Darken the Stars - Amy A. Bartol Page 0,54

made of lead, but I force them to move away. I follow Kyon as he walks toward the delegation of statesmen. There are thirteen of them in all, six on either side of Em Sam. Most of them are hunched in confusion, like they don’t know whether to keep pretending to be a welcoming party there to greet us with open arms or if they should drop their ruse and run away from the crazed gunman.

Kyon’s arms extend, forming a V as he raises his two harbingers and shoots the two delegates on either side of Em Sam—the ones who were sent to kill us. The ambassador of Wurthem holds up both of his hands in front of him with a barely suppressed smile on his face. He seems pleased with this outcome as he looks past Kyon to me on the stairs. It confirms what they’d heard of me: I can read the future—I can change the future.

Kyon keeps walking forward. His arms spread wide again. I cringe as he aims at the so-called diplomats on either side of the line of men in front of him. They react, scrambling to take cover as they pull out concealed weapons of their own, but there isn’t anywhere for them to hide here in the open; having selected this spot for their ambush, it has now turned on them. Kyon’s rapid-fire precision shots are unavoidable. The assembled men fall bleeding to the ground, each shot in the head by Kyon until every single one of them is dead in a pool of his own blood—all of them except for Em Sam.

When Kyon reaches him, Em Sam is on his knees. Kyon holds both barrels of his guns to the ambassador’s forehead. “Did I get them all?” Kyon asks Em Sam.

The ambassador doesn’t speak; he just closes his eyes and fervently nods his head. Sweat slides down the side of his face and a little bit of drool falls from his mouth.

I hurry to Kyon’s side and lay my hand on his arm. “Kyon. You got them. There were only four who were charged with killing us. The rest were just backup,” I murmur in a placating tone.

He continues to stare at Em Sam. He lifts the harbinger in his left hand, waving it negligently around at the dead bodies on the ground. “They were all complicit. Especially him.” Kyon presses the barrel of the harbinger in his right hand harder into Em Sam’s forehead, making the ambassador wince and whimper.

“They said I had to,” Em Sam whines. “They said you wouldn’t kill me if you lived.”

Kyon squats down in front of Em Sam, leaning closer to his ear. “They don’t know what I’ll do, Sam,” he says in a conspiratorial way. “They can’t see the future.” Kyon pulls back and smiles into Em Sam’s eyes before, boom! The gun in Kyon’s hand goes off, blowing a hole in Em Sam’s forehead.

I jump in response to the noise. The shot jerks Em Sam back and he falls with his eyes wide open staring up at the sky. I should be used to this by now, but I’m not. I can only stand there looking down at Sam, shaking at the knees. “You didn’t have to kill him,” I say in a voice that doesn’t sound like mine.

“Yes, I did,” he replies. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me to his side. “Brother Excelsior will know that you read the future, because I killed the snipers, but he’ll also know that I won’t allow you to be tested without them paying a price for it.”

He shoves one of his harbingers back in his holster. Turning us around, he walks me back to the hawk-shaped ship. Entering it, he tells Chandrum, “You can get out here. I will have your ship returned to you.”

“I will stay with you. You need my help,” Chandrum replies. “I didn’t know he would test her like this—he has been keeping me out of their circle when there is talk of you or Kricket,” he says. “The Brotherhood knows we’re friends as well as Brothers. Do you plan to go back the Sea of Stars now?” He’s worried. It’s like he’s our handler or something.

“No,” Kyon replies, showing no emotion. “Kricket and I will remain in Urbenoster. I have plans to show her around her new city.” He says that like I own the place or something. “I plan to introduce her to her people.”

“Her people?”

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