Wicked Ugly Bad (A Kinda Fairytale) (18 page)

Marrok
hit the wall with a sickening thud, his body already in mid-transition.  The
wolf form was larger and more resilient than his human side.  It was why
Wolfball could be so brutal.  His instincts took over and, by the time he fell
to the ground, he was fully a wolf.  He lay there for a second, stunned and in
agony, but alive.

…And
the backup electrical system was destroyed.

Scarlett
gaped down at him.

Marrok
knew what she was seeing.  The wolf was a huge bipedal creature, covered in a thick
layer of constantly moving fog.  Neither human nor animal, it existed in
between the two.  The black smoke took the place of fur.  Beneath it lurked a
monster of fangs and muscle and glowing yellow eyes.

Wolves
were massively strong and closer to their primitive instincts.  Yet, their
human brains could still function.  Marrok and his kind inspired more gruesome
stories than any other monsters in the Four Kingdoms.  And there was some truly
terrifying competition on that score.

Scarlett
eyed him nervously.  “Marrok?  Are you okay?”

“Yes.” 
His voice was deeper than usual, filled with rumbling darkness.  “It’s
alright.”  He got to his feet, bracing himself against the wall.  “I won’t harm
you.  I’d never harm you.”

The
wolf knew this woman straight down to the bone.

She
stepped forward.  “I’m not frightened, dummy.”  Her small fingers reached
through the black fog of his wolf form and caught hold of his arm, steadying
him.  “I meant are
you
okay.  Are you hurt?”

Freed
from the constraints of the magic inhibitor, the wolf was wild for her.  Marrok
had never doubted that she was his True Love.  Not from the first moment he saw
her.  But, now everything in him was
screaming
that she was the one.  The
wolf wanted to pin her to the ground and just
take
.

She
was his.

“I’ll
be fine.”  Marrok got out.  His powers were already fixing the damage to his
body.  He just needed to stop his rioting emotions.  All wanted was to drag
Letty closer and not let go.  “Just give me a minute.”

She
stared up at him and smiled.  “You did it, you know.”  She nodded towards the
smoldering utility panel.  “You really did it!  The power’s off!”

As
much as he liked impressing her, they weren’t out of there, yet.  “We have to
go.”

Doors
all over the WUB Club had just opened and Marrok wasn’t the only Baddie whose
powers were now unleashed.  They had to get to the library.  Shaking off the
pain in his still healing body, he herded Letty towards the door.

Prisoners
were already making their way into the hall, trying to figure out what had
happened.  Their cell doors had been automatically opened and now they were
looking around in confusion.  Inmates of the WUB Club were beaten down enough
that they didn’t instantly rush for freedom, but, fairly quickly, Marrok could
see some of their faces changing from shock to crafty speculation.

The
worst offenders in the place suddenly had their powers back and were free to
wreak havoc on the Good folk who’d caged them.

This
wasn’t going to be pretty.

Swearing
under his breath, Marrok hustled Scarlett forward.  He wanted to get as far as
possible before the surprise wore off and all hell broke loose.  “Stay beside
me.”  He warned.  “No matter what happens, you stay
right beside me
.”

Ahead
of him, he saw a Cheshire cat named Kit walk out of her cell.  The pink fur of
her coat was matted and dirty from living in the prison’s squalid conditions,
but she was still sane enough to know a golden opportunity when she saw one.  Kit
looked right at him and gave a creepy, too-wide smile.  “Thanks for the assist,
Wolf.”

“Believe
me, we didn’t do this for you.”

She
smirked.  “I’ve been in there for four years, two months and a day, so I don’t
really care
why
you did it.  I’m just happy you
did
.  In
repayment for my freedom, I’ll give you a word of advice.”  The Cheshire cats
were the mystics of the Four Kingdom, often speaking in riddles and prophesy
liberally mixed with “I know something you don’t know” smugness.  Kit’s gaze
held his, green eye swirling with secrets.  “Beware the Jabberwocky, my son.”

What
did that psycho have to do with anything?

The
Jabberwocky was the most infamous Baddie in the Four Kingdoms.  No one had ever
even seen him, but his reputation for viciousness and criminal insanity was the
stuff of legends.  He controlled a whole gang of thugs called the Lollypop
Guild, who’d mete out his harsh vengeance with candy colored hammers.  No way
did Marrok want to piss that freak off.

“Is
the Jabberwocky in here with us?”  He demanded.

Kit
just gave a feline shrug and vanished.  Her toothy grin was the last part of
her to disappear.  She was the first Baddie to escape the WUB Club, but she
wouldn’t be the last.

“Gee,
I’m sure glad we just set
her
free.”  Scarlett cleared her throat.  “Um…
Didn’t Kit behead the Queen of Hearts with a croquet mallet?”

Marrok
nodded.  “If it makes you feel any better, the forensic evidence under the
rosebushes should’ve been ruled inconclusive at trial.  A lot of skeletons
could’ve been wearing a crown.”

Scarlett
was running to keep up with him as they headed for the stairs.  “A crown with a
heart on it?”

“Now
you sound like that whiny judge.”  Marrok dragged her through the growing
crowd.  Still in his wolf form, no one did more than glare at Marrok as he
shoved them aside.

Being
the Baddest Bad guy in the joint had its privileges.

Unless
the Jabberwocky was in here, not much could slow Marrok down.

“We
have to find Drusilla.”  Scarlett pushed back a handful of spectacularly shiny
hair.  “I can’t leave without my sister.”

“I
know.”  Given Letty’s softhearted tendencies, she wouldn’t want to leave
without
any
of her ragtag crew.  “Don’t worry.  They’ll meet us in the
library.”  Baddies understood the importance of self-preservation.  He fully
expected them to be ready and waiting to go.

If
they hadn’t left already.

A
who’s-who of the criminal elite were also heading for the exit: Hansel and
Gretel the serial-killing conjoined twins.  The man-eating Ugly Duckling.  Miss
Muffet, the Arachnid Queen, and dozens of others.  They were all rapidly
adjusting to their change in circumstances and reclaiming their “normal” lives…
Which meant people were about to die.

Fights
were already breaking out among the inmates.  Powers began charging the air. 
Angry words mixed with maniacal laughter.

From
the corner of his eye, Marrok saw a dwarf guard scramble into an empty cell and
slam the door shut behind him.  Hopefully, the staff would stay out of the way
for the next fifteen minutes or so.  For their own good, all the guards and
doctors and nurses who’d tormented and imprisoned the Bad folk needed to hide.

The
lunatics had taken over the asylum.

Before
his escape, Trevelyan opened up in our private sessions, revealing a deep anger
towards Marrok.

It
seems the two of them had a falling out, and the dragon feels betrayed.

What
kind of idiot would betray a dragon?

Psychiatric
case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae

If
the dungeon had been madness, the main hospital floor was complete anarchy.

Scarlett
stayed glued to Marrok’s side as he fought their way through the throng.  His
massive and intimidating wolf-self shielded her from the blasts of magic and
fights and random rampaging.  She’d never seen him play Wolfball, but she
suddenly understood why he’d dominated the field.  Even criminally insane
people took one look at him and stayed back.

Scarlett
herself wasn’t afraid of him, at all.

Intellectually,
she knew Marrok was fearsome looking, but the black tendrils of mist were oddly
attractive to her.  His perfect face was still partially visible in the wolf,
the angles harsher and shadowed.  He was beautiful.  She felt safe beside him,
even in the midst of the chaos.

A
gnome with a long wart-covered nose threw a chair through the window of Dr.
White’s office, glass flying everywhere.  Instantly, more inmates were forcing
the door open and scrambling inside.  Papers were ripped from file cabinets and
trophy cases full of psychiatric awards were toppled to the ground.  The sound
of magic mirrors smashing joined the chorus of shouting and assorted noise.

Scarlett
couldn’t say she felt bad about the destruction.

Dr.
White ruled the WUB Club like her own personal fiefdom, mistreating and
exploiting the inmates she was supposed to help.  The woman was no doubt
planning to help Cinderella kill her as soon as Scarlett handed over the
slipper.  Plus, she’d pawed at Marrok, making him uncomfortable and ashamed. 
For that alone, the doctor deserved everything coming to her at the hands of
the mob.

Letty
hated Snow White.

That
had
to prove she was Bad, right?

“
Shit.
” 
Marrok skidded to a halt so fast that Scarlett bumped into him.

Ahead
of them, some chortling fire imps had torched the floor.  Flames were blocking
the entire hallway, licking up the walls.  There was no way anyone was getting
through that… and it was the best route to the library.

“Shit!”
 Scarlett agreed, looking around desperately.  “We’ll have to go through the
recreation room.”  They didn’t have a choice.

Marrok
quickly changed directions and headed the other way.  “This whole thing would
be a lot easier without the other felons getting in our way.”

Scarlett
had to agree.  She’d had no idea so many people were actually housed in the WUB
Club.  With the electricity gone and their powers unleashed, there were
countless unstable people looking for payback on their oppressors.  Most of
them were just rioting for the fun of it, but a few were intent on getting
free.

The
new path led Marrok and Letty passed the front door to the WUB Club where Benji
had escaped earlier.  As Scarlett watched, a red goblin dashed passed the
security door and was summarily shot down by a dwarf guard barricaded behind
the check-in desk.

Letty
cringed in horror.  “Oh God!”

On
autopilot, the goblin rushed forward a few more steps before his body collapsed
into an awkward heap.  At least five other dead and dying inmates were lying
around him.  The guard quickly reloaded, randomly firing at everything he saw.

“I
wa
s going to suggest we just walk out the front door.”  Marrok shook his
head.  “I’ve reconsidered.”

“All
the weapons are right there in the security office.”  Scarlett felt terrible
about the carnage and the waste.  “That’s the
worst
way to get out.”

“Crazy
people aren’t known for their planning skills.”  Marrok jerked at thumb at tiny
Thumbelina who was trying to rip the iron bars off a window with her bare hands.

Scarlett
would’ve suggested that she head for the library, but Thumbelina was a venomous
monster who was better off locked up.  No one wanted a repeat of the Neverland
massacre.  Her blood feud with Tinkerbelle had orphaned thousands.

It
was difficult to see in the unlit hall.  Scarlett tripped over a mattress
someone had pulled from their room and abandoned.  She hit the ground and instantly
tried to cover her head, afraid that she’d be trampled by the crowd.

Marrok
grabbed her.  He swept her up like she was no heavier than a Wolfball, not even
breaking his stride.

She
clutched hold of his shoulders as he lifted her into his arms.  “I’m okay.  I
can walk.”

Although,
it
was
interesting to touch the dark fog that covered him.  It felt cool
and tickly against her skin.  There were whispers that wolves made love in this
form and it heightened the pleasure.  She had the wrong and random thought that
it would be fascinating to kiss him and test the theory for herself.

Marrok
ignored Scarlett’s prompting to put her down.  He carried her right into the rec
room, where a leprechaun was busily stealing the TV.  The little guy carted it
off, the plug dragging on the floor behind him.  God only knew what he intended
to do with it.

Two
seconds after they crossed the threshold, Marrok’s body went tense.  He gave a
growl of pure hate, his head swiveling towards the opposite side of the room. 
Scarlett couldn’t see anything, but she sensed that they weren’t alone.

“Did
you really think
yarn
could hold me?”  Dower taunted.

He
stepped from the darkness, blocking the door to the library.  Several other
wolves were by his side.  Scarlett recognized that two of them were Richardson
and the blond guy who’d punched her.  They were all in wolf form, their skin
shifting like low-hanging fog.