CHAPTER 7

The pair hurried to the square and found themselves on the upstream in a downstream of panicked people. Fred couldn't keep up with Pat as she wound her way through the crowds, and they became separated. He was pushed into a nearby alley and leaned against a wall to catch his breath. It wasn't easy pushing against a living wave of fear. He stood with his back turned to the alley and watched the wave thin until a group of palace guards waded through the citizens. They pushed and shoved with the best of them, and he was disgusted with the way they pushed aside young and old alike.

"What rude humans," a voice behind him spoke up.

"You're telling me," he agreed.

"Indeed, I am telling you," the voice, a girl, replied. Fred frowned. That voice sounded very familiar. He slowly turned around and his face paled when he found himself nose-to-nose with Sampson's daughter. She grinned and rubbed his nose with hers. "Hello there," she greeted.

Fred yelped and jumped back into a pair of strong arms. He was relieved until he glanced up and saw Hawkins' tense face staring at the gargoyle girl. "What are you doing here, demon?" Hawkins harshly questioned her.

She flinched at his tone and shuffled back. "I-I wanted to see the fireworks," she replied.

Hawkins scowled and opened his mouth to call his men. Fred jumped up and slapped his hand over the man's mouth. The boy couldn't tell who was more surprised, him or Hawkins, but Fred didn't have time for a laugh at the captain's expense. "I know we only just met, but you have to trust me. This girl isn't here to harm anyone any more than Fluffy was out to eat your men." Hawkins' scowl deepened. "Okay, bad analogy, but she still isn't going to hurt anyone."

"Indeed, I'm not," the girl spoke up.

Hawkins ripped Fred's hand off his face and sneered at the gargoyle. "How do I know you won't carry one of my people off?"

The girl blushed and pushed the tip of one of her bare, clawed feet into the street. The stones broke beneath her thick toes. "I...I can't fly."

Hawkins and Fred stared at her and blinked. Their surprise was interrupted by shouts behind them as several in the crowd spotted the gargoyle in front of the pair. "Monster!" shouted someone in the herd of people.

Fred rolled his eyes. Didn't they have any other word for a gargoyle? Hawkins grabbed the boy's shoulders and pushed them up to the gargoyle. He turned the boy around and looked him square in the eyes. "Do you swear this creature means the city no harm?"

Fred pursed his lips together and gave a firm nod. "I swear it."

Hawkins glanced between the boy and the beast. "All right, I will give you what time I can but my men are as thick as thieves in the streets. If you want any chance to get this-this girl away to safety, and if she can't fly, then you must jump the roofs." Fred gulped, but nodded his head. Hawkins turned and raced back to the street, but glanced over his shoulder with a smirk on his face. "And be mindful you don't get yourselves killed!"

Fred's shoulders slumped and he jutted his chin out in a pout. A shaky hand tugged on his sleeve, and he turned to find the gargoyle girl close beside him. Her eyes flitted between him and the noisy street; she was scared. He sighed and patted her hand. "It'll be all right."

A troupe of soldiers appeared at the front of the alley and the leader, Fred's old friend from the city gate, pointed his spear at them. "Get them!" he shouted.

Fred paled. "Or maybe not." He turned and shoved the gargoyle girl ahead of him down the alley. "Run!"

She stumbled along and Fred slowed down their perusers by toppling every trash can and stack of boxes he could find. The soldiers toppled like metal dominoes and the pair broke from the alley with three options to go. Left or right would take them down a street, and forward would lead down another alley. The way forward looked vaguely familiar to Fred, but he couldn't be sure. The street was filled with people running to and fro. Some were curious to see the monster and others ran away to hide in their houses. A few glimpsed the gargoyle, and the screaming and pointing started all over again.

"Monster!"

"Demon!"

"At least they're using another word," Fred mumbled before he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward into the opposite alley. They'd traveled halfway down the alley when a hand reached out from behind a pile of crates and grabbed his shoulder. He yelped and a small hand clapped over his mouth.

Pat emerged from the shadows and scowled at him. "I'm getting really tired of people yelling," she scolded him.

He ripped her hand off his mouth and frowned back. "And I'm really tired of getting snuck up on."

Pat nodded at the gargoyle girl. "With her around you had better become accustomed to it."

"I'm trying to get her back home," Fred pointed out.

"Then you're going the wrong way. The castle is that direction," she told him as she jerked her thumb to Fred's left.

He sulked. "I was getting there, I just couldn't make a straight shot because I can't find a ladder to get onto the roof."

Pat looked past him at the gargoyle. "Why doesn't she just fly away?"

"I-I can't fly," she informed her. "The cave isn't large enough to allow us to practice gliding, and I was very small when we hid ourselves in the cavern."

"Just our luck..." she mumbled.

"And that's why we need a ladder," Fred repeated.

Pat turned him around and pointed at a dark object against the wall of a nearby building; it was a narrow ladder that reached up to the tall roof. "That what you need?" she asked him.

He slumped over and glumly nodded his head. "Yeah, that's what I need..." he muttered.

"Good, so let's climb it and get to the cistern or the castle, whichever one we can. I don't know how well we can get past the guards."

"I met Hawkins, and he said he'd work on distracting his men," Fred replied.

Pat raised an eyebrow. "Hawkins is helping us save her?"

"You tell me, he's your lieutenant," Fred countered.

"You there!" cried a voice in front of Fred. They whipped around and saw a group of twenty guards with armed citizens behind them. "Stay where you are!"

"Um, climbing time," Pat announced before she grabbed the gargoyle girl and scrambled over to the ladder.

"Uh, yeah," Fred agreed. He ran after them, but had to wait at the bottom of the rungs while they climbed up. He glanced between them and the oncoming guards and mob. "Must go faster, must go faster!" he chanted at the girls.

"Not helping!" Pat shouted back. The moment he had a few free rungs Fred jumped on them and used his head to push Pat faster up the ladder. "Will you knock that off!" she screeched. "You're going to make me-"

Her foot slipped and her fingers fumbled for stability. She lost her balance and swung over the side of the ladder, clinging only by a single hand. The drop below was only about ten feet, but the mob with their pitchforks and guards with their swords stood down there. Several of the officers snatched at Fred's foot, and he kicked them back.

Pat tried to swing back and grab at a rung, but her hand missed and her other lost its grip. Her scream was cut short when Fred snatched her hand and pulled her in front of him. Unfortunately, that gave a chance for the guards to grab him and yank him down to them.

Pat grabbed at his outstretched hand, but missed. He was dragged into the arms of the guards and citizens. "Fred!" she cried out.

"Run!" he yelled back before he disappeared into the dozens of bodies.

Pat clambered up the ladder with several guards at her back. Fred thrashed and kicked in their arms, and one of his feet slammed the bottom of the ladder. The old wooden poles snapped, and before they could move him away he kicked through the wood. The ladder snapped and tilted back, toppling the guards onto the crowd. Pat grabbed the roof of the house before the ladder fell away from her, and the gargoyle girl pulled her up.

Pat peeked over the edge and looked down on the chaos. Bits of ladder poked out and armored arms flailed in the middle of fallen citizens. Fred pulled his head out long enough to scowl at her, and she took the hint and stood. She grabbed the other girl's hand and pulled her up and over the peek of the roof toward the castle.

Fred was now on his own to deal with the mob rule, and they weren't happy with him. The guards yanked him to his feet and shoved him against the side of the building. The back of his head hit against some new, solid wooden planks, and he felt blood pool out from the knock.

The guard leader wrapped his hand around Fred's throat and shoved his face into the boy's. The crowd pressed against them, stifling the air as their faces squeezed in to glare at the boy. "Why are you in league with that monster? Are you a spy for Canavar?" the guard accused him. Fred shook his head, but that wasn't good enough for the guard. He shook the boy and slapped him across the cheek. "Answer me, boy, or we'll make you speak."

A thick fist flew out from the crowd and punched the guard on the side of his head. The force shoved him into the crowd and a new, familiar face appeared in Fred's sight. It was Canto, and he was not happy. "There's yer answer," Canto snapped at the guard as he rubbed his fist. He looked to the boy. "You okay?" Fred rubbed his sore neck and nodded. "Good. Let's get ya out of here."

"You there, stop!" the bruised guard leader yelled.

"That's our cue to run, boy!" Canto yelled. He shoved Fred through the crowd and toward the street, but they had to contend with groping hands.

Canto took a fist to the gut and face, and Fred was pulled back into the mob. He beat off some of the hands, but there were too many. "Leave me alone! Let off!" he cried out.

A howl split the noise of chaos and everyone froze. A large, fur-less form burst through the repaired wall and ran over anyone in its way. Canto pulled off the half dozen men on him and scowled as Fluffy tore through the mob, knocking everyone down and scattering them to the four winds. "Damn it, Fluffy, I told you to stay inside!" The beast raised its head and let out a great howl.

Fred noticed Canto paled, and the man grabbed the boy and hauled him out of the alley. "We need ta get very far away," Canto told him. Fred didn't like the tense tone of his voice, nor did he want to leave his beast behind.

"Why? What's wrong? Why aren't we getting Fluffy?" Fred asked him.

"Because yer beast's gone mad with anger. No good cantankus stands by and watches its owner beaten, and Fluffy stood by long enough on my orders. Now he's going ta catch up and knock the stuffing out of all those fools."

They stumbled out into the street and turned the corner, and Fred glanced back. Men flew out of the alley He was alarmed, and looked to Canto. "But shouldn't we stop him? He could kill someone!"

Canto smirked and led them into a nearby alley. "Your cantankus isn't that mean, but I would rather have the Boo take me now than try ta stop him." He noticed his words didn't comfort Fred, and he stopped them beside a pile of crates that led up to the roof of a building. "I'll handle Fluffy and keep him safe, but if you don't get yerself safely back to the castle I don't think yer cantankus would stay nice for long. Get me?"

Fred cringed and nodded. Iif Fluffy found out he was killed then the cantankus wouldn't hold back on his rampage. Canto grinned and slapped the boy's back. "That's the way, now get on up here and see that you find those two friends of yours. I heard their feet clatter over my roof just before I went outside to help ya, but there were a lot of feet following them."

Fred held out his hand. "Thanks for the help."

Canto smirked and shook the boy's hand. Fred felt like his fingers were crushed by iron. Canto nodded up the ladder. "Now get along with ya while I see how I can fix this mess."