Morning Rising (17 page)

As they rounded a curve in the tunnel, Kara
grabbed Dylan’s hand, pulling her to a stop. There, just around the
curve, a pair of boots stuck out into the tunnel. The rest of the
group came to a stop behind Kara, and she silently pointed to the
boots. In the sudden stillness a loud honking snore echoed back to
them from the man. Kara and Dylan exchanged nervous smiles, both
fighting the urge to laugh.

Baron waved them back the way they had come,
stopping a dozen paces back to lean in conspiratorially. “Whoever
he is, he’s fast asleep,” Baron said with a quick grin. “It’s a
wide tunnel. We pass him at the far side and stay silent until he
is well behind us.”

“Sounds good.” Kara glanced at Dylan who
nodded her agreement. Ivy nodded as well.

“It’s reckless,” Alster said in a low growl.
“We won’t make it past him.”

“Good.” Baron clapped Alster on the shoulder.
“Glad we’re all in agreement. I’ll go first,” Baron said. He stood
and began to creep toward the sleeping figure.

They rounded the same curve, pausing
breathlessly a moment as the boots again came into view. When they
heard the man still snoring, Baron moved forward. Kara and Dylan
were right behind him, followed closely by the others.

More of the man came into view. Kara bit her
lip, praying he wouldn’t catch them. He seemed to be half giant, at
least seven feet tall. His legs stretched so far into the tunnel
that there was only a small path of safe passage on the opposite
side. The man’s head, at least twice the size of Kara’s, leaned
heavily on his broad shoulder. A puddle of drool was collecting on
his shirt sleeve, slowly dripping downwards.

Kara stepped carefully, avoiding the man’s
feet as she followed Baron. The man gave a loud snort and they
froze. He shifted his head to lean it on his other shoulder.
Tentatively, the group moved on. Kara stopped when she was past the
man, even though the others kept walking. She waited for Dylan,
unwilling to move off into the tunnel until Dylan was safe. Kara
glanced at the man as Dylan approached. He was watching them. One
huge, blue eye was trained on Dylan as she took Kara’s hand.

“You!” the man lumbered to his feet, the worn
blanket that had been covering him dropped away to reveal a leather
jacket and pants. He hunched his shoulders to avoid hitting his
head on the ceiling. “They laughed when I said you would use the
trail.” He grinned, obviously pleased with himself. “They say I’m
too stupid to know anything, but I knew you would be coming down
here, yes I did. I knew it and here you are.”

No one said anything. Kara glanced at Baron,
but he was too far away to be any help. Dylan stood still, too
stunned to answer. Ivy and Alster stood frozen against the wall,
watching the man lumber towards them. It didn’t look like they’d be
helpful either.

“You're pretty smart,” Kara said. She elbowed
Dylan in the ribs and Dylan nodded.

“Oh, God yes,” Dylan said, grinning madly.
“Whoever said you were stupid was probably just jealous of how
totally awesome you are.”

“Awesome?” the man cocked his head and rubbed
a hand through his oily hair. He wrinkled his nose as he considered
the word. “I dunno what that means.”

“It means great,” Kara hurried to explain.
“And super smart.” She glanced at Dylan. Dylan nodded again.

“Oh.” The man grinned, revealing more empty
spaces than teeth. “I am awesome then, aren’t I?” his grin widened
like he enjoyed the word.

“Totally,” Dylan agreed, she was smiling
widely in return.

“Demitar is going to think so when I bring
you to him,” the man said.

“Yeah, about that.” Kara shook her head.
“It’s really not gonna work for us. The whole ‘you taking us to
Demitar’ thing seems like a bad idea. I was thinking maybe we could
just pay you to head the other way.”

“Pay me?” the man narrowed his eyes at Kara.
“How much?”

“Um, this much.” Kara held up the bag of
coins Glint gave her.

“Two hundred thirty-four knocks, ten gustons,
and forty-eight hoblers,” Glint said quickly. Kara gave him a
thankful glance.

“That’s a month’s wages, near enough!” the
man exclaimed. Kara glanced apologetically at Glint. She hadn’t
known how much money she was offering.

“And it’s all yours if you let us go on our
way. Just pretend you never saw us,” Dylan said. She gave him her
most convincing smile. Kara knew smarter men than this one had
fallen for that smile.

The man seemed torn. He shuffled from foot to
foot as he considered, until finally he nodded. He held out one of
his huge hands. Kara dropped the bag into it with the clink of
coins tumbling together.

“I never saw you.” He shook his head and
turned away, mumbling to himself as he shuffled off down the trail.
“Never saw no one.”

Kara let out a sigh of relief. “That was
close.”

“Too close,” Dylan agreed. “You were great
though,” she squeezed Kara’s hand. Kara’s heart fluttered, and she
felt her face flushing. “The rest of us just froze up,” Dylan
continued obliviously.

“Definitely a good show,” Baron said. “Now,
if you don’t mind, I think we should get going before he changes
his mind.”

Dylan nodded her agreement, and they started
walking again. Soon they were hurrying down the trail at twice the
speed as before. This time Kara and Dylan hung back from the
others, but Ivy fell back to walk alongside them.

“It's good to see you feeling more like
yourself, princess,” Ivy said. She cast a shy smile at Dylan. “I
have heard about you my entire life, but I never dreamed I would
meet you, let alone fight beside you.”

“Seriously, we gotta stop this princess
thing,” Dylan said. She smiled at Ivy. “I'm glad you're here with
us, we need all the help we can get.”

“It was Ivy who led you away from Demitar to
begin with,” Kara said. “She was like an undercover agent.”

“I remember,” Dylan said. She reached over
and squeezed Ivy’s small hand. “Thank you for saving me.” Ivy
blushed, her skin almost glowing.

Kara hurried forward to catch up with Baron.
“How much farther is it?” Kara asked, walking with him for a
moment.

“Not too far now,” Baron said. He nodded to
the small engraved sign at the base of the stairway they were
passing. “The next bar is the last on the trail.”

“Do you really think we’re going to be able
to stroll out of the city without running into any more Strikers?”
Kara wasn’t convinced. She was hoping Baron would tell her
something reassuring. Baron sighed and glanced over his shoulder at
the others before answering.

“Not at all,” he said. It wasn’t even
slightly reassuring. “I have no doubt the only reason they haven’t
stormed the trail is that they’re waiting for us at the end.
Demitar is not a stupid man. There is no reason to waste the energy
of his forces chasing us down here when he can just wait for us to
walk into his trap.”

“Well thanks, I feel better now,” Kara said.
Baron caught her eye and smiled.

“Sorry, just being truthful,” he said

“I appreciate it,” Kara assured him. She
looked back to see that Dylan was walking alone with Glint. Ivy
walked beside Alster, talking to him, though he was watching Kara
and Baron. “I was just hoping for better news,” Kara finished.

“Aren’t we all?” Baron asked with a shake of
his head. Kara nodded and fell back to Dylan’s side. They walked
close together, with Glint never more than a pace behind.

The next half mile passed in silence, each of
them worrying what they might find when they left the safety of the
trail. They would be able to see the eastern edge of the city from
where they came out. It would be a shame to have their mission fail
so close to completion. It was easy to forget that getting out of
the city itself was only the beginning. There was still a desert to
cross before the following afternoon if they were going to meet the
three day deadline.

Baron stopped at the stairway to the last
bar. The others gathered around, waiting expectantly for what he
would say. Even Glint sat with his head tilted to look up at the
man. Baron took a deep breath.

“We’re here.” He nodded to the stairs. “When
we step out of the bar, we need to be ready for anything. We try to
get out of the city. If worst comes to worst, Glint and I will
transfer everyone out of there.” Baron paused, looking at Glint for
confirmation that he could do that. Glint nodded once. Baron nodded
in return and continued. “He’ll take Ivy and Alster, and I’ll take
the two of you,” he said, looking at Kara and Dylan. “If I push
myself I should be able to jump us most of the way to the gate.
Glint won’t have a problem.”

“And if Demitar follows us there?” Kara
asked. It was a horrible thought, but she couldn’t help voicing it.
Baron turned a grim look on her.

“Then we fight him of course,” Alster said
shortly. A thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead and his face
was flushed. He didn’t look like a man ready for a fight. He looked
like an old man in need of a nap. Despite his attitude, Kara’s
heart twinged in pity for him.

“We may have to fight here before escape is
even an option,” Baron said. “I want everyone to be prepared for
anything. What?” he asked Dylan, who was smiling at him.

“Sorry, I just remember you being like this
before.” Dylan grinned. “When I was younger I mean. You were always
such a ‘take charge’ kinda guy.”

“Well you were a little troublemaker,” Baron
said. He couldn’t help but smile. It seemed like Dylan’s small
memory eased the group’s tension. “Everyone be ready. Let’s
go.”

Every floorboard seemed to creak as they
crossed the bar. Every slight movement in the street sent Kara’s
body into panic mode. Her brain was screaming to turn around and
her heart hammered wildly. Giving up wasn’t an option though, so
she forced herself forward.

A lone streetlight was shining through the
dirt covered windows of the bar. The dim light lit their way, but
made it impossible to see out. Kara’s stomach twisted as Baron
reached for the door handle. She tensed, waiting for Strikers to
burst in.

Everything seemed safe as they stepped from
the bar onto an empty street. They were back on one of the main
streets. Ten feet away from the bar the street opened up into a
large courtyard. A dozen other streets ended at the courtyard as
well. The area started out paved and planned, but soon the desert
took over.

They hadn’t taken four steps from the door
when the Strikers appeared. Maybe two dozen in total, all ready for
battle. They were armed with whatever power they might hold and two
blades attached to their left wrists. Standing at the center of
them, wearing a sleek, black suit and tie, was Demitar. He stepped
forward, clapping languidly. The sound echoed across the empty
street that stood between them.

“Not a bad show,” Demitar mused, coming to a
stop under the streetlight. Kara could see Kade standing behind
Demitar, his pale skin even paler in the bad light. “I hardly
expected you to get Morning back into your possession, let alone
make it this far. Really, you’ve caused me much more trouble than I
was anticipating.”

“Maybe if you left her with someone a bit
more impressive,” Kara called. She wished she could have let Baron
step forward, take charge, and confront Demitar, but in her heart
she knew it needed to be her. Demitar expected her to reply. In his
mind, she was his main threat. Facing his personal army, Kara had
never felt less like a threat.

“You’re right,” Demitar said and took a step
forward. “Perhaps I underestimated you. Then again. . .” Demitar
tilted his head slightly. The Striker to the right of Kade drove
his blades deep into the man’s stomach and pulled upwards, neatly
gutting Kade before stepping back to let him fall. Kara tried not
to cry out. Her hands twitched, but she kept them at her side.
“Perhaps I simply overestimated Kade,” Demitar finished. “Just
because he was able to get her into my land, didn’t mean he was
able to stand up to the Guardian. And look, I see you’ve made
friends as well. How quaint,” he finished flatly.

He flicked his hand in their direction. The
earth began to jut up around them in tall spikes, reaching high
into the sky. The group scattered to keep from being impaled or
thrown to the ground. With a slight nod, Demitar set the Strikers
on them. Kara pulled Dylan aside as a Striker swiped his blades at
her. The blades hissed through the air close enough for Dylan to
feel the breeze they created. Kara tugged at the energy around her
and sent the Striker sailing through the air. He slammed into the
window of a shop with a sickening crack and the breaking of
glass.

“Impressive,” Demitar mused. "You've gotten
your powers back. I assume that means you have your memories as
well? So you understand why i have to kill you."

"I understand I have to do whatever it takes
to keep Dylan away from you," Kara answered, still keeping Dylan
shielded with her body."

"We'll see about that," Demitar said with a
cocky half smile. With one quick motion he brought the stones that
paved the road to chest level and flicked them towards Dylan and
Kara. It took all Kara’s concentration to force them back at him. A
Striker stepped in front of Demitar and held up his hand. The
stones dropped harmlessly to the ground.

“Kara,” Dylan called and Kara spun in time to
see a flock of Strikers bearing down on her from above. Each
Striker flew on large, black feathered wings. She tried to force
them back with her mind, but only succeeded in turning back a few.
She was not strong enough to handle this.

Icicles shot up from below, the sharp points
digging deep into the flock and sending them spiraling down to the
earth. Kara turned with surprise to see Dylan had been the one to
mount the attack. Dylan stood in a small puddle, looking just as
surprised as Kara.