The shouting intensified. Once they reached the town square, Leena understood why.
It was complete chaos.
Townsfolk ran in all directions, collecting weapons to throw down by the steps of the church. Pickaxes, scythes, helmets, rusted swords, and farming equipment were all laid down in piles.
Chants could be heard like tidal waves, so it took Leena a moment to piece together what was being shouted:Long live the people.
Paint-splattered letters were written everywhere, on the fences, on the wooden posts, on the doors:King Edmund will fall.
Someone had attempted to form a barricade but had abandoned the project halfway, leaving a sad fence with a few wooden planks, a dozen chairs, and a wardrobe turned on its side. If the army was truly coming, then the entire town wouldn’t last the week.
Leena recognized a handful of Martin’s servants in the crowd, their faces lit by a steel-can flame. Leena kept her head low. She urged Bram onward, but he struggled under her grip.
Swerving, she saw a face in the crowd that she recognized instantly.
Mackenzie Crane, bruiser of the Black Coats. His right earlobe was completely missing, and his hand was heavily bandaged thanks to Bram’s shot.
His head turned at that moment.
Leena’s breath hitched. He had seen them, and was now cutting through the crowd in their direction.
She faltered, tugging Bram by the hand toward the first dark alleyway she encountered, quickening their strides.
But Mackenzie had followed them.
With a wild sort of fright, she heard hard footsteps clicking behind them on the cobblestones, steadily gaining pace.
Leena tore into the maze of streets, guiding them deeper into the township and the clustered houses. Still, no matter where she turned, Mackenzie’s footsteps followed.
A flicker of shadow ahead of them.
Theodore Daye emerged, his eyes frantic, urging them forward.
There was no other way to go but onward. Leena briefly considered going back to face Mackenzie Crane rather than follow Theodore Daye, who had already betrayed them once, but that seemed like a deadlier option.
“Please,” Leena sobbed, staggering to a stop. “Do not lead us astray again, Theo.Please.”
Theodore Daye halted at her words. His skin turned unearthlypale, and he averted his face. No longer did he beckon her forward. His entire body seemed to crumple in shame.
Leena heard the sounds of Mackenzie’s approach growing steadily closer.
Bram’s head came up. He tugged at her. “No…Leena…we cannot…Theo…”
“I know,” she soothed, even though her own heart quaked.
But there was nowhere else togo.
Before Leena could decide whether to trust Theo and go forward, or turn around and face Mackenzie with Bram’s pistol, the choice was no longer hers to make.
She hadn’t seen the figure crouched in anticipation of their arrival until his strong hands had gripped her by the hair, dragging her away from Bram and into an open doorway at the side of the alley.
She scratched the attacker, hearing a grunt when she raked her nails down his arm, all the while trying to reach for Bram’s pistol, but her assailant’s grip didn’t loosen.
“Enough, dearie.”
She froze, recognizing that voice. “You?”
Only a single sconce burned in the house, and in that pool of light she could see the ugly face of Mr. Orley, demon leader of the Black Coats.
