Page 60 of Synnr's Ride

The road was surprisingly crowded heading out of the city. He and Hanna had to weave around vehicles and make their own path on the shoulder or share lanes with other drivers. Far from safe, but time was of the essence.

Hanna turned off the highway after another few minutes, taking an exit that was mostly deserted. They were officially out of the city now, and this was no spot for tourists or vacationers.

Except for Kark, he hoped.

The green trees that ringed the forest around Osais started to fall away for more rugged terrain. The trees were shorter here, stumpier and browner. But mostly it was scrubland and shrubs with foothills off in the distance.

Not exactly Jori's idea of a beautiful nature getaway, though perhaps there was some spectacle in the starkness.

He felt exposed. He and Hanna were the only two people on the road and had been for some time. The spot between Jori's shoulder blades ached as if he had a sniper's eye on him, but there was no good vantage for a sniper anywhere near him.

Hanna took another turn, this one down the barest suggestion of a road. Shrubs and scraggly branches competed with gravel to make a path, and they had to slow down to barely more than a crawl.

He was tempted to suggest walking the rest of the way, and Hanna must have read his mind.

She pulled off the road and he followed.

"We're close. I want to stay off the road." She pulled off her helmet and stashed the bike as best as she could. Jori followed suit.

He wanted to warn her to be careful or something equally ridiculous, but that would earn him a glare and he'd deserve it.

His spark lit his veins, ready for anything. But the walk was almost pleasant. He could hear birds chirping in the distance, and small animals scampered through the bushes. They didn't care that a saboteur might be hiding from justice only a few meters away.

They reached the end of the cover, and Hanna held up a signal to stop. They kept low, but the terrain didn't offer much cover.

If they were spotted...

Jori began to reach for his communicator. Maybe he should have told Solan they were going.

Then there was movement, and he stilled his hand. Whoever it was, they were too far away for Jori to tell if it was Kark.

"I'm calling this in," he whispered to Hanna, and she nodded.

But before he could reach for his communicator again, a bird squawked wildly and a burst of spark incinerated the shrub right next to his head.

20

Hanna dove for cover,summoning her wings and wrapping them around herself before she could fully assess the situation. Her eyes landed on Jori first, and the wave of relief she felt when she saw he was alive was only challenged by the tsunami of anger that anyone would dare hurt him.

He was hers.

She recognized Wrake and Malo from the bar, but they'd never spoken. The men were hangers-on, usually relegated to the far end of Kark’s table and desperate for his approval. Clearly they recognized her and Jori right back. They didn't look surprised, but she didn't care.

She lashed out, her spark a whip aimed straight at Malo's face, but he managed to block it.

The smart move would be to take the defensive position. Find cover, hit where she could, and call for help. If she and Jori planned it right, they might even be able to cover enough ground to make it impossible for the bikers to advance.

But she was angry. And she was done playing it safe.

She focused her energy into her wings, building up a defensive wall of her spark that would take apuntingcannon to blast through, and launched herself at Wrake.

Jori had his fire focused on Malo. She had to trust he could take care of that.

The tip of her wing brushed against Wrake's, and lightning sizzled in a battle of pure energy. He was no weakling, and Hanna had to pull her wing back before he managed to damage her. But while he was distracted, she hit him with a lick of power and smiled in satisfaction as he yelped.

There was a purity to fighting, something she'd never find in spy work. Her enemy was right in front of her. He was trying to kill her. She had to put him down first.

Butpunt, the man was powerful. If his wings were any bigger, she might have thought he was Matched.

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