As soon as the kid was secured, Drayce pushed to his feet and pulled his other gun. He edged into the street again and hurried along at a brisk pace, trying to put as much distance between him and the gate. He needed to head to the High Luminance residence, but that was exactly where New Rosanthe soldiers were going as well. Not a good spot for a helpless little kid.
Smoke was filling the air and being blown between the buildings by the wind, painting the sky an ugly gray. Sounds of fighting and dying echoed off the high mountain walls, bouncing the noise all around them, creating the feeling of them being surrounded. He didn’t know how much time had passed since he’d left Eno and Rayne near the gate. Minutes? Hours? Moving through the winding streets had been slow business as he’d been forced to backtrack and find hiding spots when he’d been too outnumbered by soldiers.
Were they still at the gate? He hoped they were heading toward the residence now. If they stopped off at the town house, they’d be able to grab the rest of his ammunition and the short sword he carried as a final resort. He was fucking rubbish with an edged weapon, but it was better than having nothing. As it was, he was getting to his last few bullets, and he’d have to make them count until he could scavenge from some New Rosanthe corpses.
Drayce paused at one corner, breathing heavily as he tried to figure out which direction to turn next.
The little boy lifted his head and gazed about. He pointed a finger to the left, which was the street leading away from the High Luminance, and started talking briskly. Drayce prayed he was trying to tell Drayce where he lived. He needed to get moving, to find Caelan, but his conscience wouldn’t let him abandon this child. Caelan wouldn’t have let him abandon this kid either.
Tightening his grip on his guns, Drayce hurried along the street, glancing over his shoulder here and there to make sure the Empire wasn’t closing in on them. Sweat ran down the side of his face, leaving behind a chilled streak as the wind kissed it. The air was less clogged with smoke, allowing him to fill his lungs without coughing.
Halfway down the empty block, a pale wood door was pulled open and a woman in similar white-and-lilac robes stepped out. Her dark eyes were wide as she watched them approach and lines dug deep near her mouth. The boy shouted and pushed at Drayce. Yep, that was a clear enough hint. Drayce put the boy on his feet and pointed his guns in the opposite direction, prepared to give the child protection as he ran to his mother.
His quick footsteps across the stone road echoed off the building fronts, as if announcing that someone was daring to step outside their home. A woman’s sobbing voice joined that of her son’s cries, but there was relief mingled with the fear.
Empire soldiers appeared around the corner and immediately opened fire on him. Drayce squeezed out rounds as he dove for cover in a different doorway, picking off soldiers where he could, but he was pinned down with bullets pinging off the stone walls and throwing up chips of rock from where they hit the ground near his feet. He chanced a glance over his shoulder to see the boy being pulled into the house with his mother. The poor woman looked back at him, eyes fearful and grateful. He thought she wanted to offer him a safe haven, but there was no way he could reach them on the other side of the street.
Instead, he flashed his cockiest smile and returned his attention to the New Rosanthe soldiers. The six who had cornered him were now four—no, scratch that. Three. Eno and Rayne had come up behind them, cutting their numbers in half. Drayce leaped out and shot two more before Eno could hack down the last man standing.
“What the hell are you doing?” Eno bellowed the second they were clear. “You’re going the wrong way.”
Drayce rolled his eyes as he jogged over to his companions. “There was this kid…” he started, and Eno’s expression softened. He didn’t need to say anything else, and he was grateful for it. His heart was still racing and his knees might have gotten a little jiggly in those last few seconds as his friends showed up with an assist.
“We need to get to Caelan,” Rayne broke in. “I think Safa is in the city. If the godstone is here, then it’s safe to say that she’s either heading straight for it or she’s going to the one person who is sure to know where it is located.”
Drayce couldn’t help glancing up at the sky. Between the clouds of smoke that were still pouring over the small city, he could see that the bright-blue sky they’d enjoyed this morning was long gone. The last boom over the city had sounded more like thunder than an explosion. It was a safe bet that Caelan already knew what was happening. They needed to get to him before he was forced to use the power of Kaes and Tula again.