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“Some of the elite will try to leave the city,” Camina said. “They’ll hide until night, then make their escape.”
“They won’t make it far,” Penelope said. “At night is when the real fighting will begin. All the citizens should stay inside, lock the doors.”
“We have the bomb. We have the sharpshooters,” Trevor said. “Why not lure the elite to the gates, explode the bomb, then pick off whoever is left?”
“Won’t the bomb attract the slagpaw?” April asked.
“Yes but… so what?” Luke asked. “They’ll go after the elite first, not the humans.”
“In fact,” Trevor said, “Augustine had an idea. One of his men told me about it, even though it’s supposed to be a surprise for later.”
“I hate surprises,” Jacob said, pursing his lips.
“I couldn’t tell if he was serious or if it was just, you know, a dumb idea, like a joke. But if they drove in some loud bikes, across country from the strip, making a lot of noise, firing off guns and even maybe leaking a trail of elixir, they could round up a dozen or so slagpaw, get them to follow them back to the citadel.”
“The citadel would be surrounded,” April said. “Like a siege. The elite wouldn’t be able to escape, even at night.”
“It would certainly give them pause,” Luke said, holding his hands up claws. “Get it?Paws?”
“That could actually work,” Jacob said. “We make more antidote, do whatever we can to limit their elite warriors. You find and save Damien, and your siblings. Get them safe. Then we storm the citadel, fighting, pushing through. Keep all the residents indoors. At night, we blow the door. We let the slagpaw inside.”
“They’ll dig out the elite like truffles,” Steve added.
“What about single bullet crew?” Tobias asked, looking at Camina, the only representative from Iklebot.
“Everyone who is not drugged will be shot,” Jacob answered for her. “Only the elites would dare fight the slagpaw. We just need to slow them down enough to be targets. Though we can practice on any royal soldiers who get in the way.”
“This is such a messy plan,” April commented. “I mean, the timing would have to be perfect. Bring in the slagpaw, and none of us would have a chance of getting through the gate. They’d have to be, I don’t know, in the area, close enough to hear an explosion but nottooclose, until after we’re inside.”
I glanced at Camina, who looked sick. I didn’t love the idea either, remembering my first encounter with a slagpaw who invaded my bedroom. Everyone knew the wilds were dangerous, but somehow it was worse to discover a monster in place you’d thought offered protection. I’d barely managed to survive, thanks to a vial of elixir Penelope had left for me. Jazmine hadn’t been as lucky. And I hated that Augustine had kept this secret plan from me, if it was even real.
“So many people are going to die,” Camina said, without emotion. Like a fact, rather than an objection.
“You thought we’d win the war without casualties?” Jacob asked, with a grim smile.
“I don’t know, kind of?” Luke said.
“I don’t hate it,” Penelope said, crossing her arms. “I mean, if we know it’s coming. The elite on our team can find somewhere safe; it’ll be one hell of a fucking distraction in any case. And group the elite together, fighting the slagpaw, while we’re actually completing the main mission.”
“Maybe it never comes to that,” I said finally, “but we should be prepared in any event. And even if all that works, no doubt there will still be a battle—but if we take out half the elites, the chosen, the guards, and punch a hole into the citadel walls, we’ll have greatly reduced their advantages. We can deal with the rest after it’s over.”
“What should we do while you’re quietly killing your enemies?” Steve asked. “Sit around and wait for you?”
“Well, there is another option,” Trevor said.
“What?” I asked.
“You go in earlier, just you and April. I mean, you’ll kind of have to. You’re fast, and easy to overlook, and with Emily’s compulsion… it’s not impossible.”
“If you could rescue Damien, and kill Nigel—” Penelope said. “I mean once he’s on the throne, he should be able to command the army. The other elite will probably fall in line. The wall remains intact, and we just call the whole thing off.”
“You think that’s likely?” Jacob asked.
“Look, I got nothing against killing elites,” Luke said. “But we all know this whole thing is a long shot. I get what you’re fighting for. But me, the rebels, let’s say the lines are pretty murky right now.”
“You think they’ll back out?”
“I don’t know. You’re counting on a lot of things to go right. A lot of luck. Get to Damien and free him. Or catch up to Nigel, before you get captured. It’s risky going in alone, but worth it. Because, Emily, this entire thing depends on you. Otherwise, we might sack the citadel, kill dozens of elite. But it won’t be over. And eventually, in a fair fight, we’d lose. We just don’t have the numbers. If we don’t win right away, if we don’t gain control of the kingdom, then we fail. And it could be a hundred years before someone else tries again.”
