Page 79 of Inextricably Tied

When Flint’s weight shifts, Harbinger stirs. After the dream, Agony’s not ready to face her. Not ready to deal with anything that isn’t antagonizing Flint, so before Agony’s pulled in by her sleep-softened face, he makes his way into the shower just to see what it’s like.

By the time he’s done, they’re packed and ready, carrying their bags back to the Convent entryway. Poe chatters with Harbinger while Omen lugs a picnic basket over his shoulder before they meet the rest of the Seers at the main doors.

“You should go see the rabbit,” one says, distracted by the parchment in their hand. It’s covered in abstract shapes and colors, painted in an altered state. They check a small notebook from their pocket. “At least, I think that’s what it means…”

The three of them pile into the SUV, waving to the Seers gathered in the dust as Diviner Auspice’s scowl burns after them. Agony glares back.

At the first gas station they cross, Flint pulls over, filling the tank while he presses the cell phone to his ear.

“Do you want anything?” Harbinger asks Agony in the mirror.

Yes. Your mouth.

“From inside,” she adds, as if she knows what he’s thinking.

“Hmm…I want something I have to work for. That I can crack open. Messy.” He smiles. Gods, he’s irritating. “Sunflower seeds. Do you think they have that??”

Harbinger doesn’t reply, but when he looks toward her, she’s watching him.

“What?”

She doesn’t blink. “That was one of the girls’ favorite —”

“Gods…” Agony shuts his eyes, head knocking back against the seat. For the first time, the coincidence is polluted, turning his stomach. “Don’t tell me.”

Flint spares the rest of that conversation when he hoists himself back into the driver’s seat. “That was a message from the Timbers. Lev.”

Harbinger’s brow quirks before recognition dawns on her. “Mm: the rabbit.”

“Guess what creature just got taken down in the Break in a grab for power.”

“What?”

Flint cranks the ignition. “A phoenix.”

They head across the desert, radio signal flickering in and out. Well, if there’s no fucking background music…

“Why’d it take so long for the Timbers to get back to you?” Agony rolls down his window. Heat wafts up from the ground.

“Most technology doesn’t work in the Break.” Harbinger pulls a bread roll from the Convent’s parting picnic basket. “When Faerie withdrew from the continents years ago, it left behind residual magic. Created the mountain ring around the Break, sapped this area until it became a desert…” She gestures to the dry land stretching around them. “The ferry’s the only approved way to enter the Break, so the ferryman relays messages through the mountain pass. The Break has its own mail system to carry letters, but it takes some time with the terrain and the distance.”

“So how did packs end up in the Break in the first place?”

Agony tugs up on the window switch. Flint’s glare flicks to the rearview.

“They say Faerie caused that too.” Harbinger takes a bite of her roll. “The area was uninhabited until Faerie left. Once the mountains jutted up and the canyon formed, people just…appeared. Fully adult, a variety of species, no recollection of lives before. Like magic. Teleportation. Time travel. Not even they knew where they came from.”

“Interesting,” Agony manages. But it’s not half as interesting as the crumb on Harbinger’s cheek, her throat extending when she swallows. He presses down on the window button so hard his finger cramps.

“Can you not?” Flint snaps. Agony ignores him under a flare of heat.

“Then how does the OID oversee the Break? It’s part of Orena, isn’t it?”

“The OID tends to stay away from self-contained entities like the Break. And the Convent.” Harbinger’s mouth tightens. “Don’t want to get involved as long as controversy doesn’t spill out. But there are still plenty of disputes about it, when crimes cross area lines or the OID gets that insatiable urge to insert themselves.”

Agony tugs up on the button until his window closes again. Flint flips the child lock into place.

“You’re full of questions this morning.” Sunlight glints off the hood of the car and across Flint’s jaw.