Snakeroot (17 page)

And with her eyes closed, she could see Ethan and Connor moving through the room, because the Strikers, like every living being on the planet, were threads in the world’s pattern. As they closed in on her, Adne sheathed her skeins.

Ethan came at her first. Side attack. He dove at Adne’s legs, hoping to knock her down. Adne propelled herself into the air, flipping over while Ethan sailed underneath her. Recovering from his miss, Ethan rolled onto the balls of his feet. The flicker of his gaze to a point just behind Adne gave Connor away.

She whirled around as Connor rushed at her. Surprise registered on his face as Adne met his advance with a roundhouse that hit directly in the center of his chest. Connor went flying back.

Adne pivoted just in time to meet Ethan’s next attack. As he grabbed for her, she lifted onto her toes and pirouetted past him, landing a hard blow to his back with her elbow as she turned. Ethan grunted in pain but swung around to strike at Adne once more.

Blocking his first punch, Adne retaliated with a knee that only missed Ethan’s groin by an inch when he jumped back.

“Hey!” Ethan yelled at her in surprise.

Adne hit him in the jaw with enough force to send him reeling.

“Adne!” Connor was behind her. She wheeled on him.

He put his hands up, but Adne lunged and they both went tumbling along the floor. When they stopped rolling, Adne was on top of Connor. Her vision had become a sea of red. Her pulse was shrieking as blood sped through her veins, on fire. How dare they try to take away her power?

Kill him.

Adne didn’t remember drawing the silver spike, but her skein was suddenly in her hand and she was raising it up.

Make him bleed.

She brought the skein down.

Mikaela screamed and Adne froze.

The pointed tip of the skein stopped just short of Connor’s left eye.

“Adne, what are you doing?” Tess was running over to them.

Adne pushed herself up, backing away quickly.

His voice. She’d heard his voice. Bosque had been in her head.

Connor was propped up on his elbows. He was staring at Adne, his expression confused, wary, and a little angry.

“You all right?” Ethan offered Connor his hand, but Connor didn’t take it. He kept his eyes on Adne.

Tess reached them. She looked from Connor to Adne.

“What was that?” Tess asked. “What were you thinking?”

Adne couldn’t tell them. They’d take everything away from her. How could they not?

Shiloh and Mikaela crept up to stand behind Tess. The two newest members of the Haldis team were both watching Adne as if she were a venomous snake about to strike.

Drawing her second skein, Adne took both the spikes in one hand and then violently cast them aside. The metal clattered along the floor, ringing bright and sharp with each impact.

“I’m showing you how it’s done.”

Adne turned her back on them and walked from the room. She kept her back straight and her pace measured, so they wouldn’t know she was running away.

CONNOR COULDN’T
help but glance over his shoulder as he walked with Ethan toward Haldis Tactical.

“I should stay here.”

“The hell you should.” Ethan cuffed Connor across the back of the head. “You need to get out and get your mind on something else. Seeing you glum is downright scary.”

“But Adne—” Connor rubbed the base of his skull. Ethan didn’t cuff gently.

“Adne is with Sabine,” Ethan cut him off. “You won’t do her any good by hovering over her every second.”

Connor wanted to disagree, but he couldn’t. If anything, his vigilance seemed to make Adne feel worse. She wouldn’t talk about why or how she’d ended up in the gardens outside Rowan Estate. Not to Connor. Not to anyone.

Tess tried to assure him that Adne was likely acting out after having repressed too much grief for too long, but Connor wasn’t convinced.

“You’re thinking about it,” Ethan said. “Just stop. Stop thinking about it all the time. You’re turning yourself into an old man.”

Connor grunted by way of answer. It was easy enough for Ethan to throw placations at him. Sabine, who by all accounts should be having the harder time adjusting—not that there was anything wrong with the girl, but she
had
been a wolf—had taken to life with the Searchers as if she’d been born into it.

“Tell me this, my mopey friend,” Ethan said, hefting his crossbow. “Does it or does it not feel good to have your weapons strapped on again?”

That drew a grin from Connor. “It does.”

Going to the armory had been oddly comforting. At last there had been something familiar, something that had once been routine to distract him from the unpredictable and largely unpleasant shape of his life of late.

“Then just focus on that.” Ethan nodded in approval. “We’re going to get the bad guys again ’cause that’s what we do.”

“That
is
what we do.” Connor felt a little bit of swagger infuse his gait. It felt good.

By the time they reached Tactical, Connor was practically his old self again.

“Ethan! Connor!” Tess waved to them. “Over here!”

Tess stood with Shiloh and Mikaela. The sight of the wallflowerish Weaver made Connor’s gut clench. He couldn’t miss the horror etched on the girl’s face after Adne’s attack. A look that said: I never want to become that. Mikaela’s expression had made Connor want to throttle her and shout to the world that Adne was nothing but good, that she hadn’t become anything other than the extraordinary woman she’d always been. But Connor couldn’t shout that or do anything. He didn’t know what to believe or feel anymore.

With Adne out of commission, Mikaela would weave the portal for their mission. Connor tossed an uneasy glance at Ethan. Timid as she was, Mikaela hardly seemed ready for the field. But Ethan just shrugged in reply. They hadn’t talked about what happened with Adne. Neither had Tess tried to push Connor into sharing his thoughts about the episode. All of Connor’s friends were treating him with kid gloves. He didn’t blame them.

Though he might be resentful of it, Connor knew Ethan’s nonchalance about the new Weaver wasn’t misplaced. If Tess or Anika had deemed Mikaela fit for the mission, then she was. Still, she wasn’t Adne and that was the long and short of it. Connor wanted Adne here, not Mikaela. But that wasn’t going to happen today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not for many tomorrows, and Connor needed to deal with it.

Taking a quick survey of the room, Connor noted that the Searchers had formed up according to faction. The Pyralis team appeared to be happily allowing Holt to lord over them. Eydis’s team was mostly new faces—the hideout in Mexico had been wiped out by the Keepers’ attack; Connor’s chest tightened at the memory of losing his friends. Pascal was still leading the Alps-based Tordis team, but he looked to be the only veteran surrounded by very young, newly minted warriors from the Academy.

I could make the same observations about my own team.

Ethan, Connor, and Tess had been around Haldis for a while, but Shiloh and Mikaela were new. In the past year they’d lost Stuart, Kyle, Lydia, Isaac, and Monroe. Connor wondered if maybe he’d been too quick to dismiss Tess’s theory about Adne and grief. They were all probably due a lot more grieving than they’d allowed themselves.

“Your attention!” Anika stepped into the center of the room. “Thank you for gathering and for your patience. After much debate and discussion, the Guides have concluded that we are needed in the world once again. We’ve spent the past weeks regrouping and have started rebuilding, and while that work continues, your purpose has always been to be in the world, defending it.”

A murmur of approval passed through the group.

“As we make the transition from pursuit of the Elemental Cross to safeguarding the world from occult intrusions, we must be patient, both with our individual selves and with one another.” Anika gestured to the four groups in the room. “The Guides have deemed it wisest to continue using the Striker teams as before to promote continuity within each unit.”

Connor leaned over to Ethan. “Considering how few of the old teams made it through the war, do you really think continuity is possible?”

“Just go with it,” Ethan murmured. “She’s doing the best she can.”

Chastised, Connor shoved his hands into his coat pockets. He hadn’t meant to insult Anika. He’d been feeling good when he and Ethan entered the room, but as he waited for deployment, his doubts had crept back in, souring his mood. The complaint had been borne out by his own frustration and a nagging sense of betrayal. It wasn’t that Connor felt Adne was betraying him. His resentment went well beyond that.

The war was over. His side won. He and Adne were together and he’d thought they were in love.

This was the part of life where things were supposed to be rainbows and unicorns, but somehow that wasn’t happening. Happily ever after, it turned out, was total bullshit, because Connor was miserable.

“While many of the Keepers perished at the closing of the Rift due to the simple fact that they were long past a natural human life span, there are Keepers who survived,” Anika told them. “We haven’t yet determined the level of threat any remaining Keepers pose. It is your task to assess that threat.”

Anika waited until the buzz of reaction died down before she spoke again. “We’ve been able to trace the location of some Keepers by following the one asset they still have: their money. Your Guides have your team assignments. After you’ve gathered the intelligence we need, you’ll return here for debriefing. Are there any questions?”

The room was tense with energy, but silent.

“Remember,” Anika said, “this mission is strictly recon. We have to assess the state of any remaining Keepers before we move against them. Unless you are in immediate danger, do not engage.”

Though the majority of the teams nodded in assent, a few grumbles and snickers could be heard from Pyralis. Holt didn’t even bother to hide the smirk on his face.

Anika ignored her detractors. “I look forward to your reports.”

A low roar filled the room as the teams broke off to discuss their missions.

“So I hear this Guide person has our assignment.” Connor winked at Tess. “Must be some kind of hot shot.”

“Montauk,” Tess replied.

“What’s a Montauk?” Ethan asked. He turned to Shiloh. “Do you know what a Montauk is?”

Shiloh stared at Ethan, trying to figure out whether he was serious.

“It’s a where.” Tess laughed, sparing Shiloh. “In the Hamptons.”

“I thought the Hamptons were a hotel chain,” Connor said, scratching his chin.

“Different Hamptons,” Tess answered, and said to Shiloh, “These two grow on you. I promise.”

Shiloh just nodded.

“Pssst, Connor,” Ethan said very loudly, “I think our new Striker is a robot.”

“Does that mean he has lasers?” Connor replied. “’Cause lasers would be very cool. And deadly. Deadly is always good.”

Tess shook her head, laughing but exasperated. “Forget what I said, Shiloh, just ignore them.”

Shiloh nodded again, but he cracked a little bit of a smile.

“I saw that.” Connor pointed at him. “I saw it.”

“Mikaela,” Tess said to the girl who’d been watching the exchange with wide eyes. “Will you please open a door so I can kick these hucksters out of the room?”

Mikaela sprang, literally, into action, jumping and whirling as she pulled threads to weave a portal. The moment the door took its full shape, Connor plunged forward.

“Tallyho!”

“We’re spies this time.” Ethan was on his heels. “Spies don’t say ‘tallyho.’”

“What do spies say?” Connor asked.

Shiloh said softly, “Nothing.”

Ethan and Connor exchanged a glance.

“I’m not wrong,” Shiloh added. “That’s why they’re spies. The stealth. Also, ninjas. Ninjas can do stealth. And they also say nothing.”

“He’s pretty good,” Ethan said to Connor.

Connor nodded. “Definitely stuff we can work with in there.”

“Stop corrupting my new recruit,” Tess said as she emerged from the portal.

Mikaela followed the Guide and closed the door.

“So this is Montauk,” Ethan said, checking out their surroundings. “Looks nice.”

“It looks like woods,” Connor said.

“Nice woods, though,” Ethan replied.

“If you like woods.”

“All right, that’s enough,” Tess told them. “I know you have lost time to make up for, but we also have work to do.”

“Yes, sir,” Ethan said. “Or do you prefer ma’am?”

“Or Unflappable Director of the Lost,” Connor offered. “It’s just a fancier way of saying ‘Guide.’ Has a nice ring to it.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “There’s a house a half mile due east of here. That’s where our targets are located. I’ll survey the grounds. Connor and Ethan, take the house. Shiloh, you’re with the Weaver.”

Shiloh nodded.

“I knew he was going to say that.” Ethan grinned at Connor. “You owe me five dollars.”

“Get going.” Tess shoved Ethan in the direction of the house while she headed south into the woods.

Connor and Ethan picked their way through the forest, maintaining an appropriate silence now that the mission was under way. The forest ended abruptly. A perfect line of trees demarcated the beginning of what Connor guessed was a perfectly manicured lawn when it wasn’t covered with snow.