Ah, what fun! What excitement! Lady Piri’s servants really were something! Just when Sphaera thought the mage was done for, the horse charged in to help, and together they defeated the wolf. Imagine that – a human and a horse, taking down a wolf!

“A pound of flesh that the mage survives,” she called at Steelfang.

The big wolf was loping along ten feet away, his tongue lolling out in a satisfied grin. Lady Piri’s mage and horse had just eliminated one of his most rebellious pack members.

“Fresh flesh,” he specified.

“Done.”

Good thing he hadn’t thought it necessary to specify what type of flesh they were betting, because Sphaera hadn’t yet told the others that Lady Piri had forbidden them from eating humans. It was most vexing, and partially defeated the purpose of coming down from the mountains, but Lady Piri’s representative had been firm on that point: No eating humans, not ever again.

“Look at that!” Sphaera pointed, giggling.

Another wolf had just tried to leap onto the platform, but one of Lady Piri’s bears had grabbed his hind legs. Now the wolf was dangling from the edge of the platform by the claws of his front paws while the bear hauled on him from below. On the platform, the humans in the plain robes had fallen into a terrified heap.

“Steelfang! A pound of flesh on the bear!”

Steelfang grimaced, torn between hoping that another of his troublesome pack members would be eliminated, and defending the pride of his wolves.

“What’s ssso funny?” hissed a voice right next to Sphaera.

Haughtily, she turned her head and looked down her nose at the interloper. She met the bulbous yellow eyes of a bright green snake. Oh. It was that bamboo viper, What’s-Her-Name. One of Lady Piri’s representative’s servants. Still, it wouldn’t do to disrespect any of Lady Piri’s underservants.

“Steelfang thought of a hilarious way to get rid of some of his people he doesn’t like. He sent them to attack you.” Sphaera giggled again.

For some reason, though, the snake didn’t join in. “And you think that’s funny?”

Sphaera hastily cut off mid-laugh. “Only if it is pleasing to your honorable mistress,” she assured the underservant.

“Pleasssing? Why would it be pleasssing to her?”

Sphaera was getting worried, and so, by the way Steelfang drifted closer to her litter, was the wolf. “Because…it’s a clever way of getting rid of them…?”

“A ‘clever way of getting rid of them’? You’re not worried they’ll hurt my friends?!”

“Oh….” The thought genuinely had not occurred to Sphaera or, presumably, Steelfang. “But they’re – you’re – all Lady Piri’s vassals, aren’t you? I thought – he thought – she would protect you…?”

“That’s not a good excussse!”

“Oh…. Oh….” Helplessly, Sphaera waved at Steelfang. “Perhaps you should recall them?”

Evidently the wolf had drawn the same conclusion, because he flung back his head and howled into the sky. “AaaaaOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!”

In the distance, the band of wolves hesitated, then kept attacking.

“You see what I have to deal with?” grumbled Steelfang, before he howled again.

This time, all but one of the wolves reluctantly disengaged, backing up to circle the platform. The last wolf, however, was too busy trying to bite off the horse’s tail. The horse neighed and kicked with his hind legs.

Another commanding howl from Steelfang, and that wolf released the horse. As he slunk resentfully towards the others, the sparrow and the black-necked crane who circled overhead caught his attention, and he leaped straight up at them.

“No!” Sphaera screamed.

“AaaOOOOOOOOO!” bellowed Steelfang.

But the snake drowned both of them out. “No! Bad wolf! Don’t you DARE hurt them! You ssstop that right now or I am COMING for you!”

The words were inane, but the ferocity in her voice flattened Sphaera against her litter. All around her, demons whined and whimpered and cringed. Even Steelfang’s tail tucked in firmly between his legs. In the distance, the rebellious wolf crashed to the ground, rolled over, and presented his belly to the two birds. Lady Piri’s representative landed on it and gave it a hard peck.

Well.

Sphaera supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised, given that this snake, too, was one of Lady Piri’s people.

Never underestimate one of Lady Piri’s people.

When the snake turned back to Sphaera and asked, “Is it time yet? When will it be time?” Sphaera answered in a much more respectful tone.

“It’s not quite time yet, spirit, but it will be soon.”

Covered by demon wings, the sky was as black as a winter night. Anthea could see well enough in the dark, but humans had notoriously poor night vision, and Jullie kept tripping over the paving stones.

A raucous scream overhead made both women jump and clutch at each other, but the vulture demon that had been following them since they exited the palace didn’t attack. Instead, he howled with laughter, endlessly pleased that he had succeeded in scaring two helpless women. The big bully.

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“Shhh, it’s all right, Bink,” Jullie murmured to the shivering golden monkey that clung to her chest. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”

The monkey stared back at her with wide, terrified eyes and chattered.

“It’s all right, it’s all right,” Jullie continued to soothe him.

It was very much not all right, though. It was not supposed to go this way. There was not supposed to be an attack on the palace. A fake attack on the fringes of the capital, maybe a few casualties among the commoners who lived on the outskirts, yes. But not this. The Queen was never supposed to be in any danger.

Did Piri betray me again? Anthea wondered for the ten-thousandth time. Did I misread her again? But all of our interests aligned! She was so invested in making a success of the Temple! And what could she possibly gain from betraying the Director of Reincarnation himself? No, I read her right. I’m sure I read her right. Which means – did she misread the demons? Did she get betrayed by the demons? PIRI, of all people?

Lost in thought, Anthea didn’t notice the root network of a yellow-flame tree until Jullie tripped over it. The hem of the Queen’s heavy silk brocade robes snagged on the wood, and she stumbled, stubbed her toe on another root, and started to fall forward. She didn’t yelp, of course, but she did gasp and windmill her arms.

Panicking, Bink made a flying leap at the tree and scrambled up into its branches.

“No! Bink, come back!” Jullie cried. “Now!”

Hidden from sight among the leaves, the monkey chattered at her.

The vulture demon screamed in triumph. A gust of wind sent leaves, twigs, and dirt flying at the two women. Jullie hunched over to protect her face, and Anthea shielded her with her own back. Wind whipped her gown. Her gauzy overskirt ripped off and went fluttering into the sky like a lost soul. Great wings flapped down closer and closer.

Bink shrieked.

When Anthea jerked her head up, she saw the demon flying higher, a struggling monkey clutched in his talons.

“No! Wait – !” cried Jullie, running out into the open and stretching up a hand as if she could summon the vulture back.

Anthea yanked her back under the tree, which at least afforded a bit of shelter. “It’s too late. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Jullie.”

“But – ” For a moment, the Queen looked every bit like a lost child. “What have I done? What did I do wrong? I tried so, so hard, but I still lost the throne. I lost the kingdom. The kingdom my ancestors worked so hard to build….” She didn’t weep – that had been drilled out of her long ago – but Anthea could hear the tears in her voice.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she lied, trying to convince herself at the same time.

She had thought, year after year, that conscripting more and more humans and spirits to throw at the Wilds might not have been the wisest move. It might have been better to accept the lost territory as lost, and to focus on consolidating and developing the lands that remained. Maybe she should have said something. She could have said something, before it was too late. But what if she had said something, and everything had turned out worse?

I am not Piri, she had thought. I am not Piri. It had become her mantra over the centuries. Ask herself what Piri would do, and then do the opposite.

Maybe, just maybe, that hadn’t been the wisest strategy either.

“I sent so many people to die,” Jullie whispered. “I killed so many people. Earlier, when the city turned against me, and my uncle wanted me to put down the riot by force, I thought, ‘I can’t start killing non-demons.’ Because if I start killing non-demons, then what was it all for?”

A soft plink on a paving stone startled Anthea. Jullie was crying. The Queen was actually crying.

“Maybe – maybe this is for the best. Maybe I deserve to be the last of my dynasty….”

“No!” Anthea’s denial was instinctive. “You did your best. You tried your hardest. No plan ever goes exactly right.” Not her plans, not Piri’s. Not even Piri’s. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth it to believe, and to try. “You’ll see. It’ll be all right. The Temple will deal with the demons any moment now, and then we can start anew.”

“If they don’t do it soon, they needn’t do it at all. There won’t be a capital left to save.” Jullie’s voice held a lifetime of bitterness from fighting a war that she had finally acknowledged was lost long before she was born.

Anthea didn’t reply out loud, but in her head she screamed at Piri, How is it not time yet? When will it be time?!

Hidden under the platform, Flicker suppressed his glow. He couldn’t see through the thick tapestries that concealed his existence, but he could – hear – the sounds outside. The screams. The thuds. The grunts. The – wet burbles.

He gulped, realized that he was leaking light again, and squashed it back under his skin.

This was so much more horrible than he’d imagined when Piri and Stripey had described her plan. All those people, getting hurt right there in front of him, when all he could do was wait.

But he had to wait. Had to get the timing perfect. This plan had to go off without a hitch, or the Director of his bureau would be so furious with him. A star sprite clerk like him, even a second-class clerk, since his promotion, couldn’t afford to have a Director angry at him.

The cries behind him, coming from inside the city, were getting louder, more desperate. People could be dying! What was Piri waiting for?

Is it time yet? he screamed inside his head. Why isn’t it time yet?

Giving the wolf demon’s belly a final, emphatic peck, I took off.

As soon as I was off him, he flailed his paws and rocked from side to side like a turtle until he rolled himself back to his feet. Then, his bedraggled tail clamped firmly between his legs, he scrambled away from me and the platform, howling apologies the whole time.

And don’t you dare come back! I shouted after him.

He vanished into the seething mass of demons, intent on getting as far away from me as he could.

Can you see Bobo? I asked Stripey. Did you see what happened to her?

He shook his head. No. But I’m sure she’s all right.

From the way he craned his long neck around, though, I wasn’t sure he believed it himself.

I should go and bring her back. My status as “Lady Piri’s representative” should protect me, even from those crazed demons….

As if reading my thoughts, Stripey warned, Don’t get distracted. You’re in charge here, remember? Everyone’s waiting for your signal.

He was right. This was my plan, my party. Everyone was counting on me to get the timing perfect.

With an inward sigh, I pushed Bobo to the side of my mind and surveyed the “battlefield.” The demon horde surrounded the city on the ground and in the air. Gazelle and serow demons bounded along the top of the city wall, howling challenges at the people below. Eagles dove at the rooftops, raking their claws across the grey tiles. Rubble from falling chimneys crashed onto the streets below. The throng of residents, who had come out to witness the High Priest of the Kitchen God work a miracle, screamed and wailed and attempted to shove one another out of the way so they could flee. The city teetered on the edge of a stampede.

“Is it time yet?!” “Isn’t it time yet?!” Voices, overlapping one another, shrieked at me from both on and around the stage.

It was.

Places, everybody!

“Priests! Form up!” Floridiana bellowed, and they hurried to line up behind Katu, tallest ones in the middle, shortest at the sides.

Lodia gave Katu’s robes one final tug, then clambered onto Miss Caprina’s back. The serow leaped off the stage. At the same time, the butterflies fluttered up to surround Katu’s head and shoulders. In the darkness, you could hardly see them.

“Go, go!” Dusty neighed at the bears, who seized gold-tipped spears in their front paws and took up honor guard positions in front of the stage.

I scanned the scene one final time. It was as perfect as I was going to get. I drew a deep breath. Then I shouted: IT’S TIME!

Katu flung up his arms and roared into the sky, “O Divine Intercessor! Ye who love and watch over us on Earth! Save us from these demons!”

Flicker’s golden light exploded outward.