They crept along the cover of the partition, nearing the large, open square. It would be a harrowing escape, but once they reached the cluster of White Roaring’s slums, Arthie and the Siwangs could easily lose any assailants in the maze of alleyways. Because unlike Ceylan, Arthie knew this city like the back of her hand.
“How do you know there’s a bunker?” Arthie asked, on Flick’s tail.
“I was trapped in it,” Flick said. “She somehow knew you were a vampire too. I thought very few did.”
Outside of Penn and the crew, no one did. No, that wasn’t right. Someone else did too.
Arthie moved past Flick and peered over the partition. The square was a bedlam of vampires and black-clad men, the Ram’s carriages far beyond like a dark dam. Just up ahead, Matteo tore a man apart, crimson staining his shirt. Jin was beside him, fighting two men at once, oblivious to the one behind him.
“Jin!” his mother shouted at the same time that Flick screamed his name and raced into the fray, masterfully evading the Ram’s men. Arthie couldn’t protect them both. She clamped a hand over Sora’s mouth and pulled back in time to see Flick pull a wickedly long knife from a makeshift sheath at her side.
“We need to keep moving,” Arthie shouted, searching once more for the Ram. Not a glint of that silver mask was to be found. Arthie pointed to a cobbled wall halfway through the open square. “See that ledge? On my count, run for it. Stay on my left. Hide.”
She didn’t know if she could ever call the Siwangs her parents, but she meant to protect them as if they were.Only because I need them for a job.
“Now!” Arthie shouted, and the three of them rushed into the open. They were spotted immediately. Men broke away from the vampires, heading for seemingly easier marks. In her hand, Arthie transformed Calibore back into a pistol and swung a wide arc, driving the men back.
Two of them launched themselves at her. She fired, striking one in the arm. The third rushed forward with a knife, only to go flying when Shaw swung a rotting board of wood and caught him straight on. The man hit his head on the cobblestones and didn’t rise again.
“What? I need to keep my daughter safe,” he said at her look.
Arthie couldn’t make sense of the emotions that rose at his words. She fired at the last of the men and skidded beside the cover of the ledge, Shaw and Sora on her heels. Sora leaned against the stone with a relieved sigh, clutching her arm beside Shaw.
Sidharth’s carriages still hadn’t arrived, but the slums were just paces away. If Arthie could sneak the Siwangs past the guards that were bound to be waiting up ahead, they would be infinitely safer. But the Ram was still out there somewhere, and Arthie didn’t like not knowing where.
“Looking for me?”
Arthie whirled.
The Ram stood before her, gunmetal mask glinting in the wan light. She turned her bright eyes from Arthie to the Siwangs leaning against the stone ledge. It might have been just the four of them in the world in that moment, isolated from the others and hidden from view.
“Did you think bringing them back would hurt me?” the Ram asked her. “Theybelongto me. Everything in this empire belongs to me, and soon, that will include the rest of the world.”
Arthie lifted Calibore and squeezed off a shot. Quicker than Arthie anticipated, the Ram evaded, swinging a shield that was as small as a handheld mirror. The bullet bounced off its surface and shot straight back at her. Arthie rolled out of the way, heart in her throat, and that was her fatal mistake.
The Ram didn’t look at her again. She didn’t need to. She had what she needed:
The Siwangs. Unprotected.
Shaw leaped in front of Sora, but the Ram didn’t care who died first. She fired. Twice. Two bullets. One for each of Jin’s parents. One for each of Jin’s long-lost parents, one for each ofArthie’snew parents. They rang in Arthie’s ears as if they’d landed in her own body, and by the time she could fire back, the Ram was gone and Arthie was surrounded by a throng of her men, the last of the Ram’s words echoing dully.
I’ll see you at the tribute.
36JIN
Jin heard the gunshots, and he knew. He knew that gun. He moved in the direction of the sound, but he was slow, as if wading through water. A fist connected with his jaw. By his side, Flick screamed. He couldn’t fight back. The world slowed to a buzz, ringing in his ears, thrumming far away. The man hit him again. Jin stumbled. And again.
Then Matteo was beside him. He cut the man down. He was dragging Jin and Flick away, pulling them to the shadows.
Where the familiar gunshots had rang out.
“Arthie!” Matteo shouted, and Jin saw the portrait in front of him.
His parents were slumped against each other, leaning against the gray stone wall. In some twisted way, they looked asleep, as though they had finally, finally found a moment’s rest after the years of mayhem.
But their eyes were glassy. Their chests unmoving. He couldn’t turn them. He couldn’t make them vampires. He couldn’t say goodbye.
He didn’t get to tell them that he loved them.
