There are a few screams and some people cower but not everyone is afraid. Some people, including Dante and Bron, approach him. The Mayor fires off a warning shot and people scatter. He grabs Ashley and holds the gun to her head. The crowd melts away until only Esme, Dante, Bron, me and a few guards, including Kevin, remain. Fear descends upon me; I didn’t realise there were guns here. I should have known. I’ve just placed everyone’s lives in danger.
We watch the Mayor to see what he’s going to do next. I notice that Lilith has already made her own exit. I guess she’d made her point. I slide down from Salib’s statue and wade through the fountain to join the others.
‘Come any closer and you know what’ll happen,’ the Mayor threatens.
‘Mayor, calm down,’ Bron says. ‘Why don’t we do as you suggested and go inside and talk about all this?’
‘I’m done talking!’ he snarls. ‘Honestly, the effort I make to keep you people in line isn’t worth it.’ He jabs a thumb in Dante’s direction. ‘You should have stayed in the forest, traitor.’
‘You’re the traitor, Mayor,’ Dante responds smoothly. ‘It’s just that now everyone is starting to recognise it.’
‘Weak! You’re all weak! Don’t you know what we could achieve if we tried? All the power, all the wealth? Even if you want to live your lives as inconsequential beings, don’t you know what will happen if you get rid of me? You’re all idiots! If you really are a dreamweaver,’ he says, shaking Ashley, ‘then just think about what we can do.’
‘I’m not!’ she squeaks. ‘I didn’t do anything in the castle! It wasn’t me!’
‘Of course not,’ the Mayor says slowly, his eyes swivelling towards me. ‘If what that bitch Lilith said was a lie, then everything else has been a lie too. You’ve been a busy girl, Zoe Lydon.’
Esme looks at me slowly as comprehension dawns. I ignore her and meet the Mayor’s gaze. ‘It’s over.’
He smiles, although it doesn’t reach his eyes. ‘Don’t be so na?ve. It’s never over.’ He moves the gun to one side and fires. Kevin rushes forward and, for one horrifying moment, I think Ashley has been shot. Dante and Bron lunge for the Mayor but the remaining guards intervene.
As a vicious, no-holds-barred brawl starts, the Mayor’s eyes glitter. Then he raises the gun again, the barrel pointing directly at me, and shoots once more. Pain slams into my shoulder and I feel myself falling backwards. I only just manage to stay upright. That bullet may only have nicked me but he’s reloading and preparing to shoot again.
I do the only thing I can do. I run.
Chapter Twenty-One
This isn’t the end. It isn’t even the beginning of the end, but it might just be the end of the beginning.
Winston Churchill
––––––––
The Mayor isn’t going to stay behind and use his gun to attack the others. It’s me he wants; I could see it in his eyes.
The Travellers who packed the square to watch the action have almost all gone. I see a few pale faces from behind walls and cottages staring out at me with wide, terrified eyes but for the most part, the streets are clear. I’m aware of the Mayor’s heavy feet pounding after me. He fires another shot but his aim is off and it smashes into a nearby house, knocking off a chunk of plaster. With my heart hammering in my chest, I speed up.
I no longer have a plan. I’d expected everything to play out in the square, with either the Mayor being denounced or me being dragged away to be dealt with in a back alley. Now, as I run, it’s instinct rather than forethought that leads me towards the forest.
‘Stop!’ The Mayor roars. I duck my head down and keep running. ‘You won’t get away with this!’
I push on, making the final cobbled crossing before the line of dark trees. I hear the gun go off again just as I make the transition between sunshine and darkness. A second later, I’m sprinting through the woods, weaving in and out of the towering oaks and firs while dirt sprays up from my feet.
Part of me thinks I should stop and force myself to wake up but if I do that, all this will be for nothing. I need to make sure the Mayor is finished once and for all. Keeping an eye on my trail of tree-etched Zs, I think through the possibilities. There has to be something I can do.