4. Athena
Athena
“What do you mean we’re under attack?” I called out, but the man had already turned and rushed back out. Then I turned to my friends, who looked equally stunned.
A boom rumbled the walls of the theatre, and Hal gripped one of my hands. “Maybe that’s why the soldiers ran off. Maybe they knew something was coming.”
“You think the Zagrath are under attack?”
Hal blew out a breath. “If they’re the ones under attack, that means the entire city is being besieged.”
Hal had a tendency to be dramatic, even for someone in the theatre, but that would explain why the soldiers had left so unceremoniously.
Both Hatch and Ringo made beelines for the door to the theatre, calling over their shoulders that they’d find out what was happening.
I turned to Lettie, Vallia, and Hal, who were the only ones who hadn’t run out when the Zagrath had arrived or after the man had run in screaming that we were under attack. “It must be Kolt. He’s done what he said he would.”
“Gorgeous guys make lots of promises, sweetie,” Hal mumbled. “When have you ever known them to keep them?”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “For me? Always.”
He pursed his lips. “Bite me, darling.”
This made me smile. At least Hal wasn’t too terrified to give as good as he got.
“It has to be the Vandar,” I insisted. I needed it to be them. I needed to know I hadn’t put my trust in the wrong people and been betrayed.
Hatch ran back inside. “It’s true. Kashara is under attack.”
“By the Vandar?” I asked, not bothering to hide the hope in my voice.
Ringo joined Hatch, breathing hard. “Dunno. We didn’t see any Vandar out there, but the Zagrath are bugging out.”
“Bugging out?” Vallia’s jaw dropped. “You mean they’re leaving us? I thought the whole reason our government let the Zagrath take control was because they promised stability and protection.”
Lettie choked back a laugh. “I think we’ve all learned that the Zagrath are brutes and liars.”
Good point.
Hatch waved a hand in the general direction of the city. “All I know is that the government complex has been taken and now there’s fighting in the streets. Fighting against the Zagrath.”
The hope that I’d been trying to keep from exploding finally burst free. “Then we should join the fighting!”
Hal drew in a quick breath. “Us fight? With what?”
I hated that he was right. How would we fight? The Zagrath had made it illegal to own blasters, so unless we could do damage with prop weapons and stage sandbags, we would be little help.
“Now we’re talking,” Lettie said. “I don’t care who’s attacking. If they’re against the Empire, then I’m with them.”
“You’re all insane.” Hal wrung his hands. “We don’t know that the attackers are any better than the Zagrath.”
“It’s the Vandar,” I said with a confident nod.
Vallia bobbed her head. “It does make sense, and it’s very on brand for the Vandar.”
Another boom sent dust sifting from above, and Hatch rushed to the front doors, poking his head out before slamming them shut. Then he ran back to join us. “They’re headed this way!”
“Who?” I asked. “Imperial soldiers or the others?”
Hatch shrugged. “Can’t tell through all the smoke and dust, but someone is coming.”
Lettie made a fist and punched it into her open palm. “If it’s Zagrath soldiers, I get first crack at them for hauling my brother to jail and coming for me.”
“First crack?” Hal gaped at her. “What are you all talking about? Joining the fight? Getting first crack at the soldiers? We’re a theatre troupe. We don’t fight, we act.”
Ringo shot him a sour look. “Sometimes we pretend to fight.”
I winked at Ringo. “That’s exactly right. We pretend to fight just like we pretended to be drunk when we staggered through the city and helped Kolt and Skye escape. Faking it is what we do best, so let’s fake being a well-armed band of warriors.”
Lettie rubbed her hands together. “Like in ‘The Pirates of the Deep Lagoon.’”
Vallia bounced on the tips of her toes. “I know where all those costumes and props are kept.”
Hal opened and closed his mouth a few times before seeming to snap from his stupor.
“I still think you’re all mad, but this also might be our only chance to be free of the Zagrath and their horrible censoring.
So, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.
” He headed for the wings, waving one arm.
“Everyone, follow me to get properly outfitted.”
My pulse trilled as we trooped to the backstage area. Even through the building’s walls, we could hear the sounds of blaster fire and shouting. I reminded myself that it was Kolt and his crew, but still my heart raced.
Hal made quick work of locating the correct crates and distributing prop swords and shields. Ringo and Hatch insisted on donning black brigand hats that flopped over their faces, and Lettie covered her blue tower of hair with a dark scarf and one eye with a black patch.
A crash shook the floor, and we all spun toward the sound.
“They’ve broken down the door,” Vallia whispered, the excitement in her eyes morphing into fear.
“Don’t worry,” I told her with more confidence than I felt. “If it’s Kolt and his fellow Vandar, then they aren’t here to harm us.”
She nodded, but I read the question in her eyes.
But what if it wasn’t them? What if it was the Zagrath soldiers coming to destroy the theatre once and for all.
Or coming back for Lettie? Or all of us?
Even if they were on the losing end of a battle, I wouldn’t put it past them to scorch the city on their way out.
“They don’t know the backstage like we do,” I said in a hush. “Everyone, hide.”
Hal glanced furtively around him, his gaze dropping to his weapon-less hands. I eyed his orange hair, snatched a hat from the nearest open bin and shoved it onto his head. Then I tossed him a prop blade, which he caught.
The stage manager seemed rooted in place, not melting into the shadows along with everyone else, even when there was a soft thud on the wooden stage.
I grabbed his arm and yanked him behind a bolt of fabric then positioned myself in front of him. The less he saw or was seen, the better.
I scanned the shadow drenched backstage. There was no sign of any of the others. They’d hidden themselves so well not even I could detect a hint of them. Not a rustle of movement, a hitch of breath, a flash of color.
Whoever had broken into the theatre was also impressively stealthy, another reason I was sure it wasn’t Imperial soldiers. They would never bother to mask the thump of their boots. But these fighters were taking great care to be as soundless as possible.
It was only the shift in light and stripes of shadow falling across the floor that gave them away. Still, I didn’t get a good view of the lead fighter until he was nearly on top of us. Then my heart stopped beating, and the world slowed to a crawl.
The muscled, bare chest marked with inky swirls told me in an instant that he was a Vandar like Kolt.
But it was the fierce set of his chiseled jaw and the intensity of his dark eyes that stole my breath.
It was like I was looking at both an avenging angel and the devil himself.
And there was nothing I could do to keep myself from being sucked into his orbit.