When Heroes Fall

Chapter 10

Lien landed on the other side of the eight-foot fence with a thud. She gasped, her entire left leg on fire. Hand running over her calf, she ignored the sticky-wetness and focused on breathing. She grabbed the duffle bag she had dropped over the fence before her. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, Lien swiveled around.

"This way," a uniformed man called, his flashlight hitting her. Lien hissed, pushing herself into a sprit as the officer shouted from behind her. The bag bounced heavily on her back, the weight of the stacks of hundred-dollar bills shifting and hitting uncomfortably. The wind caught her cloak, billowing through the air as she turned down the closest alley.

Her leg throbbed—she cursed the sharp edge of the judge's estate gate. It tore a gash through the side of her calf, but at that point the alarms had already gone off and she couldn't stop to treat it until she ditched the police officers that had responded to the judge's call. If they caught her, Lien had no doubt it would be a shoot first, asked questions later situation. She and the rest of the rogues had made fools of them over the past few years, and enough of them were paid off by the same people funding the judge's summer home.

Biting back tears, Lien ducked around another corner. She could hear patrol sirens behind her. Sparing a glance back, Lien breathed out in relief to see no one behind her.

Lien slammed into something solid in front of her, dropping the duffle bag. Lien sputtered, stumbling back. Doing a double take, Lien blinked at the figure standing in front of her. Standing squaring, matching her expression of shock, was Nightstar.

It had been a month since she had last saw him on that rooftop. He looked even more tired than before. She couldn't see the bags below his eyes, but his skin had taken a more ashen tones—the brightness of his freckles dimming. He ran a hand through his tuffs of blonde hair.

Lien cursed under her breath. She moved to step back, but as she stepped onto her injured leg, it buckled under her weight. She gasped. Before her knees hit the ground, a steady hand caught her elbow.

"Woah," Nightstar exclaimed, his other hand coming up to support her, "what's going on?"

In the distance, Lien could hear the police sirens and a dog bark. She groaned. They brought the dogs. Lien shoved Nightstar back. He yelped at the sudden force, but Lien ignored him. She didn't have time to fight him. She had to keep moving. One foot in front of the other.

Lien swooped down to grab the duffle bag; skirting passed Nightstar. The ache in her leg stabbed deeper, the pain shooting through her entire body. Breathe in. Breath out. Run. One foot in front—Lien's gut twisted. Doubling over, the contents of her supper spilled out onto the dirt alleyway.

"Oh, gross!" Nightstar shouted behind her.

Lien panted, ignoring the smell of vomit as she tried to steady the spinning world. "I am fine," she gritted out. Somewhere, there was a bark. Bark, dog, police, run. Run. She needed to run. Why did she need to run?

A hand graced her back. Lien spun around, fist flying. Nightstar stepped back, catching her weak punch. "Woah, breath Chaos," he glanced back toward the flashing lights of the police cars, "let's get you out of here."

Lien furrowed her brow. What did Nightstar mean—before she could voice her question, Nightstar lifted her into the air by her mid-section, tossing her over his shoulder. Lien squawked at the sudden movement.

"Put me down," she hissed. She did not have time for this.

"Just hold on," Nightstar grumbled, heading deeper into the alley, "I know a place."

Without any other option, Lien gave up her fight as he carried her.

***

Not even fifteen minutes later, Nightstar kicked in the back door of an empty shop, the building having obviously been empty for at least a few months as spiders made their homes in the room's corners. Safely tucked inside, Nightstar set Lien down on her feet. Her entire body felt tired, but the world was no longer spinning as she leaned against the wall. Nightstar shut the door tightly. They stood in the silence of the shop. She could no longer hear the police sirens or dogs barking, meaning Nightstar was able to lose them though Lien found it hard to remember how exactly they had gotten to the building. Everything swirled and mixed with the throb of her leg. Neither of them spoke. Lien grimaced.