Morgana let the crowd's noise run until it wore itself out, and then she let it run a little longer."Sparta City," she said.Sixty thousand people went quiet so fast that Jack heard a glass being set down four rows away.Her voice through the system was low and unhurried, and it stayed level for the next four minutes."Selena Hart crossed a continent to sing in a city your governments have spent thirty years telling you is dangerous."She paused."She is still alive and safe. Do thank her on the way out."The hall laughed. Thousands on the streets and in their homes laughed with them."My son and daughter are in the glass box above this stage.""Kaiser has waited two years for tonight. Jill has held on for longer."For a moment, something almost warm showed in her eyes above the veil. Then it was gone."Tonight represents a watershed in Sparta City's history."Jack stood against the wall by the door with his arms folded and let all of it go past him."Forty-one countries sent their re

The Obsidian Palace rose from the highest ground in Sparta City, with millions of people spread out below it. It was Morgana's seat of power, Sparta's answer to Fort Cromwell in Springfield.Jack Hardy walked in through the east gate with Selena Hart holding his arm. Morgana's summons had reached her hotel at eight, and it wasn't a request.A thin official in gray led them down a long corridor and recited the rules without once looking back at them."Don't argue, misbehave, or act smart in the Mayoress's presence. Don't refuse anything she offers, and if you want to stay alive, don't mention Springfield."Jack's thoughts were elsewhere.Morgana said my parents won't be a problem much longer. What did she mean by that? I need to investigate where she has kept them.Selena had talked through a shooting the night before. But she hadn't made a sound since they entered the Mayoress's estate. Her fingers dug into Jack's arm with every step. She was terrified of the woman.The doors were blac

At the southern gate outpost, Jack rolled the borrowed police bike up to the barrier and put a boot down.Two gate guards turned on him together. The taller one looked at the bike, then at the dark glasses, then at the plain jacket."Are you a beat cop from the city? The road's shut. Turn it around and go back.""I'm here to see Captain Brakus."The shorter one snorted. "Everybody is here to see Captain Brakus. Farmers. Traders. Women with paperwork. The Captain is too busy for common trash.""He'll see me. I'm the personal bodyguard to Mayoress Morgana's daughter."The two of them looked at each other. Then the taller one laughed in his face, loud enough that the man on the watchtower turned around to find out what it was."The Mayoress's daughter," he said. "Of course you are. And I'm married to the Mayoress."Jack's expression stayed flat. "Scan me and stop wasting your morning."The shorter one pulled the scanner off his belt, more to end the conversation than to check anything. He

The taser fired with a loud snap. Two barbed prongs hit Jack in the chest, and the fighter crushed the trigger down to full power."Go down, bodyguard!"Electricity crackled along the wires. Blue sparks jumped across Jack's jacket.At the same moment, the tranquilizer rifle coughed three times. Three darts struck his neck and shoulder.The third fighter hurled the tear gas canister at his feet. It burst with a hiss, and thick white gas swallowed the middle of the pit.The children on the lowest row screamed and covered their faces as the gas rolled over the edge and stung their eyes. An older girl pulled a coughing toddler into her lap and pressed his face against her shirt."Got him!" the taser man howled.He kept his thumb jammed on the trigger."My device has enough juice to kill a bull, and he's getting all of it!"The tranquilizer rifle man laughed."One of my darts can knock out a horse. He's got three of them. He'll be drooling in the dirt."The canister man cracked his knuckle

Jill was waiting at the gates of the Obsidian Palace.She stood alone between the guards in her plain gray dress, looking like an abandoned princess. Her eyes were red and swollen.When she saw Jack walking up the drive, she ran down to meet him.She blurted out, out of breath, "Are the children all right? Did that pig Brakus hurt any of them?""They're safe. I put them on the road out of Sparta myself. Nobody will touch them again."Jill pressed her hand over her mouth. For a second she couldn't speak."And you'll be safe at home soon too," Jack added quietly. "Your real home."She didn't understand what he meant. She just took his hand and held it tight."Thank you for everything you've done for me."Jack hesitated. "Do you know why your mother summoned me?"Her face crumpled again. "I heard about the black summons. I'm so sorry. It's my fault. If I hadn't sent you to that post..."Jack shook his head."Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Have some rest. The days ahead are stormy."