Free Shades of Avalon by Carol Oates

would do to us if we were exposed?”
    “By ‘they’ you mean humans?”
    “Haven’t you seen any science fiction or fantasy movie ever? Humans don’t take kindly to anything they don’t understand. That much hasn’t changed since Guardians were banished underground.”
    “I get that.” Amanda sighed, giving in a bit. “I get that you’re worried, but where does that leave us? At war, that’s where—each side thinking they have some inherent right to be on top and neither better for it. You need to get this out of your system. You can’t fight a battle on two fronts and expect to come out unscathed. We have enough on our plate with Zeal. Please don’t become what you hate most so you can destroy it. You’re better than that.”
    She walked to the end of the table near the door, and I followed her lead, reaching out to her. Amanda halted as though she’d slammed into a brick wall and held her hands up defensively. She frowned, her eyebrows pulling down. I let my hands fall to my side, and the tightness in my chest intensified at her rejection.
    “You should take a walk,” she suggested, unwilling to meet my eyes.
    With that, Amanda hurried from the room. I stood there listening to her brisk footfalls down the stairs, desperate to follow her but also wanting to give her the space she asked for. The conflicting desires tore at my insides, twisting my stomach into knots.
    I relented with a brooding grunt and slunk from the house.

Chapter 7
    Enemy Mine
    I P AUSED O UTSIDE , looking up and down the street. I wasn’t familiar with the area. Going back to the hotel came to mind first, but felt foolish, like running away. I just wanted to give Amanda a little space, however reluctant I was to leave her side. So I took her advice and began walking.
    She had to know her concern about me becoming like Zeal or even Lucien, the Council leader who tried to kill Triona before she ripped his heart out, was way off. Maybe I’d been over-zealous recently…okay, there was no maybe about it, but my points were valid. My concerns about exposure and keeping the humans already in our lives protected from the lingering dangers of the Guardian world were real. I was right, but Amanda was right too.
    I got about twenty paces down the street before I changed my mind and turned in the other direction.
    “Hey, you!”
    I swung around to see Emma jogging down the street after me, still wrapping a gauzy scarf around her neck. The weather had warmed, but dark gray clouds closed in overheard and threatened rain. Emma wore a waterproof jacket that came down past her hips and gave the impression she had been washed in glistening black oil. She caught up with me and huffed out a couple of rushed breathes.
    “You should go back to the house,” I told her firmly. “You shouldn’t be out walking alone right now.”
    Emma scrunched her nose. “I’m not alone. Besides, we’ll be back before they notice I’m missing.”
    I hummed, unsure, weighing up the options. If I sent her back, she would be one more person for Triona to look out for, although I suspected John could look after himself. I had to think of Amanda. Emma would be safe with me.
    “I have no idea where I’m going,” I said with a casual shrug and began walking again.
    “Don’t worry,” she replied. “I’ll take care of you.”
    I chuckled at the irony.
    “I’ll have you know, I placed at the national level in archery for my age two years running before I stopped competing. John used to say I could shoot an arrow before I could hold spoon.”
    I held my hands up and smiled. “I get it. You’re a bad ass with a bow. Where’s your weapon?”
    Emma scratched her temple and laughed. “You got me. I’ll just have to use brute force.”
    “Why did you stop competing?”
    “It didn’t seem so important when my brother started acting weird.”
    “Weird in what way?” I asked.
    She wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips as though smelling something foul. “Like I