“Or,” said a voice from behind them, calm and businesslike. “You can accept a ride.”
Jack whirled around. The yellow-eyed man waited, briefcase in hand. “I?—”
“Is this a trick?” Boris demanded, releasing Jack’s arm and coming to stand between them. His chest was puffed out, eyes narrowed into a watery glower.
“No tricks,” said the yellow eyed man. “Simply a ride intotown. Away from,” he waved to the house behind them, wrapped in flames and smoke, “all of this.”
“Carla,” Jack screamed, frantic at the sight. “Carla, come on! We need to go somewhere safe!”
When she appeared at the tree line, she was barefoot, muddy, disheveled, her dress torn—but uninjured. Relief coursed through him, powerful as a sedative.
“Let’s just take the ride,” he pleaded to Boris. “We aren’t gonna make it if we don’t.”
“Fine,” said Boris, taking in the sight of Carla and sagging. “Fine, yeah, let’s get out of here.”
“Jack,” said Carla, stumbling to his side. “Jack, what’s happening? What’s going on?”
“Whole coast is about to go up in flames, we gotta go.” Boris stalked after the yellow-eyed man, throwing a glance over his shoulder to make sure they followed him.
The dark sedan waited at the top of the drive. Jack grabbed Carla’s hand. Together, they hobbled toward it. Boris paused and cast a nervous glance at the castle. Jack turned, too, and flinched. The grand balcony collapsed onto the lawn with a creaking roar, leaving behind a gaping hole in the stone facade. Ash sprayed. Flickering green flames meandered onto the lawn from finely crafted pillars, now splintered and crackling with embers.
Smoke swirled through the trees, twisting like fog. Carla coughed and fanned her face with dirty hands.
“Almost there,” said Jack, watching with anticipation as the yellow-eyed man thrust open the driver’s side door with all the urgency of someone leaving a casual luncheon. He climbed in, slammed the door behind him. The ignition turned.
“Wait!” Boris cried, hand outstretched, but the tires were already spinning.
And then the car was beside them, the passenger doors flung open all at once, as if prompted by invisible hands.
Jack wasted no time helping Carla into the backseat and jumped in after her, breathing a sigh of relief when Boris appeared on her other side, red-eyed and coughing into his fist.
The doors slammed shut of their own accord. Tires peeled against gravel.
Jack pressed his forehead to back of the seat in front of him, gulped clean air. When he lifted his head, the castle on the cliff was already far behind them, burning green. Somewhere in the distance, sirens sounded.
They drove in silence. Whenever Jack looked out the window, he grew nauseous at the sight of passing trees, of the lines on the road whipping by. He closed his eyes, found Carla’s hand, squeezed it hard.
Minutes passed. The windows rolled down. Jack leaned into the breeze, only realized he’d been crying when he reached to touch his wet, frozen cheeks.
The windows rolled back up. When he opened his eyes, he saw a silently staring Boris, a shivering Carla.
The yellow-eyed man caught his gaze in rearview mirror and grinned.
Anguish unfurled within Jack’s breast. Something was wrong, and he wasn’t sure he had the strength to fight it anymore.
Then the yellow-eyed man spoke.
“I’ve a proposition for you.” At once, Carla and Boris sat at attention, eyes wide. Boris looked ready to yank the door open and take his chances with the road. “I can take you to a motel. You can live your lives in fear of the mob, in fear of the law, in fear of another creature finding you. They’ll always be attracted to you now. You’ve been marked by one, you’ll be marked by others. That’s the way it works.”
Carla chewed her lip. Boris’s knee bounced.
“Or I can take you with me. You can stay within the academy and learn how to fight against them. Eventually, you’d be able to do my job. Stop things in their tracks before they ever get to this point.”
Jack’s breath hitched.What?
“Temporal disturbances cause mental blocks. It’s rare to find anyone who can break free of them,” the yellow eyed mancontinued. “Let alone fight off its source. The fact that you went up against her and lived is nothing short of impressive.”
“What… What happens if we go with you?” Boris’s voice shook. “Are you gonna make us torture people? Are you just gonna… hold us hostage?”
