Page 39 of The Tree of Spirits
“Are they ok?” I choked out.
“I told you to stay out of this.” Raytan grabbed me roughly, dragging me by the collar across the floor.
I kicked my feet against the ground, trying to free myself. “Stop! Someone just tried to blow us all up! We need to figure out who!”
“I will figure it out. And then they will suffer,” Raytan cut out. He hauled me out of the garage and into the connecting hallway. “And as for you, Savannah Winters…” My name trilled on his tongue. “Youare going to stay here and mind your own business.”
Then he threw open the door, shoved me into a supply closet, and locked me inside.
CHAPTER 5
RAYTAN'S REMOVALS
Iwas decidedly stuck. I tried kicking the door, but I wasn’t nearly strong enough. Next, I thought of picking the lock, but the piece of wire I found on the floor was way too flimsy. When I inserted it into the keyhole, it collapsed like warm butter.
It was then, while I was shifting and sliding myself around the tiny closet, looking for anything I could use but finding nothing except junk, that I tripped over my own legs. I caught myself—barely—by scraping my hands against the wall, and my orchid necklace slipped over my shirt collar.
You are not lost, Red. And you are not alone. If you ever need me, just whisper to the orchids, and I will come. Anytime. Any reason.
That’s what Conner had told me after giving me this necklace.
Anytime. Any reason.
I gripped the necklace in my hand. I could call on him to get me out of this closet.
Wait, no, I couldn’t do that. Conner was busy. He was fighting in that epic battle in the Park.
And, in any case, it would be way too embarrassing to call him all the way out here just because I’d stupidly gotten myself locked inside a closet.
No, I had to rescue myself. That’s what Knights did.
I remembered how Conner had made my necklace. He’d hummed that magical song, and all that junk had turned into the most beautiful necklace I’d ever seen.
I looked around the closet. There was a lot of junk in here. What if I could turn this trash into treasure too?
So I started humming that same song Conner had. And, to my surprise, I was able to form the metal like he had, with mind and magic. On instinct, I varied a few notes of the song here and there, and instead of a necklace, I made a key.
It was the ugliest key I’d ever seen, but it did unlock the closet door.
Maybe, with practice, someday I’ll be able to make pretty things too,I thought as I rushed down the hallway, back toward the garage.
The Metamorphs were there, but so were the Watchers. One of the Watchers wore the same black uniform as the others, but he had no helmet. And he carried a tablet in his hands. He must have been a detective, the very worst kind of Watcher. They didn’t allow any secret to stay buried, no matter how small.
The detective interviewed the Metamorphs while the Watchers loaded all the evidence into Big Bob. The truck had survived the explosion with nothing more than a few dents and scratches.
“What are you doing?” Raytan demanded, watching the Watchers with angry eyes.
“Borrowing your truck,” replied the detective. “Do you have a problem with that?” He arched his brows, daring Raytan to try and stop him.
Raytan’s shoulders slouched. The angry spark in his eyes fizzled out. He must have known this was a losing battle.
“Drive out,” the detective directed the Watchers, waving his hand.
One of the Watchers hopped into the driver’s seat. The garage doors slid open.
The detective’s steady stare cut across the room, snapping to me like a magnet. “What are you doing here, Apprentice?”
“That’s Savannah Winters,” one of the Watchers told him.
