Page 92 of Tracking Snow

Before I can fully absorb the idea, acknowledge it, Seven rears back with a deafening blow inside us. Like a sonic boom, it’s so intense I have to close my eyes and steady myself to stay standing.

I swallow hard and meet Queenie’s gaze again. Her expression is hard, unrelenting.

"You’ve seen what happens when this disease goes unchecked," she adds, glancing briefly at her injuries. "You’ve seen the damage."

Rage and pain pour into my chest on the heels of Seven’s reaction.

That mage at the rally had abused his powers and would have killed Queenie if her security hadn't taken action.

We are just like him. We are possessed by that darkness, that evil. That mutation lives inside of us.

"I am trying to kill the magic," she says just above a whisper. "He tried to kill me." She lets that land, and it enrages me all over again. "We are so close. I need you to trust me. Believe in what I’m doing for Boston, the world...for you."

Queenie is the only one working to fix the disease, Six says, resigning to the logic of it. She’s our only hope at being whole again.

I feel Three and Five’s hesitance, but it’s a pale shadow, like it’s always been when Two, Six, and I are firm in our conviction, in our loyalty to Queenie’s mission. But for once, Four, who usually falls in line, remains unconvinced, torn. But in the end, as we stare at the results of the violent magic effects left on Queenie, as we think of the blood on our hands, of the way we have to hide ourselves, he relents.

My jaw relaxes as I drop my head in acknowledgement.

Having made her point, Queenie settles behind her desk again. "You've been doing your job of bringing us the right kind who need our help, now leave me and my people to do our part," she says, her voice hardening even as her gaze returns to her papers. "If only we could find a subject more permeable between the magic and not magic states. It would make all the difference." She is talking to herself now. Then she looks up at me. "I need someone who can move between forms..."

"Like a Were?" I ask, trying to get back on board. To focus on what must be done despite the internal conflict that has left us exhausted.

Queenie shakes her head. "No, the beast is always present. We need something else." Realization dawns in her eyes as they lift to meet mine. "We need a mermaid. If you could bring us a subject like that and we can put an end to this war, this disease, this pain."

I lower my head slightly.

"Yes…Mother."

Chapter 29

A Cage Full of Friends

SNOW

After taking Ariel home, I tell her I can't stay in tonight. If she wanted me to stay for comfort, I'd fail her because I can't keep this raging fire inside. I can't lie on the couch and cry. I dried out on the stoop outside Poison Apple and now I need to run, jump, punch someone in the fucking face for what happened.

So that's what I do.

I run.

Across rooftops. Down fire escapes. Over alleys that smell like hot trash and old beer. Past flyers with Goldie's smile, Cinder's smile, Kiki’s vibrant feather boa. Ariel, Rap, and I had been putting them up, while Ted and Kai have been losing their minds, raging around with a bloodlust I share. As I speed past the faces of the missing slapped on poles and brick and glass, it feels like the city is wallpapered with everyone I'm failing to save.

The thought punches through my focus, and my boot slips off the ledge.

I catch myself on the gutter, metal biting into my palm.

The medical examiner will tell us what happened. The cops will pull camera footage. Ryder will check traffic feeds. Rap will call every terrifying contact she has, and Ted will keep tearing this city apart with his brothers until someone gives us one fucking answer.

But answers take time.

I am fresh out.

I drop into an alley, landing wrong. The impact jars my knees, my hips, my teeth.

My hands go to my daggers as I cut toward the water. Toward Dry Dock. Toward the last place I know HAM assholes gathered in a big enough number to make a satisfying pile.

I don't care if Dominic and Ted's brother insist they've been tracking HAM's movements and can't find anything pointing to their involvement. It has to be them.