“We need to go,” he said, his voice catching as he turned away. Nolan began to protest, but he glanced in the same direction and seemed to deflate.
“Oh—I forgot. Your uncle.”
“Your uncle, too,” said Simon hollowly, though Nolan had never really met Darryl. Shortly after Orion had killed their father, their mother had separated the infant twins to keep them safe. While Darryl had raised Simon, Nolan had been raised by the Alpha of the mammal kingdom, Celeste, who was Darryl and Malcolm’s mother and had adopted Simon’s father. Their mother’s choice had protected them, but it had also ensured he and Nolan had not only never met, but they hadn’t known about the other until they’d come face-to-face twelve years later.
A shrill cry filled the air, and Simon snapped to attention. A pair of peregrine falcons circled above them, growing closer with each lap.
“Simon and Nolan Thorn!” cried the first in a voice too human to be a normal animal. “The Bird Lord commands your presence.”
A shiver ran through Simon. “I told you so,” he said to his brother. “Come on, if we can reach the zoo before—”
“I don’t take orders from Orion,” called Nolan, and he spread his wings. “If you want me, you’re going to have to catch me!”
The falcon screeched—or maybe it was a laugh—and Simon groaned. “You’re an idiot,” he said as the brothers took off together, this time heading toward the zoo. “Peregrine falcons are the fastest in the sky.”
“And you’re …” Whatever Nolan said, it was lost in the wind. Or maybe he was focused so hard on flying that he hadn’t finished at all.
The falcons dived through the crisp morning air, quickly closing the distance between them. “Stop, in the name of the Bird Lord!” one shouted. Simon mentally urged Nolan to fly faster, but despite his towering confidence, he hadn’t gotten any better in the past thirty seconds.
As they approached Central Park, the golden eagle in front of Simon wobbled in the wind like a toddler taking his first steps, seemingly incapable of flying and dodging skyscrapers at the same time. Ahead of them loomed an old building called the Arsenal, which marked the entrance to the L.A.I.R. If Nolan could just make it that far …
But the falcons were closing in, and somehow, inexplicably, his brother was slowing down. He must have been flapping too much, or maybe he’d lost his wind. Either way, Simon’s insides constricted, and he knew what he had to do.
“Hey, birdbrains!” he shouted, breaking from Nolan’s trail and looping around to soar straight for the falcons instead. “Mind your own business.”
For a split second, the falcons appeared startled, but it didn’t last long. The slightly bigger bird adjusted its feathers to meet Simon head-on. An instant before they clashed, the falcon feinted, its talon catching Simon’s wing.
Burning pain tore through his shoulder, and Simon cried out as his body spun wildly, careening toward a nearby window. Dimly he could hear the falcon’s laughter, and it was only through sheer instinct that Simon managed to catch himself before he broke his delicate eagle bones on the glass.
“The Bird Lord wants them alive, you fool!” yelled the smaller falcon, who was getting closer and closer to Nolan. The larger one readjusted, heading for Simon once again, but this time Simon was ready.
He pushed his wing directly into the falcon’s path, throwing his opponent off balance as it tried to avoid a direct collision. Simon caught the falcon by the tail feathers and, using the golden eagle’s strength to his advantage, he spun the falcon toward the nearest roof as hard as he could.
The last thing he heard from the larger falcon was a pig-like squeal, and had Simon been in a better mood, he would have laughed. As it was, Nolan was still in danger, and as soon as he was sure the falcon had landed on the roof hard enough to take him out of the fight, Simon dived toward the zoo.
The golden eagle had nearly reached the Arsenal now, but to Simon’s horror, the second falcon was barely a feather’s breadth from catching Nolan. With an outraged scream, Simon pushed himself as fast as he could go, his body tightening and elongating as he used his momentum to plunge toward the pair. If the remaining falcon pulled on Nolan’s feathers, Nolan would undoubtedly spin out of control, and he didn’t have the skills to recover. This time, when he crashed into the ground, Simon had no doubt his chances of survival would be slim.
As Nolan passed over the edge of the Central Park Zoo, the falcon’s beak snapped at his tail feathers. Panic swept through Simon, and his lungs burned. “You’ll kill him!” he shouted.
The falcon hesitated, and that was all Simon needed. In that fraction of a second, Simon caught up to it, and he grabbed it by the wings and pulled up with all his strength, throwing the smaller bird into the empty sky and away from the struggling golden eagle. For one awful moment, as Nolan once again jerked unsteadily, Simon was sure the falcon had yanked his brother with it. But amazingly, Nolan continued on a too-fast course directly for the seal exhibit in the middle of the zoo plaza.
“Watch out!” yelled Simon, but it was too late. His brother made a splash landing in the shallow pool, his wing catching one of the large boulders looming in the center, and before Simon could do a thing, he disappeared under the water until only ripples remained.
2
A CRASH OF SEALS
Cold with fear, Simon landed on the metal railing surrounding the seal exhibit and immediately shifted back into a human. There would be no tourists in the park this early, and even if someone did see him, he didn’t care right now.
“Nolan!” He scanned the frigid pool, his weaker human vision unable to see into the dark water. “Nolan, where—”
His brother surfaced beside the boulder, his hair plastered to his face and his eyes squeezed shut in pain. Despite this, once he’d spit out a mouthful of water, he started to laugh.
“That was the coolest thing ever.”
Instantly Simon’s fear dissolved, replaced with blinding fury. He wasn’t usually the cautious one. When it came to the adventures he and his friends had been on recently, Simon was almost always the first one to suggest making a reckless move. But he always had a reason for it, and it was always for a greater purpose. “Are you kidding? They could have killed you. They could have killed us.”
As Nolan waded over, Simon gripped the metal railing and reached out to grab his arm, only for his brother to wince again. “Ow, ow, ow,” cried Nolan. “Don’t, please, I’m sorry—”
Simon let go. “You’re not sorry,” he snapped as he gently took his brother by the other elbow and helped him climb up to the edge of the railing. “You’re never sorry. Why did you want to go to Sky Tower anyway? Do you have any idea what those falcons could have done to you?”
“I knew you could take them,” said Nolan, his teeth chattering. “And if you couldn’t, then I would have—”
“You would have what? Shifted in front of them?” growled a voice much deeper than theirs. Standing behind Simon at the edge of the exhibit, his massive arms crossed and his bulging muscles visible even underneath his winter coat, was Malcolm.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and the kind of obvious physical strength that made even the bravest of bullies keep their distance. Not only that, but the scars that riddled his body told everyone he met that he knew how to fight and win. The first time Simon had seen him, he had been terrified of him. Now, months later, he knew Malcolm was about as likely to use his advantages against the boys as he was to turn into a peacock and start strutting. Which, considering his uncle could only shift into a wolf, wasn’t very likely at all.