Part 48
Nothing was ever simple. We got
out of my house—I didn’t even feel the need to look back. My family could reap
what they’d sowed if the king came after them. I felt no sympathy for people
who could sell their own son.
But we’d only gone a few streets
before guards began stomping down the main thoroughfare. I pulled Teddy with me
into an alley as six passed us, their boots thudding against the cobbles. When
it fell quiet, I slowly peeked my head around the corner of the building.
They’d left a guard at the
four-way guidepost. There was no way we could pass him without being
questioned. We’d have to try and make our way out of the city via the warren of
alleys. Wildman would’ve really come in handy; he seemed to have an innate
sense of direction, but there was no way I could risk taking Teddy near the
theater. It was too close to the palace, and even making our way to the city
edges was fraught with danger. Luckily the nails on the guards’ boots made
their steps echoingly loud in the quiet city not yet woken for the day.
We weren’t just trying to escape
the guards, we were racing the dawn. I’d slid a lightened pack on Teddy’s
shoulders, careful with his injured one, but mine was even more heavily laden
to compensate, plus he still needed my support and guidance. The added distance
and time we spent avoiding the guards was wearing on me.
Exhaustion led to haste when we
finally neared the entrance to the tunnel that would let us out of this crazy
city. I took one step out of the alley, nearly to the edge of the pool of light
emitted by the sign post, but then Teddy’s boot snagged on something. I
stumbled sideways into the building, unable to catch myself before I scraped my
cheek on the rough stone.
The sudden flare of the light
reflecting off a blade kept me frozen against the building.
I eased backward and slumped
against the wall, panting as my heart raced. I looked into Teddy’s eyes. Had he
stopped me on purpose? Was he still in there? I couldn’t really tell. My face
was burning, and warmth was dripping down the site. I’d have to let it bleed,
though, because the sun was nearing the top of the wall, and we’d lose the
wells of shadow keeping us safe.
Had he heard us? I grabbed Teddy
and started backtracking. I paused once, when I thought I heard footsteps, but
there was nothing. It took six alleys to get around that one square, but we
were finally at the entrance to the tunnel. I’d hoped to find Wildman here, but
he was nowhere in sight.
We couldn’t wait for him in the
city, and I was reaching the end of my endurance. Worse, since the machine
drained me, I could barely make the lantern I’d packed flicker bright enough to
keep from stumbling over rocks or into holes.
We’d only made it about a quarter
of the way into the more natural rocky tunnel when my strength gave out. My
right leg buckled under Teddy’s weight, and we went down. I lost my wind when I
landed on a smooth rock, bruising my ribs. I gasped for air, shuddering.
I groped in the darkness for
Teddy, and he was still beside me, on his stomach. The lantern went out the
second I dropped it, so I was forced to crawl in a circle until I felt the cool
metal of the base under my hands.
My head was bloody, my ribs ached,
Teddy had a gash on one hand that I bound with a handkerchief and bruises
probably littered his body under his skin. Worse, not even the fall had brought
him back to me.
I had never felt more alone.
My grunts was muffled by the stone
all around us as I maneuvered Teddy against the rock wall and then snuggled
against him. I just needed a short rest.
A sound brought me upright. Teddy
slumped into my lap, and I held my hand up, blocking the blinding light. My
eyes burned, and I blinked rapidly to clear them. “Who’s there?”
“Bad sleep. Go now.”
I blinked, wiping the tears.
“Wildman? Is that you?”
“Not me sleeping.”
The shock of going from asleep in
the dark to the bright light finally eased, and I could make him out, holding
the lantern. I ran my hand over Teddy’s head, smoothing back his hair and
checking his face. His eyes were open.
“Teddy? You awake?” He blinked,
but didn’t reply. What had I done to him? I cursed myself viciously. “Don’t
worry, you’ll be fine.” I would find a way to bring him back from whatever had
happened to his mind.
“Go now. Bad men follow. They die
in jungle.”
Damn. “Thank you for helping us,
Wildman.”
He shrugged. “Leaving now.” He
turned.
“Wait! Help me get Teddy up.
You’re taking us with you, right?” I’d find a way to make it out there on our
own, but our odds of surviving went up significantly if Wildman would let us
stay with him.
He shrugged, but he put one arm
under Teddy’s shoulder. I expected to have to take more of the weight, but once
again Wildman surprised me with his strength, heaving Teddy up before I even
got to my feet.
“Fast.”
Our pursuers weren’t that close
behind if Wildman kept the light going that bright… and didn’t that just answer
and raise even more questions about him. He had to be a Beta to have that much
power, and he knew about the machine. Had they drained him like they had the
twins? Had he escaped before it drained him fully?
Or did his power come back? I
desperately latched on to the hope it was the last one.
TBC
Now on to other flashers!
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