Free Shift by Rachel Vincent

“Who else would try to frame us for killing a thunderbird?”
    Marc raised one brow in the deep shadows, silently asking if I were serious. “Milo Mitchell. Wes Gardner. Take your pick.”
    “If it was either one of them, he was acting on Malone’s behalf. It’s all the same.”
    My father waved me into silence and turned back to the thunderbird. “If we don’t know who’s accusing us, how can we defend ourselves? Or investigate the accusation?”
    Kai stared back steadily. “That is not our concern.”
    “It’s in the interest of justice,” I insisted. “If you guys value honor so highly, shouldn’t you be interested in justice?”
    “For Finn? Yes.” The bird nodded without hesitation, his good hand hovering protectively over the open wounds on his torso. “That is our only motive. For you? Not in the least.”
    “But you’re not getting justice for…Finn?” I raised my brows in question, and he nodded. “…if you’re attacking the wrong Pride.” Not that I was trying to pin the tail on another cat. I was just trying to get the name of our accuser. “Right?”
    Kai actually seemed to consider that one. “I agree. But that’s not my call.”
    “Whose call is it?” My father stepped up to my side. Marc was our backup, a constant, silent threat.
    “The Flight’s.”
    I frowned, uncomprehending. “So who decides for the Flight?”
    Kai scowled at my ignorance. “We do.”
    “All of you?” I couldn’t wrap my brain around it. Without a leader—someone to spearhead the decision-making process and keep the others in line—how could they function?
    My father had gone still, and I couldn’t interpret his silence, or his willingness to let me continue questioning the bird on my own. But I wasn’t going to complain. If I messed up, he’d step in. “What if you disagree? Isn’t there some sort of…pecking order?”
    The thunderbird nodded reluctantly. “It is only invoked in extreme cases.”
    “Like this one?” I spread both arms to indicate the bird’s assault on our entire Pride.
    That time Kai smiled, showing small, straight teeth he hadn’t possessed in bird form. “We were unanimous about this.”
    I shook my head as if to clear it, and my hands curled into fists. “You unanimously decided to hold an innocent child responsible for an unfounded allegation of murder that has nothing to do with her? How is that honorable?”
    The prisoner’s expression twisted into a mask of contempt. “We would not have hurt the child, even if she is our natural enemy. Nor would we have hurt you, if it could be helped. Finn was killed by a male cat, and in exchange for that information, we also agreed to try to remove the female cats from your encampment before the true melee begins.”
    Melee?! Were these ninja birds? Green Berets with feathers?
    My father went stiff on the edge of my vision, and Marc growled at my back. And for a moment, I was actually too surprised for words. But then indignation surfaced through my shock, singeing my nerve endings with infant flames of anger. “You agreed to remove us?” I turned to my father before the bird could answer. “I told you it was Malone.” He’d initially tried to get his paws on Kaci through political maneuvering, and when that didn’t work, he’d breached our boundaries to take her by force. My brother Ethan had died defending her, and Kaci’s blossoming sense of security was shattered. As was her confidence in our ability to protect her.
    “I think she’s right, Greg.” Marc stepped between us and I could see that he wanted to put an arm around me. But a public display of affection would be unprofessional in front of the prisoner. Even simply comforting me would make me look weak.
    My father nodded, convinced. Then he turned toward the bars. “You have no phones? So how can we get in touch with your Flight?”
    That cruel smile returned, though this time it seemed less confident. “You can’t. They can only be reached in person,