Page 111 of Echoes of War

The center point of the borderline between San Jose and Fresno Compounds was a hellscape. It’d taken us two days to fight our way through the already camped out troops with the rest of Covert’s army right on our ass. We were too late.

My heart sank at the thought that all of this was for nothing. We’d already lost. Remaining positive was a waste of energy. The truth of the matter was, Covert Province would descend on us by the end of the week.

Small flanks of their troops had kept us on the run, forcing us to skirt around and try to enter through the West Gate. Trouble called to us from every direction, leaving us low on magic. Running low usually didn’t worry me, considering I’d made a point to stay trained up on my other skill sets should my magic fail me, but we were on the verge of hitting ‘E’.

Powersharing was draining. We tried not to use it unless absolutely necessary, but still, through our connection, I found my fire burned with a greater intensity. With greater intensity, a deeper well of power inherently comes along with it, which only mattered if you had control. While we did, this was certainly worth noting as a risk when it came to the rest of our soldiers.

An empty tank of magic meant toggling the lines of death. To have come this far only to stare death in the eyes from something that hadn’t even existed in our world six years ago was a jab in the gut.

Hiding out to catch a beat was the best bet. It would take less than half a day to replenish enough of our magic to make that final push home. We were nearly ten miles out, but I didn’t want to show up after months away appearing weaker than when I had left. Not to mention I wasn’t sure what we’d be walking into. If The Compound had fallen to chaos and I brought the news of Covert closing in on us, there would be little time for sleep or rest.

Alexiares and I had run out of food over a day ago and there’d been no time for him to try hunting. No time for hunting meant zero time to forage. Lucky for us, he’d managed to control enough of his water magic to satisfy our stomachs.

Filling up on water was about as unfulfilling as being ‘full’ could get, but it was necessary. The human body could go weeks to months without food, depending on fat reserves and other things. One glance at the both of us and my better guess would be a few weeks.

My stomach growled at the thought of the food awaiting us. I’d ask Elie to fire up some cornbread and soup, maybe some garlic noodles or veggie chili. God, what I would do for a cup of coffee right now. I smiled, knowing an evening in front of Prescott’s fireplace with coffee and pie was less than a day away.

It wouldn’t be the same. We’d have to spend our time discussing war and other pressing matters, but the warmth and comfortof the food and Prescott’s presence was enough for me to yearn for it.

I shot up from the pile of leaves and pack I’d been lounging on, Alexiares sending a glare in my direction for startling him. “The cave!” I proclaimed.

His expression turned curious. “Now what are you talking about?”

“There’s a cave about a mile from here. I had Elie set it up as a safe house of sorts. There’s a few bug-out bags and supplies in case she needs to flee.”

“Food?” He grinned, grabbing his pack and pushed to his feet.

I nodded. “Foodandwarmth. We can put a fire up while we rest. It faces the seaside. The flames or smoke won’t give us away.”

Neither one of us hesitated at the thought of a small moment of reprieve. The last week had only confirmed the suspicions I’d held about our journey being too easy. While the number of Pansies we’d encountered hadn’t been outside of the norm, the enemy had only increased. At this point, I would have preferred the sight of upgraded Pansies in their stead.

The thrill of food soon filling our hollow bellies made us more than happy to jog, deciding risking exerting that last bit of energy was worth it. Half a mile out, the sound of dogs barking caught our attention. I slowed to a stop, reaching my arm out to halt Alexiares in his tracks.

My blood froze. I knew those barks—would know them if half of my senses were removed and I was forced to feel out the vibrations of them. Alexiares turned to meet my gaze, and instinctively, we broke into a full sprint.

Waves crashed into the rocks below, the sea beneath the cliffside angry. Every hair on my body stood up at the horror before me. Elie’s light brown curls flew in front of her face, her arms flailed in front of her. The air around her was erratic, panic strewn across her reddened face.

Harley and Suckerpunch surrounded either side of her, trying to regain their foothold on the Pansies closing in on them where Elie’s air magic failed. They were backed toward the edge of the cliff, a few steps away from taking a plunge over and into the raging water.

Alexiares sprang into action, using what may have been the last of his newly acquired earth magic to cast vines out, dragging the Pansies toward us. I went for my throwing knives, using all four to find the center of their foreheads. To our pleasant surprise, we were only faced with the slower, simple Pansies and not the new and improved versions. Few remained, now turning our direction to find the cause of the disruption of their promise of a meal.

“Fuck it,” I said, finding the risk of gunfire being heard worth the safety of Elie and our precious pups.

Harley’s eyes met mine, her tongue hanging out in excitement, and I almost melted. She finished a lingering one off, ripping its neck clean off its body and over the cliff behind her. Suckerpunch bounded to Alexiares’ side and a cry of relief escaped him. Tears welled in my eyes, happy to see my baby was okay, but furious over the unnecessary situation she’d been brought into.

She sat at Elie’s feet, tail wagging beneath her as she kept her guard, not wanting to fail at the job she believed she owned. The signal of her release sent her racing toward me. Harley pounced into my arms, allowing me to whirl her around. Her tongue swept across my face and I released the pent-up emotion, just happy to be reunited.

“Oh, my baby,” I said, “Momma missed you.” I kissed all over her cheeks, giggling.

“Nice to see you too,” Elie said dryly, frozen in place.

Placing Harley back on all fours, I stared at her, taking her in for any injuries. Her dark-wash jeans were torn, one of my chest holsters was secured over a black T-shirt cut at the bottom. The knife I’d left her tucked into her waistband and another in theankle holster above her boots. Elie was a mirror image of a younger version of me and, for some reason, that sent a course of fury through me.

I advanced on her with a menacing gait in my walk. Harley bound off to greet Alexiares behind me, sensing all threats had been thwarted. Elie’s posture stiffened, and I stopped right before her, cupping her face between my palms. So much had changed over the last few months.

Her lips quivered under my touch. I pulled her into a tight embrace, soaking up the smell of eucalyptus and coffee from her hair, the softness of her skin.

Pulling her back, I glared at her. “Elie, what the hell are you doing out here? And without a coat, it’s freezing!”

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