Vengeance

Chapter 6

I slept for a little longer while we waited, trying to get some of my energy back. I cursed myself for not allowing us to rest before we arrived at Axel's house. If I had, we would have been stronger and in a better state of mind than we were. We were also completely out of food now, and I could only hope Skylar still had some in her possession.

I awoke to Jadis nudging me, her eyes fixed on a point in the distance. I silently slid into a half crouching position, staring. A group of people were running toward us, slowly gaining ground on our position. They were too far away to recognize or even know for sure how many there were. We held our breaths as they gradually closed the distance.

As soon as they got close enough to see clearly, I relaxed. It was my people, not the human pursuers. We could trust them. But when I glanced over at Jadis, she had tensed even more and looked on the verge of bolting. I glanced back at those approaching, and it took me a few seconds to realize a different group was following behind the first. My breath caught in my throat, and I practically yelled across the mindlink.

"You're being followed!"

I noticed my guards jolt in surprise and glance behind them. They lengthened their strides and signaled hastily to me to start running. I took off, Jadis right behind me. I had no idea how we would get out of this mess.

The rebels knew where we were, the direction we were headed, and how many of us were on Earth. It would be simple to track us down based on those points alone, but they were also faster than I expected, and I doubted we could outrun them. It would be only a matter of time before they caught us. I flinched when Skylar's voice echoed in my head.

"We're going to fight. Keep running."

She must have arrived at the same conclusion I had, and this was the only solution she could come up with. I hated the feeling that I was helpless, that there was no way I could use my own abilities to their benefit. I wanted to prove to them, and to myself, that I was valuable. I didn't want to run.

"No! Not after Atticus. I don't want to be useless anymore, so if you're going to fight, I want to help,"  I skidded to a stop, Jadis almost slamming into my back. I turned to see the three guards locked in combat with five others. I quietly moved toward them, ignoring Jadis's bewildered look.

It was clear my guards had been split up and unable to regroup. Skylar and Lorelei were pinned as they fought two rebels at once. My breathing stopped for a moment as weapons slashed against each other, the clashing of metal filling the emptiness in the still air.

Skylar paused, but when her voice came back it was firm and insistent. "Our first priority is always to make sure you're safe. We would risk our own life to save yours."

"I don't want you to risk your life for mine!"  I argued, frustrated. "My life isn't any more valuable then yours!"

"You're right, your life isn't more valuable than ours. Every life has the same worth."

"Yes, that's what I—"

"—But your role in life is more important. That is why we must keep you safe. If you died, Zucar would descend into chaos. If we died, Zucar would continue as it is now. Nothing would change."

"You're wrong. It wouldn't descend into chaos if I died. Zeno is still alive, and he would be prepared to take control if Zak wasn't available."

Jadis twitched uncertainly beside me, and I furrowed my brows at her, unsure of why she responded like that. I looked ahead and, with a burst of pride, realized we were now only a few yards from the fight and our approach had gone unnoticed. The rebels hadn't diverted their attention to us yet.