CHAPTER 72

Ema and her rogues continued to move, There was a bridge before them, made of stone and rather old, though it was still intact – though barely. Grass grew on the sides; some of the stones seemed to be partially detached. But it had become their only chance.

Then there was a decision made: “Astor, you go first,” Ema stated. “Don’t completely trust any of the sides of the bridge until you’ve put your full weight on each of them to see if they’re going to collapse on you. ”

He nodded, slowly getting out on the bridge, too alarmed to make much noise. The rest of them waited with bated breath as he stepped forward slowly and carefully due to the sounds that came from the structure. The bridge was halfway through and Astor slipped on the stone, he almost fell into the raging waters below.

‘Be careful,’ Mara shouted and while doing so, she was quite a lot more serious than she normally was.

Astor righted himself and gave a wavering thumbs up before continuing. It seemed to him that he had been walking for ages, but finally, he also got to the other side.

‘It’s good enough,’ he shouted back. “That is why I want to say it so that no more such incidents occur – just watch your step on the loose stones. ”

They all moved over the bridge one at a time the gruelling maneuvers of courage and balance. Ema was the last to jump, she looked at the opposite side where her team was waiting for her. Just when she was at the midpoint, the sound of breaking canes filled the air. The ground beneath her spread and crumbled like stone when she stepped on it and for a moment she felt she was falling.

Currently, a blade is poked at her side and a strong hand grips her arm, dragging her on the floor. Ema almost fell on her feet, she was panting heavily, her eyes met with Mara and the latter’s fierce look.

“I’ve got you,” Instead of hiding Ema and keeping his gaze the archer steadied her on her feet.

“Thanks,” Ema said in a more shaky tone than before. He closed his eyes for a second such that he could take a deep breath before he said anything. "Right. Let's keep moving. "

They continued, through the environment gradually evolved the farther they went. The countryside became more barren and the land was rather rocky, as if upthrusts of the earth resembling bones of primeval animals. Navigation was more difficult here, for every move was deliberate.

The day seemed to be calmer though towards the late afternoon the exhaustion started setting in. They had been working like this to their utmost most probably due to the intensity of the mission. However, no one’s strength of will could extend the fact that the human body began to tire beyond three or four days.

“Here it is,” Ema was shaken by the gentle tone of Mara.

They moved on; mountains began growing bigger and even taller as they continued the journey. The country was becoming more picturesque, a forestry country replaced by raw land where the rocks like massive bones stuck out of the ground. It was slower here, to take the next move meant pondering and calculating several things that needed to be done.

With a problem on their hands, they started working and before long the afternoon sucked in everyone, and weariness took over. They all had been working assiduously; not because they needed to, but because they felt that they had a very important agenda to accomplish. However, no matter how great willpower is, people cannot disregard the physical body’s capabilities for too long.

It should therefore come as no surprise that the moment Ema and the others paused for a moment to catch their breath, Astor chimed in to say what everyone must have been feeling: ‘We need to rest. ’ While “I will only be here for a little while”.

He was right and although Ema wanted to challenge them and ask even more, she knew he was right about the fact that it was too much. They would be of no use in achieving their mission towards Amelia if they get too tired and virtually fall with exhaustion.

"Alright," she conceded. ”We will have a small rest now Mara try to get us some water, Lucas stay alert and the rest of us will try to look for food. ”

This wasn't really how they planned their journey, but fate had another thing in mind for them. Unfortunately, all the rogues were loyal to Ema, and the vengeance that laid in her heart knew only one thing "Vengeance". Therefore, giving up wasn't in her dictionary.

They went about their work in relief to the interruption. Ema stayed busy picking anything edible she could find for them and most of her thoughts were focused on their objective. From whatever she overheard from her team, she busily went on with her work.

New: It was a grey day too, with a hint of frost in the air of heaven’s height blessed by the golden sun ‘Are you wondering if Elijah has reached?" Mara was saying.

‘If anyone can do it, it’s him,’ said Finn. “You know the Whispering Caves? Never seen a corpse there, and I thought we lost him; then, he strolled in after three days all well and bounce. ”

Ema smiled despite herself. Elijah did have a way with the impossible. It was one thought that had originally turned her on him—that certainty that all difficulty could be surmounted through proper willpower and resourcefulness.

This thought made her frown because the last words that were said between them when they were departing were quite unkind. Anger rising to the level of verbosity, he had locked her in the dungeon to rot, and therefore he must pay.

Later, they both walked out separately, a move more because of pride than a plan. At the moment, with miles of sea between them and peril lurking in every direction, Ema wished more than anything that she could undo the events that had led to her present situation.

At once, she went to where he was, hiding behind a large rock, looking outside anxiously. Across the lava field, she noticed some people approaching them in the distance as a group. They were police, it seems like Bruce's guards too – at least in the late afternoon sun.

“How did they find us?” Mara asked, and with that, her hand went for one of her bombs.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Ema said, quickly trying to recollect something, anything to say back to her. “We have to go, now. Take with you only what is utterly necessary. It is the only thing that can save our skin. ”

They quickly began to accumulate what they could, leaving behind anything which might hinder their escape. With the approach of the run Ema saw something that turned her cold. Among the approaching guards, there was a man in a black cloak, and his fingers were tracing complicated signs.

"Mage," she breathed. Someone had brought a mage with them

He and the implications stopped at the bottom at the same time. The tracks, laid as they were so artfully, would be simplicity itself for one of the magic-using classes to decipher. They had been moving through this new city carefully, but it was very possible to have left a brilliant trail for the pursuers to follow.

“What now?” Astor asked rather hesitantly, as his composure started to falter.

As much as Ema was ready to scream and Pinch herself for everything he had done to her, she needed to have her wits about her. They could not escape from them, not when one of them was a mage. They couldn’t fight – they were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. And that was the only course.

‘We need to end this ordeal’, she said and the words felt like bile in her throat. ‘They cannot track all of us at a go. We shall meet in Seattle, we all know where we are headed, we must not follow the same route.

Instant protests rose, however, Ema raised her hand to halt them. Able to hear some of it, Dex frowned slightly, but nodded in acceptance, “I know it is not preferred, though it is our best bet. Mara, you and your group will take the north route, Astor, take the south. Dex you will take the east route while I lead the west route. ”

‘But-’ Astor began to protest.

“Okay,” Ema interrupted her, “any buts I am not interested at all. ” “That is the plan,” said Dex, The rest was silence; Lucas whispered, ‘’If any of us fails to get to the bookstore, then the rest of us proceed let alone Amelia is expecting our arrival let alone she trusts us.”

“Ema?” Lucas spoke suddenly and his mind was dragged out of wherever it was that she had wandered off to. There is an acute issue here which is:


That statement put a thick pall of seriousness over them. Everyone agreed evenly. As usual, there was no vulgar crying goodbye; there were no heart-throbbing formal break-ups. They had fought and suffered together for that. However, there were strong and determined shakes, meaningful glances, and hushed ‘good luck’ as the split approached.

As the colors of daylight faded away and the last of her team vanished into the horizon, Ema couldn’t help but feel the first tangles of dread crawl up her chest. She had always ensured the safety of her people, she proved to be the one who knew all the solutions. Now, she was sending them into unknown danger, alone.

The uncertainty did not sit well with her and so she moved passed it. The moment did not afford itself a second thought. With a long pull on the trigger, she stepped out from behind the boulder with her arms extended so that she could be seen by whoever was following them. Then, with a great prayer, she began to run in what she hoped was a different direction from that of her captors.

She ran as fast as she could, the voices and the clamor of horses drawing closer behind her; the ground was rough and rocky. She coughed, her breath hitched, however could not stop herself from moving forward relentlessly. Each move was pushing her away from her friends, from Bruce and Elijah, from the safety that the known had assured her. But it also led her further away from Amelia, to the reason why she is in the mess currently

When the sun was setting, Ema could afford to give a rather cruel smile. The real trip, she realized, was just starting. And that wasn't what she wanted, all she needed was to abduct Amelia and put their plan in motion not following a route she knew nothing about, not splitting her team that has been in the shadows for her through thick and thin.