by KJ Harlow
“I’m fine,” Tor said, through gritted teeth. “Sid will take the bullet out. I’m fine.” I gazed after him as he exited the gates and slumped into the stone column next to Silas. As Sid busied himself tending to Tor’s wound, I approached Walter. He was looking down at Dante’s still body, his face twisted with hatred. Dante’s eyes were glassy and wide as he stared up into infinity.
“That was good work before,” I said glancing up at Walter. He was trembling slightly, his fist clenched. We all hated Dante, but Walter’s loathing of the man was frightening. Before I could repeat myself, Tracy skipped in through the gate, slapping a hand down on Walter’s left shoulder.
“What!” He roared, whirling around to point his gun at Tracy. Tracy put her hands up, trepidation in her eyes. Realizing his mistake, Walter holstered his weapon. “I’m sorry, Tracy, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” Tracy slowly dropped her arms and exhaled.
“That’s OK. I was just coming to thank you for giving me the opening before.” Her eyes traveled across the ground until she was looking at her dagger sticking out of Dante’s forehead.
“He’s not Ceased, but this will keep him out of our hair for the time being,” I said sagely. Walter turned around and looked at me.
“Rose, I didn’t see you there.” I gave him a faint smile.
“I’ve just been here for a minute, no sweat.” He looked down at Dante a moment longer then turned on his heel, heading back out the gate. I exchanged a look with Tracy as we followed him out.
“Sid,” Walter barked. “What were you thinking, revealing so much information to the enemy like that?” Sid was still busying himself with Tor’s wound. I crouched down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He stopped for a moment and looked up at Walter.
“I apologize,” he said softly. “As soon as he started talking to me, I almost felt compelled to tell him everything.” Walter glowered down at Sid. “It won’t happen again.”
“Silas,” Tracy said, “how are you feeling?” Silas grunted as he sat up higher against the stone column.
“I’m feeling much better, thanks to Sid.” He tried to push himself up but the moment he put weight on his injured leg, it gave out.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Agatha said firmly. She looked up at Walter. “He can’t go in, it’s too dangerous. I can stay out here with him.”
“No, I’ll stay outside with him,” Walter said. “There could be more Conflicted so I’ll need to keep them at bay. Besides, you need to go back inside to get your Lucent Gun.”
“I’ll stay outside too,” Tracy said, looking down at Silas and Tor. “I don’t think I’ll be much help while my dagger’s stuck inside Dante’s head.” I grinned at Tracy before looking back at Tor. He didn’t like showing pain but he couldn’t help but groan as Sid extracted the bullet from his wound, throwing it into the street. Everyone watched him as he quietly patched Tor’s stomach up.
“There, that will keep him going for a while longer,” Sid said, rubbing his nose. Tor looked up at Sid and nodded.
“What do you say, Tor?” I said, nudging him. He eyed me before looking up at Sid.
“Thank you, Sid.” Sid grunted in acknowledgment. He stood up and stretched his back.
“So are we going into the Palace now?” He looked intently at Walter, who didn’t meet his gaze.
“Yes. You will go in with Rose, Agatha, and Tor if he’s ready.” Tor stood up slowly, wincing as he put a hand on his stomach. I gave him a concerned look.
“You should stay behind with–”
“I’m fine,” Tor said, dropping his hand. “Let’s go in.” Tor gently pushed passed me as he walked back into the forecourt, making sure not to step on the rifles that littered the floor. Sid bent down and picked up some bandages, gauze and a small medical kit stuffing them into his pocket. He gave me a grim smile.
“You can never be too careful.” I nodded at him then looked across at Agatha.
“You go on ahead. I’ll help Sid,” she said, smoothing out her habit. Tracy shot me a quizzical look. I responded by putting my finger over my lips, shushing her. I jogged up to Tor, who was halfway into the forecourt. I couldn’t help but look at Dante lying on the ground, suspended somewhere between life and death. Looking at his wide, staring eyes I could remember them penetrating my soul as I tried to keep him from reanimating in Trafalgar Square.
“Hey,” I said, threading my fingers into his left hand. He looked down at me, a gentle smile shattering his practiced mask of emotionlessness. He gently squeezed my hand, grateful for my presence. “What do you think of Sid?” His smile faded as looked forward towards Buckingham Palace’s main entrance.
“He’s good with his hands,” he said. I ran in front of him, peeking behind Tor to make sure they couldn’t hear me. Sid and Agatha were only just starting to come into the forecourt.
“I don’t mean that. I mean how he’s fitting in with the team.” I glanced at Agatha and Sid, who were taking their time walking towards us. “Agatha seems to like him, but Walter doesn’t.” Tor blinked at me, a blank look on his face. I rolled my eyes. There wasn’t much point talking about this with Tor. Tracy would know what I was talking about, but she wasn’t here. I waved to Sid and Agatha.
“Watch your step, you two!” I grinned as Sid held onto one of Agatha’s hands as she daintily stepped over a particularly tricky pile of guns. I wonder what it was about the Weston boys that made Agatha so fond of them. On the surface, Mortimer and Sid couldn’t be any more different. Mortimer was a murderous killer tormented by the belief that his parents abandoned him. Sid was a virtuous man who shunned material trappings, opting for a life of servitude to the people who needed it most.
“What are you two waiting for?” Agatha said, hastily pulling her hand away from Sid’s.
“We were waiting for you two,” I said, my eyes flitting between the two of them.
“Let’s go inside already,” Sid said, striding past us all towards the steps. “We have some Tormented to take care of.”
“It’s beautiful.” I walked reverently on the red rug laced with gold. Stunning chandeliers hung from the ceilings, casting light along the hallway. Tor walked in front, his Lucent Gun close to his chest. Sid was to his right while Agatha shuffled to his left, her habit soundlessly swishing against the rug.
“Mortimer should be in here, right?” I said. I looked at the magnificently painted portraits, daring their lifelike eyes to move, just like in the movies.
“I don’t know,” Agatha said quietly. “Dante wasn’t exactly helpful. Still, wherever he is, they can’t be far.”
“If Mortimer is anything like the boy that I knew, he would have loved to be in a place like Buckingham Palace,” Sid said under his breath. “He was always drawn to an opulent lifestyle. He was the one who stole the most luxury products out of all of us.” Agatha nodded in agreement. Tor suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“What’s wrong?” I said, looking up at him.
“I don’t know where to go,” he said. He turned around to face us.
“None of us have been in here,” Agatha said reassuringly. “We just have to explore the entire Palace.” Tor looked at her and nodded. He turned back to face the front and kept walking. It was hard trying to stay alert in the Palace. Despite its size, it was really warm. I couldn’t help but stifle a yawn. We turned the corner and came to another extravagant hall; the door was open. Tor looked in, pointing his Lucent Gun at the corners and the ceiling.
“Clear,” he said firmly, waving us in. The room reminded me of Death’s office. Its walls seemed to stretch further than the eye could see… or it could have just been my glasses. I took them off and hurriedly polished them with my top. In the middle of the room were a couple of impressive looking lounge chairs. Between them was a table of the purest marble. This must have been a guest room. We stepped towards the lounge chairs. Gold threads were weaved into the fabric; they looked like they had been hardly used. There was nothing on the table exce
pt an ash tray.
“I wonder who smokes in the royal family.” I mused, bending down to pick up the ash tray.
“Don’t touch it,” Sid warned. My hand froze in mid-air as I looked across at him. “Taking it would be considered theft.” I scoffed at him and picked up it up.
“I’m not going to steal it, Sid.” I turned it around in my hands, admiring the handiwork. “I’m just having a–”
“Look out!” Tor threw himself on top of me as Sid and Agatha took cover behind the lounge chairs. The ashtray spun through the air, eventually landing with a heavy clunk on the carpet. I looked up into Tor’s face. He winced and looked down: his stomach wound had reopened.
“Damn it,” I swore. “I’m sorry T–” Tor tensed up, sending a jolt of electricity through my nervous system. We looked into each other’s eyes as we heard the a distinctive giggling of a young girl.
“Let’s play hide and seek,” Matylda cooed.
Twenty-Four
“Who on earth…” Sid said under his breath. Tor rolled off me, the blood weeping from his stomach wound anew. I frantically tried to stem the flow with my hands, throwing looks over my shoulder to see if Matylda was in the room.
“Sid, get over here!” I yelled. Sid scrambled from behind the lounge and knelt down by Tor’s side. He lifted his shirt; the bandage was almost completely red.
“I’ve got to redo it,” Sid mumbled under his breath. He pulled out the spare bandages from his pocket and got to work. Agatha hovered helplessly, watching Sid try to stop Tor from bleeding to death. I drew my Lucent Gun and stood up. It sounded like Matylda’s laughter had come from the door that we had come through. Had she been following us the entire time?
“Sid, tell Agatha what to do. I need you to be ready if we are attacked from the other side.” Sid looked up at me and nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration. I walked slowly across the floor, keeping my Lucent Gun in front of me. The door was ajar, just like how we had found it when we came in. Did we close it after ourselves or did someone open it after we came in? My heart was frantically crashing against my rib cage as I pushed myself into the wall.
In one swift movement, I thrust my gun out the door, pointing it into the corner closest to me. In a fraction of a second, I swung around to look at the corner behind me. I dropped my Lucent Gun in shock as a bayonet skewered both of my hands. Matylda was holding a Queen’s Guard’s rifle with both hands, looking at me innocently.
“Oops.” A second later, my nerves screeched as the pain ripped up my arms. I fell to the ground dry retching as Matylda dropped the rifle. She sped off around the corner, her cackling following her through the hall. From the depths of my soul, I screamed louder than I ever had before. A second later, the door was flung open. With blood still leaking from his stomach, Tor effortlessly picked me up, crossed the room and gently laid me down on the lounge. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was his pale, terrified face. His mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear him call my name.
“Can they go back to the Underworld?” Sid asked. I cracked open my eyes; everything was blurry. Someone must have taken off my glasses.
“If she goes back, we all go back,” Agatha said grimly. I could make out the figures of Sid and Agatha standing with their backs towards me. They were looking down at Tor, he was paler than I’d ever seen him. There was silence while everyone remained still.
“She can’t fire her gun, Matylda severed the tendons in both her hands,” Sid said quietly.
“I can use her Lucent Gun,” Agatha said wearily, looking back at me over her shoulders. I closed my eyes before she could see that I was awake. Feeling started returning to my hands. I tried to lift my hands, but they felt heavy. I willed my fingers to move but they refused to. Raising my head slightly, I saw that my hands were heavily bandaged and stained red. I was too busy observing my hands that I didn’t notice Sid looking back over his shoulder at me.
“You’re awake.” Agatha whirled around, her habit swishing against the table between the two lounge chairs.
“We can’t go back to the Underworld,” I said hoarsely. It felt like I hadn’t had anything to drink for a month. “We’ve come so far. We have to Cease Mortimer.” Sid stilled as he stared at me. Agatha dropped her head, not letting me look at her face. I dropped my legs off the lounge and used the momentum to swing myself up into a sitting position. I was immediately hit with a wave of nausea and regret.
“You should be lying down,” Sid said sternly.
“You shouldn’t be talking about going back to the Underworld,” I retorted.
“We don’t have much choice,” Agatha said, raising her voice. “You can’t physically fire your gun, let alone hold it and Tor’s stomach wound has gotten worse.” Her voice was giving me a headache but I pushed on.
“We’ve still got Sid,” I said breathlessly, looking up at him. “He’s the key. He knows the Truth about Mortimer. All we need to do is take him to Mortimer and he can do the rest.” Sid’s face was as unreadable as he continued staring at me.
“Rose…” Tor mumbled. Sid and Agatha spun around Tor stirred.
“Tor,” Agatha said gently, “Rose is here. Sid and I are here.” He groaned as he opened his eyes. Sid and Agatha barely had time to react as he jumped to his feet and looked around the room wildly. Spotting me, he was by my side in an instant, cradling my heavily bandaged hands.
“Rule Number Four,” I said smiling bitterly at Tor. “You taught me that one.” He looked at my hands helplessly, a maelstrom of emotions swirling across his face. Sid approached Tor, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Be careful not to aggravate your injury again. I stitched it up this time but it doesn’t mean it can’t reopen.” Tor appeared not to have heard him as he continued staring at my hands. I took a deep breath then exhaled, shoving all the pain into the corner.
“We can use each other’s guns, right?” I asked, looking at Agatha. She nodded at me. “So we have Tor, Sid and you. That’s three against two. We can’t turn back now. We have to Cease Mortimer tonight.”
“What about you?” Sid asked.
“I’ll follow,” I said, raising my hands from Tor’s and looking at them. “You’ve done a good job on these. I’ll go back to the Underworld and they’ll be good as new. I’m just not going right now.”
“You should go back outside to join Silas,” Agatha suggested.
“No,” I said flatly. “Mortimer has taken away so many lives, including my own.” I thought back to that fateful night in the alleyway behind my workplace where Mortimer had turned me into a Conflicted. “So many people aren’t able to witness the end of him, but I will. I want to be there.” My eyes blazed defiantly as I looked between Agatha and Sid. Sid was resting his hand on the grip of his gun as I said this. He finally stopped staring at me and looked at Agatha.
“This must be what parenthood is like,” Sid said, a cheeky smile adorning his mouth. Agatha blushed and shushed him. We spun around as we heard a door slam shut. Matylda had come back into the room. Spotting Sid she cooed.
“Ooh, what’s your name?” Sid raised his Lucent Gun and fired at her. She evaded the shot and moved along the far wall towards us. Her Ombre Gun bounced against her hip as she locked eyes with me. “Do your hands hurt?” Agatha drew my Lucent Gun from her holster and fired a round of shots at Matylda. She was prepared again, scuttling around the shots as they pinged into the wall behind her. Tor’s hands fell away from mine as he watched her.
“What do you want?” I snarled.
“I want…” – she looked upwards as she made a show of pondering deeply – “… to talk to Tor.” I could see him visibly stiffen as he his name left her lips. “But first I want to play hide and seek again. I didn’t try that hard the first time.” I glowered at her as she shifted the weight between her feet like a child who’s just had too much cordial. If Tracy were here, she would play along with her. I decided to try her approach.
“OK,” I said, my voice lightening up. “But i
f we find you, we want you to take us to Mortimer. We want to talk to him too.” An expression of curiosity crossed Matylda’s face.
“Why do you want to talk to him?” She asked.
“Why do you want to talk to Tor?” I spat back. Her face clouded over in anger as her eyes flitted across to Tor. He warily watched her, making no move to reach for his Lucent Gun.
“They’re alive,” Matylda said, a smile curving across her lips. Tor froze, not taking his eyes off her. I looked between them, my eyes eventually resting on Tor’s face. He was shaking his head in disbelief, but I could see glimmers of hope in his eyes. Who were ‘they’? “Find me and I’ll tell you more.” Before we could blink, she was on the other side of the room. “Oh there are some more playmates waiting for you, tell them I said hi!” Sid fired another shot at her but she had already left the room, slamming the door shut.
“Who’s ‘they’?” I said, looking at Tor.
“Rose,” Agatha said, standing up. “Now’s not the time.” Conflicted Queen’s Guards had filed into the room. “Sid!” Agatha shouted, raising my Lucent Gun to pick off them off as they marched in.
“A-alright!” He said. He ran to where Matylda had just stood and started shooting at the second stream of Conflicted that was flowing into the room. Agatha ducked to dodge a bullet from a Conflicted that she had missed.
“Tor!” Agatha said, keeping her eyes on the Conflicted entering the room. “Back us up!” Tor was in a trance as he stared at the door Matylda had just left from. I hit him across the face with my heavily bandaged hand and yelped.
“What’s wrong with you?” I shouted at him. “Help Sid and Agatha!” Tor sprang up and drew his Lucent Gun, felling the Conflicted that had just fired shots at us. I looked at the three of them pushing back wave after wave of Conflicted then back at my hands helplessly. Was I being too selfish wanting to see Mortimer breathe his last breath? Tor Ridded the last Conflicted and slowly lowered his gun. He turned back to me, his emotionless mask back on again. No, I had to stay here. I didn’t know what was troubling Tor but all Matylda needed was another moment of indecision and he would be toast. Tor rushed to my side as I stood up slowly.
