Chapter 101:


    “Ma’am, that ‘toy’ required FAA registration,” the officer said firmly.


    Isolde pushed through the crowd. Near the bench, a woman sat pressing a towel to a young boy’s ear. The towel was red.


    “Kaiden!” Isolde shouted.


    Kaiden looked at her. “You!”


    Isolde marched toward him. “Give me the controller. Now.”


    “No!” Kaiden screamed. “It’s mine! Daddy bought it for me! He said I can fly it wherever I want!”


    “You hurt someone!” Isolde reached for the controller.


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    Kaiden kicked her. Hard. His sneaker connected with her shin.


    “Get away from me, you witch!” Kaiden yelled. “Belle said you’re a witch!”


    Isolde ignored the pain. She grabbed his wrist.


    The ck Maybach screeched to a halt at the curb. Grayson jumped out. He didn’t look at the injured child. He didn’t look at the police. He walked straight to Kaiden.


    “Hey!” Grayson shouted. “Get your hands off my son!” He shoved Isolde back.


    “Grayson, look!” Isolde pointed at the boy on the bench. “He cut a child’s ear. That drone is a weapon!”


    Grayson nced at the bleeding boy, then reached into his jacket and produced a checkbook. He walked to the boy’s father, who stood nearby trembling with rage.


    “I’m Grayson Lancaster,” Grayson said, clicking his pen. “I’ll cover the medical bills, and I’ll add fifty thousand for your trouble. Let’s not make this a legal issue.”


    The father stared at him. “You think you can buy my son’s ear?”


    “I think everyone has a price,” Grayson said.


    While the adults were distracted, Kaiden’s eyes moved across the yground. He found Effie.


    She hade outside with her teacher and was standing near the slide, watching the scene with wide, terrified eyes.


    Kaiden hated Effie. He hated that Isolde loved her. He hated that she was quiet when he was loud.


    “Look at me!” Kaiden shrieked.


    He toggled the switch on the controller.


    The drone, resting on the grass a few feet away, whirred back to life. The four rotors spun up with a high-pitched, mechanical scream.


    “Kaiden, no!” Isolde screamed.


    Kaiden jammed the joystick forward.


    The drone lifted off and tilted aggressively. It didn’t rise. It surged sideways — straight toward Effie.


    It was moving fast. Too fast. The carbon fiber des were a blur.


    Effie froze. She stood perfectly still, watching ite.


    Isolde didn’t think. She didn’t calcte. She moved.


    She threw herself across the gap and tackled Effie, wrapping her body around her daughter and turning her back to the iing drone.


    Belle, catching sight of Grayson watching, let out a theatrical scream and ran forward — not to help, but to be part of the scene. She tripped over her own heels five feet short of reaching them.


    Whirrrr — THWACK.


    The drone mmed into Isolde’s left arm and back. The des shattered on impact, but not before they tore through her zer, her blouse, and deep into her flesh.


    Isolde made a sound of pure shock.


    Pain, hot and white, exploded up her arm.


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