Dash frowns. “I hope you’re not suggesting I intentionally kept this information from you, Councilor Ashlow. I had no idea Griffin magic was involved.”
“I’m not sure what to think right now.” She looks at me again. “Take the pill, Emerson.”
Something tells me that disobeying isn’t an option, so I take the pill and place it on my tongue. It dissolves quickly. Dash’s eyes rove over me, his expression darkening. I look down at myself, and my heart misses a beat or two when I see my body glowing faintly green. “So it’s true,” Dash says. “She’s one of them.”
“And you didn’t know?”
“Of course not. I would have reported it immediately if I suspected she had a Griffin Ability. It’s my job to protect our world from people like her.” He almost spits out that last word, and for a moment I consider spitting right back at him. But then he wraps his iron-like grip around my upper arm and begins steering me toward the door, and my hatred of him is quickly replaced by ice-cold fear.
“What are you—but I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not one of those Griffin rebels. I don’t want to attack people. Surely you can’t hold me responsible for crimes I’ve never committed, or crimes that you think I might possibly commit in the future.”
“We can, actually,” Councilor Ashlow says as we reach the door. “Our laws state that the world needs to be protected from people like you. In some cases, that means tagging and tracking you. Knowing your whereabouts and activities at all times. In extreme cases, it means limiting your freedom. The Council will need to meet to discuss your case, but I’m in no doubt, Emerson, that they will find it extreme indeed. I’m sorry.” She doesn’t look sorry, though. If anything, she seems excited by the fact that she’s just apprehended another Griffin Gifted faerie.
“But … this … how did it even happen?” I ask, trying to stall, trying to come up with a way out of this. “Those magical discs … no, that can’t be right. They haven’t been around for years. So—”
“Both your parents must have been Griffin Gifted,” Councilor Ashlow says. “That’s the only explanation.”
“Wait,” I say as she opens the door. “Wait, please. What does limiting my freedom mean?”
“It means you’ll be kept somewhere,” Dash answers, forcing me out onto the top step.
“Kept?”
“Yes, like a safe house kind of thing.”
I stop walking and manage to tug my arm free of his grip. “So a prison.”
Dash looks back at me. “It isn’t like that, Em. No one wants you to be a prisoner. It’s just that you’re dangerous, so you can’t be set loose, either in this world or the human one. Surely you understand that.”
I force back the ache in my throat and the tears pricking behind my eyes. I clench my teeth together and say, “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you. It’s probably the best entertainment you’ve had in ages. You’ve never liked me, and now you get to see me locked up. You’re doing to me what you did to my mother.”
His eyes narrow and he opens his mouth, but Councilor Ashlow interrupts with a groan. “All this unnecessary drama. Just get on with it.” She pulls the door shut and heads past us down the stairs. Dash tugs me against his side and forces me to follow her.
“Firstly,” he says quietly, “you’re the one who doesn’t like me. And secondly, this has nothing to do with anyone liking anyone else. You’re a threat, so we have to take precautions. That’s it.”
“But I’m not a threat!” My emotions are dangerously close to the surface all of a sudden, and I take a moment to swallow them down. “I mean, not intentionally. I didn’t choose to be this way. This isn’t fair.”
He’s quiet for so long that I assume he’s now ignoring me. But as we walk out of the gate and find Councilor Ashlow opening a faerie paths doorway, he says, “Life isn’t fair, Em. You already know that.”
Councilor Ashlow looks back at us as the dark hole in the air grows larger. “Hurry up,” she says. “We need to get to the Guild.”
Dash’s grip on my arm tightens, but he walks forward without hesitation. “Don’t think about anything,” he says as we step into the darkness. “It’ll confuse the faerie paths, and that won’t end well for any of us.”
I struggle to quiet my racing thoughts, but I must somehow manage to do a good enough job, because soon, light materializes ahead of us. We walk into a small room where a man in a uniform behind an elaborately carved wooden desk greets us. I remember Dash saying something about a grand entrance transforming from a tree, but he must have been referring to a different part of the Guild because the only impressive thing in this room is the desk.
“This way,” Councilor Ashlow says, gesturing to an open door on our right. Dash pushes me through it, and my mouth drops open at the site of an enormous foyer with a wide, sweeping staircase on the opposite side and glittering chandelier lights hanging here and there. My darting eyes take in men and women in dark clothing, hair of every color, gleaming white floors and twirling patterns etched into the walls—before an alarm begins shrieking in my ears.
“It’s okay,” Councilor Ashlow says, holding a hand up to halt the people who race toward her. “We’re already aware of the Griffin Ability. I’m taking her to the detainment area now.”
Get out, my brain says as my panicked thoughts return in full force. Get out of here! But I don’t know how. What did I do the other day when the cops were trying to take me away? I must have used my Griffin Ability, but I have no idea how.
I sense Dash watching me. “I’m going to let go of you now,” he says. “Can you behave?”
I nod as his grip loosens and his arm slides away from mine. Then I shove him as hard as I can and run.
Twelve
I trip over my own feet—or over something invisible, since I swear I’ve never been that clumsy—and hit the floor on my side. My so-called useless parkour practice kicks in, and I continue rolling. Onto my stomach, my hands push against the floor, and I spring up onto my feet. I catch a glimpse of Dash sprawled on the floor with guardians tumbling over him before I take off in the opposite direction, repeating “Get away from me, get away from me!” in the desperate hope that my Griffin Ability will appear and give my words actual power. In my haste to get back to the room we entered through, I can’t tell if my voice is any different, but I keep repeating the words anyway. And either it’s working, or these guardians are even worse than the Stanmeade cops, because they’re falling all over each other.
I rush into the entrance hall just as someone runs out—and I crash right into her. The force slams me backward, but she lunges forward and grabs my arm, pulling me upright. “Aurora?” I gasp as she pulls me into the room. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to help you!”
Glittering rope lashes out at me and snaps around my arm, tugging me out of Aurora’s grasp and onto the floor. I scrabble uselessly at the glossy surface before looking up at the guard who greeted us a minute ago. He’s standing on the desk now, dragging me swiftly toward him. “Get away!” I yell, hoping it will work. Invisible power knocks him through the open door and into the foyer, yanking me sharply to the side as the rope grows taut.
Light flashes, severing the rope and leaving a small piece attached to my arm. I look up and find Aurora with a stylus in her hand. “Get up!” She rushes to the wall and writes on it. “Come on!”
I look toward the foyer, where guardians are racing toward us, flashes of magic escaping their hands. I jump up and lurch toward Aurora and the growing darkness behind her. “You can use a stylus?” I gasp as I take her hand.
“Don’t think of anything,” she instructs as she pushes me ahead of her into the faerie paths. “And don’t let go.”
“I thought you didn’t know—” My words cut off as Aurora’s hand is torn free of mine. I swing around to see what’s happening and find two guardians hauling her backward.
“Emerson!” she shrieks, one hand reaching out for me.
I he
sitate, conflicting parts of my brain screaming Save her! and Save yourself! And in that moment, the darkness of the faerie paths closes around me. I try to remember what I’m supposed to do now, what I’m supposed to focus on or say, but then I’m falling backward through the darkness. I land hard on the ground as tangled trees and overgrown bushes take form around me. I groan and cough and try to suck in air as I sit up. I have no idea where the faerie paths have dumped me. For a moment, I wonder if I might have been lucky enough to end up back in the normal world, but as two minuscule people-shaped beings with wings flit past me, my hope dies. “Brilliant,” I mutter as I climb to my feet, leaves rustling beneath my shoes.
I look around, but Aurora is nowhere to be seen. Guilt mingles with my relief at having escaped. I should have tried to pull her back into the paths. The only reason she was there was to help me. I press my fingers against my temples and try to convince myself that nothing bad will happen to her. It’s not like she’s Griffin Gifted. They’ll just send her back to Chevalier House, and once she’s finished training, she’ll be free. Although, now that I think about it, does she even need training? Last night she said she didn’t know how to use her magic, but she had no problem cutting the rope around my arm or opening a faerie paths doorway.
I lift my right arm and frown at the sparkling piece of rope still attached to it. I try to undo the knot or loosen it enough to pull my hand free, but it won’t budge. So after one last glance around the forest, I pick a direction and start moving. The air is warmer here than in the garden we were training in this morning, which tells me I’m probably nowhere near Chevalier House. Unfortunately, that might mean I’m right next to whichever tree conceals the Guild, so I’d better get away from the area as quickly as possible.
I start running, swerving between trees, launching my body easily over giant tree roots, and giving a wide berth to an exotic bush with large, blood-red thorns. I throw the occasional glance over my shoulder, but nothing seems to be following me. Eventually, I slow to a quick walk. Something tickles the side of my neck, and I swat at my skin, afraid that some dangerous magical insect is biting me. A screech rips through the air right beside my ear. I leap away, letting out my own startled yelp and spinning around to face whatever’s attacking me. A fluffy bird that might be an owl flaps as it descends clumsily toward the forest floor, morphing into a kitten as it reaches the ground. Sad, high-pitched mews fill the air.
“Holy sh … sherbet.” I rub my ear as the adrenaline rush subsides. “You nearly deafened me. What are you doing here, you weird little thing? You’re supposed to be back at Chevalier House.” The kitten flashes between several unrecognizable forms before settling as a fox cub. It walks over to me and begins nuzzling my ankle. I step away and fold my arms over my chest. It looks up with wide, pleading eyes.
And I give in.
“Fine. You can stay with me. But I’m not giving you a name. It’ll all be downhill from there.” I tuck the soft, furry creature beneath my arm and continue walking.
And almost fall over in fright when someone steps out of the air in front of me. “Dash?” I stumble backward, the shapeshifting creature transforming into something tiny as it leaps away from me. “How did you find me?”
“Doesn’t matter. We—” The space ripples beside him. He steps hastily away, raising his hand. A knife appears in his grip as he places himself between me and whatever threat we’re about to face.
“Oh, you found her,” Jewel says, walking out of the darkness. “Well done.”
“Jewel?” Dash says. The knife vanishes as he lets go of it. “How did you—Why are you here?”
Hurt flashes briefly across her face as I carefully inch away from the two of them. “Just trying to help,” she says. “You still have that tracking spell on your amber from the other night in the spider tunnels.”
“Right.” Dash retrieves his amber, drags his finger across the surface in a series of weird patterns, then shoves it back into his pocket. “Don’t need that anymore.”
“What’s the big deal? I thought you needed help finding her.”
“No big deal. I can handle it, that’s all.” He grabs my wrist before I can move too far away and twists it behind my back.
“Can you really handle it?” I ask in taunting tones as he ties my hands together. “It didn’t seem like it back at the Guild. Are you guardians always so useless?”
Dash comes back around to stand in front of me, his expression showing genuine amusement. “No. They’re not.”
Huh. Maybe my Griffin Ability worked after all. “Ropes, untie,” I instruct. Nothing happens. Dash quirks an eyebrow, then starts laughing.
“What’s she doing?” Jewel asks.
“My guess is she’s trying to make her Griffin Ability work.”
“Oh.” Jewel’s brow puckers. “Maybe we should tape her mouth shut.”
“Nah, she doesn’t have the first clue how to use her Griffin Ability.”
Heat rises to my face. “I’m gonna strangle you with this rope when I finally get it off. Rather that than end up a prisoner for the rest of my life.”
“As I’ve already explained,” Dash says slowly, “you won’t be a prisoner. You just won’t have the same level of freedom as everyone else.”
I blink, unable to believe he’s this stupid. “Are you listening to yourself? Do you know what the definition of prisoner is?”
“Em, it isn’t that bad, I promise. Look, I know you’re worrying about your mother—”
“Don’t you dare bring her up right—”
“—but I’m sure the Guild will let you visit her under supervision. And our researchers are working all the time on trying to find a way to remove Griffin Abilities. That could happen soon, and then you’ll be free again. Please try to understand.” He throws a quick glance at Jewel before returning his gaze to me. “We’re trying to keep the rest of the world safe, and this is unfortunately one of the precautions we have to take.”
“Come on, Dash, you’re wasting time,” Jewel complains. “We need to get her back to the Guild.” She pulls her stylus out and raises it.
“Don’t,” I say, and when I feel that odd tingle spreading rapidly throughout my body and my voice echoing oddly in my ears, I rush to add, “Don’t open a doorway! Neither of you open a doorway!”
The rush of strangeness passes, and Jewel frowns at me over her shoulder. Then she presses her stylus against a tree and opens her mouth. After appearing to struggle for several seconds, she says, “I—I can’t do it. I can’t say the words.”
Dash swings around to face me. “Oh, come on. You did not just do that.”
I let out a shaky laugh. “I think I did, actually.”
“Now none of us can go anywhere.”
I nod slowly as I take in a deep breath. “Good.”
“Undo what you just did,” Jewel says, pointing her stylus at me.
“No way. Even if I wanted to, I have no idea how this Griffin Ability thing works.”
Dash lets out a long sigh. “Oh well. Time to walk, I guess.”
“Dash!” Jewel exclaims. “How are you not seriously pissed off right now?”
He shrugs. “We’ve been through worse. You know that. A lot worse.” He starts walking. After several moments, the rope pulls taut between us and I’m forced to follow him. “Try to keep up, Emmy. Wouldn’t want to get yourself eaten by some kind of dark, sinister creature.” Despite his nonchalance, I notice the way his fists clench periodically at his sides. He’s definitely angry with me. No doubt he’s already in trouble for letting me get away from the Guild. Hopefully he’ll wind up suspended or, even better, fired. If he’s going to continue to ruin my life, I can ruin his too.
“We’re near the edge of the forest, right?” Jewel says. “On the side with the waterfall?” Dash nods, and Jewel scribbles something onto her amber. “Okay, Councilor Ashlow and a bunch of guardians will meet us there in a few minutes.
“Good.” Dash writes something on his amber too,
then adds, “Do you want to run ahead and meet them?”
“Yeah, okay.” Jewel takes off through the trees, and the moment she’s out of sight, Dash stops. “Okay. We don’t have much time. You—”
The air ripples so close I almost feel it move. A dark hole opens up, and a child tumbles out and crashes into me. “Oh, oops, sorry,” he mumbles, pushing himself away from me and staggering backward.
“Are you flipping kidding me?” Dash demands. “What the heck are you doing here, Jack?”
The boy, who can’t be more than ten, gives Dash a wide smile. “I wanted to be part of the mission. I listened to where everyone was going, but … I don’t know. Where is everyone?”
“Jack, you need to go home immediately. Your parents are—” Dash looks up at the sound of crunching leaves up ahead. “Hide,” he whispers, shoving the boy behind the nearest tree and dragging me forward once more.
“Dash, hurry up,” Jewel calls as she comes into view. “They’re waiting for us.”
“Coming,” Dash says before muttering something else under his breath. I keep my questions to myself as my mind races to figure out what’s going on. Dash is afraid of something, and there must be a way I can use that to my advantage.
We catch up to Jewel, and after walking another minute or so, we reach the edge of the forest. The trees thin out and come to an end. A short distance away, on a grassy patch of open space, Head Councilor Ashlow and several guardians are waiting for us. A stream runs past them and disappears over the edge of what must be a very high cliff, since I can’t hear the water hitting the bottom.
“Well done for finding her, Dash,” Councilor Ashlow says. “Although the fact that you haven’t gagged her makes me question your intelligence.”
“It was a fluke that she managed to use her Griffin Ability on us,” Dash says. “I’m confident it won’t happen again soon. But I’ll gag her now to be safe.” He brings me to a halt in front of the Councilor, but a collective murmur racing abruptly through the group distracts him before he can tie anything over my mouth. We both turn, and I see another group of people walking out of the trees. I assume at first that these are more guardians, but the sudden flash of glittering weapons all around me proves my assumption wrong.