Page 73 of The Hood and his Thief

Four men in dark clothes crouched at the far end of the car. The silver of knives and pistols glinted in their hands, and while three of them were unfamiliar, the face of one stood stark in her mind.

The man she had stopped from killing the king, who had sunk through the floor as if it were water.

“They’re Mr. Gower’s men,” she hissed, barely audible over rumble of the steam engine. “Our plan.”

Somehow, they had been found out. Nate, Scarlett, and Benedict were waiting for an assassination attempt at the palace, but the real danger was here, on the train that was supposed to be their safe getaway.

Rhosyn didn’t have time to wonder how Mr. Gower had discovered their deception, as the man in the rear of the pack stood and pointed towards her and Ansel.

“Get rid of them first, then find the King.”

When he spoke, his voice had an odd echoing quality. Rhosyn found herself blinking in a moment of stunned stupor, when it hit her. It was similar to the effect of Paul’s voice when he lulled somebody to sleep, but the tone underneath was different.

Hamish, the groom with the power of persuasion. These other Talented were under his thrall as they stood and began prowling towards her and Ansel.

“Don’t hurt them if you can help it!” Rhosyn shouted to be heard over the train whistle, sounding again as they trundled towards the edge of the city. “They aren’t in control of their actions.”

Ansel stood as well, and knives slid into his hands. Rhosyn dipped her hands into her pockets and slipped on the pair of brass knuckles, which Nate had handed her with a heavy look before she set out.

Then, Ansel charged. She was hot on his heels, dashing across the roof of the train towards the attackers. Before Ansel clashed with the first one, he jumped, flipping over his head and landing on the far side as if gravity were just a suggestion. Before his opponent could get his bearings and turn, Ansel kicked out at the back of his leg, forcing him down to his knee.

As much as Rhosyn’s heart jumped into her throat, she didn’t have time to worry about Ansel, her own assailant facing off against her.

He swung first, broad and wide against her, as so many did when faced with a willowy woman. She ducked under his meaty arm before driving her shoulder up into his diaphragm. He stumbled back, lifting one hand palm out.

For a moment, Rhosyn was impressed with herself for forcing her opponent to surrender in one hit, until a ball of light started forming in the palm of his hand.

Name: Thomas Pemberton

Power: Combustion

The sponsorship paper flashed through Rhosyn’s mind for a split second before she threw herself sideways to avoid the blast. A strangled yelp escaped her as the force of the explosion clipped her right shoulder, sending her spinning out of the way. Her feet slipped on the roof, slick with droplets of condensed steam. She scrambled for a foothold, but it was too late. She landed hard on her side, and the gentle slope of the roof sent her sliding towards the edge.

The world whirred by in a sickening mix of steel and smoke as she scrabbled for purchase on the hard surface with her fingernails. Her grasp caught on the edge of the roof as she reached it, but her momentum was too great to stop.

Her body swung over the edge, and for a sickening moment, the rails flew by beneath her dangling feet. Then, her weight caught with a jerk as she managed to hang on, body colliding with the side wall of the train car with enough force to make her eyes water. Her toes scraped against the surface, trying to get enough purchase to adjust her grip and climb back up.

Every sensation in her body screamed for attention, from the howling of wind in her ears to the sharp pinch in her shoulders as she tried to haul herself up. She tried not to think about the certain death, splattered on the cobblestones, if she were to lose her grip.

She had just managed to get enough traction to start inching up the wall when a shadow darkened her vision. She craned her neck upwards to find her opponent standing above her, looking down at where she dangled precariously on the edge of life and death.

Bile rose in her throat as he opened his palm, pointing his arm straight down at her.

He was going to blast her off the side of this train. She wasn’t going to be able to protect Contessa like she promised Nate. And she wasn’t going to be able to tell Ansel that she wanted more than anything to see the world with him and his circus.

Light began to coalesce in her attacker’s palm, but a new bolt of fire shot through Rhosyn.

Their plan had gone to utter hell, but when had that ever stopped Rhosyn before? Chaos was where she thrived, and she could cause a little of her own.

Gritting her teeth, she peeled the fingers of her left hand free of their death grip, so she dangled by just her right. The train shook, nearly knocking her free, but she gritted her teeth as she dug her free hand into the inside of her jacket.

Praying that some of Ansel’s skill had rubbed off on her, her fingers wrapped around the smooth handle of a knife. In the same motion that she drew it out, she threw it forward, aimed squarely between her attacker’s eyes. The pommel struck him in the forehead, and he stumbled back. As he fell, his arm shot up, and his explosive burst shot straight into the sky, shimmering like a silver firework.

Rhosyn struggled to climb back up, but before she could get a hold of the lip of the roof once more, Ansel’s worried face appeared above her. He grabbed her by the elbows, hauling her back onto the roof. As she tumbled over the edge, she landed on her knees, one of his arms wrapped firmly around her to keep her from toppling off once again. Adrenaline from her brush with death left her shaky, but ready for another brawl.

Her eyes darted around the roof, finding three thugs lying unconscious. One was conspicuously missing.

“The groom,” she shouted, just as her eyes caught on a silhouette running towards the front of the train. His form was obscured by the steam billowing from the engine and wafting in thick clouds towards the back, and he disappeared into the thickening haze.