Chapter Thirty Three

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Chapter Thirty Three

“And that’s what happened,” I said, folding my hands behind my back and bowing my head. “That’s why I had to do it.”

McGus sat in his wheelchair on the other side of the training room, his expression dark.

The longest twenty four hours of my life had finally ended, and I was me again. After flushing Cousin Gumdrop, I had made my way to the meetup spot as stealthily as I could. Somehow, Ethan had managed to get Con—and even more unbelievably, himself—there without being followed, and then we’d retreated into Mauldibamm’s sewers to wait for our medicine to wear off.

Con had been too ashamed to say anything the entire time.

McGus let the silence stretch for a minute, and then he shook his head. “Stupid, stupid girl. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Duh, I just told you the whole story, my sarcastic side immediately wanted to say, but I forced it down. What right did I have to crack wise right now? I had assaulted the Grand Lark. I had freed a convicted murderer.

In short, I was just as much a criminal as Con was. I didn’t regret anything, not even a little. Even now that I knew what he had done, the thought of Cousin Gumdrop executing my brother made every molecule in my body sick. But that didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be consequences. And if being stripped of my title as Hunter was what it cost to save Con’s life, then I would…well, it wouldn’t be happily, but I’d do it.

But what would happen after that? I was fairly certain McGus wouldn’t rat me out to the council. That would undo everything I had fought for yesterday, not that I expected him to care about that. The grumpy old Green held no love for the Council of Shnoob, and he’d see tattling on me as too much of a pain in the butt. But that wouldn’t stop him from firing me—and truth be told, I almost wanted him to. How could I look Grandpa Teddy in the eye after what I’d done?

Poor Grandpa Teddy. The complete and utter betrayal I’d seen on his face yesterday felt like taking an ice cold chainsaw to the chest. I wondered if he hated me, but common sense shut that down immediately. He would never, could never, hate me, and that almost made the whole thing worse.

“Do you have any idea,” McGus went on, “how many different laws you’ve broken? How many life sentences you would get if someone turned you in?”

“No,” I answered truthfully. I could name a few, sure, but I didn’t doubt that there were about three or four dozen others that I had never even heard of.

“And for what?” he demanded, wheeling his chair over so that he was sitting right in front of me. “To set a murderer loose just because you brought him home one day like a lost puppy?”

“He’s my brother!” My voice was quiet, but my cheeks turned blue with anger at his words. “And I told you, he was being forced by Legion!”

He huffed derisively. “Every criminal has an excuse. You’re no exception.”

I didn’t argue. He was right. Con being my brother was just an excuse. A good excuse, if you asked me, but an excuse, nonetheless.

With a sneer, McGus wheeled himself away, staring silently at the wall in thought. A moment later, a hand touched my shoulder, and I turned to see Ethan standing behind me. His other hand was holding Jade’s. Con and Paura stood farther back, as if McGus wouldn’t realize they were there if they pressed their backs hard enough up against the wall.

“Henry,” Ethan whispered to me, “are you sure you want to do this?”

I managed to give him a smirk. “Maybe you should’ve asked me that before I spilled the beans.”

“Henry…”

I sighed. “Yes. Well, no, I don’t want to do this. But I need to. McGus…” I glanced over to make sure he wasn’t looking. “McGus put his faith in me when he chose me as his successor. And he’s right, everything I did yesterday was against the law. If he thinks that means I’m not worthy to be the Hunter, then he has the right to…”

I stopped, not able to force myself to finish that sentence.

“And why shouldn’t I?” he asked, turning to face me again. I should’ve known he would hear me anyway. “I’ve always known you were an idiot, Henry, but you went farther yesterday than even I expected you to ever go. Too far. Do you think I can, in good conscience, pass on my title to someone who would even think about doing the things you did?”

I didn’t answer.

He wheeled himself back over to me, his green eyes cold and piercing. “Well? Can you give me one good reason not to kick your sorry butt to the curb right now?”

The room went silent. I thought. I probably thought harder about that than I’d ever thought about anything before. I had done it for my family. Because I couldn’t stand to watch Cousin Gumdrop have her way with Con. Because even though Con had killed innocent people, that didn’t stop him from being my brother. I wanted to say that I’d done what I thought was right, but that tasted like a lie to me. Doing what was right would have meant turning Con in and letting him face justice. As much as I hated to admit it, even the fact that he’d been forced into doing this didn’t matter. He was a murderer, and I’d set him free.

I reached to my belt and drew Splatsy, still in her ping pong paddle form. With all my options nixed, what did I still have? Was there a single reason I could give McGus to overlook my crimes and let me keep being the Hunter?

“No,” I whispered, and held Splatsy out to him. Tears poured down my cheeks. Every bone in my body was demanding that I snatch Splatsy away before he could take her from me. But I ignored it. This was what I deserved. This was less than I deserved. But I had known it was coming the moment I’d swallowed that pill, and now it was time to—

McGus pushed Splatsy back toward me.

“Can’t give me a single good reason, huh?” he asked. I gaped at him, and to my utter surprise, his expression softened. “Then how about I give you one?”

“W- What…” I stammered.

“You protected someone you love,” he said softly. “You went up against odds you didn’t think you could overcome, but you didn’t let that stop you. You knew there would be consequences, but you did it anyway.”

“But…But I…The council!” I protested.

“Bah!” He waved his hand, wheeling himself back to the center of the room with the other. “I’m gonna tell you a secret, Henry: what the council doesn’t know won’t hurt them. If you don’t go running your mouth in front of those fools, then I won’t either.”

The world was spinning around me, and I stumbled backwards. I would have fallen if Ethan and Con hadn’t rushed forward to catch me.

“This is insane!” I muttered, my eyes wide.

McGus gave a harsh laugh. “That’s the understatement of the century! Your stupidity must be rubbing off on me. Or maybe that Legion guy lowered my IQ by a couple dozen points when you brained me.”

“But why?”

“You still don’t get it?” He shook his head in exasperation. “Henry, you’re the Hunter! The Hunter’s job is to protect the people who can’t protect themselves! The council might call you a Maiam Hunter, but in my opinion—and my opinion’s the only one that matters—our responsibilities go beyond that. If the one who needs to be protected is a ghul,” He shot a sidelong glance at Con, who shrank back, “then it’s your job to save his ugly bat-shaped butt. And if those old farts at the Grand Lark end up getting in the way, then I say that’s their problem.”

Wandering over to a chair, I sat down heavily in it. My brain was doing backflips inside my skull. Was I really still the Hunter? It didn’t sound real. I’d come here ready and willing to give up everything. To me, there had been no way out of this. To have that way out handed to me—and by McGus no less—was enough to make me feel like I was…

I poomph-ed Splatsy out, keeping her at one-handed length, and slammed her into my face.

“What the hell?” Ethan yelled, running over and snatching her out of my hand. “Henry, have you lost your mind?”

“Sorry,” I said, stars dancing in front of my eyes. “I had to shank moore I…had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

He dropped Splatsy on the floor, shaking his head in disbelief. “Next time, try pinching your arm!”

“Did you ever stop to wonder why I chose you instead of Alicia?” McGus went on. “That’s the reason.”

“Because I hit myself with hammers?” I asked, rubbing my forehead.

He did a double take. “Wha- no, you ignoramus! Because Alicia couldn’t protect someone if their life depended on it. Literally. All that ever mattered to her was getting the kill. A hundred innocent people could die in the attempt, and she wouldn’t even bat an eye.”

I looked down at my lap. McGus probably thought he was making some grand revelation. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d figured that out myself yesterday.

“So,” I finally asked, “what now?”

McGus’ expression immediately turned hard again. “Now, we go to the Grand Lark.”

I was on my feet in an instant. “But you said you wouldn’t—”

“I’m not!” he snapped back. “But apparently something else has happened since yesterday. Something they think you need to hear about immediately.”

My stomach rolled over. In light of everything else that had happened, what could possibly be so important that I’d need to hear about it now? Short of sending me to prison for a billion years, of course…

McGus pulled out the Escher Cube. I hadn’t asked, but I assumed they’d found it in the pile of clothes Cousin Gumdrop had left behind. But before he could give it a twist—

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to get lost.”

I turned to find Con and a klaon woman I’d never seen before standing by the door. Con was back in his klaon form again, which had surprised me. After everything he’d said, I had assumed he’d never take another NuYu pill again.

“I hope you understand,” he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, “but I’m not exactly chomping at the bit to see the Council of Shnoob again.”

“You don’t have to leave,” I protested, crossing the room to take his hands in mine. “Just wait here at McGus’ place until we get back.”

“No! Henry, I…” He paused, and I could see tears brimming in his eyes. “I need to go. We, Paura and I, need to go.”

I shook my head. “Go? Go where?”

“I don’t know yet. But I can’t stay here. Not after everything I’ve done.”

“How about home?” I asked hopefully. “Ethan and I will see you when we—”

“Goodbye, Henry.”

I stopped short, tears stinging my own eyes again. I could argue as much as I wanted, but I could see the conviction in his eyes. I may have cleared his name, but he had still killed those people. The guilt of what he’d done was going to weigh on him for the rest of his life. He couldn’t go home, not when he would have to face Mom and Dad every day. They would forget all about this the moment word reached them that he was innocent, but living that lie would be more than he could take. Sleeping in their house, eating their food, knowing day in and day out that he was a murderer.

It was better if he just started a new life somewhere else.

I hugged him. “You stay in touch, you hear me? You’d better text me a hundred times a day so I know you’re all right!”

“I’ll tr—”

“If you don’t, I’ll come find you and drag you back home! So promise me!”

He hesitated, and then hugged me back. “I promise.”

“I love you, Con.”

“I love you too. You’re…” He squeezed me tighter. “You’re the best little sister I could ever ask for!”

After a long—but not nearly long enough—minute, I let him go. Taking a step back, I sniffled, wiped my eyes, and asked, “So, where’d Paura run off to?”

“Seriously?” asked the klaon woman.

I smiled sadly. “Just kidding.”

And without another word, the two of them left. I didn’t follow. I just listened as their footsteps echoed down McGus’ hall, and his front door closed.

There was a very good chance I would never see my brother again.

But maybe that’s just how things needed to be.

Next Chapter: 9/28/24