A group of witches in the front row called out. “We told you, Redmayne. She’s got no magic at all. She’s not the Chosen One.”
“Connor set this all up,” I shouted. “He’s made a fool of you. He took advantage of your overwhelming arrogance, and he sucked you right in.” I saw some of the haze in Redmayne’s eyes clear, so I pushed a little harder. “The centaurs are going to be the laughingstock of the whole Middle World for this.”
The centaur’s mouth dropped open; he was outraged. “How dare you?”
The crowd drowned out his bluster, everyone shouting at once. The centaurs bellowed, and the other creatures screamed back at them. Just then, I spotted Donovan creeping towards the stage. Connor saw him, and then his eyes flicked left and right, seeing Eryk and Nate moving through the crowd towards him, too, covering all sides.
Connor's face screwed up in rage.
I exhaled. That’s right, asshole. The crowd is uncertain, your assassins are gone, you’re outnumbered, and we’re coming to kick your ass.
Well, not me, because I was so exhausted I was about to collapse.
Suddenly, Connor lurched forward and grabbed Audrina by the neck. A knife flashed in his hand.
“My people!” His voice boomed above the noise. “Please do not be confused by these meddlesome humans. I will take care of everything. Keep the faith, and the truth will be revealed in time!” He locked eyes with me and dragged Audrina backwards across the stage.
“Stop him!” I screamed. No, not Audrina, he couldn’t take her…
Time slowed down. I threw myself forward, trying to run on jelly-like legs, desperate to get to the stage, but I was far too high up. Adrenaline surged, and everything became sharp. I could see every detail of everything—the whites of Audrina’s terrified eyes, the flashing silver blade in Connor’s hands, the gleam of his white teeth, Donovan, almost a blur, running down the aisle towards him.
Then, a little golden figure shot across the stage behind Connor. I stumbled down the hill as Cecil galloped with his little legs, head down and eyes narrowed.
He ran straight into Connor’s backside.
Connor screamed. He let go of Audrina, the momentum of Cecil’s charge throwing her across the stage to roll to the edge. Eryk got to her first and scooped her up.
Oh, no…
Connor had stabbed her. His knife was sticking out of her back.
“Audrina!” I stumbled down a step and crumbled to the ground, lurching up immediately. This was a nightmare, a horrible nightmare where you’re trying to save someone, but your legs wouldn’t hold you up, and you can't run fast enough.
Cecil’s horns had stabbed into Connor’s ass, one in each cheek. The tiny pony was desperately backtracking, his shiny hooves skidding on the stage, as he tried to free himself. Connor, roaring in fury, saw Donovan sprinting across the stage towards him. He reached around, grabbed Cecil by the mane, yanking the horns out of his ass, and he punched the air.
Black smoke billowed out of his fists. He shouted a word, then knelt, smashing his fist against the ground.
The black smoke exploded, covering the stage completely.
When it cleared, Connor was gone.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Ihugged Audrina one more time. My hands kept patting the spot in her back where Connor had stabbed her. There was nothing there now, of course. Nate had gotten to her quickly, yanked out the knife, and healed the grisly wound just in time. Audrina’s kidney would be a little weak for a while. I hoped the other one would pick up the slack. I rubbed her back gently, shivering. It was freezing here, under the bridge. The wind howled straight off the water, chilling us to the bone. I should have picked a better spot.
Audrina hugged me back, burying her face in my shoulder, wiping her tears on my jacket. “Why can’t I come home with you?”
“You know why,” I said gently. “I’m not trying to be selfish, Audrina; I’m trying to do what’s best for you. Your mother has formally accused me of abducting you, so I’m a kidnapping suspect. If anyone sees you with me, the police will just take you back home, and they’ll throw me in jail.”
She let out a wail. “I’m so sorry, Susan. My mother is a monster! She’s ruining my life, and she’s trying to ruin yours!”
I shushed her, patting her back gently. “Honey, if anyone has ruined your life, it’s me. I got you caught up in all this mess.”
Audrina had a lot to be traumatized about, but strangely, she seemed to take all the supernatural stuff in her stride. It helped that she was a folklore nerd and already knew a lot about the creatures that had abducted her. And, apart from being snatched off the street by a bunch of purple muscled weirdos, and then taken again by some horsey assholes, her abductors had all treated her kindly.
“It wasn’t so bad. It was quite exciting, you know. Apart from being stabbed.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I knew that magic was real.”
“You know you need to keep that to yourself, right?” I pushed her away and met her red eyes. “You have to be brave, and just bide your time. I’ve got a great lawyer who can work on getting you emancipated, but it will take time. Go home, follow the plan, okay? The second the courts grant you emancipation, you can come and live with me until you go to college.”
She hugged me again. “Thank you for everything, Susan.”
Eryk called out from his lookout spot up on the bridge. “Chosen. The human enforcers are coming now.”
I patted Audrina’s cheek. “It’s showtime, honey. You remember what to do?”
“I remember. I just tell them the truth.” She gave me a crooked smile. “I’ll tell them I ran away because of my mom. I’ll keep my mouth shut about everything else, don’t worry.”
I nodded and smiled.
As soon as we all limped through the portal and returned to the human realm, we piled everyone into the limo and came up with a plan. We needed to get Audrina home before anyone saw her—especially with me—so I called in an anonymous tip to the police station, letting them know that there was a young girl sleeping rough in a dangerous area near the Oakland Bay Bridge. The police would find Audrina, take her home, and wouldn’t ask too many questions.
Cecil had just finished setting up a little mattress and a pile of blankets in a crevice near the bridge. Right now, he was still faffing about, rumpling the blankets, and scattering empty candy bar wrappers around it in a bid to make it a bit more lived-in.
Poor Cecil, he was still moving a little stiffly. The neck brace didn’t seem to help.
“I’m done!” he declared. “Come on, Songbird. Snuggle down in here. Don’t forget to give the cops a little attitude.”
