Instead of leaving through the front door of the shop, Johan led them through the back, where the outhouse was, surrounded by a stone wall.
Elias opened his mouth, and his expression told Johan he was about to complain, so Johan quickly held a finger to his lips. Johan felt a little guilty because Elias immediately registered his reasoning and looked frightened, his wide scared eyes staring up at Johan.
The shop was being watched; that’s why they were leaving this way.
Elias shivered and reached for Henrik’s hand while Johan stacked wooden boxes in an attempt at some makeshift steps to help them over the wall.
Near silently, Johan went first and landed with a soft thud on the other side of the wall. The jump was a little more challenging than he remembered it being as a boy.
Johan heard light footsteps on the boxes before spotting Elias’ head pop up at the top of the wall. Elias stared down at the drop and grimaced.
Elias was evidently not a fan of heights. Or rather, he was not a fan of jumping from great heights.
Johan stood ready and gestured for Elias to make the leap.
Elias took a deep breath and closed his eyes before leaping from the top and landing in the safety of Johan’s arms.
He blinked up at Johan as if surprised he had survived, and Johan smiled.
“You caught me,” he whispered.
“Of course,” Johan replied.
By the time he’d helped Elias to his feet, Henrik was at the top of the wall, looking down. Not wasting any time, he made the jump and landed in Johan’s arms before Johan had even registered catching him.
Henrik hopped down and brushed off his clothes, as though being caught had diminished his pride. Johan shook his head fondly before picking up his bag and leading them quietly away from the shop.
Surprising them all, Elias had remained quiet right up until they reached the tree line of the forest, when he whispered, “Am I allowed to speak yet, or must I suffer in every regard?”
Johan chuckled before gesturing for Elias to go ahead.
“Thank the Gods. Where are we going? Why are we going? And why are we going in the middle of the night?” Elias bombarded Johan with questions.
“You’ll see,” Johan managed.
“It’s harder for us to be followed if we leave during the night,” Henrik said, and Johan nodded his head in agreement.
Although helpful, it was a little unnerving how frequently Henrik seemed able to crawl inside Johan’s head and verbalise what he was thinking. He was grateful it was Henrik and not Elias, because Elias would not use those powers for good.
“Do we have a long way to go?” Elias asked.
“Few hours,” Johan replied. It lit him up inside that when he was alone with the elves, his words were coming much more easily.
“I’m already bored,” Elias said.
“You are annoying, is what you are,” Henrik sniped.
“I’m sorry that I enjoy being entertained in my life and don’t spend my days perpetually occupied by my own miserable thoughts.”
Johan hated when they got like this. They could be so mean to one another, and despite the fact neither seemed to ever hold a grudge, Johan always felt sure that their harsh words must leave festering burn marks all over their hearts.
He stood between them. “Stop.”
“He started it,” Elias muttered like a petulant child.
“You… you always escalate it,” Johan said, raising an eyebrow at him.
Elias evidently couldn’t deny that fact and so huffed in annoyance before kicking a pebble along the path.
