I found Amy in a corner of the building behind the row of cottages where she and Meg had set up their shared workshop. Server racks took up most of the tiny enclosure except for a small space cluttered with stacked computer parts and peripherals. At one end of that space, on top of a short cabinet, perched a miniature desk where Amy sat, staring at a glowing disk. I knocked on the door frame.
"Got a second?"
"Sure, Tom. Is it raining?" she said, indicating my wet hair and shirt.
"No, I'm just recovering from a heart attack."
"You're what?"
"It's not important," I said looking closer at the disk. "What is that? I thought you didn't use magic."
She grinned proudly at the circle in front of her. "I don't. It's a Fenix smartwatch body, but Meg and I had to gut it so it would play nice with the other hardware. It's hardwired to a DARPA modified mil-spec sat phone with a stable uplink to a secure data center in Colorado that's run by a friend of Finn's. They host most of my custom software, and from there I can access and manage this and other mainframes in near real time, all from this watch screen."
"Um, let's pretend I understood a fraction of what you just said, and you can imagine how impressed I am."
She laughed. "Everyone has their specialties."
"Hang on, if you can remote in from a server in Colorado, what have you been doing here all week?"
She leaned back in her tiny chair and sighed. "Finn wanted your mainframe to be extra secure. Usually when she says stuff like that it just means an additional firewall, but you're a special case. You've got a DMZ sandwiched between two firewalls and a multi-layered, encrypted handshake protocol blocking access to your production environment. I can't back door in, which means all firmware upgrades have to be done on-site. These updates aren't integrating properly and the backup mainframe is bricked. Since I have to stick around to install the fixes, and I have no idea how long it'll take me to finish, I'm just working on it here."
"I get why you're working here, but why don't you go home when you're not busy? I thought I heard Finn say your clan was nearby."
"In the city. We move around for different jobs, so we're used to setting up temporary warrens. Only about a third of the clan works directly for Finn, but we stick together."
"You can't commute?"
"Too much hassle."
"You're avoiding Grimble again, aren't you?" I said, realizing she had more than one incentive for hanging around. She looked away guiltily.
"Maybe."
"Where do you sleep?"
"I manage, but you didn't come back here to talk about me, what's up?"
I sat on the floor next to her hardware pile and shared Katherine's concern. Amy's cheerful expression faded. "Of course I'll help, what do you need me to do?"
"I was hoping you'd have some ideas. None of us can just ditch out without raising suspicions. Can you get in touch with Miss Gold?"
"Finn can. I'll call her first."
"I already tried calling both of them."
Amy nodded. "She's been busy, but she'll pick up for me. Nobody else on her staff can do what I do, so she cuts me a lot of slack."
"I got that impression."
"Are you calling me a troublemaker?"
"Not compared to her," I snorted. "I meant it really seems like she needs you."
Amy grinned up at me. "She's not that bad. Once you get used to her, she's a good person to have on your side."
"Alright," I sighed, "thank you, I appreciate it. Just please give me plenty of warning if she decides to show up here." She gave me a playful salute, and as I turned to go, a small, red light began flashing on one of her consoles. "What's that?"
"Perimeter alarm," She said, unconcerned. "A squirrel probably tripped the wards."
"Shouldn't someone check?"
"Nah," she shrugged and gestured at the board. "Watch." After a few seconds the light stopped blinking, then it went out. "See? It's gone. Nothing's getting past the ignis without a ring."
I decided to let it go and left Amy with a thank you and a wave, but it explained why I'd never seen any critters on the island, even though they were plentiful among the trees on the far shore.
Thirty minutes later, Amy texted me with a rough plan that sounded better than anything the rest of us had come up with, especially since it took most of the responsibility off my shoulders. I agreed to it quickly and set off to inform my co-conspirators.
"I'm bored," Becca complained too loudly and I gave her a warning look that she completely ignored. "Can we go out to eat today?"
"You're not worried we'll be seen?" Rachel asked. She was sitting in the living room again, feet on the coffee table, watching a women's volleyball tournament.
"I was worried about the apartment, but that turned out okay. I just don't feel like fixing anything."
"I thought you liked cooking."
"Um," Becca hesitated awkwardly, "well, not always."
"As long as I can have a salad I'm in," Katherine said, turning a page in her book. Her forced disinterest seemed as theatrical as Becca's complaining but I kept it to myself and stuck to the plan.
"Why not make a day of it?" I suggested. "We can grab some burgers and have a picnic out by the lake. It's probably our last chance to get out before spring."
"I like the way you think." Rachel shut down the television and vaulted over the back of the sofa. "Just let me change."
Katherine smiled passively and stood up, setting her book aside. "It's a little early for lunch, isn't it?"
I shrugged and powered down my laptop. "Someone can make a food run when we get hungry. May as well make the most of this weather."
We tossed a couple of blankets and a Frisbee into the back of Rachel's Jeep, drove across town and stopped in the public lot outside Hollyboro State Park. Beyond an elaborate playground stretched Serenity Green, several acres of well tended grass with picnic tables spaced far enough apart to give families privacy and room for horseplay. We chose one close to the woods, near the start of a four-mile hiking trail that wandered between the trees and along the shore of Serenity Lake, a body of water fed by a branch of our own river.
Rachel inhaled the fresh air while Becca spread out the tablecloth and Katherine laid a blanket on the ground nearby. "I needed this," she exclaimed.
"It's not like we didn't spend a night in the woods last week," she said, adjusting her sunglasses and letting the late morning sun warm her as she reclined on the ground.
"All I remember is being stuck in a tent for fifteen hours with nothing to do. Who's going running with me?"
"Relax for a minute, Rach," I told her. "We can stay all day, there's plenty of time."
"I am relaxed." She stretched her arms overhead, then to either side. "This is me relaxing. You coming Becks?"
"I—I thought I'd just enjoy the nice weather."
"Traitor."
"No! I didn't—I mean okay, I can go with you."
"Sit down, Becca." Katherine grabbed at the leg of her jeans to stop her from leaving. "She's teasing you."
"Oh..."
"It's fine," Rachel confirmed, "I'll just take a walk to warm up and we can go running later. Sound good?"
"Sure," Becca smiled back, glad for the compromise.
"You should come too, Kath."
"I'm enjoying this sun, we can run our asses off back on the island."
The thought of Rachel on her own left me feeling anxious, and at the last minute I called to her. "You're just walking, right? I'll go with you."
"My hero," she muttered sarcastically. "I'm a big girl, Tom, I can manage."
"I need the exercise and there's no way you're dragging me out on a five mile run later."
"More like three."
"Might as well be ten, it's not happening."
"Then walk it." She shrugged. "Your woman won't run either so you can keep each other company. Seriously, my guy, I'll just be a few minutes out and back." I let her go without further argument and sat at the table.
"She'll be fine, Thomas. I'd worry more about anything that messes with her."
"Normally I'd agree."
"You think your dad might be here?" Becca asked.
"No. If Miss Gold thinks the city's safe enough for us to go shopping, we're probably fine anywhere as long as we don't make a scene."
"And that means keeping other people away from you." Katherine laid back and smiled at the sky, her golden hair forming a wreath around her head. "Which leaves more for us."
"That's..."
"What is it, Becca?"
"You said more for us, not you. It sounds like an anime I saw once. All these girls fell in love with the same guy, and they kind of bonded over it, even though nobody actually got him."
"That's hardly the same." I said, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.
Katherine only smiled. "Isn't it?"
"Tom's kind of right." Becca's voice dropped until I could hardly hear her. "He picked you before any of this happened, so it's not like we're really sharing."
"I'm the one who asked him out. Thomas never would have done it on his own."
"Hey!"
Becca turned her head just far enough to catch her eye. "It doesn't matter, he can still only have one girlfriend."
"Show me where it's written."
"Katherine!" I scolded, scandalized at her bringing our ongoing argument into the open. Becca and I exchanged an uncomfortable look and when nothing more was said we let it drop.
When Rachel returned, we talked about anything and everything other than fairies and magic. For a while it was open season for Katherine and Rachel, each trying to embarrass the other instead of focusing their attention on me.
"I shit you not." Rachel sat on edge of the picnic table in her running shorts. "The band just finished a set and this princess walked straight up to their table like she owned the place and sat on the drummer's lap."
"You really did that?" Becca gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
Katherine turned away slightly, feigning disinterest. "That was a long time ago."
"Two years, if that. The guy thought she was a groupie and got a good feel before she poured her drink on him and started cussing him out like a sailor. We almost got kicked out." I could hardly believe my ears, but Rachel's grin widened and even Katherine smiled a little.
"I had a few drinks and he was a jerk. You weren't exactly helping, you know. You were all over the lead singer."
"So what? He was hot."
"Did you go home with him?" I asked.
"I might have, but by the end of the night the dude was more fucked up than I was."
Katherine shook her head. "I'd have stopped you."
"You could hardly stand, but thanks anyway. I quit drinking after that."
"Liar."
"I meant I quit going out just to drink and get wasted. I'm not into one-night stands, but that rule gets a little blurry after a few shots."
"We both mellowed out after that," Katherine admitted. Her expression was a little distant, the way it had been when she told me about her cheerleading days. "I just wanted to enjoy myself, not hook up. I had a few close calls. Parties were more fun sober anyway."
"Now who's lying?"
"Fine, I've been tipsy a few times since then."
"Try hammered, and more than a few, but yeah, no more night club benders."
"What about Tom?" Becca asked, turning to me. "Any fun stories?"
"I'm boring," I told her.
"No you're not," she insisted. "I like spending time with you."
"It's true. No alcohol and and no recreational drugs. The few stories I have from being on meds weren't fun."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"I've got one for Thomas," Katherine said and sat up. "The first time he asked me out."
"Is that really necessary?" I asked.
She gave me an apologetic look and continued. "We'd met a few times before so it wasn't out of the blue. I knew he had a condition, but none of the details. He was nervous and beat around the bush for a long time, and when he finally got up the nerve to ask..."
"What?" Becca asked eagerly.
"He threw up."
Becca turned to me, "Really?"
I nodded. "Twice. It could have been a lot worse. I felt it coming and thankfully we were close to the bathrooms, but it was pretty obvious why I ran off. Then I came back and tried again. It wasn't any better the second time."
Becca looked back at Katherine. "And you still said yes?"
"Of course I did," she giggled, "anyone willing to fight that hard for my attention deserved a shot."
"But you still don't give me credit for making the first move," I said.
"You didn't. All you did for two weeks was stare at me."
"I wasn't staring."
"He was."
Becca stifled a giggle.
"Okay," I said in surrender, "enough about me, what about Rebecca Novak? What's her story?"
"Oh gosh!" she looked startled, as if she hadn't expected anyone to ask. "I don't know, I just... worked and stuff, and now I'm here."
"Come on, Becks," Rachel prompted, "you've got to have some embarrassing stories for us. Don't leave us hanging."
"Well, there was the time I killed Tom's car."
"Ok, that's a pretty good one, but we've heard it. What about something from before you knew us."
Becca flicked her eyes toward me, then dropped her gaze. "I don't really—there's nothing much to say. My mom died a few years ago and I moved in with my dad, but that didn't go so well, so when I was old enough I moved out."
Katherine touched her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, it's not like we hate each other or anything, Dad just has a new family and they don't have a lot of extra room for me. He's helping me pay for college, but I think he does it to avoid feeling guilty. I haven't had very many friends, not like you guys, so most of the stories I have to tell just come out sounding sad."
"I find it hard to believe you haven't had friends," I told her.
"A few I guess, when I was younger. I had a D&D group when I first started school, but I had to quit when I started working."
Rachel cocked her head. "That—sounds suggestive."
"It's a game, Rach," I clarified.
"That's not any better."
"It stands for Dungeons and Dragons. Some kids at the hospital invited me to play, but that was just after I got sick. I had an episode and I wasn't invited back after that."
Becca perked up, "You really played?"
"Just the one time."
"You could play with me." Becca said hopefully.
"That also sounds suggestive."
"Cut it out, Rachel," Katherine ordered, but she did a poor job of hiding her amusement. I had Becca's full attention so I ignored them.
"Maybe we can do that," I said. "It would give us something to do other than watch TV and play poker."
The subject roused Becca and she carried the conversation until well after noon, describing her various fictional adventures, but Rachel's hunger refused to wait longer and she drove off with Katherine to pick up lunch.
"Is everything okay?" I asked Becca once Jeep left the lot.
"Why?"
"You got quiet pretty fast after they left."
"Is that not okay?"
"Did I do something?"
She tried to look me in the eye, but hers kept slipping away. "No."
"Does it make you uncomfortable?"
"What?"
"All of it. Being out here, talking."
"No. It's kind of nice, actually."
"Being stuck with us at Meridian?"
"Are you kidding?" she smiled finally. "That's like—my best dreams all coming true at once. Most of them, anyway."
I moved from the table to join her on the blanket. "Then what's up?"
"Nothing."
I sighed and reached for her hand. "When I was a kid, before I learned how to manage the stuff in my head, I was taught to separate my mind into rooms, and each of those rooms had a door. When one room got too noisy, I could leave it, close the door, and go into another one that wasn't as bad."
She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I know how you mean. I do that too sometimes."
"I can tell."
"Huh?"
"I can tell when you're listening or thinking, but that's not what you're doing now. You're on the other side of a closed door. I know what that looks like. You're trying to keep something out, or maybe you're locking something away. Am I wrong?"
After a moment she pulled her hand away and I thought she was about to get up, that I'd offended her, but instead she slid closer to me and put her head on my shoulder. "No, you're not. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For seeing me," she sighed. "I usually need to explain myself over and over and people get frustrated until they give up on me, but you just get it." She turned her head very slightly so she could look at my face. "I'm not ready to open up yet, but when I am I'll tell you, is that okay?"
"Sure, Becca, whatever you need."
Her shy smile returned. "I have more than one room too, you know."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm not trying to shut you or the others out. You can use the back door if you want."
"Wow," I cleared my throat to hide an untimely chuckle. "I'm glad Rachel wasn't here for that."
"What do you—" her eyes widened as she sat up, "Omigosh! I didn't mean—"
"I know, but she wouldn't have let that one go."
"I don't know why I said that, I was trying to be cute, I didn't think—" I cut her off by placing the tip of my finger against her lips.
"Becca, you're adorable."
She bit her lip and blushed from her neck to her hairline, hesitated, then impulsively leaned forward and kissed me. I didn't object, and I didn't pull away. Her lips fit mine perfectly, naturally, as if we'd been created for each other. Lights blossomed, inviting me closer, and my pulse began to race. Reluctantly, I pulled back and took a steadying breath.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. It wasn't an apology.
"It's not like we've never kissed."
"I know, but I feel bad for you and Katherine. It's not fair."
"Maybe. We just have to do the best we can." I meant it to comfort her, but ended up wounding myself. Did my best include allowing a spontaneous kiss to linger?
The curt "beep" as Rachel locked her door announced that she and Katherine had returned, burdened with drink trays and plastic bags bulging with food that I could smell across an acre of lawn.
We finished eating at the table, laid on the blanket together, tossed the Frisbee around for a while, and after allowing enough time for their burgers to settle, Rachel coerced Becca into joining her for a run through the woods. I took Katherine's hand, pulled her to her feet, and as Rachel suggested we walked behind, enjoying the warm sun and cool breeze.
"This was a good idea," Katherine said as we strolled down a dirt path covered in fallen leaves, watching Rachel and Becca disappear around a bend in the trail ahead. "Just a regular day out."
"Yeah."
"We should have done it sooner."
"When?" I snorted.
She nodded but didn't answer. "How are you holding up""
"A little winded, but I'm okay. I need to start exercising more, now that I can."
"We can slow down if you want."
"I can match your stride just fine, shorty."
She punched me in the arm, though gently. We continued without speaking, enjoying each other's presence, until we reached Serenity Lake. I suggested we stop and take a break before heading back. The city had installed a bench just off the trail near a stretch of muddy shore and you couldn't beat the view across the water. I sat down and Katherine slid next to me.
"I've always loved this spot," she said quietly, watching broken reflections of sunlight dance across the surface of the lake. "It feels like we've come full circle."
"Not quite." I said.
"This would be a good place to be when it happens."
I glanced at the path behind us though I didn't really expect to see anything. Few people used the old hiking trail, and Rachel and Becca were probably a mile away. "Why don't you run anymore?" I asked her.
"I would, but there isn't a good place for it around school. I like how quiet it is here, and when school got busier I didn't have enough incentive to make the time."
"The yoga's paying off though."
She smiled and leaned against my arm. "I get by. It's better for Rachel anyway, I was just holding her back." Though the sky was still bright, the sun didn't quite make it through the trees, leaving the air too cold for comfort. I felt her weight shift as she scooted closer, then pulled my arm around her to stay warm. "Do you remember what you said to me?"
"When, exactly?"
"You know what I'm talking about. You were sitting where you are now, pretending not to watch us when we passed you. Rachel didn't want to stop, but I sat down, and you said..."
"I'm all out of raisins, so how about a date?"
"Stop it. You didn't even face me, you just kept looking out there and asked how much a polar bear weighed."
"I still can't believe you had no idea."
She nudged me with her elbow. "I thought you were trying to brush me off at first. I felt kind of sorry for you."
"What? Why?"
"I figured I'd misread the situation and maybe you had a thing for sporty chicks instead. If you had tried to hit on Rachel..."
"Yeah, that wouldn't have ended well."
"Not then, no, she was still with Andrew."
"Are you saying I'd have had a chance if she'd been single?"
She laughed, and a stubborn strand of hair fell across her face. "Don't be a jerk. That dumb question worked though, you got my attention."
"I'm glad I did. I wanted to tell you how beautiful you were but I decided there was no way you didn't already know." I pushed her hair back over her ear. "I wasn't really looking for someone, to be honest."
"You found me though. Disappointed?"
"Bewildered. I never understood why you decided to stop."
"I thought you were kind of hot."
"Yeah, if I was a Transformer I'd be Optimus Fine."
She giggled. "I just had a feeling about you. I wasn't looking for someone either, but here you are."
"Disappointed?"
"A little."
I poked her gently in the ribs until she squirmed. When she caught her breath, she looked up at me with piercing eyes. "Thomas?"
"Yeah?"
"Sitting next to you that day was the best thing I ever did."
We'd been together for months, but my heart still did a little skip in my chest. "It was a pretty good day for me, too."
We sat for long minutes in each others' arms, watching the sun descend over brightly colored trees. "You never told me," she said finally.
"Told you what?"
"How much a polar bear weighs."
"Oh, that," I said, leaning my head on top of hers. "Enough to break the ice."
***
We remained at the park until the sun began to set, then piled into the Jeep and headed back to Meridian while Becca continued a conversation with Rachel that had begun on the trail. We were all tired, but it was the kind of physical quiet that left you comfortable wherever you were without lassitude or exhaustion. I rode in the back with Katherine's head on my shoulder, half asleep and content.
"Tom?" Becca had turned in her seat and prodded me awake. "Wake up, Tom, something's up."
I shifted and Katherine stirred, then sat up when she realized there were no streetlights. We were nearly home. "What's the matter?" I asked.
"The warehouse is dark." Rachel said.
"It's supposed to be, it's hidden."
"Completely dark? There's always light in there, has been since we moved in, unless you figured out how to turn everything off."
"Maybe the power went out."
"I thought about that. Becks texted Amy to check but she's not answering. Everything else in the city is lit up, so it's not a blackout."
Katherine gripped my arm. "Do you think someone found us?"
"I don't see how."
Rachel stared down the dark road. "Shit, Tom, I don't like this."
"Neither do I, but it might be nothing. Get us closer." She turned down the steep bank and pulled up to our bridge. "Let's go check it out," I said.
"Fuck that."
"Okay, stay here with Kath and Becca, I'll go see what's up."
"Fuck that too, I'm coming with you."
"Don't tell me you're scared to stay in the car."
She grimaced. "No, I'm afraid your dumb ass is going to get itself killed and we'll all be up shit creek."
"I'm coming too," Katherine announced.
"Like hell!" Rachel protested, but Becca opened her door and slipped out wordlessly to join us. Rachel threw her hands up in frustration. "The fuck you think you're gonna do if there's something in there? What if Tom's dad is in there?"
"We'll help," Katherine told her. "You said it yourself, if anything happens to Thomas, we're dead anyway. It's better if we stick together."
Rachel dropped a string of curses then gave in. "Fine, but stay back, both of you." I'd walked ahead while they were arguing and she hurried across the bridge to catch up. "This is bullshit."
"If you say so," I said and pulled out my phone to use as a flashlight. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until we got close. That's when we could tell the sliding door was wide open."
"Motherf—" Rachel hissed. "Call Gold or Finn or whoever and let them deal with it."
"It's probably just a circuit breaker."
"What the fuck is wrong with you? There could be a Fae in there! You've only met the nice ones, you don't know what it's like—"
"Miss Gold and Finn can't bail us out every time, Rach." She stayed close as we walked the length of the building with only a dim circle of light to guide us.
"Up there." Rachel grabbed my shoulder and pointed to the windows of the office. A faint illumination flickered from within.
"I'm going to check it out," I said and started toward the iron stairs, but Rachel grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
"Stop trying to be a hero," she whispered harshly into my ear, then cursed again. "I'll go first. At least if something happens you'll have a chance to fry their brains before they cut you in two." She didn't wait for me to follow, but pushed ahead and climbed the metal staircase, muscles coiled like a cat ready to pounce. I heard rather than saw Katherine and Becca approaching from behind, and motioned for them to hurry. We'd face what lay beyond the door together.
Rachel signaled us to be quiet, then carefully gripped the door handle, twisted slowly, and once the bolt was clear of the frame, she yanked it open and charged inside. I could barely see her outline against the interior, which was lit by a single candle sitting in the center of the conference table. She took a step forward and stopped. Then another. Nothing happened.
She was half turned toward me with a word on her lips when the lights flashed on all at once, temporarily blinding us, and a roar of voices cried out from all sides
"SURPRISE!"
Rachel stumbled backward into me shouting profanities like wild gunfire, knocking both of us to the ground. As my eyes adjusted, they were assaulted by an explosion of color. Balloons and streamers hung from the ceiling along with cardboard decorations covered in cheap foil. A banner had been draped on one wall, and confetti rained down over us.
Finn made the most commotion, jumping on the bed and blowing a plastic horn, while Miss Gold stood tolerantly to one side, and Meg, smiling for once, stood on the other with Amy perched on her shoulder.
"What the fuck?" Rachel exclaimed once she had taken everything in, still angry, scared, and in shock. Katherine strutted to where she lay stunned on top of me, knelt down, and looked her in the eye with a satisfied smile.
"Happy birthday."