‘Don’t,’ he breathes in my ear, ‘there are too many of them.’
I try to pull away but it’s already too late. With one swift movement, the Mayor thrusts the knife into Miller’s stomach with a sickening wet sound. Miller groans loudly but, thanks to the two goons who’ve grabbed his upper arms, he doesn’t fall down. The Mayor twists the knife deeper.
‘Sorry it had to come to this.’ He laughs. ‘Actually, who am I kidding? I’m not sorry at all.’ He laughs again and walks out, as Miller finally collapses, landing face first in front of the motionless mare.
The last thing I hear the Mayor say as he opens the door back into the world of sunshine and light is a query about where the mares’ guard has gone. When the door finally closes and we’re alone, I can barely see through the hot tears that scald my cheeks and blur my vision.
Dante releases me and I half run to Miller. I crouch down by his head and try to turn him over. Both Bron and Dante come to help. It’s obvious there’s nothing we can do though; his eyes stare up at us, unseeing and glassy. I let out a muffled cry. Bron pulls me into his arms and I cling to him while Doctor Miller’s corpse lies at my feet.
Chapter Thirteen
Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe.
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
––––––––
Bron and Dante speak over my head. ‘I can’t believe he just did that.’
‘It’s hardly the first time.’
‘Yes, but to be so brazen and do it here...’
‘I can’t believe you’re surprised.’ There’s a pause. ‘We should get out of here. There’s no time to deal with the mares. There will be a guard here any minute now. If the Mayor knows we witnessed this...’
‘You’re right.’ Bron reaches down to pull me up but I resist. ‘Zoe,’ he says softly, ‘if you don’t want to end up like him, we have to leave.’
I ignore him and close Dr Miller’s eyes, brushing away a loose lock of hair that’s fallen over his forehead.
‘That’s not really his body, Zoe.’
‘No,’ I say, finally standing up of my own accord. ‘But he’s really dead, isn’t he?’ I stare challengingly at them.
It’s Dante who answers first. ‘Yes.’ There’s sorrow in his eyes.
‘How can the Mayor get away with this? If you’re all working against him, how is he still in charge? Why doesn’t someone do something?’
Bron shoots a nervous look at the door. ‘Zoe, you need to keep quiet. There might already be–’
‘Because he knows who we are,’ Dante interrupts.
Bron narrows his eyes. ‘Interesting use of the word “we” there.’ He reaches for my hand and squeezes it. ‘Apart from Bigfoot here, the Mayor knows the identity of everyone in the Dreamlands.’
‘So?’
‘He doesn’t just have power here, he has power out there too. And if he knows who we are, he knows who our loved ones are. He’s made things ... difficult for people in the past.’
‘Why in hell did you tell him who you really are?’
Bron sighs. ‘It was what we did. Some Travellers would meet up in real life. It’s not easy being able to come here without being able to talk to anyone about it.’
‘Well, don’t you know who he is? Can’t you just turn the tables?’
‘We only know him as the Mayor. I guess the people close to him know his name and where he’s really from, but for us mere mortals...’ He shrugs.
I look at Dante. ‘Why didn’t you broadcast who you are like everyone else?’
Bron snorts, answering for him. ‘Because he’s an ornery bastard.’
‘So kill him,’ I say. ‘Kill the Mayor here.’
‘We’re not murderers, Zoe,’ Dante sighs. ‘It’s one thing to talk about it. It’s quite another to actually take another person’s life.’
‘Is that why you stopped working for him?’
‘I stopped working for him because I didn’t agree with his methods or his motives,’ Dante says stiffly. ‘Not that it’s any of your business.’
I stare at Miller’s body. ‘How many people have to die at his hands before someone takes action?’
Dante’s lip curls. ‘You’re welcome to try. There are a few who have. They failed. There are plenty of Travellers who are on the Mayor’s side and will stop you before you get within twenty feet of him. But before you go all GI Jane, we have to get the hell out of here.’ His eyes harden. ‘Now.’
I straighten my shoulders. ‘Good idea. You go first, then you, Bron. I’ll take up the rear.’
‘Giving us orders now?’
I meet his eyes. ‘We can stay here and debate the merits of murder a bit more if you like.’
He mutters something under his breath, then he strides to the door.
‘Be careful, Zoe,’ Bron tells me. ‘You don’t want to get on Dante’s bad side any more than you want to get on the Mayor’s.’