Chapter 17 Kailin
KAILIN
"The illusion of safety can lead to the most devastating defeat."
—Elucian Proverb
Isat cross-legged on the ground, listening to Shovia and Codric talk about our esteemed shaman while trying to ignore Chicha's incessant barking and the tension in Alar's broad shoulders.
I could see my family sitting on the stone terrace that surrounded the square, my father and grandmother talking while my mother kept trying to quiet Chicha.
"What's wrong with Chicha tonight?" Shovia asked.
"I think there are just too many people and smells she doesn't recognize, and she'll calm down once she's back home." I sighed. "It has been a stressful day for all of us, and it's not over yet."
Frankly, the barking unnerved me despite what I had just said.
This was more than Chicha's usual anxiety.
Her barks had a frantic edge to them that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I kept watching my mother, hoping to catch her looking at me so I could mime for her to pick Chicha up and hug her.
That wasn't guaranteed to calm her, but she might switch from barking to quiet growling, which was more tolerable.
Suddenly, Chicha yanked free of my mother's grip and bolted down the stone steps, the leash snaking behind her and bumping over the steps as she headed straight for one of the large planters that lined the square.
"Chicha!" my mother called after her, but the dog ignored her and leaped into the planter as if someone had hidden her favorite snack in there.
I started to rise, but Shovia grabbed my arm. "Your parents will get her. We need to hold our spots—there are already several rows of people behind us."
She was right. The square was filling up with pilgrims and local families, but it wasn't yet fully packed. Once everyone arrived, there wouldn't be any room left, and some of the families would have to climb on the roofs of shops surrounding the square to watch the ceremony.
My father jogged over to the planter where Chicha was now digging frantically, her little paws sending dirt flying in all directions.
She was looking for something.
Perhaps there was a mouse in the planter or some other small critter. Chicha wasn't a hunter, but she loved chasing prey.
My father leaned over the planter to reach for her, but instead of pulling her away, he went rigid for a moment, then grabbed her and started running.
"BOMB IN THE PLANTER!" his voice boomed across the square. "EVERYONE GET BACK!"
The world seemed to tilt on its axis as his words registered. People who had been calmly finding places to sit suddenly surged to their feet, and shouts of alarm rippled through the crowd.
"This way!" Alar was up in an instant, his commanding voice cutting through the rising panic. "We need to move."
"Where?" Shovia's eyes darted around. "We can't go back through the crowd. We'll be trampled."
I looked behind us, where people were already pushing and shoving in their rush to get away. Being at the front of the square had seemed like a good idea earlier, but now we were trapped between the stage and the panicking people.
"The roof over there." Alar pointed to one of the buildings that formed the natural border of the plaza. "We can climb up and get down on the other side."
Leaving our backpacks behind, we all rushed in that direction.
My heart seized at the thought of climbing anything, but it seemed like the only way out. We were far from the explosives Chicha had found, but if this was a Shedun attack, which it most likely was, there were probably more devices hidden around the square.
How had they managed to get around all of our defenses and plant their bombs?
A guard's amplified voice announced that the bomb squad was on the way, urging everyone to evacuate the area in an orderly fashion.
"Come on." Alar's hand closed around mine, warm and steady. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"I'll boost you up," Codric said to Shovia, cupping his hands to give her a leg up.
I let Alar pull me toward the building, trying not to think about the height as Codric pushed me up after Shovia. Her strong hands grabbed mine, helping me scramble onto the roof just as the first explosion rocked the square.
The force of it knocked me forward, and I fell, but before I could slide back, Alar was there, covering my body with his own as debris rained down around us. A second explosion followed almost immediately, and then a third and a fourth, each one seeming to shake the very mountain beneath us.
I could feel Alar's heart hammering against my back, his breath warm against my ear as he murmured, "I've got you, Kailin. You're okay."
Screams filled the air, along with the acrid smell of smoke and something else—something that reminded me of that terrifying night five years ago when the Shedun had attacked my village.
"My parents," I gasped, trying to lift my head to look, but Alar held me firmly down.
"Wait," he said, his voice tight with tension. "There might be more."
But there weren't.
When the last echoes died away, the screaming seemed even louder.
Alar slowly lifted himself off me, though he kept one hand on my back as he scanned the chaos below.
"We need to get down from here," he said. "That garbage bin below will break our fall. Codric and Shovia used it to get down."
To my shame, I hadn't even noticed they were no longer with us on the roof.
I crawled to the edge, and as I looked down, I immediately regretted it as vertigo made my head spin. But I gritted my teeth and held on to Alar's hands as I lowered myself over the edge, and just as he assured me, Codric and Shovia were there to help me get off the roof.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, my knees buckled. Alar jumped down beside me, catching me before I could fall.
Through the alley, I could see people running, smoke rising from several points in the square. Guards were streaming in from all directions, some helping the injured while others were securing the area.
"My parents," I said again. "I need to find them." I managed a full sentence this time.
"There!" Shovia pointed up the street where I could make out my father's tall form. He had one arm around my grandmother, and he was holding my mother's hand with the other. I couldn't see Chicha, but I assumed my mother was carrying her. "They're okay, Kailin," Shovia said. "They got out."
Thankfully, Shovia's parents had never made it to the square in the first place, so they were probably safe at home, but if they were on their way and had encountered the fleeing crowd, they would be worried sick about their only daughter.
The important thing was that no one in our families had been hurt.
Relief made me sag against Alar, who kept his arm around my shoulders. But the relief was short-lived as the reality of what had just happened sank in.
The Shedun had struck at the heart of Skywatcher's Point, the town we'd all believed was the safest in Elucia because of its proximity to the Citadel. If they could reach us here, they could get us anywhere.
But Chicha had known.
Somehow, she had sensed that something was wrong even though none of the other dogs had sniffed out anything suspicious. Maybe Alar was right, and she should join the Dragon Force because she had a special gift of her own.