Page 168 of Harnessed in Gold

Click-click.Juniper cocks the gun.

I can stop her. Not through Leo, but through Burdock.

Her jaw tightens and her eyes home in on her target.

Burdock steps toward her, irritation following in his wake.

I spring for him and grab his arm, shooting all the energy inside me out through my hand like a rocket launcher.

He convulses, and the hawk takes off from his shoulder, making straight for Juniper. In a frenzy of feathers and talons, it tears the gun from her hand and takes off into the night sky, skimming the tops of the trees. She curls her hands into fists and lets out a howl of rage.

Burdock whips around to glare at me. “What did you do?” He rubs his arm, blinking the shock from his eyes as he stomps in my direction. “What are you?”

Leo grabs me, pulling me back with just enough of a jerk to get me breathing again.

Bewildered, I blink up into Burdock’s cold eyes, a strange sound mixing with the blood rushing in my ears. Rhythmic words. A chant. Is it the bracelet? Am I hearing the caillecha Ember killed?

Shaking out of his stupor, Burdock pivots and marches to Juniper’s side. “Let’s go.”

She nods, watching him take the bracelet from his pants pocket. “Let’s see if Brier’s theory proves true.”

“I’m fine,” I hiss at Leo, pushing him off me. “Fight them! Get the bracelet!”

He complies, rushing them as Rime pushes to his feet and braces himself against the car.

Unfazed, Juniper and Burdock link arms as Burdock slips the bracelet around his wrist.

And the two of them disappear.

LEO'S EPILOGUE

I pullup short and spin in a circle, glancing in every direction. Burdock and Juniper are gone.

Simply gone.

My questioning gaze meets Rime’s. He replies with a wobbly shake of his head.

Betts throws herself into my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet. I crush her to my chest. “Y… you used your power,” I stammer, furious and relieved and grateful, all at the same time.

She saved Rime’s life. And she’s alive. We’re all alive.

Lilting voices draw our attention to the church. On the porch, backlit by the sanctuary lights, stands Jean West.

Two women join her in descending the steps, arms outstretched and a chant on their lips:

Gust and gale, river and rain,

Soil and stone, fire and flame,

Warp and weft, weave the snáithe,

Tie the knot and bind the faith.

Betts clutches me as the earth rumbles under our feet. “What’s happening?”

I try to answer, but my mouth is bone-dry. A hot wind races across the lot, prickling my skin and ruffling my hair.

Side by side, the women approach us, hands joined and eyes fixed on the empty space where Juniper and Burdock stood only moments ago.