“You thought your little faerie tricks would work on me?”
Laurel’s eyes flew open and she flung herself to the spot Tamani had vacated only seconds before. She couldn’t see Barnes, but Tamani was crumpled on the floor against the wall, shaking his head as he glared at Barnes. She watched the long shadow jump toward Tamani and opened her mouth to scream a warning, but Tamani was gone before Barnes crunched into the wall, cracking the plaster. Tamani darted around the room as Laurel tried to press farther and farther into the wall. The whole house was shaking now as Barnes lunged at Tamani over and over and Tamani continued darting just out of reach. Laurel watched their shadows dance and held her breath, afraid that every movement, every sound, might give her away.
With a yell and a mighty swipe of his long arms, Barnes caught Tamani across the chest and threw him against the south wall, directly across from the doorway where Laurel crouched. Cracks spidered over the plaster where Tamani hit the wall, and he slid onto the floor. Laurel willed him to rise and jump away again, but Tamani’s head lolled to the side and he breathed heavily.
“That’s better,” Barnes said.
Laurel pulled her head back around the corner, but it didn’t matter; Barnes’s back was to her as he stood halfway across the room towering over Tamani. He leaned forward and studied Tamani before breaking out in his grating laugh. “Look at you. You’re just a boy. A baby. Are you even of age to be a sentry?”
“I’m old enough,” Tamani rasped, glaring at the troll with hard eyes.
“And they sent
Tamani flung a leg out, but this time he was too slow. Barnes caught him at the calf and twisted, lifting Tamani from the ground and flinging him around before slamming him back against the wall with enough force to create a few more cracks.
“You want it the hard way, I’ll give it to you the hard way,” Barnes said. “Truth be told, I rather like the hard way.”
Laurel’s eyes widened as Barnes took a pistol from his belt, pointed it at Tamani, and pulled the trigger.
A SHRILL, DEAFENING SCREAM REVERBERATED IN LAUREL’S head as the room filled with the crack of gunfire, but somehow only a small whimper escaped her lips. As the smell of gunpowder burned her nose, a muted yell forced its way into her consciousness. Laurel’s eyes sprang open and flew to Tamani. His face was contorted in pain and a groan continued to work its way through his clenched teeth. He clutched his leg and his fingers were wet with sap as he glared up at the troll.
Barnes pointed his gun again, and this time Tamani couldn’t hold back a cry of agony as a bullet ripped through his other thigh. Laurel’s whole body trembled as Tamani’s scream seemed to invade every organized, symmetrical cell in her body, throwing them into chaos. She crawled one step forward, and Tamani shot her a look that ordered her to stay put. No sooner had his eyes met hers than they were back on Barnes. A sheen of sweat glistened on Tamani’s brow as Barnes set the gun down on the desk with a loud clunk and walked forward.
“Not going anywhere now, are you?”
Hate burned out of Tamani’s eyes as he stared up at the hulking figure.
“You’re here the day I’m supposed to go down and sign papers on the land holding your precious gate. I’m not stupid enough to blame that on coincidence. How did you know?”
Tamani closed his lips and said nothing.
Barnes kicked Tamani’s foot, and a low growl escaped his tight control. “How?” Barnes shouted.
Still Tamani said nothing and Laurel wondered how long she could bear to watch. Tamani’s eyes were tightly closed, and when he opened them he looked straight at Laurel for an instant.
She knew what he wanted. He wanted her to keep her promise. He actually wanted her to turn her back on him, walk down the stairs alone, and return to the land to fetch Shar.
She’d given her word.
But she knew she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t leave him. In one glaring instant, she realized she’d rather die with him than leave him to die alone.
In that moment of surrender, her eyes lit upon the gun.
Barnes had left it sitting on the desk and was paying no attention to it at all. Under lowered lids Tamani followed her gaze. He looked back at her and shook his head in such a small motion she barely saw it. Then he winced and moaned as Barnes kicked his leg again.
“How?”
Barnes crouched in front of Tamani. Laurel knew it was the best chance she was going to get. She crept forward, trying to imitate the deft strides she’d watched Tamani take all morning.
“In ten seconds, I’m going to take your foot and break every stem in your leg.”
Her hands curled around the cold steel and she tried to remember everything her father had taught her about guns a few years ago. This one was a heavy, squarish pistol — the kind that almost looked like a black water gun. She looked for a safety or a hammer and saw neither. She closed her eyes for just a second, hoping with all her might that this was one of those point-and-pull kinds of guns.
“You get one more chance to give me my answer, faerie. One, two—”
“Three,” Laurel finished for him, pointing the weapon at his head.
Barnes froze.
“Stand up,” Laurel commanded, staying just out of arm’s reach.
Slowly, Barnes stood and turned slightly toward her.
“Against the wall,” she said. “Away from him.”
Barnes laughed. “You really think you’re going to shoot me? Little snippet of a thing like you?”
Laurel flinched as she squeezed the trigger, almost crying out in relief as her efforts sent a bullet into the wall. She pointed the gun at Barnes again.
“Okay,” he said, and backed up a few paces, turning all the way around to face her. His eyes widened as he recognized her face. “I thought I had you killed.”
“Think harder next time,” Laurel said, proud her voice was not shaking nearly as much as her legs.
“Did my boys forget…Wait, no.” He sniffed the air suspiciously. “You — I don’t…” His voice faded as he turned to Tamani and gave a sinister chuckle. “I get it now. The faeries have resorted to placing changelings. Changelings!” He looked down at Tamani, his tone casual. “When are you going to learn that we trolls come up with all the best ideas?”
Laurel fired another shot at the wall and Barnes jumped. “We’re done talking,” she said.
The two stood together in some kind of impasse. Barnes seemed almost sure she wouldn’t shoot him, and Laurel was just as sure she couldn’t. But she couldn’t let Barnes know that.
Unfortunately, the only way to put his doubts to rest was to actually shoot him. Her fingers felt sweaty on the trigger as she let the gun rise till the barrel covered his face, blocking it from her sight.
That was as far as she could go.
“Remember what I told you, Laurel,” Tamani said very quietly. “He ordered you to be killed, he poisoned your father, he manipulated your mother…He’ll do it again if you let him get away.”
“Stop, really, you give me far too much credit,” Barnes said with a mocking smile.
Loud, ragged breaths hissed in and out of Laurel’s mouth as she tried to make her fingers contract. But her arms lowered a few inches and a smile tugged at the corner of Barnes’s mouth.
“I knew you couldn’t do it,” he jeered. He dropped into a crouch and flew at her.
All Laurel saw was red-rimmed, murderous eyes and hands extended more like claws than fingers. She didn’t even feel the gun in her hand as her fingers clenched and the crack of a gunshot roared in her ears. Barnes’s body jerked back as the bullet tore through his shoulder. Laurel screamed and dropped the gun.
With a groan, Tamani pulled himself forward and his hands clutched at the weapon. Barnes roared in pain, but his eyes found Laurel again.
“Leave her alone, Barnes!” Tamani yelled, aiming the gun.
Barnes barely had time to focus on the gun pointed at his head. Even as Tamani pulled the trigger, Barnes leaped at the window and crashed through it, dropping to the ground below. Tamani’s shot embedded itself harmlessly into the wall. Laurel ran to the broken windowsill and caught one last sight of Barnes fleeing toward the river before his bloodied form disappeared over a hill.
Tamani let the heavy gun clatter to the ground. Laurel flung herself to her knees and into his arms. He
