by Brian Olsen
Dyllic purses her lips as she thinks. “The goblins can be reasoned with. It will be difficult to restrain the chimeras without harming them, but we will try. The ghouls simply need slaying. We should begin.” She holds out her hand, and another elf hurries over to present her with a long, slender sword. “We will need to tend to ourselves as well, you understand, Alisa. All the elves were released, not just fighters, and we must protect our own first. But we will do our best to remind the humans of this new world that not all magical peoples are dangerous.”
“Thank you, Dyllic.”
“Tannyl, stay with them,” Dyllic commands. “Aid them as best you can.”
He bows to her. “Stay safe and be well, my queen.”
She nods, looks around, and sighs. “I don’t even know half these elves,” she says quietly. Then she raises her sword in the air. “Follow me, my people!”
She runs to the edge of the roof, takes a quick look down, then jumps off. The remaining elves, all but Tannyl, follow suit.
Nate nudges me. “She remembered me.”
“I saw.”
“She made a point of saying hi to me and not to anyone else. Just me.”
“Yup.”
“The elf queen wants me.”
“Keep it in your pants, stud.”
“Nobody react.” Alisa’s voice rings in my head. In everybody’s head, I assume, because everybody reacts in surprise, then painfully obviously tries to pretend that nothing happened. “I’m going silent because he has to know we’re here now, and he can’t find out about this next part. Remember, protecting Chris and Nate is top priority. You two, no risks.”
There’s a pause. We can’t hear one another, only Alisa, so somebody else must be saying something in response.
“Yes, Nate, this whole plan is a risk, but that’s not helpful right now. Mr. Liefer, stay here and rest. You’re our emergency exit if this goes wrong, so come running if I call. Otherwise, rejoin us when you’re strong enough.”
I expect him to protest, but he just raises one hand in weary acknowledgment.
“Zane, take us to the plaza right in front of the TKTS booth. If they don’t reveal themselves to us, then Mr. Ambrose and Kenny will try to break through Dante’s hiding spell. Hopefully we won’t have to do that. Zane, whenever you’re ready.”
Zane closes the door in the stairwell bulkhead and then rests his hands on it. Darkness swirls out, forming a portal. As everyone gathers near it, I grab Tannyl and hold him back. He gives me a curious look.
Softly enough so that nobody can hear, I say, “I know why Dyllic told you to stay with us, and it wasn’t about giving you and Alisa time together. I know what she must have ordered you to do if this doesn’t work.”
His lips tighten. “I take no pleasure in it. I have come to consider you a friend, but—”
“It’s all right. I want you to know that, Tannyl. If it’s necessary, I want you to do it. Don’t hesitate.”
“I won’t.” His pale gray eyes are clear. “I promise, Chris. If it comes to it, I will kill you quickly.”
Thirty-two
We step out into Father Duffy Square, just in front of the wide, deep steps that serve as a seating area and lookout spot. The stairs are built over the TKTS booths, where tourists and locals buy discount tickets to Broadway shows. I’ve been here a couple times, with my parents or with friends. The big staircase is cool. It’s all glass on the sides, but the steps are lit up red underneath. If you go to the top you get a good view of Times Square, and it’s fun to sit there and watch all the activity going on.
Not much activity going on now, though. Although there’s still plenty of noise from all the commotion happening all over the city, this immediate area is calm. A couple of dead bodies. Mostly human, a few goblin, and one chimera. Although I guess any of them could have actually been ghouls. They’re all charred and smoking, so either the chimera took them all out and then committed suicide, or the Common King was here.
There’s something off about the plaza. Besides the bodies, I mean. Not just the tables and chairs broken and scattered or the metal police barricades knocked over into the street, or the wrecked businesses with smashed windows and destroyed signs. There are loose stones, big chunks of rubble, underfoot. And there’s a low, broken stone pedestal in front of the stairs. It’s smashed up, all rough on top.
“They’re here somewhere,” Alisa says, noting the bodies. “Or they were, recently. Everybody stay close.”
“They’re there.” I point to the top of the stairs.
The stairs are empty. No bodies, living or dead.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. He’d want to put himself up high, where he can survey everything.” I indicate the stone pedestal. “That used to be a statue. I’m guessing he got bored of staring at the back of it and destroyed it.” I raise my voice and yell up to the top of the stairs. “Am I right? You up there, Kirt?”
The spell of hiding drops, revealing the Common King sitting on the top step. He’s got a tablet computer in his hand, but he’s not looking at it. He’s watching us.
“I’m here, Chris.”
He doesn’t have the book, Creatures of Myth and Legend, at least not anywhere visible. Neither do any of his followers, all spread out along the staircase a few steps below him. Jasmine, Shonda, Mr. Finlay, Mrs. Kumar, Dante, and my mom. Mom’s eyes are on me, her expression unreadable.
The king stands. “It was the phone call to Tes that led you to me, was it?”
Jasmine flinches. “Sorry, Kirt.”
He waves a hand dismissively. “It’s all right. I’m curious, though, why they’ve charged so eagerly towards their deaths.”
Alisa walks to the base of the stairs, her hands up in a non-threatening gesture. “Please. We’re not here to fight. We want to talk.”
“Talk quickly, then.”
“We know we can’t beat you. We’re done trying.”
He laughs. “As deceptions go, this is a poor one.”
“It’s not a trick.” Zane comes to Alisa’s side. “I convinced them before, and now I’ve done it again. More lives will be lost by fighting you than by surrendering.”
The king sneers. “You’ve tried that lie already, Zane.” He rubs his jaw, where I punched him when we rescued Nate. “I’ve got the mark to show for it.”
“I lied to save Nate.”
“He didn’t need saving. I promised he wouldn’t be harmed.”
“I saved him from Jasmine, not you. I remember what a nutbag she was in the world before.”
Jasmine jumps to her feet, whipping a lock of long red hair out of her face. “Zane Winarski! I would never hurt Nate and you know it!”
Zane shrugs. “Sorry, Jasmine. Maybe you wouldn’t, but the Nightmare Queen could do anything.”
Alisa cuts off any retort Jasmine might make. “You must have seen us send the elves out around the world. That wasn’t intended as an aggressive action against you.”
“It was clever, I’ll give you that,” my double replies. “When I realized you still had the necklace, I wondered if you’d bring the elves into play. Still.” He purses his lips. “Aggressive or not, you’re working against my plans.”
“Only to save lives.” She rests one foot on the lowest step. “This isn’t an unconditional surrender. If we said we didn’t care who got hurt or killed, you’d know we were lying. We’ll accept your rule, if you’ll stop all this destruction. Stop making people afraid of magical species, so we can start building a new world where everyone lives in peace together. Do you really want to rule over the war-torn ruins of a planet?”
The king leans back against the glass barrier at the top of the stairs. Nonchalantly he flips through some pages on his tablet. “I’m not seeing what I gain by sparing you. Seems like I’d just be setting myself up for another pack of traitors undermining my authority down the road.”
“You’d gain our assistance.”
He looks up in surprise.
Alisa nods. “I’m not just saying we’ll stop fighting back. I’m saying we’ll actively support you.”
“Everyone.” Her voice rings in my head. “I told Nate to make his move. Be ready.”
She continues aloud, “With our help you can take power bloodlessly.”
He snorts with laughter. “You don’t believe that.”
“With less bloodshed than there is now, at least. I believe that.”
“Hmm.” He looks up from his tablet. “Perhaps it’s worth the risk of trusting you. I could always take a few hostages to ensure your loyalty. Truth be told…” He holds up the computer. “My plan isn’t working as well as I had hoped. I’ve sent multiple messages to world leaders but not a single one has ceded authority to me.” He sighs. “I’m growing impatient.”
Mrs. Kumar stands. “I apologize, Your Majesty. Perhaps my placement of the artifacts is not having the impact I thought it would. We could rearrange?”
He waves a hand at her. “No, no, Baroness, it’s not your fault. No, it’s—”
“Don’t believe them!” Nate runs up two steps. “Don’t believe them!”
“Natey!” Jasmine runs down a step. “Be careful!”
The Common King, with a flick of a finger, shoots a ball of fire towards Nate. It moves just slow enough that my friend is able to jump back to the ground to avoid it. Barely.
“I don’t like being interrupted,” the king says. “Nor did I give you permission to approach.”
Nate hugs the framed picture he still carries tightly to his chest. He swallows hard and says, “Sorry.”
The king nods. “You may speak.”
“Nate,” Alisa says sharply. “Don’t.”
“I’m sorry, Alisa.” Nate takes a breath and says, “It’s a trick. They want to get close enough to incapacitate you.”
The king raises an eyebrow. “I know little of you, Nate Montgomery, but this seems an uncharacteristic betrayal. My queen, is it in his nature to betray his friends?”
Jasmine hesitates, looking from Nate to her king, then says, “No. He’d never betray them.”
“I’m not betraying them!” Nate yells. “I’m saving them! They know facing you is a death sentence but they’re too stupid and brave not to try. The only way this ends is with all my friends dead. Please, let them run away. They can’t stop you.”
“Let them run away?” the king repeats. “And what of you?”
“I…” Nate bites his lip. “I’m done hiding, I’m done running. I want to be with Jasmine. Wherever she is. Whoever she is.”
Jasmine gasps. “Oh, Nate!” She turns to the king, clasping her hands under her chin. “Oh, Kirt, please, can we keep him? Please, please, please?”
The king puts his tablet down on the steps and rubs his temples. “Fine. You may approach my queen, Nate Montgomery.”
This is it. We’ll have to move fast. I inch just a little closer.
The Common King notices.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Nate’s barely halfway up the staircase.
“Hold.”
Nate freezes.
“This doesn’t look much like running away.”
“I…” Nate looks back at Alisa. “They will. It’s still sinking in, you know? That you won.”
“Is it? Let’s drive the point home, then.” He waves his hands at his followers. “Kill them all.”
“Your Majesty!” Mom jumps to her feet before the rest of them so much as twitch. “Please. You promised me!”
He throws his head back and groans. “I make far too many promises for my own good. All right, then, Kelle. You won’t have to watch your ‘son’ die.”
My feet leave the ground. I’m floating up, up, up. I have no control.
“Disrupt!” Mr. Ambrose grabs for my ankle, but misses. “Disrupt!”
I shake a little but don’t stop rising. I pause about twenty feet off the ground.
“He’ll die when he hits the street, somewhere behind us,” the king continues. “And you won’t have to see it.” He picks his tablet back up. “Now, don’t make me tell you again. I have reading to do, so kill these traitors for your liege.”
Without looking, he flips his hand at me in an upward motion.
I rocket into the air in an arc, flying north, the wind beating at my face. I come to a halt about two blocks north, a little past where we first arrived. At least I think that’s where I am. I’m very, very high up, hovering motionless in the sky, and the ground is very far— Nope, not gonna think about that. I’m thinking about how I can see all of New York City spread out around me. It’s like the time we went to the top of the Empire State Building, only that was a cloudy day and now it’s clear. Really trying to focus on how pretty it all is and how I can’t see any of the carnage from this high up, and not thinking at all about things I can’t do anything about like what’s going to happen when—
I drop.
Thirty-three
I’m falling. I’m going to die. I’m going to hit the street and there’s so much wind and everything’s spinning and I can’t breathe and oh my god—
I’m slowing down.
Is the city above me now? Up and down have switched and the sky is below me and New York is above me. Maybe? It’s hard to tell. I’m still falling towards the street because of my momentum, except now it feels like I’m rising. I’m slowing because gravity is pulling me towards the sky below. I think.
Okay, yeah, definitely slowing, but not fast enough. I’m still falling or rising or whatever you want to call it. I hit the middle of the street and yup, up is down now because I slam into the pavement like somebody threw me into a ceiling and now I’m falling down again but below me is just endless blue sky which is somehow way more terrifying than falling towards the city was. I’m—
Oof. Everything spins and down is down again and I hit the street for a second time. Not too hard, though. Slowing down in midair saved my cute magicless behind. I’m a little bruised and I skinned my palms but I’m lucky not to be splattered all over…whatever street I’m on. Street sign says Broadway. Oh, yeah, there’s the M&M store again, a block south. I’m close to where we first arrived, like I thought.
I get to my feet carefully just in case gravity does a handstand again. I only know one person with the magic to do that. I shield my eyes from the noonday sun and look up. Mr. Liefer is on the roof where we left him, collapsed half over the ledge, not moving. He must have passed out from the effort of saving me. Still not recovered from sending the entire elf species around the world, probably.
I’d better check on him. Another ghoul might stumble up the stairs. Or a goblin. Or a chimera. Well, maybe not a chimera, they’re probably too big for the stairwell.
No, wait. I need to get back to the plaza! My friends are fighting for their lives. Unless they ran away. They think I’m dead and our plan won’t work without me. No, who am I kidding, they wouldn’t run, even then. They’d try something else.
Alisa, I think. Can you hear me?
Chris? If thoughts can sound both surprised and relieved, hers do. You’re alive?
Liefer saved me, but he’s hurt. Passed out and not moving.
You’re with him?
No, I’m down on the street.
Go check on him, she tells me. Let’s keep you being alive a secret for a while longer, if we can. Might be useful.
You need me close, though.
Not yet we don’t. The king’s staying out of the fight and we’ve got the upper hand. We might still be able to pull off the original plan. I’ll let you know when we need you. Gotta go, people are trying to kill me.
She mentally ‘disconnects.’ Okay. First thing, check on Liefer, then see how close I can get to the TKTS steps without being noticed.
I start south, but a scream makes me stop. Ahead, from around the corner of 47th Street, a goblin comes running. I think it’s one of the ones who chased us before, from the M&M store. Only now she’s the one running scared.
A jet of flame shoots out
from around the building on the corner, roasting the goblin alive. She runs a few more steps, flailing wildly, before dropping to her knees. A lion roars from just out of sight.
“Here, here!” A man calls to me from the doorway of a store, beckoning to me urgently. “Quickly!” He’s a portly middle-aged man, Middle Eastern with light brown skin. He’s got a thick beard, dark black with gray patches, and he wears a brown business suit that’s seen better days. The shop has a huge sign above it reading “NY Gifts” and beyond the shattered windows are sweatshirts and mugs and key chains and every other kind of overpriced souvenir a tourist could desire.
I sprint for him, reaching the door just a moment before the chimera turns the corner. The man pulls me past a display of original Broadway cast recordings on CD and another display of miscellaneous Statue of Liberty branded items to a counter in the back. Folding screens with the New York City skyline printed on them have been set up in front of the counter, blocking whatever’s behind from view. We hurry behind the screens and only then does the man relax.
I don’t. There are goblins behind the counter. I grab the man’s arm and yank him back. “Look out!”
The man pulls away from me. “Quiet!” His voice is urgent but hushed. He shoots a panicked look at a big metal door further down the store, which must lead to a back room. “You must be quiet!”
“But…”
I stop, realizing my mistake. The goblins are as terrified as the man. There are four of them. An adult man and woman, a younger male, and a little girl. She’s tiny, barely a foot and a half high. They’re sitting on the rug behind the counter, drinking bottles of water.
“Do not be afraid, my friend,” the man says. “They will not harm you.”
Of course. Not all goblins are hostile. They’re people, and like any type of people, they’re all different. Most of them are going to be terrified and confused and looking for someplace safe to hold up during this madness, just like any human would. I was being super racist. Or speciesist.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “Sorry.”
The goblin man squints his large eyes at me, then opens them wide. He jumps in front of the other goblins, throwing his arms out protectively.