Van Lagos was sent tumbling into the air, falling to the ground with a sickening crunch.

"NO!" Lira shouted.

She pulled on her reins, slowing her horse and the riders behind her.

There! That was our opening.

I got to my feet on the horse's back, tensed my legs and then leapt for Isla's horse.

The world became silent. I hung suspended in the air, each moment a lifetime.

THUMP!

My stomach slammed into the leather saddle. I pressed my elbows against the horse's side to stop from slipping off the animal.

I made it!

I turned back to the wagon.

"Thor! Jump!"

Thor let go of the lines and struggled to climb over the driver's bench.

He wasn't going to make it.

"THOR!"

Thor let out a panicked yelp, and then his head disappeared behind the bench.

No…

BOOM!

Wood cracked and splintered as Thor charged through the right side of the driver's bench. He jumped and slammed into the ground with a heavy thud, running after us on stubby legs.

"Dugan, let's go!" Castille said.

She got her horse back to a gallop, charging past the wagon and veering right, through the gap Lira left for us. After a few minutes of hard riding, the wagon shrank into the distance. The two wings of riders encircled it, and a smaller group surrounded the place where Van Lagos fell.

Was he crippled? Was he dead?

I pushed away the stab of regret.

Van Lagos was an enemy. No matter how much I liked him.

The sun set on the scene like curtains closing in a play. We slowed to a stop, taking stock and catching our breath.

"Can someone pull this arrow out of my back?" I asked, sliding off Isla's horse and falling to my knees.

Dugan dismounted. His face shone with a fresh layer of sweat.

"Dugan, be quick about it," Castille said, her eyes fixed behind us.

He grunted, putting a thick hand on my shoulder and another on the arrow shaft.

"The plan WORKED," I said, my voice rising as Dugan worked the arrow out of my flesh.

"Aye, it did. All it cost was our wagon and everything in it," Castille said, her face twisting into a frown. "My whole life was in that wagon."

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"You could buy another with your share of the gold."

As if on cue, Thor waddled to our side, panting to cool himself down.

I nodded at the pack animal.

"Right, Thor."

He snorted, too tired for a longer response. I didn't blame him.

The plan had been simple. No one in Steeltown knew about Thor's enchanted saddlebags. No one would suspect a boar carrying our fortune in gold. But there was a problem. The saddlebags reduced carrying weight, but they didn't eliminate it. To make the weight more manageable for Thor, Dugan had spent hours replacing the gold bars in the wagon with our belongings. Weapons, armour, equipment, camping supplies, food. We had given away everything except the clothes on our backs and whatever we couldn't fit in the backpacks hanging from Isla's horse.

"You can't buy another life, Jacob," Castille said.

"I know..."

I got to my feet, rolling my sore shoulder.

"No healing, Dugan?"

"Wound's shallow, and I need to save will," he said with a grumble.

Fair enough.

I had to thank Shay for that. Without the jacket, that arrow could have punctured my lung.

"Where to now? Do we ride all night to Southsun or find someplace to camp?"

"We need rest," Dugan said.

I glanced at the shorter man. Heavy bags were forming under his eyes, and his face looked pale in the moonlight.

Why was he so tired?

"I won't complain about getting some rest. It's been a long day."

Castille grunted.

"They're not following us—not yet. I know a place we can hide for a short time."

She scowled.

"Cass, told me about it."

# # #

I mounted Isla's horse, and we rode West by moonlight, our anxious eyes checking behind us for riders.

No one came.

Did we lose them by changing direction, or was something else at work?

We slowed to a stop as we crested a small hill that dipped into a valley.

"Are those trees?" I asked.

Castille nodded.

"They need to get their lumber from somewhere. The rich import it, but most Steeltowners salvage it from this forest. The aqueduct we passed under feeds into this valley—run off from the ruins of Del."

Forest was a strong word for this place. Tree stumps littered the slope into the valley, and past them stood the corpses of trees waiting to be collected. They were gnarled, twisted things, bleached from too much sunlight and naked from losing their leaves.

"Let's go," Castille said.

We rode down to the treeline at the bottom of the valley and then dismounted to pass through the misshapen branches that reached out to us. Castille slung Isla over her saddle. Her feet dangled over the side of the black mare, Dugan's old boots sticking out from under the cloak Shay made for her. After half an hour of marching over dirt and dry twigs, we stopped at a natural clearing in the forest. A patch of rust-red earth greeted us, and the moonlight cast twisting shadows on the ground.

"Let's camp here. No fire tonight. That means you, Jacob."

I tried to laugh. It came out as a sigh. I was tired, but something was itching at the back of my mind.

"I'll take the first watch."

Castille furrowed her brows.

"You can barely stand. I can take the watch. We need to ride hard for Southsun at first light, and I need my mages rested."

To emphasize her point, Dugan leaned against the closest tree and slid down to land with his legs splayed. Thor crawled to his side, resting his chin on Dugan's thigh.

"I have the jacket. Let me double back to make sure the Lagos scouts haven't tracked us here."

Castille lifted Isla off her horse.

"If you must. I'll set up the camp and see what we have to feed the horses."

# # #

I kept my right hand wrapped around the golden sceptre as I walked back to the treeline.

Something was wrong.

We had made a clean escape, but in our rush, we left tracks that could be followed. It would be harder to hunt for us at night, but not impossible.

I had to know. I couldn't sleep right until I knew. Maybe that was why Castille had volunteered to take the watch. We shared the same suspicion.

Closer to the edge of the forest, I poured will into my jacket. The ride had conserved some of my will, but not enough for a fight.

At the first sign of danger, I would have to run back to the others.

I crouched and weaved between the trees. I stopped, placing my left hand against the gnarled bark of a tree on the border.

There were noises ahead. The sound of a horse exhaling through its lips. Hooves scraping against wood.

I stood up and pushed myself against the tree. Holding my breath, I peeked around the side.

A single horse stood amongst the tree stumps. In the moonlight, its white speckles glowed against its brown fur.

I'd seen that horse before…

It was Lira's!

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