I could feel Ricky, that solid violet string above me in the clear air, beneath the clear sky, but I couldn’t tell which of these three tunnels would lead me through the twists and turns to her.
I thought,maybe the narrow one on the right, and almost ducked into it.
The Hush were there blocking the tunnel, some of them burnt and leaking fluid, some of them missing limbs and eyes.
All of them hungry and moving my way.
I scrambled backward, and the tunnels were gone, closed by the same mechanism Thrum had used, leaving nothing but smooth stone where there had just been a promise of escape.
I could still feel Ricky’s violet thread and knew there was another way out.
I spun.
In front of me rose Mother Hush.
“I will always find you, BroGan Gaayge. Devour you, hands and voice. Mine, now. Mine.”
Mother Hush hinged upward, a towering monstrosity of nightmare, of evil.
I raised the lightning rod, but no magic answered.
She struck, spider fast, her razor fingers slashing.
I stumbled back and twisted, blocking the avalanche of blows out of desperation, unable to focus my will on the weapon, unable to trigger its magic.
I put my back to the wall. A heavy claw slammed into the side of my head and my knees went soft. My skin felt stung by a million pricks, cold threads from her needled fingers hooking into me, draining my strength.
Mother Hush drew up to her full height, clicking and hissing, tugging the threads she’d sewn into my skin.
I was still standing, barely, but didn’t have the strength to raise my arms.
Ricky’s mark burned hot against my hand. With each pulse, the connections flared.
A howl offamilyandfightandprotect—werewolves.
A shout ofattackandguardandstand—hunters.
Brighter than all the others:angerandhomeandlove love love—Lula.
All of them, a part of me. All of us, one. I drew on them, calling on that power, that magic, that love. It rushed through me, screaming, thundering, a rock tumbler crash oflife life life.
The lightning rod exploded with power.
Mother Hush opened her mouth wide, a huge maw of jagged teeth.
And then Val was there, at my side.
“Don’t,” I said, not knowing what he was going to do, but not wanting to lose him.
“Lu would kill me if I didn’t save you,” he said. “Like I want to die twice.”
Everything happened too fast, and yet agonizingly slow.
I pulled back the lightning rod, fueling it with the fury, the roar, the chaos oflove love love and life life life—
—Val leaped into me—
—loyalty, hatred, kill kill kill—
