Tobias flicked the athame, but the heron grabbed his arm, thwarting the attack, and punched him in the jaw with his other hand.
Dizzying pain shot through Tobias’s head. His vision blurred, and he took another blow to his temple before he could get his bearings. For one so scrawny, he fought with unexpected strength. Tobias staggered back, trying to focus. Eden. I must do this for Eden.
His vision sharpened. The heron was reaching for his pike again, and Tobias rushed him. He knocked the Harvester to the ground, pinning him to the wooden floor with his knees. He pressed his blade to the man’s throat. “Where is Jack?” His voice was a harsh whisper. “Where is Rawhed?”
The man’s eyes widened. “I don’t know. Who are you?”
The fat one was regaining consciousness, grasping for his pike. Tobias smashed his elbow into the heron’s temple, knocking him out. Better to handle one at a time. He rolled to the side, dodging as the fat king’s pike seared the air with green light where his head had been a moment before. “Tell me where Jack is!” shouted Tobias, directing another charge at his opponent.
This time, the Harvester blocked it with his pike. “Why are you so eager to know? You’re a witch-boy from Maremount, aren’t you?” The fat king prowled toward Tobias’s hovering athame, lifting the pike for an overhead swing.
“Philosopher.” Land your blows when your opponent gets ready to strike. Tobias shifted forward, jabbing for the man’s ribs, but only nicked the Harvester’s side. The king swung his pike in a wide arc, but Tobias dodged. Rage boiled in his chest. Jack had murdered the girl he loved, and had nearly hanged Fiona. “I don’t need to explain myself to you,” he growled, flicking the athame.
“I think you should know—there are more of us coming.”
That’s not good.
A bolt from the athame seared the room, singeing the Harvester’s sleeve as he tried to block it with his pike.
Heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway outside. Tobias’s mouth went dry, and his head swung to the door. Four large Harvesters crowded the entrance. To his left the scrawny heron moaned, regaining consciousness. He edged toward the bedroom, holding the athame defensively as the men poured into the room, all glaring at him.
Tobias leapt back, landing in Jack’s bedroom and slamming the door. He clicked the lock. That would buy him a few seconds while he rushed to the other side of the wardrobe. It took all his strength, but with a grunt, he toppled the wardrobe across the doorframe, smashing the floor where it landed.
Beads of sweat sprung up on his forehead. What exactly was his endgame here? He was no match for six Harvesters on his own. He could transform into a crow, but the window’s iron bars were too narrowly spaced. As Jack’s men hacked away at the door, Tobias retreated to the bathroom, sinking to the cold tiles. After taking a deep breath, he chanted Queen Boudicca’s Inferno, calling up a tiny lick of flame on the bathroom floor. The cracking sound of the splintering bedroom door echoed though the room.
With a trembling hand, he held the athame’s tip to the flame, and it began glow. As a spearhead pierced the bathroom door, he yanked down his shirt collar and pressed the hot blade into his skin.
CHAPTER FIVE
Fiona
She stared out the window as the van edged into the traffic in a cacophony of honking horns. Her hands gripped the seat in front of her. What was Tobias doing?
Alan turned to her. “Is he coming or what?” His voice was uncharacteristically sharp.
Mariana scowled. “He’s probably hunting for revenge. Typical man.”
Fiona scanned the rainy streets outside. “He’s hardly said a word in the past few days.”
Alan drummed his fingers on his thighs. “I’m about to lose my mind.”
Traffic edged forward, and the van whined as it rolled toward a traffic light. Ahead of them, cars began to turn, but a red light halted their progress.
Fiona unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’m going to stay.”
Munroe flashed her a glare. “What is wrong with you?”
A dull, thumping noise came from the van’s door, and Fiona caught a glimpse of dark hair through the smudged glass.
Alan lunged over an empty seat, yanking open the door. “Get in here!”
She exhaled. Thank God.
Sopping with rain, Tobias climbed in next to Alan, an angry red mark on his jaw. “You might want to speed this up. There are Harvesters right behind me. Terrorists. Whatever.”
The driver’s cheeks paled. “Terrorists?” He stepped on the gas pedal, sending the van lurching through a red light.
A fireball thudded against the rear window, and screams filled the small space.
“They’re trying to kill us!” Connor yelled from the back.