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I follow hi’

‘Neither a next to ht,’ says Commander Sharma He points into the hills ‘Half of us set up on the left while the other half takes position on the right I will take these tith me’ He indicates Ella and me

Crayton and I look at each other and nod

Ella turns to Crayton ‘You okay without acy willI think I’ll be okay’

‘I’ll keep an eye on him, Ella,’ Marina adds

‘Are you sure we should do this, Co him back to help’

‘No, Lord Vishnu should stay where he’s safe’

Crayton turns to Ella ‘Keep those glasses on Maybe you can be our eyes up there in the trees I’m still not sure how they work, but let’s hope they’ll help now’

I hug Marina and whisper into her ear ‘Be confident in your abilities’

‘I should heal Coo,’ she says

‘No,’ I whisper ‘I don’t trust hierous to us if he’s injured’

‘You sure?’

‘For now’

Marina nods Crayton taps her ar soldier The three of the behind a boulder

Coht side of the hills, carefully avoiding the buround as we move We find a position behind soade to arrive

I turn to Co Marina heal him, but for all I know, he’s set this up as an elaborate trap ‘How’s your arrunt, Coun on a flat rock He looks up and winks ‘I only need the one’

Out of the corner of my eye I can see a helicopter buzz overhead but it leaves almost immediately Either Marina took care of it, or the pilot couldn’t penetrate the thick canopy of the valley I look through the trees, hoping tothe peaks of the mountains, but the afternoon sun has burned them off With no wind, and no clouds, there aren’t any elements to control I can turn invisible if I need to, but I prefer to keep that hidden from the commander for now

‘What do you see?’ Ella asks

‘A whole lot of nothing,’ I whisper ‘Coht?’

‘You mean Vishnu? Not far A half day’s walk, maybe’

I’m about to ask hi happens to the commander and we need to move forithout his into the narrow valley at full speed with ain the open bed Even from a distance, I can see he’s nervous as well as ar to be everywhere at once As soon as our SUV comes into view, the pickup skids to a stop and the soldier in the back hops out More vehicles appear and pull up behind the pickup A soldier drops out of a red van and sets a rocket launcher onto his shoulder I see an opportunity

I nudge the coht back’