From where we stand, I can see that Richard Maxwell is shouting at the crowd, getting everyone riled up. But I can’t make out what he’s saying, seeing as the hoard around us is too busy shouting their own obscenities at Sutherland.

  “What did you do, Sutherland?” I ask, muttering to myself.

  “What’s that?” Beaker asks from beside me, having heard my voice.

  “Nothing. We need to get closer.”

  “Hang on,” Nancy says, revelation in her tone. “Isn’t that the guy we…”

  “It sure is,” I say. “His name is Marvin. And the other guy, in the sweater, his name is Richard Maxwell.”

  “He’s the one who couldn’t keep the crowd controlled, right?” Nancy asks.

  “Yeah.”

  “He seems to be doing a fine job of it now.”

  “Yeah.” And that’s what’s concerning me. Richard was quick to yell, at the Town Hall meeting, and seeing him shouting at the crowd now makes me wonder how much of this was premeditated or just a situation getting out of control.

  “Closer?” Beaker asks.

  “Closer,” I confirm, and we start to skirt the fringes of the crowd to get closer to the pick-up truck. Every few moments I glance over my shoulder to make sure the rest of my Party is following.

  Though Ryder does look like he’s in the middle of panicking a little. It’s the largest crowd he’s seen since this new world began, and that can be overwhelming. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I don’t know what that can be while also trying to save Sutherland.

  We hit a point where we can’t go through the edges of the crowd and have to start weaving between the people. They’re packed tight and many don’t want to let us through, but their dirty looks don’t bother me. I see more than one surprised moment of recognition, and realize that some of the Town Hall attendees are here, too. But there’s far more people in this mob than there was in the little community centre room.

  All at once, I realize I can make out what Richard is yelling.

  “—what other sort of powers that mind might have! For all we know, his ability can turn on us, reading our very thoughts and growing to control them! He claims that he’s acting in our best interest, but how can we trust anything that he says?”

  There’s a roar of agreement from the crowd. My understanding of what happened starts growing. They learned that Sutherland is a pre-cog and the town doesn’t like it.

  Doesn’t take a psychic to realize that most people don’t trust psychics.

  “What might come next? Does he expect us to run every decision by him, to see if it’s the right one? When does he start playing god, giving us instructions about who our children should marry or what we should do for work? Where does that leave free will?”

  The crowd cries out its agreement again, and a loud sigh comes from the paper bag over Sutherland’s head.

  “Really, Richard, I have better things to do with my time than try to run everyone’s life.”

  “Shut up, or I’m going to gag you.”

  “You’re not going to gag me.”

  “Are you saying that because you know? Or are you using your little mind tricks to convince me not to?”

  Someone from the crowd decides to get into the action: “Gag him!” a voice calls out.

  “String him up!” someone else yells.

  The whole crowd starts yelling, saying in no uncertain terms what terrible things they want to happen to Sutherland.

  “This is awful,” Nancy says from beside me. “We need to do something.”

  “What can we do without making everyone target us, instead?” Ryder says, tucked directly between and behind me and Nancy. He gets jostled by someone, and presses even closer.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “It’ll be a delicate balance required, that’s for sure,” Beaker says, standing on my other side.

  “But what if they’re right?” Savannah asks, leaning around Beaker. “Can he convince people to—”

  “No,” I say, a little harsh but sure. Obviously I can’t be sure, but I have a strong instinct. If Sutherland really could control people’s minds, why would he be tied up on a stage, seconds away from getting lynched? The fact that they can all think for themselves to be wary of him is proof that he’s not able to do it.

  “But you knew that he could tell the future,” Savannah argues.

  “I don’t know what I knew,” I admit. “But he gave me that address so that we could be here for this. Let’s get him out of this… prickly situation. Then we’ll have him tell us that he can or can’t do.”

  Nancy nods, but Savannah seems a little uncertain. I’ll have to worry about this later. For now, my greater concern is getting Sutherland out of this without putting anyone in danger.

  “Enough talking!” Marvin yells from the truck bed. He interrupted Richard, not that I knew what he had been saying. “Let’s get down to serious business. Who thinks we should tie this guy up to the back of the truck and take him for a drive!?”

  The crowd screams their approval, fists pumping in the air and hoots and hollers echoing the air. My ears ring in the aftermath, and Richard says something to Marvin that I miss. Marvin snaps back, grabs Sutherland’s arm, and pulls him forward off the truck. I almost worry that Marvin jumping down will make Sutherland go sprawling, but the man maintains his usual composure, even with the paper bag over his head and his arms tied behind his back. I share a quick glance with Beaker before we move forward simultaneously, trying to get a better view.

  It’s not easy going. The crowd all surged forward, and I’m dodging elbows and shoulders and trying to not get my feet stepped on. I have to body check someone a little to not lose Nancy in the crowd, and if not for Ryder’s hand having slipped into mine, I’d have no idea where he was.

  It feels like every bad crowd I’ve ever been in. Trying to get out of a sports venue after the game, trying to make my way through a crowded nightclub to get back to the bar, trying to worm my way across a mosh pit at a dirty, dark, underground concert.

  And then someone gets shoved, and falls into me, and I only stay upright because Beaker catches me. The man who tumbled into me pushes off again and nearly tackles whoever shoved him, and then I’m ducking punches as the whole crowd erupts into a proper mob.

  But when people are shoving and fighting each other, no one’s watching the trio at the truck, and we manage to get right up next to them.

  Marvin has untied Sutherland’s arms from behind his back and is retying them in front of him and attaching him to the back of the truck. Richard is there, trying to get into Marvin’s face, and based on the expression on the round man’s very red face, this wasn’t part of the plan. I can’t quite make out what they’re saying, shouting at each other as they are, as the cacophony of the crowd behind us makes it impossible.

  Sutherland is standing there, perfectly at ease, and I wonder if he already knows we’re here. Just how much is his magic able to tell him? If I think, Hi Sutherland! in his direction, will he be able to answer me?

  Before I can put my wondering to the test, though, Marvin yanks the rope securing Sutherland to the back of the truck. It holds, and Marvin smacks his hands against each other in a job-well-done sort of motion. And then he tries to loop around Richard toward the truck’s driver’s side.

  Then three things happen at the same time.

  Richard grabs Marvin’s arm.

  There’s just enough of a lull in the noise of the fight that I can hear, very clearly, Sutherland say, “Watch your step, Jane.”

  And I get body-checked from behind and go flying towards the arguing Richard and Marvin.

  Their argument stops as they both catch me, instinct taking over. Recognition takes over both of their faces.

  “You!” Marvin sneers.

  “You?” Richard says at the same time, almost posing a surprised question. “He was right,” Richard adds, looking over at Sutherland’s bagged-and-tied form.

  I seize my opportunity. “Stop this! Look at what’s happening out there!” I yell, throwing a hand out to point toward the crowd. Some of the fighting has stopped and Beaker, Nancy, Savannah, and Ryder, and acting as a bit of a barrier between the crowd pushing forward and those of us standing by the truck.

  Marvin doesn’t even look. “All I see is a town rightfully looking for justice against a dirty manipulator!”

  “Oh, please, you know that’s now how his powers work,” I say.

  “That’s what I keep saying,” Richard says.

  Marvin speaks over him. “So now you’re the expert?” he argues, his voice dripping venom. “That wasn’t the sort of things your little monster-seeking magic can know.”

  “Right, because we didn’t know I was lying about that,” I deadpan. Richard sputters, looking between the two of us. And what Marvin claimed his magic to be comes racing back at me. “The real question is, were you? I thought you were a human lie detector. Then clearly you know that Sutherland isn’t lying about what his magic can do.”

  Marvin’s eyes widen, and Richard sputters again, louder.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Richard. Did you not know what magic you were aligning yourself with? Hate to break it to you, mister hammer-hand, but you’re the nail in this situation.” I laugh, amused at my own comeback.

  And happy to give a dig to both of them.

  Richard takes a step forward, the hammer-hand in question forming with alarming quickness. “Look here, you little brat—”

  I pull a dagger from my weapons inventory and have it at Richard’s neck before his threat lands.

  “No, you look here,” I snap at Richard, taking a step forward. He takes one back, so my blade doesn’t touch his skin, his hammer-hand still raised. “My friends and I are going to untie Sutherland from this clusterfuck, and then you and your little boyfriend here can—shit.” Because while Richard and I were arguing, Marvin got away from us. The truck flares to life and the engine rumbles, and before I can even step away from Richard, Marvin floors the gas and the truck rockets forward.