“You want to be a brother of the family so you can tell me to back off and let you talk to these pukes?” Seir asked. “Seems like a waste.”

“Sure, it’s fine,” Coalbelcher said. “We have a pre-existing relationship.”

Seir shrugged. He gave one of his guys a push on the shoulder, and they walked off. They were still close enough to get in our way if they wanted, not necessarily in earshot.

“You kind of disappointed me, Coal,” I said.

“Disappointed? Must be we got our wires crossed.”

His higher voice had a wry, mocking tone as a baseline, as if everything he said was sarcastic. It was hard to tell if he was serious about the wires getting crossed.

“Maybe I was too subtle,” I said.

“You said you wanted me to do for her what you did for me.”

“And?” I asked.

“And you got me out. Or close enough. Now I’m really out, I’m bristling for a fight. It’s all good. Won’t deny that. Did I misinterpret your intent?”

“No. You read that right. Except she’s still there, with the other civilians. You didn’t get her out.”

“Natalie?” Lookout asked. She looked up at me, head craning back.

I nodded.

On the stage above, Goddess was walking toward us. Half of her attention was on the horizon.

“I let her go. She got away for a bit. Then they caught her. I can’t keep letting her—”

He stopped as Goddess came within earshot. All voices in the vicinity stopped outright or went quiet. Even the rain was silent, bouncing off of the telekinesis.

Amy stood at the other end of the stage, framed by Cryptid’s black feathers, his rear legs to her left, one of his front legs planted on the ground to her right, head dangling so that his beak was near her elbow.

Couldn’t get rid of her.

“I can’t seem to be rid of you,” Goddess said.

The weird alignment of thoughts threw me for a momentary mental loop. “Sorry?”

“This meeting,” Goddess said, indicating Coalbelcher and the rest of us with an extended finger—Seir fucked off just enough that he was too far away to be included in the group. “Two groups that concern me. Where the fuck is Monokeros?”

She wasn’t just tense. She was pissed and tense.

“She pulled a knife on Lookout. It was over the top and unwarranted,” I told her. “We put her in time out. Two of Teacher’s thralls are in there with her, Blindside and Kingdom Come. You should get them, carefully, and get Monokeros if you absolutely have to, but I really recommend keeping her there.”

“I will be retrieving her, but it’ll have to wait, there are other concerns,” Goddess said. “My danger sense is emanating from your group, from you in particular. It’s identifying Coalbelcher and his group in a similar way. Tell me why.”