Mia only stared at her. The answer didn’t seem to satisfy.
“As strong as he was,” Rose said, “he’s stronger now. The circumstances surrounding all of this are forcing our hands. If you can offer help-”
“I’m pretty sure they can,” Mags cut in. “They should know their way around. Things are twisted, crammed in together, reworked, but I think most of the elements that were here are still around, somehow. If we could bypass that crowd between us and Johannes on any level…”
She trailed off.
“-we could really use it,” Rose finished her thought and finished Mags’ at the same time.
Noah glanced at each of his companions.
“You want us to help?” he finally asked.
“Yes,” Rose said, firm.
“If you want to take out Johannes,” Mags said, “This is the way to do it.”
“I bet,” Noah said. “All this magic stuff, all the monsters-”
He shot a glance at Green Eyes and Evan.
“-Sucked us in, made our lives a living hell, just trying to survive. You’re a part of it. You condoned it. And if you think you could stop him now, that means it was possible before.”
“I didn’t condone it,” Peter said. “No wands in these pockets. I’m an asshole, but I’m not an asshole in this respect. It’s really very humbling.”
Paige elbowed him, shooting him a look.
“Paige either,” Peter added.
“That’s not what I meant,” Paige hissed. “Don’t interrupt.”
Peter threw up his hands, turning away.
“It wasn’t all that possible, before,” Ainsley said. “It’s a long shot now.”
“You mean it’s almost impossible,” Noah said. “You want to get us involved in a fight we can’t win.”
“I mean it’s a long shot,” Ainsley said. “One where every second counts. They’ve got a diabolist with a demon hound sniffing us out, and the demon that took over Johannes is doing things. Our friends and family may be dying as I say all this. Please. I can swear that we’ll make amends five times over. Me and my family.”
“I can add my family to that,” Lola said.
“The two biggest families in Jacob’s Bell,” Mags said.
“But you want us to join the fight, as part of the price of that,” Noah said. “You’re all the same. You, your families, the sorcerer. Well, I have the right to say no. You had your chance to get on our good side, and that was before you needed to get on our good side.”
“We’re not the bad guys,” Ainsley said.
“Bad enough,” Noah responded.
“Wait,” Evan said. He hopped forward a little, “Listen-”
“No,” Noah said.
“But I’m a kid too! I got shafted too, metaphorically!” Evan said.
“You’re one of them.”
“I can be energetic and peppy and win you over by speaking from the heart!” Evan said. “I’m good at it!”
Noah ignored him. “Mags, I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m really not. Coming to check on us and maybe protecting us from whatever this is, like you were saying, bringing us snacks or comic books, it’s not enough. We were fodder, monster chow. When that happened, you all should have decided that was the time to react and respond. But you didn’t. Now that your own hides are at risk? You can deal with it, and we’ll keep doing what we were doing.”
“He speaks for all of you?” Peter cut in.
“Ahht,” Olive said, speaking without a tongue or lips.
“Yes,” Benny said. Mia nodded.
“Shit,” Peter said. “He sounds a little too emotionally involved to be a good leader.”
“We’re all emotionally involved,” Benny said. “It’s what happens when you’re in a ‘monsters hunt kids’ theme park.”
“And you’re used to focusing on survival,” Mags said. “I can’t say I agree with what you’re saying, Noah. If this goes bad, which it probably will, you won’t last long, and it’ll be bad.”
“Scare tactics. Right. Yeah, I’m not convinced. You collectively dug yourselves into this, you deal with it.”
Noah turned to go, pointing at a hole in the wall. The other three children headed for it, Mia moving in all fours and somehow not looking awkward doing it.
There was a crackle, a crack, outside, a flash of bright light, a lightning strike.
All eyes turned.
Another gateway. A tear in reality, a hole opened by the Gatekeeper.
Rose could see it all. The wretches that moved throughout the condensed patch of civilization, the sky, the tower and the almost certain death that awaited them there.
She could see her allies, her hand-picked team that would no doubt get shredded, taken out one by one on the way out.
The appearance of the gate was just another nudge, another straw on the camel’s back.
She moved without really thinking about it.
Machete in hand, she swung it around.
Her hand caught Noah by the back of the boy’s jacket. He jerked. Only thirteen, he didn’t have much mass compared to her fully grown self.
He made a strangled noise, then twisted. Faster reflexes than any human. More flexible, even being broken. A flawed vestige. He managed quite well, considering that she still had a grip on his shirt, facing her, hands outstretched, fingertips curled in.
The boy’s face contorted in rage, far more than a human’s normal range of movement should have allowed. Cracks formed.
She felt eerily calm as she brought the machete to his throat.
He froze.
His eyes met hers.
“Um,” Evan said. “Rose?”
“I wasn’t introduced, I don’t think,” she said. “My name is Rose Thorburn. I’m a member of a third powerful family in Jacob’s Bell. Unlike the others, I won’t deny that I’m a bit of a bitch when it comes down to it. I’ve only very, very recently learned how to appropriately care for people, like you care about this rat pack of yours.”
His face contorted even further at that last touch.
“I feel the need to protect mine just like you need to protect yours, keeping yours out of trouble. That’s why I have a blade to your throat.”
Noah didn’t respond.
“Look over my shoulder at the mermaid,” Rose instructed.
Noah didn’t break eye contact. But Rose adjusted her grip on the blade, and he got her point. He looked.
“See how monstrous she is? Her skin, the claws? Look at those scales. You can’t see it from here, but each one curls out at the end, and they have hooks with barbs to set into skin, and the slime that runs down her body melts skin to make it easier to rip up. She eats people, she’s even giddy at the idea.”
“Rose,” Evan said, his tone warning.
Green Eyes probably didn’t like the phrasing.
Except Rose was beyond careful wording.
“I’m making a point,” Rose said, not looking away from her hostage. “Look at me, Noah. Look me in the eye, now.”