Unknotted

Dents and Tips

Georgie

Now that Peth wasn’t dying, I didn’t feel bad about commiserating over the damage Bruce had sustained. If Peth didn’t kill that young enchanter, I would. Bruce’s driver side was riddled with enchanter butt-shaped dents from where Peth had attempted to crush her attacker. There were three bullet holes in Bruce’s tailgate. Another buried in the steel of the toolbox bolted into the truck bed. Blood was splattered all over the rear window, truck bed, and the tarp covering the wood siding for the treehouse. At least none had gotten on the expensive wood.

I wiped the drying blood from my hands onto my pants, opened the back door of the cab, and shuffled through the contents beneath the seat. Along with my own clothes, I had a change of clothes for Peth and Jik. I pulled out a set for each, another for myself, and several towels, along with a toiletries bag. We had a portable water tank across the yard. I could haul water up to the tree house so we could clean up.

Stuffing my finds into a bag, I reached around the front for a phone charger. A plain beige folder stuffed between the driver’s seat and the middle compartment caught my eye. That hadn’t been there before.

Grabbing it, I reclined back on the rear seat. It was unlabeled and thin, with only a few pages inside. The first was picture of a map. A prison camp near Lothny Creek, only an hour’s drive from our current location, was circled in red. The red marker traced a path to a location farther south, close to the edge of the hemisphere. An eight-digit grid coordinate was written in pen beneath it. I fished out my phone and plugged the number into the map. It marked a location in a stretch of wild savannah.

A red X marked a known portal near Namen’s southern border. My pulse accelerated. Eagerly, I flipped to the next page, and the next, and the next. Hybrids—men, women, and children—stared up from the page, the photos taken of the hybrid on their knees. Some were battered, some held a challenge in their eyes, most were teary-eyed with fear.

Below the photos, their names, heights, weights, age, and beasts forms were listed. Some forms were highlighted in neon yellow marker: armadillo, black rhino, rattle snake, chameleon… With forms containing these animal components, these hybrids would sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Shadow Market. There had never been a shipment this expensive in the history of the Ebbing Society.

“Tides,” I breathed. My heart was pounding in my ears. I turned to the final page containing a short message written in neat script. Today’s date and a time.

I checked the time on my phone. Two hours. That was it.

Shouldering the bag of clothes, I hopped from the truck and raced up the stairs, fingers working the touchscreen to call Helt.

He picked up on the second ring. “Georgie, is everything—”

“Peth was shot.” I was breathless, but I took the steps two at a time. “Kova managed to save her, so no worries.”

“I think worry is warranted here,” Helt said, sounding like a grandfather on the verge of a reprimand. “If you needed back up—”

“I do.” I strode into the treehouse, quickly looking around for Kova. He still wasn’t back from his chat with his boss—not a good sign. Peth and Jik had moved away from the stain of blood soaking into the subfloor. I frowned at the mark—I would have to replace that—and pulled up short.

Peth was reclining against Jik in a good impersonation of an adult sitting in a toddler chair. Surprisingly, she seemed enraptured in whatever Jik was whispering to her. Core between, I wished the tide was in so I could hear what they were saying.

“Georgie?” Helt spoke through the phone.

I shook away my surprise. Right, back to the mission. “Look, I discovered more about the shipment.”

At the sound of my speaking, a blush darkened Peth’s cheeks. She jerked upright and away from Jik. “What’s going on?”

Dropping the bag, I held up a finger for silence and sat beside her so she and Jik could listen in on the conversation. “I’m not sure how reliable the information is. It kind of just fell into my lap. Or rather Bruce’s. But it’s all we have. When the tide comes in again—”

“Slow down,” Helt said. “You’re not making sense.”

“Someone left information about when and where the drop will be happening. We only have two hours before the shipment reaches Harhort.”

“Who left that information?”

Handing the folder over to Peth and Jik to look through, I thought over the possibilities, but that only left me more confused than before. Of those who had been at the diner, I immediately crossed Harhort and Wanddy off the list of potential secret conspirers. Stones was next to go. We already knew he was working with Harhort. Sparkles had only shown up to the scene at the end and had never exited his jeep. That left Whiskers as the top suspect. The fight had happened so fast I couldn’t recall if he ever had a chance to slip the folder to Bruce.

Then again, who was to say the folder hadn’t been deposited before my arrival? Bruce had been sitting forlorn in that parking lot for more than a day. Anyone could have picked his lock, left the folder, and locked the door again.

“I don’t know,” I said finally. “But this is all we have. If the information in it is correct, this will be the largest shipment of hybrids we have ever saved. We can’t pass this up, Helt.”

“I’ll assemble a team. You have done enough, my dear. Take care of Peth.”

“Do you have a team closer than I am?” I pushed back. “One that can be in position in less than two hours?”

Helt paused too long. “We will do our best. We can always intercept them at a later time.”

I was already shaking my head, though he couldn’t see it. “You know better than anyone, once the shipment reaches the dynamists, the victims are quickly divided and shipped off across Tredema. Most don’t survive more than a few changing of tides after that point.”

Helt sighed. “It’s too dangerous, especially with Peth weakened as she is.”

Peth rubbed her eyes. “Georgie, you know I want to, but I can hardly keep my eyes o—”

Tucking the phone between my shoulder and ear, I gently urged her to recline back against Jik. “You need to rest. I’m going alone.”

“Alone? I think not.” Helt’s voice shot up an octave. “That’s not how the Ebbing Society works. No one goes on a mission without aid.”

I smirked. “I won’t be alone entirely. I’ll have my crew cheering me on in my ear.”

“Georgie,” he snapped. “I forbid—”

My dominance, muted as it was without the tide, ruffled at those words. “Send a team, Helt. If anything, I can buy us time.” I ended the call before he could protest further and set the phone to vibrate in case he tried to call back to talk me out of it. To his credit, as I stored it in my pocket, he didn’t.

Peth’s lips pursed. “I don’t like it, but I understand.” Her fingers traced a photo from the folder—the profile of a frightened little girl. “They need you.”

“Can you forgive me?” I brushed Peth’s curls off her shoulder.

“For what? The gunshot wound? That wasn’t your fault.”

I shook my head. “For leaving you here alone with Jik.”

Peth frowned and glared at him over her shoulder. The familiar irritation that she usually used on him finally filled her eyes.

“I will take the best care of you, silk pie.” Jik waggled his brows.

“Ugh.” She rolled off his lap. “Just hurry back, Georgie.”

I kissed her forehead. “You’re the best.”

“Aren’t I?” She smiled, but the worry creasing her brows didn’t smooth. “Don’t fall in over your head.”

“When have I ever done that?” I grabbed my clean clothes from the pack and left the rest with Peth. “I’ll drop Kova off near the portal station.”

(Chapter concludes in part 2)