by Casey White
And then, tearing one hand free of the hammer’s handle, he started punching the mage in the face.
“Da- Owl!” Daniel heard Maya cry. “Hurry!”
Daniel stumbled backward toward the sound of her voice, but...he couldn’t quite bring himself to take his eyes off James and Cyril.
Again and again, James hit the man. Cyril clung to the hammer like a man possessed, like his fingers were welded to the handle. Behind him, one of Rickard’s gun-wielding minions surged to the forefront, eyes narrowed. He’d join the fray. With the two of them against James, it’d only be a matter of time until-
James’ fist sailed into Cyril’s gut with a wet, heavy thump—and at last, Cyril crumpled. His hand slipped free of the hammer.
Their guns rose again. They’d shoot. The moment James was clear, they’d-
The first gunshot crackled through the air.
James jumped to the side, hunching defensively, but hoisted the hammer aloft. His eyes were wild, burning like coals in the night. The iron head gleamed in the glow of the street lights.
And then he brought it down.
Daniel flinched, looking away despite himself. Cyril fell to the ground, and for the life of him, he couldn’t tell if it was still the mage, or just his body. James brought the hammer down a second time, his breath coming ragged.
“Damn it!” Daniel heard Rickard spit. “Ian! Hurry up and-”
As though realizing for the first time how exposed he was, James turned—and lurched back toward the alley, pale-faced.
But Daniel saw the gunman straighten, settling the rifle to his shoulder.
His world froze, crystallizing around that man. That gun. And his friend, bruised and bloodied, limping to safety.
Will you let this happen? In his ears, the thought rang strange. Different. As though it wasn’t his at all.
But...would he? His fingers twitched, yearning for...something. Anything. There had to be something he could do to stop this.
His skin prickled again. His pulse thundered in his ears, steady and even.
If this was Alexandria, it’d be simple. He could do anything. Here, he was helpless, and it rankled more than he’d realized.
But there...he could see it, envisioned in his mind just like someone had taught him, so many centuries past. He could see the wall rising behind James, spreading from the ground to-
Light flared in his vision.
Something shot up from beneath his feet. He gaped, dumbfounded. Liquid? Some sort of-
Water. It was water, glowing a fierce silver-blue as though lit from within. It coursed up and around him in tendrils and sheets that circled once, drawing close—and then shot forward.
Illuminated in the mage-light, he saw the rifleman stiffen, jumping.
And he saw Rickard’s eyes widen. “You,” he breathed. “It’s-”
The water coursed forward, though, shaping itself like there were giant, invisible hands molding it. Before anyone could move, it splayed out, blocking the street between Rickard’s group and James.
Just like a wall.
It roared onward, churning down the street, and cries rang up from beyond. Now, at last, there was fear in those voices.
Cyril’s body shuddered, shifting as magenta-glowing cracks ran through it. Dust drifted on the air. Gunfire cracked out, even as the golden barrier overhead shattered. Tiny glistening fragments of it tumbled down, joining the motes of dust to fly away on the wind.
All Daniel could do was...stare. Gape, open-mouthed at the silver-blue, faintly-shifting wall of water that rippled with every bullet that lobbed into it.
A hand landed on his shoulder. Olivia wrenched Daniel around as Maya dashed past, grabbing hold of James. Ahead, Leon hung at the edge of the alley, all but quivering. In an instant, she’d turned him around, dragging him toward safety.
No one spoke. Daniel wasn’t sure he could speak, jumped-up on adrenaline as he was. His thoughts raced past, too fast to catch and put to voice. Supporting each other as best they could, they limped away.
Behind them, that pale-glowing wall shimmered, ever-waiting.
You, Rickard had said.
Tearing his eyes away from the watery spell at last, Daniel stumbled into the night.
- Chapter Twenty-Six -
Faster.
They hurried off into the dark, shambling along with every scrap of speed their aching limbs could muster. All of them were moving slowly, by then. They clung together in a mass of arms and legs, supporting each other’s weight as best they could.
Daniel couldn’t keep from glancing back now and again, though. The wall of water had vanished from sight as they darted into the alley, but the glow of it shone against the grass and asphalt.
It should hold. Probably. It would buy them enough time to get away, at least. Thank you, he whispered, turning his thoughts inward. That was your doing, wasn’t it?
Alexandria didn’t reply. Not that she ever had, when he was in the real world, but...he felt...heavy. Cold. Whatever power he’d mustered before, it was gone—and it’d taken a substantial bite out of his strength.
One foot in front of the other. “Keep going,” he panted, hauling Olivia forward another step. She made a tiny, irritated noise, but didn’t fight him.
“W-Where?” Maya squeaked from somewhere else in the mass of bodies. “M-My car...We...We could-”
“It’s still out of commission,” Daniel said, giving a quick shake of his head. “And w-we can’t go back.”
“Um,” Leon said. His voice sounded more strained than ever, thin and ragged, as though he might keel over at any second. “We...We could-”
“Just get me to one of those cars,” Daniel said. The alley ahead was wide enough for a few adventurous drivers to park their vehicles along the edges. “I can...um. I can get us a-a new ride.”
“You can?” Leon’s voice was incredulous.
Daniel’s cheeks flushed faintly. “Look, I- When you’re in Alexandria, you’ve got a lot of time to-” He shook his head again. “Yes, damn it.”
“Owl the thief,” Leon mumbled. “Didn’t expect that one.” But he hauled the lot of them forward, right to the door of the first vehicle in the line—an ancient-looking SUV with rust speckling its fenders.
“Okay,” Daniel mumbled, staggering away from the others. “Just...give me a minute.”
Digging in his pockets, he unearthed the knife from before. Its blade was long and thin enough to do the trick. Even as he was prying at the door seal, though, he couldn’t quite keep himself from glancing back toward where their pursuers had to be approaching. At any moment, he expected them to come bursting out of the darkness, accelerating toward them.
Worse still were the eyes he could feel on the back of his neck as he worked. Leon, probably, or James. Maybe all of them. He ignored them as best he could, forcing himself to focus on his work. They could be judgemental as much as they wanted later, as long as they were alive.
And judgemental or not, he saw all of them relax as the door popped open. “Get in,” he mumbled, hurling himself at the steering column.
“Are you sure you want to drive?” he heard Maya say, her voice low. “I...I think you should-”
Daniel nodded, already peeling the plastic back to expose the wires beneath. “You can drive. But unless you know how to hotwire-”
“N-No,” Maya said, waving her hands frantically. “God, no. Have at it.”
“Have at it faster,” James rumbled. He pressed closer, holding to the roof of the SUV to keep from swaying. His eyelids drooped. “They’re coming.”
“W-What?” Maya squeaked.
“They’re not,” Olivia said. “Not yet.”
James’ nose wrinkled. “Well, they will be. So hurry up.”
“Going as fast as I can,” Daniel spat. He’d done this before, in Alexandria. Anything to stave off the boredom, he’d told himself. He’d never thought he’d actually use the skill, though. With pain and exhaustion warring for control of his mi
nd, every movement was slow, deliberate.
But James still clutched Cyril’s hammer. Daniel’s gut churned.
Again. This was happening again, just like with Leon. He didn’t even have to visit Alexandria to know what changes were taking place.
But they needed the strength. They were running out of weapons, and Rickard’s people were fresh. So he turned his eyes away from the hammer, gritting his teeth, and kept fumbling with the wires.
When the car roared to life, Maya shoved past him. “Let me. Get in the back.”
For once, he was all too willing to let them drag him into the SUV, slamming the door just as soon as his feet cleared. His leg was numb, and his head ached, and he still felt that horrible emptiness in his gut.
It was enough to let Maya throw the SUV into reverse, gunning out of the alley, and droop. Olivia was squeezed up against his right side, with Leon frowning across from beyond her.
“Go,” James rasped. He sat poised in the passenger seat, clutching the handle over the window. “They might be-”
“I know,” Maya snapped. She spun the wheel hard, hitting the brakes. Tired rubber screeched across the quiet air. Putting the SUV into drive, she hit the gas again.
The alley, once their safe refuge, vanished into the haze behind them.
“What now?” James said. He glanced back to them, his eyes dark. “What do we do?”
“Find the freeway,” Leon said. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows against his knees, and nodded once. His pipe lay flat against his leg, clutched in one hand. “We get back on and we keep driving. How’s this thing looking on gas, Maya?”
“Fine,” Maya said, and a smile flickered across her face. “It’s not full, but we’ve got a good half tank. We can go for a while.”
“Sweet,” Leon said. “Okay. That sounds good.”
“O-Okay,” Maya said. Her head bobbed, though, and her eyes were unfocused. “I can...We can do that.”
“Hey,” James said. He reached over, squeezing her knee. “We’re good. We’re okay.”
“I...I know,” Maya said. She smiled weakly at him, but her lips trembled. “I’m fine.”
“Think of it this way,” James said. “You won’t have to worry about that chemistry exam.”
It was ridiculous. Maya’s expression quivered again—and then fractured entirely. Peals of laughter filled the cab, with Maya’s giggles underlaid by Leon’s snorts and the low, rumbling of James.
Through it all, though, Daniel stayed quiet. So did Olivia, he realized.
Eventually, they quieted, and he licked his lips.
“Actually,” he whispered.
Just like that, they all stopped.
“No,” Leon said, leaning forward again.
Daniel blinked. “What? I didn’t-”
“The way you said that. Actually. You were about to cut in with something else, weren’t you? Some sort of grand plan?”
“W-Well-”
“He’s right,” Maya said. She twisted, glancing back through waves of black hair to eye him. “I-I think we should just go. If...If we can’t go to the police, then maybe we can keep running and-”
“They found us before,” Daniel said. Olivia didn’t move a finger, but he could feel her deflating beside him. Drooping. “We drove for hours, and they still caught up to us.”
“So we go farther, then?” Maya said. “We can...We could outrun them. Try to-”
“They’re following us with magic,” Olivia said. Her voice was quiet enough that everyone clammed up, straining to hear her. She balled up her fists, her shoulders rising even as her chin ducked lower to her chest. “It doesn’t matter how far we go. They’ll be following—and so they won’t let us get enough distance on them to break the connection. Assuming it can be broken”
“The one asshole,” Daniel said. His heart sank, but...he’d expected this, too. “The one who was messing with my blood.”
Olivia nodded, still looking down. “...Yeah.”
“So you knew,” James said. His voice was quiet, but no less dangerous for it. “You knew they had this guy, and you didn’t say anything.”
“I didn’t know,” she snapped. “I...I’m guessing. But it checks out. And-”
“If we let them keep chasing us around and around and around, it’s only a matter of time,” Daniel said. “We’re tired and hurt. They’ll wait for us to exhaust ourselves and then run us to ground.”
“So let’s kill enough of them they can’t,” James said. “Fuckers already lost a few, right?”
Maya flinched. The SUV jerked, resuming its straight flight just as soon as she regained her composure.
“There are too many of them,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “And they’d just...they’ll back off until reinforcements arrive.”
James scowled, turning back to the window with a huff.
“So what?” Leon said. His eyes were glued to Daniel’s face. “What do you think? Any ideas?”
Daniel swallowed. He did have some ideas. He just knew how little Leon was going to like them. Hell, he didn’t like them either. But they couldn’t keep going like this. Someone had to do something.
It might as well be him.
“Right now, they’re the hunters, and we’re the prey,” he said quietly. “If we’re going to have a chance of turning this around, we need to change that. And we need to get that mage out of the picture.”
“The one tracking you,” Leon said.
Daniel nodded. “...Yeah. We need to…” He chuckled sourly. “We need to get them to move how we want them to.”
“Yeah?” James said roughly. “And how the hell are we supposed to do that?”
“We use bait.”
The car went silent. For a long moment, the steady rumbling of the ancient, worn-out engine was the only noise to be heard.
“Fucking what?” Maya said.
“Wait,” James said. “What are you-”
He stopped just as quickly, biting off the words, and turned back to face front. But Daniel saw him swallow.
Leon didn’t say anything. That was somehow the worst part—he stayed perfectly silent. But Daniel could feel his accusatory stare burning into his skin.
It’s for you, he wanted to say. It’s to keep you safe. You, and Maya, and James. No one should get put in danger because of me. I have to keep you from being hurt worse.
“You have magic now,” he said instead, letting his voice drop softer. “What you did with the tree...I saw it.”
“Yeah,” Leon breathed. He sank back into his seat, as though that was all the reminder he needed of the terrifying scene. “What was that? What did I-”
“And you,” Daniel said, turning to James. “You still have that hammer.”
“What?” James raised the hammer. His brow furrowed. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
“Oh,” Leon said. “Oh. You...You don’t think he-”
“We’ve got magic, if we can figure out how to use it,” Daniel said. “So we just have to…” He licked his lips. “We just need a plan.”
“Right,” Leon said. “This is that bait thing, isn’t it? Gotta be honest. I’m not loving the sounds of this.”
“I know,” Daniel said. He smiled faintly. I’m sorry.
Instead, he looked from Leon to Olivia—who jumped. “W-What?” she said.
“Well,” he said, shifting in his seat. He offered her a wan smile before turning his gaze back to the others. “I’ve got a plan. But you might not like it."
Olivia stared, pale. “Okay,” she said at last. “Hit me.”
Daniel exhaled. His leg was starting to return to its prior agony, the exertions from the last hour fading. “We need to lure them in,” he said. “We need to make them think we’re vulnerable. And we know they’re chasing after me. So if they’re coming for me, all we have to do is stick me in a dead end somewhere and-”
“What?” she snapped, just a hair shy of a shriek. “Owl, why the hell would-”
“Because we need to
do something,” he said. “And this is as good as I’ve got. Unless…” He chewed on an idea, his brow furrowing. “Unless you think you could convince Indira? You’ve worked together for a long time. She’s the one who put you up to...everything.” Almost everything. If Indira was to be believed, some of Olivia’s exuberance had been her taking the initiative. Even still, Indira had had her fingers deeply in the mix.
“Yes,” Olivia said. “She did trust me. Before I went and defected. How do you think she’s going to see me now?” Her voice rose, growing sharper. Angrier. “I gave that future up, Owl. It’s gone. I can’t undo things.”
“I know,” Daniel said. “But could you convince her you’re regretting that? Just enough to turn on me?”
No one spoke—but Daniel could feel the eyes on him. The stares.
“No,” Olivia said. She shook her head, faster and faster. “No, she wouldn’t believe it. She’d see through me in an instant. She’s smart, and even if she did believe me-”
“Rickard,” Daniel said with a sigh.
“And we’d be tipping our hand,” Leon said. Daniel glanced at him, and he shrugged. “It’s the truth. Our element of surprise would be gone.”
“Yeah,” Daniel said. He sat back, returning to his thoughts. “Then...we’ll have to play this straight.” He chuckled. “At least you’re admitting we have the element of surprise. We just need to find a way to use it.”
“W-What?” Maya said.
“What?” Olivia echoed. She was still ghostly pale, her eyes wide, but with every passing second seemed to get a grip on herself.
“We’ll come up with something,” he said, insistent. “They’ll be following us anyway. They’ll see us go to ground. Maybe they’ll...they’ll think we’re exhausted. Trying to hole up again. And then, when their eyes are focused on me-”
“We come in from the back,” James said.
Daniel smiled grimly. “Right.”
“Hell, no,” Leon said. His voice was low. Dangerously low. “Do you realize how stupid that sounds? They’re chasing us, and you want to just hand yourself over to them?”