But leaving someone behind while you run away is horrible. I haven’t had to do it often—one of the few bright sides of not having many friends—but I hate it. Every step you take is a reminder that you’re getting that much farther from the person behind you. Logically, I knew that running was the only real option and that Anne had been lost as soon as she’d fallen from that wall—if I’d stayed behind there was no way I’d have been able to get her out, and they’d have gotten me too. But knowing all that didn’t make me feel any less of a coward, and it didn’t stop the creeping mixture of fear and anger and shame. All I could do was jam a lid on it to shut it out, and focus on staying alive.
I ran northeast, deeper into the castle. From glances through the futures, I knew that both Darren and Ji-yeong were after me, with Sam a little behind. Crystal wasn’t coming, and I knew why—she’d already gotten what she wanted. In a straight fight, without the advantage of surprise, I could take out maybe one of the apprentices, two if I was very lucky. Three wasn’t even worth thinking about. I needed to string them out.
My feet pounded on flagstones, dust flying up from the ancient courtyards, flitting from shadow to light. The castle seemed to watch me as I ran, silent and indifferent, just one more actor on an endless stage. The futures shifted, and I knew one of the elemental mages was gating ahead to try to cut me off. Darren—no, Sam. I switched course, angling southeast. By the time Sam’s gate completed and he stepped out onto the tower he’d been meaning to ambush me from, I was far out of sight. He tried another gate, and I turned northeast again, and this time he didn’t manage to pick up the trail. The futures in which I met Sam thinned and faded.
Three or four shadows were still in the air above. They flew slower than I could run, but they didn’t have to worry about walls and I was having trouble shaking them. From their movements it looked as though they’d been ordered to follow me. There was a cross-shaped building to my right and I changed direction to run inside.
The interior was cool and dark, with a trace of dampness in the air. Giant machines of wood and rusting metal stood silent in the gloom. I knew the constructs would be hovering above, waiting for me to come into view, and I leant against the wall, breathing hard. My chest and limbs were burning as I scanned ahead. Four exits on this floor—no, five. All led out into the open. Darren and Ji-yeong would be here in about three minutes, tracking the hovering shadows to the building below. I needed something that would give me cover—there. Two sets of stairs leading down into the darkness. On the left path the futures grew cluttered and tangled, but on the other my future self kept going. I turned right.
The stairs led down into a vast cavern of sandy-coloured rock. Water filled the level below, forming a vast natural reservoir, waterwheels and cisterns groaning and creaking in the gloom. From up ahead I could see daylight shining from two wide openings. I jogged along the edge of the reservoir and came out into dazzling sunlight.
I’d arrived on the eastern cliffs, on the edge of the castle’s bedrock. No sheer drop this time; narrow walkways and bridges were layered down towards the ocean, flat levels like a giant’s staircase. Below and to the north, pathways wound their way to cave mouths, black dots against the brown-and-yellow rock, and I started running down towards them.
I was most of the way there when I sensed the shadows returning, and I had just enough time to get under cover before the black dots reappeared far above. They circled, ranging left and right as I stayed hidden. They couldn’t see me as long as I stayed here, but the overhang I was using stretched only a little way and as soon as I turned down onto the next flight of steps I’d be in view again.
Minutes ticked by. The shadows overhead wheeled and turned. I was covered in sweat; my heart was thumping and heat was pouring off the stone. The air was fresh and smelt of salt, the cries of gulls echoing from far below. Looking ahead, I couldn’t see any way of moving without drawing the shadows’ attention—all I could do was wait and hope they guessed wrong about which way I’d gone.
Slowly, the shadows’ pattern changed. Now only two were staying out over the cliff; the others were moving back west. I looked into the futures of what would happen if I went out . . . good news and bad. The good news was that I’d managed to split them up again. Only one of the apprentices was coming down the path towards me.
The bad news was that it was the one out of the three I least wanted to pick a fight with.
The staircases and bridges built into the cliff face blocked any direct line of sight, but the shadows could see me from the air. If I made a break for it I could probably get away—at least in the short term—but I’d probably draw the attention of one of the others and that was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. I stayed where I was, using my magic to scout out the ground on which I’d be fighting.
The ledge I was standing on was a long shelf of yellow bricks, about three quarters of the way down the cliff, the stones old and chipped but stable. I was hiding behind a row of eight square pillars which supported the next level up of the cliff architecture, while behind me a wooden footbridge crossed a gap to another platform and the stairs down. The stairs led down to another path which twisted and doubled back underneath; the drop to the level below was forty feet straight down and sheer, as was becoming irritatingly common in this place. It wouldn’t have killed them to put in a few railings. The main expanse from the pillars to the ledge was thirty feet wide, giving room to move as long as you didn’t get too close to the edge . . . I touched the life ring in my pocket. If I went over, I’d have maybe a second to break that before I hit the stone.
Just as with Anne, I could tell the moment I came within lifesight range. The futures of contact paused, shifting, then the shadows changed direction, coming flapping down to land between me and the bridge, blocking my way forward.
I abandoned my cover, walking out into the middle of the open ledge. Sunlight washed over me, the heat already beginning to dry the sweat on the exposed skin at my hands and face. The only sound was the whine of the wind and the crash of the waves on the rocks below. Behind, the two shadows were fuzzy black patches in the sunlight, white eyes expressionless. Glancing through the futures, I knew they’d been ordered to block me in. They wouldn’t attack—yet.
A figure appeared from the way I’d come, moving at an unhurried walk. The swords at her belt swung slightly as she descended the stairs. Once she was forty feet away, she stopped and the two of us watched each other.
Chapter 10
Yun Ji-yeong was tall for a girl, though still shorter than Anne or me. She wore a white sleeveless top and grey leggings, the twin shortswords hanging off her belt. Her right hand rested on one of the hilts, and her fingers tapped it as she watched me with a considering sort of look. Now that I got a proper look at her she seemed young, twenty at the oldest. Despite the fact that she’d been chasing me for a good half hour, she wasn’t breathing hard. The sea breeze blew across both of us, tugging at my armour and rippling her hair.
I spoke first. “So I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”
“You’re the one who’s been making trouble for Darren and Sam.” Ji-yeong tilted her head, studying me. “You don’t look like much.”
“I suppose I don’t.” I was aware of the two shadows at my back but didn’t show it. “Yun Ji-yeong, right?”
“That’s right. Not running?”
“I’m pretty sure you’re faster than I am.”