“Hey, get off her!” I shoved at him but I might as well have tried to budge a mountain. “Don’t you dare hurt her!” Carl is Xharbek! There was nothing laid back and calm about him now.
“Let me go!” Jill’s voice shook. She didn’t know all the details about Xharbek, but she’d grasped that this was not good ol’ Carl, even beyond the whole teleporting trick. Carl’s gaze flicked to me for an instant, reading everything from Jill and me and probably everyone else in the vicinity.
He released Jill and disappeared.
I grabbed her as she staggered. “Oh, shit,” I breathed, gulping. “Oh, shit shit shit shit.” Carl is Xharbek. He’d been a part of our lives. Hidden. A lie. Like Zack was before I discovered he was Zakaar. Nobody is truly who they appear to be.
And Xharbek wanted Jill’s baby. That had to be why Zack and Szerain took her away. To protect Ashava? Or was Xharbek the good guy in this scenario? My gut told me no, but that didn’t mean a damn thing. Nothing was black or white anymore.
Jill breathed raggedly, eyes wide, swallowed and went quiet. Then my dear friend—the one who was strong and fierce and rolled with the punches like no one’s business, who was teleported from her home, gave bizarre birth to a demon-baby, survived a major disaster, had her baby stolen by the baby daddy, and then was shaken like a ragdoll by the mild-mannered morgue tech—leaned on my shoulder and burst into tears.
I hugged her close and let her sob, even as I tried to think of a place I could stash her where she’d be safe. Everything was a godawful mess, but I couldn’t just leave her, not in her condition.
Idris stumbled up from the valve. “Kara! We have a problem.”
Seriously? How much more could go wrong?
“Kara!”
Not Idris. I turned to see Bryce clambering over a pile of rubble, face set in utter determination. Dirty, sweaty, and with a long scrape down one arm, to me he looked like an angel sent from above.
He jumped down and moved straight to us, shoulders set with purpose as he took in the sight of a no-longer-pregnant Jill sobbing on my shoulder. Without a word he gently took her from me and lifted her in his arms. Jill buried her head against his neck, let out a shuddering sigh and went quiet. His eyes met mine. “I got this.”
I gave him a look of pure gratitude. I could trust him to protect her and give her the care she needed. I jogged over to Idris. “What is it?” I asked him.
Worry creased his brow. He raked a hand over his hair. “The other ten charges—the ones that didn’t go off—are still a threat.”
My stomach dropped a few miles. “Explain?” I managed.
“The, um, bean’s strands deactivated all of the charges but the one that blew. The one I fucked up,” he said, words hurried. “It’s like she clipped the wires on a bomb for ten of them, but the bombs themselves are still intact.” Stark dread filled his eyes. “Kara, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. More charges mean more intensity, not just a wider area. If they all go off, there’ll be nothing left but dust.”
A surreal calm settled over me. “First off, you didn’t fuck up. It was pure shit luck that a tremor hit at the wrong time. Second off, you’re going to dismantle those remaining ten to where they can’t possibly blow, right?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, firm and sure. “But it’s going to take some time.” He surveyed the area, paled at the amount of destruction. I saw it in his eyes as he envisioned it reduced to dust. “We need to evacuate, a couple of miles radius at least, and—”
“Idris.” I stopped him, spoke quietly but firmly. “All rescue operations would have to stop. There is no perfect answer here. Either way we risk lives.”
He drew a breath and blew it out. “Got it.” He met my eyes steadily. He didn’t need a Kara-brand pep talk this time at least.
“Yes, you do,” I said. “Do I need to watch for zhurn again?”
He grimaced. “Anything that could reactivate the charges.”
I caught his arm as he turned away. “Zack and Szerain kidnapped the bean—Ashava. Carl is Xharbek. He teleported in, pissed, looking for Szerain and Ashava.”
Idris took it in then settled into his super serious summoner demeanor. “We’ll deal with it. Later.” With that, he ran back to the valve, dropped to his knees, and he and Pellini began their waggly hand dance.
First order of business, Get Dangerous. I dashed to Pellini’s truck. Bryce sat in the back with all the windows rolled down, his left arm draped protectively over Jill who sat curled up against him, her eyes closed. His free hand held the Sig P227 on his lap. I didn’t see his Glock but I was certain it was within easy reach. A long, hard-plastic box lay open on the floorboard. Pellini’s arsenal.