“Get her up,” Cigar-face growls. Of course it’s him.
Rough hands haul me up, and it’s only now I realize they weren’t only holding me down. They were tying me up.
“I don’t know what you were hoping to prove with that little show.” He blows smoke in my face, making me want to retch. “But you succeeded in doing two things. Pissing me off, and giving me the tactical advantage.” He smiles, and my stomach sinks. “Thank you. I’ll have one hell of a lot more bargaining power with your father, now I have both his wife and his daughter.”
I don’t have an answer for him, so I do the only think I can think of. I spit in his face. It probably isn’t the smartest move, but it makes me feel better. “It wouldn’t matter if you had twenty of us. He’ll never bargain with you.”
Cigar-face wipes my spit off his cheek slowly. Unlike the hand that connects with my face, so fast and so hard that it threatens to rip my arm out of its socket, since his goons are holding me so tight. This time, when I spit, it’s blood.
“Bring out the other one. I want those freaks above us to see what I have.”
I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since we left Greenbriar, since the man in front of me ripped everything I knew apart. Since I saw Mom last. My knees go weak when his soldiers drag her out, kicking, gagged, and the fire leaves her eyes when she sees me.
“Mom!” I can’t help the scream. I’ve missed her, worried about her. All it earns me is a second backhand from my cigar-loving captor.
“Keep your mouth shut,” he growls, blowing smoke so close I can’t breathe.
“You shouldn’t play with your toys, Rockfort. You might break them.” Grittanus’ oily voice is the last thing I want to hear, and the first thing I should’ve expected. “They might even break you,” he adds, coming up behind me.
“Grittanus.” Rockfort—or whatever Cigar-face’s name is—doesn’t seem pleased to see him, either.
“Kendry.” I feel his eyes on me, even though I refuse to look at him. Not that he lets that stop him. His stone hand wrenches my chin up. “So kind of you to come out, where I can get to you.”
“These are my hostages, Grittanus. Hands off.”
Grittanus snarls before dropping my chin. “It’s only because of me that she’s still here, Rockfort. My air forces are the ones keeping her guardian at bay.” He gestures upwards, and I can’t keep from looking. “And without me, you would still be a ragtag little band of pitiful human militia. Don’t forget that.”
Oh God, Axel. Please let him be okay.
For the first time since dropping from the roc’s claws, I think of him. If I try, I can make him out, fighting in the air above us. Of course he is. And suddenly I realize how bad this actually is.
Because Axel will kill himself to rescue me.
And it’s Grittanus’ next words that really drive that home.
“He won’t save you this time,” he whispers in my ear. “I’ve made sure of that.”
Rockfort growls. “Get them out of here.”
“I’d like a word with the girl, Rockfort.”
The self-proclaimed general scowls. “Fine,” he huffs. “But I want a word with you first.”
They drag me off, and Mom too. In this moment, the weight of the world feels so heavy on my shoulders. I’ve never screwed up so badly. If we survive, Axel will never forgive me. And the chances of us surviving are getting smaller by the moment, all because of my massive attack of stupid.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to Mom when she’s close enough.
I’m rewarded by one of the goons with a fist in my gut. “Shut up!”
God, I’m an idiot.
I keep my mouth shut as we’re dragged into the tent, and as they string me up like a puppet on some kind of rack. I can’t see what it is, but I’m hooked on by the arms, which they leave tied behind me. It’s only a few seconds before the pain sets in. Shoulders weren’t meant to carry weight that way, twisted behind. They gag me too, for good measure. I don’t even care at this point. I can’t believe I screwed up so badly.
They throw Mom in a corner, tie her to something I can’t see. The way I’m trussed up, I can’t see much beyond my feet without straining, and I can only do that for a few seconds before it hurts too much. So I stare at the ground, even after the soldiers leave.
It’s not long before Grittanus comes in.
He wrenches my head up again, so I can see him. I glare at him, trying hard to maintain my defiance, because it’s him. He leans in close, inhaling strongly, and exhaling with pleasure.
“Ah, Kendry, you positively reek of power. As I expected. I wonder if you even realize. You’re beginning to manifest, did you know that?”
I try to respond, but the gag is too tight. He smiles, sliding a single stone finger between my skin and the gag. I wish I could pull away from his touch. I know he’s trying to be seductive, enjoying touching me. I hate him.
“You are so full of shit,” I say, when he finally pulls the gag away.
He smiles, and laughs. “Didn’t you question your astounding accuracy? At the slowness of everyone around you? At the way you didn’t even have to think something, you just did it? The signs are all there, Kendry. You are manifesting, whether you believe me or not. And you will be magnificent,” he whispers, leaning in close, and inhaling again.
I’ve never wished I could move more than at this moment.
“I still say you’re full of shit. If I were manifesting, I wouldn’t be stuck here, listening to you.”
He laughs again. “I love your fire. It’s so refreshing. But your time is limited. When Rockfort realizes Herne won’t ransom you or your pitiful human mother, he won’t have a use for you. You’re not so stupid as to think he’ll keep you alive. I, on the other hand…” he drifts off, smelling me again.
Damn, but that’s creepy.
“You can still join me, Kendry. You’ve chosen to be one of us! Stand with me. Together, we can drive these humans into their rightful place, in servitude to the true masters of this world, or in death.”
“Go to hell, Grittanus.”
He grimaces, and his voice goes from oily to hard. “This is not an offer I make lightly, Kendry. And it won’t be repeated.”
“Oh, well, let me try again.” I pull myself up as best I can. “There is no way in heaven or in hell I would join you, you stone-cold bastard. So piss off.”
Grittanus snarls. “You’ll beg me differently, before we’re through. Once I’ve killed Axelrod and your father, and you have no one to run to anymore.”
He storms out, and I sag back into my bindings. My shoulders are on fire. But it’s no more than I deserve. Penance for my thoughtless stupidity. I can still hear the distant fighting in the air above us, and on the ground, and all around me.
Like a death-knell in the air surrounding us, I hear the mournful tones of hunting horns. The Wild Hunt has been called. Herne the Hunter, master of the Wild Hunt, Herne the Wild God.
Part of me wishes I could tell him to turn around. I don’t want Rockfort and Grittanus using us against him.
And I don’t want to see our tenuous new relationship crumble because he can’t and won’t accept any of their demands, even if it means my life, or even Mom’s.
I’m so focused on what’s going on outside, that it takes me a minute to realize what’s going on inside the tent. From the corner, where I can’t see, I hear movement. Rustling.
“Kendry?”
She must have worked her gag out. “Mom?”
“Oh, God, Kendry, are you alright?”
I wince. “I’m… I’ll be all right. We both will. I hope.” I can feel the tears threatening.
“Oh, honey. We will.” Silence, for a moment, and then she continues. “Am I right in guessing you’ve chosen your father’s life? The life of a demi?”
I try to nod, but I can’t really. “I did,” I answer with a snort. “For all the good it’s done me.” I stare at my feet, tied tightly together. “Are you disa
ppointed?”
“Kendry. How could I be? If I know you, and I do, you made the choice with your eyes wide open. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”
Dad’s horns call again.
“How are we going to get out of here, Mom? I’m pretty sure this makes things worse for Dad. And Axel…” I can’t think about him. Dad may not be able to save me, but I’m pretty sure Axel will kill himself if that’s what it takes.
There’s no answer from Mom. My upper body is no longer answering me, the muscles strained to the point where I can’t block out the pain anymore. My shoulders and chest scream in agony. It’s possible Mom is actually talking, and I can’t hear for the pain.
Fingers touch my face, and I open eyes I didn’t know I’d closed.
“Come on, Kendry. Let’s get you down.”
“Mom? But you…”
“I was tied up, I know,” she says, struggling to lift me from the waist. “I got loose.”
I gasp as the tension releases from my shoulders, and we both sag to the ground. It’s everything I can do not to cry out. “Why… How…” I’m still gasping too much to finish the questions.
“How?” she smiles, and wiggles a tiny stiletto knife. “Why didn’t I get out sooner? I was waiting for the right moment. And by myself, I wouldn’t have gotten far, and then I’d have lost my only opportunity. But now, with them distracted? It might be our best and only chance. Now come on, pull yourself together.” She cuts the last of the rope around my hands. “Let’s get out of here.”
Sneaking out of the middle of a camp full of soldiers isn’t the easy proposition Mom makes it sound like. In fact, it takes me a few minutes to get the blood flowing back to my arms. She helps, rubbing them, but for those few minutes, it’s all I can do not to scream with the pain of it. Eventually, I work myself up to my feet.
“What’s the plan?” I gasp.
“There are spare uniforms in the corner.”
I glance where she points. “Really? We’re going to walk out?”
Mom shrugs. “Have you got a better idea? I thought of waiting until dark, but that’s still hours away, and the longer we wait, the worse our chances will be.”
“Good point. Uniforms it is, then.”
We’re lucky enough to find camos that fit, or close enough. There’re no boots, but that would be hoping for too much. What I really want are my guns. Any of them. Buc won’t be happy I lost his rifle. Hell, I’m not happy I lost his rifle. I’m not happy about any of this, but it’s my own damn fault. I take a quick deep breath, and let it out slowly.
“Berating yourself won’t help anything, Kendry.” Mom’s voice is quiet, and when I open my eyes, her face is sad. I give her a small smile in return.
“How did you know I was yelling at myself?”
Her hand cups my face. “You’re my daughter. I know that look. Let’s just focus on getting out.”
I nod. She’s right, I need to focus on a solution.
There’s plenty of movement outside the tent. I’m betting there’s at least one guard at the door, and even if there isn’t, walking out the front would be stupid. I’ve had my quota of stupid today. As quietly as we can, Mom and I peek out under edges of the tent, looking for a good place to sneak out.
“Jackpot,” Mom whispers, waving me over. “There’s another tent behind us here, I think we can slip out between them.”
I take a look, daring to lift the tent wall a little more. It seems darker outside, like a storm is rolling in. But she’s right; there is enough room, and nobody looking. I crawl out on my stomach, wincing because my arms are still protesting their earlier abuse. My whole body hurts from being bound and hung like a coat on a rack.
But once we’re both out, there’s the question of where to go next. The skies are still full of fighting. Most of the soldiers seem to be elsewhere, and I can guess that the noise of gunfire and shouts of fighting put them between us and the castle.
“We need weapons,” I say to Mom. She nods, probably thinking the same thing I am. Whether we’re recognized or not, we won’t get far without them.
“Any idea what’s in here?” I ask quietly, nodding at the tent in front of us. Mom shrugs, so I get down low and take a peek.
When I turn back to Mom, it’s with a grin. Things are finally starting to look up. The tent she found happens to be their weapons stash. Perfect.
The only downside is the guy inside guarding them. But if Grittanus is right, and I am manifesting, I have to be able to turn it in my favor. So I squeeze myself as low to the ground as I can, and pull myself into the tent behind a rack of guns. It’s everything I can do not to make a sound, not to alert my target, to get to my feet and sneak around the racks and piles of guns and ammo and who knows what else. But I do.
There’s no Vulcan Neck Pinch to take him out in silence. There are choke holds, but I don’t trust my arms. Too much burning in my shoulders and biceps still. But on one of the tables, I see something that makes my day.
My rifle.
Unfortunately, it’s in his field of view.
And then I wonder what my problem is. I’m in a tent full of guns. Duh.
I grab a random rifle, and slam the butt into the base of the soldier’s skull. He falls over before I can catch him, but I’m lucky that he doesn’t make too much noise.
“Good job, Kendry.”
I turn and give Mom a smile. She’s already busy picking out a gun. Dad didn’t marry some wussy anti-gun woman. I get my spunk from Mom. The three of us used to go hunting together, and Mom always gave Dad a run for his money. So I smile, grab my rifle, and start looking for .338 ammo. I’m lucky enough to find some, too. And my 9mm, still with a few of Buc’s special slugs.
“Hey, where’s—”
Shit.
Mom takes the intruding soldier out with the same technique I employed on the first, but it’s clear we’ve run out of time.
“Time to go, honey,” Mom whispers, echoing my thoughts. I nod, and we slide out the tent door.
The uniforms were a good idea. We don’t get much more than glances, dressed like everyone else. But I was right, and there is a storm moving in, the heavy, threatening kind you only see once in a while. The kind that scare the shit out of you, because they’re vicious and dangerous. I can feel the lightning building in the clouds, the thunder in the distance. We’re in for one hell of a squall.
“Kendry,” Mom whispers, calling my attention back. Her plan was good, but as I look around, I’m starting to see the hole. Most of the soldiers left either have specific errands, or they’re heading to the fighting. That’s the last place I want to go. Where I want is the woods to the side. They should give us enough cover to get back to the castle, or at least close enough. Except that the woods aren’t where soldiers would be going.
Still, we have to try. And the reaction we get is the same one I was expecting. The only good thing is that there aren’t a lot of people around.
“Hey, where are you two going?”
I turn and shoot. Mom does the same, because there’s no hiding now. And then we run, into the darkness of the tangled underbrush and hundred-year-old trees. A handful give chase, and I find I’m actually grateful for the camo. The coming storm has cut the light to the point where it looks like dusk out, and everything takes on that almost monotone quality. It makes us all harder to see, but Mom and I have an advantage. We know how to keep quiet in the woods. They either don’t, or they aren’t trying.
Slipping away is easy.
Thunder rumbles again in the distance as the blundering fades behind us. Mom grabs my hand, and we ease through the tight underbrush together. I know it’s not this easy, can’t be this easy, so we move slow and careful, keeping sharp watch in the failing light and increasing thunder. The charge building in the air resonates deep inside me, and it’s like the whole world is heavy with storm. It pulls at me, distracting me. I can’t figure out why.
It’s probably why I miss Grittanus and his guards until they’re on top
of us. But a stone hand yanking my head back by the hair is impossible to miss. I fight back, even though I know it’s useless. I block, twist, try to get away. I even try to throw one of them.
But nobody wins against gargoyles. It’s not long before they have me pinned down.
Grittanus tsks as he comes into view. “Ah, Kendry. You do love to be difficult, don’t you?” He shakes his head, grinning. “You’re almost bordering on predictable. I knew you’d do your best to escape. I hoped you would. And I’m so glad you did.” He leans in close to my face, close enough I can feel his breath on me. Stone hands tighten on my arms. “You’ve played right into my plans.”
I’d like nothing better than to wipe the smugness off his face. Break a few teeth, smash his face, really mangle the smarmy bastard. But I can’t. I can’t even move my arms, unless I want them broken. He’s won this round.
I look over at Mom, at the fear hiding beneath her stoic resolve. Even if I were willing to break myself to get at Grittanus, to stop this madness, I can’t risk her.
“Let her go. Please.”
He raises an eyebrow, and glances back at Mom. “Now why would I do that?”
“You don’t need her. You have me. Unconditionally. Just let her go.”
He looks back to me, still so smug. “You’re right. I don’t need her.” He turns to one of the others. “Kill her.”
“No!”
I don’t know how, but I manage to get loose from one of the gargoyles holding me tight, and I’m almost free of the other when Grittanus grabs me by the throat. “So much fire,” he whispers through clenched teeth.
“I swear I will break myself against you if you harm her,” I choke out through the pressure on my neck.
He chuckles, like he’s amused by all this. “Let her go,” he says over his shoulder. “Tell your husband I want a word with him.”
“Kendry!”
“Go, Mom!”
“Dammit, you bastard—”
“Go, before I change my mind! And don’t forget to tell Herne. He’s got one hour.”
Mom gives me one last pained look, the kind that tells me to hold on, that she’ll find a way to make it better. But she can’t, and I know it. Dad can’t, either. None of them can. And Axel… I can’t think about him with Grittanus’ hand on my neck.
ParaWars Uprising Page 19
