Page 14 of A Soul’s Awakening

With no time to question, the four of us stumbled as quickly as we could until an invisible barrier smacked Ren in the face. He analyzed it for a minute, the magic separating us from the stalls on the other side, before flattening his palm and releasing a jolt of magic. It shot back at him in retaliation.

Behind us, I could hear footsteps pounding like a stampede of horses. The remaining Syndicate members, including some guests from the auction, were storming right toward us with an injured Leon leading the charge.

“Uh, Ren …”

“I know!”

“Theo.” My name slipped out on Alex’s breath, barely a whisper. She caught my hand and pressed it to the invisible barrier, then laid her own over mine. Her skin was cold at first, but warmth blossomed beneath her touch, the subtle magic threading into me as something faint, fragile, but undeniably alive.

Something stirred inside me and I felt the urge to push my own magic toward hers, letting them intertwine. The barrier was more of a cloudy haze now, and the air in front of us began to fracture. Thin blue lines of distortion spider-webbed outward like cracks in glass. With each steady pulse of our combined magic, the cracks deepened and the space trembled as the barrier of magic finally began to give way. The shield shuddered then finally split open with a sharp, breathless snap.

We didn’t hesitate. We bolted for the gap, running as fast as our soot-filled lungs would allow us. But Jordan was right. This place was controlled by the Syndicate, and no one was allowed in or out without their permission. We couldn’t run forever. We had to fight back.

9

We sprinted through the maze of stalls within the market, Syndicate footsteps pounding after us, Leon’s voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. My lungs burned, but stopping wasn’t an option.

“Left!” Ren barked, shoving Alex and Jordan ahead of him as a bolt of magic slammed into the wall where my head had been a second earlier. Glass exploded behind us. People screamed. More magic was fired off in our direction.

The whole marketplace erupted in shouts. Shopkeepers dove for cover, enchanted trinkets bursting with stray sparks, and a cloud of volatile spell dust filled the air like shimmering smoke, exploding in bursts of magic.

“Keep moving!” Ren yelled, tossing a wooden crate into the path of our pursuers. It bought us half a second, just long enough for Leon’s voice to boom across the stalls.

“Keep running and you’ll all soon join me among the dead!”

My blood ran cold. He was close.

We pushed deeper into the maze of the market, dodging tables piled high with cursed jewelry, cages filled with hissing sprites, and hanging racks of feathered cloaks. Jordan coughed, Alex stumbled, and I grabbed both of them, forcing our pace faster.

I felt warmth caress my right arm, intricate vines flaring gold on my skin. Then a flare of bright light streaked overhead.

A little fairy wearing a flower petal dress popped into existence like a spark from a struck match, wings buzzing in a frantic blur.

“Lyric?” Relief swelled inside me. “How did you get here?”

“This way!” Lyric zipped around me. “Move, move, move!”

If she was able to slip through the veil, then the others probably weren’t far behind. We followed the streak of glowing wings as Lyric passed the clutter of stalls and darted down an alley so tight we had to turn sideways to squeeze through. Shouts echoed behind us. Leon’s snarl rattled through the air.

Lyric shot ahead, disappearing around a corner toward the back of a large stall. When we turned, the space opened up and the tension in my chest loosened as two familiar faces greeted me. Stella clenched her fists as rose petals swirled around her. She came prepared to fight, clad in black leather with her fiery red hair tied back in a ponytail to reveal her slightly pointed ears. Ivy was beside her, the determination set in her eyes being betrayed by her shaking hands and nervous gaze. Jacob stood beside her, hands tucked into his jeans as he took in the surrounding scene.

“You!” Stella hurled a storm of bladed petals at Ren.

I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. Stella, having seen Ren glamoured as James Whitfield, went into attack mode.

Ren turned around, a zap of magic forming a dome around him as Stella’s magic bounced right off it. He dropped his disguise, and for the first time in months, I laid eyes on the true Ren. He looked rougher than the man I remembered. His auburn hair had grown longer, falling messily around his face, and exhaustion carved faint shadows beneath his maroon eyes. Dirt from his travels clung to his clothes, his posture tighter, harder, like the world had been wearing him down one fight at a time. But none of that mattered. It was the most beautiful sight I had seen since I’d entered this hell.

“Wait, that’s Ren!” Ivy exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement as she stepped toward him. “Are you okay?”

Another protective barrier rippled around us as Ren concealed our presence from our pursuers.

“It won’t last long. We have maybe five minutes.” Ren ignored Ivy, his hands trembling as he struggled to keep up the illusion.

“You guys … actually came!” I leaned against the wooden siding of the stall and let out a ragged breath. I was worried they wouldn’t be able to find a way through.

“Of course we came,” Stella replied with a flat, dismissive huff. “I’m not letting you have all the fun.”

“Find them!” Leon’s voice snarled from somewhere close by. “It’s not like they can just disappear!”