The circle of black leather tightened on us. That noose cinching around our necks inch-by-inch. Behind the masks, I could see the flicker of fire in their eyes as they reached for their ability with fire as a unit.
They drop intruders into the Pit.
Not today they wouldn’t. I could beat them to this, but I didn’t have time to explain to Ash. I pulled my spear out and thrust it past him, directly into the Ender he spoke with, dropping him to the floor.
Around us, there was a stutter, a hesitation as everyone tried to comprehend what I’d done, and I took those seconds to my advantage. Swirling the spear over my head, I sunk it into the neck of the Ender on our right. Two down, and just enough room to run past those who would kill us. Ash didn’t wait for me to say ‘go’. We ran through the tiny opening as the rank of leather exploded behind us in a burst of screaming and fire.
Hands grabbed at me, snagging my clothes; I stabbed at them, forcing them back as we stumbled down a hallway, the space behind us lighting up as fireballs careened off the walls. One singed my arm as it rumbled past me, but I didn’t stop, didn’t let myself think about what would happen if I stopped. If we let them catch us.
We came to a dead end and my heart seemed to stop before I realized it wasn’t a dead end, but a doorway. With one kick, Ash booted the heavy door open and pulled me through. He took his sword and jammed it through the handle and into the wall, buying us time.
The globular room was exactly like ours. “Find the Redwoods, I’ll get the arm band.”
I did as he asked, pulling the globe with my fingers as the door shook behind us. The Redwoods would bring the Salamanders to our doorstep. The last thing we needed was an all-out war on our turf. Biting my lip, I shifted the globe to the north, just a little.
Maybe we could lose them somewhere they wouldn’t expect us to go. Then Ash was at my side, and he slid the band over my arm. “Just in case.”
I didn’t understand what that meant and there was no time to ask. He snaked his hand around my waist as the door burst open. We turned to look as the Enders spilled into the room. Ash kept his eyes on them, didn’t even look at the globe as I reached up and touched the spot just north of the forest. A roar of rage hit us from the other Enders, but they disappeared from view as the armband sucked us through to the other side of the world.
I didn’t have to wonder if I would again see Ash’s memories, they hit me hard, harder than I expected.
Cassava stood in front of him, swirling her skirt in the fine dust at her feet with one hand, the other, pointed at his chest. “I want you to be my personal Ender. You will make sure that Larkspur doesn’t find her abilities, that she remains weak. Do you understand?”
His breath came in a short gasp, the pain radiating in his chest matched only by his hatred for the queen. Hate her, he might, but she ruled him and he had no way to prove what she was doing. “I understand.” The words were squeezed out with difficulty because he fought them. He didn’t want to help her, but it was as if he had no choice.
She clucked her tongue at him. “Now, the harder you fight me, the more it will hurt you.”
A shiver ran through his body and he lowered his head to hide his eyes from her. “Yes, my Queen. I will do as I must to keep Larkspur weak.”
She patted his head, and a soft laugh trembled on the air. “That’s a good boy.”
The memory split apart and we rolled across something black and seemingly smooth. But it was not smooth, it was as hard as quartz that had been ground up and packed together, and it tore at my bare skin. Grit and sand cut into my arms and cheek, the friction dragging me to a painful stop. My eyes were inches from a yellow strip that I knew indicated the middle of the road. I rolled to my side. In front of us were tall buildings, the windows dark, the people in them unaware that we’d just popped into existence right on their doorsteps.
“Lark, where did you bring us?” Ash’s voice came from a few feet away. I rolled my eyes to him, his memory still vivid in my mind.
“Eureka.”
“Why in the goddess’s name would you bring us to the human city?” he growled, pushing himself to his feet.
“Because they—the Salamanders—are going to follow us, aren’t they?” I sat up and picked a couple of pieces of grit from my skin, wincing.
Ash bent over me. “Maybe, maybe not. Most likely they’ll send an emissary to the king to ask for our heads.”
I frowned and slowly stood, my body aching. “Then I just slowed us down.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “Yes. But I understand why you did it. In another situation, this would have been the smart choice. We have an easier time going unnoticed amongst the humans, the Salamanders tend to stand out.”
Around us, the world was quiet, night having fallen while we were gone. But I could still smell something cooking, something wonderful. I drew in a deep breath. “Let’s get something to eat, before we go.”
That stopped Ash dead in his tracks. “You’re hungry, after all the bloodshed?”
“Starving, I haven’t eaten in three days.” I didn’t want to try and explain to him what had happened with Coal, how I’d been trapped in some sort of spell. Nor did I want to think about the fact that when we left our home, my soul had been clear of any wrongdoing. And now I’d killed four people. Four.
“You think we have time to stop and eat?” he snapped at me, and I spun around to face him, emotions high.