De'Vas Chronicles Book 4: Chapter 24

“Lilly! You’re going to break the coffee table!” Faylen growled from the sofa in the Flatiron’s penthouse.

She knew Lilly would be a handful the moment she had suggested an impromptu slumber party.

The dryad just kept singing along with the song playing while she danced on the piece of furniture. The only response she gave to Faylen was turning to shake her ass in the wolfkin’s face.

Silver laughed.

“What happened to you being too sore to walk from the portal, Turnip?” the rabbitkin asked as she sipped her mojito.

Lilly answered by turning and shaking her butt at Silver.

“Go, Lilly!” Luna cheered from the kitchen.

Faylen’s sister was helping Naomi make snacks for the event. Everyone was having a fun time. The news that Ash was alive and well on Vas had done a lot to uplift their spirits, as did Vivian’s update on their work to bring him back.

Time and reagents, then she would have Ash back.

Her tail swished at the thought. Her eyes widened as Lilly took a step too far on the edge of the coffee table and started to fall. Faylen and Silver were both partly out of their seats when a vine shot from one of the potted plants and pushed Lilly back onto the table. The dryad’s singing and dancing were uninterrupted.

“Food is ready,” Naomi said, holding a spatula.

Instantly, Lilly jumped off the coffee table.

“Good! I’m starving,” she said.

Silver and Faylen stood, making their way to the kitchen, following Lilly.

“When are you not?” Silver asked with a roll of her eyes.

Faylen smiled at the food set out on the kitchen table, though it faltered somewhat when she noticed a spot set up for Ash.

“It didn’t feel right not to put a plate there,” Naomi said, seeing where Faylen’s gaze was.

Faylen reached out and wrapped the ice salamander in a hug.

“It wouldn’t. Thank you, Naomi,” Faylen said.

Naomi beamed a smile as they broke the hug, and Faylen took her seat. After surviving for two weeks on protein bars and canned foods, the meal before her was absolutely mouth-watering. She picked up her fork and dove in, cutting a bite of meat and running it through the mashed potatoes.

“I wonder how many girls Ash will have with him once we rift him back?” Lilly said.

Faylen nearly choked on her food, reaching for a cup of water.

“What?” she said as she washed it down.

Lilly chewed her bite thoughtfully.

“Well, I think Selena and Haylee are a given, you did say you gave both permission to pursue Ash,” Lilly said before taking another bite. “But it sounds like he’s been busy on Vas, so I bet there will be a few more tagging along.”

Faylen glared at Lilly, who obliviously munched away at her food.

“The sooner District boss Ash gets back, the better. There are already questions going around the District about why he’s been absent. I don’t think the ‘he’s training’ excuse is going to last much longer,” Luna said.

Faylen’s gaze shifted to her sister, and she frowned.

“Do you think there will be trouble?” she asked.

Luna shook her head.

“Just people being concerned. I doubt anyone would try anything. Mrs. Grayson has the loyalty of the gangs while Ash is away,” Luna answered. “Plus, she’s kind of scary in her own right.”

Silver just smirked.

“If only they knew what happened to the last person that crossed Vivian,” she said.

Faylen let out a chuckle and was about to say something when her phone started to go off.

“What’s up, Celeste?” Faylen answered.

Her eyes widened as a frantic Celeste filled her in. Her gaze shifted to Silver, who grew more and more concerned.

“We'll be right there,” Faylen said as she hung up the phone.

Her tail drooped as did her ears.

“We need to get to the portal right now,” she said.

Silver’s eyes widened.

“What happened?” she asked.

Faylen licked her lips, her heart racing.

“The coalition just made a move against your sisterhood,” Faylen said. “The war has begun.”

Silver shot from her chair and raced for the door, Faylen following behind her. All of them were now running for the portal.

Miller

Agent Miller brought a blanket to one of the white haired women standing outside Lilly’s shop. He had only seen banshees on the news, and usually they were portrayed as one of the more dangerous paranormals. It didn’t seem that way today.

Timid hands took the blanket from him and wrapped it around her frame.

“Thank you,” she said, her gaze still on the ground.

Miller’s lips thinned; he could see the burn marks on the poor girl's arms and face from the fight. They were odd, straight lines that he was told were from Light Magic.

“Anything else I can get you?” he asked.

She shook her head.

Miller gave her a halfhearted smile and looked around at the other half dozen banshees waiting outside the dryad’s shop. These were the lucky ones, the ones who had carried their injured sisters to District 114.

“I’m going to see if I can help inside,” Miller said, as she looked up to meet his gaze. “If you or your sisters need anything, just stick your head inside and ask, and I’ll be there.”

She nodded.

Miller moved to the shop’s door and opened it, stepping into a madhouse. Members of the Poison Petals raced about as Lilly shouted orders; even the plants within the shop had vines whipping about, snagging potions to bring to the cots that held injured banshees.

“Can you bring this to the boss?” Rose asked as she handed him one of the potions she was carrying.

The second-in-command of the Poison Petals didn’t wait for his answer. Instead, she moved to a cot and pressed a vial to the lips of one of the banshees.

Miller moved deeper into the shop, Lilly’s voice growing louder. Despite the dryad being back here, it was as if she could see everything happening within the shop at once. A point proven when she yelled instructions for him.

“Agent Miller, grab that box by your left hand,” Lilly yelled.

Miller did as he was instructed and moved into the back room. As soon as he passed through the threshold of the door, Lilly took the box and potion from him before rushing to her patient.

Aerial. The impostor Blackthorn.

A sheet of frozen blood covered her chest as distant eyes stared up into the ceiling. The real Blackthorn was sitting beside the cot, disguised as Silver. Her face twisted in grief and worry. Behind her were Faylen and Naomi, their eyes hard and wanting blood.

Miller had seen eyes like that before; he knew what eyes like that could lead someone to do.

Lilly took the potion and poured it onto the sheet of ice that clung to Aerial’s chest. The ice started to melt away as Lilly tore open the box, pulling out a handful of gauze. As the ice melted away, the bleeding started, and Lilly pushed down with the handful of gauze onto the wound.

“Okay, give her the potion,” Lilly commanded.

The normally goofy girl was gone, replaced by a stern woman who knew her craft. Silver popped the cork on a vial and pressed it against Aerial’s lips, the blue liquid vanishing from it down her throat.

“Come on, come on,” Lilly growled.

Aerial drew a wheezy breath, and Lilly let out a deep breath.

“We’re not in the clear yet, but that’s a good sign,” she said.

The sounds of heels on the tile floor caught his attention, and he turned to see Mrs. Grayson enter the room. She looked at Aerial without any expression, but Miller could see there was an edge in her eyes.

“How is she?” Mrs. Grayson asked.

Lilly kept the pressure on the wound as she watched Aerial take her labored breaths.

“The weapon Piper attacked her with had powerful Ice Magic. She’s only alive right now because she’s a fae,” Lilly stated.

Mrs. Grayson placed a hand on Lilly’s shoulder.

“Whatever you need, let me know, and I will get it here. Even if I have to have someone fly it over the damn District’s walls with a drone, I will get it here tonight,” she said before turning toward Miller.

“Can we have a word?” she asked.

Miller nodded, and the two of them moved through the chaos of the shop turned field hospital.

Once outside, he and Mrs. Grayson moved to the side of the building, away from the group of banshees waiting for any news on their sisters. Mrs. Grayson looked at them and shook her head.

“I expected this to remain cold for a while longer. More posturing from that damn dragon while we each made our moves to strengthen ourselves.”

Mrs. Grayson watched the banshees in silence for a moment, her eyes softening before regaining their edge as she looked back to him.

“I know it’s only been a few weeks, but how is your work with training the gangs in tactics going?” she asked.

Miller already knew in his gut where she was going with this. He looked back at the banshees and let out a sigh.

“It’s gone well, but more time would be better. The Frozen Scales and 114 Pack can already work as a cohesive unit, and I’ve been running them through small unit tactics for urban warfare. The Poison Petals and Mander’s volunteers are much less cohesive. Still, the orcs are quick to learn anything related to warfare, something to do with their culture, and each dryad is a powerhouse if they have plants under their control,” he answered.

Vivian nodded.

“How long would you need to make them combat-ready?” she asked.

He sighed.

“A week,” he answered.

He met Mrs. Grayson’s gaze.

“Give me a week and they will be ready for combat,” he said with conviction.

Mrs. Grayson turned, making her way back to the entrance of Lilly’s shop.

“They drew first blood,” Mrs. Grayson said, her tone cold. “I want to make sure we draw more.”