Ugly Girl Read online

  I could hear Lane’s heart breaking. “Oh, Ro. You’re the best part of my life. You’re nothing in the same universe as a mistake. You did all those things yourself. I told you, hun. Don’t listen. It’s not about you. Henri and I have a lot to sort through.”

  “Well, he can sort through it on the business end of my fist. You hear that, Henry? You come near Lane again, and I’ll Texas Justice your ass so quick, you won’t know what hit you. Lane is my mom, not your punching bag!”

  Henri was livid. “You need a day in my stocks, child.”

  “And you need a—” I was in high gear, but Lot covered my mouth.

  “Enough,” Lot warned. “You’ll get yourself killed at this rate. Breathe, Rosalie. Breathe. And Henri, you’re a fool to strike a Duchess. She holds more power than you do, so you’ll know your place, instead of trying unsuccessfully to force either woman to cower to you.” Lot stiffened, his head looking up toward the road where the soldiers were nearing us. “Everyone, quiet! This isn’t the time. The army’s near, and finding Roland and the gems is more important than this fight. Not another sound!”

  Lot leaned down, pressing his chest on my shoulder to stay low and make sure I didn’t fly off the handle again. He released my mouth and his grip on my arm, but he remained on top of me. “Henri’s out,” I whispered in his ear. “I’m not going anywhere with someone who hits my mom.”

  Lot hung his head, pressing his forehead to mine. “I know. I thought you might say something like that.” His breath tickled my lips, and partially pinned as I was, I felt totally at his command. “I’ll talk to Henri. Properly, how it’s meant to be done. I’ll see what I can do to smooth things out. I’m a duke; trust me to know how this works.”

  “I don’t want them smoothed. I want him gone!”

  Damond leaned toward us and spoke up for the first time since it all went south. His whisper was barely audible while Henri and Lane were distracted with their quiet bickering. “What about me? I didn’t hit anyone, but I’ll have no choice but to leave if Duke Henri says I have to.” It struck me, not for the first time, that neither Damond nor Gwen called him “Father”, but instead used his proper title.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Lot answered. His whole body was tense as he kept his eyes on the soldiers. I tried to follow his lead and focus on the greater danger, giving up my claim on the fight when he whispered a gentle, “Quiet, now.”

  The soldiers neared the bridge, and my heart started to pick up its pace when their black boots pounded on the wood, marching too near where Bastien, Reyn and the others hid behind a smattering of rocks. There was a hairy man like Bayard and Rousseau who stood off to the side next to a guy in a medal-bedecked uniform. I could only assume the pressed red uniform jacket meant this dude was the new captain. The Wildman had a pig-nose, and a panflute clutched in his brown fur-covered hand. There was an enormous black bird on his shoulder, and they both scanned the forest without blinking.

  The Wildman let out a short whistle, and Lot covered my ears in fear. The black bird was over a foot long, with a wingspan that was four times that. I gasped when she rose up at the whistle to circle the area – a majestic bird soaring, and clearly on a mission. She looked carefully through the trees, and I knew when she landed on a branch overhead and craned her long neck down, that she’d found us. Dread churned in my gut as I tried to think up a possible solution. She was about to open her beak to alert her master when I whisper-shouted, “Hey, you don’t want to do that. Come and talk to me after your people leave.”

  Lot covered my mouth again, but I bit him. He was an easier one to shake off than Bastien, waving his hand to rid himself of the sting from my canines. “What are you doing? That’s a tracking bird! They’ll find us!”

  “She’s already found us. I’m trying to make sure she doesn’t tell her owner. Let me do what I do.” I turned my attention back to the trees, speaking so quietly, I’m surprised the sound even reached her. “Go tell them that no one’s here, and you can swing back and talk to me after they leave. Deal?”

  The bird hopped on the branch like it had to pee, her thoughts too excited and jumbled for me to make sense of. All I caught was a grateful, “The Voix! The Voix! Wait here!” before she flew off to perch on her master’s shoulder once more.

  One of the commanders stood to the side, watching the uninhabited trees with a skeptical eye. Lot clutched me tighter, his lips moving to my cheek and exhaling into my ear. “Steady now,” he whispered, making my body forget that it had just been restrained by him a minute ago.

  The pig-nosed commander waited until his men were over the bridge before peering down into the space below. I let out a gust of air when he passed over the bridge and moved away from the cluster of rocks the others were hiding behind, leaving our group of royal misfits to our nefarious deeds.

  38

  Lot in Life

  It was a long wait before anyone dared to move, least of all me. Lot and I were in a game of chicken, his lips hovering half an inch above mine. “Such a fair mouth for such angry fight to come tumbling out of it.” He touched my upper lip with his thumb, cupping my cheek in his palm to see just how pliable I was. I was a mixture of weakened from the poppies, and weak in the knees from the touch I wasn’t accustomed to. I was more used to the slaps on the back and one-armed dude hugs. Lot looked at me and handled my skin as if I was something breakable. I couldn’t remember the last time I was allowed to be breakable. His breath was sweet when he exhaled in my face. “That was incredible, the way you spoke to the tracking bird. I have to kiss you, Rosalie. You saved us.” His sincerity mingled with an earnest pleading, a request for him to remain a gentleman while giving in to his boyish desires.

  Being desired is a heady thing, and one I wasn’t used to at all.

  My body was total jelly, and my brain was confused and turning rapidly to mush. “I don’t know,” I mumbled. “Bastien. He… I…” I didn’t know why I felt a loyalty to Bastien. Dude yelled at me almost as much as he struck up normal conversation.

  Lot nodded, leaving his lips right where I could close the small gap and take them. “Very well. I’ll wait and see how that ends up. Know this: I’m quite taken with you. It’s not many who would have the strength to stand up to Duke Henri. Fewer still who can command a tracking bird trained by the Queen’s Army.”

  I spluttered, the butterflies and pterodactyls back and zooming around in my belly at full force. Marquis was in my ear, rattling off all the things he loved about his master, and how happy he would be if I stayed with them.

  Abraham Lincoln was not so convinced. He bumped his butt against Lot, backing him away from me as the army safely passed without so much as a pause in our direction. “No,” he whined to me. “Daddy. Mommy should be with Daddy.”

  “It’s not as simple as all that, guys. I’m not ready for that kind of thing here. Not like this. Not when I can barely stand.”

  “Apologies. You’re right.” Lot backed away, confused when I tried to sit up next to him.

  “Not you. I was talking to Marquis and Abraham Lincoln. They’re all about marrying me off.”

  Lot wrapped his arm around my shoulders to make sure I didn’t collapse backwards, and turned me so I could rest my back against his horse. “Good boy, Marquis.” He smiled at my chuckle. “I take it Abraham Lincoln’s on Bastien’s side?”

  “There’s no sides. I’m not the commodity you’re thinking I am. Once you both realize that, it’ll be business as usual. Hold on.” I heard my new feathered friend from high up in the branches. “Hey! Come here, buddy.” I waited for the bird to swoop down, surprising me with how big she was. She was the size of a scarlet macaw, but completely black. Her feathers were like wet leather, soft and tough. When she perched on my crisscrossed legs, Lot jerked away, leaving only his hand on my shoulder. Henri and Damond whispered noises of distress, but Lane knew I could handle a bird. Sheesh.

  Her name was Seven, and she let out a constant stream of worry that her insubordinat
ion would be found out.

  “Hey, I’ve got you. You’re alright. Now tell me what the Army’s doing out here.”

  “The judge’s boy. They want the Untouchable, so they’re after the judge’s boy. I see him over there behind those rocks. I should tell my master!” Seven fretted.

  “No, no. You don’t want to do that. If you do, Reyn will die. That would just break my heart. Do you want to break my heart?”

  “You can hear me! I can hear you! I won’t break your heart. You’re the Voix! You’re my Voix!”

  “Aw, that’s sweet. I can see why the army likes you; you’re so kind. Pretty, too.”

  “So I can’t tell my master I can see the judge’s boy? That I can see the Untouchable?”

  “No, you can’t tell him that. It’s our secret.” I smoothed her feathers, smiling when she told me how she liked them preened. “Man, you’re stunning.”

  Lot’s voice was even, but taut with tension. “Rosalie, that’s a Buteur. Do you have those in your world?”

  “We have birds, but not with leathery feathers like this. So cool.”

  “That bird is a trained killer, used by the army to incapacitate its enemies with a single cry. It’s no doubt watching for Reyn and Bastien.”

  “Oh, well that’s alright.” I kissed the side of Seven’s head. “She won’t tell anyone on us. You feeling alright, baby? What’s this?” I pointed to a missing patch where Seven’s armored feathers were missing from her breast.

  She opened her beak to chirp a quiet reply. “My trainer cut me. Let me stay with you! If you hide me until they pass, they won’t be able to find me. I can’t ignore his whistle! I can’t disobey! You have to keep me with you.” Seven flapped her wings, letting me know she’d rather risk her luck with a bear than go back to her master.

  “Oh, sweetie. It’s alright. You can stay with us. We could use you, to tell you the truth. Would you mind helping us out? Flying overhead occasionally to look for trouble? We’re trying to stay out of sight.”

  Seven took flight, soaring overhead, and crossing back and forth to get a good picture of what might still be coming for us.

  She descended as quick as she could, scaring Damond. “They’ve all gone ahead. They didn’t see you, and there are no more coming this way. But you have to keep me from the whistle, otherwise I have to obey!”

  “Okay, Seven. Okay. Tuck on in here.” My fingers were clumsy after all my body had been through. “Lot, help me. We have to cover Seven’s ears so when the flute sounds again, she doesn’t go running to it. She wants to stay with us, but she’s afraid the flute will make her narc on us.”

  “Narc? What’s that mean?” Lot shook his head. “This bird is dangerous, Rosalie. Not a pet.”

  “Hello, I’ve got a bear in my lap. I think we can handle a little bird.”

  “I have half a mind to break its neck so it doesn’t render us all unconscious with a single squawk.”

  I clutched Seven to me protectively. “You keep that kinda talk away from me,” I shout-whispered.

  No sooner had the words left me did I hear a panflute let out three sharp notes that summoned Seven. For some reason, it made me want to come closer to the sound. Seven begged me to make her stay, to be more powerful than the whistle. I was doing my best, but knew I was too weak to restrain anyone. I swore, whispering to the others, “She’s got to go back to her master. I don’t know if he’ll force the truth out of her with that flute thing. Lane, hold her for me and cover her head so she can’t hear the flute!”

  “I’ve got her, baby,” Lane assured me, taking Seven from my hands and tucking her to her breast. She muffled the bird’s hearing and clamped her beak shut with her fist, giving me a brave smile I hoped was even a little bit sincere.

  I moved to stand, but Lot anchored me to the earth once more. “We aren’t in the clear yet, Rosie. Wait here a little while longer.”

  “The song! I need to go to it,” I protested, unsure of my own reasons.

  Lot clutched me tight so I didn’t go where my body wanted – toward the Wildman with the panflute. “No, no. It’s magic, is all. Stay with us.”

  “Something’s wrong. I have to go to the dude with the flute! He’s calling me.”

  Lot held me tighter, stroking Abraham Lincoln’s fur as my bear debated ambling toward the sound. “You can’t go, Rosalie. You have to resist it. It’s a trick of the Wildmen. It’s one of the magics that belongs only to their species. They can persuade you with their music. Sing a different song in your mind. That usually helps.”

  “How come it’s not working on you?” I asked, my teeth gritted as I fought every urge inside of me that wanted to go toward the enemy. My veins started to pull in his direction, guiding my body where the music wanted me to go.

  “It is. I’m just more trained in resisting it. It’s merely a suggestion, Rosie. Just say no to the temptation.”

  The flute felt like it was singing straight into my brain. “I have to go there!” I ordered Abraham Lincoln to go to Lane, and made to stand again. Lot’s arms full-on restrained me in the next heartbeat, holding me back as I struggled with an urgency that surprised us both. “Let me go!” I begged. “He needs to know where Reyn is. I know! I know!”

  “Rosalie, quiet!” Lot’s hand went over my mouth, and though I felt the incredible desire to shout to the Wildman where Reyn was, part of me was grateful Lot kept me from obeying the flute. He crushed me down into the grass all over again, covering one of my ears with his free hand. His lips spoke into my other ear, trying to drown out the sound of the flute that felt never-ending. “You don’t want to tell him where Reyn is. Reyn’s with us. He’s following you as his princess, so you must protect him. Resist, sweet girl. Resist. Focus on my voice.”

  I was so confused, and felt both desires with equal urgency and not enough logic to see either decision through. I began to thrash around, whimpering at the total split in my personality – wanting to run to the flute, and also stay away from it. Fear poked at me that I could be divided so easily. I pointed in Reyn’s direction with a shaking hand, and though the army was long gone, part of me felt right in obeying the flute. Straight through my self-loathing, an itch was soothed at my compliance.

  “No, no. Quiet now. Why is it so strong in you?” Lot weighted his body atop mine, foregoing social propriety and crushing me down into the grass. I clawed at his ribs, but found no relief in the defiance.

  39

  One for Me, One for Lane

  When the flute finally stopped, I collapsed back into the grass, breathless but still wanting to find the Wildman and tell him exactly where Reyn was. “Help!” Lot whispered to Lane and Henri.

  Lane scowled at Lot. “Get off my daughter!” she shout-whispered at him.

  “She’s as susceptible to the Wildman’s flute as a child! She’s trying to tell him where Reyn is.”

  “What? Rosie, calm down. Take a breath. Resist it, baby.” She moved over with Seven and knelt by my head. She handed Seven to Damond, who was nervous at being so near the deadly bird. Lane bent down and covered both my ears while Lot remained atop me, covering my mouth and pinning me down so I couldn’t go where my body wanted.

  It didn’t matter, though. It didn’t matter because I wasn’t the one who told the Wildman something was up. In the exchange of the bird from Lane to Damond, Seven blurted out that there was a man nearby. She caught herself too late, and whipped away as fast as she could to divorce herself from the sound of the flute that controlled her every bit as much as it did me. She ripped through branches and slammed her head into an unyielding tree trunk on purpose to knock herself out, so she wouldn’t rat out Reyn anymore than she already had. It was a sacrifice that scared me, and broke my heart.

  The army had already moved on, leaving the military Wildman to move around on his own. I’m guessing he had his flute he could use to summon them back if he came across Reyn. I tried to break free from Lot’s grip and point to where the dude was wandering around too near the rocks
for my liking.

  “Stay still! It’s alright, Rosalie. Quiet now.”

  They didn’t know what Seven had told the soldier. They didn’t know the Wildman was working on a hunch that his bird might have found a man who could be Reyn. I tried to tell Lot with my eyes all of that, but if you can believe it, Lot doesn’t speak eyeballs.

  Henri stood up straight the second he caught on that I was trying to save the day as much as end it for us. With stealthy feet, he moved through the woods and around toward the rocks. I could hear the metal “shink” of his sword sliding from its sheath.

  The hairy soldier with the horse’s tail heard it, too. His head whipped in Henri’s direction. He put his panflute to his lips to call for backup, but Bastien and Bayard charged out from their hiding place, running at the man with their knives and swords ready.