Chapter 12: FANG
Max grabbed my arm the moment Dylan spoke.
"Don't," she said. "Don't go down there."
I shook my head. There wasn't anything else I could do.
"Ratchet's my friend," I replied. "I can't not go."
My wings were still out, and they caught the breeze easily, lifting my weight off the prow and into the air. I flapped them slowly before letting them soar towards the ground, landing gently a few meters away from Dylan, the two Erasers and Ratchet. There were muffled cries from the Black Feather Flight as my crew realised what was going on.
"Fang!" Angel called, her small head visible over the edge and Max just beside her, a hand on her arm to stop her from jumping after me.
"It's okay, sweetie," I told her, angling away from Dylan. "Just stay there."
"I don't like being ignored, Ride!" Dylan yelled from behind, and I tucked my wings in before turning to face him.
"Well that's your cross to bear," I snarked. "What do you think you're doing, anyway? That man you have prisoner is an innocent."
Dylan laughed.
"An innocent who purposefully set out to stop me from entering his establishment?" he argued. "An innocent who is in cahoots with Fang Ride? He's not sounding that innocent to me." Dylan hitched his sword. "In fact, those are crimes punishable by death."
I gritted my teeth. So much for diplomacy.
"I could mention a few crimes punishable by death too," I growled. "And the thing they have in common is that you committed all of them."
A scowl creased Dylan's forehead.
"You'll be dead before you can open your mouth," he threatened. I smirked.
"Try me."
"I don't need to try anything!" Dylan thundered. His sword point drifted closer and closer to Ratchet's throat. "I have the upper hand here and if you don't want to see your friend's head five feet from his neck you'll do what I say."
I hooked my thumb inside my scarf belt, coldly observing the nobleman and his Erasers. A breeze started up, tumbling white grains of sand across the beach and towards us.
"You okay there, Ratchet?" I asked, looking at him. He grimaced.
"Dandy," he replied. "Just dandy."
Dylan slipped up with his sword and it grazed the super-sensor's jugular vein, causing a well of blood to immediately start trickling down his collar bone. Ratchet gritted his teeth, his eyes creasing angrily. I couldn't … there wasn't a way out of this without anyone dying.
I took a step forward.
"No way!" someone from behind shouted, and I turned around in time for a flash of cream, brown and black wings to whip beside my face before the owner pulled them in.
Max stood, glaring such intense hatred at Dylan it was a wonder he didn't self-combust. Her brown eyes were narrowed in indescribable anger as she grabbed one of my wrists and jerked my behind her.
"You just stay away from us!" she yelled, hair flying in the wind. "Crawl back into whatever hell hole you came from; and you better hope you do it quickly, before I set your cowardly ass on fire."
Dylan blinked. Then he smiled. And finally, he laughed.
He clutched his stomach and almost giggled with delight, somehow still managing to make it sound sinister and commanding. He wiped his eyes before looking at us again.
"You don't understand, Max," he said, his voice soft. "That," he pointed at me, "is a cold-blooded killer who takes what he wants. Do you know how many of my staff alone – not even including navy personnel – he has murdered?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Hundreds, darling, hundreds."
Dylan had somehow figured out how to cry on cue because his eyes suddenly welled with unshed tears.
"Look what they've done to you," he whispered. "My beautiful wife." He sniffed. "When I saw you last time I was so happy. You were alive and still lovely." Dylan glared at me. "That thing hadn't touched you, and that made my heart dance."
Max was speechless. For a moment.
"Are you trying to flirt with me?" she asked incredulously. "Now? After you called Fang a thing? I'm as much of a freak as he is, Gunther-Hagen. I. Have. Wings."
Dylan gave her a watery smile.
"But we can still be together," he egged. "As soon as I rescue you and Ride is dead, we can figure this out. My father can remove them! Problem solved."
There was a general silence on the beach and ship after that as what he said sunk into and was acknowledged by everyone.
"You dare," Max said hoarsely. "Remove my wings, are you…"
Dylan had the absolute guts to look hopeful.
Faster than I'd ever seen anyone react to anything, Max launched herself at Dylan. His sword arm fell wide, barely missing Ratchet's face, as she attacked him. Her fist connected with his shoulder and there was an unpleasant cracking noise that ricocheted across the beach. He howled in pain and staggered, fumbling to keep his balance. His left arm's joint was at the backward angle. Max had obviously broken his shoulder.
But Dylan only needed his right hand for swordplay. Max performed a spinning kick at his head, but he deflected her with the flat of his blade. She landed easily enough, rolling forward to shorten the distance between her and her would-be husband. As she came up, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and cracked their heads together. Dylan's nose cartilage snapped and blood immediately started soaking his face.
Then his knee, in a wild kick, connected with Max's chest and she was thrown backwards, rolling awkwardly for a moment before crashing into Ratchet.
"Max!" I heard Angel scream, and before I could stop her she was on the ground and running, her little blond curls bouncing in her haste. Dylan was still reeling from the blow to his nose, blinking watery eyes, as Angel looped her skinny arms through Max's and started pulling her back towards the ship. Gazzy, Nudge and Iggy dropped down then as well, leaving Total to probably guard the Black Feather Flight. Iggy ran to help Angel, and together they managed to get Max closer to us than Dylan. Nudge and Gazzy went for Ratchet.
This was the part where we all conveniently forgot about the two Erasers with Dylan.
They snatched a birdkid each, one clamping a hairy paw around the Gasman's throat, the other digging his claws into Nudge's arms. She squeaked in pain and started struggling, sending the sharp nails deeper into her skin. With a guttural growl from the Erase, she stopped.
Dylan decided to join us again, wiping his nose gently with a handkerchief that had obviously just been in his breast pocket.
"What more do I have to do, Fang!" he said loudly, blocking off the effects a stuffed nose had on his speech by raising his voice. "Do I have to kill one of them?" He glared at me, making a promise with his eyes. "Because I will. Gladly."
Max was back on her feet now, anger seething from her very being. I put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at me.
"They're too young," I said quietly. I thought I saw a prickle of tears in her eyes.
"But…"
I shook my head.
"I won't let three people die on my account," I told her. "Especially when they're family."
"There's got to be a way we can save everyone without you giving yourself up," Iggy said, coming up beside me. His blind eyes were staring directly at my cheek.
"I don't see one," I whispered. "There's nothing we can do guys. Let me go."
"Fang," Angel cried, water spilling down her face. She ran to me and leapt into my arms, cradling her head in my shoulder and quietly sniffing. I stroked her princess curls and mumbled nothings to her.
"I'll find a way back," I assured her. "They can't keep Fang Ride forever. I'll see you again."
Iggy shook his head and slung his long arms around us both.
"We'll be waiting," he said, and for once, our eyes met and he seemed to be able to see me and what I was thinking. What he said wasn't empty words. It was a promise. They'd be there when I needed them.
"Plan 23," he muttered.
Then Angel let go and Iggy moved away, freeing me up to confront the one person I dreaded confronting.
Max's hands were balled in fists and she wasn't looking at me, instead staring at the ground. Her face was obscured by her hair but I saw something clear drop off her chin. She was crying. Max was crying. Max never cried.
I stepped forwards and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. She turned into me and held my shirt, quietly letting tears fall onto the fabric.
"I'll see you again," I whispered.
"You better."
And then I let go and started walking away from her, towards Dylan. Towards hell.
"Decided to join us then?" he called, and I pursed my lips in a line, letting the wind whip my hair into my eyes so I didn't have to look at him and his smug face. I stopped when I came to Ratchet, whose neck was still bleeding and had pieces of sand in the wound.
"Better get that looked at," I told him. He grimaced at me.
"You don't have to, mate," he said. I shook my head.
"Yes, I do. No one's dying for me. No one's dying for Dylan."
He glanced over my shoulder at Iggy, Angel and Max before sighing. I passed by him and continued on between the Eraser's holding Gazzy and Nudge. I gave them both faint smiles and Gazzy tried to say something, before the air was blocked by the paw around his neck. Nudge could only whimper for me to come back as claws dug even further into her arms. I stopped five meters from Dylan, who looked at me like a particularly large present on his birthday.
"By running away from me these last few weeks, you've really cut short our time together," he smirked.
"Pity," I snarked. "I really wanted to see more of your ugly mug."
Dylan scowled but said nothing. I gestured behind me.
"A deal's a deal, Gunther-Hagen," I told him. "Let them go."
Dylan considered it for a moment before he waved his hand airily. I looked to see Gazzy and Nudge dropped by the Erasers, and allowed to take Ratchet back towards my ship without any hassle. I nodded to myself; everyone was safe.
Besides me. But that didn't matter.
"So, Fang," Dylan began, "how does it feel-"
He cut himself off, and I noticed he was staring at something behind me. He looked like somebody who was about to and willing to commit homicide. I slowly turned my head, not taking my eyes off Dylan until the last second.
It was Max. She was walking up to us, right in between the Erasers. With a threatening growl they let her pass, but followed behind, ready to grab her if she tried to attack Dylan again.
"Max?" I asked, starting to panic slightly. What if she got hurt? "Go back to the others. It's not safe here for you."
Dylan looked livid, and got even madder when Max completely ignored him and put a hand on my cheek. She was frowning.
And suddenly she was a lot closer than before. Our eyes were less than an inch apart and that was when I realised there was something soft on my lips. It was warm too. Like Max's fingers that were still holding my face.
…she was kissing me.
I wasn't sure if I wanted it to continue for eternity or stop right now. Dylan could back out of the deal and kill her on the spot. Or he could hurt her. But on the other hand, I really, really liked it. I liked her. This was the girl I was promised to marry. The one I fell in love with.
"Be safe," she whispered, her words ghosting over my cheek. I gave an indecipherable nod before Dylan's hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me to the ground. His Erasers darted forward and held me down. I struggled around to see Max one more time.
"Get back, Max!"
She nodded and started retreating, and right on time too because her angry, defiant eyes were the last of her that I saw before Dylan grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him.
"You're not going to be safe," he growled. "You're never safe."
WRITER'S BLOCK SUUUUUUUUUUUCKS! And that's my only excuse. I've had it bad, and with back-to-school pressure crushing my life it's been worse. I WILL PREVAIL THOUGH, BECAUSE NOW I HAVE A PLOT!
Also, FAX!
Jasmine Out!