Keep running. Find a nook.
Holly spent half a moment considering which body part she would trade for a weapon, then sprinted for a doorway in the adjacent wall.
A guard appeared, dragging his knife from its sheath. The blade was red. Maybe blood, maybe rust. Holly switched direction, losing a shoe in the turn. There was a window one floor up, but the wall was cracked: she could make the climb.
Two more guards. Grinning. One held a net, like a gladiator.
Holly skidded to a halt.
We’re in the desert! Why does he have a fishing net?
She tried again. An alleyway barely broad enough for an adult human. She was almost there when a fat guard with a ponytail to his waist and a mouthful of yellowed teeth wedged himself into the avenue, blocking it.
Trapped. Trapped. No escape and not enough magic to shield. Not even enough to mesmerize.
It was difficult to stay calm, in spite of all her training and experience. Holly could feel her animal instincts bubbling in the pit of her stomach.
Survive. Do what you have to do.
But what could she do? One unarmed child-size fairy against a squadron of armed muscle.
They formed a ragged circle around her, weaving between the urns in a slow-motion slalom. Each set of greedy glittering eyes focused on her face. Closer and closer they came, spreading their arms wide in case their prey made a dart for freedom.
Holly could see their scars and pockmarks, see the desert in their nails and on their cuffs. Smell their breath and count their fillings.
She cast her eyes toward the heavens.
“Help,” she cried.
And it began to rain diamonds.
Below the Extinctionists’ Compound
“That is not a lemur,” repeated Opal Koboi, drumming a tiny toe on the floor. “I know it is not a lemur because it has no tail and it seems to be wearing clothes. This is a human, Mervall. A Mud Boy.”
A second pixie appeared in the doorway. Mervall Brill. One of the infamous Brill brothers who would break Opal out of her padded psych cell some years later. His expression was a mixture of puzzlement and terror. Not pretty on any face.
“I don’t understand it, Miss Koboi,” he said, twiddling the top button on his crimson lab coat. “It was all set up for the lemur. You mesmerized Kronski yourself.”
Opal’s nostrils flared. “Are you suggesting this is somehow my fault?” She clutched her throat as if the very idea caused her breath to fail.
“No, no, no,” said Mervall hurriedly. “It could not be Miss Koboi’s fault. Miss Koboi is, after all, perfection itself. Perfection does not make mistakes.”
This outrageous statement would be recognized as blatant toadying by right-minded people, but Opal Koboi found it fair and rational.
“Exactly. Well said, Mervall. A pity your brother does not have a tenth of your wisdom.”
Mervall smiled and shuddered. The smile was in acceptance of the compliment; the wince was because the mention of his twin had reminded him that his brother was at this moment locked in a cage with a red river hog, as punishment for not complimenting Opal’s new boots.
Miss Koboi was having a bad day. Currently, two out of seven were bad. If things got any worse, even though the wages were astronomical, the Brill brothers would be forced to seek alternative employment.
Mervall decided to distract his boss. “They’re going crazy up there. Firing weapons. Dueling with cutlery. Those Extinctionists are an unstable lot.”
Opal leaned over Artemis and sniffed gently, wiggling her fingers to see if the human was awake.
“The lemur was the last one. I was this close to being all-powerful.”
“How close?” asked Mervall.
Opal squinted at him. “Are you being funny?”
“No. I sincerely wondered. . . .”
“It’s an expression,” snapped the pixie, striding back toward the main chamber.
Mervall nodded slowly. “An expression. I see. What should I do with the human?”
Opal did not break her stride. “Oh, you might as well harvest him. Human brain fluid is a good moisturizer. Then we pack up and find that lemur ourselves.”
“Should I dump his drained corpse in the animal pit?”
Opal threw up her arms. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Must I tell you how to do everything? Can’t you show a little initiative?”
Mervall wheeled the pallet after his boss.
The animal pit it is, then, he thought.
The Leather Souk
Diamonds rained down in glittering showers. Falling stars twinkling in the lamplight.
Young Artemis’s fee, Holly realized. He is throwing me a lifeline.
For a moment the guards were transfixed. Their faces wore the dazed expression of children who have woken and are surprised to find themselves in a good mood. They stretched out their fingers, watching the diamonds bounce and tumble.