“Wait there,” he said to Kade, then took off running down the street, further away. This time the swarm kept moving, not nearly as fast as him, but definitely following his movement.
“Why are they after you?” Koji called from a block down the path.
“I don’t think it’s me,” Florian shouted back. “I think it’s the Arrows. Some of them look like they’re going back and forth. I bet we’ll find wherever the last Arrow is if we follow them.”
For a long moment, the others didn’t respond, until finally Kade sighed, “Yeah, that tracks.”
Florian chuckled and moved to rejoin them. As they regrouped, Rune gestured toward the swarm of bugs again.
“Why’s there a barrier?” she asked. “Who made it? And what are they trying to keep out?”
He had been trying not to think much about it, but the strangeness of it had occurred to him.
“I don’t know,” Florian said, shaking his head. “Maybe it’s leftover from before. They say the Blight was contained to the Summer Court at first, and then it spread. Maybe the barrier’s from there even though the Blight got out of it.”
He couldn’t really know, but that was his best guess. It seemed like the others thought so too, as no one else offered an idea. They were all standing at the edge of the city as the mass of beetles slowly trundled closer to them.
None of them wanted to go out there, Florian thought. He certainly didn’t. But they had to. The last Arrow was out there somewhere, and it wasn’t going to come to them. He took in a deep breath and let it out as a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Okay,” Florian finally said, swinging his arms to psych himself up. “You guys ready?”
Kade looked dubiously at the beetles. “Yeah, okay.”
Koji nodded silently. Rune cracked her neck and gave a little hop, working herself up to it too.
“Let’s go,” she blurted out, and Florian took a decisive first step beyond the city limits. He could feel a faint shimmer of magic as he passed through the barrier. The others followed without difficulty, which was a relief—for a moment, he had worried that the same magic keeping the creatures out would also keep them trapped inside.
The beetles started flying toward him the instant he was beyond the barrier; but they were aiming for the quiver at his waist, only confirming his theory. They did want the Arrows, or the magic radiating off of them. He swatted them away as they flew, some landing on the quiver, while others landed on his chest or his arms. He shuddered at the strange feeling of their little legs on his skin.
“Leave me alone,” he burst out, and the swarm rushed away from him all at once. “Leave us all alone.”
He watched as the swarm seemed to meander around for a moment, unsure of what to do—then they all started heading southwest.
“Come on,” he called, gesturing for the others to follow. They had remained several steps behind, except for Kade, who was right beside him, as always. “They’re gonna lead us right to it.”
