A loud crack echoed through the woods. Aiden froze. Another crack, and another. Cold crept into his heart. Were those gunshots?
Dylan’s trail led in that direction. His friend might be hurt. But the idea of running toward gunfire…
Aiden turned around, looking back the way he’d come. He was more lost than ever, but he was sure the forest would lead him back to the road if he asked. But Mr. Johnson and the other warden were fighting somewhere over there. Maybe Mr. Johnson had won. Maybe the danger was over. Or else Mr. Johnson was dead and the evil warden was waiting for Aiden.
And could Aiden live with himself if he ran away while Dylan was being killed?
He turned toward the compass-pull of Dylan’s magic and took a deep breath. His heart fluttered like a caged bird, but the warm comfort of the forest still flowed through him. It helped. Panic wanted to grab him, but he could hold it back. Aiden forced his right foot to lift and take a step. Then the left one.
Another gunshot made him jump, and then he was running. Toward danger instead of away from it. The branches seemed to shift out of his way as he plunged through the trees. The tugging sensation in his chest got stronger.
He jumped over a fallen log, dodged between two huge trees, ducked a low-hanging branch. Up a small hill, then down into the tangled brush. His scar was uncomfortably hot.
A low shape staggered out from behind a tree, and Aiden skidded to a stop. The figure brought his hands up just as Aiden recognized him.
“Dylan, it’s me!” For one panicked heartbeat, he was hit with déjà vu. The motion was so much like the Incident, Dylan with his hands up, ready to burn…
“Aiden?” His hands dropped. One of them was covered with blood. Dylan frowned, then fear spread over his face. “Run! The hunters are after me.”
“Hunters?”
But Dylan was already moving, grabbing Aiden and pulling him along as he limped.
Aiden noticed the blood soaking through Dylan’s jeans. “You’re hurt. What happened?”
Dylan shushed him. “Quiet, they’ll hear you.”
In a whisper, Aiden asked, “What’s going on?” He looked over Dylan for other signs of injury, wondering how badly he was hurt. Wondering if they would both die out here.
“They’re hunting me. I got shot.” He tried to lean on Aiden and push him along at the same time, which didn’t work well.
Aiden’s mind spun at the confirmation that those had been gunshots. Someone was out here with a gun, chasing them. His chest tightened. Was that what had happened to the other people who had been kidnapped?
“You should run. I’ll hold them off,” Dylan whispered.
Behind them, Aiden heard someone crashing through the woods. Getting closer. “You’re hurt. I can’t leave you.” No matter how terrified he was.
A sharp crack made him jump. “Oh God.” He couldn’t tell how close the bullet had come, but he was sure it was too close.
“I need a little time so I can summon enough fire to burn them out,” Dylan’s voice was tense.
Flames everywhere, surrounding him. Trapped while the fire got closer and closer. “No!” Aiden said, louder than he meant to.
“That or we die. There’s a dozen hunters out there.”
Fear squeezed Aiden’s heart, but he got an idea. “Maybe… maybe I can try something.” He had no time to stop and meditate. He’d have to do this on the move. Aiden stopped for a second, getting Dylan’s arm around him so he could support his friend. They moved a little faster, but it wasn’t nearly fast enough.
The crashing sounds kept getting louder. Closer.
With his free hand, Aiden touched every trunk, branch, and leaf he could as they passed. Help us. Help us, please. The tingling sensation of magic built inside him, and he sent the power out, imagining a wall between them and the hunters.
Rustling, like the wind through the leaves, but louder. Now snapping. Aiden glanced behind him, wondering if the hunter had caught up.
The forest was moving, growing thicker. Surprise made Aiden stumble, and he fell against a tree, taking Dylan with him. His friend grunted in pain.
“What—?” Dylan looked at the shifting plants. “Whoa.” They both stared for a moment, then Dylan nudged him. “We gotta go.”
The wall forming behind them would slow the hunters down, but it wouldn’t stop them. And Dylan had said there were a dozen hunters. They could be anywhere. Aiden hurried on as fast as he could. Dylan seemed to be limping a bit less but breathing harder.
“I can’t…” He panted. “It’s taking too long to heal.”
“We’ll get out of here. Just keep running.” Aiden tried to think of the road and not what lay between them and it.
Dylan shook his head. “I’m too slow.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
* * *
“That’s not what I mean.” Dylan didn’t know how Aiden had gotten here, and there wasn’t time to ask. There also wasn’t time to ask how he’d learned to do that trick with the plants. Or why he wasn’t wearing a shirt. “Can you put up another wall? Make it surround us?”
“Maybe?” Aiden kept dragging him along.
Every step flared with pain, though the sharpness of it was becoming a dull, deep ache. The scent of his own blood filled his nose. “I need a few minutes. I might be able to shapeshift and get us out of here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Can you do it or not?” Dylan felt guilty about snapping at him, but they didn’t have much time and he was out of patience.
“I’ll try.” Aiden stopped, gently shifting out from under his arm.
Dylan leaned against a tree, putting all his weight on his good leg. Aiden lifted his hands and closed his eyes. Dylan looked around nervously, wondering if someone was aiming a gun at them right now.
A soft rustle made his heart clench, but as the sound got louder he saw the plants moving around, growing way faster than should have been possible, even with magic. All around them in a rough circle, branches, vines and leaves wove together to form a ten-foot-high wall.
Aiden opened his eyes, hands dropping. “Wow, it worked.”
Dylan admired it for a moment but told himself they had little time. Crap, this might not even work. The wall might turn out to be a cage. Dylan closed his eyes, the power inside him a little more sluggish than usual.
“What did you mean about shape-shifting?” Aiden sounded nervous.
Right. He was terrified of Dylan’s magic. “It’s nothing that will hurt you. I can transform— just let me try.”
A shuffle as Aiden moved away. Dylan didn’t blame him. The scar on his chest was like an accusation. I’ll never hurt you like that again. His concentration faltered as he remembered the horror of that moment. Knowing he’d hurt Aiden, maybe killed him. Dylan forced those thoughts away. None of that mattered if a bunch of asshole hunters killed them.
The magic responded this time, and he pushed it along his body faster than he’d ever tried. Tingling spread along his arms, down his torso. Fear and pain gave him more to draw on. His fingertips itched and claws burst out.
Aiden gasped.
Stay focused. I have to save him, save both of us. His body heated as the shift took hold, scales forming along his arms, his neck, now down his back. A burning itch started in his shoulder blades. Come on, please. His heart raced. This had to work or they were sitting ducks.
Then it happened. Something burst out of his back. Strangely, it didn’t hurt but it was odd and uncomfortable. He realized he’d forgotten to take off his shirt. “Damn it!” He brought his claws up, shredding the fabric along his front as his wings kept growing.
They spread behind him, the tattered remains of his shirt falling to the ground. Dylan kept pushing out his power, making sure the transformation was finished. His wings stopped growing, and he stood panting. Dylan opened his eyes.
Aiden stared at him, mouth open. “You… how did you…?”
Dylan stretched his wings, moved them experimentally. They felt strange and perfectly right at the same time. “You okay?” His voice sounded deeper.
“Me?” Aiden blinked. “Oh, you mean because you used magic?” His brows drew together. “I guess so. You look… weird. But really cool.”
Dylan wished he had a mirror. He shook the thought aside. “I’m gonna try carrying you.” He looked up at the trees. God, this was insane. “Can you clear a path?”
“You’re going to carry me? You can fly?”
“That’s what wings are for.” He flapped his wings again. He’d barely been able to keep himself in the air. Why did he think he could carry Aiden?
“Over here!” Someone shouted. The voice was distant, but not distant enough.
Aiden jumped and ran the short distance between them. “Hurry up then.” He wrapped his arms around Dylan’s neck.
It was awkward, especially with both of them bare-chested. The extra weight put more pressure on his wounded leg and made Dylan grunt with pain. No time to be a wimp. He put his arms around Aiden’s waist. “The trees. Can you move them out of the way?”
Aiden looked up, a faint green-gold shimmer around him as the scent of earth and growing things filled Dylan’s nose. “I think so.” The branches above them shifted, revealing a bright blue sky.
As soon as the gap looked wide enough, Dylan sprang. He cried out at the sharp stab in his leg, almost dropping Aiden as they titled sharply. He fought for control, wings sweeping down to lift them another foot, then another. Magic carried them up as much as his wings.
Dylan kept his eyes on the blue patch above.
“In there!” This voice was much closer. Several gunshots echoed around them. Aiden whimpered against his neck.
Then they were out, up over the forest. Despite the danger they were in, Dylan smiled. It worked! He was flying, just like he’d always dreamed.
Aiden shifted and made another whimper. “Oh God! We’re so high.” His arms tightened, threatening to choke off Dylan’s air.
“I won’t drop you.” Dylan had more than human strength, and Aiden was smaller than him. He scanned the horizon, looking for the road. All he could see were the treetops. “Do you know which way we should go?”
More gunshots from below. The hunters must have spotted them. Dylan’s red scales and wings weren’t exactly camouflage.
Aiden cringed. “Right!”
Dylan turned.
“The other way. My right.”
Dylan flew in that direction as fast as he could. He stayed near the treetops just in case his strength failed. Now that there wasn’t any pressure on his leg, the pain became a dull, throbbing ache. The injury, running, and the transformation had taken a toll on him. Within minutes, the thrill wore off as he got more and more tired.
“Are we close? Can you see the road yet?” Aiden asked. Dylan felt and heard how fast his heart was beating.
“Not yet. Wait… maybe. I see something.” Dylan squinted at a line on the horizon. Was it the road? How far away? His wings and shoulder muscles ached. “Don’t know how much farther I can go.”
“Don’t drop me.”
“I won’t.”
A booming crack ripped through the still air and pain burned in his wing. Dylan faltered and they started to fall. Aiden screamed. Dylan struggled, doing his best to ignore the agony, but his wing wouldn’t work right. They hit the top of the trees, and Dylan lashed out with one hand, trying desperately to grip something.