by Amy Hopkins
“You’re right,” Julianne said. “It’s too risky. I don’t know that I can hide us all, though. The people we passed earlier were distracted, easy to fool. Once our ruse is discovered, they’ll be hunting for us.” She didn’t add her other concern. If August was their leader, he was probably stronger than the lackeys he’d left to guard the town during the day. Until she met him, there was no way to tell how much stronger.
“Is there somewhere we can hide until nightfall?” Bastian asked. “It might take the heat off a little, and give us the cover of darkness when we leave.”
“They were searching buildings before,” Danil pointed out. “If they have all afternoon to do it, how safe do you think we’ll be?”
“I want to go home.”
The tiny voice made Julianne’s heart break. She pulled Lilly to her, wrapping her arms around the girl. “I don’t know about home just yet, but we’ll get you somewhere safe.”
Julianne quickly mapped their way out of the town, looping Danil and Bastian in on her plan. She gave them each an alternate route, in case they had to separate. “Whatever you do, make sure you can’t be tracked back to Annie’s. I don’t want her pulled into this.” Gripping her staff, Julianne edged towards the corner of the building. “Let’s go.”
They darted down the street, stopping at doorways and disappearing into shadows in between bursts of speed. Julianne gripped Lilly’s hand, pulling her along as fast as the little girl could move her feet.
A loud yell sent them skittering for cover. Moments later, a voice screamed, “Find them!”
We’ve been made, Danil sent.
Thank you, Captain Obvious. If we’re caught, take Lilly and run like hell.
Don’t be an idiot. I can’t protect her like you can. Danil led the charge across the street, where they stood panting for a moment before running again.
What will you do if we’re separated, feel your way out of town? Just take the girl. I can do more if I don’t have to worry about keeping her safe.
Danil screwed up his face and shook his head emphatically. Bastian, closed out of their conversation, watched them closely.
Julianne is right, Bastian sent. Danil, if we get made, we have to let her do her thing.
Stop eavesdropping, junior. How the hell did you hear that, anyway? Danil snapped at him.
I didn’t. I guessed, Bastian sent. You weren’t half obvious. Julianne wants us to run while she fights. You don’t want to let her, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.
Julianne rolled her eyes to the heavens. At least someone agrees.
They bolted down the narrow street and through an alley, then around a corner. Bastian plummeted straight into a tall woman, knocking her down. He swallowed the apology on his lips when he saw her robes.
Julianne’s brain immediately kicked into gear, reaching out to silence the woman. Her probe bounced off a shield. “Oh, shit!”
“Here! I’ve found them! I’ve—” the woman screamed.
Julianne snapped a fist into the woman’s face, cutting off her words. The New Dawn mystic crumpled to the ground.
“Run!” Julianne barked, and they sprinted past. They turned left, then wheeled around when they spotted two more figures at the other end of the lane.
“Here!” Julianne led them around a corner, then jerked Lilly’s arm and grabbed Bastian’s cuff, pulling them through a broken door. Danil threw himself in a moment later as the patrol dashed past them, oblivious to the press of bodies squashed in an abandoned cold room.
The glow in Julianne’s eyes faded. “It's no good,” she panted. “They're all shielded. I can't break through.”
As the sounds of their hunters moved off, Danil motioned them out.
“Go through the old bakery,” Lilly whispered. “I slip through there all the time.”
She led them across the street, then darted a few doors down. She stopped under a dirty sign that said, “Hank’s Bread and Pastry”. She thrust one arm through the broken glass pane and unhitched the door.
The inside of the shop smelled musty and old. A glass display case was full of green, hairy mold. Behind it, a counter sat below an opening into the kitchen behind, long but only a foot high. Motes of dust swirled past the light streaking in from the street as they moved. Bastian moved for the door beside the counter, and Lilly shook her head. He tried it anyway, but it was locked.
“This way.” She climbed on the workbench behind the display case, then ducked through the opening above it.
Julianne eyed the gap. “Danil, you need to start eating less.” She hopped up and followed the girl, chuckling at the grunts from Danil as he forced his way through. Bastian slipped through without a problem.
“Grownups never think of the obvious,” Lilly said with a grin. She led them to the back of the room, where a strap of leather hung from a latched door. She opened it, ushered them out, then pulled it shut, making sure the end of the strap peeked through beneath. “In case I need to get in from this side,” she explained.
From there, it was only two more streets to the low wall that edged the city proper. They made a run for it, easily climbing the wall and plunging into the wooded field beyond.
The trees offered some cover, but not enough. Tall trunks stretched to the sky, racing past as they ran, but branches were sparse and offered little protection. When a thick branch snapped behind them Julianne spun. Three white-eyed mystics in midnight robes dashed after them, winding through the trees, faces set with determination.
“Take the girl,” Danil snapped at Bastian.
The boy looked ready to argue, but instead nodded. He grabbed Lilly and hoisted her over his shoulder, ignoring her squeak of fear. He ran, leaving Danil and Julianne to stave off their attackers.
Julianne slipped into a trance. Danil’s eyes were already white, as they always were.
The three pursuers, a woman and two men, fanned out.
“Go ahead, try your little tricks.” Their leader was a weedy little man, with oil slicked hair and a pointed beard. “You can't break us. We are one.”
Fear spread over Julianne's face as she battered their shields. Again and again, her attacks slipped aside as they wound closer to where she and Danil stood. She pressed her back against a tree.
“How?” she asked, voice shaking. The small man sneered, and she was close enough to see his crooked, blackened tooth. “I am the Master of the Heights. You shouldn't be able to—”
As the man stepped towards her, Julianne smiled and whipped up the butt end of her walking staff. It smashed into Black Tooth’s jaw. He staggered back with a howl and she jabbed it forwards again, this time slamming it into his gut.
Julianne stepped forward, still smiling. “You arrogant fool. I am a Master. You? You are nothing, barely a weed in the forest of my mind.”
She rammed forward with the force of her mind, meeting almost no resistance from him at all. His shield was gone, shattered when his concentration failed. She spread out to find the other two were unshielded now, too. The leader collapsed, sitting down hard with glazed eyes and blood sliding down his skin from the split in his jaw. His companions stood motionless, caught in the thrall of the mystic Master.
She rifled through their minds and found it: the trick to their shields. It was a complicated spell that linked three minds, strengthening their shields via a feedback system. She let it go, knowing she wouldn’t be able to replicate it without further study.
Julianne stepped up close to Black Tooth and looked down at him from above. “Tell August and whoever else will listen that a day of reckoning has come. You have one chance to leave this town. One. Come sunrise, I don't want to see any trace of the New Dawn except the one rising in the damned sky.” She kneeled down to stare him in the eye, her white pupils reflected as points of light in the pair of muddy brown eyes. “Now, run. And don't come back.”
The little man blinked as her mental suggestions took hold. Then, he began to tremble. He looked up once, quickly, before sc
rambling backwards. He turned, tripping as he pushed off the ground and sprinted away back towards the town.
Julianne turned to face the two remaining pursuers. “You, too.”
She sent a bolt of pure, visceral terror at them. She winced when, as they turned and bolted, one slammed straight into a tree. He reeled back, blood streaming from his nose below terrified eyes, and staggered off as fast as he could.
“You couldn’t have planned that any better,” Danil said. “If it didn’t look so damn painful, that would have been hilarious.”
“We need to go,” Julianne said in a low voice. She took Danil’s arm, and together they ran to find Bastian and Lilly.
Julianne let Danil lead, using her eyes and his memory. He had stayed connected with Bastian as he'd fled with Lilly, and his practice at navigation gave him a good idea of which way to go. Fast and silent, they darted through the trees, then plummeted down an embankment.
“Danil!” Julianne gasped as his hand slid from hers. They slid down the short hill, landing in a heap at the bottom.
Panting and cursing, they lay for a moment. Julianne reached out with her mind and found Bastian, who appeared above her a moment later.
“This way. We’ve found a place to hide until nightfall.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
He led them along the bottom of the embankment to a section that formed a hollow in the dirt. Ferns grew at the lip above, trailing down to cover the space. Pushing aside the branches, Julianne crept in to sit beside Lilly. The girl’s eyes glowed, not the white of a mystic, but green.
A bird called overhead and her eyes cleared. “Tarchus said they didn’t follow,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Master August is calling his guards back in. They’re stopping the search.”
“It’s too soon,” Julianne murmured. “Why would they give up so quickly?”
Danil shrugged. “Maybe they just don’t care. Or, maybe he’s fortifying the town, doesn’t want his people spread out in case of an attack.”
“Oh, there’ll be an attack.” Julianne’s voice was hard. Her eyes glowed white. “There are people, but not close. How long can we stay here unseen?”
“Go that way,” Lilly said. She pointed further along the furrow in the ground to where leafy ferns had taken root.
They crawled over. Leaves reached out to form a small, green refuge. Lilly pressed her hand on the ground and her eyes lit up again as tiny, curled fronds unfurled to extend the foliage and thicken it.
“Thank you, Lilly. You’re very talented.” Julianne’s heart went out to the little girl. “What were you doing in the town? Have you been there all along?”
Lilly shrugged. “Mostly out here, in the trees. I’m good at hiding. Escaping, too. That’s not the first time they caught me, I always get away.” Then, her chin trembled. “Not the first time they hurt one of my friends, either.”
“Temper?” Julianne asked gently.
Lilly nodded. “He’s my favorite. He doesn’t like people, and neither do I.”
“He sounds like a pretty clever cat,” Danil whispered. “And you sound like a pretty clever kid. I bet he’s already found a nice warm place to curl up by now.”
Lilly seemed to accept this. The corners of her mouth lifted in a wavering smile. “Next time, he’ll claw the bastard’s eyes out.”
Julianne darted a glance at the girl. Nope, she really did look that young. Julianne reminded herself that even she had learned salty language by that age, and this girl had gone through a lot more than she had.
The low rumble of distant hoofbeats caused a sharp intake of breath from all of them, but they passed by without stopping. They sat in silence, watching the shadows lengthen. Julianne allowed herself to drop into a light meditation, keeping her senses alert for anyone approaching.
When the sun finally painted the sky in hues of purple, she roused herself. Lilly had fallen asleep, her small body tucked in next to Julianne for warmth. Tenderness rushed through her as she gently rubbed the girl’s arms to wake her.
“We need to go, Lilly.”
They shook off the dirt and twigs and traipsed through the pine forest, back towards the road. Despite the cloud-covered darkness, they kept to the long grass. Lilly gripped Julianne’s hand tightly and shoved at the tickling blades, trying to keep them away from her face.
“Lilly,” Bastian whispered. “How about a ride?” He leaned down and gestured to his back, and Lilly’s eyes lit up.
She looked to Julianne for permission, then raced over and climbed onto his shoulders.
Is that wise? Danil sent to Julianne. The whole point of the grass was to hide us.
Hush, Danil. The poor child is exhausted and these reeds are as tall as she is. She was making a valiant effort, but she was struggling.
Danil walked on, surer footed in the darkness than Julianne was. Ahead, Bastian seemed to have no issue with the uneven ground, loping along as if Lilly weighed no more than a feather.
“Do you hear that?” Danil asked.
“Hoofbeats,” Julianne confirmed.
Lilly slid off Bastian’s shoulders and dove into the brush, Bastian close behind her. Julianne was about to throw herself in when Daniel grabbed her arm, a fierce grin lighting his face.
Julianne reflexively reached out with her mind, and had to scrub tears of relief from her eyes when she immediately recognized Bette and Garrett.
“Over here,” Danil called, as the pair almost flew straight past them, leading two spare horses.
“Thank the Bitch in all her glory,” Bette breathed, pulling her horse to a halt. “Marcus would have had our heads if we'd had to go back without ye. The lad’s downright beside himself with worry.”
Julianne gave a brief explanation of their trip, and introduced Lilly. By the time she'd finished, Bastian had mounted Lilly on one of the horses and the girl was lying over its neck whispering to it, eyes as green as a casting mystic’s glowed white.
“We only brought two spare nags, thinking Bette and I could share the one, and the three of ye would have one each left. I suppose Cloud could carry both Julianne and the wee girl. She looked like she'd not weigh more than a leaf.” Garrett looked to Bette for confirmation.
“I'll ride with him.” Lilly pointed at Bastian. “This is his horse. She doesn't like the way he rides, but I can show him how to make her comfortable.”
Garrett gaped. “Ahh. I dinna think the old beast can carry ye both, child.”
“Oh, she can,” Lilly said confidently. “She said his legs are long, but he's not all hard muscle like you and Bette. She likes Bette most, though.”
Bette barked a laugh. “The girl knows. Go on, close yer mouth, rearick, and climb yer horse. Lilly, can young Duster here hoist both me and Garrett?”
Lilly shrugged. “He's strong, but he thinks you'd be better to let the blind one ride with the lady. Her horse—Cloud Leaper? She's carried them both and said she's happy to again. She wants to get moving, though. It's late and she thinks it’s silly to be outside when you could be in a nice, warm stable.” Lilly punctuated her words with a yawn.
After a few raised eyebrows and a quick reshuffle, Bastian mounted up behind Lilly, and they set off. She showed him how to move his legs and relax his posture while the others caught up. “There, that’s better. You must have been awfully uncomfortable riding like that.”
Bastian groaned. “You've no idea.” He still had aches in muscles he didn't know existed.
“That girl is certainly one of a kind,” Danil said into Julianne’s ear.
“She's strong. Not just her magic—I can't judge a druid’s power, but I think she may have some real talent there. But to stay in the town, hiding from those awful men for so long?”
Danil murmured his agreement. “She needs training. Perhaps we could organize something.”
They pushed the horses to make the journey home a short one. Lilly insisted on helping Garrett rub them down, leaving Bette to announce their return to a very impatient Marcus.
“What happened? You found them? Was anyone hurt?” he demanded.
“Lots, about a mile down the road, and no.” Julianne answered his rapid-fire questions in order as she entered the house, Danil at her heels.
“The situation in town is worse than we expected,” Danil added. “The New Dawn have enslaved basically the whole village, using mental magic as both punishment and reward. They're working them into the ground.”
“The people we found were in a pitiful state, working their fingers to the bone for nothing but a false sense of happiness.” Julianne chewed at her lip, remembering the man who had taken the flogging. “They’re broken, Marcus.”
“Will they help us fight?” Marcus asked.
Julianne shook her head. “There's no way to tell. Even if we could break whatever spell holds them, they’ve been tortured and starved. They could be itching to fight back, or past the point of wanting to.” Julianne cursed herself for not seeking the answer to the mind control tactic when she had the New Dawn members under her spell.
“Looks like it’s up to us, then. That is, if you're intent on seeing this through?”
“I don’t have a choice, Marcus. You should have seen—” Julianne bit her words off as Lilly walked inside.
“Where's Annie?”
“Lilly? Child, where have you been hiding? I hadn't heard from you in days, I was worried sick,” came Annie’s voice.
“Annie!” Lilly threw herself into the old woman's arms and burst into tears. “Annie, they hurt Temper! They made him run away.” Her words fell to pieces as she sobbed against the old woman's chest.
“Oh, Lilly. You poor thing. That crotchety old beast will come back just as soon as his belly starts to rumble; you take my word for it.” Annie patted the girl's hair, her eyes closed against the pain unleashed in the safety of her arms.
Tears sprang to Julianne’s own eyes. The girl had shielded her emotions so savagely, not even the Mystic Master had realized the depth of her anguish.