Beast in Shining Armor (4 page)

“It
can try.”  Avenant muttered.

“Our
legends also speak of the day Excalibur will find the one it seeks.  One who
will lead through his example of love.”

Avenant
snorted in derision.  For once Belle agreed with him.  Why were legends always
so melodramatic?

“We’ve
awaited that person for generations.  But, only someone with the warmest heart
and noblest intentions can solve the riddles contained within these walls.  No
one has ever entered the maze and emerged alive.”  The wizard paused for
dramatic effect.  “They weren’t chosen by the sword and their hubris ruined
them.”

Belle
very much doubted she was the one person in the history of time to prove worthy
of Excalibur.  This contest would probably kill her.  It would probably kill
all of them.  She looked up at Avenant’s bored face, not sure what to say to
him, but knowing they should end this madness.  They were going to destroy
themselves, because they were too stubborn to back down.

He
glanced at her, feeling her gaze.  “We can stop this, Bella.”  He murmured in
his most persuasive voice.  He was the only one who ever called her that and it
always made her insides dip.  “Even if they go through with the contest of
valor, none of the others will find the sword.  Let them march in there and
vanish forever.  You and I will stay right here and find better ways to spend
our time.”  His eyes locked on hers.  “Just
surrender
.”

She
swallowed.  “No.”

“You’re
simply postponing the inevitable.  Give in now and save us both the trouble.”

“I’ll
die before I surrender to you.”

“Suit
yourself.”  His jaw ticked.  “Either way I’ll win.”

“You
could at least
try
to not be a beast.”

He
slanted her an unreadable look.  “I’ve never been given a reason to try.”

The
wizard raised his hands over his head in dramatic welcome.  “Let all those
courageous enough to face death step forward.”

Lancelot
shoved his way to the front.  The crowd cheered for him.  He heroically posed
at the entrance while cameras flashed.  He lifted a palm in conceited
acknowledgement, soaking in the adoration.

“I
dislike your cousin almost as much as I dislike you.”  Belle informed Avenant sourly. 
“Maybe more.”  Lancelot had been on her shit list since seventh grade.  More
recently, he’d been trying to claim the crown ever since Avenant was arrested. 
Clearly the whole family was filled with dickheads.

Avenant
looked surprised.  “You dislike someone more than me?  I’m a little bit hurt by
that.”

Belle
refused to be provoked.  She watched as more competitors joined Lancelot and
began filing into the labyrinth.  “I don’t even recognize most of these people.” 
She gestured to some random guy swathed in a purple hood and cape.  “If they’re
not
from
the Northlands, how can they possibly
rule
the
Northlands?”

“These
morons won’t be ruling anything.”  Avenant helped himself to another coffee and
took a leisurely sip.  Apparently, he wasn’t worried about the others getting a
head start.  “No one takes what’s mine.”

Belle
wasn’t feeling so confident.

There
were goblins and Cheshire cats and fairies entering the maze.  The
cannibalistic pumpkin-headed Mr. Pumpkin-Eater.  That psycho bitch Mary and her
salivating attack lambs.  An army of shoemaking elves loaded down with mallets. 
Dower, one of the wolves who’d escaped the WUB Club.

And
a lot more.  Too many more.

Pretty
much everyone competing was Bad, which meant that they were twice as
dangerous.  Lots of dangerous people with supernatural abilities and deadly
skills were all questing after the same thing.  There was just no way this
would end well.  At least Avenant had powers.  Belle didn’t have anything
except what she’d learned from her research.  Somehow she doubted that was
going to intimidate anybody.

She
saw Bluebeard heading inside and knew a moment of genuine fear.  His turquoise
facial hair and his citrus colored pirate outfit made him a pretty distinctive
figure.  So did the fact that he wore a necklace with six gold rings hanging
from it, one for each of his “missing” wives.  There was a double bladed axe in
his hand and he gave it a practiced twirl, like he was already anticipating the
feel of it hacking through bone.

It
was going to be a bloodbath in there.

“Give
it up, Avenant.”  Jack B. Nimble called out, heading for the maze.  His red
hair always flickered like a candle, a trait which had created quite the
fashion sensation in the Four Kingdoms.  …And caused a lot of stupid people to
light their heads on fire.  “The Northlands will never be yours.  Bad folk have
no right to possess lands that Good folk need.  You aren’t civilized.  You don’t
have the capacity to rule.  We have no choice but to…”

Avenant
moved his fingers and the would-be fashion model was frozen in a solid block of
ice.  The smug look on Jack’s face stayed visible through the blue-ish frost,
his eyes open and his mouth gaping.  His trademark hair winked out, leaving
nothing but blackened stubble on his charcoaled skull.

Half
the crowd jumped back in panic.  Teenage girls shrieked in horror at Jack’s
bristly baldness.  Other people gasped at the massive ice cube surrounding
him.  Avenant gave them all an imperious wave, mocking his cousin.  Unlike with
Lancelot, no one took his picture.

Belle’s
lips thinned.  Jack was a bigoted idiot with bad hair, but Avenant really
wasn’t helping Bad folk’s reputations by doing things like that.  Or his own. 
The Beast of the Northlands had terrified people from childhood because he
never hesitated to show his claws.  “Is Jack going to thaw out?”

Avenant
cast a thoughtful glance at the position of the shrouded sun.  “I guess it
depends on how soon summer comes.”

Considering
summer only lasted for about six hours in this region of the kingdom, that
wasn’t very reassuring.  Belle made a frustrated sound.  Avenant was so gifted
and so incapable of using his gifts for anything positive.  If he tried helping
his people, instead of keeping them in line through fear and intimidation, the
Northlands would be a far better place.  “Why can’t you ever use your powers to
do something Good?”

“Because
I’m
not
Good, obviously.”

“Isn’t
Scarlett’s whole message that the distinctions between Good and Bad don’t
exist?  That we’re all the same.”

“Scarlett
is a very nice girl.”  He made it sound like a mental impairment.  “Like you, she
believes she can rule with friendship and hugs.  My management style is a
little different.”

“Such
as scaring your citizens shitless?”

“Such
as scaring my citizens shitless.”  He concurred.  “They should know by now to
cower in silence.  I don’t ask for them to be smart --God knows, most of them
couldn’t figure out which side of a cow is up, in two tries-- But, they should
at least be awed and obedient in my presence.”

“And
you wonder why you were overthrown.”

“People
know what they’ll unleash when they cross me.”  He nodded towards the
Jacksicle.  “It’s not like I’m subtle about dealing with my enemies.  You might
be soft, but…”  He trailed off in consideration.  “It’s actually
your
fault that the runt’s been cryo-frozen, now that I think about it.”

“
My
fault?”

“You’re
a bad example to the others.  You make them think I’ll tolerate insubordination
from peasants.  If I’d dealt with you the way I should have, B. Nimble would’ve
been too fearful to do anything but tremble before me.  In fact,
none
of
this rabble would be rising up to oppose my rule.  They’d be too frightened.”

Belle
looked up at him.  “Why
didn’t
you fight back when I came to arrest
you?”  Avenant hadn’t even tried to use his powers against her.  He’d
never
used his powers on her, as a matter of fact.  Physically, he’d never hurt her,
at all.  Not even when they were children and she’d hit him first.

Avenant
gave a dismissive shrug.  “I think I was laughing too hard to strike out at you.”

“No,
you weren’t.  I’ll bet you’ve never laughed hard at anything.  It would mean
you had to feel something and you’re emotionally constipated.  So, what’s the
real reason?”

For
months, that question had plagued her.  Why wouldn’t he crush her rebels before
they had a chance to take the castle?  Belle could’ve taken him down.  She
believed that.  But, not
that
easily.  It was like Avenant had seen her
and surrendered rather than lash out.  Avenant would
never
surrender, so
there
had
to be some ulterior motive.

His
gaze flicked down to face.  “The real reason I didn’t freeze you solid for
defying me?”  He shrugged.  “I wouldn’t use force to beat you.  There’s no
victory in that.  Just be glad I’m not my father.”

She
still felt like she was missing something.  “Meaning what?”

“Meaning
you have no idea what a beast really is.”

“Avenant.” 
Scarlett Riding-Wolf came marching over with a black backpack in her hand. 
“Here.”  She thrust the bag at his chest.  “If you’re determined to go through
with this idiocy, I packed you some stuff.  Water, toothbrush, a flashlight… Everyone
else seems to have supplies, but clearly you weren’t smart enough to bring
anything silly like food on your death march.”

“Why
bother?  You’ve seen my opponents.”  Avenant gave an indifferent shrug.  “Winning
this will be embarrassingly simple.  I’m not going to be gone long enough to
get hungry.”

Belle’s
teeth ground together.

Scarlett’s
husband Marrok made a scoffing sound.  “Good to know you’ll die just like you
lived, Avenant.  An arrogant dick.”

The
Big Bad Wolf was the only guy in the world who even came close to matching
Avenant’s looks.  Marrok was tawny Adonis of a man, with a muscular body and
topaz eyes that seemed permanently fixed on his wife.  As stunning as he was,
that wasn’t the part that impressed Belle the most.  Marrok was clearly and
unabashedly head-over-heels for Scarlett.  She was his True Love.  The most
important thing in his universe.

Belle
couldn’t imagine that kind of devotion.

She’d
never been important to anyone.

Avenant
slung the knapsack over his shoulder.  “Pray I don’t return with the sword,
Wolf.  If I do, I plan to stab you with it and mount your head on my castle
wall.”

“Just
add some more chrome to that outfit and I’ll burn to death from the shine.”

“Both
of you stop it.”  Scarlett ordered.  “Avenant, pay attention.  I also packed
you some medicines and a flare gun and deck of cards.”

“Oh
thank God.  Playing cards.  I’m saved.”

She
disregarded the sarcasm.  “My grandmother bet five hundred gold pieces that
you’re going to win this thing, you know.”

“Is
that all?  Tell her to double it.”

“I
have a vested interest in your survival, wiseass.  And I was thinking about how
the walls in the labyrinth move…”

“That’s
just a story told by idiots.”  Avenant assured her.  “This whole stupid maze
was built by my grandmother’s great-great-great grandfather Adam who was,
according the stories, an insane drunk.  I’d be shocked if it leads to anything
but a barrel of whiskey.  The corridors probably dead-end fifteen yards that
way.”  He gestured off to the left with a dismissive flick of his wrist.

Scarlett
kept talking.  “…and I think it would be a lot safer if you go in as a pair. 
Like when mountain climbers clip themselves together.  So I had the fairies in
the Enchanted Forrest whip this up for you.”  She held up a bizarre gizmo
shaped like a fishing reel.

“I
have no idea what that is.”  Avenant didn’t sound very interested in finding
out, either.

“It
doesn’t really have a name, but it works like a really big ball of string.” 
Scarlett moved forward to clip said string to his belt.  “It unravels as you
go, so, if you’re fastened to someone, you can always find your way back to
them.  If you use this, when one of you gets into trouble, the other person can
help.”  She smiled like it all made perfect sense.  “I know it’s a competition,
but you have to
survive
before you can win, right?  Working together is
a logical safety precaution.”

“Who
is he going to work with?”  Belle demanded, shooting Avenant a frown.  “You
have a partner?”  For some reason, that annoyed her more than anything else
he’d done lately.  “Who?  Nobody even likes you.”

Avenant
glared back at her.  “Many people adore me.”

Marrok
laughed outright at that lie.

“
You’re
his partner, Belle.”  Scarlett put in, as if it was obvious.  “Who else?”

Belle
frowned.  “Me?”

“Of
course.”  Scarlett fastened the other end of the gizmo to Belle’s coat.  “You
two know each other, so it’s the best choice.  Besides who else would look
after the big dummy?”