The blast from the smoke bomb was enough to knock me off my feet, sending me over the edge of the platform and landing on my side at the bottom of the steps. When I tried to push myself up, a whimper left my lips from the sharp pain radiating down my arm.
The air was choked with black smoke, too much to have come from that single canister and screams were coming from the crowd. Footsteps pounded around me as people fled from the square and I hoped that I wouldn't get trampled in the midst.
"Dammit, Haiden. I told you not to throw it too close." A muffled voice reached my ears but even as I whipped my head from side to side, I couldn't see anything past my own fingertips. Until a pair of faces appeared inches from my own, white hair smudged gray from the smoke. They were in plain clothes, except for the belts around their waists that had been loaded with metal canisters identical to the one that had exploded.
"That one wasn't mine." Haiden hissed to his brother as they knelt next to me. They both had a handkerchief tied across their faces, either to keep the smoke from their lungs or to hide their identities. Probably both.
"Are you alright, Nori?" Haigen asked, ignoring his brother. Though I couldn't see his face, his pale blue eyes wrinkled in concern. He reached a hand towards me, but I jerked away, sending another spasm of pain down my arm.
"I think my arm might be broken. I landed on it."
"Alright, well..." Haigen's eyes widened, clearing his throat. His hands hovered over me but before he could do whatever he was planning to do, Haiden cut him off.
"We need to go before the smoke clears." Haiden pulled another canister from his belt, twisting the top and tossing it over his shoulder. It was shortly followed by another boom.
"What about Rylan? He's here too." I asked. The smoke was starting to clear and I could see vague shapes rushing around us. The balcony was now empty.
"Anders is taking care of that. We have to get you out of here." Haigen must've read the uncertainty on my face because he elaborate. "We'll meet up with them later."
With the twins' help, I managed to get to my feet with little pain from my shoulder. As soon as I was up, Haiden left, the smoke swallowing him and filling the empty spot he left behind. He reappeared moments later with a key in his hand. He unlocked the shackles around my wrists, dropping the dreaded thing on the ground. With my good hand, I cradled my arm to my chest.
How the twins knew where to go, I don't know. Without Haigen's hand on my back, I would've already been lost. The farther from the square we got, the thinner the smoke became. We ducked into an empty alleyway to catch our breath.
I pressed my back against the wall, filling my lungs with clean air again. My wrists bore a band of red from the cuffs and my arm had resorted to a dull ache so long as I didn't move it.
"We need to keep moving. Once they realize you're gone, these streets will be crawling with guards." Haiden poked his head around the corner
"Here. You'll have to put this on." Haigen approached me with a matching handkerchief but since I didn't have use of both of my arms, he had to tie it around my face for me. He took a step back, studying me.
My face may be covered now, but I still wore the green dress that screamed Verdanan and anyone that had been in the square would surely recognize me.
Haigen tore his jacket off, carefully draping it over my shoulder and stroked his chin before snatching Haiden's hat off his head. Haiden huffed, glaring daggers at his brother, who pulled the cap over my head.
"As long as we stick to the side streets, we should be fine." Haiden said over his shoulder, darting around the corner. I nodded, gritting my teeth against the pain in my shoulder as I quickened my pace to keep up with the twins.
We turned down a narrow path between buildings. Here the buildings were cramped close to each other, looming over the small street we ran down. It formed almost a never ending tunnel. About halfway down the street, a handful of guards rounded the corner, swords drawn and ready. They spotted us almost immediately and barreled towards us.
"Turn around, turn around." Haigen muttered to himself, steering me back the way we came. Then over his shoulder, he shouted to his brother. "Fire, Den."
"On it." Haiden's reply was drowned out by a loud hissing noise.
A blast of heat seared across our backs a moment later, propelling us forward. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a wall of flames no higher than six feet roaring between us and the guards. In Haiden's hand was another canister. I wondered just how many tricks they had up their sleeves.
"Nice job," Haigen called to his brother. "You even kept your eyebrow this time."
Haiden muttered under his breath, something that sounded suspiciously like, "I should have set you on fire in the crib."
We kept to the side streets, pressing flat against the walls anytime someone would pass by, but we didn't have any other run-ins. The further away we got from the square, the quieter the streets became until all I could hear was the pitter-patter of our footsteps on the cobblestone. It was eerie.
"Where are we going?"
The twins exchanged nervous glances, before one of them said, "We're almost there."
'There' being an abandoned part of Vinburgh. The cobblestone-paved road gave way to dirt and broken rocks reclaimed by grass and weeds, dead even though it was well into the spring season.
We passed crumbing walls -the only remnants of someone's home- and boarded up buildings with large red x's painted across the doors. The wind whistled between the buildings, around broken glass windows and open doorways, in a haunting melody from a forgotten past.
"What is this place?" There were no people that I could tell but I still felt the urge to whisper my question.
"The Stills." Haiden whispered back. I'm glad I wasn't the only one spooked by the place.
"Over a century ago, Vinburgh was ravaged by a plague." Haigen elaborated. I remembered learning about the plague in my lessons. It wiped out almost half of Vinburgh's population at the time. Because of their walls, Vinburgh had managed to keep it mostly isolated. "They put all the sick people in The Stills to keep it from spreading. They died here."
"And this is where we're going? Is it safe?"
"Everybody steers clear of this place. Not even the guards dare walk these streets."
"Because of the ghosts." Haigen swallowed hard but his hands still twitched by his sides anxiously.
Great. I didn't believe in ghosts but there was something about this place that made me doubt. Maybe it was the feeling that we were being watched or the fact that not even the grass here was alive. Either way, I stuck close to Haigen's side as we walked the deserted streets. He didn't seem to mind.
The further we walked into The Stills, the more on edge the three of us got. Everytime I glanced in the windows, I thought I saw a pair of eyes watching us but when I blinked, they were gone. I stared at my feet instead, but that didn't stop the hairs that raised on the back of my neck.
"Almost there." Haiden muttered under his breath. I hoped he was right. I noticed he, too, didn't look long at the buildings.
That's when I heard voices drifting in the wind. Familiar voices that I thought I'd never hear again and one of them sounded pissed off. I walked faster, ahead of the twins.
"She's in safe hands, Capt'n."
"I can't just sit here while she's-"
The house they were coming from wasn't lit from the inside and the front window had been busted out, shards of glass littering the dead garden in the front yard. It gave me the perfect view of the inside. I saw Rylan before he saw me, his back was towards the window and pacing back and forth. Anders, who was dressed in a royal guard's uniform, was in front of him, trying to calm him down, but even from here I could tell that it wasn't working. He spotted me from over Rylan's shoulder and when Rylan finally realized that Anders' attention was elsewhere, he spun around.
Time stopped. The world melted away, along with the worries of ghosts and guards. My breath caught in my throat as we held each other's gaze. And then he was gone.
Rylan dipped out of the frame of the window, and a half second later, the red x'ed door was thrown open on protesting hinges. Another half second and Rylan was standing right in front of me. There were dark circles under his eyes and stubble spreading across his chin. His clothes were wrinkled even though an hour ago they had been pristine.
"I'm sorry." I hadn't even realized I started crying until the tears streaked down my face. "I'm sorry about what I said. I never meant it, any of it."
Rylan looked at me, his face a brewing storm of emotions, each one passing too quickly for me to read. I was almost afraid he wouldn't accept my apology. I know I'd hurt him and it would take time to fix that but I couldn't stand the thought of him not forgiving me.
Rylan pulled me into a hug that said he was never letting me go. I would've stayed there forever except I pushed him away with a hiss of pain. I had almost forgotten about the pain in my shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Rylan's hazel eyes darkened as he watched me cradle my arm.
"My arm." I said, trying to force the pain to subside, but it had come back in full force. Rylan's eyes softened and he opened his mouth-
"Not to break up your moment here, but could we go inside now?" Haigen leaned towards us, eyes darting around the empty street. He didn't wait for an answer as him and Haiden swiftly walked into the house. We followed behind them.
Once the door was shut, Haigen let out a sigh of relief, sinking into a dusty armchair in the corner of the living room. Haiden sat in the matching armchair next to his twin, although he still looked on edge.
"Glad to see those two brought you back in one piece, my lady." Anders stood in a corner, his head almost brushing the ceiling.
"Nori's hurt. Where's Knox?"
"Knox is here?" I looked around the room, but there was no healer present.
"Of course, I am. Who else would patch you lot?" Knox emerged from the room beyond, a kitchen I assumed if the supplies in his arms were any indication. "I was trying to do something useful. Found these in the cabinets."
He dumped the contents in his arms on the floor. Moth-eaten bandages, moldy jars of questionable substances, and two sacks of dried beans. All of that, Knox forgot about as he walked over to me, his glasses sliding down his nose. "Where are you hurt?"
"My arm. I landed on it and I think it might be broken." I shrugged out of Haigen's jacket, tossing it over to him with my good arm. It landed at his feet.
"May I?" Knox's hands hovered over my arm, waiting for permission. I nodded, bracing myself. Knox's fingers poked and prodded my arm, asking me a series of questions. Can I wiggle my fingers? Yes. Can I move my arm? No. Does it hurt here? A lot.
"I think your shoulder is just dislocated. I should be able to pop it back real quick."
"No." I jerked away from Knox's outstretched hands, stepping back every time he'd step forward. "I mean, can't you just wrap it up or something?"
A hand landed on my good shoulder, causing me to jump. Rylan turned me around to face him, a look of understanding on his face. "It's really not that bad. I dislocated my shoulder last year, fell from the top of the climbing pole. I barely felt Knox pop it back in. It really isn't that bad."
I nodded slowly, but I still wasn't fully convinced. Rylan tilted my chin up to look at him, a small smile on his lips. "It'll feel better after, I promise."
I took a deep breath, about to turn back to Knox, when my arm was jerked backwards and a loud pop bounced off the walls of the living room. The pain was immediate but as quickly as it came, it resided into a dull ache. I whirled around, but Knox had already backed up towards the empty kitchen and out of my range. The wild look in my eyes must've scared him because his umber skin paled.
"Don't ever do that again." I wiggled my finger at Knox. He held his hands up innocently, already sorting through his supplies he dropped on the floor.
Suddenly exhausted, I slid my back down the nearest wall before my legs could give out from underneath me until I was seated on the floor. Dirt and grime coated the bottom of my dress, but I couldn't care less. I would have ripped this dress off my body already if I had anything else to change into.
Rylan looked around at our small rag-tag group; the twins lounging in the armchairs, Anders looming in the corner, Knox packing his supplies in a knapsack, and me bone-weary. He made eye contact with each of us before asking what we were all thinking. "So what now?"
A/N
Reunited at last!
This ended up being my longest chapter so far. Hope you enjoyed it!
Until next time,
T