A gnome with a long wart-covered nose threw a chair through the window of Dr. White’s office, glass flying everywhere. Instantly, more inmates were forcing the door open and scrambling inside. Papers were ripped from file cabinets and trophy cases full of psychiatric awards were toppled to the ground. The sound of magic mirrors smashing joined the chorus of shouting and assorted noise.
Scarlett couldn’t say she felt bad about the destruction.
Dr. White ruled the WUB Club like her own personal fiefdom, mistreating and exploiting the inmates she was supposed to help. The woman was no doubt planning to help Cinderella kill her as soon as Scarlett handed over the slipper. Plus, she’d pawed at Marrok, making him uncomfortable and ashamed. For that alone, the doctor deserved everything coming to her at the hands of the mob.
Letty hated Snow White.
That had to prove she was Bad, right?
“Shit.” Marrok skidded to a halt so fast that Scarlett bumped into him.
Ahead of them, some chortling fire imps had torched the floor. Flames were blocking the entire hallway, licking up the walls. There was no way anyone was getting through that… and it was the best route to the library.
“Shit!” Scarlett agreed, looking around desperately. “We’ll have to go through the recreation room.” They didn’t have a choice.
Marrok quickly changed directions and headed the other way. “This whole thing would be a lot easier without the other felons getting in our way.”
Scarlett had to agree. She’d had no idea so many people were actually housed in the WUB Club. With the electricity gone and their powers unleashed, there were countless unstable people looking for payback on their oppressors. Most of them were just rioting for the fun of it, but a few were intent on getting free.
The new path led Marrok and Letty passed the front door to the WUB Club where Benji had escaped earlier. As Scarlett watched, a red goblin dashed passed the security door and was summarily shot down by a dwarf guard barricaded behind the check-in desk.
Letty cringed in horror. “Oh God!”
On autopilot, the goblin rushed forward a few more steps before his body collapsed into an awkward heap. At least five other dead and dying inmates were lying around him. The guard quickly reloaded, randomly firing at everything he saw.
“I was going to suggest we just walk out the front door.” Marrok shook his head. “I’ve reconsidered.”
“All the weapons are right there in the security office.” Scarlett felt terrible about the carnage and the waste. “That’s the worst way to get out.”
“Crazy people aren’t known for their planning skills.” Marrok jerked at thumb at tiny Thumbelina who was trying to rip the iron bars off a window with her bare hands.
Scarlett would’ve suggested that she head for the library, but Thumbelina was a venomous monster who was better off locked up. No one wanted a repeat of the Neverland massacre. Her blood feud with Tinkerbelle had orphaned thousands.
It was difficult to see in the unlit hall. Scarlett tripped over a mattress someone had pulled from their room and abandoned. She hit the ground and instantly tried to cover her head, afraid that she’d be trampled by the crowd.
Marrok grabbed her. He swept her up like she was no heavier than a Wolfball, not even breaking his stride.
She clutched hold of his shoulders as he lifted her into his arms. “I’m okay. I can walk.”
Although, it was interesting to touch the dark fog that covered him. It felt cool and tickly against her skin. There were whispers that wolves made love in this form and it heightened the pleasure. She had the wrong and random thought that it would be fascinating to kiss him and test the theory for herself.
Marrok ignored Scarlett’s prompting to put her down. He carried her right into the rec room, where a leprechaun was busily stealing the TV. The little guy carted it off, the plug dragging on the floor behind him. God only knew what he intended to do with it.
Two seconds after they crossed the threshold, Marrok’s body went tense. He gave a growl of pure hate, his head swiveling towards the opposite side of the room. Scarlett couldn’t see anything, but she sensed that they weren’t alone.
“Did you really think yarn could hold me?” Dower taunted.
He stepped from the darkness, blocking the door to the library. Several other wolves were by his side. Scarlett recognized that two of them were Richardson and the blond guy who’d punched her. They were all in wolf form, their skin shifting like low-hanging fog.
“Why don’t we avoid the pointless bloodshed and you just tell me how this escape plan is gonna work?” Dow continued. “So far, I’m mighty impressed with your True Love’s strategic plotting. Maybe she’s not so Good, after all.”
Scarlett wished she could take that as a compliment. “You can’t come with us. Even if we wanted you to, there just isn’t room for so many people.”
“Well, we’ll just have to thin the herd, then.” He smirked at Marrok. “I’m pretty sure I know where to start.”
Marrok slowly set Letty back on her feet and nudged her behind him. “Wait here for a minute, Red.”
She caught hold of his wrist. “Don’t do anything crazy.” She whispered. “There are five of them and only two of us.”
“Yeah, but I’m really fucking pissed.” He launched himself –not at Dow-- but at the henchman who’d hit her in the cafeteria.
Apparently, he still wasn’t over that.
Scarlett cringed as Marrok tackled his enemy and slammed him into the ground. It was like watching a lion take down a gazelle. No wasted moves or feigned mercy, just flashes of teeth and snarls of fury. Marrok ripped into the blond guy, his body a fluid and deadly weapon.
The other man didn’t even try to fight back. Instead, he gave a shriek of terror and tried to claw his way back to his cronies for help. No one was eager to lend a hand. The wolves seemed far more interested in watching Marrok tear him apart. For a heartbeat of time, everyone just stared the graceful ballet of death
“Do those two have a history I don’t know about?” Dow asked conversationally.
Richardson nodded. “Tober punched Marrok’s woman.”
“Ooohhhh, that explains it.” Dower snorted. “Jesus, what kind of wolf hits a girl?”
“Marrok!” Scarlett shook off her surprised daze and started for him. “Don’t kill him! I’m alright. Really. Let’s just go.”
He didn’t give any indication that he’d heard that. He was intent on destroying the man who’d struck her. Scarlett appreciated the thought, but they didn’t have time for any of this. Especially since the other wolves weren’t going to let Marrok and Tober have all the fun. They began to wade into the fray and Marrok turned to attack them, too.
His next target was Richardson, the guy who’d held her in front of his body until Avenant bashed his head with the cafeteria tray. Marrok clearly hadn’t forgotten about that, either.
“Stop!” Richardson’s eyes reflected genuine terror as he hit the ground with Marrok’s hands around his throat. “I didn’t hurt her! I didn’t hurt her!”
Dower tried to pull Marrok away, only to wind-up flat on his back with a bleeding nose. Marrok didn’t even have to stop his attack on Richardson to strike him down.
Marrok was outnumbered and Scarlett still knew he was going to win.
Or he would’ve if the bombs hadn’t started detonating.
With the power off, the guards couldn’t automatically release the sleeping gas from the ceiling vents, but they could use the handheld smoke grenades stockpiled for emergencies. Loud blasts and flashes of light came from the hall, followed by frightened screams. The horrible purple vapors started pouring through the door of the rec room.
Breathing in the poison meant a mystical sleep that could last for decades.
“Marrok!” Scarlett started for him. “We gotta go! We gotta go!”
“Fuck!” He threw one of the wolves aside, sending the smaller man’s body into a stack of orange chairs. “Move!” He re
ached out to grab her arm, yanking her forward. He was moving so fast, her feet barely touched the floor. They ran for the opposite side of the room. Marrok all but tossed her through the door, keeping her ahead of him and both of them ahead of the smoke.
Dower was right behind them.
Scarlett and Marrok kept going towards the library. Dow stopped long enough to slam the door shut behind him, ignoring the pounding and frantic cries of the other wolves.
“What are you doing?” She shouted as he locked his friends in the rec room.
“You want the smoke to get in here?!” He roared back. “Better them than me.”
If Letty could’ve reached Dow, she would’ve punched him herself. “You asshole!”
“Hey, at least I didn’t knock ‘em over the head with a chair and tie them up, princess!” Dower raced after them. “Can we get out this way? Is that why you were in the library before? Is that our escape route?”
“You’re not coming.” Marrok bit off.
“The hell you say! I got as much of a right to get out of here as anyone!” He followed them right into the library.
Scarlett decided to just ignore him. She had bigger things on her mind.
Up ahead of her, she could see Esmeralda sitting on a short dust-covered bookcase. The witch was back to looking like herself and painting her nails with her magic. She tapped each finger with another, shifting the color from green to black.
“There’s nothing else you could be doing?” Scarlett snapped.
“You said to wait here, so I’m waiting.” Ez retorted. “Geez, I was beginning to think I was the only one who remembered the plan.”
Scarlett looked around, her heart rate spiking even higher. “You’re the only one here? Where are Dru and the others?”
Esmeralda shrugged.
Scarlett turned stricken eyes towards Marrok.
“I knew they’d screw this up.” He muttered. “I told ya so.”
“I can’t leave without my sister.” Letty whispered.
“I know.” One palm touched her cheek, reassuring her. “It’ll be okay, baby.”
Scarlett stared up at him. She didn’t believe that Marrok was her True Love. Not really. He couldn’t be. Why would an ugly stepsister get the handsomest man in the Four Kingdoms? But, he was always so gentle with her. Always trying to protect her or help with her plans. It was impossible not to want this man.
Underneath the snarkiness and villainy, Marrok was actually… Good.
He really was.
She looked into his eyes and realized something very, very important. Good folk were also Bad and Bad folk were also Good. Nobody was all one thing or the other. Maybe that’s why everyone always had such a hard time figuring out what she was. Society liked to brand people, trying to quantify them, but hearts and minds were so much more complicated than arbitrary designations.
Everybody was both Good and Bad.
This plan wasn’t just about bringing down Cindy. This was about ripping down all the boxes and letting Good folk and Bad folk just be… folks. No more labels. There needed to be a place where everyone was welcomed and had a voice. It was the only way they’d ever have peace in the Four Kingdoms. The only way the prejudice and hatred would stop.
Scarlett stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips against Marrok’s. Sure enough the misty black edges of his wolf form felt magical against her mouth. The kiss only lasted a second, but it sent desire shooting through her whole system.
Golden eyes gleamed with hunger as she pulled back and smiled at him. “You keep going, alright?” She reached up to touch his hand, which was still on her cheek. No matter what else happened, she wanted him to escape from this place. “I have to go back for Drusilla.”
“No. I’ll find Dru.” Marrok gestured to the window. “You get down to the lake and I’ll meet you there.”
Was he joking? “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yes, you fucking are! If I have to, I will drop you out that window myself.”
Letty scowled at him. She took it all back. The man was a nightmare.
“Whoever’s not here gets left behind!” Dower proclaimed. Picking up on the key parts of the plan, he headed for the closest window. “We gotta get out of here!” He smashed in the large pane with his elbow.
Esmeralda squinted. “Since when is Dow coming? Did I miss a meeting?”
Dower disregarded that and used an ancient copy of everyone’s favorite manifesto of intolerance No Good Bad Folk to knock the remaining glass from the window.
“There’s no way I’m leaving!” Scarlett poked a finger into Marrok’s chest. “Forget it! This was my plan and I’ll see it through!”
“See it through from the goddamn boat!”
“There’s a boat?” Dower heaved himself through the opening he’d created. “Thank Christ. That was going to be my next question. No way could we swim the Lake of Forgetting.”
“There is no we.” Esmeralda snapped. “You’re not part of the Tuesday share circle.”
Scarlett kept her eyes on Marrok. “I won’t leave.” She repeated in quieter voice. “Not without you and my sister.”
He made a frustrated sound. “You are a crazy, stubborn, impossible…”
The door to the library swung open, interrupting his string of helpless complaints. Avenant came strolling in, dragging an unconscious Drusilla with him. “I’m having a terrible night.” He announced to no one in particular. “You wouldn’t believe the…”
Scarlett cut him off, dashing for Dru. “What happened to my sister?!”
“The gas, of course. It’s everywhere.”
“Oh God.” Scarlett looked down at her sleeping sister and tried to stay calm. Dru was still alive. It was just a sleeping curse. It could be cured. She would be okay.
…But it was hard not to panic.
Marrok snatched Dru away from Avenant, carrying her towards the window. “Dower!” He bellowed. “Help me get her out or you’re not setting foot on our boat!
“Who is that new man?” Avenant frowned at Dower and then over at Esmeralda. “He’s not part of our share circle.”
“I know! I told them that. They’re not listening.”
“I’m helping. That means I go, too.” Dower dropped to the ground outside and turned back to assist Marrok in lifting Dru through the window. Catching her shoulders, he pulled her out of the library and into moonlit night. “See? Helping.” He carted her towards the lakeshore.
Scarlett did a quick head count. “We’re still missing Rumpelstiltskin.”
“He’s probably dead.” Avenant shrugged without a drop of caring and headed for the window. “He’d want us to save ourselves.”
“I sincerely doubt that.”
“You’re probably right. Trolls are selfish beings.” Avenant shoved passed Marrok and climbed out into yard. “God, I missed the cold air.” He drew in a deep breath. A frigid breeze was blowing across the desolate hospital ground, no doubt reminding the ex-prince of the Northlands.
Esmeralda looked less pleased about the whole situation. “I can’t believe I’m about to get on a boat.” She’d apparently looted the nurses’ snack supply in preparation for the trip. A stolen backpack full of candy bars and chips was looped around her shoulders. “Witches and water don’t mix.”
“No one mixes with this water.” Avenant called back. “It causes permanent amnesia.”
“Yeah, but it’ll also causes me to melt.” Esmeralda followed Avenant out.
Scarlett and Marrok were the last two in the library.
“Baby, it’s gotta be close to midnight. We’re out of time.”
She shook her head as he backtracked to grab her arm. “I told Rumpelstiltskin that we’d all make it out.”
“We can’t help him.” Marrok insisted, tugging her towards the window. “You heard Avenant. The gas is everywhere. We leave now or we’re not leaving.”
“But, I promised him that… Hey!” Scarlett ended her protest in a yelp as Marrok lifted her off the
ground again and unceremoniously passed her through the window. “Wait a second!” She shouted as she was dropped outside. “You can’t do that! I’m in charge of this plan!”
“Consider it a mutiny.” Marrok easily pulled himself through the opening and landed beside her. “Leaving the troll behind isn’t on you. It’s all me. Okay? There’s nothing you can do to stop me from dragging your ass to that boat.”
He was trying to make her feel better about abandoning Rumpelstiltskin. Trying to alleviate her guilt and take all the blame.
Scarlett gave up being annoyed at him. There was nothing either of them could do about this. Not with the clock ticking and the gas filling the halls. She allowed Marrok to hustle her towards the lakeshore. “I know that we don’t have a choice. I just feel like I’m letting him down.”
“Well, I wouldn’t feel too badly about it.” Avenant called sourly from the darkness up ahead.
Scarlett and Marrok stopped short. In front of them, Snow White and a dozen dwarf guards stood with Rumpelstiltskin at their side.
“See, Doctor White?” The troll said. “I told you they were planning an escape.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sometimes I think Esmeralda is getting worse instead of better.
I’ve taken to carrying a water pistol with me to our private sessions, just in case I need to melt her.
Psychiatric case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae
“You fucking little worm.” Marrok’s gaze fixed on Rumpelstiltskin. “You’d better hope I don’t live through this.”
“Blow me, Wolf! You and Letty were trying to get me killed with this stupid plan. Instead, I cut a side deal that’s going to get me out of here. You’d have done the same thing if you were smart enough to think of it!”
Scarlett didn’t have time to be angry at him. She was too busy trying to think of a way out of this mess.
To her right, the vast lake stretched out in the darkness. On the opposite shore, she could make out the winking lights of distant villages. All they had to do was get across the water and she’d have a clear shot at the Enchanted Forest. They were too close to freedom to just give up.
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