Chapter 40
Leech darted forward and drew out a pair of long needles.
He swung his arm across his chest and made to stab the boy in the neck.
I wrapped my arms around him and flung us both to the ground.
The father leaped forward and drew a short sword.
He used the flat part of the blade to deflect Leech’s murderous intent.
I felt something hard and scaly brush against my throat, and jerked back. “Hold still!” came the familiar voice of Ramaro. I looked down and found myself face-to-face with the agama. His tail floated in front of us and held a lockpick. “I can’t get that thing off with you squirming-behind you!”
I whipped my head around and watched Crestmoor reach for the back of my collar. A shadow shot out of the fog and grabbed his wrist. The person flung Crestmoor back with such strength that he flew off the ground and landed out of sight in the fog.
My savior turned to face me, and a smile lit up my face. “Adrien!”
The dravenkin bowed his head. “Good evening, Miss Larking. You did well to leave a trail for us to find you.”
“There!” Ramaro cried out, and I felt the collar loosen.
I tore off the offending thing, and Adrien helped me to my feet. At the same time, the father threw off Leech and kicked him hard in the gut. The Manager stumbled back out of sight, and I heard a hard thump as he hit the pavement.
I raced over to the man and wrapped him in a tight hug. “Oh, Marc! You came!”
He looped an arm around me. “Of course I did.”
“Stop wanting to kiss and start moving your feet!” Ramaro spoke up.
I swept my eyes over the intense fog. “But how do we find anything in this mess?”
“I will lead you,” Adrien offered.
A scuff of shoes on the cobblestones forced our attention to our left, and Crestmoor stumbled out of the mist. He grasped his arm, and his dark eyes were filled with a burning hatred. “You will not have her! She is mine!”
Marc grasped my hand and glared at the man. “Nobody will have her but me.”
Crestmoor drew a whisperquill and pointed it at him. “Then I will take her from you.” He fired a blast.
“No!” I screamed as I leaped between the gun and Marc.
My scream echoed around us, and the air vibrated with the force of my cry.
The mist swirled too fast for me to watch, but I could see the result.
The fog twisted around the quill, stopping it dead in its tracks.
Crestmoor’s mouth dropped open as the mist tightened its grip on the quill until the tiny spear broke into several pieces.
Adrien took the opportunity to come around Crestmoor’s side and knock the man out. He crumpled to the ground, and his weapon shattered beside him.
The dravenkin caught our eyes and nodded behind us. “This way.”
We were only too glad to follow, and he led us down the winding, empty streets. We passed shadows of people and horses, and buildings and fountains. Everything looked so surreal. And so treacherous.
I stumbled, and only Marc’s quick hands kept me from falling. I clutched onto him and swept my eyes over the area. “How is the fog this thick?”
“It’s the Wraithcourier’s fog,” Ramaro explained as he hurried along beside our feet. “It knows we need to get out of here!”
“We’re almost there,” Adrien called out.
Marc righted me, and we continued our journey through the mist. We ran out of a narrow alley, and a carriage loomed out of the fog. A slim figure stood beside the door and shouted at us.
“Seastorm! We’re over here!”
“We’re coming, Henry,” Marc assured him as we reached the carriage where the young lad stood.
He grinned. “We made sure the coast was clear, like you said you wanted in your deckle, and we thought you might want to use this to get away. It belongs to that Crestmoor guy. We followed him and swiped his carriage when he wasn’t looking.”
Marc clapped a hand on the lad’s shoulder. “You did well tonight. I’ll thank you when I get back.”
The young lad in the driver’s seat climbed down, and Adrien replaced him. We hurried into the coach, and the carriage rumbled down the road. I grabbed hold of one of the straps as the vehicle swayed from side to side.
Marc admired the plush interior. “It was nice of Crestmoor to lend us his carriage.”
Ramaro’s head shot up, and his nostrils flared. “I think he wants it back. I smell Managers.”
Marc leaned out and frowned. “They’re following us on horseback. The two who weren’t with him.”
My heart skipped a beat. “He sent them to find his carriage!”
Marc fell back and pursed his lips. “And they’re the most dangerous two. We’ll have to hurry to the shore. Adrien will bide us some time, but he can’t reveal himself too much or they’ll bother him to an eternal grave.” His eyes fell on my arm, and his frown deepened. “Did they give that to you?”
I clutched my hand against my chest and shook my head. “Theo did. He wanted to take my voice to give to Iris.”
A dark glint slipped through Marc’s eyes, but he grasped my hands. “We’ll see to it on the ship.”
The carriage continued its mad dash down the road, and soon the wheels rolled off the cobblestones and onto hard-packed dirt. Marc tensed as we flew over rocks and other mishmash. “We’re on the shore. Get ready to jump out.”
The carriage came to an abrupt stop as if it had run into quicksand. March flung the door open, and we leaped out onto soft sand. The scent of the ocean permeated our nostrils, and the soft splash of the waves came to our ears.
But all I could hear was the pounding of the hooves as the Managers caught up to us. Marc grabbed my hand and pulled me down toward the waves. I risked a glance over my shoulder and beheld the two Managers arrive only a few short yards behind us. They leaped off their horses and raced after us.
They hadn’t made it very far when they were pelted with wet sand balls. The two men shielded themselves with their coats and axe, and continued their chase of us.
We reached the shore just as the fog cleared enough for me to see fifty feet out into the cove.
The Wraithcourier’s boat floated toward us.
Marc pulled me into the waves, and we were waist-deep when we reached the vessel.
He helped me into the vessel and pulled himself in.
I leaned over the side and yanked Ramaro aboard.
The boat turned on a dime and floated toward the rocky bluffs and where the Tempest was hidden. The Managers procured a vessel close at hand, and Swinger used his axe as a paddle. The broad side made for a good one, as they began to close the gap between us.
“Can’t this god ship go any faster?” Ramaro snapped.
An idea struck me. I just had to hope it would work, and that we all wouldn’t die in a horrible explosion.
I whipped my face around to Marc and thrust my hands into his coat. He jerked back. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for-ah!” I drew out the vial of disguise juice. “This!”
Ramaro wrinkled his snout. “It won’t matter if we’re disguised. They know we’re on this thing.”
I met Marc’s eye, as the brief trot through the waters had changed him back. “Do you think they know the boat we’re on?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I doubt it since they’re following us.”
“Too eager to catch us,” Ramaro chimed in.
I popped open the cork. “Then I hope this works.”
The lizard’s eyes widened, and his voice came out an octave higher than usual. “What are you doing? We have no idea what those magics will do with each other!”
“We don’t have much of a choice!” I countered as I scooted toward the aft and tossed the contents at our driver.
Droplets flew out and splashed onto him. The magic swept over the dark cloak, changing him from a creepy phantom into a smiling man with impossibly dark eyes. He was attired in a sailor’s outfit, complete with a bandanna and loose leggings.
“They’re still going to find us in here!” Ramaro pointed out.
A smile curled onto Marc’s lips. “They can find us all they want. The old guards won’t like people who don’t pay their dues.”
His words became reality as the water behind us began to boil up. The Managers tried to turn their vessel, but the gurgling expanded across a wide line at our back. Shadowy figures shot up and latched onto their vessel. Swinger furiously paddled backward now as their boat began to violently rock.
The mist swallowed them, hiding the end of the story from our view. I had a depressing feeling that wouldn’t be the last we saw of them.
For now, though, we were free.