Chapter 5
Cahir
The sun was low in the shimmering sky, and the air was gradually starting to cool as Cahir sprinted off the Gardvord grounds, intent on reaching Cascade before the city’s curfew alarm went off.
He wasn’t sure where to find Jason, but he figured he could start at Joro Hall, where most society gatherings took place. It was a two-hour walk from the Gardvord, and he had only an hour to get there.
He had just enough time to reach the hall and find a place to hide for the night if he jogged the distance. He cut through apartment complex courtyards and leaped over fences along the fields.
The roads in Orience twisted amongst themselves, as buildings and farmlands had been gradually constructed over the centuries, forcing the need to expand to support the growing population at the time.
It ended up creating a maze of roads that made travel slower than just cutting straight through when possible.
A bird swooped down from a tree and flew alongside Cahir.
“Why did you scratch her yesterday, Roya?” Cahir huffed as he tried to quicken his pace through an alley of buildings.
As the bird soared, its dark eyes gazed back at him, mirroring his own reflection.
“I was trying to protect her and accidentally scratched her,” her melodious voice replied.
“She thought you were attacking her. You can’t just grab someone like that. And was that you in the apartment?”
Roya flew ahead to a tree, perched on a low-hanging branch, and let out a loud caw. Cahir jogged up to the tree and paused for a moment, catching his breath, with his arm pressed against the stump to support himself.
“It is in my nature to protect. I want an easy way in.” Roya ruffled her black feathers as they reflected their azure hue in the fading sunlight.
“I could have just opened a window for you.”
“You and I both know she wouldn’t leave it open,” Roya said with a huff.
“My time is almost up, and I haven’t found it yet.” He pulled the piece of paper out of his shirt pocket, which Roya had given him the day before, and unfolded it to reveal its contents.
“They have been watching,” Roya warned. “You need to find a way to tell her before the day arrives.”
“You know I can’t. The Wisps’ magic binds me, remember?” Cahir looked down at the paper and crumpled it into a small ball.
The fucking Wisps.
He should have just set out to find Seda alone without their magic to help him. He hurled the crumpled paper past the tree into the tall, dry weeds and glared at Roya.
“What are you running to?” Roya changed the subject as she hopped to another branch, trying to avoid his glare, with the tree rustling from the movement.
“Her father was collected to go to the Camp. I want to find where he is and try to get him out before that happens. Things are changing quickly here, Roya. The Jotnar attacks are also more frequent. I fear I won’t have enough time to help with this. I need to get her out of here.”
Roya tilted her head and gazed up at the sky. “The dome will crumble soon,” she warned. “We have heard their conversations.”
He felt a coil of dread wrap around him, squeezing tight like a snake around its prey.
He stepped away from the tree and resumed his jog toward Cascade.
Roya leapt from the branch, following him above as the setting crimson sky darkened in the distance.
He ran until the gates of Cascade appeared before him, and the road changed from the crunching of pebbles to smooth, basketweave brick.
Boutiques had closed their shops for the night, their window displays showcasing their wealth, so vastly different from the other two sections of Joro. Street lights flickered on and cast an orange glow over the street. No one was in sight except for a group of Rozzers standing in the distance.
As Cahir rounded the corner of a street, he spotted Joro Hall in the distance. The building’s brick exterior and stained glass windows towered over the end of the long road.
From the sound of flapping wings above and the slight breeze in the air, Cahir knew that Roya was still with him.
The curfew siren blared throughout the city, and his chest constricted. He didn’t find a safe location in time.
“Hey there!” a Rozzer called from behind. He didn’t hesitate and took off running, knowing that getting caught meant being taken to the Camp. He turned the corner of a shop and searched for a place to conceal himself as the sound of boots closing in on him grew louder.
“Over here,” Roya called from behind a large bush. Cahir ran to the prickly, flowering bush and ducked down. She landed on his shoulder and spread a wing over him, her magic making them both disappear.
With his breath held tightly in his lungs, Cahir stayed still as the sound of the Rozzers getting closer grew louder.
Two Rozzers ran up to the bush and stopped a few feet away, both holding their weapons. A tall Rozzer with greasy, dark hair and a scarred face said, “I saw him go there. Where did he go?”
Next to him, the Rozzer with red hair nodded toward a building, which had a narrow path running between two other buildings. “These fucking assholes. Maybe he ran that way. The Captain said we need to catch all of them. If we ever want to move up, Michael, we can’t keep failing. Let’s go.”
They both hurried down the path.
With a sigh, Cahir finally stood up, his body reemerging as Roya pulled back her wing and landed on the ground.
“Thank you,” he said to her.
She hopped over to the nearby green grass, dug her toes into the damp earth, and looked for a bug to catch. “It is in my nature to help you, as you protect her,” she replied.
Something about the two Rozzers seemed oddly familiar to Cahir.
It couldn’t be them. Could it?
He shook his head, refocusing on what he needed to do.
He moved stealthily around the bush and up the street, keeping an eye out for any nearby activity.
Roya ascended into the air again, scanning the area.
He heard a distant cry of a man and the sound of the Rozzers yelling, indicating they had found another person.
He continued sneaking up the road toward the hall when Roya flew back down and lightly advised, “Go three blocks to the west.” She lifted into the air once more and flew in the direction she wanted him to go.
He turned left and crept along the building walls, down dark alleyways, making sure to keep his steps light and his body hidden as much as possible.
He navigated through the third block and spotted the stone perimeter wall surrounding the dome’s base coming into view. He could hear the clanking of metal as he got closer. He stopped when he reached a large crack in the wall, hidden behind foliage. Light streamed through the vines.
He carefully peeled apart the hanging plant and looked through the crack to the other side of the wall.
On the other side was a group of Rozzers and a cell packed with people, their cries reverberating through the crack. The Rozzers were shoving three more men into the cell, their hands chained in front of them.
With cautious steps, Cahir carefully made his way through the narrow crack, the magic of the dome prickling against his skin. On the other side, he ducked behind a pile of wooden boxes haphazardly lined up outside the wall, staying crouched and out of sight.
“All of you have been labeled with misbehavior and will need to redeem yourselves in the Camp!” a large Rozzer with dark hair and a piercing gaze said with a serpent-like tone.
He banged his baton against the cell bars, hitting someone’s fingers.
A wail of pain escaped from the injured person, and the Rozzer snarled at him like an animal.
The remaining people inside the cell quickly shuffled away from the front bars.
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” a brave woman begged through harsh cries. “This is a mistake. I was heading home to the Barrio after my shift in the Palatium. It was before the curfew!”
“Silence, all of you!” the Rozzer barked, striking the bars again with a loud clang that echoed through the area and bounced off the perimeter wall.
A man inside the cell caught Cahir’s eye with his graying hair and long beard.
There’s Jason.
Roya flew down and whispered, “You know what we need to do.”
“I will try. What’s our backup plan if it doesn’t work?” Cahir asked Roya.
“We run.”
He stepped out into the alleyway, fully showcasing himself to everyone at the end. A young Rozzer looked over and said, “Captain. Look!” He pointed at Cahir.
The Rozzer, who was banging on the bars, looked over his shoulder. He looked at Cahir with surprised disgust and slightly stuck out his tongue, as if to smell him.
“Gentlemen...” Cahir said confidently as the Rozzers slowly drew their guns and moved toward him. “I believe you have someone I need.”
He took a step forward, and a vibrant green mist wrapped around him, turning his six-foot frame into one that was a foot taller.
His canines elongated into sharpened daggers, and the tips of his ears grew pointed.
As his skin started to glow with a green glimmer, his muscles enlarged, and his clothes tore apart during the transformation.
Everyone at the end of the alleyway gasped, and a woman in the cell screamed, “Jotnar!” Frantic chaos erupted. Those in the cell rattled the bars and screamed, desperate to break free. The Rozzers all took a step back in fear.
Cahir couldn’t help but smile at the chaos and the fact that this whole thing was actually working.
“What the fuck is that?” someone asked as they watched Cahir approach.
“That isn’t a Jotnar, you fools!” the Captain shouted. “Get him!”
Born from cunning shadows, Roya shifted from her Corvid form behind the wooden boxes into the graceful figure of a woman with sleek, azure-blue hair flowing down her back, slanted eyes like a feline’s, sharp eyebrows, and moonlight-hued skin.
She stepped beside Cahir and casually picked at her elongated, sharpened nails, poised to cut down anyone who approached.
The Rozzers surged ahead and opened fire on them. Roya dodged the bullets, bouncing out of the way with ease, and danced her way toward the cell. The bullets struck Cahir and ricocheted off his skin, clinking onto the ground in misshapen forms.
“What the hell…” a Rozzer said as he reloaded his gun.
Cahir confidently stepped forward, unfazed by the bullets raining down.
A young Rozzer approached with his steel sword drawn and sliced it through the air.
Cahir held out his hand, and a burst of dark green magic shot out from his palm, violently throwing the young man toward the wall.
The Rozzer slumped to the ground and stayed motionless.
More Rozzers closed in, their swords drawn. Since guns were ineffective in this fight, they formed a circle around Cahir. He spun and used the magic from his palms to push everyone back as they moved forward.
The Captain dodged Cahir’s magic and charged forward, slicing his arm with a ruby-colored sword. Cahir’s emerald-colored blood stained the Captain’s weapon and splattered on the ground.
Hissing in pain and shock that someone had managed to hurt him, Cahir punched the man in the chest, sending him flying backward and crashing onto his side.
Cahir’s injured skin dulled in color, returning to his human shade.
The Captain jumped up swiftly, and his dark brown eyes flashed a crimson red before shifting back to their original color.
What the fuck?
Roya approached the cell and shook the door, trying to open it without the key. The people inside screamed at her approach and backed away, squishing themselves against the opposite side. Roya looked around for a way to bust the door open, seeing nothing.
With a swift move, Cahir cast his magic at the Captain’s throat, trying to close in tightly, but the man dodged quickly, sliding his sword across his thigh. He snarled in pain and threw out another blast of magic, but the tendrils of his power started to weaken with each use.
Roya looked around the area for any sign of the keys to open the cell.
A Rozzer was lying on the ground about twenty paces away, a silver set of keys strapped to his pants.
She pushed away from the cell doors and ran to him, averting the bursts of green magic that were blowing past her, and slid down to snag them.
She grasped the metal chain with her fingers, and the Rozzer’s gray eyes flashed wide open.
His hand closed around her wrist, and he quickly pressed a knife to her throat.
The Captain charged at Cahir again, and Cahir kicked him with his uninjured leg. The Captain fell with a grunt, but not before slicing another gash in his opposite leg.
He was losing his magic faster than expected due to the sword’s injuries.
“Don’t make another move!” someone yelled from the distance between Cahir and the cell. He turned and saw a Rozzer holding Roya in a chokehold, a knife pressed to her throat. “If you do, she’s dead.”
Roya had been his partner for a long time, letting him stay in touch with home and watch over Seda when he wasn’t there. She couldn’t get hurt in this fight. Cahir quickly raised his hands in the air.
“I want you to back up and keep those hands up,” the Rozzer said as he pressed the knife into Roya’s throat, a trickle of scarlet blood beading around the blade.
“I’ll be fine, Cahir,” Roya said confidently, her eyes darting toward the dark distance behind him.
Cahir spun around and sprinted into the darkness. As he ran, the damp, thin air and the smell of moss and trees closed in around him.
He didn’t change back to his human form until he was far enough away, allowing his ears and teeth to soften and his size to shrink back to normal.
It was going to be tough to find a way back to Seda now that he was outside the dome.