Walking back through the dark streets, Hallie found herself watching every shadow, and wanting to jump at every movement, convinced that Nicholas or his gunners would appear at some point and demand that the children be taken back to that awful cage. She should have asked the Reunion adults if the gunners patrolled the streets at night, or if there was a curfew in effect. She wasn’t used to being nervous out and about after dark. But then, she was normally out for a purpose, as a hunter on the trail of a fugitive. Feeling that she was the prey was uncomfortable, all her senses on high alert.
She tried not to let her worry show, but some of it must have communicated to the children as they, too, were staring at every shadow. She saw them twitch and flinch at every movement that they caught. The swing of an unlatched gate. The ripple of a sheet or blanket left to air overnight on an outside washing line. The changing shadows as the clouds overhead and the moonlight shifted. Drawing a long, deep breath in, Hallie consciously lowered her shoulders and relaxed her pace, trying to appear confident. At least outwardly. It helped her to pretend, even when she knew it was false, and it also seemed to help the children as they crowded in closer to her, one of them taking her hand, small fingers cold. Hallie wanted to gather all of them up, warm them through and promise them that nothing bad would ever happen to them. Not ever again. She couldn’t force herself to say the words, though. It wasn’t a promise she could make. Not here. And perhaps not anywhere. But she returned the clasp on her hand and kept walking.
They made it most of the way back to the town hall when Hallie caught the faint sounds of other people out and about in the night. She made a low sound, alerting Girard. He didn’t question her, just quickly and silently moved the children to one side of the street they were walking along. There was a low building with the upper level overhanging the ground floor,providing a pool of pitch darkness just big enough for them all to hide in, if they would huddle together. The children seemed to understand when Hallie and Girard gently pressed on small shoulders, urging them closer together.
As they settled into the shadows, Hallie trying not to breathe too loudly, heavy footsteps came towards them. At least two men, not bothering to be quiet in their walk through the settlement. Gunners, Hallie guessed. Close enough now that the children could hear them, from the way the small bodies next to her stiffened up and pressed even closer to her. The gunners were still out of sight. The shadows were deep, but Hallie didn’t want to take the risk of being seen. She might have risked it if she was on her own, or if it was her and Girard. But she didn’t want to risk more harm to the children.
Can you help keep us hidden, or show me how?- Hallie asked thezauber. The artefact had been quiet since their encounter with the warrimel, drained of its powers, and Hallie felt guilty asking more of it after it had saved her and Girard’s lives. But she had five children pressing around her who also needed saving.
Thezauberstirred, stretched, and seemed to blink. Very much like a cat. Despite the sense of it rising from slumber, as soon as it identified the danger approaching them, its magic stirred and a trace of warmth slid over Hallie’s skin along with unspoken impressions. Instructions, Hallie realised after a moment. She tried her best to follow them. Something about holding in and pushing out at the same time. She tried to be gentle with what she was doing, still not all that familiar with using her magic.
The spill of magic was not a moment too soon as the gunners came into view. Two men, both of them looking burly and menacing in the dark, the faint moonlight gleaming off the metal barrels of their guns. They were walking at a casual pace, looking about them, and not talking. On patrol, Hallie guessed. But from the way they were walking at least an arm’s length apart andnot looking at each other, she guessed that neither of them were happy with the assignment, or each other. As they drew closer, Hallie saw that they were both young, barely out of their teenage years if she had to guess, and she thought that one of them was the young man who’d escorted her and Girard to Nicholas’ house. If that was right, she wondered how long he’d been on duty for - or whether the gunners were having to do extra duty to cover for the ones she and Girard had injured at Nicholas’ house. She was going to have to keep wondering, though, as she wasn’t about to step out of the shadows and ask them.
Whatever thezauberhad done, whether Hallie had helped or not, the gunners kept walking past Hallie and the others, with barely a glance in their direction. Hallie could feel the child pressed against her left side trembling and gently squeezed the thin shoulder, wishing she could speak, voice some reassurance. The touch would have to be enough.
As the footsteps faded, Hallie relaxed a little, and felt the trembling next to her ease up. She pressed the shoulder again, and stepped out of the shadows, beckoning the others forward. Girard gave her a brief nod as he moved out into the light, an acknowledgement of some kind. There was no time to wait or talk. Hallie had no idea whether the patrol might come back or whether there were any other gunners walking the streets. They needed to get the children back to their families.
The secret door into the building opened silently, as a testament to the builders. Before Hallie could lead the children inside, the small, chilled fingers wrapped around her hand tugged, drawing her attention. She turned to the boy who was holding on to her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, voice low and soft. She didn’t think there were any gunners in earshot, but she didn’t want to risk discovery. Not now, not so close to their current goal.
“Are you sure they want us?” the boy asked.
Hallie felt a crack in her heart at the simple question, and found herself wishing Nicholas was here so she could unleash some violence on him. “Yes,” she said, with no hesitation, crouching down so she was eye-level with the child. “Your family wants you very much. And they are just in there. Ready?”
His eyes scanned her face, as if searching for a lie, which also hurt her chest. Then he nodded. She straightened, seeing that everyone else had stopped, too. She nodded to Girard, not trusting her voice, and then stepped through the secret door into the store room.
The room was empty, which meant that she and Girard could get all the children inside and close the door behind them in silence, reducing the chance of discovery, before heading into the main part of the building.
Coming into the main room from the back, Hallie found the room almost the same and yet completely transformed. The doors out to the street were still closed and most likely locked and guarded. Someone had lit a single oil lantern inside, kept it turned down low, so there was barely any light available. The Reunion settlers were spread out around the room, but the air of despair had gone and instead there was an almost visible sense of expectation and a trace of hope. As the children came in, the room erupted into movement and suppressed noise - low sounds of amazement and laughter and tears - as the parents swarmed out of their seats, rushing towards their children. Even though everyone was being very careful not to make too much sound that might carry outside the building, the emotions made Hallie’s eyes sting.
Her body felt heavy, lethargy creeping over her, and she took a seat on the nearest stool. The little bit of magic she’d used to hide the children had pulled more energy from her than she liked. Thezauberfelt weakened as well. Neither of them were fully recovered from combating the warrimel. The lack of restwas not helping, and Hallie had a feeling it was going to be a long time before she got a decent sleep. But she couldn’t help smiling as she looked around the room as the reunited families. The heaviness had been worth it to bring them back together.
Her arms wrapped around Nixie as though she was never going to let go, with Donall somehow wrapped around them both, Sylvie looked up and across at Hallie and Girard, more tears on her face. “Thank you. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Where were they?” Donall asked in a low, harsh whisper, almost choked with emotion.
“Nicholas had them in a cage in a warehouse down by the shore,” Girard said, voice hard and flat.
“Looks like it was used to process fish,” Hallie added.
“I know it,” Donall said. He put a hand out and brushed his trembling fingers against Nixie’s head then turned to Girard and Hallie. “Thank you.”
“I don’t know what Nicholas said to them, not precisely, but they were truly frightened,” Hallie said around the lump in her throat. She looked around at the family groups. “I think they want to go home.”
“Ay. As do we,” Donall said. He glanced across at Rhodda, who was still sitting at the table. “No matter what Nicholas might think.”
“He will try to stop us,” Rhodda said. There was something that looked like pain in her face as she looked around the room at the reunited parents and children. Almost as if there was something missing for Rhodda. But no one had mentioned anyone else having been taken or held by Nicholas. Hallie kept her eyes on Rhodda for a long moment, remembering the sideways looks that Donall and Sylvie had given Rhodda when the subject of missing people had come up. Hallie had forgotten that brief, silent exchange when Sylvie had spoken about Nicholas taking the children. But now that look lingeredin Hallie’s mind. She still had the strong sense that Rhodda was hiding something, and that whatever it was could be important. From the expression on Rhodda’s face, that she was trying to mask, it was something awful.
“Let him try,” Sylvie said fiercely, breaking Hallie’s train of thought and pulling her attention away from Rhodda. Despite the tears on her face, Hallie could clearly feel the determination she’d sensed earlier. Even though Sylvie had been held captive, separated from her daughter, there was a core of strength in her that had not broken. Hallie had a sense that if Nicholas sent more gunners after the Reunion settlers, trying to drag them back to New Hope, trying to make them submit to his will, he’d find it impossible. He’d threatened their children, kept them separate, and the settlers had still held out against Nicholas’ will. With a bit more time, Sylvie and her neighbours would have Reunion set up to withstand not just the warrimel but also Nicholas and his men.
But first they had to get out of New Hope and get to safety.
“Nicholas will find out the children are gone soon enough,” Girard said, glancing around the room. “And he’ll come here first. I assume that he’ll have the gates guarded. Is there another way out of New Hope?”
“Ay. I know a place,” Donall said, a hint of surprising mischief in his face. “We built a few secret spots into the walls.” The mischief grew. “No one seemed to feel Nicholas had to know about all of them. There’s at least two we can use. The closest one is around the back of an empty stables that Master Nicholas wanted. Stables.” The derision in his voice was clear. “As if any of us could afford to bring in horses or any big livestock. Anyway, it should be safe as no one uses it.”
Hallie smiled back, pleased to hear about the little bits of rebellion against Nicholas’ rule.
