Janeal Falor - Sacrifice of Mine (Mine #4)

I t's time to run. I just don't know if we'll ever be able to run fast enough or far enough to escape the Grand Chancellor. Any moment now, the law officers may find our cave, and we will be captured. After being defeated so thoroughly by the Grand Chancellor yesterday, it's a humiliating dash toward Envado. What's worse is, when we get there, we'll have to tell them Chadwick is dead, Tawny is missing, and Zade is still captured.

Waverly is understandably upset about it all, but she loses control so much whenever we mention Tawny's name, I wonder if there's more going on than we heard before. She has kept herself together better with Zade's capture than Tawny's, and he's her brother. Perhaps it's the uncertainty of Tawny's situation that's sent Waverly over the edge. What we know is she's missing, but she may be gone forever.

Waverly and Jack are sweet together, working side by side to clear as many people from the area as possible before the law officers come. It could be any time now. No one really knows. Which is why my familyall my sisters, my brother, and my motherare leaving, even though there are still people who need assistance getting out. Waverly told the people to leave their things behind, but they can't seem to manage to, which means we can no longer stay to help.

Poor Waverly. She's trying so desperately to keep everyone together, herself included. She's doing a sad job of it, though. Ever since the battle we lost so thoroughly, she's barely holding herself together.

Lukas helps Cynthia bring my last sister out to the mouth of the cave and then takes her hand. The loving gesture isn't lost on me. Not now, when so much has been taken from us. It's also not lost on my oldest sister, Serena. As I move to her, I think about Zade's capture and our failed attempt to rescue him and the others imprisoned in the Grand Chancellor's dungeon.

A chill passes through me. What happened to the Grand Chancellor's son, Nathaniel, after his father threw him back into the house with a spell? Is he in the dungeon or somewhere worse?

I stand by Serena, wishing there was more I could do to comfort her. No matter what, I can't bring back her fianc.

We're not giving up on him, I say.

I know. She sounds sad and small.

Yet?

Yet we've failed him. I'll never give up, but there's no way we can ever free him from the Grand Chancellor. Not after all we've already tried to do.

Maybe someday we'll figure something out.

Someday. Something. More like no day and nothing. The Grand Chancellor is an impossible foe.

He is impossible to beat. Years of stealing magic from women has made him the strongest person around by a long, long way. Just thinking about him and what he can do makes my hands shake, so I force myself to think of something else.

Waverly hasn't come back to give us the go-ahead yet, but I feel uneasy about waiting any longer. We should get going.

Serena nods, features etched with sorrow. Gather them up.

I move to the back, making sure the girls old enough are helping a younger girl and each girl has a buddy that will be a traveling companion until we reach Envado, however long it takes us. If we can reach it before being caught, that is. When I reach the back of the group, I grab baby Abigail from mother and take Molly by the hand.

Let's go, sweetie.

Where we go? she says.

For a long walk. Much too long a walk, especially with all these little ones. How are we going to make it to Envado with so many children? There isn't a choice, though. We have to make it.

Serena waits for us at the mouth of the cave, peeking outside to see if the law officers have reached us yet. Not that it will do any good. If they find us, we have nowhere else to run. No way out of the network of caves that's been our home.

Others are packing up to go as well, though most everyone left immediately after we lost the battle. Those who weren't captured or killed. It's hard to think of that night. Of so many dying, like Chadwick who did so to save Waverly's life. Of Nathaniel, standing up to his father. He tried so hard to help, and it just got him in bigger trouble. It makes my heart hurt to consider the possibilities.

How long is this walk going to take? Sally asks.

At least a week, I think. Maybe more, I tell her, trying not to think of how grown up she sounds.

Cynthia storms into the cave. We have to leave. Now. They're getting close.

I usher the girls and mother outside and follow the last of them, Sally. Abby is light in my arms but heavy in my heart. What type of world is she going to grow up in, now that everything else has failed?

It doesn't matter. We'll make it out of here without getting caught, and we'll go to Envado where both she and her twin brother, Benjamin, can age in a better world than I did. We were stupid not to send them there before we waged this war. Now it's an even more dangerous journey. I can only hope none of us get caught on the way.

Do you need me to take her? Serena asks, as we both head out of the cave.

I'm fine. Go help get us out of here.

She nods and hurries toward the front of the group, gun in hand.

Others leave the cave after us. Too many people wanted to take their possessions with them. We said we would help those who insisted. But if the law officers are close, how many of those we spent so much time with will be caught?

I can't think of that either. We've delayed this long to help as many as we could. We can't wait any longer. Cynthia and Lukas lead the group. Jack is in the middle, carrying Molly on his shoulders. Serena moves through us, encouraging everyone on. Waverly's not in sight. She scouts the way ahead for us.

Suddenly, she bursts through the group of trees ahead of us. Run! Though her voice is only loud enough to carry to us, it's urgent.

Serena picks up my younger sister, Stella, and Jack grabs Ruthie, so he's now carrying two. I run with Sally at my side. She trips. The others don't notice as I stop to help her up. She puts her hand in mine, and something slaps me on the back, freezing my legs in place.

A law officer. He cast a partial freezing spell on me.

Go, I yell at Sally.

She hesitates.

Go now, or I'll give you a year's worth of chores. Please, please listen!

Finally, she runs. I'm sure she'll tell the others what happened. If she makes it to them. She has to make it to them. I have to distract the law officer long enough.

The law officer shoots a blue spell streaked with white sparks toward her, like the one on my legs. I block it with a red, heated shield-spell. The freezing spell smashes against it and dissolves. Sally disappears into the forest, out of sight.

I shoot the same heat spell at my legs, but instead of turning it into a shield, I send pure heat. The spell blasts from me, arcing in red toward my lower half. It slams against my frozen legs and dissolves the spell around them.

I throw another heat shield up behind me as I run toward the same trees Sally disappeared into. I stretch my legs out as far as I can to cover as much distance as possible. It's not enough.