Carol lifted her head and groaned. “Not penis! Peanuts! Believe me, I'm not craving the other thing. After spending so much time in the company of men, it makes me wish I was attracted to women.”
Before Gwen could comment on Carol's disenchantment with men, a wide-eyed, well-dressed gentleman pounded their table with his fist. Gwen was so startled, she dropped her tea in her lap.
“Ladies, why are you still here? You've got to get out of Santo Feo! Now.” the man advised them. “Emperor Ju-long of Huoxia is taking the city by force! Believe me, you won't want to be here when things get bad!”
“W-well... how bad is it?” Gwen asked the question as she plucked the scattered ice cubes from her dress.
“Real bad. And it's only going to get worse, especially for women. The emperor's known for letting his soldiers get away with... whatever they want.” As the words spilled from his lips, the frantic gentleman practically dragged Carol from her chair. “If you're smart, you'll catch the last train out of Santo Feo. It's heading east, and you two should be on it!”
“Okay...” Carol was reluctant, but the man looked serious, so it was difficult to doubt him. “Gwen, should we head for the train?”
“Yeah. But we should probably look for Josiah first.”
“Right. Agreed.” Carol drew her pistol when they left the saloon. As they made their way to Weng's, where they hoped to find Josiah, Carol spotted a few of the emperor's soldiers. They dragged Santo Feo's elderly sheriff into the middle of the street and bludgeoned him with the pommels of their swords. “Keep your head down and don't look over there...” Carol whispered to Gwen. As much as she would have liked to help, escaping with her life was more important.
A block away from the general store, they passed a shootout on the street. The gunfire made Gwen whimper, so Carol clapped a hand over the younger girl's mouth. “Shush,” Carol hissed. “Seriously, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves!”
“I'm sorry!” Gwen whined. “I-I-I don't think I want to look for Josiah after all. I'd hate to leave him behind, but I'd hate it even more if we got attacked while we were searching for him. It's too dangerous out here, Carol! Can't we just head for the train station?”
But they didn't have to continue their search for Josiah, because Carol spotted him at the end of the road. “Look. Gwen! There he is! And he's...”
Before Carol could finish, Josiah's left arm was hacked off. As soon as Gwen saw the severed arm hit the ground, she couldn't suppress her scream.
“Oh my god!” cried Gwen, who buried her face against Carol's puce trench coat. She couldn't stand to see the terrible scene. “Oh my god oh my god oh my god! Josiah!”
When Josiah was stabbed and shoved to the ground, Carol felt her heart drop. In her eyes, Josiah Cole was practically invincible. To see him fall was a staggering reality.
“That man's taking Jun!” Gwen pointed at Prince Feng. “Carol... what should we do?”
“Gwen...” Carol shoved her pistol into the girl's trembling hand. “Get to the train station. One of us needs to make it out of here. I'm going to help Josiah.”
“No!” Gwen wailed. “Stay with me please! Josiah's as good as dead... look at him! There's no way he survived that. Come with me, Carol!” She tried to tug on the engineer's sleeve, but Carol didn't budge.
“Nope. Nuh uh. No way.” A dusty wind lashed at Carol's cheeks. The sudden gust briefly lifted her blond pigtails, and then it was gone. Unlike the wind, she wasn't going anywhere. She already made up her mind, and Gwen wasn't going to change it. “I'm helping Josiah, and that's that. Go, Gwen! If I'm lucky, I'll meet you on the train.”
“Alright...” Gwen wasn't sure how to hold a gun, so it dangled from her fingers. “But I think you're making a huge mistake. Look! There are soldiers over there!” She pointed at a pair of foreign guards patrolling the area around Josiah. “They haven't paid attention to us so far, but what if Josiah's already made an enemy of them? What if he's a target?”
“Then I'll make myself a target too. I just can't leave him behind!” Carol suddenly gave her companion a tremendous shove. “Now go. I'll meet you on the train, Gwen.”
As Gwen raced toward the station, Carol ran to Josiah and knelt beside him. He was on the verge of accepting death when he saw her face and groaned her name, “Carol...”
“Come on, Josiah!” Carol wrapped his remaining arm around her shoulders and tried to haul him to his feet. “Come on, up up up!”
“No, just leave me!” Josiah begged her. He wasn't a small man, and he could barely walk, so she practically carried him along. “Carol don't.”
“What kind of sidesidekick would I be if I left you behind, huh?” Josiah was slipping from her grasp, so she had to stop walking and pull him upward. When his arm was securely around her shoulders, she continued forward. “I'm not just going to let you die!”
“Look at me...” Josiah croaked weakly. “I'm already dead.”
“No, you're not! You're talking, aren't you? And you're walking... kind of. Hell, as long as you're still breathing, I'm not giving up on you!” One of the patrolling guards suddenly fired a shot at them. The bullet whizzed past Carol's arm and ricocheted off a nearby building. Her first concern was for Josiah's safety, so she dropped him behind a stationary stagecoach and took a few seconds to plan her next move.
“Just go, Carol,” Josiah pleaded with her. “Just go. You'll get away faster if you're on your own. I'm not worth it.”
“Like hell you aren't! You're my friend, and believe it or not, I look up to you. There's no way I'm going to leave you to bleed out on the street!” Carol opened her bag and pulled out an oversized handgun. It had two barrels: a long one and a short one.
When Josiah saw the unusual gun in Carol's hand, he had to ask, “What's that?”
“It's just a little weapon I knocked together a few months ago. Even though I've tested the crap out of it, the government won't let me sell it. Isn't that annoying? Apparently, they think it's too dangerous.” When Carol peered around the edge of the stagecoach, two bullets whistled toward her. She ducked behind cover with a shriek.
“If you get shot because you're helping me, I'm going to feel like shit.” Sweat poured from Josiah's forehead as the blood drained from his body. Every time he looked down at his missing arm, he secretly felt like crying.
“I'm not going to get shot! Have faith, man. Have faith.” Carol popped out of cover and raised her unusual gun, aiming at one of the targets. After roughly two seconds, the gun made an odd beeping noise, letting her know it was ready. Carol pressed a button on the side of the gun and slipped behind the stagecoach before any return shots were fired. A split second later, a minuscule missile emerged from the gun's small barrel, and with a hiss, it raced toward one of the guards. Even though he was cowering behind cover, Carol's missile found him anyway, and his head exploded in a repulsive red rain.
“Well, that's one down...” Carol whispered. She reached into her bag, grabbed another mini-missile, and reloaded her weapon.
“What did you do?”
“I blew up a guy's head,” Carol answered Josiah's question in a voice that was unusually calm, considering the circumstances. When she peeked around the stagecoach, she saw the second guard fleeing the scene. Apparently, seeing his ally's exploding head was enough to make him retreat.
As soon as the immediate threat was neutralized, Carol turned her attention to Josiah's wounds. First, she ripped off her belt and coiled it around Josiah's bleeding stump. She pulled it tightly, making sure her makeshift tourniquet was secure. Then she ripped a pair of breeches from her bag and tied them around Josiah's wounded waist. It was hardly the best possible medical attention, but for the moment, it was the most she could manage.
“We're going to head for the train, Josiah. Apparently, it's the last train out of Santo Feo. With any luck, there'll be a surgeon on board who can tend to your wounds.” Carol held up her crossed fingers. “Let's hope.”
“Just leave me,”
Josiah begged her again. “I don't want to be your burden.”
“But I like burdens!” Carol winked as she hauled him to his feet. His legs were understandably wobbly, so she had to carry him forward. “Every burden is a trial and every trial is a test and every test makes you a stronger person, right?”
“I have no idea what you just said,” Josiah moaned. He could feel himself slipping closer to unconsciousness, but for Carol's sake, he fought to stay awake.
They continued along the road until a cluster of emperor's soldiers blocked their path. Carol was afraid to take another step forward for fear of being spotted and attacked.
“The alley,” Josiah groaned. “There's a shortcut to the train station through that alley to the left.”
“Really? Alright, let's go!” Because they had little time to hesitate, Carol sharply turned in the direction of Josiah's alley. All the while, she supported his entire weight on her slender shoulders. When she felt his body shudder, she asked, “Are you okay?”
“Carol... does it look like I'm okay?” Josiah moaned. “I'm in so much pain, I think I'd rather be dead.”
“Don't say that! Everything will be alright, Josiah. I promise!” Carol's own optimism inspired her to move faster. She led him from one empty alley to another, putting her faith in Josiah's shortcut.
“If you haven't noticed, I've lost an arm. It will never be alright.”
Ignoring his pessimism, Carol surged forward. When the maze of alleys ended, she could see the train in the distance. While it was an encouraging sight, there were also a half-dozen Huoxia guards standing at the alley's exit, and they were there to prevent anyone else from boarding the train.
“Shiiiiit,” Carol hissed as she gently deposited Josiah on the ground. When she was unburdened by his weight, she turned her attention back to her gun.
“And how are you going to get us past this, Miss Cassady?” Josiah wasn't trying to discourage her, he was simply curious. Carol was a smart girl, and her bag of gadgets was indeed impressive. He was starting to think he had grossly underestimated her.
“Ooo, I've got it!” Carol reached into her bag and pulled out Gogobot, who waved when he saw Josiah.
“He recognizes me?” Josiah gasped.
“Oh yeah! He's really smart. I know you don't like him, but he's going to get us out of this pinch. Just you watch!” Carol set Gogobot on the ground and gave him a light push in the direction of the guards. As the robot toddled down the alley, his creator whispered, “Gogobot... gas.”
Gogobot silently crept up on the cluster of soldiers. When he was within range, he opened his metal mouth, and when he did, he looked like he was smiling. There was a loud hiss as an eruption of sleeping gas poured from the tiny robot. The men were taken by surprise, and by the time they realized what was happening, all six of them were dropping to the ground, ready to welcome sleep.
“Ha! Enjoy your nap, bozos!” Carol cackled. She crawled down the alley, and when she was closer to her robot, she commanded,“Gogobot... vacuum!”
Gogo immediately sucked the soporific fumes back into his mouth. Looking rather pleased with himself, he cried, “Yip go go!”
Carol hurriedly collected her robot and returned to Josiah, whose eyes had closed during Gogobot's mission. “Josiah!” She gently slapped his cheek a few times, praying he would respond. “Josiah Josiah Josiah puh-leeeease wake up!”
He opened one eye and groaned. “Carol, what happened?”
“The way's clear. Let's get going.” With an exhausted grunt, she hoisted him up and continued forward. When they reached the slumbering soldiers, Carol struggled to step over them while holding Josiah aloft. The chunky heel of her boot accidentally crushed a man's face as she climbed over him, and even though he was the enemy, she whispered an apologetic, “Sorry, guy, sorry.”
A long stretch of desert road stood between them and the train. It was still quite a distance away, but at least their destination was visible. Unfortunately, there was one more obstacle standing between Carol, Josiah and freedom. Halfway to the train, there was a single guard standing beside several crates of suspicious-looking cargo. Carol needed a break, so she dumped Josiah at the crates and plotted her next move.
For a minute or two, the guard didn't move, but when he started to stalk around the crates, Carol panicked. If the guard came any closer, Josiah would be discovered, and Carol didn't want that. She crawled a short distance away and hid behind another wooden crate. Before the guard reached Josiah's location, she popped up and distracted him with a, “Hey!”
He turned and fired so fast, Carol barely ducked the bullet. While cowering behind her crate, she turned an oblong metal crank on her oversized gun. After six cranks, she decided it was enough, then she popped up and pulled the trigger. A stream of flame roared from the gun's long barrel, setting the guard ablaze. As he screamed in horror, Carol squealed, “Gosh... I'm so sorry! I really really am! Yeeeah... that looks like a bad way to die. I'm really sorry about that.”
Grimacing, Carol returned to Josiah and dragged him to his feet. “Heave ho and off we go!” she exclaimed, hoping to encourage him with her unflagging enthusiasm. Josiah looked weak and pale, so she needed to get to the train as quickly as possible. And when the steam train whistled, haste was more necessary than ever. If it departed without them, all of her effort would be for naught.
Glancing at Josiah's face, she realized his eyes were barely open, so she cheered, “Hang in there, buddy! We're almost there!”
A minute later, the train whistled a second time and slowly chugged forward. They still had a short distance to go, but Josiah could barely walk, and Carol knew he wouldn't make it if he relied on his own unstable feet. Over her shoulder, she screamed at her backpack, “Gogobot... dramatic music!”
From the depths of Carol's bag, war drums boomed. The inspiring percussion gave her the burst of adrenaline she needed to lift Josiah onto her back and carry him forward. He was much larger than her, and her back screamed in protest, but she didn't care. Carol refused to fail him.
Before the train could pick up its pace, Carol reached the door and practically shoved Josiah inside. A sigh of relief sailed from her lips as she hopped in after him. A few seconds later, the train's conductor slammed the door behind her.
“Your friend's looking pretty bad,” the conductor observed as his brow furrowed with concern. “He might not make it.”
“I know!” Carol whimpered. “I need to find a doctor fast.”
“Come with me, then. Hundreds of people are crammed aboard this train. I'm sure there's at least one doctor among them.”
Before leaving with the conductor, Carol held Josiah's cheeks between the palms of her hands. “Don't die,” she begged him. “Whatever you do, don't you dare die on me! Do you understand? I'm serious, Josiah!”
“I won't.” With his last ounce of strength, Josiah barely managed to mumble a reply. “You're a strong girl, Carol Cassady. I'm really proud of you.”
“Don't say that!” As Carol retreated, she wagged a finger at him. “That sounds like something you'd say to someone right before you die, so... don't.”
As soon as Carol was gone, Josiah immediately closed his eyes, allowing himself to be enveloped by soothing darkness.
Thirty
“Hello there, beautiful. Mind if I join you?” Nicky's eyebrows wiggled suggestively as he asked the question. The wings of passion had carried him to the table of a handsome, dark-skinned woman. After Jun rejected him, he desperately needed to move on. He wanted to forget all about his doomed infatuation with the woman of his dreams.
Nicky's target was the only woman in the room who wasn't a saloon girl. She had a shotgun on her lap, which might have deterred him, if not for the fact that he was dressed to the nines. Nicky spent a portion of the Hershalls' money on new clothes for himself. A brand new pocket watch, gold and engraved with his initials, dangled from the front of his fancy black greatcoat. Since he was looking sharper than ever, he assumed no woman coul
d resist him.
But she did resist him. “Yeah. I do mind. Please leave.”
Nicky's lips plummeted into a frown. In truth, he expected her to be an easy catch. While she was an attractive woman, she didn't strike Nicky as the sort of person with a ton of prospects. After all, she was in her late thirties—perhaps even forty. Nicky didn't mind her age because he liked older women, but because she was older, he expected her to jump at the opportunity to be with him. But she didn't.
“Aww... madam, you wound me!” Nicky clapped a hand to his chest. “Won't you at least let me introduce myself?”
As she dragged a hand through her wild pink hair, the woman sighed deeply. “If you must.”
“I'm Nicky Gunn. Or Nicholas Amberley, if you prefer.” Nicky bowed. “And what's your name, my lovely?”
“Vee.” As she mumbled her name, she couldn't have sounded less interested.
“Vee? Like the letter?”
“No. Like the number, you asshole.” Vee rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like the letter.”
“Well... it's lovely to meet you, Vee.” When he tried to take her hand and kiss it, she swatted him away. “Is Vee short for something?”
“It's short for Very Much Want To Put My Fist In Your Face.” She aimed her shotgun at Nicky's groin. “Now... can you please leave me alone?”
“Aww. Come on! Don't be crass!” Nicky pouted. “Don't you think I'm charming?”
“Not really. I think you look like you have a tiny dick, but you carry yourself like you're packing a big one.”
“Hey!” His pout intensified. “You couldn't be more wrong about that!”
“Yeah, well... I couldn't care less.” He didn't seem especially intimidated by the shotgun that was pointed at him, so Vee lowered it with a shrug. “My name's short for Violet, if you really must know.”
“Violet. Like the flower! That's so appropriate. You're like a beautiful flower just waiting to be plucked.”
The Emperor's Bride Page 20
