"These are all the cells here," Daniel said. "They should be in one of them."
Each cell contained a window, through which they peered, checking for Berig and his companion Lara. It didn't take long to determine that all the cells were empty.
"Where could they be?" Markus asked, feeling sick.
"It's highly irregular, but they might have been executed already," Daniel said. "After all, if we can see their importance in the Webs, then so can our enemies."
Nadia began pacing. "If they were going to execute them, where would they be?"
"This way," Daniel said. "Follow me."
They raced through the corridors, rounding a few twists and turns. At one point, Daniel held up a hand, signaling for them to stop. His expression was lined with concern.
"What is it?" Nadia whispered.
Daniel kept his voice low. "There are a lot of guards up ahead, right at the entrance to the execution chamber. We have to act quickly."
The resistance had equipped Markus and Nadia with new TWs. At a signal from Daniel, they all let loose at once. Bursts of lightning crackled in the air, striking a few of the guards and alerting the rest to their presence. The guards turned, firing their plasma rifles.
Markus, Nadia, and Daniel all raised shields just in time to absorb the energy. As they pressed forward, Markus kept the shield going, and Nadia and Daniel launched more attacks at the guards. Lightning. Fire. Jets of water. Shards of ice.
The guards retreated, firing their rifles in a futile effort. Soon they'd retreated far enough that Markus could slip into the room. Nadia took over the duty of holding the shield while Markus rushed inside. A weight lifted off his chest when he saw Berig and a darker-skinned woman standing side-by-side against the wall, apparently unharmed.
Berig's eyes widened almost comically. "Markus! Is that really you?"
"Yeah, I came here to get you out. Come on. We've gotta move."
Berig and the woman didn't question him.
"You must be Lara," Markus said to her. "Nice to meet you. There isn't much time for introductions, though. We've gotta get out of here."
Out in the corridor, Nadia and Daniel were still battling with the guards. The guards didn't carry TWs, but their plasma rifles were dangerous enough. Markus could tell that Nadia's shield was already weakening.
"I'll take over the shield," he said. "You keep attacking." He channeled his magical energy through the TW, raising a shield and stretching it so that it surrounded all five of them. He felt himself straining to make the shield that wide. How long would it hold?
"We need to retreat," Daniel said. For the most part, the guards' armor was holding up to their magical onslaught. Daniel had told them, earlier, that a lot of guards had armor that generated its own relatively weak shields.
The five of them turned and ran the other way. Nadia and Daniel joined the efforts to hold the shield around all five people, and Markus no longer had to work so hard.
The corridor flashed by as plasma rifle discharges burst all around them. They raced past the cells, nearing the corridor through which they'd entered. Even with three people holding the shield, it grew weaker every time it was struck.
They darted into the darker corridor, then reached the door leading to the alley. But the guards were close behind, firing their plasma rifles in a continuous barrage.
To the right was the alley's only exit, and more than a dozen police officers stood at the end of the alley, blocking their path.
"Can we get past them?" Markus asked.
"I don't think so," Daniel said. "They've probably got even more people out there."
"Then what can we do?" Berig asked, his face pale in the moonlight.
"I have an idea," Lara said, "but it might be a little insane."
Chapter 44: The Chase
Nadia looked the direction that Lara was pointing. At the other end of the alley, where it ended with a massive wall, was a flying vehicle. It was black and gleamed in the moonlight. The word POLICE was written across the front of it.
Daniel slapped a hand to his forehead. "Of course! Follow me."
They rushed to the end of the alley, holding their shields around them. Nadia had almost lost all her magical reserves. She prayed they could escape in this vehicle. While Nadia and Markus kept the shield strong, Daniel entered a few numbers on the vehicle's keypad.
The door swung open vertically, emitting a low hiss. The five of them scrambled into the vehicle, closing the door behind them, and Daniel took a position in the driver's seat. The engine came to life with a great roar, followed moments later by the vehicle lifting from the ground.
Daniel pushed a lever, and the car lurched forward. At first, Nadia's stomach clenched, but then she realized that Daniel had control of the vehicle. Surely he knew how to drive—or fly—one of these things.
The vehicle moved forward more quickly, and the guards fired their plasma rifles at it. The attacks fizzled against a shield surrounding the car.
After a few more moments, the vehicle soared high into the air, flying above the tops of buildings. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.
"We've got someone on our tail," Daniel said.
Nadia glanced back just in time to see another police vehicle behind them. A bright blue glow gathered in front of the flying car, and a blast of energy soon barreled toward Nadia and the others. She covered her head, bracing for the impact. When the energy hit their vehicle, it rocked tremendously, making her feel sick.
"How much more of that can we take?" she asked.
"Not too much," Daniel said. "One of you needs to man the weapons."
"I'll do it," Nadia said. Aiming at another vehicle here had to be much like aiming a bow. The others all looked terrified at the prospect anyways, so she didn't have a choice. She jumped into the seat Daniel indicated, then stared in confusion at the glowing panel ahead of her. "How do I use the weapons? I don't understand any of this."
Another blast of energy hit the car, and the force of it nearly knocked Nadia out of the chair.
"There's a belt," Daniel said as he guided the vehicle beneath a bridge stretching between two buildings. "Strap yourself in."
Nadia fumbled with the belt for a few moments before securing it. "I still don't know which buttons to press."
Another attack struck the vehicle.
"I don't have time to explain," Daniel said. "Just try something." Another blast. "Anything!" He turned the flying vehicle so that it dodged the next attack. "Try not to blow up any buildings, though."
Nadia found a device shaped like a cylinder. It looked as if it might be a means of aiming a weapon. She'd seen similar, but smaller, devices on some of the plasma rifles. It also reminded her of the telescopes she'd used back home to gaze at the stars.
She pressed her eye against the device and saw through it the outside of the vehicle. Right now, it was facing ahead of them, not toward the vehicle she needed to attack.
"How do I turn this thing?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. "I need to turn it around."
"There should be a lever to your right," Daniel said, guiding the vehicle through the city at alarming speeds. "Turn it and the scope will turn."
Nadia turned the lever, and to her relief, the scope did turn. Now she could see the car behind them, but they were moving so quickly and erratically that she couldn’t get a clear shot.
"Why aren't we flying above the city?" Berig asked from behind her.
"If we go up high, we'll stand no chance of escaping," Daniel said. "They'll shoot us out of the sky." The car suddenly jerked downward, and they passed between two bridges, barely fitting in the gap.
Nadia's entire body trembled as she tried to aim at the vehicle behind them.
"The red button to your left fires the weapons," Daniel said.
Nadia aimed, hoping she'd hit their pursuers, and pressed the red button. The same kind of blue energy burst from the rear of their vehicle. Her aim was too high, though, and the energy soared
up into the open air.
She aimed again. Fired. Missed high. Aimed again. Fired. Missed low.
This time, the blast of energy collided with a billboard. The billboard exploded with a brilliant orange glow, and bits of it rained down on the city below. Nadia's stomach churned as she prayed she hadn't hurt or killed anyone.
"I-I don't think I can do this!" she said, her heart drumming in her ears.
"Yes, you can," Daniel said. "Just keep firing. It'll distract them at the very least."
She swallowed her fear, though her chest felt so tight she could barely breathe, and aimed again. Every shot she aimed now was a little high. She didn't want to hit another billboard—or worse, an actual building. She couldn't have that on her conscience.
The vehicle rose, fell, rose again. Sometimes, they veered so sharply to the side that she would have fallen out of her chair without the belt. Behind her, Berig, Markus, and Lara had all strapped themselves into other chairs, but they were still clinging to everything they could.
Nadia could only fire when they were on a relatively level path, and that rarely happened. The city was a dangerous maze, crisscrossed with all kinds of obstacles.
Nadia's palms were sweaty, so she tightened her grip on the lever as she sighted their enemy through the scope. She fired again, and finally struck the other vehicle. The blast didn't destroy the car, and she hadn't expected it to.
Another attack struck their vehicle in retaliation, and this time the side of the car blew off. Wind rushed into the vehicle, strong enough that it would have blown them out if they didn't have the belts to restrain them. As it was, the wind was still annoying. She couldn't hear anything over it. She couldn't concentrate well enough to aim at their pursuers.
"I'm losing control!" Daniel shouted. The car rocked more violently than ever. They were headed straight toward some kind of stone monument in a large park.
At the last moment, Daniel gained enough control to keep them from striking the monument, but it was clear that he wouldn't keep the vehicle in the air much longer.
"There are red levers on the right side of your chairs," he shouted over the roaring wind. "Push them forward, then pull them back, then push them forward again. Your chairs will be released, and then there will be a parachute to slow your fall."
"What about you?" Nadia asked as wind whipped through her hair.
"I'm a sorcerer. The crash won't kill me. But I can keep them pursuing me. It might give you a chance to escape."
"But—"
"Just do it," Daniel said. "Please."
Nadia exchanged a quick look with Markus, Berig, and Lara. They all nodded and pushed their levers forward, then backward, then forward again. A moment of terror passed before Nadia's chair flew upward. The ceiling above opened, and she soared high into the air above the city, feeling as if she might throw up everything she'd eaten in the last week.
She looked down, and felt as if her heart had climbed into her stomach. But then, as the chair descended, a large object, similar to the kind of parasol she'd used before to protect herself from the rain, burst from the chair. As soon as it did, her descent slowed.
She glanced up, noting that their pursuers had continued following Daniel. But how long would it be before more police arrived to pursue Nadia, Markus, Berig, and Lara?
Nadia's chair hit the ground with a heavy thud. After a few moments of disorientation, she released the straps and toppled forward, feeling dizzy. The others did the same nearby, and then they all joined together in the middle of a large stretch of grass.
It appeared they were still in the park.
"What do we do now?" Berig asked.
"We need to hide," Nadia said. "They'll be back for us."
As if sensing her words, another police vehicle flew toward them, its blue and red lights swirling in the night sky. It came lower, landing perhaps fifty feet away.
"Run!" Markus shouted, and they all took off.
Chapter 45: What Lies Ahead
Markus led the way as they sprinted across the park. Shouts came from behind, but he couldn't make out what the officers were saying. Back home, the darkness of night would have concealed them, but in this city, the electric lights glowed almost as bright as day.
He glanced back. Their pursuers were closing in on them.
Markus didn't want to hurt the officers, but he had no choice. He pointed his palm back toward their pursuers and unleashed a burst of lightning. The officers cursed but didn't give up. Already, Markus was short on breath.
The party reached the edge of the park and raced across one of the city's many streets. Still, no one was out and about, which made it hard to melt into any kind of crowd.
"Shields!" Nadia shouted. Markus glanced back to see the energy blast of a plasma rifle barreling toward them. He raised his palms in the air, conjuring a shield with his TW. The shield appeared just in time to absorb the blast.
"Where do we go from here?" Markus asked breathlessly as they darted into an alley.
Nadia kept running. "I-I have no idea."
"Neither do I," Berig said. "I don't know this city at all."
"Neither do we," Markus said as they rounded a corner, pressing deeper into the alleys. This looked vaguely like the part of the city containing the resistance headquarters, but he couldn't be sure. And even if it was, they stood no chance of finding the place.
More plasma blasts came from behind them. Each time one struck the shield, Markus felt it growing weaker. With both Markus and Nadia maintaining the shield, they couldn't launch their own attacks at the officers. How the hell were they going to escape this?
They came out the other end of the alley and stood now at the edge of a large street. There was still no traffic, so they sprinted across the street. But now they were out in the open. Easy targets. More and more plasma blasts came from behind them.
At the other side of the street, they ducked into another alley. Then they followed it through countless twists and turns, plunging deeper into the most congested parts of the city. Markus glanced back. Their pursuers were closer. Too close.
Markus wiped sweat from his brow as they ran. He had to think of something. Anything.
"Got any ideas?" he asked Nadia.
"No."
"But you're supposed to have the answers."
"Not this time," she said.
"Wait, I've got an idea!" Berig pointed to the side of one of the buildings in the alley. A set of stairs led upward into the building. "Maybe we'll be able to hide in there."
Nadia looked at the stairs. "Well, I don't have any better ideas."
Berig led the way as they raced up the stairs, which groaned and swayed. This didn't seem like the greatest idea. What if the stairs collapsed beneath them?
Shouts came from below. Their pursuers. Markus glanced down to see them aiming their plasma rifles at the stairs, but not at the party.
"We have to get off these stairs!" he shouted. A moment later, bursts of energy struck the stairs. The metal grew weaker, and the stairs groaned alarmingly. One section of the stairs broke free from the building, and the stairs began to swing.
Markus's stomach lurched, and he clung to the railing, praying he wouldn't fall.
Nadia pointed her palm at a nearby window and sent a shard of ice at the glass. The glass shattered, and she raced inside. Berig and Lara followed, with Markus close behind. The stairs swayed more fiercely and groaned again. Markus leapt at the last moment. Another couple of rifle bursts struck the stairs, and they fell away, hitting the ground with a terrible noise.
They stood now in what looked like a small home. Noises came from a nearby room, but Markus ignored them, racing across the main living area, which contained a few chairs and tables, as well as many electrical devices he couldn't identify.
Nadia reached the door first and stared at it for a few moments.
"It's just a lock," Berig said, rushing forward. He studied the lock for a moment, then unlocked the door with a lockpick he'd somehow
stashed away. As he opened the door, though, his lockpick broke, and he swore under his breath.
They raced into the corridor beyond this dwelling.
"Where now?" Lara asked.
"They know we're in this building," Berig said. "They'll probably have it surrounded."
"Then what should we do?" Markus asked.
Berig glanced from side to side. "It's probably insane, but we should go to the roof. The buildings here are close together. We should be able to jump from one to another."
"Sounds better than any plan I have," Markus said. "Rik would hate it, though."
Nadia's face was pale. "But how do we reach the roof?"
"We'll just have to look for more stairs," Berig said.
They raced along the corridor, eventually finding a stairwell. From there, they raced up the stairs. Markus ignored his growing exhaustion. At any second, their pursuers could appear again. The destruction of the stairs outside had bought them some time, some space, but would it be enough? Their pursuers knew the city much better than they did.
Soon they reached the top level of the building, where they found a locked door. It was not one of those handprint locks, though.
Berig frowned at the lock. "Anyone got something I can use to pick it?"
They all shook their heads.
"Get out of the way," Nadia said. She pointed her palms at the door and sent fire surging toward the lock. She kept the fire going for a while, then let it die. "See if I've melted the lock."
Markus tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. Then he took a few steps back, ran toward the door, and delivered a forceful kick. With a horrible cracking and crunching sound, the door flew open. They raced through the opening, finding another set of stairs, which they climbed. At the top of those stairs, they pushed through another door.
Now they stood atop the building. Berig was right. The buildings here were only a few feet apart. They could easily jump from one building to another.
"Which way?" Nadia asked, glancing around, her eyes wide.
"No idea." Berig pointed to their left. "That way seems good."
World in Chains- The Complete Series Page 122