"Damn, you had to be a good man," Omden grumbled - and then kissed him.
He didn't ask. He also didn't hesitate. My partner simply cupped the side of Sylis's face and kissed that man the way I bet he'd never expected to be kissed. Omden pressed in close, chest to chest, and Sylis melted against him. Their mouths moved until Sylis's lips parted, and then Omden took the chance to explore.
Hard, fast, and a little wild, they kissed like it might be their only time, and I felt things. Pride came first. Omden wasn't the most sexual man, but this? It was far from sexual. It was all emotion, boiling to the surface. I felt fear too, wondering what these seconds would cost us. Then there was something else. Something I didn't have a word for.
Because in all the time we'd been together, I'd neverseenthis man kiss anyone else. I knew he had, but not in front of me. That he'd done it so easily made the smallest insecurity scream in the back of my mind. It also smothered it at the same time, making me realize just how much Omden loved me. How much he trusted me.
How comfortable we'd finally become in the midst of all of this.
And then he pushed Sylis back, breaking their kiss. "Save my family, Sylis, and you could be a part of it."
Omden spun, marching out of the house like that was some dramatic exit - and forcing me to keep up. I did, glancing back to see Meri grinning like she wanted to congratulate her friend, but Lessa's death grip on her hand proved it was not the time.
"So," I said the moment we were outside, "that happened."
"Yep," Omden said, pointing toward City Hall, which meant we had to go south to get there. "Everyone will try to take cover at City Hall."
We headed that way at a jog. "We need the militia, Om."
"They'll find us," he assured me. "We need to protect people first and then - "
We passed the house across from ours and light flared. I stopped hard, leaning one way and then the other to see between a few buildings. That was fire! Small still, but definitely a fire, and it looked close to City Hall!
"Something's burning!" I hissed just as more gunshots rang out.
Moles were over there. Here. Far too close to the center of town to make sense. I didn't know what was going on, but nothing about this attack was right. It was early in the morning, still dark out here. They'd made it too far into town and were all over areas they normally were never able to reach. But worse, if they were close enough to City Hall to set something on fire?
We needed to turn everyone away. This had to be a trap. Some new way those fuckers were hunting? I didn't know, but could imagine a million reasons they were doing this, and we'd slept through them sneaking in!
So I took off, trying to get there before people could get killed. Omden was right behind me like always. This man was my shadow. He shared my mind half the time, and I knew I was going to need him at my back tonight.
Ducking between houses, we reached the next roadway just as the city bells finally began to toll, but it was already too late. People had already poured into the streets. Men in black clothing were swarming them, grabbing far too many - and moving south and east,not north!
"Run!" I yelled at a woman as I charged the man chasing after her. "Head to the school. North! Take as many as you can."
She did, and the Mole slowed to raise his gun, but a pair of arrows slammed into him, one after the other. Just to make sure he was dead, I stung the fucker, then moved to the next. Omden kept them from getting close to me. When I made a gap, he moved to my side, and we kept going, following the path of destruction and the bright golden glow of fire.
Yes, City Hall was burning. Just a corner of it so far, but the flames were spreading much too fast. And yet, the light made it easy to see the chaos around us.
People ran. Moles shot. Bodies laid where they'd fallen, and drag marks proved more had already been taken. Omden and I screamed at those we could see, telling them to go to the school for shelter, to watch out, and most of all, to warn the others.
And the whole time, I attacked any Mole I could see, alternating between my bow and my krael. I dropped another man and looked up to see a flood of people herding children straight up the main road. They were actually going north!
Then Omden screamed, "Stop or die!" The words were in English.
My head whipped around, I saw where he was looking, then turned the same way. There, a young man held a woman with a blade to her throat, clearly struggling to take her somewhere.
But she was flapping her hand low, down by her side. "Go!" she hissed.
And in the shadows, I saw a child. Hopefully, the Mole hadn't. No, he was focused on Omden, who had his bow pulled and was ready to loose.
"Let her go," I warned in English, moving to assist. "That man can shoot well enough to kill you and not her."
"You can't speak!" the Mole hissed. "You can't!"
"Oh, but I can," I said around a smile. "And Omden's going to shoot you in the foot."
But in Vestrian, my partner said, "We need information."
