The Deck of Omens (The Devouring Gray #2) - Christine Lynn Herman Page 0,113

was surrounded by the remnants of stone animals, looking exhausted.

“You’re controlling those?” May asked her.

Harper nodded proudly. “I thought your dad captured you,” she told May. “We came here to rescue you.”

“He did,” May said, shoving down the burst of emotion she felt at that. This was not the time to get sappy. “It didn’t stick. You’re here to do the ritual, right? To give our powers back to the forest?”

Harper’s eyes widened. “How do you know about that?”

“Long story,” May said. “Let’s just get to the seal and finish this.”

They sprinted across the cobblestones to the place where Violet lay sprawled out on the ground. Juniper Saunders was sitting beside her daughter, her face drained of all color as she gripped her hand. Orpheus was curled up in Juniper’s lap, while Gabriel was bent over Violet, his hands pressed to her torso, face screwed up in concentration. Green-and-gold light flowed around him.

“Is it working?” Harper asked.

Gabriel looked up, face flushed with sweat. “She’ll live.” May sagged with relief. “But she definitely can’t fight. She needs to get out of here.”

Violet’s mouth moved. An indistinct mumble floated from her lips.

“Shh,” Juniper hissed at them, and they all quieted, staring anxiously at her face. Behind May, the battle raged, Harper’s siblings, her mother, and Isaac distracting Richard. She tried not to think about how strong he was, that four of them could only barely keep him occupied.

“I want to finish it,” Violet croaked out, her eyes fluttering open. “Let me… do the ritual.”

“No,” Juniper said. “You can’t.”

“We do need someone from every family,” May said. “And if she can’t fight, she’ll be safer in there than she is out here.”

“See?” Violet pushed Gabriel’s hands away, ignoring his noises of protest, and laboriously sat up. “I’ll be fine.”

May wasn’t sure that was true, but they had no time to argue about it.

“Can you use your powers?” she asked.

Violet paused, then shook her head, panic dawning on her face.

“Not without hurting myself more,” she said, looking even paler than usual.

“That’s okay,” May said, mentally readjusting her plan. They could still do this without Violet’s Saunders abilities, but it would be a little tougher. “You won’t need them, but you should probably leave your companion behind.”

Violet nodded with understanding and gave Orpheus a quiet, knowing look.

“Keep Mom safe, all right?” she said to the cat, scratching him between the ears. “And, Mom?—I promise, I’m coming back out.”

May wasn’t sure that was true either, for any of them, but she didn’t say so. Instead, she reached out a hand and helped Violet to her feet.

Harper approached the trees growing thickly around the seal, her heart pounding in her chest. Behind them, the battle raged; she could hear Richard yelling and cursing at her siblings. Their goal, May explained, was to drive the girl’s father away from the seal so that they could find a way through the trees to do the ritual inside. They had enough obstacles already without factoring in Richard’s powers. It was working for now, but Harper had no idea how long they had until their reinforcements failed.

She turned around one final time and caught Mitzi’s gaze. Her sister looked at her, fierce and determined, and Harper felt a tangled mixture of regret and pride for all they had endured. Her siblings were survivors, she realized, just like her. And if she could finish this, they would find a way to heal together.

Beside her, May and Isaac supported Violet as Harper walked up to the nearest tree trunk. All the trees were rippled and bloated, the clear outlines of iridescent hearts beating within their chests. Hair hung in great clumps from their branches, which crooked and wriggled like beckoning fingers. Human hands pounded against the trees from the inside out. It was an orchard of flesh, an image that Harper knew would be stamped indelibly on her brain for the rest of her life.

“This place radiates a deeply cursed energy,” Violet murmured, her voice a little loopy.

“That’s because it’s literally cursed,” May said, sighing. “Get it together, Saunders.”

“That’s no way to talk to a girl who almost died?—”

“Stop it,” Harper said quietly, drawing her sword. “Let’s go.”

The moment she swung the blade forward, branches shot out toward them, twisting, grasping. May jumped back, yanking Violet with her. Harper reacted on instinct, spinning and slicing through the branches. They fell to the ground, wriggling, as Isaac knelt down and pressed his hands into the dirt.

“Stand back,” he growled, a moment before another shock