City of Dust

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tomorrow arrives and my guards are on edge. They're the same ones I've had this whole time, so I've picked up a few things about them: mostly they hate looking after me. Either because of the initial body odor or because I just don't talk. I guess it's not fun to guard someone who actively looks like they don't care about breaking out.

Wait until they see what I do next.

My day passes as it's had done for the last week—slowly. I read a little, but I spend most of the time going over the plan. A plan that I've chosen to approach as I would any other.

The brownies have told me that Kayleigh is kept confined to her mother's quarters on the second floor. A guard is posted outside of the door at all hours, but not inside the tiny apartment. She has free range of the place, but typically stays in her room and watches TV.

In short, she's pissed at her mother.

Well, I'd be pissed too if my mother had sex with an angel, failed to tell me about it, and then decided to offer me up in sacrifice to a demon.

I decided to not have the brownies clue the kid in, because she's twelve and children notoriously cannot keep their mouths shut. Especially ones about to be sacrificed.

At last, midnight arrives.

I'm waiting for the brownies and stuffing the last of the wooden shims I've managed to carve out from the bookshelves into my belt. I took the wood from inside the cabinets, little hidden nooks and crannies that the guards wouldn't think to check. Thanks to them giving me real cutlery with my meals, it made whittling them down so much easier. And the brownies dutifully took the shavings with them when they stopped by to keep me updated.

I had thought about asking them to steal back my knives, but that would have drawn too much attention. There are always places to buy weapons.

Hopefully no one went through Winston's saddle bags and stole my money.

A tiny silver portal emerges at the base of the office door. A dozen brownies march out, some in their little red housekeeping uniforms, others in brown and white smocks.

"Is everything ready?" I ask Tun.

"Yes," he replies, taking off his little brown cap and twisting it between his stubby hands. "Her mother is with Lord Ehtab."

Good. I don't know what sort of relationship the doctor has with the demon lord, but if she did it with an angel, who's not to say that she's doing it with a demon?

"And Glaris?"

"The demon-hunter is waiting across the street."

Across the street? Just how the hell did he get inside the city? He was supposed to wait for us outside.

"Okay." I take a deep breath and settle my shoulders. I can work with this. I have to. "Let's go."

The brownies stand in front of the door in two lines of six. They raise their little arms and a silvery portal begins to glow against the doorframe.

"Go!" Tun hisses, strain heavy in his voice.

I run towards the portal, closing my eyes as I pass through. A feeling akin to vertigo assails my senses and I feel like I'm falling ... falling ...

I stumble into a darkened room and it takes me a moment to reorient myself. The smell of hay and manure hit my nose and then I realize that I'm in the barn.

"Here!" a female brownie calls out from behind.

I turn around and pick up the saddle bags full of ancient demonic scrolls.

"Hurry," she says, making shooing motions with both hands.

I snort but don't say anything. They won't bring the kid until Winston and Egon are ready.

The battle-elk heavily grunts when I reach his stall, only a few feet from where the brownies dropped me off. "Hey, buddy," I say around the tightness in my chest. He looks well-cared for, for which I'm thankful.

Looking around for any stable hands, I open the door to the stall and Winston practically charges out into the hall. All of his gear is neatly stacked by the stall, oiled and cleaned. Even by Winchester, crossbow, and poison-tipped bolts. Quickly, I throw everything on. There's no time to check the bags to see if my money's still there. I'll just have to find out later—much later.

The enfield is nearby. He jumps up on his hind legs, vestigial wings rattling. I see that the stable hands have nailed extra boards over Egon's stall to keep the creature from jumping out. It might as well be a cage.

I let him out and he runs around me, as excited as a dog.

"Stop that!" I hiss in his ear as he whines softly, pressing his black muzzle against the crook of my neck. "I need to put this on you."

Egon cocks his head and immediately sits down, wolflike tail thumping on straw. "No, stand up," I say exasperatingly. The enfield quickly rises to his feet.

I throw the altered bags over his back, securing them around his chest and middle. Winston prances around me, head held high as he scans the stable for threats. So far, all I hear are horses, donkeys and mules blowing softly in the night air.

"Listen, both of you," I say, gripping elk and enfield by the chins and turning them to face me, "we're going to bust out of here. There's a demon lord in the basement and he wants to sacrifice the kid to expand his territory. Glaris is going to be waiting for us outside. Once the kid arrives, get the hell out of here as fast as we can and head north. Got it?"

Like little schoolboys, Winston and Egon nod.

"Good." I turn to the brownie. "Go."

She nods and darts into another portal. As I swing into Winston's saddle, another portal appears in the same spot as mine. Kayleigh stumbles out, dark brown hair puffed out to Afro size. Her honey-brown eyes are wide and fearful. She's wearing a heavy jacket over pajama pants and a top. Not the best traveling gear, but it's what we'll have to deal with.

"Hurry," I urge, drawing up Winston's reins. "Get on the enfield."

"Where are we going?" she asks, looking up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Out of here," I tell her, heart beating faster the more time passes. Someone's got to notice something's amiss by now. "Do you want to be sacrificed to Ehtab?"

"No," she breathes, trembling.

"Then climb on and hang tight."

The kid throws herself onto Egon's back, fingers bunched into his fur and the leather straps holding the saddle bags on.

I knee Winston around and aim for the exit.