Page 22 of All My Witches
“I happened to believe we needed to get out of this mess before that,” Marcus argued. “It’s just … hey, what is that guydoing?”
Marcus’ attention moved back to the stage and, as with any good train wreck, I couldn’t stop myself from looking. It seemed Flynn was in the middle of stripping out of his jumper … and he had something clutched in hishand.
“I’ve decided to move Zeton to a fresh location, one that hasn’t been corrupted by greed,” Flynn announced. “The current location is a mess thanks to that man and his machinations. I’m not very happy with everyone else, either. I mean … couldn’t you have tested him with questions only I’d know the answersto?”
“We tried,” a woman in the crowd replied. “He said he hadamnesia.”
“And you believedhim?”
The woman shrugged. “He had a jumper. Where did he get the jumper if he wasn’tyou?”
“I believe you can find them at any cheap Halloween store,” Clove offeredhelpfully.
“It doesn’t matter,” Flynn bellowed. “I am moving the location of Zeton. Only those I trust will be allowed to come withme.”
“How do you expect to do that?” Teddy challenged, finding his voice. “You can’t steal the heritage of this mountain, of this group, and co-opt it for a new group simply because you wish it. Zeton is much more than a place to live. If the people leave here, their immune systems will crash. They haven’t been exposed to the outside world indecades.”
“The door is right there,” Landon offered. “It opens and closes pretty easily. I think they’ll befine.”
“Silence,” Teddy snapped. “You’re the reason this ishappening.”
“Me?”
“You distracted me. You called me away when I should’ve been watching theprisoner.”
“Hey, if you were the only one watching him for years on end, you have other issues.” Landon’s weariness came out to play. “Now, give me that diamond and we’ll leave you to your domesticdispute.”
“I will not.” Teddy was firm. “You can torture me, make me listen to Barbra Streisand music and eat turnips, I still won’t hand over thediamond.”
“Oh, let’s not get dramatic.” Landon rolled his eyes. “I really hate thisplace.”
“Besides, friend, that imposter is no longer in charge of the Diamond of Life,” Flynn announced. “Iam.”
The crowd gasped as Flynn held up what looked to be a very cheap hunk of cutglass.
“You can’t take that,” Teddy shrieked. “You’ll kill us if you do. The oxygenators won’t work without thediamond.”
“And yet we’re breathing now,” Landon pointed out. “In fact … the door is literally right there. All you have to do is walk through it … and stop at the nearest clothing store, because you’ll get your ass beat on the street if you wear that. You’ll befine.”
“It’s not going to be fine,” Teddy argued. “Zeton isfalling.”
“It is,” Flynn agreed, clutching the diamond to his chest. “It will be reborn, though. I will see itreborn.”
Landon lifted his hand in the air to get Flynn’s attention, but it was already too late. The flamboyant man was opening a door set in the papier mâché rock, stopping only to cast a dramatic look at the room of panicking people. “I wish I could’ve saved you from this. Your undoing is onyou.”
And, with that, he disappeared through thedoor.
“Great,” Landon spat. “Now we have to chase the freak with the diamond. I just know the next stop will be worse than this one … if that’s evenpossible.”
Teddy, who was doing a good impersonation of a bad actor himself, clutched at his neck as he fell near Landon’s feet. He clawed at his neck as if he was struggling for his very last breath. “Avengeus.”
“The door is right there!” Landon barked. “You’re not suffocating. It’s all in yourhead.”
“Come on.” I grabbed Landon’s arm and dragged him toward the stage. “You can’t fix this. It’s part of thestory.”
“But he’s acting as if he’s a fish out of water or something. It’sridiculous.”
“This whole thing is ridiculous,” Thistle said, leaving her father behind without a backward glance. “You might as well get used to it. We’ve got a long way to go before things get better. Aunt Tillie is barely getting started withus.”
