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"Protests are now illegal! You are to leave the town square iht to free speech?" Roach shouts, and the TV cameras turn on her "Is that your plan? Firsteveryone behind that wall?"

"I won’t ask you again Leave the square immediately!" he says

"Or what?"

He sround, injured but not dead, her blood spilling over the cobbles just like the twin-blood boy’s

"Roach!" Beetle cries

Fury crosses Ash’s face, his nostrils flaring as he looks at the blood splashed on the ground

Sebastian raises his sword, ready to strike her again

"Get the fragg away from her, you son of a bitch!" Ash calls out to Sebastian "You won’t hurt anyone else ever!"

"Who’s going to stop uards on the wall begin to aggressively thu everyone cower Everyone except Sebastian

The huuards and then at Ash

My heart pauses, waiting

A feise people flee just before Ash gives a faint nod

One by one, the Legion guards leap off the wall, black shadows against the stors behind thes land in the square behind Ash

"Guards!" Sebastian yells

The Sentry guards hurriedly regroup around him

The TV cameras continue to film it all

Ash and Sebastian stare across the plaza at each other in a silent standoff, waiting for someone to strike first

37

ASH

"HOW MUCH BLOOD has to be spilled before enough is enough?" I say

Black stor shadows across the square

I think of Tom and Jana, the twin-blood boy, my mother Natalie How many more people have to suffer? I can’t turn a blind eye anymore It’s time for action, even if it means war

"I won’t let you push us around any it on the ground by Sebastian’s feet "This ends right here, right now"

Sebastian draws his sword, and the Legion guards bare their fangs

"Ash, please Don’t do this," Natalie begs

She looks desperately atthe dark bruising on her face My fangs flood with venoain

The first drops of rain begin to fall

"Don’t start a fight you’re going to lose," Sebastian jeers

Beetle comes to stand beside me, a hand over his injured stoht Day takes his hand Roach is the next to join our line, blood dripping down her face, along with several dozen people from Humans for Unity

The raindrops start to fall faster, faster

"You’re still outnu open, and there’s a clamor of footsteps as hundreds of students and teachers file out into the plaza Most stand beside me

"One city united!" some chant

"Doith the Sentry!" others yell

The rest of the students join Sebastian Gregory catchesover ivesaround his sword, clearly thinking the sah me

This ends today

I won’t be a victi sides

"What are you and your friends going to do, nipper?" Sebastian taunts

There’s a crack of thunder, and the rain clouds burst

I charge

Sebastian is caught off guard, not expecting me to finally take a stand He doesn’t have time to raise his sword before I’round, and the sword falls out of his hand, landing beside us

It’s the cue to fight that everyone has been waiting for All hell breaks loose

"Death to the Darklings!" Gregory yells

"No boundaries!" Beetle shouts "One city united!"

Others cry out, "Fight!" at the top of their lungs as the two sides surge toward each other They clash in the middle of the square, in a cacophony of noise

Sebastian and I roll across the cobbles, fists flying

"I’ kill you!" I yell

To inout his front tooth Startled, he e to pin hi at Beetle, but Roach intercepts hiround

"Don’t mess with my kid!" she screa to make sure that whore Natalie suffers for what she’s done," he says

My poison sacs flood with venorasps for his abandoned sword beside us I tilt back s into his throat and--