Winging It (13 page)

I needed to figure out, in no particular order:

Each and every item on this list was a pressing concern. Cumulatively, they were almost paralyzing.

I wasn’t even sure where to begin.

The simple fact was that I needed backup. When you need support with dragon details, there’s only one group of confidants who will do – other dragons.

As disappointed as Isabelle was with Nick, he was still my buddy. He was a hundred and seventy pounds of almost pure testosterone, and I could count on him.

I took my file
On
Becoming the Wyvern
and sent it to Nick, along with a note that it should be opened if I died.

Kind of a last will and testament.

Or an insurance plan.

Then I sent it to Liam and to Garrett, along with the same message.

All three replied instantly, in characteristic fashion, their responses making my messenger chime three times in rapid succession.

Garrett, who had an affinity with fire, replied with quick heat:

Nick, who had a connection to the earth, needed the facts:

And Liam, whose affinity was with water, showed his usual empathy:

I loved these guys. I realized that all over again when I read their messages. In fact, it made me tear up a bit. They were the real dragons at my back. And I hadn’t been keeping them in the loop, the way I should have done. So I typed a message and copied all of them:

They understood the urgency of the situation immediately. We agreed to do a joint call in half an hour. Then Nick replied:

I smiled. It still bugged him that I’d won the big prize at boot camp in April, but I wasn’t above rubbing it in. I typed back:

Not true. It would link almost instantly, but I could just about hear them groan simultaneously.

I had time to dress, eat, and conjure an excuse.

I needed a walk, I decided. Meagan’s folks would be good with that on a Sunday morning, and it would be the perfect way to score a little privacy.

There was a park opposite the Jamesons’ town house, a pretty little park that everyone seemed to just walk past and admire. Ideal for my purposes. I swept a bench clear of snow with my gloved hand and had the guys connected in no time.

‘First, tell us exactly what happened,’ Nick said.

I did. I didn’t leave out one thing – not the invitation, not my mom and dad, not the incident with Suzanne, not my dad’s reaction, not the attack by Kohana.

Oh, I did leave out the fact that Isabelle was disappointed that Nick had a girlfriend. I was saving that for later, when I could talk to Nick privately.

There was a beat of silence when I was done and then they all talked at once.

‘What about this Halloween party?’ Nick said. ‘Sounds like a trap to me.’

‘I’m not going.’

‘Why do you think Trevor invited you?’ Garrett asked. ‘What could they have planned?’

‘You really shouldn’t have revealed yourself at school,’ Liam chided then. ‘Now that your dad has forbidden you to shift, you’re not going to be able to protect yourself. What if you hadn’t been able to get away last night?’

‘At least I’m not exiled.’

‘Yet,’ Liam added.

‘We need to know more about Kohana to understand
his
plan,’ Nick said.

‘No, we need to know more about Mages and their plan,’ Garrett argued. ‘Then we’ll be able to guess his, and we can make a plan ourselves.’

I love a good riddle and I like solving these kinds of problems. So I took charge of making the list. On my messenger, I could do that as well as talk to them. ‘All right. We’ve got a bunch of questions here and not a lot of time. Let’s divide it up, then talk after we each track down a chunk.’

‘Good plan,’ Nick said.

‘We need to find out about the other shifters. Kohana said that there were only four kinds left, and that the Mages meant to eliminate all of us.’

‘Your dad made a treaty with the Mages,’ Liam said.

‘But they’ll never stand by it,’ Nick said. ‘Zoë’s right in that.’ We’d been through our skepticism before.

‘The thing is that we have to be careful not to be the ones to breach the terms of the treaty first,’ Liam said. There was some discussion, and Liam agreed to hunt down the exact text of the treaty.

‘It’s fair to assume that Kohana intends to betray the
Pyr
into being next,’ Garrett said with heat. ‘Why else would he go after Zoë?’

‘But why would he play on their side?’ Nick asked.

‘He thought before that the Mages would cut the Thunderbirds some slack in exchange for turning in another kind of shifter,’ I said. ‘Maybe they’ve even promised to do that.’

‘But they won’t keep that promise, either,’ Nick said.

I love how linear Nick is. It’s right-and-wrong, either-or, black-or-white for him on every issue. He’s a total straight arrow.

‘You’re right,’ Garrett agreed. ‘But the key to figuring out a way around that lies in understanding the Thunderbirds. What’s their objective?’

‘Survival?’ Nick suggested.

‘What else?’ I asked.

‘Maybe we’re just the Mages’ next target and that put us on the Thunderbirds’ map,’ Liam said.

‘No,’ I said. ‘I think it’s about that treaty Kohana mentioned last time, the one he said we
Pyr
broke centuries ago. He thinks we’re lower than pond scum.’

‘But what was the deal?’ Nick asked. ‘How’d we break it?’

‘And can we fix it?’ Liam asked.

We didn’t know.

‘We only have Kohana’s word that there ever was a big fight between our species and a deal,’ I noted. ‘But he keeps saying the
Unktehila
are oathbreakers who forget our own history.’

‘It’s not much of a recommendation,’ Nick conceded. ‘If he’s right.’

‘We can’t exactly fix it if we don’t know what the problem was,’ Liam said.

‘I’m on it,’ Garrett said. ‘My mom has an amazing collection of New Age references at the bookstore. I’ll have to sift through a lot of garbage, but I might be able to find something useful.’

‘Good. Thanks.’ I consulted my list. ‘Keep an eye out for these other shifters, too. We know there’s us and there’s the Thunderbirds. Kohana had said that the other two kinds were wolves and jaguars.’

‘We need better info about them, too,’ Garrett said. ‘Find out where they live, who their leaders are, whether they’ve already been fighting Mages.’

‘And we need to contact them,’ I added. ‘Maybe the way to beat the Mages is to work together.’

‘Kohana isn’t giving that idea much support,’ Garrett noted.

‘Well, we’ve got to find Kohana,’ Nick said. ‘Before he finds Zoë again. I’ll see if I can sniff him out – or more of his kind.’

‘And I’m coming to Chicago,’ Liam said. ‘It won’t take me long to find the treaty terms, and you can’t be alone right now, Zoë. You might need someone able to shift to guard your back.’

The guys agreed heartily on that, and I was relieved that Liam was coming. ‘What will you tell your parents?’

‘I’ll think of something,’ Liam said, which said something about his determination. He’s an even worse liar than me. ‘Maybe I’ll just tell them the truth.’

I smiled at that.

‘You don’t think the Mages prompted Eileen and Erik’s fight, do you?’ Garrett asked. ‘I mean, we know that they can turn people’s thoughts in different directions.’

‘And it would be a good way to ensure that Zoë is undefended.’ Liam sounded thoughtful.

We fell silent for a moment, and I knew I wasn’t the only one worried about it.

Then Garrett sighed. ‘Okay, I’ve got to say it, Zoë, even though you’re not going to like it.’

‘Go ahead.’ I didn’t know what to expect.

‘What about Jared? I know you like him, but the Mages did try to sign him up, didn’t they?’

My heart clenched. ‘He declined, though. He told me.’

‘Do you really think the Mages take no for an answer that easily?’ Garrett asked quietly. ‘I’m not saying he’s lying to you, but I am wondering how anyone gets away from those guys.’

There was a slither of uneasiness between us. I was pretty sure we were all remembering how Adrian’s spell the previous spring had made us act against our own will.

‘I trust him!’ My protest sounded a bit shrill, even to myself.

‘Maybe I’m wrong, but if we’re checking out the angles, I think that’s one to consider.’ Garrett tried to be conciliatory. ‘Maybe you can get the story from him, since he’s in town.’

‘Don’t get all prickly, Zoë,’ Nick said.

‘No, your concern is fair. I see that. I’ll go talk to him.’ My heart skipped and leapt at just the prospect of seeing Jared again.

How sad was that?

‘Maybe someone should go there with you,’ Liam said. ‘Wait for me to get there before you go after him. Just in case.’

‘You’ve got to take care of yourself, Zoë,’ Garrett said. ‘You’re our Wyvern.’

‘And we’ve got to work together, like we did last time,’ Nick said. ‘Let’s all get to Chicago as soon as we can.’

‘Careful what you tell your parents,’ I said. ‘My dad is sure I’m wrong about the Mages. My only chance of avoiding exile is to prove that we’re right.’

‘Without shifting,’ Liam said and I could practically see them all roll their eyes.

‘If they don’t trust the Wyvern, then we don’t need to confide in them,’ Nick said. ‘Let’s prove Zoë right and then tell them the deal.’

Truth be told, I was relieved at their plan. Besides, I might be able to talk some sense into Nick about this girlfriend thing once he was here. My messenger chimed and I saw that I’d missed a call from my mom, but that it was receiving a message from her. I liked that she was doing what she’d promised. I would read it as soon as we were done.

‘Do you think you can get the book from Jared?’ Liam asked. ‘That might tell us something about Mages and other shifters.’

I was skeptical that it would, doubly skeptical that he’d let it go. ‘I’ll try, but he’s told me that he’s not giving it up.’

‘There has to be someplace else we can get some answers,’ Nick said. ‘I don’t like waiting on chance.’

That was when I knew. The answer was in the dark, at the bottom of the well. Urd might not be a looker, but she’d pushed me down there for my own good.

Just the way her sister, Verdandi, had given me the rune stone last spring, knowing I would need it.

For something.

Trusting them and my dreams was key.

I knew what I had to do. I didn’t like it, but I knew there was no other choice.

I needed to go back into that dream and go down the well.

By choice.

It was a Wyvern thing.

Meagan was finishing her piano practice when I got back to the town house. We hung out as I read the message from my mom. My mom was doing all right, or at least she wanted me to believe as much. She still hadn’t mentioned my dad.

Meagan and I tried to decide if that was important to the ultimate resolution, but we were interrupted when she got a call on her messenger. I grimaced as she crowed to Jessica about completing her math homework first. She told her about the concert in glowing terms, and I couldn’t help but notice how easily they talked.

Like I wasn’t even there.

Then Meagan chatted to Jessica about potential
Pyr
candidates among the guys at school. Apparently they agreed about Derek having a dark secret – it was in his eyes. I never saw anything much in his eyes, but no one was asking me.

I went to the fridge, feeling a bit forgotten.

‘Your mom called,’ Meagan’s mom said as she came into the kitchen with a magazine. She pulled out a stool and sat down.

‘My mom called you?’ I nearly hit my head on the freezer door, I straightened so fast.

‘She wanted to make sure you were staying out of trouble.’

I smiled, mentally adjusting my halo. ‘Pretty much.’

Meagan’s mom smiled. ‘That’s what I told her, that there was nothing to worry about.’

She started to read her magazine again and I was turning away, but then I stopped. ‘Mrs. Jameson?’

‘Mm-hmm?’

‘How did she sound?’

Meagan’s mom glanced up. ‘What do you mean?’

I shrugged. ‘You know. Happy? Sad?’

Wildly in love?

Ready to return home?

In the act of filing for divorce?

I didn’t say any of those things, but Meagan’s mom smiled a little, as if she’d heard them. ‘She sounded’ – she flipped a page of the magazine absently, as if searching for the right word, then smiled at me – ‘cautiously optimistic.’

I decided to take that as progress.

‘Good. Thanks.’

Meagan was walking through the intricacies of a math proof with Jessica. I figured I’d better do some of my own homework. I drained my juice, rinsed the glass, then headed for Meagan’s room to get the backpack I’d left there.

‘I’ll do a visioning for your mother tonight, Zoë,’ Meagan’s mom called after me. ‘Just a gesture of goodwill.’

I stopped, then glanced back. My mom rolls her eyes whenever Meagan or her mom talks about her mom being a vision counselor. I wasn’t so sure. I’d been a bit spooked that Kohana had shown up the first time after Meagan had done a visioning session for me in the spring, and I wasn’t quite so skeptical anymore. Who knew what Mrs Jameson could conjure up? ‘That’s very nice of you. Thanks.’