Chapter 4

4: 4

4

I recognized the steel-embossed seal on that credential at a glance.

This old woman was Jill James, the national heritage authority who showed up on the news all the time.

Protecting her wouldn't just prove my innocence and cut me clean away from these lunatics. It was also my chance to save a priceless piece of national heritage.

I threw every ounce of strength I had into slamming the top of my head straight up into Herman's jaw.

Then I lunged in front of Grandma James and threw my arms wide, shielding her behind me for all I was worth.

Grandma James froze for a second, then gripped my sleeve tight.

Out here, I was the only one standing on her side.

She said it low, just to me.

"Thank you, girl. We cannot let them get away with this tonight."

"Some expert, my ass!"

"I bet you're with Maxine. You brought a fake ID here to trick me!"

Carmen shouted us down, then lit the first sky lantern.

Grandma James saw it and screamed.

"No! Put it out, hurry!"

I started to rush over to stop her, and two of them grabbed me.

One clamped down on my wrist, sharp nails digging into the flesh and dragging out streaks of blood.

The other seized my hair and yanked me backward with everything she had.

Two fists were no match for four hands. They dragged me back by force.

I watched the lantern drift straight down and my heart clenched tight.

But it dropped into the lake, and both Grandma James and I let out a breath.

"See! I told you it was fine!"

Carmen laughed as she walked up to me, waved her hand, and the two of them hauled me aside.

She stepped over to the elderly Grandma James and started shoving and hitting her.

"Cold-blooded animals like you, trying to ruin my act of kindness!"

"You don't know a good thing when you see it, and now you're impersonating an expert."

Carmen shoved her hard, and Grandma James crashed down onto the gravel path, her elbow and knees torn open into a bloody mess.

Fighting through the pain, she fumbled a trembling hand into her pocket for her phone, trying to make a call.

Carmen saw it and stamped down on the back of the old woman's hand.

She wrenched the phone away and smashed it against a jagged rock beside them.

"You old hag, still trying to call the cops on me? Drop dead!"

The phone was wrecked beyond use.

"Carmen, you're insane!"

I was furious, fighting with everything I had to break loose and get to her.

"Maxine, that's what you get for sticking your nose in!"

The two of them pinned me down.

My back scraped raw against the rough bark, burning, but my hand stayed jammed deep in my pocket.

Crying out from the pain, I recited the statutes at the top of my voice, trying to scare them off.

"Shut your mouth! Like you're the only one who knows the law!"

Carmen slapped me across the face, her nails carving deep bloody lines into my cheek.

I looked at Herman with the last shred of hope I had, but he wouldn't meet my eyes, and he didn't move a muscle.

He took three steps back.

"Maxine, you brought this on yourself!"

"If you hadn't kept hounding us and making things worse, why would Carmen ever lay a hand on anyone?"

"Besides, we're in an open wind here. The sparks blew off into the lake ages ago. What could possibly happen?"

I shook with rage, thrashing against them.

Carmen dangled the lighter and a sky lantern in front of my eyes.

"I want you two to see this grand sight with your own eyes."

Seeing it, Grandma James, lying in a pool of blood, poured out her last bit of strength, dropped to her knees, and screamed until her voice tore.

"I'm begging you, don't light it! Someone's going to die!"

"Nothing anyone does can stop me from what I want to do!"

Carmen sneered, her eyes wild.

She lit a whole row of sky lanterns at once.

The lanterns rode the night wind up into the sky, rising and dipping.

"Did you get that on camera? I'm definitely going viral!"

Carmen laughed and directed Herman to keep filming, satisfaction spreading across her face as she moved to light the next row.

That was when a dozen red dots gathered on the center of Carmen's forehead, and a furious shout rang out from the side.

"Hands on your head, get down! Stop what you're doing, now!"