Part 11 (1/2)

Prissie shook her head and turned to Koji, who'd been strapped into snowshoes by Beau. ”If you walk normally, you'll trip yourself,” her almost-twin explained. He demonstrated the proper stance. ”Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, and you'll be okay.”

The Observer stood and took a few cautious steps. ”I understand. I appreciate your a.s.sistance.”

”Yep,” Beau acknowledged, tromping off after Grandpa Pete and their dad, who already had a head start toward the far hill.

Waving Koji over, Prissie pointed at a gentle slope about a quarter mile to the west of the newly-plowed road they'd followed back into the orchard. ”We're going over there. It's the tree garden.”

Pete Pomeroy had been growing the family's Christmas trees since the farm had been pa.s.sed to him by his father. Prissie's dad had been small, money was tight, and Grandpa Pete thought it foolish to pay for something you could grow yourself. He regularly added to the stand of mixed evergreens by transplanting stray seedlings onto the roughly triangular slope leading up to one of their property's tree-lined boundaries.

The air was crisp, and the sky was clear as they crunched over drifted snow. Everyone was laughing and talking at once, so Prissie figured it was safe to ask, ”Are we okay?”

Koji replied, ”This is much easier than ice skating.”

”Not that,” she said in exasperation. Nodding in the direction of the fairgrounds and the ridge beyond, she muttered, ”You guys said that we're close to trouble here.”

He gazed around with a neutral expression, then quietly stated, ”Fear not.”

Prissie didn't find his gentle evasion terribly comforting.

”How is a tree selected?” Koji inquired.

”Height, shape, the number of branches for hanging ornaments,” she listed. ”Anyone can suggest their favorite, but Momma has the final say on which tree comes back with us. Once she makes up her mind, she'll tie her scarf onto one of its branches, and that's that.”

”I see.”

Once they reached the pines, the tree-hunters scattered, and Prissie eagerly lost herself in the evergreen maze. The trees had been planted in a zigzag pattern, so she meandered among them, letting her mittened hand brush over compact needles. Grandpa kept the trees neatly sheared, so each one had excellent potential. Choosing was usually difficult.

Out of the corner of her eye, Prissie caught the flutter of fabric and turned to see who'd followed her, but no one was there. Frowning slightly, she glanced around at the tracks in the snow. At least two other people in snowshoes had come this way before her. She could hear Koji's voice just beyond the next row of trees, where he seemed to be talking with Zeke. The eight-year-old was only too pleased to show their newbie the ropes. With a smile and shake of her head, Prissie began her own search for the perfect tree.

The sharp scent of pine filled the air because Grandpa Pete had already begun nipping boughs to make wreaths for their front doors. Closing her eyes, Prissie took a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh; when she opened them, she once again caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. ”Who ...?” she muttered to herself. Jedrick had a.s.sured her that the Hedge had secured their home, but did that mean just the house, all of the barns, or the entire orchard? Maybe it was time for her to find Koji.

Executing a neat turn in spite of her snowshoes, Prissie aimed in the general direction of Zeke's voice, but before she made much headway, a deep shout sent her heart into her throat. Green light burst into a set of widespread wings as Jedrick exploded into view, sword drawn as he dropped out of the sky. Automatically ducking, Prissie crept closer to a nearby spruce and peered past its branches. The Flight captain was engaging an opponent she could almost see. The occasional dark ripple that gave away its position never quite coalesced into a figure. Her desire to reconnect with Koji doubled, and she turned to call out to him, only to be confronted by an orange flare. ”Tamaes too?” she whispered, truly frightened now.

Glancing around nervously, she couldn't decide which way to go. If she could see fighting on two sides, chances were unseen turmoil was on all sides. Edging as close to her sheltering pine as its p.r.i.c.kles allowed, she kept her eyes firmly fixed on Tamaes. Her Guardian fought with a grim resolve that was fearsome to see.

Just then, Grandpa Carl and Jude tromped past, laughing and talking about pinecones, completely oblivious to the battle raging around them. The disparity wrenched at her soul, and she almost wished she were blind to the truth.

A sweeping blow from Tamaes's gleaming sword appeared to be enough to dispatch or drive off his opponent, for he turned then to check on her. Prissie waved from her hiding place, and his expression softened into a smile just before his gaze sharpened, and he scanned the area alertly. ”Koji!” he called, his voice carrying across the tree garden. Moments later, the young Observer scuffed through the pines on his snowshoes. ”Stay with Prissie,” Tamaes commanded.

”I will!”

With a curt nod, the Guardian took off in Jedrick's direction, and Prissie gratefully locked arms with Koji, whispering, ”What's happening?”

”A few Fallen appeared shortly after we arrived,” he explained. ”Jedrick was nearby, so he is lending his strength to the Hedge.”

”Nearby?” she furtively echoed. ”Why would a Protector be hanging out in the back forty?”

Koji hesitated before explaining, ”Jedrick's responsibilities keep him close. We should not linger.”

”But we can't leave!” she exclaimed. ”My family's here!”

”I only meant that we should rejoin them,” he a.s.sured.

Knowing that her brothers would be running back and forth to Momma, it made the most sense to get to her. ”Is that way good?” she asked, pointing to where she could hear the sound of her mother's voice.

”Yes.”

They moved together, but unfortunately, snowshoes were not made for closeness. Koji's became tangled with hers, sending them both tumbling into the snow.

”Allow me,” offered an all-too-familiar voice.

Prissie's head jerked up, and she stared in shock into Adin's handsome face. He stood tall and proud, dressed in a neatly tailored suit and draped in a luxurious black cloak. ”Quickly,” he urged, holding out his gloved hand with a serene smile.

She felt the color drain from her face, for this time, she clearly saw something that had been invisible every other time she'd spoken with him. Adin's das.h.i.+ng appearance was spoiled by the set of ruined wings rising above his shoulders. They twitched and rustled, betraying his impatience, and with every s.h.i.+ft, they rattled together in an off-key cacophony. Dull, lifeless shards, like grimy gla.s.s and clouded mirrors, hung from a twisted framework that had probably once been gracefully draped in light. ”Your wings,” she gasped.

For an instant, his expression hardened, but Adin rallied. ”Never mind that. Come with me. I know someplace safe.”

Scooting backward in the snow, Prissie choked out a weak, ”No!”

Koji stepped between her and the looming demon, arms outspread. He'd slipped from his snowshoes, so he sank to his knees in the drifted snow. But his back was straight, and his voice was steady. ”Do not listen to him, Prissie.”

Adin's wings creaked as he lifted them higher, and Prissie panicked. She remembered what Koji had told her. Observers were ill-equipped to defend themselves. Scrambling to her feet, she grabbed her best friend around the shoulders and pulled him backward, dragging him out of reach of those wicked-looking appendages. When she fumbled to a stop, Koji turned in order to wrap his arms around her waist, and she clung to him desperately. He may have been the only thing keeping her upright.

Slowly, their enemy's face changed, twisting with a cruel smile. ”Found me out, have you? Pity.” His eyes darted skyward for an instant, then he touched his fingertips to his lips and blew her a kiss. ”Until next time, Prissie Pomeroy!”

An instant later, he flickered out, vanis.h.i.+ng completely as Tamaes's boots thudded to the ground right in front of them. The tree garden disappeared in a swirl of ticklish light as her Guardian's wings swathed them in sweet safety, and Prissie heaved a shuddering breath. ”Just in time,” she whispered, practically throttling Koji. ”I was so afraid he'd hurt you!”

”I was frightened,” he confessed in a soft voice.

”You were brave,” Tamaes said as his wings parted so he could study his teammate and his charge. ”Thank you for protecting each other until I could reach you.”

Prissie wasn't sure if his hand trembled with fear or rage, but his touch was light as a feather when he briefly placed his hand atop her head, then Koji's.

”We are safe,” the young Observer a.s.sured.

With an unhappy glance at the place where Adin had stood, she echoed their enemy's parting words. ”Until next time.”

10.