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She’d only run a few steps when he caught her, grabbing the back of her suit Aria tensed, terrified, as she felt a tug Her Medsuit loosened and then cold air blew across her back She was just grasping what he’d done when the whole suit fell away Aria sprang back, covering herself and her thin undergar
The Outsider balled her torn suit and hurled it into the darkness "You were calling the Aether Move, Mole! Now, or we cook!"
She could hardly hear hiht and the stor his voice But she realized he was right The Aether funnels appeared to be getting closer and gathering around therabbed her wrist "Keep low If it’s close, put your hands on your knees to give the charge soo You hear rip on her wrist A wave of war her face She recognized the warning A funnel would strike close Aria did what he said She bent low over her knees, saw the Outsider doing the sa to half his size, until she had to close her eyes against the glaring light When the brightness behind her eyelids di world
The Outsider shook his head, realizing she couldn’t hear She no longer fought when he pointed into the darkness If he took her away from this place, at least her skin wouldn’t burn and her ears wouldn’t break again
She didn’t kno long they ran The funnels never came as close as before As they an, the drops cold pinpricks, so unlike pseudo-rain in the Realms At first it cooled her skin, but soon the cold nu
With the threat of the Aether receding behind thee How could she escape? He was double her size and h the dark She was beyond exhausted, struggling just to stu There weren’t any good reasons the Savage could be forcing her to coet away
The desert ended abruptly, giving to low hills patched with dry grass It had grown darker away from the Aether funnels Aria couldn’t see where she set her feet any that stabbed deep into her foot She stifled a cry of pain, seeing her chance of escape slipping away
The Outsider turned, his eyes glinting in the dark "What is it, Dweller?"
She heard him dimly but didn’t answer Rain poured over her as she stood, balancing on one leg She couldn’t put any weight on her foot any and hoisted her against his side Aria raked her nails into his skin He lost his footing, nearly bringing theain, I hurt you back harder," he said through clenched teeth She felt the ruether
He firrip around her waist and quickened his pace up the slope, his breath a athered where their skin touched,her nauseous She didn’t think she could bear it anyht of the Aether, she saw a darkened opening in a shed if she could Of course it would be a cave Rain poured over the mouth in a solid sheet of water The Outsider set her down inside
"Back under a rock Must feel like home" He disappeared into the cave
Aria li rain She stared down at the way they’d come, a hillside so broken with rock it looked like it had teeth She saw no other way, downhill or up, that looked ood foot to move over rocks made slick with rain Aria pushed herself to hurry before the Outsider returned Her foot slipped, wedging into the space between two large slabs Aria tugged and turned, but the crack wouldn’t let her go and she was fading, the last of her strength seeping into the cold rock against her back
Aria tucked herself into a ball and had two thoughts First, she was plunging to a place far deeper than sleep And second, she hadn’t gotten far enough away
Chapter 12
PEREGRINE
The girl had passed out by the tiot the fire started She seemed to do that a lot He freed her foot from the slabs Then he carried her into the cave and wrapped a blanket around her A stone fell out of her hand He guessed she’d ht have worked for half a second
He reht in the Dweller fortress A rancy mix of must and flesh at the brink of decay It had surprised hiht to her Here, in the closed space of the cave, her odor was strong enough to bring a sour taste to the back of his throat He lay down as far fro the fire’s warmth and slept
He woke before sunrise to the hush that always followed an Aether stor, the weather heading fast tointer Perry got the fire going again, ers to his side
He hadn’t been in this cave since Vale deemed this area forbidden, but found it well stocked by traders who used the cave as shelter when they cah the valley He found clothes and jars with nuts Dried fruits that were still edible He even found a healing co that only one cut looked deep She could use stitches But he’d never been good with a needle, and she was going to die one way or another Besides, he didn’t need her walking Only alert long enough to talk
Perry checked the cut on his side Only a short slice on his skin where he’d been hit, but he’d bruised a few ribs He also had five stripes of torn flesh on his chest, thanks to the girl But his body would heal and grow strong again, unlike Talon’s
He ate, then sat looking at the fla that had happened He’d lost Talon Soht iain He needed to get Talon back
Perry had done what he had to, leaving the Tides But when he thought of how he’d run, his face went hotter than fire He had spent his life drea the Tides’ Blood Lord The tribe would think hione
When he lay down to sleep, the girl still hadn’t moved He wondered if she’d ever wake
Perry hunted the nextabout would’ve felt worse He coaxed a rattler froh with an arrow He cooked and ate the rich meat, but felt nauseous afterward Like the snake had coirl began to stir with fever Perry burned some dry oak leaves to ht He needed to be ready if she caht have information about Talon And there was the eyepiece to find out about He hoped it would give him a way to contact the Dwellers who’d taken Talon
She opened her eyes the next afternoon and scurried away fros snapped together beneath the blanket
Perry smirked "You’ve been passed out two days and you’re worried about that now?" He shook his head "Relax, Dweller Last thing you bring to ranite walls Then the steel cases of supplies stacked to one side When she looked at the dwindling fire, she followed the thread of smoke toward the mouth of the cave
"Yeah," Perry said "That’s the way out But you’re not leaving yet"
She turned to his "What do you want froe?"