Page 58 of Hexes From Exes

“Tomorrow,” Dread said, standing up.

“Tomorrow? That’s his execution!” Cass said.

Dread nodded. “Yeah, and if you think that we can just go down to the most secure location in Anathamea as the captain and some grunt that, if someone looked close enough, would realize doesn’t even work for us anymore, and spring the most wanted criminal of our time…you’re crazy. The easiest time to get him is in transport. Too many variables for them to control. I’ve got some ideas of how we can get you out, Reese,” Dread said.

“Rick,” Rick corrected.

“Right,” Dread said absently, as if he wasn’t really listening.

“Anyway, here’s the plan…”

Chapter Twenty-Four

It looked more like a parade than an execution.

Demons gathered along the main road from the council’s chambers to the square, their excitement palpable. Here it was – the first public execution in years! And it was a revenge demon! Cass heard the whispers as she walked through the crowd, trying to find the best place to set herself up. She had one important task to complete, and she had to make sure she did it right.

Even though she was in on the plan, she wasn’t prepared to see Dread and a few other enforcer demons exit the council building with Rick in tow. Even with the boost of magic from Dread yesterday, he still looked like shit. There were enforcer demons on either side of him at his elbows, mostly dragging him instead of escorting him out of the building. He even tripped going down the stairs and went on his knees, which elicited a roar of approval from the crowd.

Cass wasn’t sure if it were an act or not. Dread told him to act weak, to reinforce the idea that Ynnia drained him of all that he could. He wanted no suspicions cast on him about the visit the day before. If anyone on the council or in the enforcer squad suspected Dread, his entire life was on the line. It was the perfect cover, really. Everyone knew about the captain of the enforcers and his dislike of technology. No one would ever suspect that the technology nerd that ran the underground portals and black market was one and the same.

Dread pushed past the enforcers, shoving them out of the way and barking a command at them. Both of the enforcers stepped back and away from Rick, looking more terrified of Dread than of Rick. Dread grabbed Rick by the arm and wrenched him up painfully, bringing him to his feet and forcing him to take shaky steps on his own. Cass watched as Rick half walked, half crawled down the street.

This is where she came in.

She was the first one to throw the rotten fruit.

When the rotten fruit sailed through the air and hit Rick on the shoulder she felt it too, like a punch to the gut. It’s part of the plan, she told herself over and over as she reached for another piece. The crowd around her amped up, reaching into the basket next to her to grab her fruit and throw their own pieces.

Before long it was a barrage of fruit, flying from all over the place. Cass had left boxes on the other side of the street too so no one would know the direction it originated from. She saw Dread motion to the enforcers to go into the crowd and find who was doing it, leaving just Rick and Dread in the street, and most of the attention on the enforcers as they searched the crowd for the origin of the fruit.

Now the fruit that was being thrown was changing. Each fruit emitted a small plume of colored smoke as it made contact. This only excited the crowd more, tossing more and more fruit, hoping theirs would erupt into a bomb that covered Rick with rotten fruit and ash. She saw him go down on his knees as the smoke from the fruit bombs filled the air. She saw Dread step into the cloud with Rick.

If she wasn’t paying attention, she would have missed the two disappear and not have felt the change in the air of someone portaling not once, but twice. Dread emerged on the other side of the smoke bomb with Rick. By now, the enforcer demons were closing in on her and the basket, grabbing it and taking it away from the crowd, who was now booing at the enforcers.

They wanted to be part of the spectacle, and the enforcers were taking that chance away from them. The booing moved through the crowd, mostly ignoring Rick and Dread as they continued toward the gallows made in the central square. Cass couldn’t help but notice that Rick was fighting a bit now, his eyes wide as he looked between the crowd.

Dread didn’t explain this part of the plan well, just that Rick would portal away and an illusion would take his place. It would look like Rick died, but really, he’d be far away. Whatever magical illusion Dread used was strong magic. To Cass, the demon limping through the crowd looked just as real as any other demon.

At last, they made it to the square with the entire township of Anathamea trailing behind. Cass scanned the crowd and was glad that Zed wasn’t there. She was so worried that he’d come and try to interfere that she’d slipped something in his drink last night when she went to check on him. If all went according to plan, he’d be sound asleep through the entire thing.

Dread pushed Rick before the podium where the council stood, their eyes more focused on the crowd than on Rick. Except Ynnia, he watched Rick carefully, his eyes narrowed. To her relief, Dread stepped in between Ynnia’s line of vision and Rick, blocking him from the council member while exposing him to the crowd. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking every bit the captain of the enforcers. She even saw him sneer down at Rick’s prone form, which was struggling to stand and failing.

Beck raised his arms overhead, ushering in immediate silence from the crowd.

“We are here today to witness the execution of Rickaron, a revenge demon who broke our most sacred law. He is a sympathizer of humans who was derelict in his duty to befriend a human and not enact a curse as he is supposed to. He robbed this community of the magic he should have acquired for us!” Beck raised his arms overhead, eliciting a cry of rage from the crowd.

Cass joined them. Dread warned her that they’d be watching, even when she didn’t think they were. Every act was important.

“Rickaron, how do you plead?” Beck asked, his eyes narrowing on the kneeling figure before him. Rick was on his knees, his chest heaving, his head shaking rapidly back and forth. Ynnia peered around Dread, his eyes stilled narrowed on the kneeling figure like he was trying to figure something out. Cass was tempted to throw something at him to get his attention away from Rick, but she couldn’t risk the ire of the council. Cass wasn’t sure what he was looking for – the magic was so strong she could see the rotten fruit drip off Rick’s kneeling form and collect on the ground under him. If she didn’t know better, she would have been convinced Rick was being executed.

“Very well - Captain Julian?” Beck waved his hand at Dread. Dread turned to take a sword from one of the enforcers that stood to the side. Of course, he would use a sword, Cass thought with an eye roll. She tried to watch as he brought the sword up, but before he swung Cass turned her head away.

She couldn’t watch.

The crowd around her erupted into cheers. She turned in time to see a head bounce a few steps before disintegrating into ash. The body that was attached to it did the same, becoming little more than a pile of dust on the steps. The crowd continued to cheer as Dread stepped back and wiped the blade of the sword free of ash, blood, and some bits of the fruit.

Chapter Twenty-Five