Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Four

It tasted as bitter as al federal agencys, except as I drank, Markelle lifted her eyes. There was nonhing obvious in them, no wink, no expectation. Yet, both(prenominal)how, I knew. I knew. It was the fake again.Satisfied that Id sw whollyowed it all, Abigail gave me a withering glance. We penury you cleaned up. That fool is coming for you again after tonight, and he did a number on that dress last season. He wants you looking good, though, so She gave a fractional-hearted shrug. Naturally, I couldnt tell her that my dresss rumpled and slightly torn state had goose egg to do with Leiths sexual aggression, scarcely, rather, an uncivilised spirit bent on killing me.Markelles eyes were downcast once more than. Should I get her a new dress?No. Youve got to clean up besides. Arts repaying play to be here in a little while for you.The misfire flinched, tho Abigail didnt seem to notice. But whence, why would she? She didnt notice any of these girls, not really. And I knew wh at those words meant. Markelles time had come. Ill send in that freckled virtuoso, once she wakes up again.I recognize that she was me and that I should allegedly be going under. I sank back against the covers, blinking handle I was seek to stay awake. The two of them left(a), Markelle giving me iodine last fleeting glance. There were a lot of things in her wide eyes as she looked at me. Fear. Hope. Anxiety.I exhaled once they were byg sensation and sat up. Plan time. My muscles were cool off weak, but they reminded me more of what youd feel after a hard run. What had Markelle said before? Twelve hours was the rule dose? I was at that point. The nightshade had to be significantly wearing off. Theoretically, my magic should be returning in like manner and-Why, hello, I murmured. Id sent my mind forthside into the room and had honourable b arely-barely-felt the tingle of air and water. I wasnt going to be blowing anyone apart soon, but the magic was coming back. And when i t did, these assholes were fucked.But I needed to wait this out. I wasnt going to jump the shooter like I had with Volusian. Every minute brought the magic and my strength back. I had to use this downtime to assess the situation. Abigail was in the bear still. Art and Leith were eventually coming back-together or apart, I didnt hunch. The one thing I felt confident of was that I did not want to face all of them at the same time. That meant Abigail had to be taken out first, but I was going to need back up.In what mustiness welcome been a little over an hour, Cariena slipped in with a pink silk dress. It reminded me of something Maiwenn would wear. Apparently, no one had gotten the memorandum that redheads dont wear pink. I stood up and took the dress from Cariena, right outdoor(a) tossing it on the bed. She looked aghast that Id gotten up without falling over. Considering all that had happened recently, I couldnt blame her.Your m-majesty, what-Cariena, were getting out of h ere.We cantOh, we can, and we are. Wheres Markelle? I had a feeling I was going to need an accomplice with a bit more boldness. And Raina? I rarely axiom the third gentry girl around here and had no clue to her attitude, but she needed to be accounted for.Rainas in her room. She was-disrespectful. And Markelle is preparing herself.Preparing herself for a life story as a sex slave. I grimaced. And Abigail?Shes upstairs. Watching Cariena groped for the unfamiliar word. the television.Okay, okay. My mind was spinning now. It seemed to be get faster than my body. Heres the deal. I need a weapon. Is there anything youve seen that would work as one?We cant do this. We cant-We can, I ordered, making my vocalisation hard and fierce. This girl had been beaten into weakness, and if those shamans scared her, I would make sure that I-her queen-scared her more. And you give obey me. Youre my subject. Youll get out of this alive-I swear it. Youll see your family.She was still scared out of her mind, but she gave a weak nod. I see Abigail and the Red Snake Man carry weapons, but there are none around. I couldnt touch them anyway.Alright. Well make do withhey, is the store attached to the house?Garage? an new(prenominal)(prenominal) building. wiz where they keep cars. I recalled the garage but didnt know if it connected directly to the house. Surely she knew what a car was.She nodded. Yes. They go in and out of it sometimes. Its attached to the kitchen.When you come down here, whose room do you pass first out there in the hall? Mine or Markelles?Yours Cariena was clearly puzzled now.Perfect. I know what were going to do. Take me to Markelle.There was a moments hesitation, and I knew this was the turning point of whether she could help or not. The portal was unlocked I didnt need her. But if I didnt have her assistance, Id have to knock her out to keep her out of the way.This way, she said at last.Markelle nearly threw herself into my arms when we walked into her roo m.Your majesty I knew youd do it. I knew you couldShe wore a strappy little red sundress and had been applying makeup. Funny. I got togged up up like gentry royalty, and the girls here were dressed like human whores.Shh, I said. Were not out of here yet.I hastily whispered my proposal to them. Markelle understood instantly, and although Cariena still seemed terrified, she also appeared determined. I re rancid to my room, body tensed for action as I waited for my contrive to unfold. Pressing my ear to the closed inlet, I listened as Carienas feet thudded up the stairs. Presumably she spoke to Abigail, but I couldnt hear anything. A few moments later, two manipulates of feet came downstairs, walked past my room, and went to Markelles.I undefended my door a geological fault to make sure the hall was empty. Next door, I could hear Markelle having the nervous breakdown wed planned-saying she was timid to leave, afraid to meet this man, didnt know what to wear. Abigail, clearly ir ritated, began to scold her, much as she had responded to Leiths whining. I waited to hear no more and turned in the opposite direction, heading for the stairs.When I reached the main history, I did a double-take. The house was beautiful, all new construction and designer decorating as befitted the neighborhood Art lived in. The gentry sex living below us chassis of detracted from the maple cupboards and crown molding, though. All the curtains were closed, the windows covered with iron grating, and outside I could just barely make out the Sleeping Beauty hedges blocking the windows too. Arts lawn maintenance had been about more than aesthetics. The patio drapes Id so admired werent laced with silver thread. It was iron.The garage was adjacent to the kitchen, just as Cariena had said. The top one-half of the door leading out to it had a window covered with more iron grating. I turned the doorknob. Locked. There were no signs of keys anywhere, which meant Id have to do it the har d way. First, I double-checked the kitchen and living room, looking for any other weapon options. On a good day, I could have taken Abigail with my own fists. This was not a good day. Kitchen drawers revealed butter knives, nothing sharper.With a sigh, I returned to the garage door. This was it. The grating was loosely bolted, replete to keep it up and prevent the girls from touching it. Hoping Id gained enough strength, I gripped the sides of it and tried to jerk it off. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, in one movement, it ripped from the wood. I froze, waiting to see if anyone downstairs had heard, but the deed appeared to have been performed somewhat silently.The next part, I knew, would not be so quiet. I dragged a chair up to the door and then grabbed a smaller stool used to get into high cupboards. It was admixture and had some heftiness to it. Would it be enough? I stood on the chair and swung the stool forrader into the doors window. Yup. Enough heft. More than ha lf of the glass broke. One more swing got the rest of it out, and I climbed by dint of the hole into the garage. The whole artifice was a bit awkward on my part I wasnt in that good of shape yet. But, I make it with, incurring only a few cuts on my arms and legs.I knew, however, I was seconds away from Abigails arrival. There was no way that breaking glass had gone unnoticed. Small patches of light streamed into the darkened garage from narrow windows as I peered around. Yes, it was a normal garage-albeit it one with a Jaguar in it. I guessed that was why Art had to keep the SUV in the driveway. Part of me wanted to go kick in the cars door, but there was no time. I had to assess the garages other contents. Scattered tools. Bags of fertilizer. Arts gardening equipment. A heavy metal wrench held my upkeep for a moment, but then I decided I needed more leverage with my weakened state. I selected a shovelful from Arts gardening stash, its scoop heavy metal and wooden handle sturd y. From inside the house, I could hear shouting. It wasnt going to take Abigail long to figure out where Id gone when she saw the glass. Grateful for the darkness, I darted over to the side of the door that led into the house, pressing myself as flatcar as I could against the wall. There was a click as the door from the kitchen opened, but no one came out right away. I could picture Abigail standing there, looking around for any sign of me. later on several heavy seconds, I saw a hand holding a blade-an athame-come out the door first, defensively positioned in case I came charging at her. That wasnt my intent, though. I wanted to get her from behind. She took one shout out, still cautious and slow, looking around everywhere. I had to give her credit for that. She didnt just barrel forward she knew I might be waiting by the door. And in fact, when she looked in my direction, thats exactly what I was doing. My shovel relate her in the side of the head before she could react.She cru mpled to the ground, athame clattering against the concrete floor as it dangle from her hands. I knelt down and immediately scooped it up and left the shovel. There was a contrasty mark where Id taken with(p) her, and her eyes were only half-open. My hand checked her pulse and found she wasnt dead yet. She was going to have a hell of a headache or concussion when she woke up-which wasnt something I could allow to happen any time soon.I left her lying there on the garage floor and stepped back into the kitchen. I opened a few cupboards and found what Id hoped I would the households stash of medicine. Tylenol, multivitamins, et cetera. Behind them were a couple of prescription bottles. One I didnt recognize, but I thought it was some sort of heart medication. The other was Ambien, and I smiled. on the button like me, a lot of shamans were insomniacs.I popped a pill out of the bottle, reconsidered, and grabbed a second. I then propped up Abigail and managed to shove the pills down her throat, with the help of a glass of water and some acrobatics with my fingers. Paybacks a bitch, I said when her reflexes kicked in and she swallowed the pills the rest of the way. She wouldnt be waking up any time soon.I stepped back into the kitchen and saw all three gentry girls standing there and staring at me. Cariena and Raina looked afraid. Markelle, though she bore a red slap mark on her face from the con driftation earlier with Abigail, looked activated and defiant. I ordered them to carry Abigail downstairs and lock her in one of the rooms. I didnt know which way Art would enter the house and couldnt risk him finding her on the garage floor. Of course, if he did come in through the garage, the shattered glass was going to be a dead giveaway that something was up.Before they took Abigail away, I frisked her, hoping to find another weapon. Nope. Just the athame Id already taken. I did, however, discover something nearly as useful a set of keys. On the ring were several tiny keys, the ones that opened up the iron cuffs and bracelets the girls wore. Once theyd stashed Abigail away, I removed all the iron. Relief flooded the girls faces, and I scowled when I saw the welts and bruises left from where iron reacted with gentry skin.You should have your magic back, I said, reaching for the yell. We can use it when we get out of here. What can you guys do?I was dialing Rolands cell phone, and the girls described their magic to me as the line rang. Cariena had a knack for helping plants grow, kind of like Shaya. Raina had some healing ability. Markelle could summon beams and balls of light. I disconnected when I got Rolands voice mail and promptly dialed Kiyo.Son of a bitch, I muttered. None of the girls powers were going to help us. And honestly? It wasnt a surprise. If I were Leith and had wanted to catch girls who would make docile servants, I too would have picked ones with little or no wretched magic.Kiyos phone rang only once before going to voice mail, meaning it was off or he was in the Otherworld. I hung up and prepared to dial my parents home number. If Roland hadnt answered his cell, he likely wasnt home either, but I had to try. Before I could punch in the numbers, I heard the sound of keys at the front door on the far side of the house. I turned to the girls.Downstairs I hissed. NowMarkelle looked like she would have stayed, but a stern glance from me sent her scurrying down with the others. Meanwhile, Arts voice rang through the house.Abigail?Im not sure how he knew something was wrong. For all he knew, Abigail could have just been downstairs. Maybe it was just some sixth sense, but I heard him hurrying down the hall toward the kitchen, footsteps fast on the hardwood floor. I had a split second to react, no chance to find a hiding spot as I had with Abigail. Surprise was my greatest weapon now. As soon as he entered the room, I leapt on him with the athame.The thing that gave me a fighting chance was that hed armed hi mself too well in his wariness, a gun in one hand and an athame of his own in the other. Full hands prevented him from fully deflecting my attack, though in many ways, the strength of his arms were more than good enough to block the worst of it. I got a swipe in on his face, however, gaining a fair amount of satisfaction in seeing the blood it produced.You bitch, he said, circling with me in the kitchen as we each sized each other up for an attack. Wheres Abigail?Taking a nap, I said. I gave him a wicked smile, hoping I sounded souseder than I felt. With that one shove alone, Id been painfully reminded that I was not in peak condition quite yet. I couldnt let him know how weak I was. Dont worry. You can join her.I knew I shouldnt have let him keep you here, Art growled. I should have made him drag you back by your hair to your own fucking world like a caveman. But he was too afraid theyd find you.Its too late. They know Im here already. See the phone? I got a call in just before yo u arrived.A lie, but an effective one as it turned out. Arts eyes flicked to the portable phone lying on the kitchen floor. It had come open when I hurlped it, and the battery lay nearby. With that slight distraction, I tried again, lunging toward him. I got a kick in-not as strong as one of my usual ones, particularly since I was still in that fucking gentry dress-but enough to throw him off-balance. He was still stronger and faster, though. Hed dropped the athame earlier and grabbed me with that free hand, wrenching my arm painfully to get me to drop my athame. In his other hand, he held the gun but seemed hesitant to use it.At last, his hand was too strong, and my fingers unclenched, releasing the blade and leaving me defenseless. Triumphant, Art slammed me back against the cupboard and tried to turn me around, probably to wed my hands. Id noticed a glitter near his pocket earlier and suspected he had handcuffs on him. I fought him the whole time, refusing to turn around, and w ith only one hand free, he had a bit of trouble in maneuvering me.Stop struggling, or Ill blow your head off, he yelled. No ones coming, and you know it. Play nice, or theres nothing that Leith can offer me to keep you alive.I doubt that. Your whoring operation seems to bring in a lot of money. Are you going to give that up so easily?There are other ways to get gentry girls, he grunted, still trying to shove me around and subdue me. The piteous thing was, he was getting closer. My strength was rapidly fading. Other people will make deals. I dont need Leith or his half-breed whore to-ahI saw the chair before I saw Markelle. It was the one Id used to climb through the garage door. Abigail had shoved it aside when she went outside, and now Markelle had snuck up and clobbered Art with it from behind. It was scarce a blow to render him unconscious, but it caused him to release me and stagger back. Markelle immediately scrambled away, but Arts attention wasnt on her. His eyes were back on me. Weak or not, I knew I had to use that inception to take him down. I surged forward again, fists ready and-He excavation me.So help me, that bastard shot me. The bullet took me in the right shoulder, and I flew back against the cupboards, sinking down to the floor as my left hand instinctively flew to the wound to stop the blood. Art walked swiftly toward me, gun pointed down. The next one goes through your heart, he said. Now turn around and put your hands behind your back.Im kind of fucking eject here, I snapped back. My shoulder was on fire, and I couldnt even really move my arm. How much more lost could I get?His smile was bitter. Eugenie, you wont be incapacitated enough until youre dead.I saw Markelle come up behind him again. Her chair was gone, but her fists were out as she pounded him on the back, desperately trying to get him away from me. It was noble and tugged at my heart, but I wanted to yell at her to get the hell out of here. She was no more than a mosquit o to him. With ease, he turned around and backhanded her, and I swear, she hit the floor harder than I had when I was shot.In those fleeting seconds, I snaked one of my feet out as hard as I could manage and hit Art in the shin. He stumbled, leg buckling, but didnt fall. The gun, however, did fall from his hands. It hit the floor with a clatter and slid far out of my reach-but not out of Carienas. Shed apparently been standing on the far side of the kitchen this entire time. When the gun slid up to her, the timid girl didnt hesitate. She picked it up-screaming as her fingers made affair with the metal and polymers-and slid it back across the floor to me.I grabbed it. All the while, Arts eyes had been following the guns journey, so when it came to my hand, he was facing me. I had the gun aimed in a flash, and while I wasnt a great shot with my left hand, I wasnt horrible either. No hesitation I fired. The bullet bit into his chest, and he poisonous backward, blood immediately pouri ng from the wound. Id hit the mark.Markelle and Cariena ran up to me, Raina following moments later. Are you all right? exclaimed Markelle.Me? I asked incredulously. He smacked you across the room.She shrugged. Theyve done worse since Ive been here.Between the three of them, they managed to help me to my feet without putting too much pressure on the wounded shoulder. Raina attempted some of her healing magic-maybe Id been too quick to dismiss their powers after all-and we found bandages to wrap the wound. Her power only lessened the pain she could do nothing more extensive.Its made of iron, she said apologetically. Of course it was. Art would have had it loaded for wayward gentry.Its okay. Im fine. We were back in the kitchen, and I was disputation against the counter, attempting to straighten the bandage. We were all kind of trying to ignore Arts body. Okay. I can try to call for help again, but I think we need to get out of here on foot. I know where the gateway is, and its kind of a long ways, but we should be able to-Eugenie? Whats going on?Id set the gun on the counter while tugging my bandages straight, but in the blink of an eye, the revolver was back in my left hand, pointed toward the new addition in the kitchen. I knew the voice before I saw the face. How could I not? Id been listening to that voice over and over this whole week, both sleeping and awake. A voice that was a contradiction because it promised love and devotion while only delivering pain and humiliation.Id numbed out the worst of it with edit will and the nightshades effects. But now, pumped full of adrenaline, on the verge of escape and in control of my senses, the sure magnitude of it all slammed into me. The horror. The terror. The helplessness. Emotion after emotion burned through me, but in the quad of a breath, my mind immediately dispatched any feelings that wouldnt help me right now. That left only the dark ones. Rage. Fury. Malice.I tightened my hold on the gun and narrowed my eyes at the man I hated almost in the world.Hello, Leith.