Page 100 of Broken Veil
“It’s really not his fault for messing with the hives,” Carys said. “It’s just a bear.”
“It’s a possessed fae bear,” Duncan said, “that tried to kill me once.”
“And you took half his ear off,” Carys said. “Don’t you think it’s kind of even?”
“No.” Duncan strapped the sprayer pack on his back and covered his face with another bandanna. “This smells vile.”
“According to Jibril, too many fumes will be harmful to the hive,” Carys said. “So Lachlan will scare the bear away from the hives, get it back into the forest, and then we start chasing it toward the gate, waving the rags at it and spraying the underbrush.”
Duncan was looking a little more than skeptical.
“I’m telling you, they really hate this smell.” Laura held her arms up. “Be big and loud and make a lot of noise.” She looked him up and down. “Easier for you than us probably.”
Duncan rolled his eyes. “Once we get into the forest, how are we going to know where the gate is?”
“Jack said he’d make it clear,” Carys said.
“How?”
“I don’t know, okay?”
Duncan leaned down. “It seems there are a lot of unknowns in this entire operation, Carys.”
“The one I planned with literally like an hour’s warning?” she whispered. “Yeah! I’m not surprised!”
She dunked her gloved hands in the bucket of ammonia and grabbed a rag. Oh. That was terrible. “Will you just signal Lachlan now? That bear is going to lose interest in the hives and wander off if we wait too long.”
Duncan glared at her, but he pursed his lips and hooted like an owl.
An echoing sound came from the hedges.
“Okay,” Carys whispered. “Good luck, everyone. Let’s go scare a bear.”
By the time they crept from behind the hedges, the bear was lolling on the ground, drunk with honey and batting at the angry bees that buzzed around his face, so when Lachlan popped out from behind a bush and yelled at the beast with a great roar, the animal started and jumped back.
Lachlan ran at the bear with reckless bravado, banging his sword against a piece of metal he must have found in the brush. “Get out!” he shouted. “Back where you came from, beast!”
Laura ran beside him and raised her gloved hands in the air. She started waving two stinky rags over her head. “Hey!” she shouted. “Hey, you! Get out of here!”
Duncan took the right flank of the clearing while Carys went left.
The massive animal rose on two legs for a moment before it let out a roar and turned in circles, knocking over half a dozen boxes before it lumbered away from the hives and into the forest.
“It’s working!” Carys shouted.
“Hey, bear!” Duncan waved one arm and boomed with a thick brogue, “Away an’ bile yer heid, ya numpty!” He started spraying the underbrush in an attempt to corral the bear.
Carys was shouting and waving at it. “Get out of here!” She clapped her hands together, which only made the ammonia scent worse. She nearly gagged, but she kept shouting. “Out, out!”
The bear seemed more confused than anything as it ran on all fours. It paused at the edge of the clearing and nearly looked like it would turn back, but Lachlan raised his sword and shouted again.
“Away, foul beast!” He yelled like a marauder, banging his sword against the metal. The clattering sound had the desired effect, and the bear started again, turning for a moment before it loped slowly into the trees.
“Keep it away from the hives!” Carys shouted.
Laura positioned herself at the edge of the clearing and waved her arms over her head, each hand holding a stinky, ammonia-soaked rag. “And don’t come back!”
Carys couldn’t smell anything other than the stinking scent of ammonia as she ran into the trees. Every sense was overtaken by the fumes and the adrenaline coursing through her system.
