Rami

Chapter 28

"Run away," he says.

Our eyes meet.

The master is reaching into my mind, moulding my emotions.  I can't move, can't even twitch a finger.  I'm trapped.  I'm fading, drowning, sinking into darkness.

Then my teeth ache.  My ears ring.  Electricity burns through me.  I blink hard, my vision swimming with tears, and I can just make out Liar grabbing my cloak.  He shocks me again.  I bite down a scream.  The baherst is clawing madly inside my pack, then the fabric tears and it flies out into the night.

"Go,"  Liar says, "Now."

His face is clenched with pain.  I realise how much it hurts him to disobey the master.  How much the master can hurt him.

"R-Right," I say, my voice a rasp.

I turn and sprint into an alleyway.  My heart is pounding.  The master rends at my mind until I can barely see, can barely think, but somehow my desire to escape is stronger.  It grows with every heartbeat.  My feet crash against the pavement.  The chaos of the battle surrounds me: soldiers march down every street, arrowheads glint on crossbows in the higher windows and binoculars peer out with glassy eyes.  Volleys of arrows scream through the air.

Where's Kath?  The thought flickers and dies, because of course she's nowhere in sight.  I lost her as soon as the master appeared, and I ran too swiftly for any human to follow.  Buildings tower above me in every direction, and the last bloodstained sunlight is fading in the West.  Soon I'll be blinded by the dark.  A storm is brewing.  Lightning crackles through the sky.  Icy rain soaks through my hair, and my breath mists into a pale cloud.  I sense the other changelings; they dart towards the fortress, little more than shadows, slaying masses of guards whenever they come into contact.  Soldiers cry in terror.  Bones shatter.  Adrenaline floods me.

I scale a fire escape and find myself on a factory roof.  The battle spreads below me.  I lean over a rotten balustrade and watch the street.  It's almost pitch black now.  The only light comes from a spilt lantern, its glass shattered, the cobblestones drenched with flaming oil.

Three figures step out of an alley.  I draw my breath and lean over the street, praying that I'll blend into the shadows.  

The lead one swears.  "I was wrong.  They're coming this way."

All three of them wear black cloaks and veils.  I'm dimly aware of what Kath said, something about Sal's division.  My grip tightens on the railing.

"Might not matter," says another, a woman, "The weapons are ready.  They'll have their first shot soon."

"We have to find shelter," the leader says.  From his voice, I think it really is Sal.  The one who tried to kill me.  He surveys the street and lets out a sharp breath.  In an instant, his stance changes.  He leans forward and draws a knife from his belt.  It gleams in the firelight.

The fire... 

My gaze flies back to the lantern.  Flames have licked up the nearest building, devouring wood, blackening stone.  Raindrops hiss into the plasma, but to no avail.

Someone moves in the alley.  Sal raises his knife.  Firay darts out, twists his arm and shocks him.  He crumples to the ground.  His companions draw their weapons, their shadows dancing madly in the red light.

Firay smirks and steps closer, cornering them.  There's nowhere to run.  I have to do something, have to stop her.  I move without thinking, launching myself over the railing, flying down from the rooftop.

How could I be so stupid?  Horror burns through me.  Air rushes past my cheeks.

I land, knock Firay over, pull her hair and shock her with all my strength.  She collapses.  My head crashes against the pavement.  There's an explosion of pain.  I'm dimly aware that I'm sobbing like a child, my throat aching, tears streaming down my face.  Blackness swims before my eyes.  Minutes slip past, then I force myself to sit up.  My head is throbbing.  I run my fingers through my hair, and they come back damp with blood.

"Are you alright?" someone says.  The woman, I think.

I mumble a reply, rub my eyes, stare at the ruined street.  Firay's been gagged and chained against the wall.  Her eyes are misted, bloodshot.  Her fingers still spasm and convulse as I watch.  

Did I do all of that?  I can't have.  I took her by surprise, little more.  The others must have beaten her somehow.  One of the soldiers mops the blood off my head.  "You might have saved us, kid.  Thank you."

I shut my eyes, numb.  My breath comes out in choking gasps.  I don't know what mad impulse made me jump, made me throw myself into danger with so little hope of fighting her.

Sal is staring at me, his veil thrown back, his face bruised and battered.  I wince and stagger to my feet, part of me certain he'll still attack.  But he only tilts his head, cranes his neck and stares up at the heavens.

"Get down," he says, "All of you.  You'll be blown off your feet."

Lightning forks through the sky, casting stark light over the fortress.  A massive machine on the rooftop is shifting, creaking.

"Get down!"

I drop to my knees.  There's an ear splitting crash, and a fireball flies into the clouds.  The master's shape glows scarlett, the ghosts of flames reflecting on its steel scales.  It plunges its wings down, and the air itself seems to tremble.  The master shoots upward, neck twisting.  The fireball passes it and plunges down to the earth.

Instinctively, I block my ears.  The impact shatters through the island.  Cobblestones break, walls crumble and dust flies up into the fire and rain.

"They missed," the woman says, "Damn it."

The four of us stand, watching each other with wary eyes.  Sal clears his throat.  I swallow hard and prepare to run.  But he doesn't look angry anymore, just drained.  Exhausted.  "Help us.  We need all the power we can muster to save this place."

"Um, alright."

Sal smiles bitterly.  There are dark bags under his eyes.  He throws the veil back over his face.

"Our first goal is to find Kath.  She's not responding over the radio.  It might already be too late."

Guilt freezes me for a moment, then I nod.  Sal sets off down the street, watching every shadow, his fingers never leaving the knife at his belt.  I follow the others, shivering, somewhere beyond fear.  Memories spiral through my head.  I hope the baherst is alright.

Sal says something that's snatched by the rain, and we start to run.  Another fireball streaks through the sky.  The smell of smoke and molten metal fills my nostrils.  The city is burning, burning to the ground.  The thought of victory is fading into a hopeless dream.

We keep running.  My feet splash in icy puddles.

Nico, report.

It's Gar.  I stop.  Sal stares at me.

I'm going through with the experiment, he says.

The hostage girl?  You idiot.

My pulse quickens.

It's an uneccessary risk, Gar says, You're wasting time.

Nico makes no response.  I sense his anger, cold indifference, madness.

"Kid," Sal says, "Hurry up.  We have to go."

Fresh tears well in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I say.  I have to get to Meg.  I have to.  I turn in the direction of the forge, the direction I sense Nico running.  I start to sprint, sickened, desperate.  Fresh terror floods me.  Streets rush by in a blur of flame shadow and blood, icy rain, fear and hatred.  The forge comes into view.

It's burning.

I suck in my breath.  Amber flames roar on the framework, spitting columns of smoke into the rain soaked night.  Thunder crashes.  I steel myself, clench my fists, and sprint through the doorway.  The heat is suffocating.  A dark shape falls overhead.  I try to run harder, to dodge it, but I stumble and trip onto the concrete.  The shape rushes towards me, a flaming beam, and everything fades to darkness.