Chapter 25
"Okay," Max said, "everybody with wings, we're out of here."
She took off, closely followed by Fang. Then Nudge and Iggy, and Gazzy and Angel, Imogen and Sean, Jax and Falon.
Airy fluttered above me and ruffled my hair. "Come on, Auntie Max," she said.
Yep, it's me. Remember when I penned those chapters in the second book? Didn't that freak you out? That's what I was going for.
I pushed off and gathered into the final tip of our formation—it makes a ton of people flying together a lot easier. Having never flown with anybody before, I'd never known that.
"Tooey," Sean called. "Get in position."
"I am in position," I said.
"No, ye're not," he said. "I've been flyin' since I was five, I know what a formation looks like." He smirked.
"Dude, I'm five years old now, and I bet I know more about real life than you ever will," I told him.
"I'd say I've learned a couple o' things lately," he countered. "Ye ever had two broken legs?" He tapped his knees. He was completely healed.
"No," I said.
"I'm thinkin' that's part of makin' me a man, aye?" Sean said. He looked me over.
"What are you lookin' at?" I wondered.
"Nothin', just… good thing for me ye don't look five years old."
I stumbled in the air. "Oh, dude, that's just wrong."
"Now we know how we keep getting found," Nudge said.
"How's that?" Gazzy asked.
"There's no tracking devices on any of us. Headmaster can do anything, just like Keegan. He can find us whenever he wants."
"Then if he wants us, why doesn't he just take us?" Gazzy wondered.
No one had an answer to that.
"You know what I'm thinking?" Iggy said.
"Sup?" Max muttered.
"Putting some pieces together," Iggy said. "Let's rewind. Okay, four years ago, Jeb does the Voice. I wasn't there, but I'm given to understand that that's impossible. We good so far?"
"Sure," Max agreed.
"Okay! And then we find out that Headmaster also uses the Voice. Right?"
"Well, I always knew that," Nudge offered.
"Well, sure. Now, Jeb has always been immune to Angel's powers. And Headmaster—just as powerful as Keegan, can counteract her. And on top of that, Keegan's always trusted Jeb, and then suddenly he pops out and she's terrified."
Max led us to a comfortable clearing, and we all set down, staring at Iggy.
"Come on, we're twelve very smart people," Iggy said. "Well, thirteen—sorry, Cell. You got me? What kind of schnooks do they take us for? Headmaster and Jeb are the same dude!"
Max sighed and snipped some stray hairs out of her eyes with her razor fingers. "We follow your logic, Iggy, but I don't know if that's right. Headmaster wants to kill me. I don't know what the hell Jeb wants, but he doesn't want me to die."
"You sure?" Angel said. "Maybe he uses Headmaster for his real desires, while 'Jeb' is an undercover bit."
"Or," Fang offered, "maybe Headmaster is an act—pretending to want to kill you as a test. Confident that no matter how hard he tries, or pretends to try, you'll be strong enough to keep away."
Sean turned to me. "They're kiddin', right?"
"'Fraid not," Iggy said. "Fact is, that's a lot less convoluted than some of the stuff Jeb's thrown at us. Well… at her." He pointed to Max.
"Yeah," Max agreed. "Take Max here." She pointed to me.
"Tooey," I corrected her.
"I told you, I don't like that. Anyway, they sent Max out here, they tell her she's here to replace me, they tell me I have to kill her. And I for one still think it came out exactly the way they wanted it to."
"You mean, with you sparing me?" I said.
"Yeah."
Sean smiled. "Well, I'm glad ye did."
I stared. "What in the hell are you doing? Stop hitting on me, you punk."
He backed away. "Just flirtin'," he said quietly. "I do it t' everybody."
"Tooey, be kind to me brother," Imogen said.
Right. I didn't want to offend Imogen, but damn, Sean was some kind of irritating.
"Immy, your teeth," Max said suddenly.
Imogen felt her teeth. They were all needle sharp, perfect for catching bugs or scraping up fruits or whatever it is bats do.
"Damnation," Imogen breathed. "I'm scared. Can we get this fixed?"
"Maybe," Max said. "I don't know about putting you in Jeb's hands anymore, though. After Keegan freaked out about him…"
"I think the ears and the teeth are sexy," I offered.
"I want it t' go away," Imogen murmured.
"But I still don't think Jeb is Headmaster," Max said. "Keegan called him 'Monte'. Keegan!"
Keegan appeared. I still wasn't used to her! And she never spoke to anyone but Max. I didn't like that favoritism. I mean, we're all here.
"Keegs, you okay?" Max said gently.
"I dunno," Keegan muttered. "Headmaster freaks me out. I never knew there was someone out there like me."
"Do you know a Monte?" Max asked.
Keegan looked up, surprised. "Yeah. Monte Beck, my father. Why?"
"Headmaster told you that you were squandering your gifts, and you called him Monte."
"Did I?" Keegan said. "I… I don't even remember that. No, Monte can't be Headmaster."
"Where is your dad?" Max asked.
"I… huh. I don't know. I haven't thought about him once, since… oh, God. But he's not Headmaster! That's not possible."
"Keeg… Keegan!" Max said loudly. "You've gotten yourself pretty fried, Keeg. Maybe you should go to sleep."
Keegan nodded. "Okay," she muttered. "Thanks, Max. I'm gonna go to sleep…"
She vanished. No sound, no imagery, not even fading. She was just gone. I guess she was too tired for her usual CGI.
"Come on," Max said. "Let's find a town with a hotel for everybody on Needlenose II. Then we'll keep better watch over them."
Everybody went flying again. "Hey, Max," Max said. "You okay?"
"Me?" I said. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Nothing. Just, this isn't what you signed up for. Things were pretty good for a second, and you pretty much missed that. I hope you get what's coming to you, what you've always wanted."
"I think we all deserve whatever we want," I said.
"Yeah," Max agreed. "Just saying, I hope you do."
I didn't know what the hell she was talking about. I think I liked her better when she was a sarcastic bitch.
Nah, I liked her either way, actually. This was exactly what I'd signed up for. A sister.