Marie appears at the foot of the stairs, the telltale rattle of her dog tags muffled behind Slinky’s fur. She and Woody exchange a smile that seems to bridge the distance between them. “We went to Arlington National Cemetery, too,” Woody says. “To visit Marie’s dad.”
Julio takes Marie in a bear hug, whispering something that sounds like an apology as he musses her hair.
“You’re such an idiot,” she says, swiping her eyes. “I was afraid you were dead.”
Fear... the word parks itself at the front of my mind, the effect compounded by the sharp sudden sense that something’s wrong. Fleur’s hand becomes tense in mine. Julio’s and Amber’s smiles fall, their bodies shifting, as if unconsciously, closer to their Handlers. I lift my gaze to the top of the bluff, but the offshore breeze does me no good here. We’re low. Trapped. Vulnerable.
“We should go.” I lead Fleur and the others to the steps.
Only we’re not alone.
Noelle stands on the overlook at the top of the stairs, her dark curls blowing around her face. She’s not wearing her jacket. There’s no patch. No transmitter light in her ear.
A hot wind whips over the cove, and a spark crackles to life behind me. I hold up a hand, sensing the threat of Julio’s magic in the sudden roar of the surf.
I told Noelle exactly where to look for us. I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s here, but that doesn’t mean I trust her. “Are you alone?”
Two Winters appear at her side: Gabriel and Yukio. It’s far too early for either of them to be outside the Observatory. What the hell are they doing here?
Amber’s fire swells with a hiss, and breakers build behind the overlook. Julio slams one over the rail, startling them all. Six more shadows creep over the edge of the bluff. We’re surrounded.
Fleur clenches her fist. The ground shudders. A crack forms in the concrete stairway, zigzagging up the treads and risers until it reaches Noelle’s feet. Our Handlers jump back as the cliff face rattles, shale and dust raining down over the bluff. A Season above us yelps, losing her footing as the ledge crumbles under her. Another reaches to catch her, hoisting her back to solid ground. They back away from the edge, looking to Noelle for direction.
I can’t believe I was so stupid. I should never have trusted her. “Did you bring Doug and Denver, too?” I call up to her.
“No!” She looks stung. “You told me to go north. I lured Doug and the others to Utah, and that’s exactly where I left them.”
“Then who the hell arethey?” I gesture to the bluff.
“They want to come, too,” she says. “All of us...” Noelle looks to each of them, as if giving them one last chance to bow out. “We want to go with you.”
Last time I saw Gabriel and Yukio, they were hurling snowballs, waving me over to their table in the mess hall. Now they look scared, exhausted. Noelle must have pulled some strings to get them out, but this climate isn’t doing them any favors.
“They’re not wearing transmitters,” Marie says in a low voice. “I don’t think this is a setup. I think she’s telling the truth.”
Amber’s fire gutters. “I recognize some of the Autumns,” she says. “Two of them were in the fields watching us when we made the tornado. They must have survived the storm.”
Julio squints up at the ledge. “I count three Summers on that bluff. If they wanted us dead, they would have drowned us by now.”
“No.” I rake my hands through my hair, kicking at the sand. “I am not starting a homeless shelter for lost Seasons. I’m not taking responsibility for that.”
“You wanted a rebellion!” Noelle shouts, tears welling in her eyes. “I brought you an army. What more do you want?”
Fleur takes me aside. “Maybe we should think about it,” she says. “There’s strength in numbers. We can’t keep running, Jack. At some point, we’re going to have to fight.” At my weary sigh, she turns to Noelle. “Stand back. We’re coming up.”
Noelle and the other Seasons keep their distance as we climb the stairs to the overlook. Gabriel and Yukio give me uncertain smiles as I brush past them. The coast is littered with fallen branches, the roads and parking lots awash in mud, devoid of cars except the ones abandoned during the storm. Amber, Julio, Fleur, and I huddle close around our Handlers. The other Seasons break into clusters, Winters with Winters, Summers and Autumns standing apart, and a lone Spring standing off on her own, all of them a cautious distance from us. Like all the other Seasons who’ve hunted us since we left the Observatory, they must have used Chronos’s bounty as an excuse to leave their assigned territories while they were released for their hunts. Now they’re defectors. I don’tsee a single transmitter light among them, and I can’t help wondering about their Handlers—what will happen to them when Chronos returns to the Observatory and discovers what their Seasons have done. As I look around at their expectant faces, their misplaced faith in me feels staggering.
“We’ll need to move fast,” Noelle says, approaching our group. “Chronos is on his way to Utah to rendezvous with Doug. When they realize you’re not there, they’ll come after us. He’s only dispatched five teams. He won’t risk sending any more and leaving the Observatory unstaffed. We’re outnumbered, but not by much. So what’s the plan?”
“Plan?” I choke out a laugh. “What plan? There is no plan.” My only plan was to run. To hide. I never intended to lead an army. Never intended to take responsibility for the lives of these Seasons or their Handlers back at the Observatory. I never intended to fight. The thought of facing off against Chronos and twenty of his Guards sends a shudder of fear straight through me.
Fear... There’s that word again. It wedges itself stubbornly in my mind, dislodging a memory.
Fear of death doesn’t make you any less of a man, Lyon said.If anything, it makes you more of one.
“Fear of death... That’s the answer.” It’s only when the others turn with quizzical looks that I realize I’ve said it out loud. “Lyon was right. Chronos isafraid. That’s why he didn’t come after us himself, not until he believed we were divided and vulnerable. Because he was terrified of the same thing we are.” I think back to the Termination Chill, Noelle, and I witnessed, how Chronos insisted on having his personal Guard in the room. Noelle wasn’t at his side to satisfy Chronos’s vanity. Shewas there because Chronos was too smart to risk being in a roomful of Seasons alone.
And Gaia wasafraid, terrified, when Chronos held his scythe to her throat.If you will not maintain order in my house, then you will find yourself replaced as easily as your pets.
