When Natalie left the room, Hailey noticed a significant shift in attitude throughout the rest of the summit. People took sides almost instantly, and totally non-verbally. Alden and Hector in particular looked upset, Neffie shocked, and Jeremy's sisters weren't happy either. The rest of the group still seemed on board with killing Brian, leaving Hailey as the sole undecided vote in the room.

"Is she gone?" asked Rachel, as Lily returned to the room.

Lily nodded. "I won't say where."

"We just want to help her," said Josh, though he didn't sound confident.

"I betrayed her once," said Lily. "I will not do it again."

"This is life and death," said Viper roughly. "The fuck are you gonna do? Girl's just as insane as her father."

"You would be wise to hold your tongue," said Cinza.

Hailey felt the same. She was holding herself back, trying to keep her rage suppressed and stay calm, but every single syllable, every breath by Viper was another needle stabbed into her heart. This was the man who ordered Ryan and Alden's abductions, who sent men into Seattle to hunt magic for a billionaire… the man responsible for Jessica's death.

No more bloodshed. I'm just here to listen and stay in the loop, but I'm not fighting anymore.

"She's always been weird," added Nate, finding himself allied with the other fringe member of the impromptu council. "This isn't new. She's just way more dangerous now."

"Weird isn't dangerous, asshole," snapped Rika. "She did magic nobody else could do and had some weird views of the world, but so what?"

"No mom, no school, dad ran across the country to get her away from something, and she can talk to animals," said Nate. "She's weird. And if her dad's insane, who's to say she's not too? What if she goes nuts? How many people could die, as powerful as she is?"

...He's not wrong, thought Hailey, and felt disgusted with herself doing so. Nate was simply echoing her own fears though—about herself, but still. When someone with power like they had got unstable, far more people were at risk. She knew that firsthand.

And Natalie's been through as much as me. Probably more. How's she still holding it together?

"They're already dying," said Josh. "We don't really have time to waste on a hypothetical future. We need to handle the here and now."

"If we don't do this right, we'll be worrying about nothing but the future," said Courtney. "I can't get our legislative agenda passed without public support."

"Everybody keeps saying we gotta do this right," said Ryan. "The fuck is right, anyway?"

"We don't kill people just because they're committing crimes," said Neffie. "That's how America is supposed to work, right?"

"Speak for yourself," muttered Josh.

"We capture him," said Rachel suddenly. She turned to Lily. "How many portals can you open at once?"

"...I'm not certain," said Lily slowly. "Kendra and I would have to test it."

"You're not Kendra?" asked Courtney, raising an eyebrow.

Lily glanced at Jeremy, and Courtney quickly followed. He shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Forgot to mention it. Sorry."

"My name is Lily," said Lily politely. "I am Kenni's twin sister."

"Kendra Laushire's got a sister?" asked Courtney, turning back to her with shock.

"I wasn't aware you kept track of me."

"I like to know all the major players in my state. When you moved to Rallsburg, it crossed my desk."

"For future campaign contributions," muttered Maddie.

"You were all gung-ho on killing Omega," said Ryan—and half of the room winced. Nobody told him we don't use that name anymore… "What's with the flip-flop on Natalie's dad?"

"Because he's not awakened," said Rachel simply.

"...I want to say that's a double-standard, but fuck me if it isn't a weirdly positive one right now," said Jeremy.

Hailey nodded, speaking up before anyone else could. "She's right. Jackson couldn't be held down. He was more powerful than most of us combined. Brian isn't. He can be arrested just like any other normal person."

"Or you, apparently," said Josh.

She shrugged. "Just because I can break out whenever I want doesn't mean I'm going to. D'you think Jackson would've followed the rules like that?"

"Nice to hear you're back to following the rules like us 'humans'," said Neffie snidely.

Hailey winced—both from the memory, and from the source of the comment. Neffie wasn't usually the type to snipe, but… she'd deserved that, and so much more.

"So if we're gonna arrest him…" said Alden uncomfortably, "how are we supposed to do that? The only person who can really beat the golems is the one protecting him."

"...Natalie's the one who threw that lightnin'?" asked Jeremy, raising an eyebrow.

"...Hang on," said Rika, rounding on Rachel. "Natalie can use electricity magic?"

"Yes?"

"Fuck me," she groaned, falling back in her chair. Hailey wondered what Rika was suddenly upset about, but Cinza spoke up before she could spend much time thinking about it.

"We must blindside him."

"Already tried that," Jeremy pointed out.

"He's in Rallsburg right now, isn't he?" asked Ruby, glancing at Cinza next to her. "Why don't we just surround the place? We can hold back the golems long enough for somebody to get close and grab the thing."

"Tried that too," said Josh. "Hector tried to grab it, but it's immune to magic or something, I don't know. Jackson did something to it. That's why I sent him to you."

"Lure him in," said Viper. Hailey once again suppressed a wave of hatred, avoiding the man's eyes. "Gotta get him to come to you, drop him in a pit or somethin'. Golems or no, you lay a good trap, he's not climbin' out."

"...Might work," said Jeremy grudgingly. "Could just make a golem to give him enough height."

"Doesn't need to literally be a pit." Viper shrugged. "Any kind of trap. If he's alone right now, this is the best time."

"There's only one thing that could lure him," said Josh grimly.

The room fell utterly silent. No one moved, no one spoke.

"...Don't you dare," snapped Neffie.

Josh turned to her, and he really did look uncomfortable, but he didn't back down. "She won't even know she's doing it."

"I can't do this," said Hector suddenly, standing up. "I'm… I'm done."

"Hector," said Cinza, rising as well, but he waved her off.

"I already hate myself for helping you the first time. Do… do what you all need to do, but I can't be a part of it. I'm… I'm going back."

He started for the door. Jackie held out a hand. Hector briefly stopped to take it, offering her a sad smile, but he looked too anxious and afraid to stick around. After a few moments, he hurried out, and the door closed behind him. To Hailey's surprise, Lily didn't follow him out as she did Natalie. Guess she doesn't need to be there to actually get people ho— oh. Right.

She followed Natalie out because they abandoned her too.

Hailey genuinely wanted to support them. She still liked Rachel, even with how everyone else seemed to be against her now. Hailey wasn't sure why—Rachel just wanted to have a quiet life. Who could blame her, after everything they'd been through? After what she'd been through?

Will is still crippled, from what I heard… Rachel's been dealing with that, and keeping her parents safe and in hiding for so long…

Except… Rachel had done something to upset Hailey too. She'd invited Viper and Nate. Hailey couldn't see any reason they should be in the room right now.

Cinza seemed to arrive at the same conclusion. "Nathaniel," she started, somehow with a hard edge on every echoing, ethereal syllable, "you will leave, and you will never come near the town of Rallsburg or the Greywood. I granted you a home, I brought you into our family, I helped bring you into our world and meet the Goddess herself. You spurned us."

Nate got to his feet, whiney voice sounding pitiful against Cinza's sheer power. "But—"

Cinza talked right over him. "You committed personal crimes against me. For those, I might kill you myself, but I grant you this reprieve, on one condition. Leave now. If I see you in the world, I shall ignore you, so long as you do not encroach upon my land. And—" she glared at him with such fury Hailey expected Nate to simply melt on the spot, "—you shall return every single one of my diaries."

He looked around the room, pleading, but not a single sympathetic eye came back. Nate Price had burned every bridge he once built in the awakened community. Even the few with little reason to hate him, like Neffie or Boris, refused to give him an inch.

No one was on his side.

"If you're gonna get mad at me for stabbing people in the back," said Nate, "at least make it equal!" To Hailey's surprise, Neffie Bowman practically jumped in her chair, and cast an odd glance at Rachel—but Nate whirled around to Cinza. "She's a traitor too!" he cried, desperate.

"Uh-huh," said Jeremy, crossing his arms. "That's a losin' argument if ever I heard one, kid."

"Leave now, Nate," said Cinza, in the same even tone. "This is your last warning."

"She turned Rika in! Told them where to find her! I heard all about it!"

"...The fuck?" asked Rika, but her words were lost in a sudden burst of action, as Jackie suddenly got to her feet and backed Nate up against the door without so much as lifting a finger. Nate cowered in front of her.

Jackie still has authority over him. He's Rallsburg, born and raised, and she's the sheriff.

"Time to go, Nate," she said calmly. "You pick how it is. Cuffs or not."

Just like how she broke up my parties… gave us the option to leave quietly so nobody got arrested.

Nate nodded. He turned and hurried out the door. Jackie watched him, all the way to his exit, before closing the classroom off again and returning to her seat next to Jeremy.

I'm glad he finally found her… At least somebody got what they were looking for.

Rika still seemed confused by something. Hailey was to about to ask what, but Rachel spoke first, obviously trying to get the meeting back onto whatever agenda she'd started with.

"Brian isn't the only thing we need to focus on here," said Rachel, with an admirable attempt at calm. "He's the most immediate, yes, but we're still a chaotic mess here. New awakened are everywhere, and nobody's trying to coordinate them. Washington State and the United States government are being pulled in ten different directions, and international attention is growing fast. If we don't stand united, we won't get the sort of protections we need."

"Could've used you months ago," said Josh bitterly.

"...I know," said Rachel uncomfortably.

"She's here now," said Hailey. "Can we just leave it at that?"

"...Yeah," said Josh finally. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and opened them again. "All right, Rachel. What's the plan?"

"Well, we—"

"...How the fuck did they know where I was?" asked Rika suddenly, interrupting Rachel with her harsh, piercing voice. She looked at Josh, then at Cinza. "I was in the middle of fucking nowhere, and nobody there knew who I was. Shit, there wasn't even a wanted notice out on me. Unless you're suggesting Alzack gave me up?"

"Rika—" Cinza started, but Josh cut her off.

"Yeah, I told the marshals where to find you," he snapped. "So what?"

"So what?" said Rika incredulously. "I might go to jail for the rest of my fucking life, so what! They're accusing me of like fifty fucking homicides, you asshole!"

"Thirty-one," Jeremy murmured to Jackie, but nobody else heard him.

"It's about time," said Josh.

Rika snarled. "Don't you dare fucking say this is about me cheating on you. Aren't we past this shit by now?"

"I sure am," muttered Ryan.

"So what if it was?"

"It wasn't," said Cinza, just as Rika started to move toward Josh. She stopped halfway there. "I made the call, Rika. If you must hate someone, hate me, but know this is for the good of us all."

"For the good of us all," murmured Ruby beside her. Hailey winced—it really wasn't the best time for their favorite slogan.

"Uh-huh," said Rika. "'Cause I'm big bad fucking Rika, can't keep it in her pants Rika. Gotta keep me off the streets. After all, I've killed… oh yeah, zero people. I'm such a monster." She snorted. "Pretty sure I've got a lower bodycount than half this fucking room."

Hailey winced… but she was pretty sure Rika was right. Jeremy and Jackie from their career, Viper from the military, Rachel killed Jackson, Cinza and Ruby killed Paul Wilson, Boris probably had to kill some people in his line of work…

"Rika," said Rachel quietly.

Rika whipped around to face her. "I swear to god, Rachel, if you were—"

"I wasn't," said Rachel. To Hailey's surprise, Rika seemed to believe her without question. "I think this was a terrible thing, but it's too late to change it now. You still have to go through with it."

"...Don't fuck me over here," said Rika quietly. "You're like a sister to me, and you've already done it once. You're the only one who gets a second chance."

"I think she's right," said Alden. Rika turned to him, even more surprised. "You gotta finish it. They aren't gonna convict you. They can't really prove it's you, since you weren't there. We've got actual witnesses now," he added, nodding at Viper.

Viper shrugged. "I can confirm I pulled you out. Gonna be tied up in the fuckin' courts anyway. Might as well get a free trip home while I'm at it. I'm from Maryland in the first place."

"And for the second half, you were too busy straddling me in Redmond to kill anybody," added Ryan.

"Thanks for that image," muttered Neffie. Ryan grinned.

"So we've got two actual alibis, plus your punch cards to show you definitely couldn't have been there in October for the gang killings," added Alden.

"And my father's company will be dropping the Computer Misuse charges soon," said Lily. "There's shareholders to talk off the ledge, but your court date should not be affected."

"See?" said Alden. "You're gonna be fine."

Rika sighed. "Fuck all of this."

"Yeah," said Alden. "But once it's over, you're free and clear, and you go back to using your real name. No more hiding."

"Thank god." She smiled at Alden. "Okay. We're good. I'll live the prison life a bit longer until you guys get me off."

"Do you have to turn everything into an innuendo?" asked Neffie.

"Hey, that was an accident, I swear."

"As I was saying..." said Rachel, but Rika spun around to face Cinza and Josh again, and Rachel trailed off.

"I am still not okay with you two assholes," she growled. "And if I gotta go back to prison, that means I'm out of the fight anyway. Do whatever you gotta do, take the motherfucker out, but when I'm free?" She matched Cinza's glare from earlier with equal intensity. "I've got business with my dad, and I'm not taking shit from anyone anymore. Stay the fuck out of my way."

Rika left, before anyone could say another word.

Hailey considered following her. After all, she needed to go back to prison too, for many of the same reasons—but with legitimate fault on her own shoulders. More importantly, she too wasn't in this fight. She couldn't be. If Hailey went back… she'd be falling right into the trap Jefferson warned her about.

I'd be a fugitive forever. Unlike Rika, I'm supposed to be in prison. People wouldn't blame her for breaking out if she could. She'd be escaping injustice, I'd be fleeing actual justice.

"Speaking of people who should be in prison," said Josh, "where the hell is Rook?"

Viper looked up. "I wanted to know that myself. Last I heard, she was in this neck of the woods." He scratched his head, glancing at the ceiling. "Actually, where the fuck are we? Is this place in Rallsburg or London?"

He glanced at Lily, who shrugged. "It's nowhere."

Viper rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."

"She's off screwing somebody else over," said Jeremy. "Ditched Lani in the fucking forest for Brian's men to pick up."

"No shit?" asked Josh.

"Like hell she did," snapped Viper. "She actually awakened for that clown."

"Watch how you talk about him, asshole," Jeremy shot back.

"Anyone want to talk about how this guy tried to kidnap me?" murmured Ryan. "I mean, just saying."

"...Yeah," muttered Viper. "I did. I fuckin' regret it too."

Ryan looked surprised, even weirdly sympathetic. Viper sounded sincere.

It was too much for Hailey. He doesn't deserve to feel forgiven.

She leapt to her feet, and before anyone could stop her, she'd plowed right into Viper. In an instant, he was up against the wall, a foot off the ground in Hailey's strong grip.

"And Jessica?" she snarled. "What about her?"

Viper didn't answer, just looked at Hailey with empty eyes—those which had seen too much death over decades of war and fighting. He was old school. A single death didn't mean that much to him, not anymore.

"Hailey," started Rachel.

Hailey shook her head. "I wasn't exactly on board with everything here, Rachel, but I was gonna hear you out. Not on this."

She pushed Viper even higher up the wall. Images of Jess flashed through her brain, one after another—half of her on the ground in the streets of Lakewood, the other a pleading version of her as she once was, begging Hailey to stay calm, to stay grounded.

I was never meant to be grounded though, Jess. I was born to fly. You taught me to fly. You gave me these wings.

On cue, her wings flexed out wide, sending a huge gust through the room. Jackie's hat blew off her head.

"I would never have given that order," said Viper. "Didn't do us any good. We wanted you alive, not dead."

"So you could torture her at home?" asked Hailey incredulously.

She threw him to the ground, utterly disgusted. He crashed against one of the chairs and stayed down. She didn't feel an ounce of sympathy. That was supposed to be an apology?

Hailey turned back to Rachel. "I'm out, Rachel."

"Hales—" said Josh, but Hailey shook her head.

"I'm still going back to prison. I'll go through the trial and everything. That's what I deserve. But screw this. He doesn't deserve a second of your time." Hailey glanced around the room, at some of the people she hadn't seen in a long time, and tried to give them a significant look. "Don't take this too far."

Hailey turned and left. As soon as she exited that small room, she felt refreshed. It still hurt, and she wished she could have done more to him, but… she'd done what she needed to. Hailey had said what she needed to say, and she hadn't hurt anyone. She'd stayed in control.

She wondered which door she was supposed to take to get back to her cell. They were all identical to her eyes, and she had no clue which one had been hers—if it even mattered. To her relief, one popped open at the far end.

"Wait!"

Hailey hesitated. Alden had just left the room and was jogging out to meet her.

"I can't go back in there, Alden," she murmured.

"I don't think you should."

"...You know," said Hailey, turning around to face him, "you're really good at throwing me completely off."

Alden shrugged. "I've had a crazy life."

You don't know the half of it… "What do you mean, though?"

"I think nothing's gonna get done in there anyway." He shook his head. "Rachel invited Viper and Nate, which was already insane—"

"She never did pick up my party planning skills," said Hailey with a half-hearted attempt at a smile. Alden grinned.

"—she thought she could persuade Natalie to go against her own dad, she didn't have a clear plan for what to do about Brian anyway… She's too out of touch. That whole meeting was going to be a mess from the start."

"So why'd you agree to come?" Hailey asked. "I did 'cause I was stuck in a jail cell anyway. Any fresh air was nice. Plus, you know—"

She launched into the air without warning, blowing Alden's hair around wildly as she did. Hailey did a circuit of the void before coming back to land next to Alden, feeling incredibly refreshed even by that brief spin through the windless dimension.

"—can't do that in prison," she finished with a smile, hovering in the air in front of him with gentle wing flaps and a bit of magic.

"You'd better get out soon," said Alden. "I miss flying."

"You do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Most people didn't enjoy flying with her. It even took Jess a long time to get used to it, and Alden had never seemed totally on board.

"Seriously."

Hailey smiled even wider. "I'm glad you're doing okay."

"I mean… why wouldn't I be?" He shrugged.

"You just…" Hailey hesitated. "You were just in a huge battle, and I hear you got attacked on the way there too. I thought…"

"Oh." Alden nodded slowly. "Yeah… I guess… I dunno. I just don't feel that scared anymore." He tilted his head to the side a little. "When he put a gun in my face, I froze up, just like last time. But… nothing happened. I got away. I got away from his guys in Seattle, I got away from him in Tacoma, I didn't even get a graze in the pilgrim camp. I'm either stupidly lucky, or…"

"...Or what?"

"Or it's fate," he finished, shrugging again.

Or it's a protective older sister with the power of a goddess… Beverly, just tell him already!

Hailey nearly did tell Alden right then. She wanted to tell him he couldn't be reckless. He was only surviving so long as Beverly kept a constant eye on him, in between every awakening. Alden was going to be in danger all the time anyway—the risk of telling him, no matter what relationship magic Beverly might be afraid of, was surely outweighed by the benefits of knowing he wasn't invincible.

It's not my place. That's old, reckless Hailey. I don't know what the consequences of that would be. I can't tell him. I can't say anything at all.

Instead, Hailey landed and buried Alden in a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"...Thanks," said Alden. He returned the hug. "What about you? Are you okay?"

She pulled back, brushing hair out of her face. She hadn't pinned it in place for her flight, and now it had blown everywhere. "Yeah. Just, you know… getting myself mentally prepped to go back into a tight cell again."

"Yeah…" Alden winced. "I'll come visit when I can, okay?"

"Please don't," said Hailey quickly. "It's all the way across the country. They need you home."

"What do they need me for?" asked Alden, raising an eyebrow.

They need Beverly to not split her attention so much… and on that note…

"Your sister's in the camp," said Hailey.

"...What?"

"Meg's in the pilgrim camp." Hailey shook her head. "I don't know why, don't ask me that. It's probably obvious though."

"She wants to awaken," said Alden with a sigh. "I should've known this was gonna happen as soon as she heard about it."

"You gotta find her."

Alden nodded. To Hailey's relief, he didn't ask how she knew. There's a perk of magic—a lot less questions on how people know things. In all fairness, I do know Nikki's scrying spell now. I totally could find her… not much point though, when Beverly already told me exactly where she is.

Hailey hugged him again. "I'll be fine. Go make sure everybody else is."

"Yeah."

"I still owe you a drink," she added as she started away toward her open door, where she could already see the plain empty walls of her cell. "Don't forget!"

"I'll be waiting!" Alden shouted back.

Hailey grinned, then hurried back to her cell. It was still covered in an illusion, as Beverly promised. Hailey changed back into her prison clothes, stored her outfit in her bag, and levitated it across the hall back where it belonged. Finally, as the wooden door disappeared, Hailey felt around with magic and found the source of the illusion—a spell Beverly attached to a gemstone she'd left under Hailey's bed.

She broke the connection. Her vision shifted just slightly, as if the light level had suddenly changed.

Hailey laid back on her hard metal bed and let out a deep breath.

People are dying… A lot of people. I could be helping them, but… if I stay here, am I helping them more? Everything we talked about, making sure the awakened aren't scary, that we aren't given special treatment, all that… isn't it better I stay?

She genuinely wasn't sure anymore. She'd been sure, but now… everything seemed to be happening at home. She could have done so much to help. If she'd been there, she could have summoned a huge wind to help deflect bullets. Or maybe she could have flown over the canopy and simply grabbed their guns away.

Hailey could have fought back golems, she could have hunted down Brian's men in their hideouts. She could have protected people, helped get them to safety. Hailey was powerful, but her power was all locked away right now in her little jail cell.

Or I could've just gotten everybody killed.

Hailey closed her eyes again. She waited for the guard to come by with breakfast, and through the rest of the morning in her cell all alone… still without an answer.