Page 24 of Crown of Tides and Fury

She grabbed my arm with a shaking hand. In her other, she held her bird, Fingal. “There were…beasts in Muirsglen. Got past my wards. Wickham and Kitchens…brought us here…then left again. Said to tell ye to ready the huntin’ party.”

“Beasts? During the day?” I thought they only came out hours before dawn. But maybe they were like Griffon and didn’t follow their own rules. “You saidus? Who else—”

“Fingal and me.”

The bird was shaken too and warbled out,“Auch, now, let’s go home, pet.”

“Wheesht,” Jez told it, kissed its head, then lifted it to her shoulder where it disappeared into her hair.

“Come in. Sit down.” I led her toward the parlor. “You’re perfectly safe here—”

“Aye, well, I thought I was perfectly safe at home as well—”

“I’ll go get the others and have Alwyn make you some tea—”

“Ye cannae leave me. Lennon, is it? I’ll just come along.”

So she followed me through the hallways to the kitchen, where Becca and Deb were helping Alwyn prep for dinner. I made quick introductions, suggested a tea tray, and when Daniel and Ranald came in, I asked them to go round up Persi and the MacKenzies. “Tell them we’ve got monsters in Muirsglen, so come loaded for bear. Wickham’s coming for us right away.”

I left Jez on a stool in the kitchen so I could change into my boots, slip on my new jacket with metal mesh in the sleeves, and grab my precious silver blade no longer than a steak knife. It seemed terribly meager now that I was about to use it. But I reminded myself I’d been preparing to fight for a good long time, and I was no longer a liability. Besides, one more silver blade, meager or not, improved the odds for us all.

Despite my self-pep-talk, I was still shaking when I headed back toward the kitchen. I sat on a long bench in the hallway and tried to clear my mind while the rest of my friends trickled in from other parts of the house.

Persi was the last to join us and pointed to the ceiling. “Shouldn’t we go up to Engineering?”

Urban shook his head. “Daniel watches above stairs. Ranald is outside. Dinnae fash.”

She paced to the kitchen doorway and back again, then joined Everly and me on the bench. Her knee bounced wildly, which made her red curls shake. When she saw me noticing, she tried to hold her knee down with her hands. “Can’t help it. I don’t like him out there alone.”

“There are two of them.”

“Yeah. Kitch has Wickham’s back, but who has his?”

I nudged her with my shoulder, then lowered my voice to mimic Wickham. “What is it Wickham says? Worryin’ wastes time?”

At the end of ten minutes, we were all pacing. Alwyn poked his head out of the kitchen for the dozenth time, but his eyes were wide. “There’s a ruckus outside!”

We rushed out the doors, weapons ready for the worst. The idea that Orion or his monsters had made it through Wickham’s protections made my stomach hurt. But we would deal with it. Whatever happened, we’d deal with it. Together.

We funneled out into the sunshine and though the brightness couldn’t stop me, the sound of a crying baby did. When it was joined by a second, I couldn’t move.

Babies and monsters shouldn’t mix. I couldn’t handle that. It was bad enough that a five-year-old girl had been dragged into our nightmarish world, but I knew I would absolutely lose my shit if something happened to babies!

I would lose my shit and would never get it back again!

Persi rushed ahead. I knew she was frantic to check on Kitch. It was Jez who noticed I’d lagged behind and came back. “What is it, Lennon?”

The babies wailed louder.

“Is it the bairns?” She took my arm and dragged me along with her. “The thing about bairns is this—angry greetin’ is healthy greetin’.”

Greetin’was Scots forcrying. And whether or not the witch knew anything about babies, the idea was enough to keep my feet moving, and she let go of me.

The blue pickup sat at the end of the drive, in a space we kept vacant in case Wickham popped home with a car. It tilted to one side and looked like it had been hit with a bucket of blood on the low corner. We’d designated the space as a precaution after Wickham had popped into the driveway one day and nearly landed on Flann, who’d been out playing gardener.

A man and woman headed for the house, each carrying a screaming baby and searching the area like they expected Orion’s dogs to come out of the shrubbery. Another couple followed behind, clinging to each other and weeping. Wickham and Kitch followed, both of them holding up a dazed teenager who hugged a rifle like a security blanket.

“This is Davey Johnstone,” Wickham said, then searched our little mob until he found Brian. “Ring Dr. McAvoy, would ye? Davey needs some attention. Tell him I’ll be poppin’ in to see him momentarily.” He nodded to Flann. He noticed the blade in the man’s hand, then said, “Find my sisters. I’ll need a quick word before we’re off again.”

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