“Yes, sir.” We twisted this way and that as we ran, able to see the missiles and avoid contact.
New gunfire rang out. I attempted to dodge it, too, but I misjudged the distance and tripped. Domino noticed and bumped me, pushingme out of the strike zone. The bullet sliced through his bicep, and his sword of fire vanished.
“Keep going,” he demanded.
I righted and obeyed, slaying the final handful of soldiers. When the last dropped, I froze, panting hard. Time whooshed to a frenzy, seeming to go faster than before the slowdown.
“Are you okay?” I called to Domino. My adrenaline crashed to deeper depths, heralding a tide of tremors in my limbs.
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” His determination and confidence inspired mine. “Help her.”
Very well. I stumbled to Winslet. She lay on the ground, panting shallowly through pain. The dagger had ripped through her shoulder and left a gaping hole with singed edges. Color had drained from her skin.
I kicked her fallen harbinger away and crouched at her side to further assess the damage.
“You’re not going to win this,” she grated, pushing the words out through pain-filled breaths. “Backup ... coming. More soldiers. More weapons. Orders to capture librarian ... even if we must ... injure you.”
Cyrus had given an order to physically harm me. I swallowed and, ignoring her warning, cut the shirt from an unconscious guard and returned to Winslet. Though she cursed and hissed, I forced her to sit up, then rigged the shirt as a sling, securing her arm to her body.
“You’re coming with us,” I informed her.
“Just leave,” she spat at me.
Domino came up to her other side and met my gaze. I saw the question in his eyes.Are you sure?
I gave a clipped nod. He worked his jaw but slung an arm around her waist and carried her to the truck.
“I hope you know how to drive, Dom,” I said, “because I’ve never learned.”
“Welcome to your first lesson. Watch me and prepare to practice.”
He must be kidding.
We settled in the cab, with the librarian behind the wheel. Tires squealed, and we peeled out. The landscape whizzed at our sides. An abandoned city with crumbling buildings and statues beginning to bloom with trees and flowers.
“She wasn’t exaggerating,” Domino said, his gaze cutting to the rearview mirror. “We’ve got three vans on our tail.”
I twisted to peer out the back windshield and groaned. Despite the dirt flinging from our tires, the vehicles came into view. One had a large machine gun attached to its roof, with a shooter behind it.
“Once the gun is within range, it can blow this car to rubble,” Winslet bragged.
The shooter took an experimental shot. At least, I figured it was experimental, since it didn’t land. Or maybe it didn’t land because Domino turned the wheel and we careened to the side, out of the strike zone.
“You won’t be able to outrun them,” Winslet added, panting. “Their vehicles are faster than mine. I just happened to be out on patrol when Cyrus’s order came in.”
“Okay, time to take the wheel, Arden.” Domino waved me over. “The left pedal is for stopping, the right for going fast. Keep heading west, but zigzag without tipping us over whenever possible.”
“Are you kidding? This wasn’t any kind of lesson,” I squeaked as I shifted closer, assuming control of our very lives. “What are you going to do?”
“What must be done.” The second my feet replaced his, he went lax, still, and quiet, not even breathing.
I didn’t understand until a familiar rain-and-earth-scented fog filled the cab. Just for a moment, I experienced the warm embrace I’d missed. Then the fog slipped through a crack in the window, engulfing everything behind us.
More shots popped off. I got nervous and jerked the wheel, attempting to avoid a statue. Our truck fishtailed.
“No fear, no fear, no fear.” By a miracle, I maintained my composure, kept up our speed, and straightened us out. A few times, bullets landed, but other than some bumps, we continued sailing forward without problem.
“This is foolish,” Winslet rasped. “You can’t open the barrier without killing someone you love. You’ve already lost.”
