Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ellery
By the time we reached the middle of the road, most of the amsirah on the street had vanished. All that remained was a small child walking beside his mother.
The boy stopped to look at us. His mother had been walking with her head down, and at such a brisk pace, she dragged the boy a few feet before realizing he’d ceased moving.
I couldn’t make out the words she hissed at him, but she tugged on his hand while he used the other to point at us. The woman’s head lifted; she stared at us as I set the chest in the middle of the road.
The caravan hadn’t come through here yet, but it would, even after the robbery. When it did, these amsirah would require carisle to replace what the duke stole from them.
“This is for the town,” I called to her.
The woman looked from me to the chest and back again. Her eyes widened as understanding dawned, and she pulled her child closer. The boy was no more than five, and if the duke had his way, he’d soon tear the child from his mother’s arms.
“We can help you in the Revenant Woods,” I told her. “We’ll keep you both protected if you join us.”
“We can’t survive in there.”
“I promise, we can keep you safe. You could come with us now, and if not, look for a poltergeist if you change your mind.”
The woman wrapped her arms around the boy as she cradled him against her. The torn expression on her face caused a pang in my heart; she shouldn’t have to fear for her child’s life.
Before she could reply, the clip-clop of horseshoes drew my attention as a contingent of riders approached from one of the side streets. I couldn’t see them, but they were getting closer.
“It’s time to go,” Tucker said.
My attention was riveted on the woman. “If you come with us now, we can help you.”
“My husband….” Her words trailed off as she looked toward the approaching riders.
“Ellery,” Tucker warned as the hoofbeats drew closer. “Scarlet, open a portal.”
“We can come back for your husband,” I assured the woman as I ignored Tucker’s hand on my arm.
She glanced toward the approaching riders before scooping up her child and running toward us. Determination etched her face as her boy’s head bobbed against her shoulder.
I was glad she’d chosen to trust us, but now we had no one to get the chest to a safe location. We couldn’t leave it here.
“I have to get this somewhere safe,” I called to Scarlet and Tucker as I scooped up the chest. “Take the woman and go on without me. I’ll catch up with you.”
“Like that’s going to happen,” Tucker retorted.
The rest of his words were swallowed by the wind rushing past me as I sprinted across the road toward the closest building. The cumbersome chest made running a little more difficult, but I didn’t let it hinder me.
When I glanced over my shoulder, Scarlet and the woman had vanished. Scarlet would have preferred to remain behind, but someone had to get the woman and child out of here, and she was the only one who could close her portal.
The slap of footsteps told me Tucker was closing the distance between us. I skidded to a stop in the doorway of the building; I had no idea what was inside and didn’t care as long as it provided some protection from the approaching riders.
Propping the chest against the door, I used my knee to balance it while I fumbled for the knob. When I finally grasped it, it refused to turn beneath my hand.
“No,” I gasped as I tried and failed to twist it a couple more times.
Tucker slid to a stop beside me, and knocking my hand aside, he thrust his shoulder into the door as he twisted the knob. It didn’t budge for him either.
“Shit,” he hissed. “We have to get out of this town.”
“We can’t leave the chest in the middle of the road.”
“Then we’ll take it with us and return later.”
“There could be more of them later. If we don’t find somewhere safe for it now, we might never get the chance.”
When he glowered at me, I glared back.
“I like my head where it is,” he said.
“It is a very nice head, but we’re not leaving here without helping The Hollows.”
Tucker slapped his hand off the door before grasping my arm. He spun me around and turned me toward the alley between this building and the next.
Our feet rebounded off the cobblestones as we rushed down the alley toward the sunlit road at the other end. Tucker wound his arm through mine and pressed close to my side to help keep the chest hidden.
The shadows deepened between the buildings and encased us within them. The riders could still spot us, but at least the alley offered some protection.
Rodents scurried across the stones, their claws clicking as they scampered from one garbage bin to another. My nose wrinkled at the stench of rotting garbage.
Behind us, the approaching hoofbeats grew louder. I glanced over my shoulder as the first rider trotted past the entrance to the alley before continuing.
Sitting tall in their saddles, with their swords strapped to their sides and their gazes focused straight ahead, they all looked as pleasant as a dragon with a toothache. They weren’t here for the sweet treats.
“Look ahead,” Tucker growled at me.
I twisted my head back around and concentrated on holding the chest steady so as not to rattle the money within. The end of the alley loomed closer, but when we were only thirty feet away from it, more guards trotted past the opening.