The Raven and the Dragon

Chapter Seven

As far as Nimah could tell, this was the situation.

There were an unknown number of men chasing them with the intent of killing or capturing Alicia and Bo, and likely just plain killing the rest of them. They were in the Wilds, but running through it like a bunch of frightened children instead of doing this carefully like she would've preferred. It was sunrise by then, though, so they could more or less see where they were going. That was one thing they had going for them. Also, none of them were dead. In fact, Kit had somehow survived being shot twice in the chest with arrows and fallen off a cliff. The only ill effect he seemed to have was the dirt in his hair.

She had no idea how that was possible, but her questions could wait until they weren't potentially about to die.

Nimah could hear their pursuers behind them, closer than she'd like. She had to find a path. There was a path, she knew there was, because the men took it to get to the river for water...

There!

She nearly ran into Solomon while changing her course. The others, fortunately, followed her without her having to shout for them and give away their position more than their running already was. Once they were on the path, running was much easier. It would make things easier for their followers, too, but she'd take any advantage she could get. It would make fighting easier, too, should it come to that.

Six versus however many there are...well, more like five. Alicia might've been armed, but Nimah wasn't sure she was ready to fight. She shook her head. Don't worry about fighting right now. Just keep moving. Get to the river. Worry about everything else later. There was one way to cross; if they could get across first and destroy it, that would definitely slow their pursuers down.

Run, Nimah. Run like your life depends on it.

The river appeared as the trees began to thin, and with it the crossing—a rudimentary foot bridge someone had constructed out of mine track and spare lumber. It was sturdy enough to cross, but not so sturdy that it couldn't be destroyed, especially when they had Bo's skill set. Nimah stopped at the foot of the bridge and started herding everyone across, counting heads as they went. Solomon, Eve, Bo, Alicia...Kit actually reached the bridge before Bo, but stopped with Nimah, drawing and arrow and aiming it down the path. He glanced her way, raising an eyebrow. "No, you go, just go...!"

He didn't argue, but kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was following. He didn't have to; they needed her too much for her to pull some kind of last stand while the others destroyed the bridge, and at any rate that wasn't necessary. "Bo!" she said as she crossed. "Can you...?"

She didn't have to finish the question. He must have been thinking what she was, because he knelt down next to the bridge and pressed one hand against the wood. A glow started emanating from under his palm as he whispered. There was a smell of smoke as the glow grew brighter and then, without warning, the entire structure burst into flames. This was, coincidentally, about when their attackers came into view. Nimah wondered for a second what must've gone through their heads when they rounded that last bend and saw the entire bridge consumed with flames, so white-hot that Nimah took a step back. She made sure to drag Bo with her before he burned his hand. He didn't seem injured by the flames, but he did look dazed. "Are you okay?" Nimah asked.

"Bit light-headed," he admitted.

"Are you okay to keep going?"

"Not really, but I get the feeling I don't have a choice."

"Unfortunately, no. Come on, we have to keep going."

She let Bo lean on her as they re-entered the forest, following the other part of the path. That path wouldn't last them much longer; it went a bit deeper into the woods to a small shrine of Cern someone had set up. That was the last sign of civilization for a long time, save for a few hunter's foot paths that didn't go anywhere near their destination. They would have to pick a direction, find the least overgrown parts of the forest, and hope for the best.