Cold Days
Page 127
My friends were all sitting or kneeling on the ice, damp and shivering, and staring at me with wide eyes. Molly's eyes were bright and intense, the expression on her face unreadable. Justine's mouth hung slightly open, and her big dark eyes looked afraid. Butters stared first at me and then down at the ice, his eyes flicking around, the wheels clearly churning in his head as he calculated how much ice there was and how much energy it would have taken to freeze it. Mac regarded me impassively, still supporting the dazed Andi.
Sweetly curved Andi was the most vulnerable. If I could isolate her from the herd, things could get interesting. I'd just saved her life, after all. She owed me. I could think of a few ways that she could express her gratitude.
I pushed the predator thought out of my head and took a deep breath. When I exhaled, it condensed into a thick, foggy vapor, more so than it ever would have naturally, even on the coldest days. I looked down at my hands and they were covered in frost, and my fingertips and nails were turning blue. I put a hand to my face and had to brush away a thin layer of frost.
Hell's bells. What did I look like, to make my friends stare at me like that?
Time for mirrors later.
I stood up, my feet sure even on the wet ice, and found the nearest point of the shoreline. I extended a hand, murmured, "Infriga," and froze a ten-foot-long bridge from my improvised iceberg to land.
"Come on," I said, as I started walking toward the shore. My voice sounded strange, rough. "We don't have much time."
* * *
The sun had slipped below the cloud cover, and the sky was a bank of hot coals, slowly burning down toward ember and ash when we got back to Molly's apartment.
Thomas and Karrin were waiting outside. The two of them were leaning against the wall near the security checkpoint. Thomas had a tall coffee cup in one hand and a bagel in the other. Karrin was staring down at a smartphone, her thumbs flicking over its surface.
Thomas took note of the car as it pulled up, and nudged Karrin. She looked up, then did a double take at the Munstermobile. She rolled her eyes, then apparently turned the phone off and slipped it into a case on her belt.
I stopped the car and rolled down the window.
"You've got to be kidding me," Karrin said, eyeing the car. "This?"
"I think it's a company car," I said.
Karrin leaned down and looked at everyone in the back. "What happened?"
"Inside-I'll explain."
We got parked and everyone made their way to Molly's place, some of them more slowly than others.
"You're limping," Thomas noted, walking beside me. "And bleeding."
"No, I'm . . ." I began. Then I sighed. "Yeah. Redcap shot me with some kind of dinky dart. Maybe poisoned. Or something."
Thomas made a low growling sound in his chest. "I'm just about done with that clown."
"Tell meabout it."
Molly opened the door, and the moment I stepped in, Lacuna came zipping over to me. The little armored faerie hovered in the air near my face, her dark hair flying wildly in the turbulence of her own beating wings. "You can't do it!" she cried. "You can't just give them all that pizza! Do you have any idea how much harm you're doing? Can I please fight now?"
"Whoa," I said, leaning back and holding up my hands.
"Hey, shortcake," my brother snapped. "Back off."
"You aren't important," Lacuna declared to Thomas, evidently dismissing him entirely as she turned back to me. "I wrote down everything just like you said and now they're going to get that awful pizza all over themselves without the least regard for properly protecting themselves, and I'm going to fight them for the pizza!"
"In the first place, that is not a fight you are going to win," I said, "and in the second place-they found something?"
"And I wrote it down like you said and now I want to duel them!"
"No duels!" I said, and headed for the dining table. Sure enough, Lacuna had drawn precise little Xs at all of the sites marked on the map. Most of them had been done with a green pen, but two locations were marked in red. One of them was next to one of the primary sites I'd marked earlier, on this side of the lake, north of town. The next was at one of the secondary sites, a little farther inland and on the far side of the lake.
"Lacuna, were they sure that ritual preparation was under way at both of these locations?"
"And the others were clear," the little faerie replied impatiently. "Yes, yes, yes."
"Crap," I muttered. "Molly, time?"
"Twenty-five minutes to sundown, more or less," she replied. She came to the table with a first-aid kit in her hands. "Waldo, can you take a look at this?"
"The minute I'm sure Andi isn't bleeding into her brain," Butters snapped.
"I've already sent for an ambulance," Molly said back in a calm, iron tone that sounded creepily like her mother. "Andi will die with all of the rest of us if Harry doesn't stop things from going boom, so get over here and see to him."
Butters turned toward Molly with absolute murder in his eyes. But then he looked at me, and back to the dazed Andi in her chair. Mac was supporting her. The bartender looked up at Butters and nodded.
"I hate this," Butters said, his voice boiling with anger. But he came over to the table, grabbed the kit, and said, "Try to hold still, Harry."
I planted my foot and kept standing still as he started cutting away my jeans at the knee. "Okay," I said. Karrin was already standing beside me, and Thomas joined us across the table. "What's the word from Marcone's Vikings?"
Sweetly curved Andi was the most vulnerable. If I could isolate her from the herd, things could get interesting. I'd just saved her life, after all. She owed me. I could think of a few ways that she could express her gratitude.
I pushed the predator thought out of my head and took a deep breath. When I exhaled, it condensed into a thick, foggy vapor, more so than it ever would have naturally, even on the coldest days. I looked down at my hands and they were covered in frost, and my fingertips and nails were turning blue. I put a hand to my face and had to brush away a thin layer of frost.
Hell's bells. What did I look like, to make my friends stare at me like that?
Time for mirrors later.
I stood up, my feet sure even on the wet ice, and found the nearest point of the shoreline. I extended a hand, murmured, "Infriga," and froze a ten-foot-long bridge from my improvised iceberg to land.
"Come on," I said, as I started walking toward the shore. My voice sounded strange, rough. "We don't have much time."
* * *
The sun had slipped below the cloud cover, and the sky was a bank of hot coals, slowly burning down toward ember and ash when we got back to Molly's apartment.
Thomas and Karrin were waiting outside. The two of them were leaning against the wall near the security checkpoint. Thomas had a tall coffee cup in one hand and a bagel in the other. Karrin was staring down at a smartphone, her thumbs flicking over its surface.
Thomas took note of the car as it pulled up, and nudged Karrin. She looked up, then did a double take at the Munstermobile. She rolled her eyes, then apparently turned the phone off and slipped it into a case on her belt.
I stopped the car and rolled down the window.
"You've got to be kidding me," Karrin said, eyeing the car. "This?"
"I think it's a company car," I said.
Karrin leaned down and looked at everyone in the back. "What happened?"
"Inside-I'll explain."
We got parked and everyone made their way to Molly's place, some of them more slowly than others.
"You're limping," Thomas noted, walking beside me. "And bleeding."
"No, I'm . . ." I began. Then I sighed. "Yeah. Redcap shot me with some kind of dinky dart. Maybe poisoned. Or something."
Thomas made a low growling sound in his chest. "I'm just about done with that clown."
"Tell meabout it."
Molly opened the door, and the moment I stepped in, Lacuna came zipping over to me. The little armored faerie hovered in the air near my face, her dark hair flying wildly in the turbulence of her own beating wings. "You can't do it!" she cried. "You can't just give them all that pizza! Do you have any idea how much harm you're doing? Can I please fight now?"
"Whoa," I said, leaning back and holding up my hands.
"Hey, shortcake," my brother snapped. "Back off."
"You aren't important," Lacuna declared to Thomas, evidently dismissing him entirely as she turned back to me. "I wrote down everything just like you said and now they're going to get that awful pizza all over themselves without the least regard for properly protecting themselves, and I'm going to fight them for the pizza!"
"In the first place, that is not a fight you are going to win," I said, "and in the second place-they found something?"
"And I wrote it down like you said and now I want to duel them!"
"No duels!" I said, and headed for the dining table. Sure enough, Lacuna had drawn precise little Xs at all of the sites marked on the map. Most of them had been done with a green pen, but two locations were marked in red. One of them was next to one of the primary sites I'd marked earlier, on this side of the lake, north of town. The next was at one of the secondary sites, a little farther inland and on the far side of the lake.
"Lacuna, were they sure that ritual preparation was under way at both of these locations?"
"And the others were clear," the little faerie replied impatiently. "Yes, yes, yes."
"Crap," I muttered. "Molly, time?"
"Twenty-five minutes to sundown, more or less," she replied. She came to the table with a first-aid kit in her hands. "Waldo, can you take a look at this?"
"The minute I'm sure Andi isn't bleeding into her brain," Butters snapped.
"I've already sent for an ambulance," Molly said back in a calm, iron tone that sounded creepily like her mother. "Andi will die with all of the rest of us if Harry doesn't stop things from going boom, so get over here and see to him."
Butters turned toward Molly with absolute murder in his eyes. But then he looked at me, and back to the dazed Andi in her chair. Mac was supporting her. The bartender looked up at Butters and nodded.
"I hate this," Butters said, his voice boiling with anger. But he came over to the table, grabbed the kit, and said, "Try to hold still, Harry."
I planted my foot and kept standing still as he started cutting away my jeans at the knee. "Okay," I said. Karrin was already standing beside me, and Thomas joined us across the table. "What's the word from Marcone's Vikings?"
