Chapter 17

Rhi

"I needto get back to Los Magicos," I tell him. He wants us to go on in the direction of the mountains. He thinks it will be safer there and the run-in with the families has made him even more skittish than he was. "I need to get back to my mates. I need to get back to my friends. I need to get back to school."

"If it's still standing," he scoffs.

"That's the point. We don't know. We can't wander about in the wilderness forever."

"Not forever, little rabbit, just until everything calms down, blows over."

I rest my hand on my hip. "Okay, enough of the bullshit. Let's be frank here for a minute. Are you holding me captive?"

"You're free to go," he says, shrugging.

"And if I do?" He shrugs. "How far will I get before you drag me back?"

"Depends how much of a fight you want to make it." His eyes light up. "I love a chase, little one. Do you want to run and I'll catch you?"

"No," I tell him firmly, "I want to go back to Los Magicos."

He ignores me and collects up our stuff – the string bag I filled with supplies, his leather jacket and Pip. Then he strolls off into the darkness whistling to himself as Pip squeals in protest and I chase after them both.

I am not winning in this situation and I need to be smarter about this.

The forest is dark, even though the canopy is leafless and the sky visible above us. It's stacked with heavy winter clouds, no moon or stars to light our way and Renzo clicks his fingers and creates a ball of light to help guide us through the thick undergrowth.

"Are we walking all the way through the night?" I moan.

"It's fucking freezing," he says, "so unless you want to get naked and huddle up with me, we need to keep moving."

I pull my coat more tightly around me, balling my cold hands in my pockets and trying my damn hardest not to imagine what it would be like to get naked with this man.

I can still feel the presence of those magical families on the periphery of my senses, but they're far away now and I'm not worried until a loud scream screeches through the trees, bouncing off the trunks and disturbing the sleeping birds that flap up into the air in alarm. The noise is followed by bangs and more screaming.

I freeze and look at Renzo.

"Those children!" I cry and then I'm picking up my feet and running in their direction.

"Little rabbit!" Renzo yells. "Little rabbit!!" He's after me in a flash, catching my arm and yanking me to a stop. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"They're under attack," I pant. "We have to help them."

Renzo's face contorts like I've just asked him to walk over hot coals and shoot himself in the head. "Help them?"

"Yes, can't you hear?" I yank on his grip, the screams becoming more desperate. "They're under attack. We need to help them."

I yank again but all it achieves is a tighter grip on my arm. "No, we don't."

"Renzo Barone, stars help me, if you don't let go of my arm right now, I will be the one knocking you unconscious!"

"Fuck yes," he says, his eyes wild.

I growl at him. "I freaking mean it, Renzo!" And to my utter surprise, he lets go of my arm immediately. For a moment, I just stand there stunned, but then there's another scream – this one undeniably belonging to a small child – and I'm running again in the next, Renzo close behind me.

We crash through the trees. The screaming has turned to sobbing, and a desperate lump forms in my throat.

What the hell is happening? What the hell will we find?

I run hard and soon we can see them in the distance, the scene lit up by hovering balls of light. Four new men stand in front of the families, they have a hold of two of the women. The man from before rests on his knees, blood dripping down his face, and the children are huddled together, crying. I gasp, picking up my pace, but Renzo is faster. He thrusts Pip into my arms and races ahead.

Magic flashes in the darkness. There's more yelling and screaming. I see the family fleeing through the trees and when finally I reach the place they'd just occupied, I find Renzo facing off against the four men. I sprint to his side, dropping Pip to the floor and raising my arms.

"Who's this?" one of the men says with a curious grin. "Who've you got with you, Barone?"

"No one," Renzo says, pushing me hard on the shoulder away from him; so hard I almost stumble to the ground.

"A girl?" The smile on the man's face widens and his gaze flicks to his companions. "Not the girl. Are you bringing her in? You know the reward for her has quadrupled." He meets the eyes of his friends. "Maybe we could take that reward for ourselves."

"She's not the girl."

I straighten up. The balls of light have extinguished and I'm forced to squint through the darkness at the men. They don't look like the soldiers that ambushed me at the graveyard or those that attacked the academy. No, they look like the men who surrounded the man in black all those months ago. Lowsky's men. The Wolves of Night.

"Then who is she?"

Renzo opens his mouth like he's going to answer their question, and the men almost lean forward, eager for his answer. But he doesn't speak, instead he sends a barrage of magic crashing unexpectedly their way.

The men swerve, block and duck it, firing their own magic back at us.

"Don't hit the girl!" the first man says. "She's wanted alive and unharmed now."

His words only seem to make Renzo madder. He flings magic at them, wild and crazy, and this time it's too erratic for them to dodge. One man's hit in the chest, falling to his knees. Another cries out as a bolt knocks into his hip.

"Hand her over, Renzo," the first man says. "You're outnumbered. You're not going to win this battle. Hand her over and we'll let you go!"

"Let him go?" another of the men hisses. "Are you crazy?"

"How about you turn around and leave," I call out and the attention of all the men is drawn back to me, "and we won't hurt you?"

The second man laughs.

"We're not letting them go," Renzo growls. "We're going to kill them."

"I don't want to kill them," I growl right back.

"We're going to anyway." He grins at the men and I'm not blind to the way his eyes twinkle with relish.

"We are not killing any more people!"

"Are you done?" the first man asks. "And might I point out that you are outnumbered. The only ones doing any killing here will be us, so if you want to avoid that, Renzo, you'll hand her over."

Renzo chuckles like that's the best joke he's heard in years. "You have no idea who you're dealing with," he says, tears running down his cheeks as the amusement rocks his body.

"We do, Renzo Barone. We know you well enough," the first man says with even more irritation.

"I'm not talking about me, knuckleheads. I'm talking about her." He turns and looks at me, winks and then sends another blast of magic hurtling the men's way. This time even more powerful.

I tut at him, but when the fire is returned four fold, hitting his body, making him stumble backwards, blood mixing with the tears on his face, I'm forced to step in. I send a flurry of my own magic back. Not strong enough to kill, but enough to have them pacing backwards.

"I'm giving you a chance," I call out. "A chance to walk away. This doesn't have to end in violence. No one has to get hurt."

Renzo scoffs and spits blood onto the forest floor. "So you'd let them walk away, would you? What do you think they were going to do to that family, little rabbit?" he asks me. "Invite them round for tea?"

I know he's right. Of course he is. I just … I just don't want to …

"What were you going to do?"

The second man sniggers, cruelty painted clearly across his face.

The first man ignores him. "They're fugitives. Potential criminals. We were going to take them in for questioning. We weren't going to hurt them. And we won't hurt you either, little girl. So if you're really keen to avoid someone getting killed," he motions his head towards Renzo, "then come with us now."

"And where will you take me?"

"We'll hand you in to the authorities. Seems you're wanted. Although who the fuck knows why."

"The authorities?" I say glancing at Renzo. Does that mean the invasion by the West failed? Are the authorities still in charge?

As if reading my thoughts, the man adds, "There are new authorities in charge now." The fourth man has stumbled back onto his feet and all four stand ready to attack us. "So, what's it going to be?"

"Fuck this!" Renzo says and before I can stop him, he sends a powerful ball of fire directly at the men. It's so fast, so powerful, the four men have no time to respond and they're consumed by the flames in a matter of seconds. They scream, a noise that has me turning away and covering my ears. The heat from the fire fierce on my back.

The flames crackle. The screaming dies away and in another second so have the flames, the cold air returning in its place.

I remove my hands from my ears. I'm too scared to turn around, too appalled to look at what must remain of the men. Instead, I glance at Renzo. His eyes remain fixed that way, a fascination dancing in them.

"You shouldn't have done that," I say, scooping Pip up into my arms. "There was no need."

He jolts out of his trance and his gaze snaps my way. He looks at me with as much fascination and curiosity.

"You know there was no other way, little rabbit."

"There was. If we'd–"

"You think they wouldn't have done the same to us?"

There's blood still seeping from his hairline down his face and he blinks as it smudges into his eyes.

I start walking, through the trees, and when I'm far enough away from what's just happened, I flop down onto the cold earth of the forest floor and bury my face in my hands.

I don't know what to do.

This man is a psychopath – and as much as I'd like to deny it, pretend it wasn't the case – it's clear he gets a kick out of killing. But then not everything he says is madness. Those men – what would they have done to those families – to that man, to those women – stars– to those children?! What would they have done to me?

And he's right about people out looking for me too. Those men confirmed it. The price on my head has quadrupled. Quadrupled! So am I right to be hiding out here with him, hoping my mates find me? Or should I be out searching for them?

I just don't know.

The thought of them hurt, injured, in danger, has my body shaking and I instinctively reach out for them through the bond. I can sense them over the distance – alive – trying to reach me too, stretching and straining to find me. It's unbearable and my body shakes all the harder.

"Little rabbit?" the man who's just added four more kills to his name says behind me. "Those kids are safe. Isn't that what you wanted?"

I wipe my face with my hands, and peer up at him.

I can read the genuine puzzlement in his features. He's trying to understand me. I wipe the back of my hand under my nose. Good luck to him because I don't even understand myself.

I sniff, and pull myself back up onto my feet.

"Yes, you're right. It is what I wanted." I nod, scraping my hair back from my face. "Thank you. Thank you for that."

His eyes travel all over my face, trying to read my expression. Then he cocks his head.

"I think you need some sleep, little rabbit."

As soon as he says the words, I realize how right he is. I'm exhausted, utterly shattered, emotionally, mentally, physically. All I want to do is lie down, close my eyes and sleep for a hundred years.

"You said it was too dangerous to sleep out here in the forest," I say.

"It is," he says, "but there's somewhere … come on."

He starts to walk. He no longer has my bag – we lost that in the dash through the trees – and my pig is lying patiently by my feet waiting for me to make a decision. I peer in the opposite direction. I don't have to follow him. I could go my own way.

He keeps walking, silently, barely making a sound, not looking back to see if I'm following.

"What do I do?" I stare down at Pip, who stares right back at me. His dark eyes jet in the gloom. He doesn't answer me.

This is my decision. Not his. Not Renzo's.

I close my eyes and it's my bond that answers me, tugging me in the direction of the assassin.

I open my eyes and glance down at my stomach and for once I decide to follow fate's command.

"Come on," I say to Pip. He doesn't move and for the first time I register that something isn't right. I crouch down beside my pet. He's breathing rapidly, his little rib cage falling and rising at a frantic pace and his entire body shaking.

"Pip!" I scream.