The motorbikes came out of seeming nowhere, their exhausts shaking windows. There were five of them—bodies shaped like silver torpedos, tyres pluming. The smell of burnt rubber stung Ash's nostrils as they turned in a tight circle around her.
"Get on." The first rider's voice was muffled by the glass on his helmet, but it was distinctly male, low like the rumble of the engines.
She swivelled, whirled and stopped, spun and stalled in a pinball of panic. Trapped, outnumbered and weaponless, there was nothing to do but—
She lifted her arm to conjure the fire again, when a rush of cold air hit her mid-chest, knocking the air from her lungs. She realised she couldn't breathe, and stooped double. Panting.
"You can trust us." The voice coming from her right was distinctly female and it was gruff with urgency. "Quickly."
Trust.
These people could be anyone. Members of the Slayer Gang planning to use her as collateral against the very people that pursued her. Or thugs that believed she was a rich Middle Caster with possessions of value to give.
Trust.
It was not a word she was going to tamper with twice in one day.
She hurled herself towards a gap in the bikes, a last attempt at escape. She need not have bothered. As she lunged, a hand wrenched her backwards. There was no time to struggle. A quick jab to the neck and her limbs flopped lifelessly to her sides. Her mind fogged and strong arms lifted her up and on to a rumbling motorbike. She smelled rubber, log fires and candle wax.
The world waned in and out.
In and out.
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*~*
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Phoenix
FantasyOrphan Ashalia sleeps with her eyes open, walks with her back to the dormitory walls and never lets the other kids see her fears. In a world powered by greed, every moment could be her last. She also has a secret. An ability so powerful that if the...
