Demus: The Prince And The Milkman

Escapees

Logan only had time to glance towards Roman, a confused and shocked expression on his face, before a loud uproar came from the bonfire. 

"Did you see where they went?!" 

"He just got away--" 

"The whole tent--" 

"Fire! Taller than my house, I ain't kidding--" 

Janus sucked in a sharp breath. Disi let out a quiet squeak and what might have been a curse in Spanish, and they were off. The horses were faster than Janus had known, though maybe Logan was helping them along a little-- they were covering ground at a frightening pace, galloping over tree stumps and swerving around tall boulders with little regard for the people in the back of the cart. 

"There!" 

"That cart right there!" 

Putting a hand comfortingly on his new dagger, Janus squeezed the hilt, breathing heavily. He was also holding onto the wall of the cart with his other hand, trying not to get tossed overboard, and keeping a close eye on the still exhausted Emile. 

"We might still be able to escape without much fuss," Logan hissed out through gritted teeth, and when he looked back at the group Janus knew that he was using his magic: a strange luminescence was glowing in his eyes, shimmering with indigo iridescence and glowing in the dark night. 

Remus scoffed. "You don't believe that." 

Logan shot him a sharp glare that shut him down faster than any scolding. Those glowing blue-indigo eyes were intimidating. "There is a slim chance that we will be able to get away without any damage to the cart or surrounding citizens," he corrected himself, venom in his voice. 

Emile struggled to sit up, his hand grasping weakly onto one of the milk carts. Remy put his hand over Emile's helping him hold onto the cart, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Just try and breathe," he whispered to Emile, chancing a glance down towards the weakened mage. 

Janus needed the advice, too; his lungs felt tight as if there was something knotted throughout them that he couldn't get out. He concentrated on taking deep breaths, his hands clutched around the wall of the cart. 

A thud sounded through the cart: the surrounding crowd had started throwing rocks at the cart, trying to slow it down. Logan hissed out a curse that made Janus wince, squeezing his hand tightly, his eyes flaring with a blue iridescence. 

At Logan's magical assistance, the horses snorted and started to gallop faster, somehow managing to avoid trees and rocks as if the cart were a river, merely flowing around anything in its wake. Disi let out a little chirp and burrowed into Janus's side, his wings curled tightly into himself. Janus swallowed nervously, not daring to chance a glance back towards the mob. 

And 'mob' was truly the right word. The crowd had started to run towards the cart, each person so swept up in their own pursuit that they had started pushing others out of the way. More stones were flying through the air, making Janus have to duck to avoid them, his breath coming faster and faster in his chest. 

Roman and Remus were huddled together, the two of them looking absolutely terrified, holding each other's hands tightly. Janus wished a little that he could be next to them. It wouldn't do much for safety, but it would provide comfort, and that was really what he needed. 

"How long until we get on the main road?" Remy shouted to Logan over the noise of the mob. 

Logan chanced a glance back and gritted his teeth. "Three minutes, maybe longer if they manage to break one of the wheels," he replied, now keeping his eyes trained completely on the road ahead of them. 

Janus squeezed his eyes shut and held Disi tightly in his arms, letting the small dragon nuzzle into his chest. Adrenaline was pounding through his body, his blood hot and his heartbeat loud in his ears. His breath was definitely shorter than what was healthy, but he couldn't bring himself to slow down, his entire concentration fixed on getting away from the very present danger not three yards behind them. 

Remus picked up one of the rocks and hurled it back at the mob, hitting someone in the middle of the chest. They fell back with a cry of pain, and the crowd somehow got even angrier. 

Cries of 'murderer!' started to be shouted, and though Janus tried to block them out, he couldn't help wondering what he'd do in that situation. Would he have started chasing after the cart, or would he step back, merely letting the others do their work? 

He had no idea, and that frightened him. 

Disi squirmed out from Janus's hold, though the prince tried desperately to stop him. "Disi, what are you doing?!" he shouted over the din, reaching out a hand to try and pull the dragon back. 

Disi just looked back and Janus and gave him a short nod, then jumped up on the back of the cart, in plain view of the surrounding mob. He gripped the wall of the cart with his hind legs and his tail and rose up, stretching his wings out so he looked bigger, his mouth opening wide and exposing crystal-jagged front fangs. 

Janus watched with wide eyes as some of the mob miraculously fell back with cries of terror. Whatever Disi was doing, it was working, but there were still others who were undeterred. A flying stone came out of nowhere, grazing Disi's wing, and the dragon fell back with a small whine. 

Anger suddenly swept through Janus, and, just as Remus had done, he picked up one of the rocks in his hand. It was heavy, with several sharp corners, but mostly smooth. A nice heft. 

Without thinking about it, Janus hurled the rock towards the angry crowd. 

It struck someone in the gut, making whoever it was fall to the ground with a pained shout. Janus scowled at the crowd, his terror replaced by righteous anger. Why was he scared of these people? It wasn't that long until the main road anyway, and then they would be free to get smoothly away. There was no way a crowd could compete with the cart, especially with Logan driving it. 

He grabbed Disi back from the line of sight and glared down at the crowd, scanning it for any sign of the shadowed person who had kidnapped Logan. Luckily, he didn't see them anywhere, but a shudder went down his spine as he realized what might have happened to them instead. 

"Okay, we only have a little bit left," Logan called from where he was. The horses hadn't slowed a bit in their gallop; they were clearing ground and going faster than Janus had ever seen them. Logan glanced back over his shoulder again, looking at Emile with a worried expression. "How's he doing?" 

Remy was holding Emile's hands tightly, his knuckles almost white. "He's asleep," he replied. The two were almost cuddling together; Remy had pulled Emile closer to him as if to protect him from anything that the mob would throw. "He doesn't look so tired anymore either." 

Even from where he was sitting, Janus could see the noticeable sigh of relief that Logan let out. His hands were now glowing with that bright indigo flare, as well as his eyes, but he didn't seem tired at all. 

"We're going to make it through this, aren't we?" Janus whispered down to Disi, who just replied by burrowing into Janus's warmth. "We can get away from these people. It won't be so hard. Soon we'll be on the road." 

Out of the corner of his eye, Janus could see Remus whispering something similar to Roman, who seemed to be having somewhat of a nervous breakdown. Disi let out a mournful chirrup and curled his tail into himself, looking up at Janus with a trusting expression. "It's not that far now," Janus told Disi in what he hoped was a comforting tone. "We'll be okay." 

Looking back over the car walls, he could still see people shouting and throwing things toward them. 

Janus closed his eyes and prayed for the best.