“Good luck, babe,” he says, offering his most annoying term of endearment. This time she had it coming.
“I don’t need luck,” she says, adjusting her mask. “I have you watching over my shoulder.”
*
The team agreed to be on the float with Demetria, and although they’re in their suits, that is not their costume.
Yes, costume.
Even before dusk, lanterns light up the streets, bringing a glow to the warring zone between two neighborhoods.
“Damn. I always knew you were a smoking hot babe, but this takes it to a new level.”
“Casper. Shut up.”
“I can’t. You look like every dream, fantasy, and nightmare of mine all rolled up in one. Promise me, when we finally meet, you’ll wear that, okay?”
“I don’t know what’s hotter,” Owen adds, “Seeing Echo in that fairy get-up or knowing she’s got more firepower under her skirts than any of the police out here tonight.”
“You too?” she asks him. He nods and doesn’t hide his appreciation of her in the ridiculous outfit. “And is that firepower thing an innuendo?”
He raises his eyebrows.
“Well, I may be wearing this stupid, glittery abomination but she didn’t get very creative with you, did she?”
Owen gets to wear his suit—only slightly modified. He wears a jaunty cap and carries a quiver full of arrows on his back. His mask is off, just like all of theirs, so he looks less menacing. There’s no doubt about it. Demetria dressed him up like Peter Pan.
The whole float, to her absolute unsurprise, is an homage to Neverland. And sure enough, Astrid is Tinkerbelle.
Built on a flatbed truck, there’s no doubt who the star of the night will be. Demetria wants all eyes on her and her magical playground. In the front is a giant tree with a house tucked into the branches. Animals and butterflies flutter about. The back portion is a ship, Captain Hook’s, and although James is long dead, she’s made a new captain, with a perfect smile and a gleaming hook.
Draco.
None of it is real, simply fabrications created by WIND-E’s amazing creative department, but there’s a hint of realism to the whole thing makes Astrid nervous.
“Where’s Quinn?” she asks. He’d been given an outfit of his own. One of the Lost Boys that follows Peter. There are other children milling around—kids handpicked by Demetria to ride the float. Draco told her they were an insurance policy to keep Kincade and Blaze from launching fire balls at the float. Astrid isn’t sure it’s enough to keep him in check. He’s endangered children before.
“Five minutes!” Demetria breathlessly announces. She’s Wendy Darling, of course. Dressed in a beautiful light blue nightgown. There’s a matching blue bow in her hair and one on the back of her gown. Every minute that passes, Astrid feels like she’s stumbling more into the absurd.
As she takes her position on the float, Mayor Steed walks up the ladder and greets Demetria. The woman gives her most dazzling smile, but Astrid knows she’s nervous. This is the man holding the key to her plans.
The crowd is enormous. People from all parts of the city came to the parade. Lanterns of all shapes and sizes light up the air. Children sit on their parent’s shoulders and hold the glowing paper orbs in the air. They look like animals, artwork, and sparkly designs. The entire place looks like a fantasyland—just like what Demetria wanted, and Astrid can’t help but be glad for her.
A microphone is passed up to the Mayor, who raises his hand to the bustling crowd. Voices lower, and he greets the city.
“Thank you all for coming to this exciting event! This crowd is bigger than we expected, and I have to thank Ms. Holmes for donating her time and effort into organizing such a spectacular night for the residents of our city.” Demetria bows and waves at the cheers. Astrid scans the crowd, noticing the huge number of police. Blue lights flash down the side roads and many officers manage the crowd.
The mayor is on his way down the ladder when she stops him. “Have you made any decisions about the properties?”
“The committee meets on Monday. I think if things go well tonight, you’ll get the news you want.”
At that, her smile is like a ray of sunshine. “Don’t worry Mayor Steed, it’s going to go off without a hitch.”
Astrid senses the relief in Demetria. And because of that, she hopes that everything is going to be okay. She’ll get her land. Take back over the Swamp. Kick out the builders and gentrifiers. She’ll eliminate the greedy, the yoga shops, and organic breweries. She’ll save her community.
She glances across the stage as they’re told to get into position. Draco up on the ship. Quinn and Owen up in the tree. Demetria pets a stuffed fox on the head, and Astrid thinks maybe they’ll get through the night and have a little fun.
Except two things happen.
First, she spots Jensen in the crowd and their eyes connect.
Then Casper speaks into her ear.
“Kincade just messaged.”
“What does he want?”
“The buildings. Demetria. To rain terror down on the city. You know, standard bad guy stuff.”
“And?” The float starts to move, following the marching band from Crescent City High. Astrid braces herself so she doesn’t fall.
“He sent a map of the city down Harbor Line. There are explosives all over. He’s not going to let Demetria have her day.”
“Fine,” she says, catching Quinn and Owen’s eyes. “Then we’ll just have to stop him.”
But it’s too late because the first explosion rocks the float and the buildings around them. And if Astrid ever thought Demetria would sit back and let her team handle it, she was dead wrong.
“What was that?” Demetria says while waving. “Did you feel that?”
“That was Kincade,” Astrid tells her.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Astrid
The ship built into the float cracks in half and Draco senses it just in time. He jumps off his perch and lands next to her on the front part of the float. The contents of the boat pour out. Demetria knew he would show and she brought weapons.
“What are those things?” Astrid asks, staring at the flying objects. She’s pulled her mask over her eyes. The others do the same. In seconds, they’re linked up.
“You know bad things live in fairy tales too, right?”
“Casper, find Jensen for me,” she says over the com. He’s got facial recognition software. “I need him to get out of here.”
“Shit,” Owen says, running over in his attempt to get out of the way of the tree that has now come to life. The trunk grows legs and steps off the float, entering the crowd. The screams, a mixture of confused excitement and fear, are so loud Astrid covers her ears.
“Draco.” He looks at her. “Go neutralize Demetria or I’ll have to.”
He nods, but they both know it’s too late. She’s standing in the middle of the float like a woman on fire. Her dress spins around her ankles and she holds her hands up, directing her weapons into the city.
Quinn snatches one of the small creatures out of the air and holds it up. It’s small but alive. It looks like a lizard. No. It’s a—
“Fucking dragon,” Owen says.
Quinn tosses it off the side of the float and it expands mid-air, growing to the height of a small building. Smoke billows from its long snout. Its feet land hard on the ground, cracking the asphalt.
Two more explosions rock the Harbor Line and off in the distance a huge ball of fire shoots toward the sky. Police and firefighters run toward the flames, while those caught in the middle, between the explosions and the float, are trapped. The police try to manage them, but the hysteria is too big. “Pan, help these people. Calm them down. Make them see whatever it is they need to see to get to safety.”
“Got it,” he replies, moving to the edge of the float. The dragon ambles ahead of them, on the heels of the marching band.