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Owen stiffened beside me, but he didn't say anything. I put the walkie-talkie back in a pocket on my vest and looked at him.
"Do you think you can distract her long enough for me to deal with one of the giants?" I asked in a soft voice. "You're the only person she might listen to, even if it's only for a few seconds. But once she realizes what you've done, how we've tricked her, she won't be happy, especially not with you. She could attack you again. "
He nodded. "I know. I can handle Salina. "
"Okay. Then follow my lead. "
I slipped out of the mansion and crept over to one of the Ice bars that had been planted on the lawn. The bartenders who'd been stationed there had been pushed inside the ring of fountains along with the others, giving me plenty of room to maneuver. Owen slid in beside me underneath the bar, his breath tickling the back of my neck.
"I'm going for the giant right there," I said, indicating the man closest to me. "You distract Salina. Wait for my signal, then move. "
I crept over to the edge of the bar and peered around it, scanning the crowd for Kincaid. The casino boss stood on the far side of the giant I was targeting. Like everyone else, he was focused on Salina, but maybe I could change that. I palmed one of my knives and angled it into a patch of fading sunlight. Tilting the blade back and forth, I created a small sunspot flashing in Kincaid's eyes.
He grimaced, blinked, and turned in my direction, just as I'd hoped he would. Kincaid's eyes widened when he spotted me. I slid my knife back up my sleeve and held my finger up to my lips. Then I pointed at the giant and made a slashing motion across my throat with my finger, trying to let him know what my plan was. My crude signals must have worked because Kincaid nodded back and started sidling in the giant's direction, careful not to draw attention to himself. Kincaid wasn't my friend - not exactly - but I wasn't leaving him to Salina's wrath. If nothing else, I could at least get him away from the fountains as quickly as possible.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've asked you here tonight," Salina's voice floated over to me. "You've probably guessed by now that dinner will not be served. "
She laughed at her bad joke, but no one else joined in. I peered around the side of the Ice bar. Salina still stood by the mermaid fountain, addressing the crowd of angry, frightened people in front of her.
"Many of you here tonight may remember my father, Benedict. Many of you probably remember the last dinner party he gave. "
Salina's eyes went from face to face, daring people to meet her cold gaze. Most of the guests stared back at her with blank expressions, not understanding what she was getting at, but a few shifted on their feet and dropped their eyes from hers.
"Of course, the real reason you probably remember that dinner is because that's the night my father died - the night he was murdered by Mab Monroe right on the very ground you stand on now. Many of you were here then. You saw exactly what Mab did to my father - and not one of you lifted a finger to help him or to try and stop her. Not a single one of you. "
Murmurs of unease rippled through the crowd. I wasn't the only one who could hear the crazy loud and clear in Salina's voice now.
"Of course, Mab is dead," she continued. "But the rest of you aren't. "
More than a few folks sucked in breaths at the threat in her words.
Jonah McAllister pushed through the crowd until he was standing in front of Salina. The lawyer gave her an icy glare. "This is madness. Let us go, Salina. You can't possibly hope to get away with whatever it is you have planned. You don't know who you are dealing with. "
"No, Jonah," she said. "You don't know who you are dealing with. But believe me when I tell you that you are about to find out. "
She stared at the lawyer. McAllister opened his mouth to argue with her but then thought better of it and clamped his lips shut. Whatever he saw in Salina's face made him he realize that she was too committed to her plan to abandon it now - just like her father had been all those years ago.
"My father was known for his Ice magic," Salina said. "But I have a slightly different power - water. "
Hoarse gasps of unease rippled through the crowd. People stared at the pretty fountains they'd been admiring earlier, awareness, horror, and fear filling their faces. They'd walked right into Salina's trap without even realizing it, and now there was no way out.
Again I hesitated. It would be easy - so damn easy - to let Salina kill the lot of them. It would solve so many of my problems, not to mention make Ashland a little safer for everyone. But, once again, I couldn't condone mass murder, especially when some of the people here tonight were innocents, just regular men and women waiting and bartending and trying to make a few bucks to support their families. I couldn't leave them to Salina's mercy - or lack of it. It would go against everything Fletcher had ever taught me about being an assassin - and a halfway decent person too.
"The reason I invited you here tonight was to remember my father. " Salina's voice was as calm as ever, which made her words that much more chilling. "To honor him - and to watch you all die screaming, just like he did. "
That was my cue if ever there was one. Still holding my silverstone staff, I surged to my feet and sprinted to the giant closest to me. He saw me out of the corner of his eye and frowned, as if he couldn't believe I would actually run toward him while he was holding a gun on the crowd. He swung his weapon around to me, and I reached for my Stone magic, using it to harden my skin.
Crack! Crack!
The crowd screamed at the gunshots, and many folks ducked down and started shoving each other, scrambling to put their neighbors between themselves and this new danger.
The giant got off two shots at me. One was off the mark and plowed into the bar, shattering part of the elemental Ice, while the other hit my shoulder and bounced off my hardened skin. Cursing, the giant started to pull the trigger a third time, but Kincaid snuck up behind him and chopped the gun out of his hand.
My turn. I brought the staff up and around, slamming it into the side of the giant's head. He staggered back. I palmed a knife, followed him, and shoved the blade deep into his chest, sliding it in between his ribs and slicing it into his heart. The giant screamed, but I was already pushing him out of the way and stepping over to Kincaid.
"Fancy meeting you here," Kincaid said, grinning.
"Uh-huh. Now shut your mouth and start running. "
