Labyrinth of Stars(71)

Careful, in preparation for whatever else was coming.

I tried to move, found myself anchored by demons. So I tilted my head, searching, and found that distant fire.

“Jack,” I said. Zee lifted his head, nostrils flaring.

“Meddling Man,” he agreed.

I was exhausted. I didn’t want to walk, but I was more wary of the armor. Finally learning my lesson, after all. Using it might take me to the edge of Jack’s fire—or perhaps I would land at the farm, or on a mountain in Norway. Might not do anything at all. My legs, at any rate, were something I could count on. If I could just figure out how to stand.

Zee pulled me to my feet. I grabbed Raw and Aaz, hauling them up behind me. Dek and Mal clung to my shoulders, their purrs breaking into pathetic little coughs. I patted their heads.

“We good?” I asked them, trying to sound strong.

“Good enough,” Zee rasped, and bounded ahead of me. Not fast, not particularly strong . . . but good enough. That’s all I needed.

I followed him. Raw and Aaz gathered their strength, dropping in and out of the shadows and using them to skip ahead of us. I trailed them by the glint of their red eyes and the darkness of their bodies, which swallowed what little light came from the stars.

I hunted the fire, too.

I saw Jack long before he saw me. Seated in the grass, shoulders slumped, several bottles of wine in front of him—and one in his hand. A big blanket covered his shoulders, tied in a knot at his chest. He was staring at the flames, eyes bloodshot, distant—and he was dirty again, his face even more lined than I remembered. If he’d slept at all since I’d last seen him, I’d be shocked.

I walked right up, so close I could smell him. He didn’t look up at me, didn’t move a muscle. Absolutely still, staring straight ahead, with a million miles in his eyes. Just like before, with the skull. I followed his gaze, looked at the fire—and memories flooded me. Burning alive, burning in the smoke and heat, opening my eyes and staring at—

“Jack,” I said.

My grandfather twitched, but it was like a horse flicking off a fly. Zee prowled around the fire, watching him. He lacked his usual grace, and he swayed a little with each step—but his gaze was sharp, and the spikes of his hair flexed with agitation. Raw and Aaz also appeared, slumping in the grass with ragged sighs; almost panting with the effort of that run. Both of them reached into the shadows and pulled out: soft pretzels and hot dogs; a few bags of M&M’s; and, finally, a teddy bear.

I crouched beside Jack and hit him in the face with the bear.

That worked. He flinched, blinking hard, and tore his gaze from the fire to stare at me with confused, startled eyes.

“Excuse me,” he said, picking bits of fur out of his mouth. “Some respect for your elders is called for.”

I almost hit him again. Except his eyes changed, and he leaned forward, staring at me. I waited, only pretending to be patient. Dek and Mal rested their heads against the tips of my shoulders; I could feel their weariness. I was just as tired.

“Maxine,” Jack said in a quiet voice. “My dear girl. You are still very ill.”

“You knew I was sick.”

“I thought you would have healed by now. The boys—”

“You ran.” I reached for a small bag of M&M’s and tore it open. Dek and Mal finally lifted their heads. “You heard something you didn’t like and got the hell out.”

If part of me expected contrition, I didn’t get it. Jack narrowed his eyes. “There was something I needed to do.”

I kicked a stone into the fire—sparks flew. “I can see you’re hard at work.”

He was silent a moment, watching me. Dek and Mal wanted down, and I set them on the grass. They slithered directly into the fire, curling and twisting inside the heat. Their sighs were loud beneath the crackle of burning dung—a large pile of which was being snacked on by Aaz.

“You asked me to reach out to others of my kind, those who are still my friends,” Jack said finally, in a careful voice. “So I did.”

I held still. “And?”

“And,” he said, very quietly, “they didn’t know anything about an attack on this world, or you and Grant.”

“Bullshit.”

“Maxine. My kind cannot lie to one another. An attack is being planned, but the other Aetar cannot agree amongst themselves on how it should proceed—if at all. You and Grant represent too many unknowns.”

I drew in a deep breath, held it. “Were you the one who told them about us?”

Zee and the boys shifted around me, lifting themselves, but staying close, staring at my grandfather like wolves. Their red eyes glinted, and their skins swallowed what little starlight touched us. I felt my own light swallowed.