“Greg, you’ve known for awhile what’s been going on in Dark Falls,” I tell him.
“Yes,” he nods. “But no one has been allowed to talk about it. I don’t even think the king had any idea!”
“Had?”
“Surely he’s been taken by now,” Greg shakes his head. “Wyatt made his first move by taking Luther, the wizard, and now he’ll take the king. If he hasn’t already, it’ll be soon. Then he’ll move into the surrounding towns and make it clear that he’s in charge.”
A world ruled by a snake?
I don’t think so.
We can’t let that happen.
“Tulip can’t travel,” I say, pointing out the obvious. “She’s still weak from the bite.”
“I’m okay,” she protests, but even Greg rolls his eyes.
“I know,” he says. “And you want me to go warn people.”
“We have to,” I tell him. “We have to let them know that danger may be coming and they need to be ready. How long do you think we have?”
Greg is a kid, but he’s a smart kid, and he’s the best lead we have right now. He knows better than anyone how the city works, what the layout is, and where Wyatt is most likely to start causing trouble.
He shrugs. “A few hours? A day, maybe. He won’t wait long. Luther is well-known in the city. Besides, Wyatt destroyed his house. Once people realize that something has happened to Luther, they won’t wait long to start asking questions. Wyatt will need to strike first.”
“So it’s settled,” I say. “I’ll go to Dark Falls. You go through Dark Village. You find as many people as you can and tell them your story, Greg. Tell them that Wyatt is taking the throne and that we have to rally together and stop him.”
“Who am I supposed to tell?” He asks. “The humans? The fairies?”
“All of them,” I nod. “And probably the vampires, as well.”
“The vampires? But aren’t they in on it?”
I shake my head. “The vampires rule this city, and they’re assholes, but they’re fair assholes. They don’t bite faes and they only feed from their chosen humans. They have strict rules in place to keep the city under watch, but that’s because they thought we were staying safe from outside threats.”
Tulip looks close to tears.
“Hey,” Greg squeezes her hand. “It’s okay. Don’t be sad, Tulip.” He throws his body over hers and hugs her in the sweet, innocent way that only a little child can, and then he smiles at her. “It’s going to be okay, all right? It’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” she whispers. Then she turns to me. “Give ‘em hell, sis.”
I nod and motion for Greg to follow me back into the living room.
“What now?” He asks.
“I need you to tell me everything you can about Dark Falls,” I tell him. “I haven’t been there since I was a kid. I’m sure some things have changed.”
“Like what?”
“I need to know where Wyatt is, where you think he’ll be, and where he might be holding the king. That is, if he has him.”
“Wyatt is a creepy man,” Greg says after a moment. He considers his words carefully. “He keeps dungeons beneath the castle. Luther says the king doesn’t know about them.”
“Why didn’t Luther warn the king about this long ago?”
The boy shrugs.
“The king has been very sad since his wife died. He’s been locked away from everything, really. Wyatt lies to him and makes him think that everything is okay.”