“I can use my illusion to create some cover for us,” Eve said. “Not a lot, though, so we’ll have to be fast.”
I nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“I’ll go first,” Eve said.
“Hang on.” I grabbed a small wool doormat that lay crumbled amongst the rubbish and handed it to her. “You’ll need this for the broken window.”
“Thanks.” Eve tucked it into her shirt, then climbed onto the pile of furniture, her movements a little shaky. I got below her to make sure she didn’t fall, and we ascended slowly to the windows.
Magic shimmered on the air as we neared them, and I shivered.
“We’re essentially invisible to them, but not for long,” Eve said. She placed the door mat over the broken glass edge of the window and climbed up. I followed her onto the top of the tilted car, searching the area around us for the threat.
Mountains rose tall on my right, thick with trees that provided cover for our attackers. I still couldn’t see them but swore I could sense them lurking amongst the shadows.
Meria joined us on the top of the train, silently inspecting our surroundings. She pointed downhill. “The attackers are coming from up the mountain, so let’s go that way.”
I nodded. Meria and I helped Eve climb down from the train. She insisted she was fine, but she was still a bit slow. We skidded down the rubble that tumbled away from the side of the train car and into the forest on the lower side of the tracks.
The scent of evergreens and rich dirt filled the air, hopefully enough to cover our scent. I drew it into my lungs, loving being in nature despite the danger.
I’d never been meant to live in Seattle, I realized. This was the land for me.
“Let’s find cover.” Meria set off into the woods.
Eve and I followed. I stayed behind her, and her speed improved as we moved deeper into the woods.
Rustling sounded from behind us, and I turned to see a man in the distance. For the briefest second, he was so perfectly lined up between the trees that I could see he wasn’t one of ours.
Then he disappeared.
“They’re following us,” I whispered.
“I’m almost out of magic,” Eve said. “Can’t hide us much longer.”
“Save it.” Meria pointed to a cave in the distance. “So you can conceal that.”
We raced toward the cave, taking cover inside the dark, cool interior. Eve collapsed onto the ground and drew in a shuddery breath, her magic swelling on the air. “This is the last of it for a while.”
A faint glowing light shimmered at the mouth of the cave. It obstructed our view of the forest, making it look like it was underwater. I could barely make out the shadows that were the trees and bushes.
“From the outside, it just looks like more rock,” Eve said.
Panting, we all sat.
“Lore will come for us,” I said.
“Definitely.” Meria nodded. “But will he find us before they do?”
“We’ve got ten minutes left on my magic,” Eve said. “Maybe a little less. I’m barely keeping the illusion going.”
“If they don’t get out of here soon, we need to assume they know we’re in the area and are looking.”
“So we should ambush them,” I said. “I want answers.”
Eve’s jaw hardened. “Me, too.”
“Ambush it is.” Meria peered out into the woods. “I don’t like waiting for an attack anyway.”
I laid my hand on Eve’s shoulder. “But you should wait here.”
“The hell I will.” She scowled. “I’m a lot better. Miserable, but it’s nothing the healer can’t fix when I see her.”
“But—”
She shook her head, her glower cutting me off.
“Fine,” I said. “All of us.”
“They’re going to be confused,” Meria said. “One moment, they could probably hear us running, and the next, there was silence.”
“Let’s wait for them to get farther away, then hide in the trees and attack,” I suggested.
Meria and Eve both grinned.
“I like that plan.” Meria drew her bow and arrows from the ether. “It’ll be perfect.”
My mind raced. “We’ll get into the trees, wait silently, then make a noise to draw them closer to us. But make sure the noise sounds at ground level.”
“We can throw rocks at the ground,” Meria suggested.
“I like it.” I grinned.
“Let’s go.” Eve rose, approaching the barrier that concealed the cave. She stood still, tilting her head to listen. “I don’t hear them.”