and positioned. The full moon hung creamy and voluptuous in the sky. It made the frost on the tree branches sparkle and bling and made crunching through the undergrowth noisy. I wore one of Rumi’s enormous down coats, which swallowed me but chased the chill away.

Meridian was nearby. She had promised she would hear me and respond if I called out, but I couldn’t see her. Her velvet scarf was wrapped around my neck and I wore Tony’s gloves on my hands. There was comfort in wearing their
belongings. I closed my eyes and whispered, “Mom, if you can hear me, I need you. Please help me do the right thing.”

I stepped out into the clearing and a spotlight shone directly into my eyes, blinding me.

“Jewel, you came!” Kirian ran forward, sweeping me up in his arms, in an unusually demonstrative way. Shocked at his greeting, I froze while he hugged me tightly, his breath on my ear, his cheek pressed against mine. Into my ear, he whispered, “When I say run, you run. You can’t trust her. Or me.”

“Kirian, put her down! You stupid child,” Ms. Asura, impeccably dressed as always, screeched. “Come here.”

He backed away, leaving me confused and stranded under the bright light blinding me. I tried to shield my eyes until she lowered it out of my face.

“Hello, Juliet.”

“Hi,” I answered. “I’m here. Where are Bodie and Sema?” How I’d ever seen her as good and caring was beyond me. There was nothing warm about her, nothing loving in her eyes.

“They’re nearby,” she said, putting her hand firmly on Kirian’s shoulder. His eyes begged my forgiveness.

“Where?” I shouted, losing patience. With new eyes, I saw how cowed he was, how scared, how desolate.

Ms. Asura shook her finger at me. “Such theatrics. First, you have to swear you’ll come with us.”

“Fine.”

“And join our cause.”

“Fine. Just let the kids go.” I needed to hear where they were stashed. I needed her to say it. My mouth was dry and
pasty; I was sure my heart would burst under the pressure. This had to work.

The leaves on the ground were caught up in a breeze. The trees swayed. Vines growing on the trees seemed to move too, like snakes, or arms with fingers.

“Kirian, get that bag, will you?” Ms. Asura pointed to Bodie’s backpack lying against a tree on the edge of the clearing. He loped over to pick it up. As he straightened, one of the vines undraped from the tree and twined about his neck. She flicked another finger and I realized she was controlling them.

“Run!” Kirian screamed, clutching at the vine with frantic fingers. He clawed at the vine and it tightened, lifting him until he was on his tiptoes, trying to breathe. Other vines wrapped around his limbs and his torso, holding him captive.

I started forward to help him.

“Uh—don’t move,” Ms. Asura yelled at me.

I froze. Meridian had warned me that there was something about the poison ivy that wasn’t natural. That I was to stay as far into the clearing as I could, to be on the safe side.

“I’m sure your new friends are filling your head with all sorts of stories about me. Most of them true. Maybe. Probably.”

“Why are you doing this? I don’t understand.” I stalled, watching Kirian’s face turn shades of red, then purple.

She checked her watch. “Happy birthday, Juliet. For a gift, I thought about getting you jewelry or a car. But how about something else?”

“Let him go. He can’t breathe!” I screamed back at her.
“You’re insane.” I heard the woods whispering. The vines hanging on the trees seemed to move independently of the wind. They curled and unfurled from the trunks of trees and from the brambles like fingers crooked in our direction. Slithering like tongues darting out.

“Quite the opposite. We laughed about you, you know? While we were in bed together, Kirian told me all about your little crush. How silly you were. How sad. To think anyone could really love you. Enough to take you away? Your mommy abandoned you. Kirian laughed at you. You’re not enough.”

Anger clouded my vision. “Let them go. What do you want from me?”

Kirian thrashed around, trying to speak.

“We can tell her the truth now, darling,” Ms. Asura said to him. Then to me, “Aren’t you angry? He used you. And you suffered years of abuse. Aren’t you ready for a little payback? Do you feel the rage?”

I did. I felt every slap and taunt and wound. But I gave no outward sign. Meridian’s warning to not let Ms. Asura get me emotional helped shield my emotions. I’d had practice with Mistress. Practice hiding my anger, my rage, my despair. So I used all of that and channeled my grief into muscle tension and a glare that willed Ms. Asura the very pain she was inflicting on Kirian, on me.

“Give in to what I see in your eyes.”

I let her see, perhaps giving her what she wanted might buy Kirian a breath.

She applauded. “Now all you have to do is let him die. Help me send him away forever. Then we can deal with the others, like Meridian.”

At the mention of Meridian’s name, cold doused the hot anger and I suddenly felt more in control.
I’m not alone. I’m not alone
. “I—I don’t know,” I stuttered. How did she know about Meridian?

“You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you? He betrayed you. He’s done everything I’ve asked of him and more. You’re alone, you need me. You need us. Meridian can’t give you what you want. I can tell you about your mother. Your father. I can give you history
and
a future. Then we’ll show Meridi—”

“Lay off, bitch, I’m right here.” Meridian stepped from the woods opposite us and came to stand next to me. She grabbed my hand and I felt instantly better.

“When I said come alone, you thought that meant bring a friend?” Ms. Asura cackled. “Priceless.”

“Two,” Nicole said as she came from the woods behind me and stepped up to take my other hand. Tears flooded my eyes. She wasn’t dead.

“A party to initiate Juliet into our family. How nice. You know, Nicole, I didn’t figure out where you came from until the tornado. Did you tell Juliet you’d been using her, trying to get her to join you?”

Holding hands with Meridian and Nicole, I saw the empty black holes where Ms. Asura’s eyes should be. Nocti. As if I had any doubt after this performance.

“She didn’t believe she deserved a guardian angel, thanks to all your treatment. You and that monster in charge of Dunklebarger.” Nicole squeezed my hand, then continued to prod Ms. Asura. “You killed the headmistress, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did. She was getting greedy. Always wanting
more money for her services. Thinking Klaus wanted her instead of me. When she told me she was the brains behind the whole operation I couldn’t help myself. Don’t tell me you’re sad?” Ms. Asura demanded.