The Emperor's Bride

by Caylen McQueen

  “Look,” Gwen repeated, directing his attention to a portentous sky, where a large plume of smoke tainted the landscape.

  Santo Feo was on fire. There was no mistaking it.

  “That's where we just were,” Gwen said, stating the obvious. “That airship we passed... do you think it's causing trouble over there?”

  “Possibly.” Josiah went back to stroking his chin, which he often did when the situation required a great deal of thought. “Do you think we should go back there? What if Jun is in tr--”

  “AHA!” Carol screamed as she snatched Flynn's wanted poster from the wall. She was so invested in finding it, she didn't hear a word of their conversation. “I found it. Hey... this one looks kind of strange! I'm not imagining that, right? They made your brother's eyes look a little too beady. He looks sinister as hell.” Carol wanted to ask Flynn about the poster, but when she turned around to show him, he was nowhere to be found. “Um... Flynn? Earth to Flynn! FLYNN! Hellooooo. Where did you go?”

  “He probably headed for the saloon. I wouldn't worry about him. Right now, we have more important things to discuss.” Josiah pointed at the sky that was darkened by blooming smoke. “I think we should return to Santo Feo.”

  Twenty Seven

  Flynn had just dismounted his horse when someone grabbed him from behind. Gwen was already several paces ahead of him, and his brother was even further ahead, so a cry for help was useless, especially when his assailant clapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him into a nearby alleyway.

  Despite his average height and build, Flynn was a decent brawler, and he wasn't going to go down easily. First, he slammed an elbow into his attacker's gut. When the larger man doubled over, Flynn sent his fist forward, crushing a nose. In the corner of his eye, he saw another man closing in on him. He started to pull his gun from its holster, but he wasn't fast enough. The first man snatched it before Flynn could free it.

  When he heard the hammer click behind him, Flynn whirled around and attacked with flying knuckles. He struck the man's wrist, which sent the pistol into the air. As the second man approached, Flynn yanked a knife from his pocket and flung it. The hurtling blade sank deep into the thug's chest.

  The second man was down, which evened the odds—until a third assailant suddenly appeared on the scene. He flew down the alley in a rage, and though Flynn tried to defend himself, he couldn't, not when the first man seized him from behind.

  “Josi--” Flynn attempted to scream for his brother, but a blur of fists suddenly pummeled him, cutting off his cry for help. When he felt a crowbar striking his head, Flynn knew he was done. He couldn't fight back anymore.

  Even before he lost consciousness, everything went dark. One of his attackers had shoved a bag over Flynn's battered head.

  * * *

  When Flynn came to, everything was still dark. The bag over his head hadn't budged, which was unfortunate, because it smelled vaguely of horse manure. He was tied to a chair, bruised, and possibly concussed. Even the worst hangovers weren't as bad as having his head split open by a crowbar.

  Flynn's entire body tensed up when he heard footsteps clacking around the room. He held his breath and braced himself, but nothing happened. The darkness was not only suffocating, it was deeply unsettling. A minute later, the footsteps closed in on him, and the bag was lifted from his head.

  Two large men were standing in front of him. Both of them were broad, girthy, bald, and wore doltish grins on their faces. They looked like twins. Flynn assumed they were bounty hunters, but they looked more like a comedy duo, so his first instinct was to snicker.

  “Hey!” One of the men smacked his head. “Why you laughin', boy?”

  “Maybe he don't take us seriously, Floyd,” the second man suggested.

  “Well then... maybe we need to box him around a bit? Then he won't be laughin' no more.”

  Flynn's laughter abruptly ceased, then he stared them down with cold, hard, narrowed eyes. His lips wore a slight smile, possibly to show how fearless he was.

  “You're probably wonderin' why you're here,” said the man named Floyd. “Well... we got asp... uh... asper... uhhh...”

  “Aspirations,” his friend finished the word.

  “Aye. That.” Floyd nodded oafishly, which made his bulbous chin wag. “If you ain't guessed already, Lloyd and I are bounty hunters.”

  For a second time, Flynn snorted with laughter. If it wasn't bad enough that they looked ridiculous, their names were Floyd and Lloyd. In his gut, Flynn knew he had nothing to fear from them. He just had to bide his time and wait for a moment to strike back.

  “We wanted your brother, but we decided to go for the small fish instead,” Lloyd explained. “You ain't worth as much, but we thought you'd be easier to get.”

  “Oh... I think you'll find I won't be easier,” Flynn assured them in an ice-cold voice.

  Floyd slapped his head. “Boy, you need to take a good long look at yourself. You're tied to a chair. Your face looks like shit. We've already got you. It was easy. The only thing missing is the reward money, and we'll have that soon enough.”

  “It wasn't that easy, though...” Lloyd murmured, which earned him a hard slap from the man at his side.

  “Lloyd! Don't be an idiot!”

  “Well, it wasn't easy!” Lloyd insisted. “We lost Douglas. The boy put a knife in his chest. I feel like I should knock him around a few more times for Douglas' sake.”

  “Be my guest, Lloyd. Give 'im another punch for me too. And make it a good'un!”

  Lloyd cracked his knuckles as he stepped toward Flynn. When his fist connected with his young captive's jaw, the boy barely flinched. His lack of reaction was frustrating, so Lloyd punched him again. And again. Still, Flynn barely reacted to the blows.

  “Why's the bastard still smiling?” Lloyd whined. “What's wrong with him? He should be crying for mercy by now!”

  “Maybe you're not hitting hard enough?”

  “I am hitting hard!”

  “Maybe you need a few rings on your fingers. That would hurt worse.”

  “I don't want to get blood on my rings, though! I like my rings!”

  For the third time since the bag was lifted from his head, Flynn chuckled. He wanted them to know he wasn't afraid of them. He wanted them to know they were a pair of witless buffoons.

  “He's laughing again!” Floyd whined. “Why's he keep laughin' at us?

  “Don't know, don't care.” Lloyd shrugged his meaty shoulders. “All I know is... he won't be laughing when the bosses get here.”

  “Aye,” the other man agreed. “He definitely won't.”

  Twenty Eight

  “I can't believe you're not worried about Flynn!” Carol lectured Josiah as they reentered Santo Feo. “And Nicky! How can I be more worried about two guys you've known your whole life?”

  “Flynn's a grown man. He doesn't need to be babysat by his big brother, and I'm sure he'd agree with me.” Josiah tied his mare to a hitching post as he defended his lack of concern. “As for Nicky... well, that boy's not my problem.”

  “That's not very nice!” Carol whined. “For all you know, one of them might be in big trouble!”

  “And for all you know, they might be perfectly fine, and you might be worrying too much. Right now, we need to focus on finding Jun. Look around you. This city's already halfway to hell.” Josiah pointed down the street, where crackling fires of burning buildings provided a haunting backdrop for the escalating chaos. Overseas invaders had taken over the city, and they were killing anyone who impeded their conquest.

  “Gwen... Carol... you two need to get to safety,” Josiah advised them. “It's not safe out here on the street. Wait in that saloon over there. When I find Jun, I'll come back for you, and we can all leave the city.”

  “No!” Carol prodded his chest with her middle finger. “Nonononono. You're not going to bench me again, buddy! How can I ever prove myself if you never let me do anything?”

  “I'm not trying to be rude, Mis
s Cassady, but you two shouldn't be out here right now.” As if to prove Josiah's point, a bloodcurdling shriek was heard in the distance.

  “I think we should listen to Josiah,” said Gwen, who had been uncommonly quiet since leaving Yooma, but no one seemed to notice or care. She hadn't recovered from Josiah's rejection, and she likely never would.

  “You're only saying that because you want to avoid the danger,” Carol accused her.

  “Yeah, I do want to avoid the danger... because I'm not an idiot! Is avoiding danger supposed to be a bad thing, because I think it makes me smart.”

  “Are you saying I'm an idiot?” Carol's eyes were glaring, but her lips were pouty.

  “Um... kind of. If you keep rushing into trouble, you might start to look dumb.”

  “Listen, girlie...” Carol straightened her back and puffed out her chest. She wanted to look intimidating, but it was difficult, because Gwen was taller than she was. “I'm not dumb. In fact, I've been called a genius by my peers on multiple occasions, so you better take that back!”

  As her eyes rolled, Gwen flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Fair enough. But if you don't listen to Josiah's advice, then you're a genius without any common sense!”

  “Ladies.” Josiah's expression turned weary as he listened to their row. “Just... head into the saloon, and I'll find you in a bit. And please, for the love of god, try to get along. I don't want to think about you two killing each other while I'm gone.”

  “Okay, okay...” Faking a sweet smile, Carol curled an arm around Gwen's slender back. “Since you're asking so nicely, we won't kill each other until you've returned.”

  * * *

  “What's going on, Jun?” Weng asked when he saw his niece run to the store window.

  “I don't know, but I think it's some kind of riot.” While Jun was peering out, someone chucked a brick through the display window. As broken glass soared around her, Jun ducked and screamed.

  “Are you alright? Did it hit you?”

  “No... but I almost got some of the glass in my eye.” Jun plucked a shard from her hair as she stepped away from the window. “Do you think I should hide? What if they're looking for me?”

  “This isn't about you, I'm sure. Every now and then, one of the local gangs will cause a ruckus. The window can be replaced. It's nothing to worry about.”

  “I'm... not so sure,” said Jun, whose fears increased when she made eye contact with one of the store's attackers. Like her, he was from the Far East.

  Many of her countrymen worked the mines in Santo Feo, so at first, she didn't think it was too terribly unusual. However, when she heard him yell, “she's in here!” her body froze.

  “Uncle!” Jun ran to Weng's side and squeezed his arm. “I think they are looking for me!”

  “And they'll take you over my dead body!” Weng grabbed his rifle from behind the store's counter and aimed at the door.

  “No... please. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me! I'll just escape through the back door. I need too--”

  Before she could finish, the front door burst open, and three of Emperor Ju-long's men rushed into the store. Weng shot one, but the remaining guards advanced on him, pried the rifle from his hands, and clobbered him with the stock.

  “Uncle!” Jun screamed when she saw him go down. In less than twenty-four hours, she had already become her uncle's curse.

  “Run, Jun!” Her uncle cried as blood poured from the wound on his forehead. “Run!”

  As soon as Jun tried to flee, one of the guards quickly caught up to her. With a victorious yelp, he lifted Jun off her feet and carried her through the store. Jun's legs flailed wildly, kicking over bandages and medicine. When they reached the door, she saw the second soldier stabbing her uncle's throat with his blade.

  “Nooooo!” Jun screamed so loud, the man who held her flinched. “You bastard! How dare you!”

  “How dare you!” one of the soldiers threw her words back at her. “You ran away from the emperor. Do you know how many women would have loved to be you? You're such a selfish girl... and that selfishness killed your uncle.”

  “No!” Jun objected. “You did! You killed him!”

  When they were outside, one of the emperor's men chucked a torch into Weng's general store, simply because he felt like it. They were trying to keep damage to a minimum; however, because Emperor Ju-long wanted the city of Santo Feo for himself. He didn't want it destroyed, he wanted it to be part of his growing empire.

  Halfway down the road, the guard shoved Jun into the arms of a straight-lipped Prince Feng. As soon as she saw his face, Jun groaned. In truth, he looked no more thrilled to see her than she was to see him. His glare was so cold, it could make winter shiver.

  “Well, well. We finally found you, Shuchun Jun!” Prince Feng's fingers curled around the hilt of his sword as he wrapped an arm around Jun. “We've been tracking you for awhile, you know. You're not as elusive as you think. One of our men spotted you back in Yooma, believe it or not. Would you be surprised to know we have eyes all over this country? Our spy network is quite... elaborate.”

  Jun, who was usually meek, screamed into his ear, “Why can't you just leave me alone?”

  “Because, my dear, no one escapes my father, especially an ordinary village girl like you.” As a grin tugged at his lips, Feng slid a finger along her cheek. “Of course, you're not that ordinary. I've forgotten how beautiful you are! My god, you're stunning! If I have to kill you, it would be such a waste.”

  Jun gasped. “Kill me?”

  “Of course. Or did you honestly believe my father would want you after all of this? You insulted him greatly.” Feng stroked her hair as they discussed the turn of events. “Now he only wants to punish you.”

  “Please just let me go,” Jun begged him, even though she knew it was useless. If they went through so much trouble to find her, there was no way Prince Feng would have a sudden change of heart.

  “I have plans for you, Jun, don't worry,” Prince Feng dragged her down the dirt road so forcefully, Jun felt her shoulder pop. “Well, actually, you probably should worry. You should...”

  Prince Feng's voice trailed off when he saw Josiah Cole rushing toward him with a raised revolver. One of Feng's guards leapt in front of him, taking three of Josiah's bullets for his prince.

  He came back for her. Jun's heart soared at the sight of him. As soon as she saw Josiah's face, she knew everything would be alright.

  Or so she thought. After Josiah killed Feng's bodyguard, everything happened quickly. Prince Feng shoved Jun to the ground and unsheathed his blade in a flash. It whizzed toward Josiah's hand, the one that held the revolver, and it flew so quickly that Josiah didn't have time to react. The razor sharp edge of the sword collided with Josiah's left hand. It not only knocked the gun away, it severed two of Josiah's fingers. When he heard Jun's horrified scream, the prince's smile broadened. Her horror inspired him.

  Prince Feng swung again. Faster than a blinking eye, his blade looked like a blur. Josiah tried to hop backward, but the prince's sword was massive. When he realized it couldn't be evaded, Josiah panicked. Without thinking, he raised his left arm, using it to shield his face from the incoming strike. When Prince Feng's blade lopped off Josiah's entire arm, right below the elbow, Jun's screams reached a terror-stricken crescendo. She stared in horror at Josiah's severed limb as it laid in the middle of the dirt road.

  Thrilled by the fight, Prince Feng's smile transformed into a mad, ecstatic grin. He brought his sword forward one last time, stabbing Josiah in the gut, as deep as it needed to go. When his opponent was thoroughly trounced, he removed his sword, kicked Josiah to the ground, and returned to a sobbing Jun.

  “Oh my god!” Jun bellowed through tears. “You killed him!”

  “So I did.” Feng roughly hauled Jun to her feet and lifted her over his shoulder. Her kicking and screaming seemed to have little effect on him. “Your would-be hero was rather pitiful, wasn't he? I almost feel embarrassed for him.
Westerners are so weak.”

  “I hate you!”

  “Good. You can hate me all you want. It changes nothing.” Prince Feng gripped Jun's thighs as he carried her to the emperor's airship. “In fact, the more you hate me, the more I desire you. Isn't that funny?”

  Twenty Nine

  “So, why don't you think Josiah likes me?” asked Gwen, who sipped iced tea as she lamented her love life. “Is he not attracted to me? Does he like someone else? Is it really so terrible that he knew me when I was a little girl, because I'm clearly not a little girl anymore!”

  Gwen wanted advice from Carol, but she wasn't going to get it, because her companion replied with a noncommittal, “Uh huh.” If her drooping eyelids were any indication, Carol was on the verge of nodding off, and she didn't try to hide it.

  “Maybe it's conceited of me to say this, but I think I'm an attractive young woman. In Gravestone, guys were tripping over themselves for a minute with me. Any guy would be lucky to have me, right?”

  “Uh huh.” Carol concealed her yawn in the palm of her hand.

  “Maybe Josiah needs to see me flirting with someone else? Maybe that would change his mind? It's too bad Nicky's not here, because he's dumb enough to believe I might actually like him.”

  Carol's head suddenly crashed against the table. She had officially heard enough about Gwen's fascination with Josiah.

  “Or maybe I should go for his brother? What do you think? Flynn's kind of young, and I've always preferred older men, but at least he's cute.” When she didn't get a response, Gwen nudged her arm. “Carol? Carol, are you even listening to me anymore?”

  “Does this saloon have peanuts?” Carol murmured. “Cuz I'd really like to have some peanuts right about now.”

  Gwen sneered at Carol's question. “Uhh... of course this room has penis! In case you haven't noticed, almost everyone in this saloon is a man! Duh!”