I’d transferred a clean baby bottle and more formula to my bug-out bag and kept it on, just in case Kentarch returned to move us in a hurry. Now I would work on getting Tee—and me—to relax some. “How you doing, little podna?” For the first time, he had no mama, papa, or aunties around. Just him and ole Jack. “Hey, I got an idea. Let’s open your presents. Serves them right for abandoning me.”
I sat Tee in my lap and unwrapped the first one: a bottle of sunblock from Sol. His card read: You’ll need this one day, I promise. Love, your fabulous Uncle Sol. Though I’d had my doubts about Solomón Heliodoro, Evie had been right about him. He was a good guy through and through. Except for when he was ditching me.
I unwrapped a second gift. “This one’s from Gabe. He’s a real live angel.” Gabriel had given Tee a single candle and a handmade card: Tee, shine brightest in darkness. Warmest regards, Gabriel Arendgast.
Even that forthright angel had been in on the Plan J ruse. He and I would have words later.
I unwrapped Kentarch’s gift. A wooden lion. He must’ve carved it in secret. I might have wondered how he’d done it with one hand, but Kentarch was full of surprises.
Like tonight’s.
I raised my brows at Joules’s present. Calanthe’s sai. His note read:
Kid, I don’t trust your mam with these, so you’ll have to see that they get passed down and delivered to my Cally.
I rolled my eyes but kept reading.
In all seriousness, your mam’s a decent sort and one hell of a fighter. And once she sets her mind to something, watch out. Peace among Arcana? Sure thing, lady. And yet here I am, writing to you like I’m your bloody uncle or something. And your father? As far as Grim Reapers go, I guess I’ve met worse.
Give them hell, laddie, and know that I’ll be a bad influence on you as long as I live.
Patrick Joules.
“Just when I think I’m about to hit my limit of that Irishman, he goes and reminds me that he’s stand-up. Cantankerous as the night is long, but stand-up.”
I reached for the last present. “And this one’s from your godfather.” I tore open the wrapping and showed Tee a framed picture of Evie, the one when she’d watched a sunset over the Gulf. He ran a pudgy forefinger over the glass, petting her face. “Yeah, you know who that is. Mama.”
She had better fucking come back from that battle. If this was all Tee had of his mother . . . I squeezed my eyes closed.
I opened them to find him peering at me. Blink blink. Lip bubbles.
“Exactement, little podna, these are great gifts. You got some real nice folks in your life. I just wish I’d been in on the action with them.” I knew their hearts were in the right place, but still . . .
I got up and crossed to the jukebox and entered the number of an old favorite. Tee was asleep before Otis crooned his second wastin’ tiiiime.
I gazed down at the baby resting against my chest so trustingly. Made me want to challenge every villain on earth for him. But I was stuck here.
Brun radioed not long after. I was glad for anything to take my mind off my worry. Keeping Tee in my arms, I headed into the office.
After a terse greeting, she got right to it. “Things are bad here, Jack.”
I’d held back a lot of information from her—like Tee’s existence—but I decided to share tonight’s headline. “The battle with Richter is happening right now.”
She gave a cry of excitement. “They might all kill each other off! Hell, we could have sunlight by tomorrow.”
Matthew was still outstanding; if the sun shone, then Evie had died alongside all the others. Please doan shine. Please, God, doan let it shine. “Can’t do this tonight, me. Gotta go.”
“I know you love the Empress . . .”
I was holding Evie’s precious son in my lap and would die for her and this kid.
“. . . but these late-game Arcana battles usually rack up the casualties. If the Fool stayed away, he’s going to be our winner.”
41
The Empress
A scream burst from my lungs when Joules fell.
The others and I had peeked up from our cover to watch his revenge. Now he lay on the ground, looking so small and young. His lifeless head rolled to the side, revealing a ragged bullet wound to the forehead. His opened eyes saw nothing. Mine watered with loss.
With Joules’s death, Richter stopped his quakes. A last aftershock here and there. As predicted, the Emperor was letting us have at Fortune.
Electricity sparked all over the helicopter, but Zara somehow righted it and hovered even closer. Inside the cockpit, I saw her laughing as she yanked off a glove to view her new icons.
She’d killed two of my friends. She’d murdered Joules and Gabe. Fury surged through me, the red witch rising.
Aric collected Joules’s body and rushed back to the foxhole, laying him down inside. “We need a plan for Zara.”
I stared at Joules, then at Kentarch’s bloody wounds, then at Circe’s and Sol’s defeated expressions. Lark’s whimper and the drone of that helicopter were our incessant soundtrack.
Shaking with rage, I created more vines from my body. “The plan is to catch a copter.” The vines leapt to attention, shooting toward the sky.
Zara targeted them and shredded them with bullets, but I ignored the pain and grew more.
Aric removed his helmet to wipe sweat from his face. “You can’t take her down. You must conserve for Richter.”
“I can do this.”
“I’ll help,” Sol said, though he was still pale. He blinked his eyes and provided what he could. His small burst of light allowed me to stretch and stretch.
I reached Zara’s skids, latching on. God, that machine was powerful! Her engine revved, but I began to pull her down.
Fortune fired her last missile on us, so I gave her a good shake. More of my vines caught the missile, engulfing it, neutralizing it for the others, but I felt each bite of metal and fire as it exploded.
Zara’s guns spewed a torrent of bullets right at the edge of the foxhole, turning it into a tornado of dirt and chaos. And all the while her copter strained against my hold.
Shrill whistles sounded. Rockets!
Aric covered me, ordering the others, “Brace.”
“I’ve got this.” Communing with my vines, I sensed the rockets above, was able to catch them all in a pillow of green. Each detonation was an explosion inside me. PAIN . . . Gasping, I said, “How many of those does she have left?”
Instead of a number, Kentarch bit out, “Too many.”
I swallowed and lied, “It’s not a problem.”
Aric said, “If you insist on this course, Evie, then I will capitalize on it.” He pulled me close for a fierce kiss, then donned his helmet again. Before I could stop him, he’d leapt from the shelter with his sword raised to draw Zara’s fire.
“Over here, Fortune!”
“No, Aric!” I scrambled up to the edge of the foxhole, Circe and Sol beside me.
Despite his injuries, Kentarch had clambered up to watch as well, was still in this. We all held our breath as Aric reached my vines, then started to climb them.