*COMPLETE* "People don't believe in us anymore. They don't believe that in the end we will do what is right. We can't let them down. We can't let Ben win."
Decisions made on top of the lonely, wind-swept cliff of Lethinor reverberate around the five...
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Not good, are the two words that repeat in Caj's head as the five of them sprint down the hallway. Not good.
He doesn't know where the Paragon or Lei have gotten to, but now is not the time to worry about that. They've got five of those masked clowns on their backs and, last he looked, the metal-head woman was catching up.
Feeling a familiar prickle, his eyes flit over to see Fae glancing back, sweat shining on the delicate ridge of her brow. She's got her bow in hand, wooden arrow clutched in the other, and her gaze slides back to the madness behind them.
We've got to put something between them and us, he thinks, flinging a hand behind to tear the metal wall out. It's no use though: they Skill it back without a second of hesitation. This base is designed for their and Caj's ease, so that none of the surroundings can be used against them.
Not good.
Thick, heavy boots pound the ground behind them, and Caj suspects its Lei's sister. He sends a spurt of fire back and someone else—Hiran—throws back a spray of rock, his rock, broken up into sharp points, but the woman only puts her armored forearms up across her face, pushing through the blast.
They burst into a cafeteria and immediately race toward the wide doors on the other side. While Caj, Finn, and Fae weave around tables Tara and Hiran jump onto and over them, feet pounding into their groaning frames.
"Where are you going?" the woman calls, sounding not even remotely worn by the chase. "You haven't introduced yourselves."
She takes after Hiran and Tara, leaping from table to table with ease. Hiran has to duck as her fist swipes across the air where his head had been.
"What about you, gorgeous?" she leers, a smile twitching on her lips as her foot swings out at the Nature-caller. "Are you the Paragon?"
Hiran jumps back, pulling out a stream of water from his canteen, twisting it into ice as he flings it at her. Tara's stopped too, pulling out her staff as she shifts on the table next to them.
Caj's head turns and he sees Fae notch her bow. She's pointing at the woman, but the other five creatures are bearing down on them and only Caj seems to notice.
Not good.
He shouts, meaning to tell Fae to turn her attention this way, but he hears her bow loose and he flings an arm out, shooting the tables up into the air. Stumbling back, he reaches around to shove her behind him and he feels her slim fingers, skin-tinglingly cool, clutch the bare skin between his glove and jacket and goosebumps crawl up his spine.
But there's no time for that, not now as those creatures break through the jumble of tables, their masks shaking side-to-side as they tear toward the two of them, all twitching limbs and jerky movements. Caj pulls up a sheet of metal—a shield—and shoves Fae further behind him as he fashions a ball of fire between his hands. He hears her notch another arrow, feels the shift of air as she sets it next to his face, aiming out at the hidden figures who will, at any point now, break through the makeshift barrier.
