Splendid Fall

Ch.27 Monsters

"Shit," Omar groaned. "What now?"

"Birdie's clothes were thrown into the glass canal when she arrived," Ira announced.

"And all objects lost in the glass canal is fished out at the East Ends of Yuri," Azad rubbed the back of his neck as if trying to work out a knot.

"Yeah, by the giants," another jinn snorted. "They would never let us have a look. This key is as good as gone."

"Who are the giants?" Birdie asked.

"They are...the giants," Azad said. "How do I explain it....they are....giants."

"Like actual giants?" Birdie asked.

"Yes, why else would they be called giants?"

"Maybe metaphorically."

"No, they're giants. Giant giants. Made of sandy glass bits."

"They also hate the sight of jinns," the other jinn spoke up. "They would crush us if we're spotted anywhere near their territory."

"But they have the key," Joya's timid voice entered the conversation. "We need the key to go home."

"We'll need to gain their attention somehow," Ira paced the floor slowly. "Buy their trust just long enough to gain access to their nets."

"The fey prince," Omar said.

Birdie's eyes snapped up.

"There's a bounty on his head," Omar leaned back in his seat. "We tell the giants they can have him if they give us what we want."

"They would never agree to that," Azad snorted. "They're loyal to the crown."

"And the crown sits on Darrians head," Ira reminded them. "Tamzin is just a wanted criminal now."

"Wren," Birdie said. "His name is Wren."

"Wren is a wanted criminal now," Azad smiled. "Better?"

"You can't turn him in," Birdie looked up at her grandmother.

"Why not?" Ira asked. "He killed his cousin in cold blood."

"No, I did," Birdie confessed. "We both did."

Once again all eyes around the table were on Birdie. Ira waited for her to elaborate as Joya's eyes bounced around.

"Wren was protecting me," Birdie said, feeling her throat tighten and her head sway from the way her lungs stopped functioning.

"From what?" Azad asked.

"From his cousin..." Birdie could hear her ears start to ring. She did not want to think back to that night. Her hands began to shake as she felt her stomach turn.

"What did he do?" Omar asked.

Birdie's breath caught in her chest. She wished for the grown to open and swallow her up but she couldn't get her thoughts together.

"You can't turn Wren in," Birdie shook her head. "He'll tell them I was involved and they will come after me next."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Azad muttered.

Birdie glared at him, not liking the way the jinn belittled Wren.

"He saved my life," she pointed out. "And he's not going to turn me in by being petty. They'll probably get a confession out of him when they put him on trial."

"Don't overestimate him," Ira said. "He will throw you under the bus just to get his revenge."

"So now what?" Omar asked. "We can't trade him?"