That was when my phone vibrated with a reply. I opened it, flipping quickly to get to the message.
Bracken:
Get your ass inside. There's a cold front coming in fast!
Rain:
Wilder may have found the thing!
Bracken:
Leave it. Rain, I can see the edge rolling. Where are you?
Rain:
The same place where Aspen was burned with iron last semester.
I hit send before the implications of that hit me - and hard. "Fuck! Guys! This is where Harper used the iron on Aspen. It's where she comes for mistletoe!"
Hawke turned, looking at the area around us. "Here?"
"Yes!" I pointed towards the gym. "We were there, she was over there." I moved my finger to aim at a spot in the grass. "And the girls tried to run around those trees right where..."
My words trailed off as Jack folded his wings and dove right onto a tree. "Bitch!" he yelled. "Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch!"
Then a crow above us cawed loudly. More took flight. From another tree, a group launched into the air. All of them were cawing and rattling in their own language. Coming from different directions, they were all aiming for us. And from the sounds of it, something was wrong.
But Jack was still in the tree. "Bitch!" Jack said again. "Rain! Morrigan. Bitch!"
"I think he found something," Hawke said, dragging me that way.
"They used to use our season to activate the signs," Wilder said. "And if anyone would remember that, it'd be Harper's mother! If I'm close enough, my affinity for Winter should allow Jack to see it!"
My phone vibrated in my hand again.
Bracken:
GET INSIDE!
A moment later, Hawke's went off. He swiped and his face paled. "Fuck, the storm's growing."
Keir said, "Poppy's calling her people back in. We need to - "
The wind slammed into us as the front edge of the cold front hit hard. I turned back, shocked to find those distant clouds had moved so much faster than I'd expected. They were almost right on top of us.
And worse, I could see the horses charging in the billowing forms. Their grey color matched the clouds, and they were coming fast.
"The gym!" Keir screamed. "Jack, we need to - "
"Bitch!" Jack said, hopping to the edge of a branch and taking off.
But there was something in his mouth. Flapping hard against the wind blowing into his face, Jack cut through the air, arced over my head and dropped the thing he was carrying.
It was still falling as he cried out, "Hunt!"
"Run!" Keir ordered, shoving Hawke's shoulder. "We need to get to the gym!"
I grabbed the falling object just as Hawke said, "It's locked," but he was already running.
