Widow’s Web

by Jennifer Estep

  Owen fought back when the two giants surged toward him, his fist connecting with the taller one’s jaw, knocking him back. Owen growled and drew back his fist for another punch, but the other giant threw himself on top of him. All three men went down to the floor in a heap of arms and legs. I couldn’t see exactly what was happening, not from this angle, but I heard Owen’s grunts of pain.

  “Don’t struggle so hard, darling. You’re only hurting yourself. It’s most unbecoming,” Salina murmured.

  Then the water elemental turned and left the balcony.

  “Salina!” Owen yelled. “Salina!”

  But she didn’t order the giants to stand down, and she didn’t come back. He kept fighting to get free, even as the other men kept hitting him. They were all tangled together, which meant that I couldn’t risk using my Ice magic. I also abandoned my plan of searching for the stairs. That would take too much time now. Instead, I laid my staff down on the floor, grabbed a chair from against the wall, carried it across the courtyard, and put it right below the balcony where Owen was still struggling. I backed up to the opposite side of the courtyard, calculating the height and angles. Then, I ran forward, jumped up into the seat, leaped onto the very top of the chair, and launched myself into the air.

  I managed to get high enough to grab hold of the bottom edge of the stone balcony. I hung there for a moment, like a spider dangling in the breeze, and then pulled myself up and over the side. The giants were too busy trying to pin Owen to the floor to notice me come up behind them, knives ready.

  I fell on top of one, my blades punching into his back. He screamed with pain and clawed at me with his right hand. I pulled my knives out and plunged them into his body again, sawing through his thick muscles.

  The other giant’s head snapped around at his buddy’s screams, and he lashed out at me with his fist. I managed to dodge his blow, yank my knives out of the first guy, and get back up on my feet. The giant I’d wounded tried to stand, so I kicked him in the head as hard as I could. He groaned and slumped back down on the floor.

  The second giant scrambled to his feet and held up his hands in a classic boxer’s stance.

  “If I were you, I’d be running at this point,” I hissed.

  He came at me anyway. He swung his fist at my face in a quick jab, but I dodged the blow and stepped in closer to his body, ramming my knife into his chest. The giant screamed as I pulled the blade out and stabbed it into his chest a second time. He put his hands on my shoulders, trying to throw me off him, so I drew my blades across one of his arms, then the other. The giant fell to his knees, blood pouring out of his wounds. I kicked him in the head as well, and he flopped on top of his friend. Neither man was dead, but they’d bleed out soon enough. All I cared about right now was making sure Owen was all right—and stopping Salina.

  I slid my bloody knives back up my sleeves and dropped to my knees beside Owen, who was on his back on the floor. “Owen! Are you okay?”

  I helped him sit up. His face had already started to swell from where he’d been hit, and blood trickled out of his now-broken nose.

  “Gin?” he said, struggling to focus on me. “What are you doing here?”

  “Saving you. And everyone else here, despite my own best interests.”

  “What?” he asked, his eyes clearing and his voice sharpening. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”

  “Salina has a little more planned than just a simple dinner party and business powwow. I’ll tell you about it on our way out of here. Let’s move.”

  I managed to get Owen up onto his feet. My lover swayed back and forth, still dazed by the giants’ blows. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the cobwebs.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I had no choice. Salina said—”

  “That she’d kill me,” I finished. “I know. Eva found the note.”

  I put my arm under his shoulder, and we left the balcony and stepped out into a hallway. I finally spotted a set of stairs, and I helped Owen walk in that direction and then down to the ground floor, filling him in on what Salina was planning and why she’d really asked all the Ashland crime bosses here tonight.

  “Are you sure?” he asked. “Killing all those people is extreme, even for Salina.”

  “The fountains, the location, the guest list, it all fits. You told me yourself that Salina changed after her father’s murder. I think this is the real reason she came back to Ashland—to get her revenge. I think this is all that she really cares about, except for you.”

  Owen stopped walking and looked down at me. “How much of that did you see on the balcony?”

  “Enough.” I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice.

  He sighed. “I’m sorry, Gin. Let me explain—”

  I held up my hand, cutting him off. “We can talk later. Right now, I have to go after Salina. I have to stop her—”

  A scream shattered the night air.

  30

  Owen and I stared at each other.

  “Salina,” I said, moving over to grab my staff from where I’d left it on the floor by the fountain. “She’s started it already. Get out of here! Go!”

  Owen shook his head. “No, I’m coming with you. Maybe there’s still a chance I can talk her out of this.”

  I wanted to yell at him that it was too late for that, that Salina wouldn’t stop until everyone was dead, but it was something he had to realize for himself. “Come on, then.”

  We hurried through the mansion and made it back to the side door that led out to the north lawn. The screams had quieted down by this point, and I forced myself to creep up, open the door a bit more, and peer around it.

  Several giants stood on the lawn, positioned in the gaps between the bubbling fountains. Each had guns pointed in at the crowd they’d shepherded into a tight knot in the middle of the ring of fountains. Given the incredulous looks most of the folks were giving the giants, I was willing to bet these were the men Salina had stolen from the other underworld players the past few days. The water elemental had hired the giants to murder their own bosses, promising them who knew what to get their cooperation.

  Whatever else she was, Salina was exceptionally clever. She played for keeps, and she never did anything halfway. I had to admire that about her. In her own way, Salina was as ruthless as Mab had been. No surprise, since she’d been twisted by the Fire elemental’s cruelty, just as I had been.

  A few of the folks crept toward the giants, as if they couldn’t believe their own guards would turn on them, but the glares and guns pointed in their direction sent them scurrying back. Salina stood next to the mermaid fountain, beaming at everyone, as if she wasn’t planning on murdering them in another minute, two tops.

  I pulled my walkie-talkie out of one of the pockets on my vest. “Finn? Finn? Are you seeing this on your laptop?”

  He got back to me a second later. “You mean the giants with the guns making sure everyone stays in Salina’s little water trap? Yeah, I see it.”

  “Then get ready to move,” I whispered back. “I’m going to take out some of the giants and create a way for folks to get away from the fountains and the water.”

  “I’ll do my part,” Finn said. “Bria and Xavier just pulled onto the street, along with another cop car. I’ll tell them what’s going on, and we’ll be ready to go when it’s time.”

  “Good,” I said. “And tell them to be careful. Salina’s too far gone now. She’s not going to stop for anyone.”

  Owen stiffened beside me, but he didn’t say anything. I put the walkie-talkie back in a pocket on my vest and looked at him.

  “Do you think you can distract her long enough for me to deal with one of the giants?” I asked in a soft voice. “You’re the only person she might listen to, even if it’s only for a few seconds. But once she realizes what you’ve done, how we’ve tricked her, she won’t be happy, especially not with you. She could attack you again.”

  He nodded. “I know. I can handle Salina.”

  “Okay
. Then follow my lead.”

  I slipped out of the mansion and crept over to one of the Ice bars that had been planted on the lawn. The bartenders who’d been stationed there had been pushed inside the ring of fountains along with the others, giving me plenty of room to maneuver. Owen slid in beside me underneath the bar, his breath tickling the back of my neck.

  “I’m going for the giant right there,” I said, indicating the man closest to me. “You distract Salina. Wait for my signal, then move.”

  I crept over to the edge of the bar and peered around it, scanning the crowd for Kincaid. The casino boss stood on the far side of the giant I was targeting. Like everyone else, he was focused on Salina, but maybe I could change that. I palmed one of my knives and angled it into a patch of fading sunlight. Tilting the blade back and forth, I created a small sunspot flashing in Kincaid’s eyes.

  He grimaced, blinked, and turned in my direction, just as I’d hoped he would. Kincaid’s eyes widened when he spotted me. I slid my knife back up my sleeve and held my finger up to my lips. Then I pointed at the giant and made a slashing motion across my throat with my finger, trying to let him know what my plan was. My crude signals must have worked because Kincaid nodded back and started sidling in the giant’s direction, careful not to draw attention to himself. Kincaid wasn’t my friend—not exactly—but I wasn’t leaving him to Salina’s wrath. If nothing else, I could at least get him away from the fountains as quickly as possible.

  “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve asked you here tonight,” Salina’s voice floated over to me. “You’ve probably guessed by now that dinner will not be served.”

  She laughed at her bad joke, but no one else joined in. I peered around the side of the Ice bar. Salina still stood by the mermaid fountain, addressing the crowd of angry, frightened people in front of her.

  “Many of you here tonight may remember my father, Benedict. Many of you probably remember the last dinner party he gave.”

  Salina’s eyes went from face to face, daring people to meet her cold gaze. Most of the guests stared back at her with blank expressions, not understanding what she was getting at, but a few shifted on their feet and dropped their eyes from hers.

  “Of course, the real reason you probably remember that dinner is because that’s the night my father died—the night he was murdered by Mab Monroe right on the very ground you stand on now. Many of you were here then. You saw exactly what Mab did to my father—and not one of you lifted a finger to help him or to try and stop her. Not a single one of you.”

  Murmurs of unease rippled through the crowd. I wasn’t the only one who could hear the crazy loud and clear in Salina’s voice now.

  “Of course, Mab is dead,” she continued. “But the rest of you aren’t.”

  More than a few folks sucked in breaths at the threat in her words.

  Jonah McAllister pushed through the crowd until he was standing in front of Salina. The lawyer gave her an icy glare. “This is madness. Let us go, Salina. You can’t possibly hope to get away with whatever it is you have planned. You don’t know who you are dealing with.”

  “No, Jonah,” she said. “You don’t know who you are dealing with. But believe me when I tell you that you are about to find out.”

  She stared at the lawyer. McAllister opened his mouth to argue with her but then thought better of it and clamped his lips shut. Whatever he saw in Salina’s face made him he realize that she was too committed to her plan to abandon it now—just like her father had been all those years ago.

  “My father was known for his Ice magic,” Salina said. “But I have a slightly different power—water.”

  Hoarse gasps of unease rippled through the crowd. People stared at the pretty fountains they’d been admiring earlier, awareness, horror, and fear filling their faces. They’d walked right into Salina’s trap without even realizing it, and now there was no way out.

  Again I hesitated. It would be easy—so damn easy—to let Salina kill the lot of them. It would solve so many of my problems, not to mention make Ashland a little safer for everyone. But, once again, I couldn’t condone mass murder, especially when some of the people here tonight were innocents, just regular men and women waiting and bartending and trying to make a few bucks to support their families. I couldn’t leave them to Salina’s mercy—or lack of it. It would go against everything Fletcher had ever taught me about being an assassin—and a halfway decent person too.

  “The reason I invited you here tonight was to remember my father.” Salina’s voice was as calm as ever, which made her words that much more chilling. “To honor him—and to watch you all die screaming, just like he did.”

  That was my cue if ever there was one. Still holding my silverstone staff, I surged to my feet and sprinted to the giant closest to me. He saw me out of the corner of his eye and frowned, as if he couldn’t believe I would actually run toward him while he was holding a gun on the crowd. He swung his weapon around to me, and I reached for my Stone magic, using it to harden my skin.

  Crack! Crack!

  The crowd screamed at the gunshots, and many folks ducked down and started shoving each other, scrambling to put their neighbors between themselves and this new danger.

  The giant got off two shots at me. One was off the mark and plowed into the bar, shattering part of the elemental Ice, while the other hit my shoulder and bounced off my hardened skin. Cursing, the giant started to pull the trigger a third time, but Kincaid snuck up behind him and chopped the gun out of his hand.

  My turn. I brought the staff up and around, slamming it into the side of the giant’s head. He staggered back. I palmed a knife, followed him, and shoved the blade deep into his chest, sliding it in between his ribs and slicing it into his heart. The giant screamed, but I was already pushing him out of the way and stepping over to Kincaid.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Kincaid said, grinning.

  “Uh-huh. Now shut your mouth and start running.”

  I tucked the bloody knife back up my sleeve, grabbed the woman closest to me, and shoved her toward Kincaid and the opening I’d just created in Salina’s trap.

  “Move! Move! Move!” I screamed at the people in front of me. “Run! Now, while you still can!”

  For a moment, there was shocked silence; then folks began to stampede in my direction. I leapt up onto the rim of the closest fountain so I wouldn’t get dragged down to the ground and trampled. Looking over the crowd to where Salina was standing in front of the mermaid fountain, I could only hope I’d bought everyone enough time to get out of her watery web of death.

  But it was already too late—Salina’s eyes began to glow, and I knew she was reaching for her magic.

  Normally, I would have enjoyed being so close to such beautiful fountains. I would have been happy to relax, sit on one of the rims, and listen to the water merrily gurgle away while a bit of cool, refreshing spray wafted over me.

  Not tonight.

  The water that had been bubbling so peacefully in the fountains took on a harsher, more ominous sound. It surged out of the metal sculptures with all the force of a fire hose pointed at the crowd—seven of them, one from each fountain.

  People screamed as the water slammed into them, and the jets of it were so powerful they knocked over tables, chairs, and everything else in their paths. In a second, everyone was soaked to the skin, which was just what Salina wanted. People fell to the ground, which had already turned to mud, and they wrestled with each other, trying to get on their feet or crawl over the tops of their enemies to safety. Others weren’t so lucky. They were picked up by waves of water, dumped into the bottoms of the fountains, and held there, only to surface when they were good and dead. Salina wasn’t using her magic to dehydrate anyone. No, tonight, she was intent on drowning everyone she saw.

  “Salina! No! Stop!” I heard Owen yell. “Don’t do this!”

  Owen pushed his way through the crowd until he was standing before the elemental. He held out a hand, pleading with her. Sh
e looked at him. Her face softened, and I could see all the love she had for him, all the love she’d always had for him, crazy and twisted as it was. For a moment, I thought she might actually reconsider, that she might actually stand down and give up her deadly plan. But then her eyes found mine, and her face hardened once more.

  “You made your choice, Owen,” Salina snarled. “And this is mine!”

  She waved her hand and a jet of water roared out of the fountain behind her, slamming into Owen, knocking him back thirty feet into the Ice bar we’d been hiding behind.

  “Owen!” I screamed.

  But my lover didn’t respond, and his body slumped to the ground at an awkward angle. At the very least, he was unconscious. I didn’t want to think about the very worst.

  “Owen!” Kincaid yelled the same thing I had and started shoving his way over to the bar. I leaped off the fountain rim and took a step toward Owen, too—

  And that was when Finn finally crashed the party.

  His Escalade rammed through the front gate, followed by Bria’s sedan and another cop car with flashing blue and white lights. Finn forgot about following the driveway. Instead, he turned the wheel hard, accelerated onto the lawn, and slammed the vehicle into the koi fountain. He knocked the metal off its foundation, busting the pipes hidden beneath it and causing even more water to shoot up into the air. Finn had also clipped the giant who’d been guarding that spot, creating another opening in the ring of death, which was quickly filled with more fleeing people. They stumbled away from the pulsing jets of water, out onto the lawn, and then picked up their sodden dresses and pant legs and ran for all they were worth.

  I noticed Jonah McAllister was leading the pack of escapees. A pity the lawyer had gotten away, but my eyes snapped back to Salina. Even though I desperately wanted to check on Owen, first I needed to make sure she didn’t hurt anyone else.