“Did he treat you poorly?”
“Sort of.”
Crenshaw’s face falls into a scowl. “Well that simply will not do.”
“What’s going on here?” Vin asks bluntly. “He started to say something about the Colonies marching on the northern Pod where The Hive attacked.”
I suddenly realize who I’m standing with: Crenshaw and a Hive member. I would tell Vin to cover his tattoo if there were even a millisecond of time to do it, but there’s not.
“Who is this?!” Crenshaw demands, his voice bellowing and angry. Heads turn to see what’s happening. “Who have you brought here, Athena? What devils have you consorted with?”
“Calm down, Cren. He’s not a devil.”
“He is a hornet of The Hive. In my house!”
I put my hand on Vin’s arm, pushing him back gently. “You should step back.”
Vin looks down at me, disbelieving. “Are you for real?”
“He doesn’t like The Hive. I wasn’t even supposed to go to them for help.”
“You went to Marlow for help?!” Crenshaw bursts.
I literally growl in frustration. “I didn’t have a choice!”
“There is always a better choice. Defeat is a better choice than dirty dealings with the devil.”
“Crenshaw, I’m sorry. I tried everything else, but there was no other way. And he isn’t Hive anymore. He helped me escape the Colony!”
“Where is Helios?” Cren demands, searching the woods and road behind me. “He would never—”
“He’s not here?” I ask, the fight leaching out of me.
I hate the sound of my own voice. It’s weak and afraid.
Crenshaw’s eyes sharpen at my tone. “No. He is not with you?”
I shake my head mutely.
“When were you separated? You cannot be separated, Athena. To succeed you must remain together. It is how I have seen it.”
“Seen what?”
“The End.”
I nod slowly, acting as though I understand. “The end of…”
“The End of Nothing. The Beginning of Everything.”
“Okay,” I tell him calmly. “Okay. I’ll find him. I promise. Has anyone else shown up here recently?”
“The Vashons.”
And my annoyance is back. I sigh tightly, reining it in. “Yes, I see the Vashons. Anyone else?”
“Who else should I expect?” he asks suspiciously.
“No one.”
“Athena.”
“Cren, I hate when you take that tone with me,” I complain.
“It’s because it’s fatherly,” Vin says.
I shoot him a warning glance, one reminding him to keep his mouth shut. So far the fact that I’ve lost Ryan has bought him a chance at being forgotten for a moment. He should capitalize on that.
“Do you know who Trent is?” I ask Crenshaw. “He’s a member of Helios’ family. Tall, thin, blond hair, creepy as balls blue eyes that see right through you into your soul.”
Crenshaw leans on his staff, nodding sagely. “I have seen the boy, yes. Excellent hunter.”
“He really is, yeah. He hasn’t been here, has he?”
“Maybe with about two hundred people running for their lives?” Vin adds.
Crenshaw eyes Vin with open disdain, then shakes his head. “There has been no such visit. Should I be expecting one?”
“Maybe,” I reply reluctantly.
“And who are these people the boy has with him?”
“Refugees,” Vin says solemnly. “Former prisoners of the Colony to the north. We have released them from the bonds put on them by the Colony. They are now free men and women of the wild, although they will need shelter and guidance in order to survive.”
I stare at Vin in amazement. He sounds exactly like Ryan when he’s talking to Crenshaw. Did I miss something in my meager childhood? Was there a book I was supposed to have read? The Complete Idiot’s Guide to King Arthur’s Court? It seems like silly me has been reading any survival manual or How To book I could get my hands on while all these Lost Boys were reading Lunacy: A Visitor’s Guide.
“I see,” Cren replies softly. His eyes are still wary, but they’re not as sharp. He’s not quite ready to crack Vin over the head with his staff anymore, though, and that’s a plus. “You helped to free these people?”
“He led them to freedom,” I correct in my best imitation of crazy speak.
Cren’s eyes widen. “For truth?”
“Yeah.”
“And he has returned you to me unharmed.”
“I returned me to you unharmed, but he was there. He didn’t hurt me.”
“I saved your life, Kitten,” Vin protests, dropping the act.
“Don’t oversell it. You helped a little, and so did I. We’re even.” I turn back to Crenshaw. “How did—”
“Saved your life,” Vin mutters under his breath.
I take a steadying breath. “How did this happen, Cren? How are the Vashons here?”
The old man beams at me. “Persephone.”
My heart skips a beat. “Seriously? Ali is here?”
“Persephone is here.”
“Yes, yes, Persephone. She’s here? She brought the Vashons here?”
“Yes. She was moved by your visit. There are those who believe you to be a traitor, but Persephone is not one of them. She convinced a large number of the Vashons to travel with her across the waters. They came here to me to find shelter.” Crenshaw chuckles as he looks around. “I must say, it is lovely to have visitors.”
“How large of a number?” Vin asks.
Cren turns to him, his eyes narrowing slightly. “How large of a number of what, Hornet?”
“How many people came across the water?”
“Over three hundred.”
My knees go weak. Three hundred. Three hundred people!
I want to dance. I want to sing. I want to kiss Vin soundly on the mouth in front of everyone here. I can hardly breathe as my mind does the math.
I don’t know if we can win this thing, but we have a snowball’s chance in hell now and that’s a lot better than we were doing ten minutes ago.
“I need to find Ryan,” I say urgently.
“Yes,” Crenshaw agrees. “Helios is imperative.”
“Assuming he’s still alive.”
Crenshaw and I both glare at Vin. He stares back at us unflinching.
“I’m being realistic,” he tells us.
“Why would Helios be dead?” Crenshaw asks me.
I bury my face in my hands for a second, unwilling to look at either of them. Unwilling to let the terror in my heart show.
When I lower my hands, I look Cren in the eye. “When we ran from the northern Colony we left through the tunnels. Ryan stayed behind to help blow the entrance to make sure none of The Hive could follow us. Vin and I were running in the dark. We couldn’t go back for them and we couldn’t wait. We were lost. So we ran.”
Crenshaw presses his warm, dry hand to my arm, squeezing it gently. “He is alive. Of this I am sure.”
“How?” I whisper pathetically. Hopefully.
He smiles at me like I’m a child—one asking how he knows the sky is blue. “Because I can feel him. Can you not feel him, Athena?”
I shake my head.
“Well,” he replies, clucking his tongue and removing his hand from my arm. “You will. When you are ready to admit it, you will.”
“Admit what?”
“Incoming!”
We all turn to look at the perimeter of the forest where Crenshaw’s soldiers have gathered. They’re standing tense and ready, facing off with a herd of people running straight toward us. Past the pounding of their footsteps and the occasional panicked cry, I can hear the low constant moan of another herd.
“Is this your friend, my dear?” Crenshaw asks me bitingly. “The one leading a horde of wraiths to my front door.”
I nod stiffly, my eyes easily finding Trent in the crowd. “Yeah, Cren. He’s one of mine.”
Chapter Sixteen
The Vashon soldiers are good. They collapse on the weak side of the park in a heartbeat, forming a line of defense so thick I wonder how Trent and the Colonists will get through. Then they split, just before the crowd mows them over, and they let the panicked mass spill into the makeshift village. It fills quickly. I’m bumped from side to side, my shoulders brushing with others, and my body stiffens in annoyance. The old fear begins to build. I can feel the tightness in my gut and in my limbs that warns me to get away. It’s telling me that if one of these people turns, we’ll all be dead.