“Well, well,” Emily said, lowering her hands. “The queen herself. I’m honored.”
“You should be,” Algonquin—because there was no one else this could be—replied, lifting her reflection of the general’s gloved hand to grab the tentacle the Leviathan had sent snaking across the ground. “I did all of this for you. Even I know better than to underestimate humanity’s most fearsome weapon, or her stalwart supporter.” She glanced at Raven, and her lips curled into a mocking smile the general herself would never have worn. “Hello, Raven. Still rolling in the dirt with mortals?”
“Always,” Raven replied, fluttering out to land on the real General Jackson’s shoulder. “Because unlike you,Iknow how to have a good time. But let’s not get hung up on pageantry. How did you find us?”
“That’s a stupid question from such a famously clever bird,” Algonquin replied, tilting her head up toward the gloomy sky. “It’s raining.”
“So?” Raven said. “That’s the Thunderbird, not you, and he’s too wild and reckless to care what happens to his water.”
“But I’m not,” Algonquin said, glancing pointedly at the wet ground. “No storm can make its own water. All of this comes from my lakes, and wherever my lakes are, I am.” She grinned wide. “Didn’t think of that, did you, clever bird?”
Raven’s silence was answer enough, but General Jackson was just getting started. “Why are you doing this?” she demanded. “The United Nations and the DFZ have been neutral partners for decades. We’ve broken no laws by coming here.”
“Laws are for mortals,” Algonquin said flippantly. “And anyway, I’m not here for you. I’m here forher.”
She leaned sideways to peer around the general through the door. Her body rippled at the same time, the water moving as Emily’s face morphed into a perfect reflection of Marci’s.
“Whoa,” Marci said, taking a nervous step back. “If this is about Vann Jeger, I—”
“Vann Jeger’s defeat is no concern of mine,” the spirit said with a shrug. “I allowed his hunt because it was beneficial to us both, and it’s not as though he’s dead. We are the land. We can never die. So long as the Geirangerfjord exists, Vann Jeger will rise again, and I’m sure your dragon’s head will be at the top of his list when he does. But I’m not here for that. I’m here for you.” Her eyes flicked to Ghost. “Both of you.”
Emily’s scowl turned deadly. “Then I hope you’re prepared to be disappointed,” she said as she placed herself between the lake spirit and Marci. “Marci Novalli is under the protection of the United Nations. She’s not going anywhere.”
“You say that like I should care,” Algonquin said with a laugh. “But I already told you: laws are for mortals. Besides, if anyone’s in violation here, it’s you. This ismyland. The DFZ acknowledges no treaties. You have no rights here save thoseIdeign to give you. If I were to kill you all, no one could stop me. Even if they knew, even if they cared, no one would dare.”
The general bared her teeth, and Algonquin’s smile grew wider. “But don’t fear. I’m not a monster like you, Phoenix. Iam a lake. I am the land. My will is the will of the Earth itself. I have no desire to conquer or rule. I only want what’s best for everyone, and that starts with the proper training of the world’s first Merlin.”
“Too bad,” the general snapped. “She’s not yours to take.”
The Lady of the Lakes scoffed. “Since when do you speak for an independent mage? Surely a young lady smart enough to survive the machinations of not one, buttwodragon seers can answer for herself.”
Everyone looked at her, and Marci took a deep breath. This situation had gone off the deep end way too fast, but she couldn’t see how she was getting back out. Despite her claim to not be a monster, there was no way Algonquin was going to let them leave. If they tried to run or fight, she’d just smash them and take Marci prisoner anyway. And while Marci had seen for herself just how good Emily Jackson was, she was no match for the firepower surrounding them, much less the Leviathan, who was still hovering over the face-off like death waiting for his cue, which was the entire point. Algonquin had rolled in hard specifically so there could be no path forward save through her, and now they were trapped.
The full weight of that realization made Marci’s knees shake. They were trapped, utterly and completely. They’d assumed they could sneak in, that the size of the city would protect them, but Algonquin had been waiting for this from the start, and now they were screwed. From the looks on their faces, everyone else knew it, too, but while Emily clearly wasn’t backing down, Marci knew a losing battle when she saw one. A month ago, that would have made her despair, but if there was anything she’d learned from Julius, it was that there wasalwaysanother way out of any unwinnable scenario. She just had to keep herself and everyone else alive long enough to find it.
With that, the way forward became perfectly clear, and Marci stepped forward, placing Ghost on her shoulder before raising her empty hands over her head. “I surrender.”
“What?” Emily roared, grabbing her arm. “You can’t surrender toher!”
“What else are we going to do?” Marci asked, glancing over her shoulder. When the general didn’t answer, she turned back to Algonquin. “I’ll come with you peacefully and listen to what you have to say,” she offered. “But in return, you have to let General Jackson and the undersecretary leave the DFZ unharmed tonight. Otherwise, no deal.”
“You’re not in a position to make demands,” Algonquin said, her watery voice smug. “But it matters not. Unlike the dragons you’re used to,Iam generous.” She waved her hand. “Your associates are free to go with my compliments. A gift to mark the beginning of our mutually beneficial relationship.”
She smiled as she finished, clearly expecting everyone to fall on their knees in the mud and give thanks for her benevolence, but Marci just turned back to the others. “Go,” she said quietly. “I’ll be fine. Believe it or not, I actually have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. I get threatened by supernaturally powerful monsters all the time, and it’s probably better for Ghost if I stay in the city for now, anyway.”
“It isnotbetter,” the general growled, her dark eyes furious. “Marci, you don’t know Algonquin. She’s not going to be fair like we were. If you have something she wants, she’ll take it, and wecannotlose the first Merlin to the very spirit we need her to fight.”
“Don’t underestimate us,” Marci said, reaching up to press her hand against Ghost’s freezing fur. “We’ve escaped a lot of things we shouldn’t. But you guys need to get out of here while she’s still feeling ‘generous.’ Anddon’ttell Julius.” Marci could stay strong for herself, but if Julius rushed up here to help her—and sheknewhe would—Algonquin would really have a weapon to use against her. “Just go,” she said again. “I’ve got this.”
The general clearly didn’t like that at all, but after another look at the Leviathan and the tanks surrounding them, she lowered her head. “We’ll be back for you,” she promised, shooting Algonquin a look of pure hate. “Stay alive.”
“I always do,” Marci said, smiling wide and clasping her hands behind her back to hide how badly they were shaking.
Don’t be afraid,Ghost whispered, crouching low against her shoulder.She can’t hold us.
That’s what I’m counting on,Marci thought back, keeping the words as quiet as possible in her head just in case Algonquin shared Raven’s ability to eavesdrop.But we can’t bust all of us out at once, and I’d hate to get these people killed just for giving us a ride.She looked at Algonquin, who was still smiling Marci’s own smile back at her.We’ll go along for now. But first chance we get, we’re gone.
Ghost lashed his tail at that, but Marci had already made up her mind. In a morbid twist, part of her was actually kind of excited to finally hear Algonquin’s side of all of this. That was a reach in terms of optimism, but it was better than despair, so Marci clung to it as hard as she could, using the promise of answers to give her the courage she needed to walk into the rain, up the buried stairs to the bullet-riddled driveway where the Lady of the Lakes was waiting.
