"Concentrate, Mila. You're doing great," Noelani tells me.
I nod, focusing on the book that I'm trying to levitate for the first time. We're in Noelani's office, taking the time to squeeze in a quick magic lesson between two of the mayor's meetings.
I smile as the book begins to lift off of the desk. It's working!
A loud commotion suddenly steals my focus, causing the book to fall and crash to the ground.
"What was that?" I say, looking around the office.
The door slams open. A man stands in the doorway, arm poised with a sleek metal object.
"Get down!" I yell as soon as I realize what it is. I grab Noelani, pulling her behind the couch just as a loud bang resonates through the room.
Noelani flinches. "What was that?" she whispers.
"A gun," I mutter.
A bitter taste fills my mouth. How the Deities do they have a gun? They are banned in all Mega-Cities and impossible to get your hands on unless you have a contact in Government. Who possibly had one on them when they opened the hitchstone?
"We have to get out of here," I tell Noelani. "Use your magic to distract him and we'll run."
Noelani glances around the couch, locating the gunman with ease. He notices her too, but she raises her hand and knocks a burst of magic towards him before he can properly react.
"Let's go," I say, scrambling to my feet and running to the door. It takes me three seconds to realize that Noelani isn't behind me. I whip my head around, spotting her at the desk.
"Come on," I wave her out the door. She ignores me, rifling through her drawers instead.
The gunman gets up, adjusting himself and aiming his weapon at the mayor.
I don't think– I act, throwing my hand out and forcing a wall of magic to slam into the gun. It flies out of his hand and lands somewhere across the room.
Wow.
He scrambles after the weapon, grabbing it and turning it on me. His finger slides over the trigger, seconds away from squeezing.
"No!" Noelani screams. My eyes lock with hers from across the room– she looks terrified, eyes wide and burning into mine with fear.
Is she worried about me or the Promise?
I shake my head, chasing away the thought. It doesn't matter. I need to stay focused.
Noelani's shriek is enough to prevent the man from pulling the trigger. She grabs my arm and pulls me out of her office. I notice that she's carrying something in her arm– the quill we used to sign the Promise.
"I hope you're happy," I grumble. "Deities, Noelani. We almost died. Is that thing really that important?"
"Mila. Shut up," she snaps.
We run to the elevator, pressing the button and waiting for the metal doors to open.
Come on, come on, come on.
Footsteps approach us from the mayor's office.
Fuck.
"We have to go." I grab Noelani and shove her down a random hallway. "Is there another exit?"
We're five stories up. If there isn't another exit, we're screwed.
"There's a staircase in the back," she says. "It's locked."
I nod. "We have magic. Lead the way."
We creep down the hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible. I keep an ear open, my body tense and ready to fight if we are discovered.
"Do you think this is the Council's doing?" I whisper.
She nods. "It's a coup. They've run out of patience."
"We have to get to Arabelle," I say, panicked.
Noelani gives me a look that has me worried. "We better hurry– they might get there first."
We successfully find the staircase. Noelani uses her magic to break the lock.
There's a grunt behind us. I pause, glancing over my shoulder. The blood drains from my face. He's found us.
I turn back towards Noelani and shove her through the doorway.
"Run!" I tell her.
She does, her feet scrambling on the staircase. I urge my legs to follow her, but a large hand comes down on my shoulder, preventing my attempt to run.
"Don't move," he orders sternly.
I feel the hot touch of metal press against my skin. I raise my hand, welling up another burst of magic, but the attacker has grown wise. He pins my arm to my side before I can release the magic.
I grunt, struggling against him. Noelani will keep Arabelle safe, but how long will that last? They can't escape without me. I have to get to them.
"Hey!" the gunman shouts suddenly. But it's not at me.
I blink and he's on the floor, clutching his shin delicately.
Gray eyes meet mine. William.
He grabs the gun with a practiced move. I raise my hands, ready to fight. The Councilmember simply lowers the weapon, flicking a small lever and stuffing it into his waistband.
Understanding dawns on me.
That may be his gun, but this is not his attack.
"Go," William orders firmly.
I'm frozen, staring at the gray-eyed man in front of me. Who is he?
"Now!" he shouts.
The spell is broken. I lower my hands and turn over my shoulder, sprinting towards the stairwell. I swear I descend the stairs faster than humanly possible.
I take a deep breath once I am outside, but my nerves don't settle. I keep running.
Deities, Arabelle better be okay.
I nearly topple Noelani. She grabs me, inspecting me with sharp eyes.
"You're good?" she asks.
I nod. "You?"
"Yes," she says. "Let's go."
We take the back route, cutting through as many people's yards as possible. Noelani isn't sure if the Council will attack us in public, so we decide that it's best to stay out of sight.
The usual five minute walk bleeds into twenty, making my heart pound harder in my chest. What if they tried Arabelle's pub first? It's not a crazy thought– I spend most of my time there.
I pick up my pace.
After what feels like hours, we finally break through the crowded part of town. I take the lead, dragging Noelani towards the back entrance of the pub. I unlock the door and let her into the hallway.
"Go upstairs," I order. "I'll tell Arabelle to lock up and meet you there." Noelani opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. "If you show up in the bar, people will get suspicious," I warn her.
She shuts her mouth and nods. I let out a sigh of relief and walk around the front of the building. There are no gunshots or frantic screaming, so I assume we've lost the Council for now.
Arabelle frowns when she sees me enter– she knows that I'm supposed to be in a lesson for at least another hour. I eye her meaningfully and plaster on a fake smile. Luckily, she catches on and greets me like she usually would.
"Hey, Mila," she says.
"Hey!" I say, overly excited. I lean in and lower my voice. "Lock up as soon as you can without drawing suspicion," I tell her. "I'll explain later. Meet me upstairs."
I draw back and give her a pointed look. She nods her understanding, glancing around the room worriedly. There's only a few people sitting around and chatting aimlessly, too sucked into their own conversations to notice us much.
I make up an excuse to head upstairs, and with one more worried look from Arabelle, I head behind the bar and make my way upstairs.
Noelani is standing in Arabelle's living room, pacing tirelessly back and forth.
"She'll be here shortly," I inform her.
Noelani nods. "Time to break the seal," she says.
Butterflies flutter nervously inside my stomach, but I try to shoot them down.
I don't know if I can do this. I shake my head. I have to do this.
"How are we going to get out of here after the seal is broken?" I ask. "What will happen to the town?"
I'm not ready for this. I need more time.
Noelani steps forward, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Relax," she says. "Just focus on breaking the seal. I'll do the rest."
I stare at the mayor– soon to be former mayor, I guess.
"But the Council–"
"Mila." She stares at me for a long moment. "Let me handle it, alright?"
Despite what just happened, she has a calm look on her face. It soothes me a little, allowing me to finally take a deep breath.
I trust her, I realize. We've got this.
I nod once. "Okay."
I sit on the couch and ground myself, shutting my eyes as I focus on the power of the hitchstone seal. It's still there, as present as ever. I don't waste any time– I don't have any time. I latch onto the seal and I pull. Hard.
I keep pulling, even as I hear Arabelle enter the room and speak to Noelani in hushed tones. I pull and pull, refusing to let go.
Suddenly, there's a small crack.
"Careful, Mila," Noelani murmurs. As I come back to my senses, I realize she's next to me on the couch, a hand on my shoulder again. "Take it steady. You're almost there."
I renew my grip on the seal and pull again. This time I use steady pressure, rather than tugging as hard as I can.
Finally the seal cracks again. I don't falter, gritting my teeth and continuing on the same as before.
My body grows warm. At first I think it's because of the effort I'm exerting until I realize that it's magic. It floods in– slowly at first, but then faster.
"Mila, be careful!" Noelani warns. Her voice sounds far away.
"Help her!" Arabelle says frantically. "It's hurting her again!"
"I can't," Noelani grinds out.
I drown out their voices as best as I can, putting all of my focus on the seal. I pull once more, but there's no change. I'm exhausted. I don't think I can do this for much longer.
Someone grabs my hand. It's Noelani. With my heightened senses I can feel her magic radiating off of her skin.
"Listen to me, Mila," she murmurs. "You will not give up, do you hear me?"
I can't answer her, so I move my fingers instead, curling them around hers.
She breathes a sigh of relief. "You can do this," she says. "You're almost there."
I double down, letting her words give me strength. I grip onto the seal with all that I've got. I must squeeze the shit out of Noelani's hand, but she doesn't complain.
Suddenly, there's a popping sound in the back of my head and I feel it.
The seal is broken.
And everything goes black. Again.
_____
"Amietta!"
The voice is not one that I recognize. At least, not at first.
"Amietta, Amietta! Come here."
I open my eyes, shocked to find that I'm in my kitchen. My childhood kitchen.
I look down at myself. I'm shorter than I'm used to. A chill settles over my body as I figure out what's going on.
I'm twelve.
"Amietta, listen to me." I turn and catch the muddy green eyes of my mother. "You have to take this," she says.
I unconsciously reach out my hand. Ettiana is holding two objects, an intricately detailed metal box and a small piece of paper. She places the rough paper in my hand. It's no larger than my palm.
"Touch the ink and wait for Arabelle," she tells me.
Suddenly I remember– it's corta paper.
I look down at the paper. There's a word written on it in red ink. Tsulona.
No, that's not ink, my mind tells me. It's blood. My blood. I remember when Mama stuck me with a needle the other day, collecting two vials of my blood. She wouldn't tell me why.
"No," I hear myself say– but I didn't make the decision for the words to leave my mouth.
I have no control here. It's a memory, not a vision.
"Amietta, you have to," Ettiana says. My eyes lock onto hers, but she turns away too quickly.
She can't look me in the eye. There's no question about it– she knows what she's about to do to me.
"Arabelle will take care of you," she promises. "Wait for Arabelle."
I don't need to see it to remember what happens next. I touch the ink and appear in a new land. There's people everywhere, and they talk funny. They move too fast compared to what I'm used to. I cry and sit on a bench to wait for Arabelle. I wait for hours, maybe even days.
But Arabelle never shows up.
_____
I'm whisked from one memory to another, not really sure where I'll end up.
I'm older in the next one, stuck in a Mega-City against my will. I walk into a bar, desperate to have a drink after a long and stressful day. I've only got three weeks left until I leave for my Civic Duty– three weeks until I'm no longer able to make my own choices about where I go. I need to be free so I can continue my search for the hitchstone, but I don't think I can survive in the Outskirts by myself.
"What are you drinking?"
My eyes snap up, startled by the intrusion. I relax once I realize that it's just the bartender– a young-looking guy with large eyes and chocolate brown hair.
Lost in the memory a bit, it takes me a moment to realize that I recognize this bartender.
"I'll take a beer," I say in the memory. "Anything you've got on tap."
The guy smiles, whipping out a beer glass and filling it quickly.
"There you go..." he trails off purposely.
"Mila," I say dryly.
He smiles despite the attitude in my tone. "I'm Mak."
Cormak.
_____
I wake up with a start, my hands reaching out to grab onto anything I can. That happens to be Noelani's arm in my left and the leather upholstery of a truck in my right.
I blink. We're in a truck. Noelani is driving, but considering the fact that there are no trucks in Armenta– or Moonwake– she really shouldn't be.
"Pull over!" I exclaim.
Noelani rolls her eyes, but she complies– slowing down the truck and pulling off to the side of a dirt road.
"What's wrong?" she asks as I pull my hand off her arm.
I glance at Noelani and then at the back seat. Arabelle is sleeping there. I debate whether or not we should wake her for this.
"Mila?" Noelani says impatiently.
I turn back towards the former mayor. "I know your brother," I reveal.
She frowns. "What?"
"We met in Tsulona," I say. "At the time, I had no idea that he was from Armenta too,"
I pause, trying to sort through the jumbled memories I've spent so long without.
Nope, I'm sure.
"Noelani, your brother is alive."