Red Hood's Revenge

asked.
    “I’m working on it.” Talia could probably handle the guards, and Snow might be a match for Rajil’s fairy adviser, but an open battle in the garden wouldn’t help Faziya. Even if they won, the commotion would only attract more attention.
    The next guard through carried a short spear in one hand and a northern-style club in the other. He raised the spear, but Talia made no move to attack. She jabbed her sword point down into the dirt and spread her hands.
    The rest of the guards moved quickly to surround them. Roudette bared her teeth and growled.
    “Wait!” Talia lunged to catch Roudette’s rope, catching her in midleap. Talia was tugged off her feet, but she managed to pull the wolf back. Before Roudette could turn on her, Talia pushed herself to one knee and whispered, “Not yet.”
    The two men they had captured before gathered weapons from Talia and her companions. Talia clenched her jaw but waited as they disarmed her. It was a slow process, and Rajil’s men were thorough, taking even the slender metal spike tucked through her hair. Two others grabbed Roudette’s rope, dragging the wolf away.
    Talia and the others were herded into a tight circle against the wall. The smoke shadow approached so closely Talia could smell him, like burning leaves.
    Only when he turned away did Rajil herself enter the garden. She wore a gold robe that shone like satin, held tight by a wide white belt. The silver buckle was cast in the huma bird and tiger design of the royal crest. A blue-green tourmaline mounted in the center marked Rajil’s status as ruler of Jahrasima. Her face was as Talia remembered, stern and narrow, the lips perpetually frowning. She wore the same feathered mask tattoo as her men.
    Rajil studied them each in turn, keeping safely out of reach behind her guards. Talia waited as Rajil’s gaze lingered on her. Though Talia had seen Rajil before from a distance, they had never met in person.
    Rajil turned to examine the weapons her men had taken. She picked up Danielle’s sword, studying the glass blade in the sun. “You’re no ordinary thieves.”
    Talia straightened. “I think you know who I am, Rajil.”
    The man of smoke moved closer, his movements almost eager. Rajil simply tossed the sword to the ground and said, “Perhaps. Jhukha will learn the truth soon enough.”
    “That he will.” Whispering so softly she could barely hear her own voice, Talia said, “Roudette, take Rajil.”
    Roudette had already shown her senses to be sharper than any human’s. Roudette bounded forward, yanking her guards to the ground as though they weighed nothing at all.
    Blue fire flashed from Jhukha’s arms, racing over Roudette’s body with no effect. As Talia had hoped, Roudette’s cape protected her from fairy magic even in her wolf form. Rajil screamed as another guard was tossed aside like a doll, and then Roudette was atop her, jaws clamped around her throat.
    The human guards hesitated. Not Jhukha. The fairy attacked again, loosing another wave of flame over Roudette. As before, his magic did nothing.
    Talia used the guards’ distraction to race toward their weapons. She dove and rolled, rising to her feet with Danielle’s sword in one hand. The enchanted blade sliced through Jhukha’s form. The path of the cut re-formed as soon as the blade passed, but Jhukha drew back as though pained.
    “If one of your men makes the slightest move, my wolf will tear out your throat,” Talia said lightly.
    “Stop!” Between Rajil’s fear and the pressure of Roudette’s jaws, the word was little more than a squeak.
    “Watch that thing.” Talia jabbed the sword at Jhukha. She trusted Rajil’s human guards to obey. If any did try to attack, Talia was fast enough to deal with them. But who knew where the fairy’s loyalties lay? To Rajil, she said, “You have a friend of mine here. I’d like her back.”
    Roudette loosened her grip ever so slightly.
    Talia smiled. “She didn’t have much of a breakfast, so she’s hungry.”
    Blood dripped from small punctures in Rajil’s neck, staining the collar of her robe. She ignored it, focusing her attention instead on Talia. “I do know you. I saw a painting once, as a child. Before Queen Lakhim ordered all such work destroyed. You look older, Princess Talia. Old and tired.”
    At the mention of Talia’s name, Jhukha seemed to contract, his body growing smaller and darker until he appeared almost solid. Talia moved toward him, but before she could