The Circle Girls

Chapter Thirty Two

Yasuko wasn't breathing.

"Shit, she's not—Tavi!" Breeze pounded on her chest with the flat of his palm, figuring out his way by feel alone. I don't know CPR, he realized, distress eating at him from the inside. Why hadn't he bothered learning? Wasn't that standard stuff?

"August, wait, shit." His brother hacked at the rug, "Libby?" The fabric gave under the knife, loosing a burst of cool, fresh air and light.

A thin slice of it illuminated Yasuko's face, which was paler than normal. Were her lips blue? Breeze scrubbed at them, trying to wipe away the blood.

Tavius cut away a lopsided triangle of the rug, holding up the edge with one hand. He carved a long line, then another, and bent his manufactured corner enough to stand. His hair was mussed, his braid coming undone, and he looked absolutely out of his depth. "Sonya! What are you doing? August, August!" He bent down and scooped up Yasuko's legs, helping Breeze maneuver her out.

The sorceress was at the doorway, white-faced and clutching the frame. A hand covered her mouth, and a horrible keening noise leaked out from between her fingers. The brothers followed her line of sight, and Breeze felt the air in his lungs freeze.

Redbud had managed to free herself on her own, presumably thanks to her sword. She'd climbed over and across the rug, and same as Tavius, she'd cut an opening near the fireplace, where Libby was. He was torn between holding up Yasuko and leaping for his sister, but Libby was already half-freed, lying awkwardly on her side.

There was blood.

Breeze choked. No. Please...don't...

His sister coughed, and red spurted from her lips. A piece of celery jutted up from the hollow of her throat. Her eyes met his, burning hotter than they ever had before, and he cried out in pain when he was forced to turn away.

He forced himself to look, but his body rebelled. His heart squeezed tight when he failed, again.

With an awful noise, Chelkov scrambled over the rug, tumbling over awkward, still-moving shapes. "No, no!" She screamed, arms outstretched.

And then Breeze noticed them. Feldick and Juniper, standing right next to Redbud. As if in slow motion, Juniper reached down and grasped the celery wand, yanking it out. Blood poured from the hole, and even Redbud flinched, taking a step back. Feldick, expressionless, knelt down and rolled Libby onto her back, forcing her to bend awkwardly as he did so. While he held her by the shoulders, Juniper lifted the celery in both fists over his head.

Libby turned her head to the side, towards her brothers. Tears streaked her cheeks, and blood bubbled from the wound in her throat. "B-boys—"

Juniper drove the weapon into Libby's chest, directly above her heart. She convulsed, and Chelkov shrieked. Tavius dropped his knife and gasped.

All of the blood left Breeze's face, and he felt even his fingers go numb. He wasn't sure how he managed to hold on to Yasuko, but all the strength had left his legs. Slowly, he eased to the floor, Yasuko draped over his lap. Unconsciously, he tightened his hold on her, as if he was adrift and she the life raft that kept his head over water. "...L-Libby?"

She didn't respond, and finally, finally, the Look Away spell died.

As did his sister.

Autumn Aspen. Princess of Feasts. The Beautiful Hearthwoman.

The Autumn Fairy King.

Libby.

Dead.

Tavius stumbled forward, catching Chelkov around the waist. The sorceress gripped his arm, tears streaming down her face, uttering a noise between a wail and a moan. "Please, Libby, no, Libby! Let me...Tavi, let go."

Breeze stared, hardly able to breathe. At his brother. At his sister. At his coworkers, his supposed...weren't they his friends? Why had they...why...

A hand landed on his shoulder, jarring him. He flinched, following the length of the arm to Emil's frowning face. "My condolences." He said, in a somber tone. "But we need Yasuko."

Breeze, his mouth dry, was unable to respond. What, even, could he say? His mind was blank, his ears able to hear but his brain incapable of comprehending what was said.

One of Emil's men bent down, unraveling Yasuko from Breeze's hold. He lifted her up, slinging her over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes and backed up. He offered Breeze a sort of conciliatory nod, then turned to Emil. "Sir."

Turning his head towards Redbud, Emil asked, "Ma'am?"

Breeze's mother glanced up, twitching as if she'd been electrocuted. She stared at Emil, blank-faced, but her disquiet lasted only a second before her traditional political mask consumed her expression. With a stiff nod, she gestured with her swordless arm towards the hall. "Of course. Pick any space you would like. We will accommodate you until your business is finished. I hope you will accept our sincerest...apologies for our part in this issue. And the mess." Redbud pointedly looked at the rug, but everyone knew she who she was talking about.

With grace that seemed ill-fitting on such a big man, Emil inclined his head. "And we offer our condolences for your..." His glance flashed to Libby. To Juniper and Feldick, who stood stock-still like puppets. "Loss." It wasn't genuine, but it was polite, in a distant way.

It didn't make Breeze feel any better.

Chelkov cried into Tavius' shoulder, clinging to him like a child. Breeze felt the same compulsion to hold onto someone, his hands opening and closing in his lap. The emptiness of them confused him.

He recalled, oddly, the feel of Yasuko's palm in his.

"She's trying to diffuse." He remembered telling Juniper.

If he was in her Circle, if he was a vampire, could they...share? Could she take up some of the heaviness that had found a place in his chest? A part of her must have believed it, as often as she'd tried to hold onto his skin.

Yes, yes she can.

But when he looked up, compelled to find Yasuko, he found that she was gone. Not just from her lap, but from the room. Emil and his entourage had left.

And they'd taken her with them.

❁

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