Mine to Fear

by Janeal Falor

I follow him silently for several minutes. He tracks first north then south, passing by the original spot I saw him. When he heads back, I figure this must be the area he's in charge of and since I haven't seen anyone else, silencing him would be best.

  Instinct says to spell him, only with my skill level, I can't guarantee it will work for long. Best knock him out the old fashioned way, I guess.

  After finding the biggest rock I can, I hide behind a tree and wait for him to go past. Only he doesn't move past. Where is he? There's a crunch of leaves. Here he comes. I grip the rock tight in my hand and whirl around the tree, arm raised high. I bring the rock down only to realize there is no guard, only Jack.

  Oh well. I continue to bring my arm down anyway.

  He sidesteps, grabs my arm, and shoves it toward the ground, making me drop the rock. “You took too long getting back. I already took out the guard.”

  I huff at him. Almost had the guard and him taken care of. Annabelle better know what she's doing trusting him. Though I hate to do so, Mother did instill manners in me. I let out a gruff, “Thank you.”

  I twirl away from him and hurry back to Annabelle and Tawny. My breathing is uneven as I return to the hidden spot. I lift the hatch. They're patiently waiting in the hidden room. “It's safe now. Are they going to be able to track you through any of the things you left behind?”

  Jack and Tawny should know what I'm talking about, but I expect to need to explain it to Annabelle, but she says, “Daniel spelled all of my things long ago not to be attached to me. They won't be able to spell any of my items to find us.”

  “He's not at all like other Chardonian warlocks.”

  “No, he isn't. One of the biggest reasons he worked so hard to get on the council and to gain supporters was to fight against the Grand Chancellor.” Her voice cracks. “And now it's the reason he's gained a death sentence.”

  Tawny and I both give her a quick hug. It's all there's time for. It sounds like Daniel prepared for something like this to happen, but not being separated from the wife he so clearly cherishes.

  “I forgot our packs, Tawny.”

  “All my important things were back home.”

  “And I have nothing of importance, so my things won't be a problem,” Jack adds.

  If I wasn't so worried about him turning on us, I'd feel sad for him. Everyone should have at least one thing of importance. And why wouldn't a Chardonian warlock have something like that?

  “I'm like Tawny and left my important things back in Envado,” I say. “Thank you for having these packs ready for us, Annabelle. They'll be vital. Let's go.”

  We're walking for maybe five minutes when I hear a noise. I stop and put my hand up in the air. The others go instantly silent. There's a crunch close by to the right. That had better be some sort of animal. Another crunch follows and another, sounding all too much like the footsteps of a person. Drat.

  I glance toward where the sound is coming from. There's a flash of black. A law officer. Just what we don't need. With a little luck, he'll walk right by us without noticing our presence. I hold my breath as he continues by. And he keeps going. We've made it.

  Suddenly, the man looks back, staring straight into my eyes. I don't think, just react, slamming a punching spell into him, the bright black and green smashing into him twice more. He falls back.

  “Run.”

  The others take off after me, Jack bringing up the rear. There's no time to think whether or not this is going to work against us. There's more crashing through the brush coming our way. The disturbance must have attracted more attention.

  A burgundy spell comes flying at us. Before I can react, Jack stops it with a canary yellow spell of his own. The spells clash in a burst of color while we put on more speed to get away from them. I'm not sure if Annabelle can keep up with us, but she surprises me by running faster than me, pulling to the front of the group.

  “Is there any way to tell if there's someone ahead of us?” she calls out.

  “Yes.” I send a spell out, a soft yellow, searching for any hints of the heat of people ahead of us. Nothing. “I think the way is clear. Keep going.”

  We run, my legs burning with the effort. Four more spells zip at us from behind, but each one is fainter than the last. We're going to make it.

  Out of nowhere, a midnight-blue spell crashes into me, knocking me to the ground and sending chills through me. Tawny stands over me like an avenging warrior, a purple spell streaked with pink screaming from her.

  There's a cry followed by silences.

  Annabelle checks me over for injuries. I tell her I'm fine, and she helps me stand.

  “There's no time to linger,” Jack says.

  Even though he's right, I glare at him. We hurry to get moving again, running for a good half-an-hour before Annabelle declares she can't keep going any longer. We slow to a walk but keep moving.

  Lost them. Possibly. Hopefully. I motion for everyone to keep quiet as we continue. Our trail is all too easy to follow with a tracking spell, despite everyone stepping cautiously. Even a simple warlock could cast a spell to find the trail of footprints we're leaving.

  I try to cast a spell to hide our path. The tan light covers some of our footprints, but not all the way. I've never had a talent for it like Chadwick does. His hiding spells are like works of art, mine a clumsy smudge of mess. This isn't the best way for me to help. It isn't even really helping.

  What am I going to do with Annabelle and the others? How am I to keep them all safe? Not only am I struggling to hide our tracks, there's nowhere to take them that is safe except Envado. I suppose I could try and take them there and return, but I doubt they'll be happy about leaving instead of fighting. Especially since I told them all that Zade and Daniel were captured. Jack should be the only one who won't care about their release. Well, maybe Councilman Daniel's since he is keeping him out of debt.

  But will Zade and Daniel still be themselves after all that time? What exactly did the Grand Chancellor mean when he said…this isn't something I want to think on. I can't think on it. Not now.

  Jack huffs, pulling me from my morbid thoughts.

  “What?” I whisper yell at him.

  “Your spell casting skills are dismal.”

  Only because it's not a pampering spell. “Like you could do any better.”

  The corners of his mouth tighten. He casts the spell, the muddy light wiping away all of evidence of us being there, fixing broken branches, filling in dirt, and fluffing the bits of vegetation.

  He glares me down.

  “It's a good spell,” I admit.

  He cocks an eyebrow at me, and suddenly, I'm aware of how golden his eyes are. It’s a nice distraction from all the stress, but not at all helpful. I've got to figure out what our next step is.

  I hurry on, letting him take care of our tracks while I try to focus on where to go and forget those piercing eyes. I've got to get a note to Cynthia. She's not as urgent as Serena, but she still needs to know as soon as possible. I wish there was a way to know how Serena is doing, but all I can do is hope she's safe. If I try to find out, I could give her location away or distract her when she needs to focus.

  But Cynthia, that I can take care of now. I zap a spell note that's mostly clear with bits of yellow scattered through it. Thinking of the hideout she should be at now, I push it her way. I hope she knows what to do. Me, I haven't a clue. But there is a safe house not far from here by some of my fellow Envadi's Sanos, the group that's been helping Chardonians.

  “What did you do?” Jack's voices snaps at me like a spell gone wrong.

  “What are you so upset about?”

  “What spell did you just cast? Are you trying to bring those warlocks down on us? Anyone looking this way could have seen it. You are trying to get us killed.”

  “Course I'm not, you brute. I'm trying to save more lives than just yours.”

  His face changes at my words. Softens just the tiniest fraction. Maybe, just maybe, I've found a weaknes
s. But probably not.

  “You might want to warn those you need to as well,” I say.

  The defensive look is immediately back. “And get us killed in the process? I don't think so. Besides, the only person I know doesn't need to be warned about anything. And you shouldn't send any more spells either.”

  I scoff and want to throw a good retort, except he's right. I was going to warn Katherine so she would know and tell other tarnished what's taking place, but she's not in immediate danger. At least so much so that it's worth risking the lives of those I'm with. Once we're sure that we're not being watched, I can send them out. I have to put the lives of those I'm with first. Even if it feels totally wrong not to warn the whole of Chardonia and Envado.

  To tell Mom and Dad what's happened.

  My throat chokes up. Time to get back to the spell I sent out. I mumble, “It was only one spell and barely visible at that.”

  He seems to think I'm not going to cast anymore because he doesn't say another word. For now. We follow Annabelle until we reach a tree with three trunks.

  “This is where Daniel told me to go if there was ever a problem and he wasn't here to help.”

  The area is a bit of a nook. There's a giant rock and some thick trees helping to hide us from prying eyes, but we're too close to the patrol group for me to feel any comfort. We're not safe here at all.

  “Was there some place you were to go after this?” Jack asks. Surprisingly, he must be thinking along the same lines.

  “Nowhere. He said he would come and get me.”

  “So we wait?” Tawny asks.

  Jack looks at me, and I know we're thinking the same thing, though why he's suddenly sharing the moment with me, I don't know. It's too much like an Envadi male thing and not at all like a Chardonian. I adjust my pack, wondering if I should bring up the fact that he's not going to be coming for her, even though she should know it.

  “I think that…” The words choke my throat closed. It's not just Daniel that isn't coming for her.

  “I know.” Annabelle is looking back toward her home, though it's been a long time since we were able to see it.

  I force the words past the emotion clogging my throat. “We need to keep moving.”

  “Where to?” Tawny asks, like I'm supposed to know everything about Chardonia after being here just over a year.

  “There's a place we can go and be sort of safe. Other Chardonian's may be there to help or we should be able to contact them, but it's a few days’ journey from here on foot.” That is, if we continue to make it without being caught.

  Jack shakes his head like I'm useless at this, which I am, but still. “Follow me.”

  “I don't think so,” I reply.

  Annabelle finally turns her gaze away from the direction of her house and onto me, giving me a strange look. “He knows his way around this area very well. He's explored it since he came to work for us several years ago. It would be wise to follow him.”

  I grit my teeth and keep my eyes focused on the group though the ground seems much more appealing at the moment. It is strange to think about Jack coming to work when he was so young. He's probably only a year older than me. “Well then, Jack, lead the way. The place I need to take us is north of here. Do you have somewhere in mind that way?”

  “Just try to keep up.”

  Like he can't even give a real response. Why bother when we're just women? If he starts taking us farther away, I swear I'm putting this thing to a stop and making my own way with Tawny and Annabelle, dragging them along whether they'd like to or not. I pull my magic from my core, out to the tips of my fingers, ready to zap him with whatever I need to should he turn on us.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The whole process is much smoother than I expect. Even if he is a Chardonian warlock, Jack doesn't seem intent on turning us in to the Grand Chancellor. For now. The whole way he's been quiet and watchful, even helping Annabelle and Tawny over fallen trees when they needed a hand. Fine, he probably would have helped me too, but I'm too busy keeping an eye on him to let him get so close to me.

  Still, he's done a much better job at not just leading but is nicer than I expected. Who knows what the world is coming to? We continue our walk until suddenly Jack freezes and motions for us to stay back.

  “What is it?” I whisper. But then he doesn't have to reply because I see it. A brown, baby bear cub, not four feet from where we're standing. What's she doing out all on her own?

  “Back up quietly,” Jack says.

  We begin to do so, taking steps slowly and carefully. Still, I can't take my eyes off the baby bear. There's a growl from the woods, close. Now we're in for it.

  “Keep going,” he insists when I stop.

  As much as I don't want to meet momma bear, I don't know if running from her is the best option either.

  Jack presses his back into me, pushing me toward the other. I want to swat him to make him stop, but momma bear appears, snarling directly at us.

  Panic strikes me, but there is no time to let it. I have to think and act fast. The bear comes running for us. Make that thinking faster.

  Just before she gets to us, I manage a spell that creates a wall between us and her. She slams against it, growling.

  “Hurry,” I demand. “I don't know how long I can hold this up.”

  We run. The bear is livid, smashing against the spelled wall. What's worse than just the bear is all the noise she's making. It could easily give away our position to the warlocks chasing us. My hope is that they can't hear her, and if they can that they don't want to investigate why an animal is so upset.

  The bear crashes through my spell. “She's coming!”

  “Keep going,” Jack yells. “I'll hold her off.”

  Like I'm going to let him protect us all. What if he fails? Maybe I should let him fail and then help, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I turn and stop with him.

  “Go!” he yells.

  Ignoring him, I cast a spell that's all light hovering around Jack and I, making us look bigger with bright yellow and orange lights. Jack adds to my idea casting a green-lighted spell to my own.

  The bear slows.

  “That's right you bear,” I yell. “Get away from us. Go back to your baby. Shoo now. Go on, shoo!”

  “Don't look her in the eye,” he hollers over my shouts.

  I immediately drop my gaze while keeping up my hollering and spell. She saunters forward still, but I don't move. I stand my ground, hollering gibberish. Beside me, Jack is speaking to the bear in a calm tone. At least I'm not the only one crazy enough to speak to the bear.

  Finally, the bear moves slower and slower until she turns around and heads back toward her cub. I immediately stop shouting. What have I done? I hope I haven't called the warlocks to us with all my noise, but it seems effective. The bear is no longer in sight. I drop my spell, but I don't drop my gaze from where the bear left.

  “Let's go,” Jack says, heading directly left of where the bear went. “Waverly, take the rear. We've got to move fast to not only get away from the bear, but away from here in case the law officers heard.”

  I want to fight him, but I don't dare. Not with what just happened. Someone needs to protect Annabelle and Tawny's backs. I just wish there was someone to protect mine.

  “I hope I never see another bear again,” Annabelle says.

  “I'll second that,” I reply.

  We continue hurrying through the area like the bear is chasing us. I don't think we want to take any chances. We walk several more hours until Jack stops leading us and is lazily wandering into a clearing that has nothing in it and is surrounded by trees and bushes coming over a mountain. It seems he is ignoring us and has all the time in the world to lollygag.

  “Is it time for a break?” Or have you just gone mad?

  Though his body language ignores me, he says, “Just making sure we weren't being followed, at least not by someone close by.”

  Oh, he's good. “Which means you don't tr
ust your own spell to keep our tracks hidden.”

  “Which means I'm cautious because I don't want to lead them to a safe hiding spot.”

  Fine. But just because he's being smart for the moment, doesn't mean I have to trust him. Tawny and Annabelle have no problem as they talk quietly to each other. I'm sure I could join them, but I'm just so used to keeping an eye on Chardonian warlocks, I can't bring myself to chat.

  Finally, he moves to a group of vines off to one side of the clearing. It was hard for me to pick them out with so much other foliage about. Underneath is a dark, narrow opening.

  “Are there any critters living in it?” I ask.

  “Why don't you go see? If there are any, I'm certain you can scare them away for us.”

  I raise my head and, without giving him a second glance, I stride into the cave. So what if there's a mama bear protecting her cubs? I can take it, though once I'm in, I release some of my magic in a burst to light the way. After moving through a narrow tunnel, a wide cavern opens up. Relief floods through me that there's no mama bear, or any other animal in sight.

  I make sure to scout the entire area. It's not big, but big enough to suit our needs. Once I'm certain there's nothing here but dirt and rocks, I lower my hand.

  “Did the critters frighten you?” Jack says as he enters the cave.

  “Only as much as you do.”

  “How did you find this?” Tawny asks him.

  He shrugs. “Like Annabelle said, I've explored around here often.”

  Once everyone is in and the vines are back in place from the outside, I collapse to the floor, using my pack as a pillow. “That was exhausting.”

  “If we weren't running for our lives, it would have been a good vigorous walk,” Jack says.

  I glare at him. But the running for our lives reminds me of why we're here, and now that I'm not distracted by keeping track of our surroundings, it's impossible not to think on Zade.

  Where is he? Is he in a lot of pain? Are they torturing him?

  I squeeze my eyes shut tight, trying to keep composure. What is Serena going to do when she finds out how serious things are for Zade? I told her to run, told her to get out of there as fast as she could and that Zade was in trouble. But I didn't say how bad things really are for him. I don't even want to think how bad they are. What the Grand Chancellor could do.