FLOOD

Back to the Ship

He was gone a second later, vanishing into the woods before either of us could move. Heart drumming in my chest, I moved forward, and Eli's hand shot out, yanking me back against his chest.

"Don't—"

Already I was reaching out with my senses, trying to find him as he retreated into the forest. I could feel him faintly, disappearing fast. Too far away to do anything.

He'd known he had to vanish fast, before I ripped the water out of my body.

"They know," Eli said, and his voice was low and tense in the darkness. "He warned them ahead of time."

"Shit." He was right. I ripped my arm out of his grasp and spun around. "We have to warn them—"

A crack rang out, deafening, sending a rush of hot adrenaline through my veins. Shouts followed, and suddenly the woods were full of light. A spotlight swept through the trees, glaring white, illuminating everything in its path.

I snatched at Eli's sleeve and yanked him down with me, crouching down behind the bush as the light swept over us. A series of gunshots followed, and someone in the distance screamed.

A shiver of horror skittered down my spine. Grit and twigs bit into the palms of my hands as I crouched beside Eli. They had automatics, by the sound of it. Of course, we had Charlotte, and her magic, and the soldiers had bullet proof vests, but we'd had the element of surprise turned on us.

Bolthur knew I wouldn't be able to go after him, that I'd be pinned here while the guns were going off, and he was making a getaway.

And Gunny was out there somewhere, searching for Bolthur, still wounded but unable to feel it. If she ran into him out there in the forest...

I had to find her.

There wasn't anything I could do about any of the rest of this, but at least I could do something about this. Over the sound of the gunfire, I leaned in and yelled into Eli's ear, "I'm going to find her."

"What?"

It was no good. We couldn't hear one another.

I got up and grabbed his hand, pulling him after me, still bent over in a half-crouch as we ran deeper into the forest, back toward the water. I was pretty sure Bolthur had gone that way. Maybe if we went far enough I would be able to feel him again.

But it was no good. The deeper we went in, the more bodies I could feel around us, soldiers running full tilt through the woods, or crouched behind trees. The forest was fully lit now, a combination of the sweeping spotlight and bursts of orange fire hurling through the trees. The screaming grew louder as Eli and I kept moving, the source of which appeared around the next crop of brambles. A figure dressed in flames, arms waving as he hurtled toward the water, voice hoarse with pain and terror.

I looked away, an orange brand burned into my retinas. It was to be expected when you fought with fire and ice, but not something I'd seen before at the palace.

Beyond the next outcrop flashes of white light blazed through the trees, and as I ran I cast sideways glances. Charlotte stood at the crest of the hill in front of the compound, arms raised in the air, white light blasting around. The soldiers from the compound were sent flying backwards, though they kept charging her, and bullets didn't seem to be touching her.

Eli staggered to a halt when he saw her, face slack with shock. I had to grab his arm and drag him onwards. We didn't have time to gawk, I had to find Gunny.

Even in the chaos it didn't take that long.

There was a soldier staggering a few feet away from us, bracing himself against a tree, a dark figure in the flickering light. At first I thought it was someone wounded by a bullet, but the figure straightened up, shaking his or her head. When they turned around a chill went through me.

It was Gunny, and her face was sheet white. Her entire body was shaking, and she held onto the tree trunk like she was about to fall over.

Charlotte had warned us about this. Gunny was still wounded, even if he couldn't feel anything. And she was over doing it, pushing herself so hard she was going to pass out in the middle of a battle zone.

"Gunny." I darted across the space between the trees, grasping her by the forearms. "You have to go back to the shore. Wait in the boat."

"No." Gunny tried to shake me off. "I have to find him. I have to take him down, for Ake."

"Ake wouldn't want you to kill yourself over this." I tried to pry her away from the tree. "You're not going to find him, Gunny. It's chaos."

There was an explosion nearby that drowned out her answer. While she was distracted I managed to yank her off the tree and loop my arm through hers. "Eli, help me with her."

Eli grasped her other arm, and Gunny struggled against us, surprisingly strong. When we got into a brighter area I could see a red patch spreading over her side. No wonder she was barely standing up, her wound had broke open again.

"I swear, Gunny, you're going to the boat or I'm going to knock you out and drag you there myself."