by W. J. May
“What?” Rae spun around. “I refuse to believe that.” She switched to Jennifer's tatù and with a burst of strength pushed her hands away from each other to break the cuff on her wrist. It cracked under the pressure. She spoke again, trying to hide the noise. “Sarah wouldn't hurt anyone! She has a unique ability to understand languages. She's protecting the future king, her husband.” With a final jerk, her arms broke free. She caught the cuff before it clattered to the ground. She set it on the desk in front of her. Rubbing her wrists to try and warm them, she was careful not to use her mother's ability. The fire would only cause more pain against the frostbite. She spun slowly around. “Does every one of the Queen's Guard swear to this oath of stupidity?”
Lenny barked out a ferocious laugh. “There are only a few selected to maintain this precious task.” He jabbed a finger at her. “You will not stop us.” He reached for the gun at his hip.
Rae moved swiftly. She raced to where he stood and kicked his hand away from his holster. She spun him around and pinned his arms behind him, pressing his face against the wooden door. “You don't know me very well.” With one hand on his wrists, she searched his pockets and found a syringe in his vest. She bit the lid off. “Who do you work for? You couldn't plan this all by yourself.” She jabbed the stick into his neck feeling around until she felt a pulse and knew she had found his carotid artery. “Where's Sarah?” She held her finger over the top of the needle, threatening to push the etorphine liquid inside him. “I'm not going to ask you again.”
“Then don't.” Lenny arched up, forcing Rae's finger to push down on the top of the needle. She injected the etorphine before she could react and pull the needle out. Lenny slumped back against her and crumpled to the floor when she let go of him.
“Crap!” she muttered and dragged his body to the spot he had dumped her in earlier. She pulled his gun out of the holster and slid it away from him. She checked his other pockets and found an old set of skeleton keys and the plastic he had used to tie her ankles up. She did the same to his ankles and wrists. She checked every pocket again to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
She pulled his ear piece out and wiped it off before tucking it into her ear. Then checked his cuffs. Alfie always spoke into a microphone. There was no wire or phone or mic, just Lenny's cuff links. Maybe he had taken it off so Alfie and the other Queen's Guards couldn't find him.
Rae grabbed the gun and everything else she thought he might use and tossed it into the garbage bin by the door. She then unlocked it and set the can outside of the room. Before leaving, she glanced back at the unconscious man, and quickly ran back to him, grabbing his cuff links. Maybe they had a mic embedded inside of them. She tossed everything in the garbage. She wasn't taking any chances.
Outside the room, she fumbled through the keys to lock the door and finally let out the breath she had been holding when a resounding click echoed inside the brass fixture. She checked the area to make sure it was clear and dug through the garbage for the cuff links along with the last needle vial - just in case. She stuffed the needle into the hidden pocket under the flower on her dress. Then she lifted the cuff links to her mouth. “Alfie?” she whispered to them. “Can you hear me?” She tapped the ear piece in her ear to see if it might click on or make some noise. Nothing.
She shook the cuff links and banged them together. “Alfie? It's Rae. Have you found Devon?” She waited a moment then huffed and rolled her eyes. “Crap!” She tossed the cuff links back into the garbage and ripped the ear piece out, throwing it in the bin as well.
She had no idea how much time she had or if Lenny had other Guards working with him. They could have taken Alfie down and were keeping this hallway clear. Rae headed for the door where the thump had come from earlier before Lenny had knocked her out. She tried the door. Locked.
Flipping through the keys, she tried the third one and forced it to turn. The door unlocked. Rae swung it open and jumped inside the room, ready to attack.
Sarah sat tied to a chair with a rag over her mouth. She was alone in the room. She stared at Rae with big, weary eyes.
Rae raced over and untied the rag. “Are you okay?”
Sarah shook her head free of the cloth. “Lenny,” she gasped. “He's… He's the one.”
“I know. He's incapacitated at the moment.” Rae created fire and burned through the plastic tie around Sarah's wrist. She dropped down and freed her legs as well. “You lose your mask, too?”
Sarah stared at her before bursting out laughing and wrapping her arms around Rae. “Thank you.”
“We need to get you out of here.” Rae helped Sarah wobble toward the door. “Did you just wake up?”
Sarah's eyes rolled, and she swallowed hard, trying to focus. “I-I think so. I… I don't know. Lenny knocked me out twice.” She stumbled. “I don't feel well.” She sucked quick breaths and leaned over to rest her hands on her knees.
Rae managed to help Sarah out into the hall.
“I think I'm going to be sick.” Sarah turned a few shades yellowish green.
Rae dashed over and grabbed the garbage bin she had set in the hall previously. She placed it in front of Sarah just in time.
Sarah wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Not very lady like.” She shot Rae a shaky grin.
“Not very princess-like,” Rae teased, then turned serious. “We need to get you out of here.” She put her arm around Sarah's waist. “I'll carry you if I have to.”
“There's… a… girl…” Sarah nearly fell. Rae caught her just in time. Sarah's head rolled back as she lost consciousness.
Maria. Rae picked Sarah up in her arms and glanced back at the third door. She hesitated. Sarah needed medical help, what did Maria need?
“Oye!”
She spun around to the sound of the voice that called from the hallway. Alfie stood at the top of the stairwell, his hair a mess but relief clearly written on his face. Until he saw Sarah in Rae's arms.
He rushed toward her. “What happened?”
Rae let him take Sarah. “Lenny injected her with etorphine. Twice. I don't know if she's having a reaction or if the drugs are still in her system.” She nodded behind her. “Lenny's tied up in the room directly behind me.”
Alfie's eyebrows rose. “Lenny?”
“He doesn't want Sarah to become Queen.” She didn't know how much detail to reveal. “He sounds a bit mad.” She twirled her finger by her temple to stress the point. “Get Sarah down to safety. I'll wait here.”
Alfie opened his mouth to argue.
Rae held her hand up. “He's tied up. Have you seen Devon?”
Sarah coughed suddenly and struggled against Alfie. He held her tight and spoke in a kind voice Rae didn't know he even possessed. “Shhh... Sweetie. It's ol' Alfie. Let's get you some water and clear that fog out of your head.” He walked briskly toward the stairs. He looked at Rae before heading down. “Devon was helping me. There were a few Guards.” He grunted. “He's making sure he got them all.”
Rae rubbed her left wrist. It burned and was beginning to turn itchy. “Go. I'm okay here. Protect Sarah.”
Chapter 19
Alfie disappeared down the stairs. Rae immediately rushed to the third door. She slid to a stop just before it and had to run back to the room Sarah had been locked in to get the keys. She moved quickly to the locked door and tried the first key. It slid in and opened with no noise. Odd. Like the handle had been oiled or used recently or not locked.
Hand on the knob, she turned it slowly and leaned her weight into the door and pushed it open. She crouched slightly, ready to pounce on anyone that might be hurting Maria.
Maria sat at a desk behind a computer. She glanced up and looked back down at the laptop before shutting it. She stood and shoved her hands into her pockets. “I was wondering when you were going to come.” She walked toward Rae and grinned. “Heck of an evening, isn't it?”
Rae blinked. “You okay?”
“Fine.”
“Did Lenny dru
g you?”
“No.” She hesitated. “Did he drug you?”
“Yes.”
“Did it work?”
Weird question. “Yeah. Etorphine. It knocked me out.”
“For how long?” Maria started walking toward Rae again.
“Pardon?”
“How long were you out?”
“I don't know. Is it important?”
Maria waved her hand. “Not really. I was just curious. I figured you could heal yourself so it wouldn't work.”
Rae rubbed her wrist against her dress, trying to ignore the pain from the frostbite. “Kraigan messed with my tatù. I lost the healing ability. I didn't have time to see Charles before we headed out here.” She stared at Maria. “You're so calm.”
Confusion crossed Maria's face. “I am?” She rested her hand on her chest. “Inside I'm not. I'm shaking like a leaf. I'm just so relieved you're okay.”
“Why did you come inside?” Rae couldn't help feeling angry that her friend had risked her life just to see a fancy dress. They walked side by side toward the stairs.
“It was a stupid mistake I guess.”
“Devon was kind of ticked. I don't think I can cover for you on this.” Rae tilted her head. “How's your leg?”
“My leg?”
What was wrong with Maria today? “Your cane is downstairs.”
Maria touched her thigh and limped a little. “Must be the adrenaline. It hurts now.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Do we just go downstairs? Will it be safe?”
Rae pressed her lips together. It might not be. Alfie had gone down but who knew who else could be the double agent. “What did Curtis say when you told him you were coming in?”
“Curtis?” Maria stared at Rae with a confused look on her face.
Maybe she had been drugged and didn't remember.
“Oh, Curtis! He told me it was okay.”
A bad feeling hung in the pit of Rae's stomach. “What else did he say?”
“What do you mean?”
“I think Curtis might be working with Lenny. Don't you find it strange he left you alone in the van the other day and then let you sneak out tonight? That's not PC protocol. Something's not adding up.” At the top of the stairs, she touched Maria's shoulder. “Hold on a sec. I'm going to go and grab Lenny's gun. I don't want him escaping the room and getting anything.” She turned around to head back.
“Watch out! Rae!”
She cringed and ducked, then stood frozen on the spot at the sound of Devon's voice.
Someone crashed into her back and sent them both tumbling to the floor - someone who seemed powerful. Rae's head connected with the marble floor. She felt an instant goose egg forming from the tightness of the skin on her forehead. Blinking away the double vision, she tried to roll onto her back. Whoever was on top of her had her pinned tight. “Get. Off. Of. ME!” Her tatù burned. She switched to Jennifer's leopard ability and grabbed the leg of the person on top of her.
The ankle was thin and smooth. Not the thick, hairy man leg she was expecting. She concentrated her power to the center of her body and flipped over, hoping to throw the attacker off of her.
Her hair hung in her face and whipped across, and she turned, her hands stretched out to send a bolt of electricity the moment her tatù changed. She shook her hair out of her face and hesitated a millisecond when she saw who was sitting on her.
Maria.
With the angriest, most despicable look on her face. It didn't even look like Maria.
“What are you…?” Rae's voice trailed off, unable to zap her friend.
“Hit her now!” Devon shouted.
Maria pressed a black handheld machine into Rae's neck.
A tazor. Rae knew the moment everything below her neck went numb. Her arms flopped helplessly at her sides. If the tazor was anything like the ones Devon had trained her with, she'd be useless for the next thirty seconds, maybe longer. She fought against the paralyzed feeling, only her head thrashing side to side.
Maria grinned wickedly at Rae. “You stupid, stupid, girl.” She pulled a syringe out of her pocket and dropped the tazor on Rae's chest. “This one will be permanent.” She clutched the needle with both hands and went to plunge it into Rae's heart.
Rae lay useless. She shut her eyes tight and waited for the burning pain.
It never came.
But the sound of bodies crashing against the wall and glass shattering on the marble floor away from her resounded in her ears. She opened her eyes to see what had happened.
Devon must have barrelled into Maria in his effort to get her off of Rae. Because of the tazor effects, Rae hadn't felt the pressure lift. The needle lay useless and broken on the floor away from all of them.
Maria fought Devon with a lioness-like strength. They fought and rolled toward the stairwell. Rae was terrified they would clatter down. What was Maria doing?
A tingling sensation began to return to Rae's toes. Her left foot twitched, and the feeling ran up her leg. It would take a moment for it to recover fully. She closed her eyes and focussed, waiting for the moment the sensation would reach her arms. A headache throbbed against her temple. She tried to push it away, but it persisted, trying to get her to sink into blackness.
Her right pinky finger twitched. Rae inhaled a sharp breath and focussed everything into her tatù. She felt Devon's ability and sprang to action. In one fluid motion, she grabbed the tazor off her chest and hit the ‘on' button as she scrambled up and leaped toward the tangled bodies of Devon and Maria.
As she came down to the floor, she positioned herself perfectly to avoid Devon and sunk the tazor into Maria's neck. “Traitor!” she hissed and pushed the device hard into Maria's skin. She did it again and again as Devon held Maria's limp body.
“Enough!” he cried.
Maria wasn't done. She head-butted Devon and went to do it again, a crazed look in her eyes.
Devon dropped Maria on the ground and grabbed the tazor from Rae. He flipped the device open and with his fingernail switched a button. Then he snapped it shut and hit Maria on the neck, legs and arms. She glared at him with hatred in her eyes, unable to move.
“What did you just do?” Rae sank to the floor, using the wall for support. She was dizzy, and her head killed. It took every ounce of concentration to not pass out.
“The tazor is PC issued. There's a switch inside that will set it to continued paralysis. At least until she is tazored again. Then it restores the neurology and physical function returns.” He glared at Maria. “I'm not taking any chances.” He lifted his sleeve and spoke into his cuff.
A loud pounding echoed behind her.
Rae blinked, trying to clear the double vision and blurriness. She couldn't hear what Devon said as a ringing in her ears grew deafening. “D-De-phon,” she mumbled. “I donnen…” feel so well… She couldn't finish the sentence out loud. She felt herself begin to fall sideways, unable to stop herself. It was probably because of the drugs and then the tazoring. Or did I bump my head? She couldn't remember.
Strong arms slid under her and picked her up. She felt her body jostle up and down in a steady rhythm. Her head fell against a strapping, warm chest. The bumping stopped.
She felt like she was falling, but those strong arms held her tight. A finger brushed her forehead, and she winced at the sharp pain that ran across her head. The fingers gently moved to her cheek.
“Rae?” She had never heard so much emotion held in a single word. In her name.
Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to focus.
“Rae?” The voice cracked as he said her name again. “Stay with me.”
Devon. She smiled, feeling safe.
“Stay with me.” He swallowed. “I thought you were near indestructible. I was such an idiot!”
He sounded so worried. Her head killed, but he would protect her. It was his job.
“Rae, don't go dying on me. You are my heart. My whole heart.”
Am I hearing things? A softness pr
essed gently against her lips. It was tender, but there was an urgency in the touch she had never felt before. Fresh air floated over her mouth before the incredible touch brushed against her lips again. She had to be dreaming. That was the only way to explain it. Like the moment you realize that fate has outdone itself.
Had Devon just kissed her?
Chapter 20
A bright light flashed in front of Rae's left eye, and then her other one. She scowled and tried to cover her face with her hands. Someone grabbed her hands and pulled them down.
“It's fine, Karen. Just relax.”
Rae knew the voice but couldn't place it. Annoyed, she opened her eyes only to quickly shut them tight again from the blaring light that hurt her head.
“Miss, you need to sit still. You have a concussion.”
Concussion? Who said that? She felt nauseous. She focussed on breathing deep and steady, trying to get the pain to subside. The person tied some kind of rubber band to her upper arm. When a pin pricked the inside of her elbow she flicked her fingers and shocked the person trying to hurt her. The bright light disappeared from her face, and she opened her eyes to assess the situation around her. Ready to run or pounce, whatever she needed to do.
She sat inside an ambulance, an attendee beside her on the floor, rubbing his arm. Probably trying to figure how he got shocked. She looked behind him and saw Prince Philip standing just outside the ambulance bus.
Where's Devon?
She swung her legs over the edge of the stretcher and ignored the spinning room. Soft music played in the background. It was coming from the Masquerade hall. “Is Sarah all right?” The needle, whatever had been in the shot the attendee had given her, must have been some counteractive agent to the etorphine Lenny had given. She needed to get out of this mobile prison and get back to work.
Philip turned at the mention of Sarah's name. “She's in the ambulance right beside you.” He smiled. “She's going to be fine. Shaken, but basically unharmed.”
