The corridors were almost empty. This place was a lot more warrenous than the tiny pit stop warehouse. But I quickly came across a main corridor linking the front and back doors, still marked by human regulation EXIT signs. Should I risk it?
I bit my lip. At least it was a straight run to freedom. I could get cornered in any kind of dead end if I went another way.
Screw it.
I looked up and down the corridor. There was a crush at the front of the building where the alarm was loudest, though even back here it was drilling a hole through my eardrums. But no one was watching the other end.
Back door it was.
I sprinted down the corridor. In a few places, a stone bruised the arch or heel of my shoeless feet.
I gritted my teeth, blowtorch-hot pain flashing through my mind. A warning about how much worse the ground outside would be.
Ahead, people yelled over the alarm, asking what’d happened.
Damn it. I couldn’t see them yet, so the guards must be coming down one of the side corridors.
I sprinted faster, hoping they wouldn’t notice me fly by.
‘You!’
Not so lucky. I looked over my shoulder. They were chasing me. No shoes were a dead giveaway I didn’t belong.
I tried to conjure flame or electricity, but my heart was beating wildly, and I couldn’t summon anything close to the calm required. I needed instinctive magic. I had to hope all those theory lessons last term paid off.
I threw my hands towards them, wishing they wouldn’t follow, that they’d be thrown back. And they were. Hard. Into a wall. Both smacked their heads and slumped to the floor.
I faltered and stopped.
What are you doing? Get out of there! They won’t be the only ones coming this way.
I know.
But I had to ken they weren’t dead. I watched for a second. Good. They were still breathing. And the smaller one’s shoes might do for me, in a pinch.
I unlaced them and slipped my feet in. They were loose, but blistered feet were better than what had happened to me – to Avery – last time.
And then I hesitated again, my gut drawing me to look more closely.
Against my instinct to run, the hair on my neck already standing on end, I lingered.
Which was when I spotted a lump in his jacket pocket. A phone.
Grabbing it, I pushed his finger onto the fingerprint sensor, then left him, already turning on the location. In a few seconds, I knew where I was.
I texted the coordinates to Shane, along with a message: ‘I’m here. Women, too. Send cavalry. B xx’
I didn’t have time to go into the depth I wanted, to share how much I missed him, how much I wanted to see Russell and the rest get caught for this. I had to run, before they found me and decided I was better dead after all.
But despite the danger, warmth filled me from the inside out. Shane wouldn’t stop until he’d convinced Inzi and Grim and their boss to come get me. Probably the Delvauxs and their tracker friend, too. I just had to last that long.
Heart pounding, I turned my awkward walk into a loping run, the shoes clumping with each footfall.
Thank hell I didn’t need to be quiet with the racket at the front of this place.
I pushed harder and stared at the doors at the end of the corridor. They’d be locked, but I threw my hands out, hoping for the best.
Fire and air blew the doors off their hinges. I never imagined an exit that dramatic, but I was out of here. The how didn’t matter.
I stepped into the fenced compound. That’s where my creeping hope snuffed out.
Between me and the far fence were two or three hundred metres of open space, and creatures wandered around at will.
My lessons hadn’t gone into all the non-sentient species yet, but the claws dripping with blood and ragged bite marks told me they didn’t play nice.
Creatures roamed in twos, packs, and solo. Most were Animalistic, but some were so thin their skin stretched over their skeletons as they moved.
I tried not to look too close. My lesson had said that some non-sentients would fight to the death at a whisper of a dominance challenge.
Lyall? Which way?
I spotted him circling overhead, more towards the front of the building than my side. Good. That way, he didn’t give me away.
The worst are over here. Head for the fence. Use magic if you have to, but you’ll be faster if you can avoid a fight.
I took a deep breath and moved at a brisk walk, wincing every time the loose shoes scuffed the concrete.
Hiding from the beasts out here was impossible, and if a guard glanced this way, I was completely exposed. So I made do with my hurried walk. Running would bring even more attention. And with all the lights flared to full brightness with the alarm, I couldn’t sneak through the shadows.
Each scuff brought a creature’s eyes. They ranged in size from wolves to elephants, with far more on the larger side than the small. Better for blood collection that way.
My back and face were beaded with sweat, the quick glances from the beasts showing me double rows of serrated teeth, lava-bright fire, a slim, needle-sharp tail…
Step by step, I made it to one hundred metres. Then one fifty. But a pack of muscular horse-sized creatures with wolfish faces and elfishly long ears was crossing my path. Their green, camouflaged bodies and strong jaws weren’t my idea of a prey animal.
I’d have to go around them. I changed my angle to cut past when heat blasted my arm.
I bit my tongue, but a whimper-like squeak made it out of me, and the passing group’s straggler turned and looked, then the rest.
It took a moment to fight past the pain-filled fog. The wolves hadn’t attacked me.
Adrenaline kicked in, and I jumped to the side and twisted to see my attacker.
A blade of terror cut through my lungs, stealing my breath away. It was a barghest. I’d know those burning eyes and the bear-like furred body anywhere.
A ball of flames churned in its clawed paw.
I backed up. Was it playing with me that day in the graveyard, like I thought, or had those broken chains bound its powers?
A wolfish yip and a sudden tug on my stomach stopped my retreat. The wolves had circled us.
Lyall. I have a situation here.
You do. Those are not friendlies.
I know. I’ve met a barghest before. How bad are the others?
The pack will attack if you’re aggressive.
So I can’t defend myself?
I faced down my odds. Fifty metres and a fence to scale, versus a pack of oversized wolves and a bear-like beast with searing sharp claws and fire magic.
Well, I wasn’t dead yet.
The barghest roared and lunged.
I jumped back, among the wolves, and was scaling one before I’d thought it through.
It nipped back at me, whipping its head around, but it’d take real effort to sink its teeth in at this angle.
The barghest paused a few metres away, its flaming eyes blazing a hole through me.
For now, the wolves held him in place, but the pack weren’t happy with me.
The wolves on either side growled low in their bellies, their tails snapping through the air.
I needed a plan. Fast.
The barghest threw a fireball, then another. I ducked and twisted, but the third singed my shoulder, burning through my jacket. It was finding its range.
Snapping and howling at the barghest, the pack backed up. Away from the fence, towards the building.
Not the direction I wanted.
A fifth fireball caught the creature I was on. The stench of burning fur filled my nose. He whimpered and bucked, rising onto his hind legs to throw me off, then he collapsed.
I jumped before he rolled to put out the smouldering flames and ran for the fence.
Snaps, growls, and thumping feet chased, but I made it to the fence in one piece. It rose high above me, and closer up, its multicoloured hue was clear. Damn it.
Lyall… The arse lickers spelled the fence.
The running feet behind me slowed.
I turned around.
The barghest had found two friends, and their red-orange fiery eyes were turning blue. Not good. I couldn’t play dodgeball for long with that many.
Lyall!
A pause. How did you manage that?
What can I do? They look mad.
Were these the same barghests Kaylee and I had fought in the graveyard?
Lyall fluttered down from the rooftop.
Hurry. Air shifters got the new creatures under control.
I wanted to strangle him and demand a plan, but I was the one with magic. I needed to use it. I thought through my different options, listening carefully to my gut.
Fighting my way out had the least wrenching response.
Magic-wise, fire was my strongest element after spirit. Then air. I could try pushing them back, but the pack were watching from a safe distance. The moment I attacked, they’d pounce. And pushing back that many creatures with that much weight would be like trying to shove a cruise ship. Not happening.
Do you ken what the fence does?
The most common boundary spells are reflection magic.
Okay, so blowing a hole in the fence was a very bad idea. Getting over or under it’d be my best bet.
I tapped my hand lightly on the metal, and it zapped so hard my hand jerked backwards. Must be electrified, too.
I was running out of time. The more I stood here thinking about this, the closer the wolves crept.
One wolf pawed the ground, its claws sinking deep.
I swallowed hard, remembering the last slide of drool on my neck before they tore it out…
Three fireballs flew towards my chest from different angles.
No way I could dodge them, so I threw my hands up and hoped I wouldn’t get hit.
Air dispersed the flames behind me, like a shield. Hell yes for instinctive magic.
Lyall, can you keep the shield around me?
I deepened my breathing and concentrated on the feel of air, the sun, the ground, the shoes rubbing on my feet. All those meditation techniques to sink into my meeting with Avery would help me stay calm enough to maintain the shield. They had to.
I’ve got it.
I ran behind one of the wolf creatures and smacked its arse, my shield dispersing another six fireballs and a wolf snap on the way.
The wolf tried to run, but I used air to block it.
Bianca…
I ignored Lyall and used air to force the wolf to the fence. The moment it touched the wires it went down, knocked out.
And then two fireballs slammed into my back. They seared holes in my jacket. I tore it off before the fire ate into my skin and hurried back to the fence, dodging more fireballs.
What the hell happened to my shield?
The barghests’ teeth were in a spiky grin now they’d found their mark. They were far more sentient than I first thought.
I can’t shield and move the wolves. Pick one.
Shit.
The wolves’ fur stood on end, their growls creating a stereo-like sound, pushing at me from all sides.
Two flew forward.
I threw fireballs, pulled the ground from beneath them, and stole their air. I couldn’t hold all the air back from their mouths and noses for long, but it was enough for them to grow clumsy.
The barghests chucked fireballs at me while my shield was down and loped forward, claws out.
I dropped the wolves for my shield, but I couldn’t keep this up forever. One of them would get through. The wolves were already shaking themselves off.
And it was quiet. Too quiet. The alarm had stopped.
A figure hurried this way.
‘Move! Get over the fence!’ Eugene threw fireballs at the remaining creatures near me. ‘Go! The spell is down. Power’s out. I’ll keep them back.’
I looked again at the fence and, sure enough, it was just metal now. I probed my spirit powers but didn’t get an adverse reaction to Eugene’s help. So I used the back of the downed wolf as a boost, then grabbed the wire fence and hauled myself up and over, lowering then dropping to the ground on the other side, my ankles throbbing.
Eugene was halfway across the courtyard, most the wolves out cold and the barghests flinging fireballs at him, their fur singed.
But other creatures were coming back this way now the disturbance at the door had been dealt with. Dozens of them.
Guards poured out the back doors, pointing at me and Eugene.
Russell yelled something from behind the lot of them and pushed to the front.
He jabbed his finger at me and spoke to his men, then he advanced on his nephew.
Eugene didn’t move an inch, his wide eyes still watching me. Russell had trapped him with air magic.
I didn’t have the power to defeat Russell, and we both knew it.
I couldn’t wait either. One set of guards were running to the fence, air specialists protecting them from non-sentient fae, and the other were heading for an outbuilding with heavy chains wrapped around the lock. I hadn’t noticed it before, but the searing pain in my gut told me to run.
But I felt rooted to the spot. I couldn’t leave Eugene to his uncle.
His lips moved, mouthing something.
A moment later, the fence was spelled again. Eugene trapped himself in there.
I shook my head, searching his eyes. ‘Run,’ he mouthed.
The guards Russell sent for me were at the fence, calling for someone to undo the spell.
Still, I couldn’t look away. I didn’t believe Eugene would sacrifice so much for me.
Russell walked to his nephew’s side, whispered something in his ear, and then Eugene was moving, closer and closer to the wolves. They were in a frenzy, teeth gnashing and saliva flying. Their packmate was hurt. People were in their territory. And they couldn’t get to any of them.
Almost tentatively, a wolf swiped at Eugene’s hand, but he wasn’t shielded. Blood spurted out, and the wolves howled. They snapped at him, here and there, and Eugene fell to his knees, a glass-shattering scream tearing out of his throat.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I ran.
Whatever Eugene did in his life, he’d saved me, and I couldn’t honour that with my death, frozen to the spot with my own stupid fear.
My borrowed shoes dug into my feet, but I kept going, plunging into the woods.
My breath came in gasps after a few minutes.
Another few minutes stretched by. I wasn’t covering enough ground. I clutched the new stitch in my side and blocked out the pain, focusing on my breath. And my gut. The thought of going back or left filled me with dread, but forward and right were fine.
Lyall, can you see which way is better from up there?
Can’t see any roads yet. Your guess is as good as mine.
I heard the worry in his voice and used it to spur me on. I couldn’t give in.
Branches and leaves tore at my arms and caught in my hair, but I ripped myself free and ran until the thudding of my boots and my gasping breaths settled into a steady rhythm.
After another mile or so a familiar roar and a keening cry split my eardrums. The barghests were in the woods. And something else.
My gut swirled and seemed to rise into my chest until I looked up. There, flying over the night sky, blacking out the stars. Something between a vulture and a bloody dragon.
I dived through a gap in nettles and out the other side, trying to keep below good tree cover. If they couldn’t see me, they couldn’t spear me with those evil claws.
Lyall.
I didn’t even ken what I wanted. Maybe just confirmation someone was there, that someone cared what happened next, because my legs were on fire and numb, and my knees felt like they could go sideways any moment.
Keep going.
That plan didn’t work forever.
My gut had to have something to say here. Which way did I go? Which way would I find safety? But it was stubbornly quiet, as if all directions were as good as each other. Had I run myself into a corner?
The barghests roared again, no more than a few hundred metres behind.
I threw my hand back, aiming for a fireball, but I was so tired only smoke came out. And that was with Lyall’s energy. He must be using all he had to help me on this mad run.
I see a road.
Where? How far?
Left.
My gut pinched, and I turned before I could think about how much harder that way was. The new route climbed uphill.
Shit. Was that a gap in the canopy?
I jumped to the side too late.
Claws gripped my shoulders, and the creature’s weight carried me to the ground.
Its wings wrapped around me. I laid my hands on it and tried to burn it, to move it away, but nothing happened.
I dug down deep within myself, hoping for a last spark of energy, and I pushed what I had out. Again, nothing. And then my gut jumped, back towards the road.
Check the road, Lyall. Who’s there?
I should stay here with you. You need my energy.
Please, check the road. It’s not far.
With or without his energy, I wasn’t winning this fight without help.
He fluttered in place, staring at me beneath the beast’s wings, but eventually he flew over the trees.
As soon as he was out of sight, my limbs felt heavier, my breathing came faster, and I couldn’t even find my magic.
It’s Shane with the tracker and the others. We’re coming, Bee.
You’re lying. I only just texted them.
The tracker already got them close.
The bird beast raked my sides, its claws knocking against my ribs, blood seeping through my top.
I whimpered, pulling my knees up to my chest, tucking in my head and covering my face.
The bird struck my side, my head, its wings flapping wildly.
Heat washed over me.
I peeked through my arms when the creature stilled.
Fire splayed around its back and wings, and the crackling sound that accompanied it was horrific. Skin-crisping.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. Any moment now, the barghest would throw the creature aside and finish me off, like it had tried to do before I’d found my powers.
Sharp tears welled and ran down my cheeks as the fire stopped and the smoking creature was torn away, its claws ripping free of my side.
My breath cut out, my chest swelling. It wasn’t a barghest. It was Inzi. Was I imagining this?
She crouched beside me, tore her shirt, and wadded it to my side, pressing hard into my wound. Her teal hair tipped down around her face like a curtain of water.
I barely felt it. The world was off, more unreal than real, colours and details softening.
‘Are you really here?’
‘We all are.’ She moved slightly so I could see beyond her.
Shane was running towards us, Grim finishing off the last of the barghests.
I reached for Shane, but my hand dropped fast.
He caught it before it hit the grass and held on tight, lacing his fingers through mine, stroking my palm.
Warmth flooded my body from my fingertips to my stomach. I knew he’d find me.
‘We need to move her. She’s bled a lot and needs stitches,’ Inzi said, giving Shane room. ‘Can you carry her?’
‘I’ve got her.’
Gently, he slid his hands underneath my knees and back, adjusting his hold when I winced at the burnt area.
I nuzzled into his top, pine and woodsy spice surrounding me.
He peered at me, his hazel eyes covered in a strange sheen I took too long to realise were tears.
‘You’ll be okay. We’ll get you help.’
He looked back to the road, his jaw tight, and his eyes hardened. He’d be there with me through anything, and he’d make sure I was okay. But the broken gruffness to his voice tore me worse than any claws.
‘I love you, Shane,’ I whispered.
He jerked, his eyes flashing to mine, the frown gone and the tears threatening to spill over.
‘I’m not losing you.’
He switched from a quick walk to a jolting jog, and their voices muffled to background noise, my mind struggling to ken the words, then giving up.