by Emily Ford
***
Michael becomes the Black Jester once more so that, together, they can tell the others that the Black Jester won’t be killing anymore. A little over an hour after leaving Rose, he arrives at their usual rooftop meeting spot expecting to meet the other Jesters. He climbs the stairs and steps through the metal door leading to the roof.
The sky above him rumbles with thunder and pulses with flashes of lightening from the approaching storm. The wind is balmy and increasing in intensity, the smell of rain saturating the air.
The Black Jester approaches the Red and Gold Jesters as they wait for him, but stops when he spots three other Jesters, all dressed in plain black clothing but fitted with white masks and black Jester hats. The new Jesters surround someone sitting in a chair with hands tied behind them. The person’s is identity masked by black clothing and a black hood over their head. The Black Jester stares at the small framed person in the chair, then looks to the others.
“Thanks for meeting us on such short notice,” the Gold Jester says cordially. He gazes at the hooded figure, then looks back to the Black Jester.
The Black Jester glances around, looking for the Blue Jester. “Where is Justice?”
“Justice was not notified of this meeting, Vengeance,” the Gold Jester replies.
“What is this?” the Black Jester asks suspiciously, pointing to the seated mystery person.
“Take off the hood,” the Gold Jester orders.
One of the new Jesters pulls the hood off the prisoner’s head to reveal her identity.
The Black Jester is unmoving, his mouth open as if he’s seen a ghost. From behind white eyes, the Black Jester sees the last thing he wants to see on this rooftop.
“I’m sorry, Vengeance,” the Gold Jester says. “I had to.”
From the chair, Rose watches the Black Jester with angry eyes, her mouth covered with duct tape. Instead of appearing afraid as he would expect, she actually appears pissed off.
Rage consumes him. “If you hurt her I will end you!” he yells. He is familiar with the fact that his alter ego – Michael – recently talked to her, but the Black Jester does not remember all the details.
“You should actually be proud of her, Vengeance. She put up quite a fight, even broke this poor guy’s nose,” he says, gesturing to one of the masked Jesters.
Rose glares at the Gold Jester, silently seething.
“Good!” the Black Jester growls through gritted teeth. “I’ll do more than break bones!”
“I know what she’s been through. No one wants to hurt her,” the Gold Jester assures him. “But I’m sure you can understand the urgency.”
“What are you talking about?” the Black Jester demands, flustered that the girl is in harm’s way again. He starts to approach Rose but the three new Jesters line up in front of her. Quietly poised by the Gold Jester’s side, the Red Jester watches the scene. The Black Jester wonders why the Blue Jester wasn’t called, but he already presumes to know the answer. This has to be a coup.
“The mission isn’t over. It’s only begun.” The Gold Jester walks out from behind the line of Jesters and approaches the seething Black Jester. “You know, when the King recruited us, he knew right away you were exactly what he needed to help accomplish this mission. We can’t afford to lose you, Vengeance,” he says quietly. “Lose our best weapon when things are starting to heat up? Not a chance.”
“I am not your weapon!”
The Gold Jester’s mad temper boils over. “You are and you will remain so until the King says this is over!” he yells, stomping the rooftop. “You are in this whether you like it or not. There is no way out of this, except as a corpse!”
“I will kill you if you hurt the girl!” The Black Jester clenches his fists, his chest heaving as he struggles to suppress his rage.
The Gold Jester chuckles and claps his hands together. “Yes! That’s exactly what I want to hear. Until now, Vengeance, you were the only one of us without an identifiable pressure point. That made you dangerous to even us. Now that we have identified one,” he sweeps his arm out indicating Rose, “we can make sure you stay with us, on our side. You see, I’m going to keep her nice and safe for you. That way, you’ll do what the King needs us to do, and no one gets hurt. See how easy this is? Here’s the thing, Vengeance. We always know where she is. We always know where you are. That’s part of what I do. This is why the King enlists my services. I know things about you and about her that might actually frighten you! There is no hiding from me. Am I clear?”
The Gold Jester is within arm’s reach and the Black Jester takes advantage. In a split second he is holding a knife to the Gold Jester’s throat. But, it has the wrong effect.
“Kill her!” the Gold Jester calls to his subordinates.
A new Jester withdraws a handgun and aims it at Rose’s head.
“No!” the Black Jester shouts as he releases the Gold Jester from his deadly grip.
“Wait!” the Gold Jester commands. The new Jester lowers his weapon. The Gold Jester backs away from the prized killer and smiles. “I think we’ve come to an agreement.”
From behind the killer’s costume, from inside the Black Jester’s mind, Michael looks at his beautiful Rose and aches with remorse seeing the fearful expression on her still-bruised face.
The thunderstorm is now overhead. The rain pours down, soaking the members of the hostile rooftop gathering.
The wind gains strength and gusts, whipping the Black Jester’s long black trench coat around his legs. Rose’s wet hair lifts and falls in the wind, and her eyes remain fixed on him. She shakes her head. No.
“I’m sorry,” the half of him that is Michael says to her softly.
Inside his killer’s mind, the Black Jester shoves Michael’s aching heart aside. His vengeful rage flares and he glares at Rose’s captors. He stomps towards the Gold Jester and leers in his face. “I’ll do what you want. Then, before this is over, I’m going to kill you.”
The Gold Jester grins. “Vengeance, my friend. Before this is over, you’ll change your mind.” He chuckles jovially and claps his hands together again. “Excellent,” he exclaims as he spins and walks towards Rose, studying her thoughtfully. Then, his expression and his words turn sinister.
“What is that old saying? Oh yes, it goes a little something like this…” He spins back around to face the Black Jester once more. “Vengeance is MINE!”
Continued in “The Silver Jester,” Episode Two in the “Kings of New Orleans” Series.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Ford lives in the desert hotness of southern Arizona. She writes dark hero crime thrillers & horror novellas. Her dark hero crime thrillers include the books in the “Kings of New Orleans” Series. Her horrors include books in “The Rachel Payne Horror Series,” and the standalone novella “Hell Town.”
Connect with Emily Ford
www.emilyfordworld.com
Twitter.com/EmilyFordWorld
Facebook.com/EmilyFordWorld
Pinterest.com/EmilyFordWorld
Amazon Book Links
“Hell Town”
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009M5P1N0
“The Demon Train”
(Book #1 in the Rachel Payne Horror Series)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MKCWDJW
Connect with Best-Selling Author Lizzy Ford (Emily’s sister!)
www.lizzyford.com
Twitter.com/LizzyFord2010
Facebook.com/LizzyFordBooks
Pinterest.com/LizzyFordAuthor
