The Tyrant's Tomb

From one of her gardening-belt pouches, Meg pulled a fistful of seeds. “I
guess we’d better hurry, then.”
I was not familiar with Jack and the Beanstalk.
It didn’t sound like a proper Greek myth.
When Meg said we’d have to use a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk exit, I didn’t
have a clue what she meant, even as she scattered handfuls of seeds down
the nearest pylon, causing them to explode into bloom until she’d formed a
latticework of plant matter all the way to the ground.
“Over you go,” she ordered.
“But—”
“You’re in no shape to climb the ladder,” she said. “This’ll be faster. Like
falling. Only with plants.”
I hated that description.
Reyna just shrugged. “What the heck.”
She kicked one leg over the railing and jumped. The plants grabbed her,
passing her down the leafy latticework a few feet at a time like a bucket
brigade. At first she yelped and flailed her arms, but about halfway to the
ground, she shouted up to us, “NOT—THAT—BAD!”
I went next. It was bad. I screamed. I got flipped upside down. I
floundered for something to hold on to, but I was completely at the mercy of
creepers and ferns. It was like free-falling through a skyscraper-size bag of
leaves, if those leaves were still alive and very touchy-feely.
At the bottom, the plants set me down gently on the grass next to Reyna,
who looked like she’d been tarred and flowered. Meg landed beside us and
immediately crumpled into my arms.
“Lotta plants,” she muttered.
Her eyes rolled up in her head. She began to snore. I guessed she would
not be Jacking any more beanstalks today.
Aurum and Argentum bounded over, wagging their tails and yapping.
The hundreds of black feathers strewn around the parking lot told me the
greyhounds had been having fun with the birds I’d shot out of the sky.
I was in no condition to walk, much less carry Meg, but somehow,
dragging her between us, Reyna and I managed to stumble back down the
hillside to the truck. I suspected Reyna was using her Bellona-mazing skills
to lend me some of her strength, though I doubted she had much left to
spare.