Escape?

Aki glanced at the shimmering heat waves in the air that marked the demon. He checked the lightning holding the pup. He watched the black fingers of bone growing above Bilal's back. He noted the sun, still high above. He peeked at twin glints of green in the trees. Then he glanced at the heatwaves again.

"That's coming along nicely, don't you think?" the demon asked coquettishly. "He might just be finished before sunset."

**Oh, yeah?** Aki yawned. He sat where he'd fallen hours past. He checked the lightning. 'Is it weaker?' **What then?**

"Well, I did promise to let him and the pup go. If my brother's toy fulfills his side of the bargain, I will, too. Except better, since he'll be all pretty when I'm done."

Bilal's back arched as a new wave of energy coursed through his flesh.

Aki winced. The warrior's voice had long since failed.

**What did you do with the other girl, anyway?** Aki asked. **Not that I care, but …** He shrugged.

"The girl?" The heat waves drifted away from Bilal.

Aki strained to follow their direction. 'Is she distracted?'

"Oh, you mean the wolf. I sent her on another errand. You won't see her again unless my brother sends you back to the Nexus."

**Your brother has no say in where we go,** Aki snarled.

"Do you really think so? Perhaps that makes you a more entertaining toy. And speaking of toys …"

Midnight Infected poured out of the trees and down the trail until not a scrap of stone was uncovered.

"Go to the fleshy one," the demon commanded. "It's unlike my brother to send such a weak plaything. Tell him to be ready for opposition."

The Infected emptied the clearing, streaming through the trees like a black river.

"Stay here like a good trifle. You've distracted me enough for the time being."

Aki held his breath and searched the clearing. The heat-distortions were gone.

Bilal's harsh pants bounced off the stone cliff, making the clearing draw tight around them as Aki scrambled over. While the bone-fingers thrashed, Aki pulled the stake free of Bilal's wing. It dissipated in a burst of energy that left their hair crackling.

**Hold still! I don't know how long we have!** Aki hissed. Jumping over Bilal's twitching wing, he dove at Bilal's left wrist.

The energy was sunk deep into the swollen flesh. There was no knot or release.

Aki met Bilal's hazy golden eyes. An unspoken agreement formed in a flash. Blue flames licked out with as much precision as Aki could muster, devouring the lightning in a flash.

Rolling to his side, Bilal curled in on himself. Tears streaked his face.

Aki recoiled as the pup bounced to Bilal and nuzzled his face.

**How did you get free?** Aki looked at the place the lightning cage had sat. It was gone.

**Doesn't matter. Come on — we have to move!**

"How … can … we … leave?" Bilal's broken voice rasped. "Trapped …"

Aki smirked, but his hands shook.

**Get on your feet. Or your knees. You think that demon ever stopped me?**

*****

Bilal's breath rasped through the air. Step by step, he placed each foot on the broken grass with grim determination.

The wolf pup whimpered, looking up at him.

Bilal stopped and eased down to collect the pup.

She danced back, yipping and wagging her tail.

Bilal rested his hand on his knee and braced against his glaive.

Aki watched the black cat saunter from the grass and wrap herself around Bilal's ankles.

**Did you know they were still in there?** Aki asked abruptly. The image of ten fresh, silk-wrapped cocoons danced through his mind.

"What?" Bilal glanced at him before stroking the feline.

**Nevermind. Forget about it,** Aki sighed and looked at his crimson-died palm. The tickle of a fresh droplet made him scowl. He pressed his right hand harder against his stomach.

**Stupid Mr. Smith. Just stay dead already!** he muttered.

"What?" Bilal repeated.

Aki spoke up, **Aria wants you to take a break. Aria and that … thing both do. I'll scout ahead a bit.**

"Aria?" Golden eyes turned from the cat to Aki. "You named her?"

**Cita did.** With a shrug, Aki turned back to the crushed grass.

"And you are not Cita," Bilal agreed. "With your braided hair and leather clothes. Tell me, do you get cold in that vest?"

Aki ignored him and stalked up the hill. He looked across the rolling plain. The broken swath of grass stretched at least fifteen yards wide and extended to the east. He squinted and held up his left hand, tracing a wide curve in the path. It went around a dark blemish that disrupted the dry, brown expanse.

A muffled groan drew his attention. He whirled, grabbing his daggers and sliding back down the hill.

He popped to his feet, searching for the danger.

Bilal lay writhing on the ground.

Aria stood over him, fur on end as she hissed at Aki, while the pup licked Bilal's face frantically.

Holy smokes! Aki's eyes widened as he caught sight of a black membrane, connecting the freshly grown finger-bones on Bilal's back.

Bilal's writhing eased and he lay panting on the ground. The membrane extended from the peak down a quarter of the bones' length.

**The demon decided to regrow your wing?! Why would she do that?**

"It matters not," Bilal wheezed. "We must reach Cita before he delivers the demon's message to Baron Dorf." Golden eyes narrowed. "You are bleeding."

**Yeah?** Ari snorted. **Nothing new there.** He sheathed his daggers and pressed his hand to his stomach again. **What about you? You haven't talked like that since day one.**

Black lips pressed into a thin line, and golden eyes darted away.

**Trying to think of a good line, or just a way to distract me?** With a sneer, Aki turned away. **If you're in such a hurry, better get on your feet. Or convince Aria to take you.**

Bilal frowned and opened his mouth. It shut with a snap as he shook his head and levered himself to his feet.

"Let us press on. But Aria is only a kitten — she cannot take me anywhere."

**Keep telling yourself that.**

They trudged to the top of the hill.

**I think if we cut across the curve, we can get in front of the Infected. That should let us catch up with Cita.** Aki pointed at the shadowed terrain.

"We cannot go there." Bilal shook his head. "That is a piece of the cursed land. It is not safe."

**Do you have a better idea?**

Kneeling, Bilal inspected the grass. His fingers pushed aside vegetation to reveal a crescent-shaped depression. Then another, and another. Some layered on top of others in a mass of prints.

Bilal cursed, low and angry.

"The demon did not call any horses, did she?"

Aki shook his head.

"Then we are not following the Infected. Or not her Infected." Bilal scowled at the turf. He shoved himself to his feet, pushing off with his glaive. "This way."

He loped across the crushed grass and began wading through intact stems.

Aki rolled his eyes and followed Bilal toward the cursed land.

*****

Aki quirked his lips and stared at the small piles of blackened rubble. There were bits of brick poking through the enveloping grasses. A few golden flowers poked up stubbornly here and there. Larger piles of rubble had smoke-stained concrete and twisted pieces of metal thrusting above the brown stems. Weeds poked through shattered streets as nature reclaimed her own.

**It's just a city. Why is it cursed?**

Bilal slowed his pace. His face contorted and he gasped.

The black membrane crawled down his new wing-bones.

Aria paused, perched on a pile of crumbling brick next to the broken street, and waited for them to catch up. The pup flopped on the ground, panting, at the base of the pile.

"When … Ak—" With a grimace, Bilal broke off and then continued, "When the flame summoner … destroyed the world … he focused on the ... cursed places. His fires … blazed day and night. Nothing was safe." Bilal's breath evened. "So the Lady Staryu says, anyway. We —"

**Have few records. Yeah yeah.** Aki rolled his eyes before narrowing them. **How do you know the name of the flame summoner who destroyed the world?**

Golden eyes observed Aki before returning to the front. Bilal picked up the pace.

"Everyone who lives today traces their lineage to those who spoke directly with … the flame summoner. If they surrendered and met his requirements, he let them live. If they did not …" Bilal shrugged.

**Still keeping secrets.** Fingers tightened on a sheathed dagger. **Those requirements though — surely that's not secret? Is that just the left-handed bit Ash and Kody were talking about?**

"Yes. Or at least in part; the tales say he allowed left-handed people to live. Parents seldom allow their children to use their right hands for tasks now."

**That's stupid.** Aki shook his head and smirked. **Why lefties? What did they do to deserve saving? If it was me …**

Golden eyes watched without watching.

**If it was me, I'd let the game-nerds live. Yeah. They never hurt anyone. And they would get such a kick out of this place. It's like full-time LARPing.**

"LARPing?" Bilal asked cautiously. Golden eyes watch the rubble behind Aki.

**Yeah! Live-action role-playing! I always wanted to—**

A siren-like wail cut him off.

**What the heck?** Aki whirled and grabbed his daggers. **No way did the emergency alert system survive this!**

Bilal braced his glaive and scooted the snarling pup behind him.

The cries grew closer until a small, dusty child popped out from behind the rubble.

Bilal dropped his glaive and moved to intercept the sobbing child. He knelt and wiped the child's apple-cheeks.

Sweat-darkened blonde curls hung limply around the face. Dark eyes searched Bilal's face as the child gulped for air.

Aki snarled, **Don't trust it!**

Bilal scowled at him.

"She is only a girl. But she should not be here." Golden eyes searched dark eyes. "What happened? How did you get here?"

"Hey …" Sniffling, she stared. "You wanted to see the healer! And then the boy with the pretty eyes got sick …"

Bilal stiffened.

"You led us around the Township's market. How did you get here?" he asked again.

"Lord Michael," she sniffled. "He led everyone here on his pretty horse." She sobbed again. "But Mother's scaring me! I told her I was hungry and she kept walking! I'm so hungry!"

"Hush now," Bilal soothed. He pulled a piece of jerky from his pouch and fed it to the girl.

She devoured it in seconds.

He fed her another piece and pulled out a third piece. He looked at the pup, who huddled at the base of Aria's rubble pile. Frowning, he rose and walked toward her, offering the meat.

She shivered and refused to come toward him.

"That is odd — ahh!" Bilal fell to his knees as the membrane started growing again.

"I'm so hungry!" the girl from the market wailed. She stalked toward Bilal. "Feed me!"

Her movements took on a smooth economy, contrasting with her childish appearance. Her hair glinted darkly in the afternoon sun.

Bilal twisted to see the girl. Golden eyes widened. Sweat trickled down Bilal's face and he tried to rise. His legs gave out and he sprawled on the broken cement.

Aria hissed and sprang forward.

"FEED ME!" the girl howled as she sprang on the fallen warrior.

A blue arrow sang as it pierced her chest.

Dark blond hair shifted, gaining neon pink highlights. The Infected fell as the flames rose, consuming her to ashes.

Golden eyes met red-orange.

**I told you not to trust it.**

*****

Aki peered through the grass stems and swore.

Over the hill's crest and wending between the land's rise and fall, a mass of men, women, and children marched over the autumnal plain. A trail of flattened plants marked where they had been and the unmarred, honeyed shafts stood before them. Some wore armor and rode horses, but most plodded stoically.

**Do you think that's why the demon left?**

Bilal grunted.

"It is a possibility," he rasped. "If the girl was right, Lord Michael is leading the army. Why, I cannot say." His golden eyes were hooded as he contemplated the mounted and unmounted people. A swath of crushed grass marked their eastward-bound path across the rolling plain.

The pup growled and pounced at a grasshopper. It jumped, escaping her snapping teeth.

Aria methodically licked a black paw and scrubbed at her face.

**That's an army?** Aki asked. He cocked his brow and flicked a braid over his shoulder. **There're more kids down there!**

Bilal cocked his brow right back.

"Yes. And armies do not move so fast. Not for long."

Hooves thundered up behind them. Aki rolled to his back, tumbling toward their pre-plotted escape path.

Bilal convulsed, writhing in the dried grass. He gritted his teeth as the black membrane crept toward the tips of the new wing.

Aria hissed, fur bushing out so she looked three times her kitten-size.

**Bilal! Come on!** Aki shouted.

"Run," Bilal gasped. "Take … Zara."

The pup cried and ran to curl against Bilal's shoulder.

**I didn't play possum all morning to fail here!** Aki snarled. He leapt to his feet. Blue flames sprang from his fingertips. He shaped it quickly into a compound bow, and then flaming arrows answered his call.

Three riders in leather armor slowed their horses as they approached.

**Halt!** Aki drew his bow and aimed at the leader's mount.

Gashes opened up on his arms and blood streamed freely.

**AH!** Aki shouted and his flames stuttered out. He knelt, shaking his head.

Aria spat and crouched closer to Bilal.

The pup whimpered, dashing between Bilal and Aki.

The leader threw his helmet aside and flung himself from the saddle. He ran past Aki to crouch next to Bilal.

"Bilal!" Sweat-matted blond hair accented Nathaniel's worried face. "Your wing! It's … growing back? What the hell?"

Golden eyes flicked from Aki to Nathaniel.

"Ran … into … a bit … of trouble."

Nathaniel laughed bitterly. "I know the feeling. Let's get you on my horse. Once we catch up to the rest of the guards, maybe there's something we can do."

"The rest ... of the guards?" Bilal's breath eased and his muscles loosened.

"Yeah … after you left, Michael …" Nathaniel glanced at the stoic guards behind him. His voice dropped to a whisper. "He rose as if he'd never been injured. Donovan, too. Michael gathered every able-body in the Township and started marching. Said we had somewhere to be."

Aki's eyes widened as he listened. Bilal glanced at him again.

"And … Lord Blaah said nothing?"

Nathaniel's throat bobbed.

"I think … Lord Blaah is dead. He and Michael argued — just the two of them in his audience chamber. Only Michael came out." He shook his head. "When I heard they were in there, I tried to check on the lord. Donovan and a few others wouldn't let me past."

He huffed, glaring at his clenched fist.

"And for my insolence, I've been demoted. We all answer to Donovan, now, unless Michael directs us himself."

Bilal shook his head and jerked his chin at Aki. "And you?"

"What?" Nathaniel followed Bilal's gaze and searched the crushed grass.

Aki spat blood. **That stinkin' bastard's loose again. Wasted too much time here. But I thought you could save us. Oh shit!**

Aki's arm gave out as he used the other to point at the horses.

The stone-faced guards dismounted. Their blades sang as they slipped clear of their sheathes.

Nathaniel's head whipped around. "Wait! What are you doing?" he cried.

They moved forward in sync.

Bilal pushed the pup away. He gripped his glaive with blanched fingers and rolled to his knees.

Aki, too, fought to rise. His breath sawed in his throat. It caught, and a fresh bubble of blood choked him. He flickered wildly — sometimes there and sometimes not.

"Aki!" Bilal shouted.

"No, stay down," Nathaniel said. "You're injured!"

Into the chaos, Aria bolted silently. She tripped the nearest guard, sending him to the ground. She latched onto his arm with her teeth and claws. The arm fell limp and she sprang free.

The second guard turned robotically toward the first. He stabbed downward. His sword stuck in the first guard's ribs. He tried to yank the sword free as the corpse turned gaunt and skeletal.

Aria scrabbled up the guard's body and clung to his face with teeth and claws.

In the continued silence, Aria sat and washed her face with a larger, fluffier paw.

Aki bared bloody teeth as he faded out.

**I knew that wasn't just a cat!**