Juryokine

Chapter Twenty

Toke lay on the cool evening grass for a few minutes, letting his frantic heartbeat slow down. His eyes were glued to the spot in the sky where the spearman had vanished. Had he and Zashiel really just gone toe to toe with him, and come away alive? It had only happened minutes ago, and yet he already found it hard to believe.

"Zashiel," he said at last, sitting up and seeing the Sorakine girl still lying on her back. "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer, and Toke got to his feet, a pit forming in his stomach. How hard had the spearman hit her? She'd only looked dazed when she fell down, but what if he'd actually hurt her? It seemed unlikely that a bump on the head could take out a Sorakine, but... well, it had seemed impossible that a human could manipulate gravity to fly without wings, too.

"Hey, talk to me," he said, kneeling down over her. Her eyes were closed. "Wake up!"

Toke hesitantly shook her shoulder. As soon as he touched her, her eyes shot open and her fist lashed out, striking him on the cheek. Toke fell over backwards, his head reeling and his cheek numb.

"Zashiel, it's me!" he cried out, holding up his hands in placation as she got to her feet. "It's me!"

"I know it's you!" she yelled, her hands balled into fists. "What is- You just- HOW COULD YOU?"

Toke looked up at her in shock. "How could I what?"

Zashiel pointed in the direction the spearman had gone. "You let him get away! We could have stopped him. We could have ended this whole thing tonight. But you just stood there and let him go!"

Zashiel was clenching her fists so hard that her hands started to shake, and she closed her eyes. It was difficult to see in the moonlight, but Toke swore he saw a tear trickle down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he said. Zashiel's emotions weren't the only ones acting up— Toke wasn't sure if he should feel guilty, defiant, relieved, or light headed as the panic slowly went away.

"How many more people are going to die now, Toke?" she demanded, advancing on him. "How many more Storms are there going to be?"

"I said I was sorry!" Toke shot back, getting to his feet. His irritation was quickly overpowering his other feelings. "Can't you just be happy that we survived?"

"I don't care that we survived," she yelled, all semblance of control gone. "I want that dropper dead!"

Toke shook his head and took a step away. This wasn't like Zashiel. Even when she got angry, she never went ballistic like this. Hearing her rage against the spearman instilled a fear in him that even the spearman himself didn't create.

But Zashiel wasn't done yet. "He deserves to suffer for what he's done!" she ranted. "I need to hurt him because... because..."

Her emotions finally overwhelmed her, and she couldn't finish her sentence. Her voice wilted into a pitiful whine, and she fell to her knees. Her face contorted as she tried to hold in her sobs, but she couldn't stop the tears from spilling out of her eyes.

"He- he killed him!" she whimpered, not even talking to Toke anymore.

If hearing Zashiel lose her temper had stunned Toke, seeing her cry terrified him. The strong, independent warrior who had convinced him to commit treason against his own government was now sitting in the grass, bawling like a child. It was like seeing a rock break down and cry.

"Killed who?" Toke asked cautiously, not sure if he should come closer to comfort her or take another step back.

"Sir Miron," she managed to choke out.