“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 hurthim, 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 intouch 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.
Chapter 6
Roya
It was a cold, moonlit night when Roya awoke from the head injury she’d suffered while being locked up with the others. As the horses hauling the cell lumbered down a dark trail, the wheels squeaked intermittently. She glanced down at her wrists, seeing that the Rozzers had bound them with bloodstone cuffs, an attempt to suppress her magic.
Pathetic weaklings.
She waited until the people around her quieted down and then crawled over to Jason, accidentally nudging his side a little too roughly. She needed to send a message, as best as she could, before she transformed and left this stupid cell. He lifted his head and looked at her, his beard crusted with blood from a previous bloody nose, with no sign of fear in his eyes.
Interesting.
“The world isn’t as it seems,” she began, “We came here to rescue you, Jason.”
“I’m aware the world isn’t as it seems, Corvid,” he replied, looking at her knowingly. “I’m going where I need to go.” He leaned his head against the bars and stared off into the distance, a mask of neutrality on his face.
The cell hit a bump in the road, and the people inside stirred. Jason shifted, adjusting his legs and clasping his hands on his knees, his fists clenched tight.
Roya sat in silence, her gaze fixed on him for a long moment.
A cricket bounced to the side, and her focus quickly fixed on it. She transformed into a Corvid; the bloodstone having no effect on her, and she broke free from the chains. She grabbed the cricket on her way out and flew between the bars into the crisp night air, causing Jason’s beard to sway from the wind.
She soared high into the night sky, twirling among the glittering stars and looking down at the horses moving south toward the Camp. The dome was no longer visible on the horizon from their position. Roya could see the heavily guarded Camp, just about five miles away.
