Matchbox Girls (23 page)

“She ran off. To find her uncle, Lissa says. Heart is following her and staying close, but I know you’ve been doing something to protect them and I didn’t want to leave to go get her without waking you up first. And then you wouldn’t wake up!”

Her calm certainty of the girls’ safety as long as she cared for them was gone. Kari was in terrible danger, and too far away for her to do anything about it. Marley had to find her. She studied the room again, desperately aware of how small the little girl was, how hard to see.

AT went on. “She and Lissa were talking and then she just ran off. I got the dogs here as soon as possible but... she’d already just... vanished. I didn’t think anybody could vanish that quickly without using magic.”

Marley’s attention was suddenly laser-sharp. “But no magic was used?”

“No... Heart found her. She’s just so small and fast, she was gone in an instant.” AT was clearly shaken, but Marley didn’t have time for that.

“Let’s go get her.” Marley pulled Neath off her shoulder and tucked the kitten in her bag, then scooped up Lissa, who immediately started crying. Words trickled out of her between sobs.

“She had a bad dream! She said we had to find Uncle Zach. I wanted to wait for you but she got mad and ran off. Why wouldn’t you wake up?”

“It’s all right. We’ll go get her,” Marley said, as much to reassure herself as to reassure the child. But she didn’t even know what direction to go, and that was terrifying. A dog bumped against the back of her legs, and AT tugged her by the elbow.

“She’s south. I don’t know where she’s going, but she was across the stadium parking lot by the time Heart caught up with her.”

“Can’t Heart herd her this way?” Something terrible was lying in wait for Kari, and the horror would travel across the link between the twins and devour Lissa, as well. She could feel it, feel all the futures turning to cinders.

AT glanced up at her. “Kari isn’t a sheep. She’s ignoring canine suggestions that she turn around, and I didn’t want to start anything... negative.”

Marley shifted Lissa on her hip and started jogging, dodging around all the people who apparently had nothing better to do than get in her way. Wasn’t it the middle of the night? How long had she slept?

She burst out of the stadium entrance into the grey of pre-dawn—although with the smoke, it was more like the dark red of pre-dawn. More cars had arrived overnight, and the lot on that side of the building seemed nearly full. Marley looked around wildly.

AT arrived behind her. “That way,” she pointed towards the street on the far south side of the stadium, and the buildings on the other side. Marley shifted Lissa again, and started running.

Behind her, AT shouted, “He’s found her, Marley!”

Marley didn’t think she could go any faster while carrying an extra forty pounds of preschooler, but somehow she found the strength. Lissa clung to her, curled half around her back, and Marley’s feet pounded the pavement.
If I’m part angel, why don’t I get wings? I need wings
. She hit the curb of the street and almost tripped over her own feet. Where next? Desperately, she scanned the other side of the road, looking for anything useful.

A black dog flashed past her, hurtling across the street toward a restaurant parking lot southeast of them. Marley picked up her feet again as she recognized the minivan parked there. As she got closer, Kari's head became visible beyond a car hood. A man in a suit was crouched down a few yards away, talking to her. It was Jeremy. A red dog, the one AT called Heart, was crouched between the child and the man, snarling.

Then Marley was close enough, and the detailed sense of Kari awakened in her again. She still wasn’t safe, oh no, none of them were safe, but the sense of desolate wrongness vanished. Kari was close enough. She could protect her. It was like a portcullis slamming down between Kari and the rest of the world. Now, at least, there was a chance.

Jeremy didn’t seem to notice Marley’s protection falling back into place around Kari, but he tilted his head toward her footsteps even as he finished saying, “—can help you, sweetie.” He raised a hand as the black dog rushed him, and the dog skidded to a halt and then started barking.

“Get the hell away from her, you bastard,” Marley snarled, panting more from adrenaline than the run. She moved closer to Kari, letting Lissa slide down her hip until the child was walking beside her and holding her hand.

Kari turned dark eyes to Marley. “Why don’t you want to go find Uncle Zach? You just want to run away and hide. But Uncle Zach is sad without us.”

Marley bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. As much as she just wanted to sweep Kari into her arms, she realized she had to be careful. Kari was questioning her, not rejecting her, but if she ignored the child’s questions to focus on the more obvious dangers, Kari would continue looking for her own answers, alone and ignorant.

And here, now, that would lead only to darkness. So Marley said, “Your Uncle Zach wants me to protect you. That’s why he sent you to me. Uncle Zach might be sad without you, but he’d be a lot more sad if I let anything happen to you.” She held out a hand.

For a moment, the world wobbled as Kari hesitated.

Then Jeremy stood up, brushing off his pants. “But I know where your Uncle Zach is. If you come with me, I can take you to him.”

Kari blinked and looked at Jeremy. “You do? Did you take him away?”

Jeremy said, “No, no. He had to leave? Remember what I said the other day?”

Marley moved up behind her as Kari said, “No... that’s not right. He wouldn’t just leave! Give him back!” Something tense and ugly flitted through the air, and Marley felt Lissa’s grip on her hand tighten. Kari took a deep breath, looking frustrated, like she wanted to lash out.

Instead, she started to cry. It was the loud, wailing sob of a child who had finally had too much, and was going to let it all out in an extended tantrum. Marley noticed Jeremy shift his weight, as if letting out some tension. “My employer will be arriving any moment now,” he said pleasantly, raising his voice to be heard over the wailing and the snarling and the barking. “He’s had enough of the delays you’ve been causing.” He tapped his watch in case Marley hadn’t heard him.

From behind Marley, AT said, “Be quiet, Nod,” and the black dog switched to growling. AT moved to Lissa’s other side and took her free hand.

Marley ignored Jeremy and crouched down to put her arms around Kari. “It’s okay, Kari. He’s being mean.” Kari tried to pull away, still howling, her hands on her cheeks. When Marley held her anyhow, she pulled harder, buckling her knees to fall over. Marley sighed and picked her up bodily.

Kari’s eyes opened and she gasped, “No, no
no
no! I want my uncle! You’re not my uncle!” She kicked Marley in the gut a couple of times and bopped her in the nose, then slumped, still sobbing. “Where is he?” she whimpered.

Abruptly, AT gasped in sudden pain as Lissa kicked her in the shin and dodged away, moving toward Jeremy. Heart sprang up, body-blocking her, and Lissa collided with the red dog. “I can find out,” she shouted, pushing at the dog with both hands. Then she slumped and muttered, “I just have to get closer. I can’t hear them.”

While Marley was still trying to figure out what Lissa was talking about, Jeremy looked up. The ground shuddered and Marley lost her balance, stumbling backward. Was it an earthquake? But the air shimmered, too, wavering in the pre-dawn light like it did on hot afternoons. Jeremy inhaled deeply and AT cursed as she darted forward to grab Lissa again. For a moment, Lissa seemed ready to take over the kicking and screaming part of Kari’s tantrum.

The lights of the minivan behind Jeremy came on. The interior lights brightened until they outshone the headlights. Then the driver’s side door opened, and the lights dimmed. There was the faint sound of music from inside the vehicle, a mix of electronica and a choir. Someone stepped out of the car, and the shadow he cast had wings.

-twenty-five-

M
arley blinked. When Jeremy said his employer was arriving soon, she’d thought he meant the same way Ettoriel had shown up within Penny. Even the twins had paused their tantrums, staring at the van. Marley squinted, peering through the light. When the lights shut off entirely, the parking lot seemed as dark as a closet at midnight. She stumbled backward again and fell onto her backside, still holding Kari close.

The little girl was limp for a moment. Then she tensed, arms and legs curling around Marley so she could cling to her. “Who is that?” she whispered. Marley just shook her head and clambered to her feet again.

The van door slammed shut, but the music still lingered just on the edge of hearing. As Marley’s vision cleared, she could see the newcomer standing beside Jeremy. Unlike Jeremy, who was dressed in a nice suit even at this early—or late—hour, the newcomer had on jeans and a black leather jacket. He didn’t seem to have wings, despite the shadow pooling around him. He did have a long knife with a jagged edge hanging from a loop on his jeans. The Ragged Blade.

“Thank you, Jeremy,” the man said. “I’m sorry you had to face them alone.” He looked speculatively over the little cluster of girls and dogs, an overhead light illuminating the planes of his face. His pale hair glimmered like molten gold.

“They haven’t been aggressive. But I’m glad you’re here, all the same.” Jeremy shifted his weight, as if he wanted to step backward but didn’t dare.

“As it should be,” said the man pleasantly. He’d said enough that Marley could recognize the cadences of Ettoriel’s speech, even though before he’d spoken with Penny’s voice. “Marley,” he continued. “There is no point in asking you to release them from your protection. We’ve already had that conversation. Even to regain your friend, you won’t surrender the children. So let me see...”

Marley flinched. Would he really kill Penny if she didn’t give him the kids? Her heart squeezed. “Why are you
doing
this?” she demanded. “How can an... an
angel
do such
evil
?” Her skin prickled.

“Mmm? I do what has to be done.” The prickling on her skin increased, and Marley remembered the balcony the night before, when she and the kids had faced the irritated kaiju.

He’s trying to take apart my protection,
she realized.
Whatever it is I have, my superpower, the thing that keeps them from just pushing me down and taking the kids, he’s trying to get through it
. She swore under her breath and wished the shield were a sword. The prickles on her skin began to burn and her thoughts moved into overdrive. She wondered what would happen if she turned and ran. She was pretty sure he’d catch her before she got ten steps. He might not be able to take the twins, but he could certainly hurt her. No, running wouldn’t work. She’d been running all this time and it had led her here. She promised herself that if she survived this, she’d get a gun.

But for now, what did she have? A protection she couldn’t control. Laughable. At least AT had her dogs. Two of them were here now. But AT seemed as frozen as Marley was, staring at Ettoriel. She clearly didn’t think it was a fight she could win. What else was there?

The twins. Even the kaiju had been wary of them, and he’d scared her more than the angel did.

“Lissa,” she whispered, her mouth dry. “Lissa, can you make him go away? Like you did at the park?”

The little girl glanced up at her. “The fire says we can make lots of things go away. It roars.”

In Marley’s arms, Kari said, “The fire is locked but I can open it... Behind the shadows, there’s a black land...”

The prickles became more painful and then eased. Ettoriel ran a hand through his hair and frowned. “There’s still time left. And there are other ways.” He knelt down and placed the palm of his hand on the pavement.

A bitter taste seemed to rise from Marley’s feet, through her shoes. All she could think was:
strange
. Then the angel was suddenly, mysteriously, too close. She could feel his presence all around her, as if she’d been locked in a closet with him. He hadn’t moved from his crouch, with his head down and his golden hair falling across his face. Marley tried to back away, but her body wouldn’t respond. Everything seemed frozen.

His voice thrummed through her bones. “I cherish loyalty, but you don’t even know what you’re being loyal to. Let me show you what you just tried to invoke.” The music behind him changed, moved into a minor key and picked up its beat. The world shifted around her, just as it had an aeon ago when she had inspected Zachariah’s study, touched an orb, and seen a flash of the study trashed by a struggle.

She was picking her way through a wasteland. Blackened lumps around her resolved into the husks of buildings; the air was white with ash. There was a creak behind her and she turned to see a swingset in the distance, charred like everything else. One small figure sat on the swing, rocking back and forth, while another sat on a pile of rubble nearby, a thick book open in her lap. There were no other signs of life, as far as the eye could see.

“That is now, if they are triggered while young and barely formed. When they are grown and their destiny comes upon them, there will not be a world left for them to play in.” There was genuine anguish in Ettoriel’s voice. “I cannot let this happen. They were never meant to be. None of you were. Our crimes have brought this fate to the world, and so we must remedy it. I... will erase them.”

Marley struggled to speak, struggled to move. A kitten rubbed against her ankles, and tiny, bright eyes peeked out of the wreckage around her. She drew a deep breath, and the nightmare dissolved. Ettoriel’s presence retreated, until he seemed like just a man again. He stood up.

“Run along. I’ll take the children to their uncle after you can no longer care for them.” His voice sounded different, and she realized that his previous speech hadn’t been aloud—it had been for only her to hear.

Marley scowled. The nightmare had been a trick, designed to make her hesitate. She wouldn’t. “You ‘run along.’ I’m not going to just turn—”

Something was wrong.
There was a snap and crackling buzz above her, a flare of light, a horrible smell. AT shouted, “Marley!” and slammed into her. She, Kari, and Marley tumbled backward as a power line flopped to the ground, writhing and twisting like a live thing right where Marley had been standing.