Flight of the King (30 page)

She took a breath and smoothed her hands over her coat—black, with multicolored embroidery that depicted thorny vines. The crowd below was bubbling over with excited energy, though they
had no clue what was about to occur. Behind her stood the clockwork tiger, flanked by two guards on either side in gray uniforms.

“Many of you remember the last time my father, King Melore, stood on these grounds. His brutal assassination cast Aldermere into mourning, but it awakened an anger too—an anger that
has been living in your hearts for over twenty-five years, as it has lived in mine!”

From the crowd came cheers and waves of applause. These people had loved her father. They'd suffered in his absence. But she knew what made her different from him: he had been weak. She
had grown strong.

“Today I have prepared a special Military and Defense presentation in honor of him,” she continued. “Never again will enemies of Aldermere overthrow the name of Melore. Never
again will anyone be so foolish as to question the absolute power of your ruler.”

This pronouncement was met with staggered clapping and whispers. Viviana breathed deeply and retrieved the brass, ruby-buttoned controller from her coat pocket, ready to show her kingdom how
indestructible she truly was.

But then a collective gasp rose from the crowd, and more than one frightened scream. A troop of soldiers marched through the main thoroughfare, directly toward the stage. Viviana's fingers
trembled with anger—whoever had organized this had clearly underestimated her. On either side of her, guards stood at attention, hands on their swords and rifles. Then the man leading the
charge walked forward, and Viviana drew in her breath.

The very face of her nightmares—the man who had caused her years of terror, who had stolen her life by taking her father's—now stood in front of her, leading a company of
ragtag bandits, all armed with swords, knives, clubs, and blunderbusses.

“No,” she whispered.

“Surprised?” The Jackal grinned. “I had hoped so!”

“How dare you?” she hissed. She did not move from where she stood—she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her afraid. She held her hand out, gesturing to her guards
to stay where they were.

“You're not even the least bit amused to see me?” the Jackal said. His soldiers stayed in their ranks as he sauntered forward, swinging a metal cane. His voice rose, inviting
the horrified onlookers to listen.

“Viviana Melore, your claim to the throne of Aldermere has very short legs—it can only run this far. I think after the people see what I have to show them, they will agree that I am
the true ruler of this kingdom…and I always was.”

He walked onto the stage, and Viviana stepped back before she could stop herself. The Jackal paced in front of her, crossing to the metal tiger. Viviana's nostrils flared as she watched
him—so confident, so nonchalant. Oblivious to how powerful she truly was. Laughing, the Jackal tapped the tiger's metal head with his cane.

“Seize him!” Viviana shouted to her guards.

The Jackal simply smiled. Viviana heard gasps from the audience, and saw fingers pointed toward the stage, at something behind her. Her guards halted.

She turned.

Facing her head-on was a white tiger—a real one, with fangs bared. It stood staring at her with its snowy-blue eyes, ready to strike. She backed away from the beast.

“I believe you've been looking for this,” the Jackal growled. “But as you can see, the white tiger, the herald of the true ruler of Aldermere, has chosen me.”

“No,” whispered Viviana. It seemed her body had begun to shrink. The tiger cocked its snowy head, fixed its eyes on her, and roared.

The Jackal stood in front of the white tiger for an unbearably long, silent moment. The tiger began to pace back and forth on the stage, whipping its tail in a menacing frenzy. Viviana's
guards scattered.

“Do it.” The Jackal was sneering through clenched teeth at the agitated tiger. “Do it, you filthy cur.…”

The tiger bared its teeth, clearly with no intention of doing anything the Jackal asked of it. Instead, it roared again.

Viviana steeled herself. This was nothing but a trick—an impressive one, but nothing she couldn't overcome. She snapped to her guards, who recovered from their stupor and caught hold
of the Jackal's arms. She summoned her strength, and called her mechanical tiger to her. It arched its back, and echoed the real beast's roar. Viviana grasped the ruby controller and
pressed a button, and the Reckoning began.

FROM HIS HIDING PLACE
behind the platform, Bailey heard the two roars, one real and one mechanical. Confused shouts tore through the crowd. Animals
began twitching and trembling, yelping and hissing. Then, all at once, every animal in the fairgrounds attacked the Jackal's men. With teeth gnashing and claws extended, the soldiers cried
out in surprise. The people on the grounds did not understand what was happening: they tried to chase after their kin or restrain them, to no avail. But Bailey knew that, like the poor mouse in
Lyle Clarke's Science Club, these animals had lost their own will. They were controlled by Viviana's murderous rage, now merely tools for the Dominae. Machines. He peered from behind
the platform out into the crowd, hoping to hear the familiar clunking of Tremelo's motorbuggy, or see his friends running to help him. But all he saw were the shocked faces of the citizens as
they watched their kin do battle.

Bailey returned his attention to the stage platform. Two Dominae guards held the Jackal, but Viviana herself was watching the two tigers: Taleth and the automaton circled each other on the
stage, teeth bared. Bailey heard the sound of heavy boots clambering across the stage—a handful of the Jackal's mercenaries had broken through. They tangled with the guards, and the
platform became a chaotic battleground.

Bailey closed his eyes and pressed his back against the side of the platform, hoping that, with enough effort, he could see the stage through Taleth's eyes. He needed to find Hal, and he
needed to find the Reckon, Inc. machine. But he couldn't get a clear vision of anything—just a huge, catlike shadow that skulked in the corners of Taleth's vision. A constant,
high-pitched whirring rang in his ears, accompanied by a strange thumping, like a drumbeat.

Behind him came a violent shout. He looked up just in time to see two Dust Plains mercenaries leap off the back of the stage with the Jackal, while others fought the tide of Dominae guards in
pursuit. Bailey tried to crawl backward into the safety of the shadows under the platform, but it was too late.

“You!” said the Jackal, seeing him. Two pairs of arms seized him under his shoulders, and dragged him away from the stage. The mercenaries marched him behind the Jackal toward the
concrete fire pillars behind the stage. Once there, the Jackal turned to face him; his eyes were narrowed, and his cheeks were blotched and red.

“What have you done, boy? We had a deal.”

Up on the stage, the troop of the Jackal's soldiers beat back the Dominae who had been holding the Jackal only moments before. The Jackal grabbed Bailey's coat and pushed him against
one of the pillars. These stood at Bailey's shoulder height, and he could feel the heat of the coals on his face and neck. The two soldiers from the tunnels stood there, as well as the
Jackal's guards from the compound. One of the guards struggled with a barking jackal on a chain leash.

Bailey summoned up all his strength and pushed himself free of the Jackal, knocking them both off balance.

“Where's Hal?” Bailey demanded.

The man holding the barking jackal rushed forward to grab Bailey. The animal pulled on its chain, jumping like it had gone mad. Bailey backed away from the snarling beast and looked toward the
stage, praying that Taleth would feel him and help him.

“Hold him, idiot!” the Jackal yelled at his guard.

The Jackal pressed a small button on the base of his cane. A hidden blade popped out from behind the carved metal dog head. Bailey stomped on the foot of the guard holding his arms and lurched
out of his grasp. He looked up to the stage to see Taleth pacing the top of the platform. Neither she nor the mechanical tiger had lunged. The clash between Viviana's guards and the
Jackal's soldiers on the stage was nearly finished, but out in the crowd, the bandits still struggled against the onslaught of attacking animals. A flock of owls, ravens, and other birds from
the fairgrounds dive-bombed into the melee. Onstage, more of Viviana's guards approached Taleth cautiously, intent on corralling her. They had her surrounded, but not one of them could get
close enough to strike without her immense claws slashing the air. Viviana herself circled the fighting, regarding Taleth with a hungry, wolfish stare. Bailey's blood froze as he watched
several of the guards raise their guns at her.

“Don't shoot it, you idiots!” Viviana shouted to her guards. “We want it alive.”

The Jackal lunged at Bailey, brandishing the knife end of the cane.

“Little sneak,” he roared. His face was red with fury. He grabbed Bailey by the collar and pushed him against the concrete side of the nearest fire pillar. Bailey's head hit
the lip of the column with a thud. The flames behind him were close enough to singe his hair. The Jackal kept his fist at Bailey's neck, holding his collar tightly.

“Where is Hal?” Bailey demanded again. “If you've killed him—”

“Ah, precious Hal,” growled the Jackal. “You're in no place to bargain for lives anymore—not when you and your white beast ruined the plan.”

“She'll never bow to you again,” said Bailey.

“You don't think so?” the Jackal spat. “Look on the stage—look at your tiger.” Bailey looked. Viviana stood at the edge of the stage with her own mechanical
tiger, one eye on Taleth, and another on the bloody melee on the grounds. Taleth, in a frenzy of anger, was bearing down on Viviana and her guards.

“If Taleth kills Viviana, then I will have my throne back,” said the Jackal. “You'll be of no use then. But don't worry—I'll spare your tiger and train
her to bow then. Any beast can be trained with the right whip.”

Bailey tried to wrench himself free, but the Jackal was too strong.

“Good-bye, Child of War,” the Jackal said. The Jackal tightened his grip on Bailey's neck until Bailey could hardly breathe. He kicked and grabbed at the Jackal's arms.
His panicked mind flew between his own vision and Taleth's. One moment, he saw the Jackal leering at him, pressing him against the concrete column. The next moment, he was in Taleth's
mind, watching a frightened guard jump away from her unfurled claws. Taleth could feel Viviana probing at her mind, like someone poking pins into her to test her reflexes. Bailey could feel it too,
and it dizzied him.

But then he heard an angry snarl; the guard had lost his grip on the chain that held the vicious jackal. It leapt forward and clamped its teeth onto the human Jackal's leg. He shrieked and
let go of Bailey. Bailey stumbled and pushed himself forward, away from the fire and into the dirt.

The animal leapt again, snapping, and the Jackal dropped his cane and held his arms up to protect his face. Bailey ran to the stage. Beyond the fire pillars was pandemonium—the fight
between the animal army and the Jackal's men had escalated into a full-fledged battle, human against animal. The citizens watching screamed as their kin clashed with the soldiers.

Bailey looked up to the platform, and his heart seemed to stop in his chest—Taleth was running toward him. Her eyes were wild, their pupils just narrow black slits in a fire of blue. She
breathed in heavy snorts through bared teeth. Bailey felt no connection to her, no vibration of emotion between them. She was beautiful, poised to attack, and she could kill him with one gnash of
her teeth.

Please no, Bailey thought. Not you too. He felt paralyzed by fear, caught in a terrible decision: he could continue trying to reach Viviana, trying to stop what was happening. Or he could run.
He hated Viviana even more then—she was forcing him to fear the one creature in the world whom he loved the most.

Suddenly, the automaton, controlled by Viviana, head-butted Taleth, knocking her onto her side. Bailey crouched at the edge of the stage. Above him, Taleth swung at the automaton with her heavy
paw; her claws screeched against the metal. Bailey cried out and put his hands over his ears. He had to help her. No matter what, he couldn't leave her.

The Jackal appeared then, his meaty hands outstretched and his pant leg soaked with blood. Bailey, hardly thinking, scrambled backward.

“You little scab! You're a scheming locust, you are!” the Jackal screamed. He came closer, but the ferocious jackal leapt again. Its chain jangling, it knocked the Jackal to
his knees. The Jackal's guard rushed to pry the dog off its master, but the animal was too strong. The Jackal's legs kicked into the air, and he screamed for help. Bailey hid his face,
not wanting to watch. He heard a loud thud and moved his fingers to see the guard holding a wooden club, standing over the body of the canine.