by H. D. Gordon
There was collective gasp from the crowd, and Surah felt Charlie’s hand tighten around hers as she pulled him as quickly as was possible through the crowd. She could see the city gates about fifty yards ahead, but it would take forever to reach them at this pace, and even more people were trying to force their way into the city on the other side. She took a deep breath to calm herself. No one knew they were here. If she just didn’t panic, they would probably make it out okay.
“It is possible this Black Heart is even responsible for the disappearance of the Magic, and he is not working alone, ladies and gentlemen,” Gregory said.
Surah stopped in her tracks for a moment and looked back at the stage, her brow furrowing when she saw that Theo looked angrier than a poked bear. She looked at Gregory next, took a second to absorb the false look of regret on his face, and promised herself depending on what the man said next, she might be killing them both before this day’s end. When Charlie gave her hand another squeeze, she continued on again through the crowd that was growing more and more restless.
“Black Heart has a brother,” Gregory said, and Surah could hardly feel her fingers now for how tightly Charlie was holding them. “His brother goes by the name of Charlie Redmine, another man proven capable of terrible crimes, and sadly, what I must tell you does not end there.”
When the crowd gave another big gasp and a woman near the front of the stage screamed, Surah stopped again and looked back to see Theo was holding a blade to her uncle’s throat, his anger so palpable it practically formed a red haze in the air around him.
What did you think would happen, you stupid bastard? Surah thought. Look what you’ve done now.
CHAPTER 34
THEODINE GRAY
All he could see was red. The crowd, the stage, the backstabbing bastard whose throat was close against his blade. All ringed in red. He couldn’t believe he’d been so foolish, so blind as to think that because Gregory was Surah’s uncle, he’d want to protect her and her father. He should kill the man right now, for everyone to see, and be done with it.
Gregory gave a smug smile when Theo told him as much in a voice just above a whisper. Gregory’s answer was spoken just as lowly. “You sure this will help your cause, Theodine?” Gregory asked. “You think you can protect her by murdering me in front of the whole kingdom?” His eyes went to the crowd and back to Theo. “You think they will stand by now that they know they’ve been lied to?”
Theo held his position, staring into the Head Councilman’s eyes with murder promised in his own. “Maybe not here and now, Lord Brightstar,” Theo said, his voice a growl. “But in the very near future you will realize what a mistake you made today by crossing me.”
It took all his will, but Theo forced himself to step back from Gregory and replace his sword in its sheath. He noticed the other Hunters relax, though he hadn’t thought before about the position he’d just put them in. He was their leader, but they served the king, and he’d almost just killed the king’s Head Councilmen right in front of them. What would they have done if he had gone through with it? Arrested him? That was a possibility, and made even more so by the fact that Gregory’s little speech was news to the majority of them as well.
As he stood on the stage in front of the mass of people who’d also been lied to, he wondered how things had gotten so incredibly out of control. For the first time in a long time, he found himself unable to make a decision about what to do next. He couldn’t just kill Gregory out in the open like this, but could he stand by and let the man proclaim the princess a traitor?
Gregory didn’t let him get a chance to ponder any of this for too long. He stepped back up to the microphone, and with each word he delivered Theo felt his stomach being gripped as if by an angry, divine hand.
Gregory said, “We had Black Heart’s brother in custody, as many of you probably knew, but what you don’t know is that he is no longer in custody.” He paused dramatically, letting the crowd get worked up again before raising his hands to silence them once more. “And our very own Princess Surah is the one who helped him escape.”
CHAPTER 35
SURAH
There it was. Right out on the table. She hadn’t known what to expect when coming here, but it sure wasn’t that her uncle would rile up everyone in the kingdom and proclaim her a traitor. She was beyond being polite now as she made her way through the crowd with Charlie close behind her, the gates to the city, which were still bottle-necked with people, only twenty yards off. She wished she hadn’t come back here. It sure hadn’t accomplished anything, except knowing that her father had yet to awaken from his coma and that she was now believed an enemy by everyone in the kingdom.
She pushed people out of the way, shoving past them and uttering apologies, not even pausing to look at any of them directly. She was shoved back several times, but maintained her feet, as there wasn’t too far to be pushed before colliding with another person. Her anger was slowly growing at all the unwanted contact, but it was overshadowed by the fear of how bad a turn this situation had taken for both her and Charlie. She had to get them both out of here and far away as soon as she possibly could, but now she also had to be extra careful not to draw attention to herself or Charlie.
As long as they just kept moving, they would be fine. She looked back to see her uncle quieting the crowd again, though she couldn’t imagine what he had left to say. She allowed herself a nervous smile when she thought: Bring me their heads! That was ridiculous, because as long as they kept moving everything would be fine and no one would know—
“They’re here!” yelled a familiar voice in the crowd, and both Surah and Charlie stopped in their tracks, their hearts pausing along with their feet.
It took her one breathless moment to realize whom the voice belonged to, and when she looked at Charlie, she saw she was right, and that he recognized it, too.
CJ. How in the holy hell could she have forgotten about CJ?
When the voice came again, Surah’s eyes followed its sound to the source, and sure enough, the dirty blond head of Cindy-Joe came into view as the stupid girl climbed one of the speakers and stood atop it. She shouted again, more of the crowd turning now to look at her. “Charlie Redmine and Princess Surah are here now! I passed ‘em on the road earlier, and they told me they was headin’ here!”
On the stage, even Gregory had stopped to listen. Surah caught a glimpse of him raising his eyebrows at this news, but then she was heading toward the gates again. Getting out of here had just gone from important to imminent. She tugged Charlie along behind her, and saw that she was getting strange looks now from those she passed. She tried to keep her eyes downcast, knowing that the violet of them would be recognizable to anyone.
Gregory’s voice boomed again from the speakers all around her, making her feel surrounded by him even though she was slowly but surely moving away from the stage. “You say the princess and the traitor told you they were headed here today?” he asked.
CJ’s response was clear and loud. “That’s right! I bet if you have everyone remove their hoods, you’ll see I’m right!”
Surah bit down hard on her tongue to keep from panicking. She should have slit CJ’s throat when she had the chance. This was precisely the reason she didn’t believe in mercy. Every time you left someone pissed off at you without thoroughly making them fear you, you left a loose thread that could unravel the entire fabric. Cindy-Joe had better hope Surah never ran into her again, because if she made it out of here, the girl was going to seriously regret her words here today.
Surah heard Gregory ask everyone to remove their hoods, but she was only fifteen yards from the gates now with Charlie still at her side. If she could just get a little further they would be home free.
In the next moment she felt her hood ripped off her head, making the midday sunlight blind her for a few seconds, which also happened to be the amount of time it took her to realize what had just happened. Her head whipped around and she saw someone had ripped off Charlie
’s hood as well. She caught only a glimpse of his beautiful jade eyes, but it was enough to read the panic that flashed behind them.
Then someone right next to them yelled, “Look! Here they are! They’re over here!”
It seemed like all eyes zeroed in on them, and the people around them stepped back and away, clearing the space around Surah and Charlie and leaving them wide open to whatever was coming next. Surah sighed and shrugged the old cloak she’d been hiding under off her shoulders, revealing her beautiful black cloak that shimmered like a night sky when she moved. She shook her head, making her lavender hair fall freely around her face. Then she met the eyes staring back at her with what she hoped looked like no shame.
When no one bowed at the sight of her, she knew they all believed what Gregory had told them, and that she and Charlie were in trouble. Big trouble.
Surah reached behind her back and gripped the handles of her sais. They were cold and hard under her fingers, and when they slid free of her cloak the silver of them flashed in the sunlight. A few people around her took more steps back, but she and Charlie were still blocked from escape.
She turned to face the stage now, staring defiantly across the crowd at her uncle and Theo, who had taken center stage and was holding the microphone in his hand. Surah tilted her chin up a fraction, waiting for the Head Hunter to make his next move. She watched as his eyes went from her to Charlie and back again, and when he brought the microphone up to his mouth, she already knew by the look in his eyes what he was going to say.
“Seize them!” he commanded. “But do not harm the princess!”
Surah’s eyes darted around and she saw several Hunters moving toward her and Charlie. It was a surreal moment, where time halted for a breath just so she could observe the strangeness of it. The Hunters had worked alongside her and protected her forever, and now they were coming toward her as a threat. Suddenly the enemy. Nonetheless, they paused when they got near, bowing their heads to her, but not taking their eyes off of Charlie. Surah spun her sais around in her hands and met their gazes one by one.
“Choose your sides here well, Hunters,” Surah said. “You serve my father.”
“Aye, my lady,” one of the Hunters replied, “but your father is unable to lead us right now, and we have orders.”
Surah stared coldly at the one who’d spoken. “If my father is unable to lead, then you serve me.”
“And you serve the people!” someone in the crowd yelled out. “And the people want to see that scum beside you without his head!” Several shouts of agreement followed this, and slowly, the Hunters began to move in again.
“Disobey me if you think it’s the best choice,” Surah said, steeling herself for what had to be done next, drowning out the crowd and focusing on the oncoming Hunters. “But if you do, know that I will not forget it, not ever, and I would assume most of you know how I ensure you never forget crossing me as well.”
Indecision crossed the Hunters’ faces as they stared at her, but she could see what was going to happen even before they’d fully made up their minds, and she told herself she was ready for it. Stealing a quick look at Charlie, her resolve strengthened. Of course she was ready. She had to be.
But one last ditch effort couldn’t hurt, either.
“Let us leave,” she commanded, watching the approaching Hunters the way a tiger might watch its prey. “Or I will kill every single one of you for treason.”
The Hunter who had spoken before answered, and Surah felt her anger surge at the satisfied gleam in his eyes. “We’re not the ones who committed treason, my lady,” he said, and made a quick move toward her.
He was the first to die that day, but not the last. Not by a long shot. The blood had only just begun to spill.
CHAPTER 36
SAMSON
Samson could hardly process what was happening. It was too much to take in, too complicated to calculate. He leaned out the arched window, his front paws hanging out over the edge. He looked at King Syrian and back out the window again and again, like a canine watching a ball being tossed back and forth. He wished for the millionth time that the damn man would just wake up already. His people were turning on each other, and the crowd at his gates was moments away from becoming an angry mob.
And Samson was moments away from leaping down and ripping them apart one by one. Despicable Two-Legs. Followers. All of them. How easily they believed the words of one man. One man who had stood on that stage below and proclaimed his Surah a traitor to her father’s kingdom. One man who would not live to see another day.
He would kill Theo, too. Just for being stupid enough to tell Gregory Brightstar about Surah and Charlie. He would kill Charlie for putting Surah into this mess.
He was having a great deal of trouble concentrating. So many instincts were at war in him. He hopped down from the window and resumed pacing.
Then a woman’s voice rang out, floating through the open window and drawing Samson back to it. He jumped up and stood on its sill completely now, the front half of his enormous body suspended in open air.
“They’re here!” the woman’s voice in the crowd had called. He scanned the crowd below until he spotted her climbing atop a large speaker. His eyes narrowed to slits as the woman—a young, gangly thing with dirty blond hair—continued her announcement. “Charlie Redmine and Princess Surah are here!”
The blond woman continued on, but Samson didn’t even hear the words. He was too busy looking for his Surah. He’d known she was here, and though he’d been pining to see her the last couple of days, now he wished she hadn’t come. Not to a reception like this. This situation was a ticking time bomb that was low on seconds. He could smell it in the air.
More shouts from below drew his attention to the very outer ring of the City Square. He watched as the hoods were ripped off the heads of two people in cloaks moving toward the city gates, and as soon as he saw her lavender hair, his heart dropped.
From the stage, Theodine Gray’s voice boomed through the speakers. “Seize them! But do not harm the princess!”
There were shouts of approval, which drowned out the deep rumbling coming up Samson’s chest. He almost jumped out just then, but thinking of the vulnerable king lying behind him, he halted. He knew his Surah was quite formidable in battle, and if she knew the whole situation, she wouldn’t want him to leave her father alone unless he absolutely had to. He knew all this, and yet still the conflict raging inside him was a difficult one. No matter. The decision was about to be made for him.
The Hunters surrounding Surah and Charlie made their move, and Surah cut the first one down easily, spinning her sais in her hands and moving in a way that Samson had always adored. Her movements were more feline than any Two-Leg he’d ever known, and he liked to think he’d played a role in that. He stood mesmerized as he watched her, the beautiful way she danced and twisted as she delivered death. He would stay with her father. She would make it out. It was going to be—
A screeching, bird-like sound from above his head cut his thoughts short. It took him a moment to recognize what it was. Darkness fell over the sky, drawing his eyes upward. He was out the window before his next breath, but after the first scream ripped through the air from the crowd below.
Above, Fae Guardians were flying in with swords drawn and fangs bared. There were so many of them that they blotted out the sun.
CHAPTER 37
CHARLIE
Charlie had been through quite a bit in his long lifetime, but he had never seen such chaos as was erupting around him now. All eyes had gone to the sky, and there he saw hundreds of Fae flying down with long blades clutched in their hands, insect-like wings buzzing so loudly that a hum filled the air. Everything that followed happened so fast he would later only remember it in flashed moments and images.
A large hand grabbed his arm. He hardly had time to realize a Hunter had grabbed him, because then the hand had no arm attached to it. He looked up to see Surah sheathing a short blade dripping scarlet. She to
ssed him a tight smile before turning back to the other Hunters, who didn’t seem to know what to do; take on her and Charlie, or the Fae. Theodine Gray’s voice boomed from the speakers, commanding the Hunters to shut the city gates. Screams erupted from the crowd as people were snatched up in the claws of Fae and dropped from thirty feet above. The smell of iron filled the air as the Fae took their swords and slashed at the frenzied crowd seemingly at random.
Surah pulled him forward as she skewered and sliced and slid around people who tried to stop them. He pulled out the crossbow she’d given him and shot Fae from the sky as though they were no more than clay disks. There was a terrible weight of people pushing at him from every side, running in every direction, seeking safety, making it impossible to get to any destination.
He turned and saw that Surah was no longer beside him, that somehow they had been separated in the chaos. Then a cold blade was pressed to his throat.
His thought then was that at least he’d gotten to have her once. He supposed today was as good as any if he had to die, which was looking more and more likely.
CHAPTER 38
SURAH
Surah had found herself in tougher situations. Well, not really, but it helped to soothe her to think it. She was focused the way she only ever was in battle, and it gave her strength and precision, but she knew if she made it out of here she would carry the weight of this day forever. She wasn’t just killing, she was killing her own people. The fact that it was self-defense wouldn’t seem so relevant once all the dust had finally settled.
She kicked in the stomach one of the Hunters blocking her way, and he doubled over. She slashed the tip of her sai across his legs as she walked by him, shoving more people aside as she did so. She was making an honest effort not to kill every person that she was fighting, but she also acknowledged that the only way she and Charlie were going to get out of this was if they left a trail of bodies in their wake. And that wasn’t even counting the surprise visiting Fae.
