“Probably not.” He looped a military-style gun around his torso and hesitated. “I need you to promise me something.”
“Of course. Anything.”
“If you see Trevelyan start to turn into his dragon form, you run. Got it?”
“Absolutely not.” She made a scoffing sound. “Have you gone crazy for real? I’ll not about to run away and leave you…”
He cut her off. “Baby, you have to run. If you trust me to stop him, then you need to get out of the way first.”
That didn’t sound good. Her eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He gave her an innocent look. “What do you mean?”
“I can see on your face that you’re hiding something. What is it?”
Marrok studied her, apparently weighing his options. “Have you ever seen a dragon?”
“No. Why?”
“They’re… big.”
“How big?”
“Oh, pretty big.”
“How big?”
He sighed. “About fifteen feet. Give or take.”
Scarlett stared at him.
Marrok arched a brow at her. “So, that’s why you listen to me and run, alright?”
“Oh my God.” She gave her head a clearing shake. “Okay, wait. Time out.” She stopped walking and held up her palms in a T-shape. “Fifteen feet?” Her voice went shrill. “You can’t fight a fifteen foot long dragon, Marrok! There’s no way my plan is going to work without you dying!”
“I told you, I hated this idea. Usually, you come up with much better ones.”
“You didn’t tell me why you hated it, you idiot!” She gave his arm a frustrated whack. “We’re not doing this. Let’s get out of here, before anyone else sees us.”
“Gustav said the wedding is already starting, though.”
“Do you think I give a shit about that wedding, right now?” Scarlett seized him by the elbow and tried to herd him back downstairs. “Move it.”
“Letty, hang on. If we just change a couple of details, this can all still work.”
...And that’s when Esmeralda and Avenant started setting off their very loud distractions.
“Oh no!” Scarlett sent a frustrated look towards the windows. “They’re early.”
“Again.” Marrok scowled. “Fuck. We should stop including them on these missions if they can’t figure out how to tell time.”
Scarlett’s mind buzzed with frantic ideas for escape. There was no way anyone in the Westlands was going to miss the gigantic fire blazing where their courthouse once stood. Two seconds later the “Good folk only” county club went up in flames, followed by the statue of Cinderella that had just been erected in the town square.
The explosions had been part of the plan. They were meant to draw attention away from the palace, but that was before Letty realized they needed to cancel this whole idea. They’d just alerted Cinderella to their presence and they were too close to the throne room to hide for long. How were they going to get out of the kingdom without a confrontation? A confrontation they couldn’t possibly win.
This was a disaster!
“Red?” Marrok’s voice went serious as he saw her panicking. “We can’t turn back. This has to happen now. I will take care of Trevelyan. I promise.”
“All fifteen feet of him?!”
“I wouldn’t have brought you in here if I didn’t know we could do this, baby. All you have to do is stay away from the dragon.” Topaz eyes burned into hers. “Trust me.”
She swore under her breath. “I do trust you, but I’m not going to just let you face him all by yourself. I’m your True Love, damn it! It’s my job to save you from your own suicidal craziness.”
He slowly grinned. “Remember that because…”
Whatever he’d planned to tell her was cut off by Cinderella’s armed rats bursting out of the throne room and heading straight for them.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sometimes I wonder why I counsel these patients to work together.
I shudder to think what would befall this world if all the Bad folk were ever smart enough to organize themselves.
Psychiatric case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae
“Scarlett!” Cinderella smiled cheerily as her men dragged Letty and Marrok across the parquet floor of the throne room. “Welcome to my wedding. I soooo hoped you’d be here to witness my special day.”
As much as Scarlett detested the woman, even she had to admit that her stepsister made a beautiful bride. Cindy was decked out in a four foot wide wedding dress, studded with enough pearls to choke every oyster in the sea. Her blonde curls fell in perfect ringlets, covered with a nearly transparent lace veil. Perched on the tippity top sat the diamond tiara of the Westlands. Hundreds of twinkling diamonds glinted mockingly as the rats hustled Scarlett and Marrok forward.
Charming’s eyes lit up like he’d been rescued as soon as he saw them. Apparently, he missed the fact that they were all screwed. “Letty, how’s Dru?”
He tried to move closer, but he was tied to one of the room’s countless marble pillars. A metal dog collar and chain gave him about two feet of slack, which was just enough for him to reach the golden altar beneath a flower covered trellis.
The whole room was decorated in various shades of pink, with about two hundred empty chairs arranged in neat rows. Not many guests wanted to show up to a wedding that was really a hostage situation. Along the far wall, a huge banquet was set up, including a half dozen ice sculpture swans and an incredibly lovely wedding cake. It stood twelve tiers high, a masterpiece of sugar flowers and lattice work.
Bizarrely, though, it looked like someone had punched a hole in the intricate decorations, straight through to the chocolate of the fifth layer. The frosting on Cinderella’s fist sort of limited the assault suspects. Her stepsister was mad at a cake, but Letty was the one who’d been committed. Unbelievable.
“Dru’s fine.” Letty assured Charming, trying to sound calm. “Or she will be when you’re together, again.”
“They’ll have to be reunited in whatever hell Bad folk are sent to, because none of you will ever live long enough to see it happen here.” Cinderella laughed. “God, this just couldn’t have worked out any better.” She glanced up at the man standing next to her. “Looks like I didn’t need you after all, Trevelyan. You’re lucky I’m a princess of my word. Letty is all yours.”
Scarlett’s eyes traveled over to the dragon and she swallowed. Even in his human form, the man looked formidable. Black hair fell to his waist, framing the deep angles of his exotic face.
His green gaze found hers and held it. “Hello Scarlett. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Marrok’s jaw ticked. “What the hell is this about, Trev?”
“It’s about you betraying me.” Trevelyan arched a brow his attention still on Letty as he answered. “Did you think I’d just forget about that, Wolf? I told you I’d have my revenge.” He glided closer. “And for a debt this high, you can only pay with your most valuable possession.”
Letty tried to shift away as he lifted a hand to caress her hair. The feel of his fingers made her cringe.
It took eight rats to hold Marrok back despite the magic inhibiting restraints they’d put on his wrists. Even the guards holding Scarlett released her to rush into the fray. “You son-of-a-bitch. You touch my wife and I’ll see you fucking dead! I swear to God.”
Trevelyan ignored that. “At first, I wondered what you saw in an ugly stepsister.” He mused. “But, soon I saw it, too. The spark she has.” His thumb traced down her cheek. “You look in her eyes and you see nothing but life and purity and ideas.” He leaned closer to her and inhaled deeply. “I bet she tastes like Goodness is always supposed to, but never does.”
Scarlett was afraid to even look in Marrok’s direction for fear of what he might do if he saw how scared she was.
“Can we cut down on the creepiness?” Cinderella requested. “It’s wrecking my wedding.” She waved a hand towards the altar. One of
the rats was acting as officiant, a gun in one hand and book of wedding prayers in the other. “Jack, skip to the ‘I do’ part.”
He obediently flipped ahead in the vows. “Do you, Charming, underserving prince of the Westlands, take the regal and glorious Cinderella as your rightful princess and…?”
“Never!” Charming cried, cutting him off. “You might as well behead me right here, because I’ll never marry anyone but my True Love. Drusilla, wherever you are, I am yours!” He shouted the last part the rat videographer and Scarlett realized that Cinderella really was broadcasting this whole wedding over the news.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Cinderella whacked the back of Charming’s skull. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”
“I said… Hey!” His words ended in a shout as the rats wrestled him to the ground and shoved a gag in his mouth.
“I think he said ‘yes.’” Cinderella decided as Charming thrashed around on the floor. “See? That was definitely a nod.”
Charming emphatically shook his head.
“None of this is legal.” Scarlett looked at the TV camera. “Cindy is taking over this kingdom by force. Once she’s done here, she’ll be coming after the others. She’ll be coming after all of you.”
“Every other kingdom in this land would be thrilled to have me as their princess!” Cinderella seethed. “I’m the only one worthy of a crown.” She looked back to Jack. “Continue with the service!”
“Do you Cinderella, benevolent and magnificent princess of our dreams, take this undeserving wretch to be your doting husband and slave?”
Cinderella smiled sweetly. “Until death do us part.” She promised and daintily dabbed at her eye with a pink handkerchief.
Trevelyan went back to taunting Marrok. “Did you know your woman was Good before you claimed her? You must have. Even I can see it. How does it feel to fuck a Good folk just because you want to?” He paused for a beat. “Wait. Don’t tell me. I want to be surprised when I try her for myself.”
“Oh, Letty’s full of surprises.”
Scarlett’s gaze cut over to Marrok, picking up on his tone. Golden eyes met her and she knew exactly what he wanted her to do. For whatever reason, Marrok wanted her to piss off Trevelyan and she was happy to oblige.
She really could read the man’s mind.
“I don’t believe that anyone is all Good or all Bad.” She told Trevelyan in a serious tone. “It’s that kind of thinking that keeps all of us trapped.”
“No, it’s me who’s keeping you trapped.” Cinderella retorted. “And once you’re gone, I’m going to see the rest of the cowering Bad folk in the Enchanted Forest trapped, too. Trapped in prisons far away from here, where their ugly faces and wicked schemes and Bad smells can’t bother me ever again! They can rot there, along with every other bastard in this kingdom who’s stood against me.”
Letty kept her voice loud enough so the audience at home could easily hear. “Well that proves my point, doesn’t it? Good and Bad folk are all on your hit list. We’re not so different after all.” She kept her attention on the camera. “Anyone who doesn’t want to be ruled over by a temperamental beauty queen --anyone who thinks we’re better than that-- should probably do something about it.”
Trevelyan rolled his eyes. “You’re kinda preachy, aren’t you?” He took hold of her arm. “No matter. We can probably find something to do with your mouth.”
“Stop talking through my beautiful ceremony!” Cinderella shrieked.
Everyone ignored that.
Letty wrenched back against the dragon’s hold. “Do you think I’ll ever submit to you?”
“Absolutely you will. Everything you did for Marrok, you’ll do for me. Count on it.” He reached for her, again.
Scarlett’s foot slammed into his leg. The kick couldn’t have hurt him that much. He topped her by at least ten inches. But his expression still darkened at her resistance. She felt a surge of satisfaction at that.
Marrok gave a derisive snort as Trevelyan swore in pain. “The woman is half your size and has her wrists tied. How can you possibly be losing?”
“Shut up!” Trevelyan bellowed. He stabbed a finger at Marrok and Scarlett could see a green mist begin to move along his skin. The dragon was coming out. “Every night, locked in that cell, I’d listen to you talk about your True Love. About how you would give anything for her. About how she would save you.”
“She will.”
“She won’t.” Trevelyan hissed. “That’s what I’m about to prove. Nothing is going to save you, Marrok. After what you did to me, you don’t deserve to be saved.”
“I didn’t do a damn thing to you.” Marrok shot back. “I just knew killing a hundred people was a bad idea. Seems like that would be pretty fucking obvious to anyone with a brain in his head.”
“Everyone pay attention to me!” Cinderella shouted.
No one did.
“You didn’t have my back.” The angrier Trevelyan got, the heavier the transformative smoke grew around his form and the less attention he paid to Scarlett. His body got bigger by the second. It elongated, becoming larger and eerily dragon-shaped. “I had to sleep with that bitch Dr. White, because you wouldn’t help me get out of there. Do you know how degrading that was for a dragon?”
“I’m about to have you all killed!” Cinderella screamed. “The canapés will be ruined if I don’t get this damn wedding over with soon. Is that what you want? To spoil my reception?!”
“You slept with Snow White because you wanted to, Trev.” Marrok retorted, clearly not giving a damn about the temperature of the hors d'oeuvres. “Letty and I managed to escape without climbing into her bed.” He shrugged with the same taunting grace that had made Scarlett want to punch him a thousand times in share circle. “Or maybe we’re just smarter than you.”
“Bastard.” The furious word was accompanied by a drift of smoke from between Trevelyan’s lips. It could only be a precursor to fire. “We’ll see how funny you are when you’re stripped of the one thing that’s ever given you hope.” He was fully a dragon, now. His huge body loomed over Scarlett, his clawed hands reaching for her.
She quickly backed away from him, her eyes finding Marrok’s.
If you see Trevelyan start to turn into his dragon form, you run.
Damn it. Letty had no idea why he’d told her that earlier or what he was up to, but she trusted him. Marrok had backed plenty of her ideas. Whatever his plan was, she was going with it.
Scarlett took off running.
“Stop her!” Cinderella screamed.
Trevelyan gave a harsh laugh, watching as Letty raced down the aisle between the empty folding chairs. “Where do you think you can go that I won’t catch you, woman? No place is safe from…”
Marrok moved. The rats stumbled back as he shook them off and surged forward. He must have been sandbagging his struggles earlier to draw them away from Letty, because he had no problem throwing them all aside. Marrok drove his weight into the shifting mist of Trevelyan’s midsection, sending them to the floor. Trevelyan gave a roar of outrage.
“Jesus, the wolf really is crazy.” Cinderella declared.
For once, Letty almost agreed with her. Nobody sane would tackle a dragon.
She reached the door and anxiously turned back to watch the fight, trying to decided what to do. Trusting Marrok was one thing, but no way was she going to stand by and watch him slaughtered. Fifteen feet of enraged monster was too much for anyone to face alone.
Sure enough, Trevelyan was getting the upper hand. He was too big. Marrok couldn’t even turn into his wolf-self because of the magic inhibiting bindings on his wrists. He was tied-up and helpless. There was no way he could win against a gigantic dragon who hated him.
Scarlett started back towards the men, her heart pounding in her throat. “Marrok!”
“I should have killed you years ago!” Trevelyan had his hands around Marrok’s neck. “Die knowing I’ll be finishing off your woman as so
on as I’m done with you. You’ve lost everything and there’s nothing you can do about it, Wolf!”
Marrok gaze locked on Trevelyan’s. “If you think that, you haven’t met my True Love.”
Scarlett saw a flash of something in his palm and she realized it was the weird vial he’d put in his pocket earlier. The rats had taken their guns, but they hadn’t noticed that little tube. She heard the crack of glass against the wooden floor. What the hell was Marrok…?
Whoosh!
A cloud of purple smoke enveloped both men, quickly spreading backward to cover the rats as well. Scarlett’s eyes widened. It was the same mystical fog that the WUB Club used. The same mystical fog that had knocked Dru out. The same mystical fog that put people into goddamn comas.
…And Marrok had just let it loose.
That was why he’d made her promise to run. That was why he’d drawn Trevelyan’s attention by pissing him off. Marrok must’ve gotten some portable version of the purple smoke from her grandmother’s weapon cachet and he hadn’t wanted Letty to be hit with it, too. He’d been protecting her. Which meant, this had been his plan to beat the dragon all along.
No wonder the idiot didn’t tell her about his idea. She never would have agreed to anything so dangerous!
Scarlett gave a panicked cry as Marrok collapsed. Trevelyan toppled over beside him, his body shifting back into human form. The rats were falling, too. The gas was doing what Rumpelstiltskin had always insisted it would do and flattening everyone in its path. Within seconds, Cinderella, Jack, Charming, and Letty were the only ones left conscious in the entire room. Even that small dose of purple smoke had knocked out everyone else.
Letty’s whole world stopped as she gaped at Marrok’s motionless form. He wasn’t moving. He couldn’t move. He was trapped in magical sleep.
“Marrok!”
“Great.” Cinderella threw up her hands in frustration. “There go our witnesses.” She looked over at Jack. “Can we finish the ceremony without witnesses?”
Wicked Ugly Bad (A Kinda Fairytale) Page 25
