The Rogue Knight (Jace x OC) Book 2

The Rogue Knight: 3

Breezing through the night, leap after leap, I waited for Mira to tire out or stop, but she kept going.
I hung back behind her, keeping her in view, Cole and Twitch behind us. Cool air rushed by with every jump.
One of the moons glowed fairly bright tonight.
Another, a slender crescent, was just rising. The night sky in the Outskirts changed without pattern. The inconsistency allowed Mira and her sisters to be marked by stars without anyone catching on. Ten or eleven different moons could show up on any given night, although I had never seen more than three at once. Many of the moons were similar to Earth's, though tonight's struck me as a bit more yellow.
I scanned the shadows beneath the trees at either side of the road. Anything could be lurking under the cover of that darkness. I glanced behind as well, braced to see a platoon of legionnaires or mysterious riders on ragbeasts.
One luxury of the autocoach was that it shut out the rest of the world, producing a false safety that we were hidden and safe. I supposed that was wonderful until you ended up at the bottom of a ravine after an ambush.
Without the coach, I felt more exposed, but that be me more alert.
Mira's concerns about her sister caused my thoughts to turn to my lost friends. I remembered when I last seen Jenna, caged in a
wagon, still in her fairy costume from Halloween.
My last glimpse of Dalton, had been of a sad, dusty clown, also in a cage. They had been on their way to be sold as slaves when me and Cole were selected to join the Sky Raiders.
Where were they tonight? Where were the dozens of other kids who were smuggled from Mesa to the Outskirts? Were they comfortable?
Were they suffering? They could be in any of the five kingdoms. And they were in danger.
The shapecrafter Quima had warned that the High Shaper intended to perform experiments on them involving shaping powers. Kids from outside the five kingdoms to have shaping powers. The slaver Ansel had sold all the kids with the most potential to the High King.
Bounding along the moonlit road, I had to believe my friends were all right. I had to believe they were occupied with safer tasks than raiding sky castles. I had considered setting off on my own, with the sole purpose of finding my friends. But the trail was cold. I had no idea where to start. Jenna, Dalton, and the others could be anywhere.
Searching for them alone would put me at a serious disadvantage. I knew little about the Outskirts, and I would have no help. If I stuck with Mira, not only could I lean on her knowledge of the five kingdoms, I could also count on finding rebels like Joe who were willing to assist a princess in exile. I tried to renew my faith that, as I helped Mira and kept my eyes and ears open, eventually I would find my friends.
How many others did I need to find? Right now my main concern was saving Dalton and Jenna.
But what about my other friends, Lacie and Sarah? Or Blake? What about the rest of the victims? I knew most of them by face if not by name.
If we found Dalton and Jenna and learned of a way home, would I ditch the others? It was hard to say. If I was ever fortunate enough to be in that position, I'd decide then.
What about Mira? If I found a way home, would I abandon her? She had already become a real friend. Without her, I would probably still be stuck with the Sky Raiders, which meant my job as a scout would probably have gotten me killed by now. And honestly? I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave. If we eventually defeated the High King, and all this was over, maybe I would stay.
I have friends here. Mira had already helped us so much, and Twitch was great. And Jace . . . he's amazing. He's funny, and smart, and sarcastic. He always has my back, he cares about me. On top of all that, he's the cutest boy I've ever seen. As much as I missed home on Earth, if we ever found a way back, I'm not sure I would want to leave. Mira, Jace and Twitch, I could never just leave them behind. They're some of my best friends.
I lost my thought process as Mira came to a halt.
I aimed my next jump to the side of her and landed in an awkward stumble. Twitch fluttered
to a stop nearby. Cole caught up a few seconds later.
"Tired?" Cole asked.
"I could keep going," Mira said.
"I'm worried that Jace hasn't caught up yet." I said.
Mira nodded. "That's why I stopped."
I looked back down the road. It would be tragic if anything happened to him. My feelings for him didn't even matter, he was a friend. That's what I cared about. And he was good in a fight, a survivor.
"He's probably fine. I bet we're just going faster than him." Cole said.
"Right," Mira agreed. "The trees have thinned out."
I nodded. With brushy fields on either side of the lane, Jace wouldn't be able to slingshot himself off trees. It would make him even slower.
"If we've been stretching our lead this whole time," Twitch said, "we may have a big wait ahead of us."
"All the more reason to pause now instead of later," I said. "We don't want to lose him. If he's in trouble, we have to go back."
"If he's in trouble, it's probably more than we can handle," Cole said. "He's not easy prey with that rope. If he doesn't show up, I'll go back. You, Mira and Twitch need to keep going."

"No way," I said. "If he doesn't show, I'm going with you. I'm not leaving him."
Twitch moved off the road and into the brush.
"How about we wait behind those bushes?" he suggested. "We'll have a view of the road, but we can lay low if unexpected visitors show up.
And if he doesn't show, someone can go look for him."
"Jump to the bushes," Cole advised. "That way there won't be any tracks leading to our hiding spot."
"Good thinking," Twitch said, springing into the air, wings a shimmering blur.
Me, Cole, and Mira jumped to the bushes as well. I sat down, my legs bent in front of me. I crossed my arms and put them on my knees, resting my head on my arms.
"I'll keep watch," Twitch volunteered. "The grinaldi have sharp night vision."
"What can't you guys do?" Cole asked.
Twitch shrugged. "My people aren't good swimmers. We avoid deep water."
"You exhausted? From the shaping?" Cole asked us.
"My head aches," I replied not lifting my head.
"Could be worse. At least no evil shapers have caught up to us." Mira added.
"You three did well back there," Twitch said.
"Those Jumping Swords are effective weapons."
"They're useful," Cole said. "It stresses me out to attack with them, though. It's kind of like having a bow with only with one arrow. And you're the arrow."
We all laughed at that. "You have the weirdest descriptions." I said, lifting my head.
Cole just shrugged, but he was smiling.
Something white and gray swooped down and landed beside Mira with a flurry of feathers. I recoiled and raised my sword, then recognized the cockatiel Liam had given them to serve as a scout.
"Mango!" Mira exclaimed. Extending her arm, she let the semblance perch on her wrist.
"Where is the autocoach?" the cockatiel inquired.
"Didn't you see?" Mira asked. "It crashed down into a ravine."
"I don't belong to the coach," the cockatiel said.
"I return to you. How far back did it crash?"
"A good ways," Mira said. "We were ambushed." The cockatiel whistled. "Sorry I missed warning you."
"It was a small force," Mira said. "Have you seen Jace?"
"No," Mango replied. "I spent most of my time up ahead. The road from here to Carthage looks clear. We're not using the main route. This road is less direct and less traveled."
"Is the city much farther?" I asked.
"If you hurry, you could get close by morning,"
Mango said.
"Go find Jace," Mira said. "He's catching up to us on the road. Then report back. Watch for anybody who might be following us. They could
be in dark armor with strange mounts."
"Will do," Mango replied, taking flight.
They watched the bird disappear into the night in the direction they had come. I was worried about Jace. What if he was captured?"
"I've never been to Carthage," Twitch said.
"Me neither," Mira said. "I've only heard stories.
It's an old city. A big one. It straddles two kingdoms—the west side is in Sambria, the east in Elloweer."
"Joe wants to mect us on the Elloweer side," I reminded them.
"Which worries me," Mira said. "On that side our renderings won't work anymore. No Jumping Swords. No golden rope."
"Will they stop working right on the border?" Cole asked. "Won't they work a little while we're still close to Sambria?"
"They would work a little in Junction, between the kingdoms," Mira said. "Once you cross into another kingdom, everything is different. The boundaries have existed since anyone can remember. In populated areas the border is usually marked. But marked or not, the effect is the same the way shaping works changes. I guess there's a small chance some of our renderings might work a little in the we kingdom, but they'll work just as well a hundred mile Elloweer as they will right after stopping out of Sambria."
"My ring, for example," Twitch said. "It reverts
me to my Ellowine form even when I'm in another kingdom."
"But items like Twitch's ring are rare," Mira said.
"Here comes Jace," Twitch said. "He made pretty good time. We never stopped until just now."
I saw Jace propelling himself down the road, his golden rope coiling and uncoiling like a spring, first thrusting him forward, then cushioning his landing. The result had him moving almost as fast as they could with their jumping Swords.
My breath hitched as I saw him. If he had gotten captured, I don't know what I'd have done.
Twitch gave a whistle, and Jace came to a halt the next time his rope absorbed his landing.
"Where are you?" Jace called in a hushed voice.
Twitch sprang over the bush toward the road. I followed him. Cole helped me to my feet.
I didn't even bother jumping as I ran over and hugged Jace. "You scared me."
He laughed. "Sorry. I'll try to be faster next time."
"How'd it go?" Cole asked.
"Mira's sidekick is well off the road," Jace said.
"Kendals is about a hundred yards away from Mira's. Didn't take too long. No sign of pursuit yet. Should we keep going?"
"Yes." Mira said.
"Are you sure you don't need a longer break?
Cole asked.
"I could use one," Mira admitted. "But we can't afford it. If word is out about our location, we can't let our enemies catch up to us. We need to get to Carthage and find a place to hide out."