The Fall of the Keepers

Chapter 28 Run, Run, Run Away

The vines around my neck receded and I doubled over gasping for air. When I found the strength to stand once again, my eyes roved over the scene. Our attackers appeared to have simply frozen in their tracks. Imani was perfectly motionless despite the fact that her body was wreathed in fire, her water had suddenly dried up. Ranen took a step back, the crimson and amber-colored tendrils of living flame consuming his victim reflecting in his glassy eyes. After a long pause, he turned to me with a furrowed brow and a questioning gaze.

"Astrid?"

"It's not anything I'm doing."
I replied back feeling equally befuddled by the strange scene before us.

I knew no wielding ability that could freeze time, and it certainly wasn't a talent that the Fire Prince or I possessed, so what was happening here?

"Ranen!"
A small voice called.

To our left three figures appeared seemingly out of thin air, one relatively short and wrapped in a blue coat, one average size all in black, and one in the middle that towered over the other two, his robotic eye shining out with its eery red gleam. The young girl bolted across the slush into Ranen's arms, tears, whether of fear or relief I did not know, streaming down her olive-toned cheeks.

"Navia?"
He exclaimed, raising his head to eye Ghost with a seething expression.

"You were supposed to get her somewhere safe!"

I wondered perhaps if that was why he hadn't fought back against Cassian and the team at first, attempting to get them to take him to Quetta instead, in an effort to buy his sister time to escape.

"I was in the process of that when we ran into this one wandering about on the road where anybody might have spotted her."
The robotic man shrugged, motioning to the figure cloaked in black.

"She claimed she could save you and your sister there absolutely refused to go anywhere but back to rescue you."

"She's nine and all of sixty pounds soaking wet."
Ranen stared him down.

Ghost shrugged.

"She can be very persuasive."

The third figure was none other than Idris, dressed in her Sentinel's garb, though her mask was missing. Her hands were outstretched and she seemed to be in deep concentration.

"Wait, is she doing this?"
I waved my hand at the frozen figures.

"Yes."
Ghost answered simply without elaboration.

My eyes widened.

"How on earth-?"

"Would you four pick a direction and start running? I can only hold them for so long!"
Idris snapped suddenly.

Her voice sounded different, but I couldn't peg in what way. I was too busy picking my jaw up off the floor at her power. What sort of a wielding ability was this? Surely she had some power I had been woefully unaware of.

"Run where?"
Ranen queried.

The same thought had occurred to me. Where could we possibly go now that Ranen had been found and I had taken a stand in his favor?

"You can't stay in Itova any longer, any of you."
Ghost informed us, waving his hand in general reference to the bodies in the mud.

Realization dawned on me and I let out a breath in resignation. It was ironic how the things you tried hardest to avoid always seemed to come around for you.

"We have to get to the Wildlands."
I said quietly.

Ranen's head swiveled between Ghost and I, an understandable alarm on his features.