Emily's Saga

by Travis Bughi

  “Ah.” The gnome smiled. “Speak of the angels. I’ll bet that’s him now.”

  She shuffled off towards the door, and Emily and Abe stood up to follow. They walked down the hallway, and Madam Sweeney shooed away the children that had gathered in the entrance room.

  “You know better,” Madam Sweeney warned one who had been reaching for the door.

  He quickly put his hand away and looked ashamed, then sprinted off with the others towards their rooms. Once all the rascals had left, she approached the door just as another loud knock banged the heavy wooden door against its hinges.

  “Settle down. I’m coming!” she called through the door. “I don’t think the door can handle another one of those.”

  “That didn’t sound like a human knock,” Abe whispered, instinctively putting his hand on his empty holsters.

  “Or an ogre child’s,” Emily agreed.

  Emily’s arm reached for her bow, and she didn’t resist the movement. She let her fingers wrap loosely around the treantwood just as Madam Sweeney wrapped her own tiny gnome fingers around the door handle. Emily made sure it was strung this time and then held her breath as the door was jerked open.

  As the wood cleared, Emily looked straight into the furry stomachs of two massive creatures. She then looked up, saw they were minotaurs, and then recognized them as the two who had been standing guard outside Ephron’s room in the minotaur building.

  She and her brother sighed in relief.

  “Hello,” the one on the left said to the stunned gnome.

  “Oh, hello,” Madam Sweeney replied, getting a hold on her surprise. “My apologies, but I had been expecting someone else.”

  The minotaurs nodded their understanding and then looked beyond her to lock eyes with Emily. Their intense gaze made the air heavy and, at least for Emily, difficult to endure. Madam Sweeney took note of it and sucked in a sharp breath.

  “Ah, I see,” she said. “I’ll be in the kitchen, then.”

  Madam Sweeney turned to stroll off towards the kitchen. As she paced across the hall, the gnome made eye contact with Emily. She tilted her head forward and looked over her glasses, like a mother to a wayward child. Emily caught the look and understood that she was beginning to overstay her welcome. Emily was bringing all sorts of trouble to this orphanage, and it seemed the minotaurs were the final straw. As Madam Sweeney hurried off, Emily realized she’d mistaken hospitality for permission.

  In the silence that followed, Emily licked her lips before addressing the minotaurs.

  “Hello.” She nodded deeply. “Would you care to speak inside or out?”

  The minotaurs took a step back, leaving ample room for Emily and her brother. Emily and Abe stepped through the threshold and closed the door behind them.

  “How can I help you?” Emily asked. “Where is Talvorn?”

  “He is dead,” the one on the right said.

  Emily’s heart plummeted to the ground, and her mouth fell open.

  “Dead?” she asked.

  “Murdered,” the minotaur on the left clarified. “Last night.”

  Emily’s jaw clenched. Although the minotaurs’ words carried no message of guilt, she felt the shame of failing to warn her friend before it was too late. She had foolishly assumed herself to be the enemy’s only target, and now yet another costly mistake joined her list of failures.

  And this one was irreversible.

  “I’m so sorry,” Emily said. “It’s my fault. Last night we, my brother and I, were attacked, too. They took Adelpha, and Abe’s guns. I should have tried to find you three immediately, but I didn’t think to . . . I’m so sorry.”

  The minotaur on the left held up a hand to silence her.

  “Talvorn,” he said, “knew the risks. As do we.”

  “We are,” the other said, “his brothers. I am . . . Rautor Bloodhoof.”

  “And I am . . . Harvok Bloodhoof.”

  They both nodded, and Emily and Abe responded in kind.

  “Do you know who killed him?” Emily asked. “Did he have a black mark on his body, like this?”

  Emily pointed to her leg where the basilisk’s poison had deadened the flesh. The minotaurs looked, but they shook their heads and looked back up.

  “His throat,” Harvok said, “and heart . . . were ripped out.”

  Rautor demonstrated by putting a hand to his throat and then dropping it down to his chest. However, neither Emily nor Abe needed the extra visualization. The siblings turned towards each other and exchanged glances. They both knew there was only one being in Lucifan with both the ability and the desire to kill Talvorn with bare hands.

  “Count Drowin,” they said at the same time.

  Emily shook her head ever so slightly. So that was where the vampire had been. Emily had been a little too distracted to wonder why the Count hadn’t come after them personally, but it was all explained now. He had been stalking his own target.

  “Vampire,” Rautor said. “That is . . . what we thought.”

  “Now we need,” Harvok said, “your help.”

  Emily balked.

  “My help?” she asked. “What can I do?”

  Rautor was just about to answer when someone called out Emily’s name from down the street. She stopped and looked, along with the other three, to see Duncan and Krunk jogging towards them.

  “Emily!” Duncan yelled and waved, the ogre child running alongside him.

  “Um.” Emily turned to speak to the minotaurs. “Please excuse me for a moment.”

  They nodded, and she trotted off to intercept the knight.

  “I came as fast as I could,” he explained, stopping to catch his breath. “What were you thinking sending this little demon to the old knights’ quarters?”

  He indicated Krunk, and the ogre looked hurt at the insinuation. Emily frowned but reserved her own judgmental words.

  “Go inside, Krunk,” Emily said, “and thank you.”

  Krunk smiled back at her.

  “You’re welcome!” he said in a throaty voice and ran off towards the orphanage.

  “You don’t have to pick on him,” Emily scolded Duncan once Krunk was out of sight. “He was just trying to find Gavin for us.”

  “And damn near got himself locked up.” Duncan gritted his teeth. “Do you have any idea what’s going on? No, no, I suppose you wouldn’t. Still, that was damn foolish of you, and him! The sheer risk I’m taking right now is going to get me killed for sure, I know it. But what choice do I have? Look at me, I’m talking nonsense. It’s true though. What would you do if Adelpha was going to die tomorrow?”

  “What?” Emily blinked and then scowled. “How do you know about that?”

  “Know about what?” Duncan asked.

  The two exchanged bewildered looks before recalculating what they were planning to say next. Emily gave Duncan a hard stare, which he met with a cautionary one.

  “Explain yourself,” Emily commanded.

  “It’s Gavin,” Duncan said. “He’s been captured for crimes against the city. He’s to be executed in the morning.”

  Chapter 19

  “It’s to be done privately,” Duncan explained, “in the morning, and behind closed doors. I’m not even supposed to know, actually. Mark told me about it because, as he said, he wanted me to know what Gavin had done and hoped that would encourage me to be a better leader.”

  They were back inside now, gathered in a semicircle around the hearth in the front entrance room. The two minotaurs—much to Madam Sweeney’s relief before she hurried off again—chose to sit cross-legged on the floor rather than risk shattering the old furniture. They listened patiently to Duncan’s tale, while Abe and Emily hinged on every word.

  “You told me it was for crimes against the city,” Emily said. “What has he done to deserve death?”

  “It’s for the bank robbery,” Duncan said.

  “That’s not a crime against the city,” Abe interjected.

  “It is now,” Duncan replied, help
lessly. “After Jack had the amount stolen verified, he rallied the rest of the leprechauns behind him, and Count Drowin came out of the shadows. Mark is just a puppet now, a mouthpiece for the power that no one dares defy. The leprechauns have the money, Drowin is immortal, and the last bastion of the angels’ reach, the knighthood, has been severed. Ogres carry out the law now with only a handful of human judges left to ensure the population stays satisfied.”

  Duncan looked at Emily, but she looked away. She knew what the gaze was for, and she didn’t have the heart to meet it.

  “It gets worse,” he said. “The pegasi are going to be slaughtered. They’re not strong enough to carry ogres, so it has been decreed that they’ve become a liability, and after Gavin stormed the bank with one, they’ve been deemed a threat to the safety of the people. So, they’re to be slaughtered, every one of them. After that, the colossi will be dismantled. The reasoning for that is, because now that no one is in control of them, it’s unknown what they might do. They are to be reduced to rubble before they ‘awaken’ again and do any damage.”

  Emily’s head hung low. Duncan’s eyes bore into her, but she couldn’t bear to meet them.

  “You wanted to play with fire?” he asked. “Well, now we’re all going to burn.”

  A silence hung in the air after his words. Emily continued to search the floor, unable to put words to the dire situation.

  “What can we do?” Abe asked.

  “Heh, what can we do?” Duncan repeated. “I’ve been asking myself the same thing. At first, I considered a legal route, but there’s no justice in this system anymore. The leprechauns would have Gavin publically beheaded if they had their way. I suspect Count Drowin opted against it, feeling such a bold statement would encourage a rebellion. He doesn’t want a martyr, he just wants the opposition silenced. If I attempted to speak on his behalf, or make a scene, I’d probably just end up in the noose next to Gavin. However, if I can be honest with you, I’d rather have that be the case than know I stood by and did nothing. I can tell you that the rest of my squad feels the same.”

  “Adelpha is going to be killed, as well,” Emily confessed. “Last night, Heliena and Ichiro Katsu’s men ambushed us and took her. They said they want back what we stole or they’ll kill her.”

  “What? They want it back?” Duncan turned his head looking utterly stunned. “Really? Are you certain of this?”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Emily confirmed, though in a puzzled voice. “Why do you ask?”

  Duncan eyes popped in what seemed a hopeful expression. “If what you’re saying is true, then that means Borgan still doesn’t have his gold back. Not only that, but he still thinks you have it, which means he has no idea where it is!”

  “I’m sorry,” Emily pushed, “but I don’t follow.”

  “I feared that perhaps Mark had turned to their side. I thought maybe he wasn’t being controlled, but was working with them all along. But, if that was the case, then he would have immediately handed the money back to the leprechauns. I mean, sure, I wrote that letter stating it was a donation, but only a fool would be unable to connect the two events. He knew those crowns were stolen, yet he kept that knowledge hidden. He’s still one of us!”

  “I’d use that term lightly,” Emily muttered. “So, what are our options? We have two people to rescue before the day is up and not a moment to lose.”

  “Right.” Duncan punched a fist into his palm. “A plan, we need a plan. I don’t know where Adelpha is, but Gavin is being held in the prison cells beneath the angels’ tower, which is now being called just ‘the tower.’ I’m not sure where Adelpha is, but I’ll bet she’s there, too, along with a horde of ogres and mercenaries. The tower has been made into a fortress. The windows in the top room have been blackened out, even the large, full-length ones, which I can only assume was done so Drowin can claim it as his own.”

  “Errm,” Harvok interrupted.

  The three humans turned to look at the two minotaurs. Seated with massive arms folded across their broad chests, they appeared only slightly annoyed.

  “Yes, sorry,” Emily said, stammering. “I forgot you two needed my help.”

  Harvok’s upper lip curled in what could be considered a smirk. “Actually, I think you . . . need ours.”

  Emily turned to catch Abe’s eye, but he was still looking at the minotaurs. Emily turned back, and once they had her attention again, they continued.

  “We came . . . to you,” Harvok continued, “because we want . . . revenge . . . for our brother’s . . . death.”

  “We needed,” Rautor explained further, “to know . . . where the vampire . . . is.”

  “Wait one moment.” Abe hesitated. “Rescuing prisoners is one thing, but killing a vampire? That’s a suicide mission.”

  “No,” Emily said, jutting in. “No, it’s not! We could kill him with basilisk poison. Heliena doesn’t have it anymore, so it must be with Drowin. There’s no way he’d trust anyone with the only substance in Lucifan that could kill him, and he’ll be at the tower tonight. We’d just need to get the bow and break it open. Only one tiny, little nick, and he’d be dead forever! No more vampires. This could work!”

  “And we could save Adelpha?” Abe asked.

  “We could save everyone!” Emily exclaimed and then turned to Duncan. “Can this work? Can we storm the tower with two minotaurs?”

  Duncan paused, assessing the situation. He looked down, deep in thought, but his expression showed doubt. Finally, slowly, he shook his head from side to side and took in a deep breath.

  “No,” he said. “We’d need more help.”

  “How much more?” Emily asked.

  Duncan looked to the minotaurs, sizing them up with his eyes, and then turned to look at Emily.

  “If we were fast enough,” he warned, “a single squad of well-trained knights could tip the balance. And I know just where to find one.”

  “How much time do you need?” Emily asked.

  “One hour,” he said. “I’ll meet you outside the tower in one hour.”

  * * *

  One hour later, Emily and Abe, along with Talvorn’s brothers, were waiting just around the corner from the tower as told. The tower’s large, iron doors—normally open in the angels’ time—were now closed tight and guarded by two ogres. Rautor and Harvok, both armed with great, war hammers taller than Emily, agreed that they weren’t inconspicuous enough to stand outside the front entrance within sight of both the windows of the tower and the ogres.

  So they’d moved down to the edge of the market square. There were enough people to make hiding in plain sight possible, and Emily and Abe made their secrecy more secure by standing in the shadowed alleys while Rautor and Harvok stood just outside on the street’s edge. They kept enough distance from the minotaurs to deter spying eyes from guessing that Emily and Abe did not plan to go quietly.

  As they waited for Duncan to meet them, Emily decided now was the best time to bring up something that had been on her mind since the previous night.

  “Abe?” she whispered.

  “Yes?” he asked, looking away from the minotaurs’ backs to address his sister.

  “Listen, there’s no easy way for me to say this, and I’m not going to dance around the issue either. You’re my brother, and I’m going to be honest with you.” Emily paused for a second and glanced at the ground. “I think you should stay behind.”

  Abe’s lips parted, and his body stiffened. He turned away, and although his hat hid his eyes, Emily could see the feeling of betrayal racking his thin figure in the way he shrunk back. It pained her to say it, but for the sake of everyone, she had to tell him the truth.

  “This fight won’t be easy,” Emily pleaded in Abe’s silence. “There’s no guarantee it will work out. We’ve got two people to save with no idea what condition they’ll be in. We’ll likely be outnumbered, fighting on all sides, and you’ve got no guns. You can’t use a bow, or I’d give you one of those, and you don’t know how to use a knife
. I’m telling you truthfully, if you were armed, there’s hardly a single soul in this world I’d rather have at my side, Brother. However, as it stands now, we can’t afford to take any more risks. Being in there like you are now, you’d only be in the way.”

  Abe let the commentary assault him without interruption and tried to hide his reaction beneath the brim of his hat, but Emily could see his jaw tighten and clench. Silence passed between them for a few agonizing moments until, finally, Abe sighed in a way that resembled acceptance.

  “Why did you wait until now to tell me?” he asked.

  Emily shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I was worried you would follow us unless I caught you out here. And, also, I still want you here. If things go badly, you may be needed to carry anyone who’s injured if we’re somehow able to retreat successfully.”

  “So where should I go?” he asked, his voice tight like he was having difficulty breathing. “Should I wait for you here?”

  “No.” Emily’s heart sank further as she realized she was issuing commands to her older brother. “I think it’d be better if you hid somewhere closer to the front entrance after we go in. Keep out of sight, though. If reinforcements come for the enemy, I don’t want them to see you standing in the way, and let’s be honest, you’re pretty obvious with your gunslinger coat and hat. Why didn’t you change out of them?”

  “Hey, I’m still a gunslinger. Just because I don’t have my guns anymore doesn’t mean I have to ditch my clothes. And I’m no more obvious that you are with your skirt and vest. I’ll be shocked if someone didn’t notice you while we were walking over—”

  “Emily,” Rautor spoke from down the alley, cutting Abe off. “They are here.”

  The minotaur said this without turning his body. He only twisted his head to speak over his shoulder, but the throaty deep voice reached Emily’s ears over the chatter of the busy market square, which Emily noticed had lessened quite a degree. In place of the normal shouts of barter and trade, there was a chorus of gasps, hushed voices, and shocked murmurs. Emily and Abe exchanged glances and then cautiously moved to the end of the alley where they peeked around the minotaurs.