I don't lower my arm. “Why not?”
“
You're that group I've been hearing
about, yes? The one trying to fight the Grand
Chancellor?”
“
So what if we are?”
“
If so, I want to help you all
out.”
Finally, I lower my hand. “Help us out how
and why?”
“
You need food, right? Otherwise, you
wouldn’t be here.”
“
Yes, but that doesn't answer the
why.” I take a few steps toward him, even if everyone else is still
on guard behind me.
“
Been sick of the Grand Chancellor's
rule for a long time. Had to send my oldest boy into service at his
house to pay off a debt. Don't fancy my children being taken from
me like that, even if they are nearly grown. Especially not with
all I do to try and provide food for the country. I reckon if I'm
going to give food to someone, it might as well be someone who can
help.”
I motion the others to lower their hands.
This man is anything but a threat. “We are definitely trying to
help.”
“
Then how about this. I can give you
half of my food stored up now, and I'll do what I can to help you
out in the future.”
“
That's more than generous,” I
say.
It takes a little arranging, but we figure
out how to pack up all the food he offers and carry it out of
there. Before we go, I tell him, “Thank you for your help. This
will help more than you know.”
“
Does that mean you have a lot of
mouths to feed?”
“
It does.”
“
Good then. I hope the Grand
Chancellor gets what's coming to him.”
“
And what will you do if the Grand
Chancellor finds out you've been helping us?”
“
You let me worry about
that.”
I put my hand out to shake his. “Please stay
safe.”
He shakes my hand. “You too.”
After making arrangements
to collect more food in the future, we leave. I think we're doing
exactly what we need to. More people come too. Even those we think
we're going to fight with, instead want to help us like the
farmer.
The Grand Chancellor has
overstepped, and even Chardonian warlocks know
it
.
A
thrill hums
through me, both anxious and excited, as we ready to attack the
next power plant. I’m excited that we are going to be able to help
more people, although anxious to see what's to come. The first time
was difficult. At least this time I'm more prepared. We all are,
plus we brought more help this time.
Though this place is much closer and has
more forest around it for us to hide in, it has the same spells
fortifying it as the last one. It's probably the setup for all of
them, though you think they'd add at least a few more spells after
our last attack. Maybe they added guards instead.
The building looks the same with its red
brick, no windows, and wires coming out the top, but it's set in a
forest this time. A lot more places to hide before running across
open terrain.
“
Let's see what they've got waiting
for us,” Cynthia says.
She leads us through the spells, taking us
through faster than last time. When we get to the building, it's
the same drill as before. All of us line up against the wall,
pulling out the red side of our material Katherine made so we blend
in more.
Jack waits until we're all in place, then
knocks on the door. No answer. He knocks again. Still no one
answers. He knocks a third time.
He looks to me, and I shrug. Does this mean
they're waiting for us inside? Ready to jump on us the moment we
enter? Or are there no guards?
I scoot across the wall so I'm closer
to him but still won't be easily seen since the door opens next to
me, and I'm leaning against the wall.
I lift my hand,
just in case he needs immediate reinforcement. But when he opens
the door, nothing happens.
He points at Chadwick and himself, and then
inside. Chadwick moves forward, but I shake my head. There's no way
they're both going in there alone. I hold my hands out, wrists
together like they're cuffed, and then point at myself going in.
Chadwick has the gall to huff, but Cynthia jumps right in, spelling
both of our wrists to look like they are tied together with a
spell, but in reality, it's just a burst of light.
Jack leads us in, Chadwick bringing us in
from behind. He may be the strongest warlock present, but there's
no telling how he'd be mistaken for a Chardonian. He's over a head
taller than I am, and compared to the Chardonians, I'm pretty tall.
Still, it's nice to know his skills are with us.
It’s even nicer to know that Jack is leading
us. There's something so safe and secure about him. The people he
cares about, he cares for deeply. What's more, he's quick on his
feet. I know with him guiding us, we're in the best possible
hands.
We enter the glaringly bright hall. It's
empty. Why aren't there any guards here? Are there no people here
to rescue? I can't think why else, and my suspicion only increases
as we turn the corner and find the same sickening setup as last
time. Even though I saw the sight before, a gasp escapes me.
Several of those locked up look our way. One
says, “Don't come in.” But it's too late. As soon as Jack’s foot
crosses the line into the room, a multitude of spells spring into
life. It's a trap.
Reds, blues, blacks, purples all surround us
in a dizzying array.
“
No one move,” Cynthia
says.
Not like I was planning on it. Even an inch
in any direction, and I'll hit a spell. Some spells separate us
from each other, even.
“
Do you know if anyone's here?” Jack
calls out toward the woman who first spoke.
“
Not now. They'll be coming now that
you've sprung their spells, though.”
Chadwick curses.
Cynthia doesn't wait. She's already breaking
through the spells between us while Chadwick is working on the ones
behind us.
I help Cynthia smash the spells between us
and then work towards the people.
“
Just leave us,” a woman calls out.
“Don't get captured because of us.”
“
Speak for yourself,” a man replies.
“I want out of here so I can pay the Grand Chancellor back for his
treachery.”
That statement alone makes me work faster
trying to get to them. That is exactly the sort of person we need
on our side.
Behind us, Chadwick yells, “We have to go.
Now!”
“
We can't,” I yell back, trying not to
think about how exhausted I am and how low my magic is
running.
“
There's too many warlocks coming, and
they'll be here before you can break through.”
“
But we can't leave them.”
“
Just go,” one of them calls
out.
“
I can't.” I hack away at another
spell, a frenzied urgency gripping me.
Jack puts his arms around me, dragging me
backward. “We can't save anyone if we get caught ourselves.”
He's right. Oh, so right. But leaving them
here like this… “I'll be back for you as soon as I can.”
“
Save yourself now, then,” the man
calls out. “And hurry back.”
The statement has me turning toward the
exit, but not without a pricking in my chest. Jack hurries me
toward the exit that Chadwick has already cleared and Cynthia waits
at with the others, huddled just inside the door. Everyone is
staring out the door. When I peek to see why, my breath leaves in a
painful gasp.
Outside, a small army of warlocks waits for
us.
“
W
hat do we do
now?” I ask.
Theodore gives me a look.
“
What? It's not like ignoring them
will make them go away.”
“
What about the spell you used to
escape Stephen before?” Lukas asks Cynthia. “If we could all fly
away on a spell, that would work.”
“
I'm not strong enough to carry this
many people. I barely did it when it was just you and me,” she
replies.
“
What if we all work
together?”
She shakes her head. “I don't think we'll
have enough power to get far enough away fast enough.”
“
Any other ideas?” Jack
asks.
“
We need something as a distraction,”
I say. “Something big. I think I know just the thing. Firework
spells. Only aimed at them instead of at the sky.”
“
It could work,” Cynthia says. “We'll
have to throw as many as we can, and get out of here as fast as we
can, covering our tracks as we go.”
“
I can cover our tracks,” Jack says.
“It's the one thing I'm good at.”
“
Good. You take the rear. The rest of
you, on the count of three, send as many firework spells at the
army as you can. Put some on delay if possible.” Cynthia crouches
as if readying to run, and I do the same. “One. Two.
Three.”
I push out the spell as hard and fast as I
can, exploding colors in front of them so hopefully they can't see
us. And run. I stay toward the back of the group by Jack, ready to
defend him if need be. While we run, I throw out more firework
spells. The bigger the better, as many as I possibly can. I've
never put so much into what I once thought was a frivolous spell
before. We run and run, making it to the cover of the trees.
The flashing lights can be seen in glimpses
as we go but fade with each footstep. I stay close to Jack as he
slows to cover our tracks with a muddy brown spell. It fills them
in with dirt from the surrounding areas.
A maroon spell whizzes just over our heads,
slamming into a tree behind us, making it explode.
“
Faster,” I say.
“
I can only go so fast.”
“
Let me help.” I cover our tracks just
ahead of him with a tan spell that leaves things almost all hidden,
but not perfectly. He comes after and wipes the rest away, hiding
everything from view.
“
Good. Now you move faster,” he
says.
I grunt and hurry as quickly as I can, but
my power is tired after all those firework spells, and I've always
struggled with track-covering spells. My power aches within me,
struggling to do the spell. At least it seems to be helping Jack to
go faster, which was the point.
The lights are getting further away now. The
noise of the army is dimming. We're going to make it out of this
trap. We'll make it back home, and hopefully be back here to save
these people another day. A day in the near future, I hope.
Suddenly, a bronze spell smacks into Jack’s
leg. He lets out a hiss.
“
What can I do?” I ask, wondering how
bad it is.
“
Keep going,” he replies through
gritted teeth.
I continue on, but look for the target who
hit Jack. Nothing is in sight but trees now, and the group ahead of
us we're working to hide the tracks of. Only a few seconds later,
another bronze spells spits out, this time coming straight for me.
I dive away from it, but not in time. It sizzles against my hand,
leaving it burning.
“
You all right?” Jack asks, voice
still strained.
“
As much as you are,” I reply, pain
lacing my words.
Cynthia is suddenly at our side, helping us
with hiding everyone's tracks. If we could just move fast enough to
lose this last hex we'll make it. Between the three of us, the work
goes a lot faster. Until I spot another bronze spell coming our
way.
“
Down,” I call out, but not loud
enough to carry.
All three of us dodge to the ground. I pop
back up as soon as the spell flies overhead and aim a sleep spell
at where the bronze spell came from. The power blue light flashes
through the air, hitting the culprit, knocking him to the
ground.
“
Nice shot,” Cynthia says as she
continues covering our tracks.
No one else follows, though the run out is
scary. The three of us start the track-hiding spell back up. By the
time we have been running for what seems like hours, it finally
appears safe enough to stop.
“
What happened inside?” Annabelle
asks.
“
That was a bad trap,” I respond.
“We're going to need an entirely different approach. I don't know
if we can hit another power plant for a while.”
My heart aches to think of all those we left
behind. Those that were in such horrendous circumstances.
“
How can we not go back?” Cynthia
asks.
“
Because we'll just end up right
beside them,” I say. “We'll be no use to them there.”
“
None of it's acceptable,” Chadwick
says.
“
Agreed,” Jack replies. “But we won't
do anything but get caught if we stand around here talking instead
of getting home safe. Let's move.”
And we all listen, getting a move on toward
what's become home. But I have a feeling the nightmares I had about
the power plants before will be nothing in comparison to what I'll
have now. As well I should.
Chapter
Forty-Two
I
collapse
onto my bed, completely worn and unwilling to move again for
months. Fine, I'll have to move before then. One does need to use
the necessity and eat, but that doesn't mean I have to move any
more than that.
More than physically exhausted, I'm
emotionally drained. How could we just leave all those people
behind? I know it would have been our capture had we not, but it's
the worst kind of struggle to get the image of them out of the
forefront of my mind. How can one human treat another human so
cruel?