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"Be careful," Fletcher warned as he finished garnishing the last bowl of soup. "Be quiet and be invisible just like always. Don't get yourself noticed by anyone, especially not tonight. "
The worried tone in his voice made me look at him. "Is something wrong?"
He shrugged, but his green eyes were dark and troubled. "I heard some rumors that something big might go down at the dinner - "
A scream erupted, cutting through the noise and clatter in the kitchen.
Everyone froze, wondering if we'd all just imagined the sound - but we hadn't. More sharp screams sounded, along with a couple of loud, booming crack-crack-cracks of gunfire. But the most troubling thing was that even here in the kitchen, a hundred feet from the doors that led out to the party, I could feel the crackle of magic in the air. A blast of frigid Ice power, followed by an intense wave of Fire, both of them rubbing against my skin like invisible sandpaper.
Fletcher noticed the grimace on my face. "What is it, Gin?"
"Some elementals are using their power," I said in a low voice. "Ice and Fire. They must be strong, really strong, for me to sense their magic all the way in here. "
He nodded. "We need to get out of here - "
But it was already too late. The kitchen doors flew open, and giants stormed into the room. Every single one of them had a gun in his hand. There was nothing Fletcher and I could do, no way we could escape without drawing attention to ourselves and making things worse, so we bowed our heads and put our hands up like everyo
ne else did.
The giants marched the entire kitchen and waitstaff outside onto the lawn. When I'd been out here five minutes ago, the area had been pristine, and everything had gleamed, from the fine crystal and china to the elegant, blue-green tablecloths. Now, tables and chairs were overturned, platters of food had been upended, and splintered shards from the broken champagne glasses glinted like razor blades underfoot.
The dinner party guests had been herded into a tight group out on the lawn, and the giants ushered us in that direction as well. No one spoke, although several folks unsuccessfully tried to hold back frightened sobs and whimpers.
"Good," someone purred in a low, feminine voice. "More witnesses. "
I couldn't see exactly who was speaking through the crowd of people in front of me, but I saw the shimmer of copper-colored hair and the flash of a gold necklace around a woman's throat. I looked at Fletcher.
"Mab Monroe," he murmured in my ear. "I'd heard Dubois was planning to make a move against her tonight. Looked like he didn't plan well enough. Poor bastard. He'll pay for it now - more than he ever imagined. "
I didn't have to ask Fletcher what he meant. The old man had told me all about Mab and her ruthless reputation.
Two giants dragged a man across the lawn, causing murmurs to ripple through the crowd. He was a handsome man with blond hair, but his once-impeccable tuxedo jacket hung in smoking tatters on his shoulders, while his white shirt was charred. The holes in his shirt showed the blistering burns on his skin. The giants stopped with him in front of a beautiful stone fountain shaped like a mermaid. Twinkling white lights had been wrapped around the mermaid's elegant form, although they seemed to make the shadows darker, rather than lighter.
It took me a moment to gather my courage enough to drag my gaze away from the mermaid and look at the injured figure again. I knew what was going to happen now. Everyone did.
"Tie him down. " Mab's command floated through the air.
Two of the giants moved off to the left and pulled some metal hoops out of the ground and picked up some wooden mallets. A croquet set. I'd seen it on the lawn when I'd been serving champagne earlier. That was what the giants had grabbed, although I had no idea what they planned to do with it.
I got my answer a few seconds later. Four giants held the man down spread-eagled, while two more positioned the metal hoops over his arms and legs and then pounded them into the ground.
Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.
The light, ringing sounds were so at odds with what was happening, and every blow the giants struck took on a somber, sinister note in my mind, until all I heard were death knells. We all knew that was what they really were, and so did Benedict Dubois, who started swearing and screaming at the giants to let him go. When that didn't work, he reached for his Ice magic, trying to blast his captors with it. But the giants were ready for that. They punched and kicked him over and over again, breaking his concentration, his ribs, and his nose, and hurting him until he was too bloody and battered to summon any more of his power.
Finally, Dubois raised his head off the ground and looked out at his dinner guests, his friends and business partners. He started yelling at them to help him. But no one stepped forward - no one dared to, not with Mab staring at them.
No one wanted to share Dubois's fate.
Finally, the giants finished their work and stepped back. A hush fell over the crowd, and even Dubois grew silent as Mab walked across the grass toward him.
"Daddy?" a voice called out. "Daddy!"
A girl a few years older than me sprinted across the lawn, her long, blond hair streaming out behind her like ribbons of silk. She must have been in some other part of the mansion, because I hadn't seen her before at the party. A boy with black hair chased after her, catching her just before she reached her father. He wrapped his arms around the girl and held her tight, even though she struggled against him. Smart guy. He knew it was already too late for Dubois, even if the girl didn't.
"Let me go!" she yelled. "We have to help him! Someone please help him!"
But no one did. Instead, they all looked at the girl with pitying eyes.
