Herald Of Shadows

Chapter Six: City Walls

The wagon crashed to the ground behind them. Saphier made a choked noise, as close to a scream as her throat could make past the sudden lump in it.

"Ashen." His name came out breathless. "Ashen."

He was on the ground, ripping himself free of writhing grass. The wagon bent and broke under it. The horses screamed, thrashing wildly. Whoever had been driving the wagon lay partly over the seats, unmoving.

Lightfingers and Cord stood on the road. Ashen ran for them, stumbling over grass.

She lunged for the side of the wagon. Saphier had no weapons, and no armor, but she didn't care.

The back of her shirt wrenched tight, choking her as she was hauled back.

"Saphier, no," Mattrin hissed. They were moving farther and farther from them. Lightfingers glanced back briefly, meeting Mattrin's eyes past her shoulder.

Then they were all fighting, and the creatures had them surrounded in a heartbeat. Her brother stood, knife in hand. He looked terrified.

"No!"

The wagon bounced, and she almost fell off despite Matt's hold on her.

"Bastard!" she yelled the word, yanking against his grip. One of her feet connected with his side and she shoved off it. Even with the leverage she couldn't break free. "Bastard. We have to help them, we, we..." Her vision swam, and Saphier realized she was crying.

Matt pulled her to his chest. She could hear his wild heartbeat as he held her. Fists balling, she drove one into his side. Hard. Matt barked a sound of pain, and his grip faltered.

Saphier lunged for the edge again.

Her arm jerked out behind her, steely fingers clenched over her wrist. "Saphier! Stop!"

She couldn't see them. Tears ran down her face. Each breath became a pant, rebounding against her mask. Mist covered the road behind them, hiding everything.

"We have to go back." She tried to scream the words at him, but her voice cracked on the first one. "We have to. They have Ash, and Lightfingers. Cord." She couldn't make her chest move to draw in a breath, as if her body didn't remember how. As if her twin had been the air inside her lungs, and now he was gone.

A scream pierced the air, distant and shrill before it broke off into a thousand pieces of echo.

Matt's arms wrapped around her, holding her in close. This time, she didn't push away.

* * *

Someone shook her.

"Ash... stop." Her twin couldn't make her get up when her head hurt this much. No one made him do things when his head was like this, it wasn't fair.

"It's, it's not Ashen," someone said, their voice tight as a harp string tuned near breaking. "It's Matt."

Matt.

Matt. Saphier sat bolt upright on the wagon roof. "Ash. Ashen!" She practically screamed his name, the sound muffled under her mask. "Where is my brother?" Her eyes snapped hard to Mattrin. A look crossed his face, and it stabbed into her more painfully than any knife.

"We, we don't know, Saphier. I'm so sorry."

So sorry.

That's what you said after someone died, and no real words could help. I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. So sorry.

She shook her head. "You made me leave him!" Her scream was shrill now even behind the leather. She blinked away tears, feeling them burn down her cheeks. "You left him."