Chapter 5

uyegiuhadh ugh

 

   I lean forward to see around the kids beside me and out the window. Terra wasn’t kidding-at least every two cars that pass by contain three or four of those soldiers. Looking at them makes me want to do some sort of crazy stunt, like jump across to their car while still in the air, bust in the windshield, and punch each one of them right in the face.

   I’m happy Demitri isn’t bothering to take away that fury; I’m having too much fun envisioning what I’m going to do to those guys if I ever get the chance.

   When I get the chance. I’ll come across a few when I go to save Zane-which no one can stop me from doing. I just don’t think he’s very suited to being held hostage… He gets…antsy.

   “If these soldiers are all from Munganso, that’s where they took their hostages, right?” I ask, using the mirror to frown at Demitri.

   “Likely.” He lets his eyes dart over to Jace, who tells him something using the only language he can. “Jace would like if you duck down. He says… your hair is like a beacon. Anyone could see it for miles.”

   I’m insulted. I like my hair… No, that’s a lie, but I’m not going to sit here and let someone-nevertheless one of the guys who technically kidnapped me-poke fun at me. “It’s getting dark. No one will be able to see me. Besides, there’s no room back here to lie down.”

   “Jace says that there are things called lights, and this city has a lot of them.”

   “There’s no room.”

   Terra reaches up to grab my sleeve and tugs on it. “You can lie on my lap! We’ll be like best friends!” She flashes her teeth and pulls her long hair so that it’s all hanging over one shoulder.

   I don’t know any best friends who lay on each other, but her smile is so sincere I can’t bring myself to tell her that. Jace twists around in his seat to give me a smug look I feel like punching right off him.

   Maybe hanging out with these people isn’t a good idea (not that it is anyway). I keep getting the urge to slam my fist into people’s faces.

   And so I lay there awkwardly, bent over at an angle that really hurts, for what seems like forever until we finally come to a stop and lower to the ground.

   Demitri turns off the car, and we all hop out…but only after the two guys open the back doors for us. Stupid child safety locks. Do I look like a kid?

   The place we’re in front of is surprisingly normal-a two-story with a nice lawn. Terra laughs and runs up to the porch, banging on the door with one hand and pressing the doorbell too many times with the other.

   A surprised-looking man with graying hair pulls back the door, hugging Terra when she slams into him and gazing over and past her to us.

   “Oh… Demitri. Why are you here? Not that you’re not welcome, of course, but I just dropped them off over there not long ago. Are you busy?” he calls over and grins when he catches sight of Jace. “Hey there, Elf boy! Come to visit? Oh, who’s your friend?”

   Jace waves to him and pushes me forward; I stumble, barely escaping from falling over and skinning my hands open. I look up at the man and put on a sheepish smile.

   “Uh… Colette. I’m Colette.” I sound afraid, I note, and grimace at that realization. The man hoists Terra up into his arms and hops down the steps into his grass. He shifts the girl’s weight so he can hold out a hand to me. I hesitate before taking it, and he shakes it once.

   “I’m Joseph, but you can call me Joey. Sometimes I forget my name really is Joseph because no one calls me that,” he says, dropping my hand and holding Terra with both of his.

   “Joseph, is Melinda home?” Demitri asks, watching our exchange.

   “But then my son comes along and reminds me what my name really is,” Joey murmurs in a hushed voice and gives me a wink. He turns to Demitri and nods stiffly, his smile fading a little. “Uh… Yeah, she just got back. Good timing. She’s inside…”

   “Thank you.” Demitri heads toward the house, holding the door for Tess as she bobs on inside. The screen bangs closed behind them.

   “But where are my manners? Jace, Colette, please come on in. No reason for you two to stand out here in the cold and the dark,” Joey says, gesturing for me to go on ahead of him.

   I don’t feel safe with someone-especially a stranger-walking behind me, but I honestly don’t feel safe at all lately anyway so I step up to the door. Jace holds it for Demitri’s dad and me, and I shiver off the cold I didn’t know I was feeling as the heat in the house hugs me.

   We’re in a tight hallway that turns into a living room a few feet away. I walk forward and peer in.

   I really expected more from the Kaen family’s home, but I have to admit it’s kind of nice. A woman with dark hair too like the twins’ and Demitri’s to not be their mother is sitting on the couch, listening to her son with an expressionless face. She tilts her head to look at me as Joey moves to her side and sets down Terra, and…

   She’s one of them. Those Daemn. I quickly move my eyes away from hers. How did I not notice that in all the meetings we’ve had with her? Then again, she always wore glasses to those. I see why now.

   “Yes,” she says, “Take her to my room and have her take as much as she needs.”

   “No, that’s fine,” I intervene too quickly. I shift my weight a little nervously as everyone looks over to me. “I don’t need your stuff. I have stuff; I’m cool with going to my-“

   “You can’t,” Demitri interrupts and stands. He heads down a set of stairs into what I’m guessing is a basement.

   “Better follow him,” Joey remarks, and with a huge sigh, I trot down after him. I catch sight of him moving into a room not far away and hurry over to keep up.

   “I can’t just take your mom’s stuff,” I tell him… except he’s not here. What the… Where could he-I nod when I notice a closet cracked open across the bedroom and slide in…

   To one of the most giant rooms I’ve ever been in. I’m not sure how it fits under the house, and I wonder if Joey used some kind of spell to create it.

   Clothes line all the shelves and hang from racks above, ranging from torn-up t-shirts to backless dresses. Demitri throws a pair of jeans at me, and they hit me in the face. I pull them off and look at them warily.

   “Based on your current dress, this would suit your liking,” he says and begins searching through more shelves.

   “Based on my… Hey, what does that mean?!”

   “I’m predicting what you would like to wear. Unless you… want to try something new?” He pulls a frilly dress with ribbons all over it down from a hangar and holds it out. “Perhaps you’d like to try this then?”

   I make a face. “No thanks. I’ll stick with the jeans, I think.”

   “I see.” He hangs the dress back up and tosses a blue-striped tank-top to me instead.

   “Your mom has a lot of clothes,” I murmur as he begins piling jean shorts and a t-shirt with some kind of alchemy symbol into my arms.

   “Joseph likes to buy her trinkets and other things,” he replies, pulling open a drawer and tossing several pairs of socks to me.

   “He bought all this?”

   “Yes.”

   “Why?”

   Demitri tilts his head-I’m starting to notice he does it when trying to comprehend emotions-and pulls a sweater off a shelf to give to me.

   “I believe he…wishes to win Melinda’s heart.” He hands me another pair of jeans but realizes I can’t grab it with all the other clothes I’m holding and just lets it flop onto the pile.

   “But he can’t,” I press, curious now.

   “He can’t,” Demitri agrees, “Melinda is a Daemn.”

   “Is that why you’re one?”

   “Yes.”

   “But your sisters aren’t?”

   “No.”

   “Why’s that?”

   He holds up a bra by a strap, and I can almost see myself turning red. He places it on the pile and pulls away my embarrassment without any change in expression. It’s got to be the only time so far I’ve ever been thankful he steals my emotions.

   “They didn’t inherit the genes, I suppose,” he replies, dropping a pile of assorted clothing onto me and leading the way out. He makes a stop at a bathroom to throw a hairbrush, a toothbrush, some toothpaste and soap, and a deodorant at me.

   “Is that good?”

   “Some would say so. If you want to change, do so quickly. We must leave as soon as possible. I’ll bring down your bag,” he says and leaves me alone in the flickering light of the basement.

   I sigh and lock myself in the bathroom, changing into the jean shorts and a T-shirt with a funny design on the back.

   I run the brush through my hair, but it ends up looking more unkempt than before, and I pull open the door. Demitri is standing right there; I almost run into him.

   “For the love of-How long were you standing there?” I cry, backing into the small room again.

   “Not long.” He follows me in and begins carelessly throwing everything into the bag he brought down. “Are you ready to leave?”

   “No.”

   “We must.”

   “I-“

   “It’s as I predicted. They’re keeping citizens from leaving the city under the pretense of a dangerous creature outside it. Joseph could not leave to perform his work in another city. We must leave as quickly as possible.” He zips up the backpack and hands it to me; I take it and sling it over my shoulder.

   “Alright. I guess,” I mutter and follow him upstairs.

   And to who knows where else?

 

----

 

   I hate this.
   Really, I do. Why do I have to stay cramped in this small space on the floor in front of the back seat of this dirty, grimy-
   “What business do you have?” a low voice growls from outside the car. I stiffen, suddenly afraid to even breathe. It’s not much of a loss, the way this thing smells, actually.
   “We’ve never needed to tell others about our personal lives to leave the city before,” Demitri notes, sounding almost like he’s talking to himself.
   “Times are changing, kid,” the voice I don’t have a face for mutters in response. I think I hear him patting the car with a little too much force.
   “I see.” The Daemn doesn’t sound convinced by this explanation, not anymore than I was with Jace’s. Oh yeah. I still have to talk to him about that...
   “So you understand that we need to know your business,” the voice says, like that’s the obvious conclusion to come to.
   “We dissent.” I grimace, but I kind of want to laugh at how straightforward he is. I guess he really doesn’t feel fear.
   “You can’t dissent,” the guy demands, saying the last word like it’s a personal insult, “There’s a beast out there. We have to know what you’re doing to see if it’s worth it for you to leave.”
   “Why let anyone leave if it’s possible they can be killed?” Demitri leans in his seat in such a way that it pinches my legs I bite back a squeal. It wouldn’t be very cool to make a sound like that anyway, and I feel like this is a moment in my life to be cool. Stay cool.
   “Some people...uh . . . have business that... it’s necessary to risk their life to perform it. Not even the law can stop them from doing what is required.”
   “Our business is necessary.”
   “Then what is it, if you’re so high and mighty and important,” the soldier says, his voice ringing with sickening sarcasm.
   “We’ve never needed to tell others about our-”
   “Oh, shut up. There’s a monster that loves to eat kids like you, so run along and play.” He doesn’t say it like he’s talking to a kid but like he’s mocking our driver.
   “Wouldn’t such a monster be all over the news? Even rumours about it would spread... Surely I’d have heard word about it before now?” Demitri’s voice isn’t challenging, but it’s so obviously a challenge that I bite down on my lip to keep from saying something against it. He shouldn’t do that. Look what they did to all those people just a few nights ago, and they never said anything to provoke them. He’s being stupid.
   Can Daemn even be stupid?
   “We’re trying to keep the public calm,” the soldier snarls, banging the door once. By the way he curses I’d say he did it with his bare hand.
   “We’ve always been notified of threats, for our safety. Why should this change now?”
   “Because we’re changing you for the better, that’s why!”
   “Changing us to ignorant civilians? I don’t see much a benefit in this. We’ll be even more helpless in times of danger without the knowledge of what we’re facing.”
   “There’s a monster out there, whether or not we informed the news or the people, so you’re not going anywhere, kid.” I can almost see his face twisted in rage, which is funny because I still can’t imagine what he looks like. I see something between a bear and a bee.
   “There is no monster,” Demitri says calmly, as if trying to soothe a kid who’s crying because of a beast in his closet.
   “You’re not getting by here, even if there’s not a monster, until I know why you want by here so bad.”
I shift my weight, trying to be slow and subtle about it. I really don’t want him to freak out about something in the back moving and him having to search the car.
   “Our business is ours.”
   “Then you can’t pass by here. Return to your home.”
   I really want to peek, to see who’s talking. I know it must be one of those Munganso soldiers, but I want to look at his face. I want to see if I recognize it so I can... what? Lean up and jab his eyes? That’s not a dead giveaway at all...
   “We must pass by here.” His voice is the same as ever-no hint of anger or frustration.

   “Why’s that, kid?” The soldier, however, sounds about ready to start screaming in rage.

   “We’ve never needed to tell others about our personal lives to leave the city before.” The car engine revs, like Demitri is about ready to just continue flying along even with this guy pretty much halfway inside the car.
   “You listen here, kid. No one passes by here without my authorization, and no brat like you’s gonna get that. Now get out of here before I give you a ticket for defying the law.”
   I want to sock him in the face-again, I really need to reconsider the company I keep- but I can’t. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. I have to stay hidden, like a good girl, because I’m the reason they’re here. Supposedly.
   I can’t. I scream it at myself mentally, but I’m moving anyway. I seem to be doing a lot of that the past two days-acting on impulse even though I think it through.
   “Last time I checked, a bunch of foreign idiots weren’t the law. So I suggest you get out of the car before you’re ripped in half while we drive off,” I retort, feeling like I’m spitting out the words at the guy.
   He opens his mouth like he’s going to argue, but he looks at me and his jaw closes right up. I feel I should be satisfied with that response, but I’m not. I’m more frightened by it.
   He continues staring at me while he pulls something like a cell phone from the car he’s hovering beside us in, like I’ll vanish in a cloud of dust if he takes his eyes off me.

   “Uh... We’ve got it,” he murmurs into the device, suddenly sounding a lot less bossy and a lot more horrified.
   “Colette,” Demitri says, meeting my gaze briefly in the mirror, “you’re incredibly reckless. I doubt my driving skills are well-developed enough to not be involved in an accident during a high-speed chase.”
   “We’re going to be in a high-speed chase?” I muse over this, feeling something like chagrin, but I shove it aside to make room for a sudden flurry of excitement.
   Wait, did my eyes just flash? I eye my reflection in the mirror. I’m almost certain they did-like lightning or something.
   “No, you’re not,” the soldier mutters, throwing the phone into the vehicle behind him and pulling a gun into ours from somewhere on his hip. It’s not like the weapons they had at the diner-the big, overkill ones-just a little handgun. But it shines with something more feral, as if daring someone to tell it that it’s less dangerous than its much larger cousins.
   He leans further in so that he’s pretty much dangling over our car, leaving his to sit there in neutral, and he pushes his arm right by Demitri’s cheek.

  And he’s pointing that thing at me, a determined expression developing as he does so. He’s pointing a gun at my head. I knew I was going to die. I knew it.
   The moment between the barrel touching my forehead and his finger twitching on the trigger has got to be the longest of my life. It’s at least long enough that I can swear to every deity out there that my life is about to end. Over and over... And I don’t even believe in any of them. Fear does funny things to people.
   Then I’m slammed back against the seat so hard my face... I’m pretty sure it’s flattened permanently on my left side. The bullet flies awry as the soldier is yanked and set off balance so that he’s clinging to the steering wheel for his life. Demitri seems unbothered by this and easily dodges another car as it flies at us, horn blaring.
   Jace reaches between his arms, somehow not disturbing his driving (Then again, if the weight of a full-grown, maybe over-grown, man dangling from his steering wheel isn’t messing him up, I don’t know if anything will.) and begins plucking the soldier’s fingers off the wheel. One by one, like in cartoons, except he keeps grip on the digits he’s pried off to make sure he doesn’t grab back on.
   The soldier makes a horrible sound I associate with bad horror movies as his hands come free and Jace slides the gun from them. With a grin that’s falsely apologetic, he opens his own hands wide, letting the guy drop. For a brief second, he manages to catch himself on the open window, but after a pitiful whimper, he loses grip and disappears.

   Well, he may not be in half, but my threat wasn’t entirely a lie.
   I don’t look behind to watch what I know is happening. The fact that something inside me is yelling at me to do so... That’s reason enough to restrain myself. I’m starting to like whatever part of me that is less and less-and I hated it to begin with.
   “High-speed chase?” I wonder out loud.
   “Probable.” Demitri flips the car over another and pulls around a building, eyes narrowing at the signs flying by too fast to read.
   “I thought your driving skills weren’t good enough for this?”
   “Jace wants you to put on your seatbelt.”
   “What?! Aren’t you supposed to be watching the road? Not him?” I frown at him in disbelief and a brief shot of panic, and Jace turns his head to look at me Out of the corner of his eye. And in that look, I can tell that Demitri isn’t the only one who doubts his driving ability.
   I slide so I can get a buckle on, managing to click it into place for once in my life. Jace’s expression drained away the excitement I was feeling, so now I’m left to clutch at the seat and hope I don’t throw up.
   Demitri makes a sharp turn, and I flung against the restraint. He presses down on the gas pedal, the engine roars angrily, and I’m tossed back against the seat again.
   I feel like a rag doll.
   Sirens come forward amongst all the noise car horns are making as we speed around them like maniacs. I think some people are even leaning out their windows to cuss us out, but they stop when those stupid Munganso guys come around a skyscraper and charge after us. I face forward again and swallow what I hope is my horror at this whole thing.
   “They’re going a lot faster than us,” I tell our driver, and he doesn’t bother to give my comment recognition. I get the feeling that this car doesn’t go any faster than it is.
   One of the whining vehicles pulls up beside us and rams into us. This time, the seatbelt cuts into my skin I slam against it so hard, and I let a wheeze come from my lips.

   Ow. Ow, ow, ow.
   I choose to ignore the thin line of blood spurting from the slit across my chest and gape at the guy driving the police car. How did they get those? I don’t think they’d steal from our city’s cops, but then again they did bust down the diner, and as I look at that guy, I see little more than a crazed monster. I wonder if he’s the monster that other man was warning us about if we decide to go further. He looks so desperate, the city lights glowing in his bulging eyes, that it’s not even funny.
   If somehow anything about this whole thing could be humorous. I look away, wishing I hadn’t seen him.
   Yeah, they definitely stole those from our cops.
   Another one of them reaches the end of our car and bashes into the rear, driving us around so we’re facing backwards. Demitri turns the wheel in a way I wouldn’t think of at a time like this, and we somehow get to facing the right direction again. With a hand movement from Jace as he suggests something in his silent way, Demitri pulls on the shifter, and we fall from the sky, my stomach feeling like it’s inside my mouth, like I’m riding a drop tower.
   The car jolts to an unsteady halt near the ground, and Demitri pushes the pedal until it taps the floor.
I’m going to have whiplash.

   We dart around a building, and Demitri flips the car on its side so we can fit in the thin alley. I fall against the door, willing it to stay closed with all the hope I can possibly contain. When we straighten out again, the sirens have faded a little, and I unstuck my fingers from where they’re clinging to the seat so tight it hurts to remove them.

   “Uh, what are we going to do now?” I ask, voice shaky, as we fly forward down one of the many abandoned streets that reside in the south part of town.

   “Leave,” Demitri answers. His eyes dart to look in the mirror, and in the same instant, I catch sight of the car, sitting sideways in front of us.

   Before I can even comprehend what I’m seeing to shout a warning, we collide with it. Actually, it’s more like we smash it like it’s a slab of clay. The soldier in the driver’s seat… I’m pretty sure he’s dead.

   We flip over the car, and not even our vehicle’s mechanisms can keep us from the greed of gravity as it yanks the hunk of metal and its passengers to the pavement. Glass shatters, and we slide, the roof and the road making a horrible sound as they scrape together.

   In the stillness that follows, my brain strains to make sense of why I’m dangling upside-down and why glass-what is that, dust? Crystals?-is raining down around me. It’s silent.

   Until I hear shouts, not screams-not in the part of the city. I’m still trying to make sense of what just happened when someone reaches in through what used to be the window and wraps their hand around my arm firmly. Whoever it is tries to pull me out, but the seatbelt is tying me down…up…whatever.

   At this point, I really don’t care who it is; I just want out. I scramble to find the place where the restraint is latched and press down on its center. It flies back into place, and I drop down onto the roof, my head throbbing as it bangs on the metal. I’m dragged through the opening, the sharp shards of glass cutting into my side.

   More hands than two are helping me sit up, wrapping a t-shirt around a cut in my arm I don’t even want to know is there. And I thought that injury on my shoulder was bad.

   As my eyes focus, I see a group of guys that have gang symbols tattooed on their skin trying to get Jace and Demitri out of the wreck. When I take a glance over my shoulder, I also see a bunch of military people running toward us. And the guns they’re carrying aren’t small and feral-they’re giant and proud of it.

   These foreign people pick the worst times to barge in and destroy everything. I glance upwards at the police cars lowering down, and I have a bad feeling that they’re not the police I want.

   This is something I can fix though. For now.

   I don’t know any good, useful spells except for one, and that happens to be a shielding spell. I didn’t spend much on it, but the strength of the power doesn’t come from the words you buy but from the caster.

   I’m no where near in standing state yet, not after that, but I think I can do it from the ground. I press the palms of both my hands to the cement and close my eyes, calling on the power inside me. The ancient spell I can’t really tell anyone unless I’m performing the magic slips off my tongue and something is let loose from inside me.

   I can feel it; I’m a part of it, like it’s a part of me. I twist it and put it in place so that it arcs over the wreckage in front of me, and one of the cars hits it overhead, toppling off and into an abandoned building. At least, I hope it’s abandoned.

   I shudder under the impact of it but manage to keep the shield in place. I feel a little smug (Ha! Take that you big, bad Munganso hunters) until I turn back to the smashed car and the two guys I was riding with.

   The gang people have laid them out and are checking their vitals. A couple guys who are still wearing their shirts pull them off and press them to the bloody areas covering the two of them. I manage to my feet, happy it’s actually not hard to do, and scramble over.

   “Oh my-Are they alright?” I stare down in horror at the red dumping out from their heads, arms, legs, everything.

   Demitri’s eyes flick open in a movement so sudden I jump, and he sits up.

   “Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Hold up there. You need medical helps,” one of the gang members says hurriedly, pretty much shouting, and puts a hand on the dark-haired guy’s shoulder.

   Demitri ignores him and takes a quick inventory of the situation, mouth a straight line across his face.

   “I thank whoever put up the shield,” he says, standing. The gang member gapes at him as he pushes by his hand; he looks like someone slapped him.

   “That would be me,” I mutter, annoyed that he assumes it’s not me who did it.

   “Thank you, Colette. It’s-“He frowns at the magic, scrutinizing it, “-powerful.”

   I blink, honestly surprised by this. “Uh… Thanks.”

   He nods and directs his gaze back down to Jace as he comes to. The Elf rolls onto his side and places a hand across his stomach like he’s trying to stop the bleeding that’s already been stopped, and Demitri grabs his elbow.

   “Jace, we must leave. By foot now,” he says, and Jace moves over onto his back again, squinting up at us.

   “Whoa, you guys can’t leave. You shouldn’t even be standing. We called an ambulance. If you just wait-“

   “He’s right,” I murmur tensely, pretending I don’t see Jace’s horrified look at my statement, “We can’t just leave.” I give the group of gun-wielding men outside the shield a dark look. Whether or not I’m some weapon-I doubt I am-they’re after me. And desperate enough to cause all this. “We can’t just leave,” I repeat, “We need to grab all our stuff first. I didn’t go through Melinda Kaen’s closet just to leave it all behind.”

   Something like a celebration goes on across Jace’s face, and everyone from the gang gives me disbelieving looks. While they start trying to talk sense into me, Demitri heads to what remains of his car and crawls as far into it as he has to.

   I summon up the courage that’s been hanging around me since a couple days ago and act deaf to the protests around me; I take the three steps over to Jace and reach down a hand. He blinks at it, seeming for a moment to wonder what it’s for, but wraps his fingers around it and lets me help him up. He sways but maintains his balance as he lets his hand slide out form mine.

   I take in a shaky breath, nearly choking on it as the soldiers begin emptying their weapons onto my shield.

   I have to hold it. I must hold it.

   Damn, what am I doing? Making a decision. I hope it’s my instinct driving me and not that other part. Can I even trust these two? I’m not dead yet.

   I reach Demitri just as he drags the last bag from the back and hands it out to me. I take it and sling it over my shoulder, and Jace does the same with his.

   “You guys are serious? What are you gonna do? You’re too far from any hospital to get there on foot.” The guy seems genuinely worried for our well-being.

   “We wouldn’t go back toward them,” Demitri replies, nodding toward where soldiers from the cars are starting to join in on the shooting at my magic. I cringe, each bullet on the protective barrier and bruise on me.

   The whole group of people on our side (Or I’m assuming they are since they helped us) turn to them, dark thoughts obvious in the way their concern becomes disgust and anger on their faces. “Those guys… Terrorists is what they are. No allies to us,” the guy mutters, his voice a lot less friendly. A murmur of consent goes around the ring of young guys and a couple young women.

   “This is why we must go the other direction.” Demitri angles his body toward the openness beyond the small, crumbling buildings. “Colette, how long can you keep the shield up?”

   I bite my lip, contemplating. I’ve never in my life had to use my magic for something like this on this huge of a scale. I’ve used it maybe twice to keep dry on rainy days. “I don’t know,” I admit, feeling like someone jabbed me in the gut as a real someone drives their car into the spell.

   “Hey, you guys do whatever you have to. We’ll keep them occupied. It’s ‘bout time someone teaches them who really owns these streets.” The gang all nod in approval and someone starts muttering under their breath in a funny language.

   I open my mouth to tell them that they’re all idiots, but one of those police cars flies into the air over an explosion just as the muttering comes to an end.

   “You’re not the only ones with fancy spells. Now scram. This is our fight, and we’re not letting you steal our glory.” He eyes the crumpled vehicle we’re standing beside and something in his fierce expression tenses. “You guys really gonna be alright after that?”

   I don’t think about an answer. If I acknowledge how banged up I am, I won’t be able to give my magic enough power, and those soldiers will have nothing holding them back.

   So I give the guy a grim look and turn away, jogging to keep up with Demitri and Jace, who are already marching off.

   “Where do we go?” I ask, stumbling as a spell is unleashed against my shield by the Munganso people.

   “We have to cross the river. At that point, it will become difficult for them to track us.”

   “The river?! Is it even possible to cross that without drowning?”

   “If you’re careful. It is our only option now.”

   I blow a stand of hair out of my eye as we suddenly break into an all-out run, leaping over rubble and forgotten bricks at first and then logs and uneven rocks as we leave the safety of the city.

   Then again, it’s not exactly safe there for me anymore, is it?

  

----

 

   Jace wanted to sprint. It was in his nature, running, and even if he hadn’t had the longest legs out of the three, he’d still be fastest.

   He couldn’t go all-out though, even though his inner woodland creature begged him to. That was because the other two-put bluntly-were slow. A glance at Demitri proved that the Daemn was even slower than Colette; Jace felt a little bad for being surprised by that. The shield Colette still held up even now as she bled and the roaring water of the river came into sight should have been enough proof that he should stop underestimating her.

   If he hadn’t been able to heal, he himself would have been running pretty slowly, he thought.

   Jace moved the bag on his shoulder so that it stopped trying to slide off him and shot up a rock, leaping off the top without the tiniest thought of slowing down. He landed with a muffled thud and came up short as his feet reached the side of the river.

   The red-head skidded to a halt beside him a few moments later, her breathing uneven and harsh. She watched the river like it might decide to jump out and snatch her away, but Jace thought she must have good reasoning for that. After all, she was chased through the streets by warriors she’d never seen before-that, and many people had drowned in this place over the years.

   Demitri finally caught up, breathing even worse than Colette. His face shone with sweat in the silver moonlight as he examined the area.

   “So… How are we getting past it?” Colette asked, an eyebrow raised expectantly at him.

   Demitri pointed a finger at a zigzag path of rocks just beneath the surface; Colette looked at him like he was insane.

   “You know that water makes things slippery, right? And that those are under water? And the current could still get us even if we don’t fall?”

   “Yes, but we don’t have much choice,” Demitri said, and Colette huffed out a resigned sigh.

   Jace looked away from her and to the rapids, a smile tugging at his lips. Without an okay from Demitri-he didn’t need to listen to that weirdo anyway-he leaped forward, landing on the first rock.

   The water was cold and the rock was slippery, but it was flat and he thought the other two could make it just fine. With a precision only an Elf could have, he hopped across the rest of them and landed on the other side a couple seconds later, turning to face the mage and the Daemn.

   Colette stared at him with her mouth gaped open slightly and her eyes disbelieving. Demitri blinked at him, neither approving nor disapproving.

   Jace motioned for them to follow after him, and he couldn’t help but feel surprised when Colette pressed her lips together in determination and took to the first stone. He grinned encouragingly as she sucked in a gasp and made her way to the next, her arms waving wildly.

   Demitri started after her, looking bored.

   Colette’s foot landed on the edge of the final rock and slipped out from under her. She clenched her teeth, angry instead of frightened, and moved her arms like she could just fly anyway.

   Jace let out a short bit of air from his mouth and leaned forward to wrap his hand around her wrist. He swept her around, guiding her so she fell on the wild grass and weeds instead if the freezing water. She groaned in what he thought must be relief.

   “I should be dead ten times over,” she muttered, using his grip on her to her advantage and hoisting herself to her feet.

   Jace nodded, agreeing with that statement completely. He should be a goner just as many times, if not more.

   Colette swayed suddenly, dangerously close to falling back into the water, and Jace grabbed her shoulder with a frown. If he could, he’s ask why she was deciding to almost faint at this moment in time, but it was almost like she could read his mind.

   “Ugh, sorry,” she murmured, rubbing her forehead with the hand he wasn’t holding hostage, “They destroyed the shield, so… a little dizzy.”

   Jace narrowed his eyes and gazed over her head, half expecting an army of cars with deadly guns hooked on them to appear from the shadows of the night. Demitri landed behind her and followed Jace’s gaze. He shook his head.

   “They’re too late. For now.” He was still very sweaty, but he could breathe now. A shame, Jace thought sourly.

   “Oh good,” Colette said, pulling away from his and looking over the expanse of fields with her hands on her hips. “Can we not run anymore then, because that’s one of the ways I should have died.”

   Jace rolled his eyes and let his lips curl upwards, amused by that. He signed to Demitri.

   We should rest. You look about ready to drop dead yourself.

   I am indeed tired. A little further from the river and in a well-hidden place though. We can’t risk them finding us.

   Right. How long a walk do you estimate we’ll have to get there?

   Two days, if we do not stop.

   Jace nodded and caught sight of Colette watching the exchange, scrutinizing the hand movements.

   “So what does that all mean?” she questioned.

   “We’re going to keep going until we’re certain we’re safe. Then we will rest,” Demitri told her, and she nodded, probably too tired to argue, and walked beside them as the three headed away from the city Jace had lived in for most of the eighteen  years of his life.

Author's Note

Any suggestions?