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Jacob went to help Steve wrap up his severed wrist. The other rebels trained their rifles on me, but seemed uncertain.
“So it’s like this?” Jacob asked. “We turn on each other so quickly?”
“I offered him peace,” I muttered. “He chose violence.”
“It’s nothing personal,” Jacob said. “It’s the havoc way. We must always press the advantage.”
“Agreed,” another voice spoke. Sasha, with at least twenty soldiers behind her. Her dark blue cloak swished in the early dawn. “We came to help Emily. But we don’t know you. As far as I can tell, you don’t belong here, and are only making the situation worse. We will allow you and your men to leave. You may camp beyond the gates.”
“Unless,” Amir said at her side, “you’d rather just die now. Our arrows are sharp, are lungs fresh. Whatever Emily has promised you, I suspect she’s good for it.”
“Right now, you have allies in the citadel,” I nodded. “Both elite and human. Allies who have made promises. But you can only reap the rewards if we maintain power.”
Jacob smiled, his lips tight, his eyes approving.
“You trust Emily?” he asked Sasha.
“Yes,” she affirmed, keeping her dagger close. I wondered who would win between them; but had a feeling Sasha could throw a knife faster than Jacob could fire his pistol, and the rebel leader seemed to reach the same conclusion.
“We have that in common, then. Let’s not spoil this victory with politics,” he said, suddenly magnanimous. He waved his hands for the rebels to lower their weapons. “What’s done is done. Let’s agree, for the moment, that we are not enemies, and sort the rest out later.”
Curate Marcus and Luke had caught up to us, watching from the side, but now that the tension had been diffused, they stepped in to help manage the situation.
“May I suggest,” Marcus said, addressing the diverse group of survivors, “that we first focus on sealing the gate? The gunfire will only attract more slagpaw. Not to mention all the elixir.”
“Better to just keep the streets clear until dusk,” Camina said. “The elite can finish off the slagpaw at night, while we rebuild. Mending the gates will take time, but we can barricade them for now.”
“Do it,” I said. “Get the guards to help. They should listen to Damien; they all recognize him.”
“And we’ll need to put out a statement, as soon as possible,” Marcus said. “To the citizens of the citadel. But it can wait until we’ve had a chance to clean up,” he said, his eyes drifting over my shredded and stained attire.
“Marcus, can you take Sasha and our guests to the palace? There should be plenty of space. Luke, maybe find somewhere for the havocs?”
“What am I supposed to do, commandeer a building?”
“The tunnels,” Trevor said, joining us. It had taken him longer to cross the citadel with his injured leg. “Giant cavern under the citadel. You’ll love it, it’s like Havoc, but with more mold.”
“And bats,” I said.
“Charming,” Jacob grunted. “But I’m sure it will do.”
I wanted to go find Damien and my sister, but there was one more thing left to do.
I walked back towards the palace, passing a pile of steaming slagpaw carcasses. Mostly they lay where they fell, but someone had made an effort to push them to the side of the roadways. There were more citizens now, organizing themselves into small groups of activity. Putting out fires or tending to the wounded. April set up a temporary medical tent, and curate Marcus and a few of his friends passed out elixir to those who needed it most.
The elite, the new dangerous ones, were rounded up and fumigated with antidote. Most hadn’t survived. I studied the bodies, looking for people I recognized. I hadn’t seen Tate and Augustine since last night, but I trusted they were somewhere safe. The citizens of Algrave, however… part of me was afraid I was the only one left.
But finally I saw Amber’s red hair, and choked back a sob. The elixir had peaked and was fading. As it did, my frail, human emotions felt overwhelming, and the simple fact that my best friend was still alive, after everything I’d put her through, was a flood of relief and joy.
I felt tears on my cheek as she hugged me. I was self-conscious of my appearance, especially after curate Marcus’ barb, but Amber didn’t seem to notice.
“I did as you asked,” she said, finally letting me go. “I got in touch with the rebels. Curate Markus helped us hide out earlier, with Garth and some of his soldiers from Iklebot. I got everyone I knew, everyone I could think of… except your siblings are still missing.”
“They’re alright,” I said. “Mostly.”
“Then Mary found us. She gave us the antidote, a lot of it. That’s why we didn’t turn like the others.”
“How many survived?” I asked.
