was soft, holding decades of being obeyed without question. That was okay. Trent could do the same thing, and it never slowed me down. I had decades of experience ignoring demands from doctors with god complexes.
“Because I’m not human? You’re a dick. You know that, right?”
Weast’s eye twitched. “Stay out of this. Glenn thinks you’re of value, but the collateral damage you leave behind is too expensive for me,” he said, and my head rose at the heavy steps on the stairs behind him. “I have this under control, and your efforts are making my job harder.” He turned to Glenn as he walked in, Jenks on his shoulder.
“Hey, Rachel,” the tall man said cheerfully. “Jenks let me in. He needed some help.” His smile faded as he took in my anger and Weast’s demanding nonchalance. “Ah . . . ,” he stammered, the heat block looking small in his hand.
“Weast seems to think he has the baku under control,” I interrupted. “I disagree.”
Jenks flew to me, wings rasping and his hand on his sword. “Sorry,” he muttered, right next to my ear. “I thought Glenn was alone.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, eyes never leaving Weast. “I can help,” I said louder, to Weast this time. “We can help,” I amended. “Trent and I can prove Landon is hosting the baku.”
But Weast was walking away, pointing at Glenn to move out before him. “Back off,” Weast said over his shoulder. “Leave Landon alone.”
“He deserves a warning,” I said, jolting into motion and following them. “You know he’s in danger and you don’t care,” I said, then got it. “My God. You’re using him as bait.”
Weast halted, and I jerked to a stop before I ran into him. Eyes narrowed, he looked at me, hand hovering near his eagle amulet. “Glenn, give me a moment with Morgan.”
“Sir . . .”
Weast turned to him, and grimacing, Glenn set the heat block on the windowsill and walked out. Unhappy, Jenks rattled his wings. Shoulders hunched, Weast pressed close until I fought the urge to back up. “If you continue to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, you will be swept up with him,” Weast said, his dark eyes narrowed. “I won’t warn you again.”
“Try it,” I said, and Weast chuckled, rolling his shoulders aggressively as he walked out.
“Let him go, Rache,” Jenks said, but I wasn’t about to follow him. Pissed, I tugged the door shut, appreciating the hard thud. Angry, I shifted the bar to lock the door. I’d only have to unlock it again to leave, but that wasn’t the point. “You okay?” Jenks asked, and I nodded, arms over my middle. I didn’t like Weast. Didn’t like his threats. Didn’t like how he had Glenn at his beck and call and didn’t value his opinion.
“We’re still going after Landon, aren’t we?” Jenks said, and I nodded. I didn’t like the distasteful head of the dewar, but I liked a know-it-all, clandestine group of humans who thought they could use him as bait even less.
CHAPTER
23
It went without saying that I felt special behind the wheel of Trent’s favorite two-door. It accelerated like a startled horse and turned like a bird. The gray finish moved like smoke in the sun, and I tried to play it cool when people ogled it at stoplights. But it was hard with the wind in my hair and my sunglasses on, especially when Takata’s latest, “Gritty Rainbows,” came on all eight of the car’s high-end speakers.
“Do you think he’s still singing about you?” Jenks said from the rearview mirror. The afternoon sun was shining through his wings and dust to make him look magical.
Wincing, I lowered the volume. “I hope not.” The new single was Takata’s usual unrepentant, shrewd, loud anger at the system, but this time there was a hint that things might work out even if it was all going to hell. The message seemed to be on-target, as it had shot to the single digits on more than one chart and hung there since its release. That its inspiration might have been in my ongoing trials seemed likely. Why would Takata mess with what had worked in the past?
“You should have told me you were attacked this morning.”
Jenks’s voice was sullen, and my attention flicked from the road to him. “I handled it,” I said as I made my way through the Hollows to the waterfront.
“Yeah? That’s kind of the point of having me there, isn’t it?” His wings hummed, and