His eyes were on James. The man’s injuries were telegraphed in every shuddering, stumbling step, but he didn’t complain or even make a noise. Olivia ran at the forefront, hardly even glancing back.
Her terror seemed genuine enough, but...he couldn’t bring himself to trust her. Not fully, not yet. Maybe this was some sort of long con, a trick to get close to them. Daniel set his jaw, his heart pounding, and forced himself to focus on running.
Within seconds, the asphalt under his feet turned to concrete, then grass and gravel. The last of the homes flashed by them. Hopefully, whoever lived in them was fast asleep, none the wiser to the chaos brewing outside their door. Hopefully it would take a while for a fire truck to appear and bring the whole mess down around their ears.
He had to get them out of this somehow. Without breaking secrecy.
Somehow.
“This way!” he heard Olivia hiss. Her voice was lower—and the change was enough to bring Daniel up short. Before he could say a word, she turned on her heel, darting off through the maze of stone and wood.
They had no choice. Leon glanced back—to him, and to their pursuers—but followed on her heels. James stumbled after him.
Just a little more. The minigolf park blossomed around them, worn-out and tired and grey. It’d been a hell of a place once, Daniel could tell. The whole place had been decorated richly, until it was hard to find a square foot that hadn't been filled with statues and concrete-rock cliffs and now-dry fountains. An office building sat square in the middle, with sheds scattered around the property.
Within seconds, the Booklenders vanished from sight behind a giant, fake-looking tree. Daniel didn’t slow, but his heart leapt. If he couldn’t see the Booklenders, they couldn’t see him.
And he could see their escape route—another road on the far side of the park, with an empty yard beyond. They were almost there. They just had to keep running, and take off into the city, and-
The air gleamed, brightening insubstantially. Thunder crackled across the open sky. Daniel froze, even as his feet kept racing underneath him. He knew what was coming, even if he wished with every fiber of his being to be wrong.
He wasn’t wrong. Glimmers of light sparkled across the open air—moments before another wall of golden light split the mid-morning gloom. It appeared in a thin, spindling line that grew, spreading through fractals that devoured the city beyond.
By the time Daniel finished gaping and seized control of his mind again, it was too late. The light filled the space in front of him, wiping out the field and their freedom in one blow. He glanced back furtively, his steps slowing. Sure enough, the barrier filled in behind them like an absurdly large, magical dome plopped down over the whole minigolf park.
“We’re stuck,” he breathed, still staring at the wall.
“Stop staring at it,” Olivia hissed. Her hand grabbed at his wrist. He didn’t know when she’d turned around, but suddenly she was there, yanking him to the side. “Cyril will- It’s too late. We have to hide. Right now.”
As if hiding was going to do them any good. Daniel let her pull him away, though, his nerves singing. They were trapped, and their opponents were trapped in here with them. It was just hide and seek, from this moment on.
Their enemies had guns. And magic. He shivered, remembering the sight of his car exploding before his eyes.
The pistol hanging beneath his arm weighed down heavier than ever.
Leon spun, though, his blue eyes wild, and Daniel hurried forward. “It’s okay,” he breathed, nudging Leon toward Olivia—who waved furiously, beckoning them toward a shed. No, not toward the shed. Behind it, to where the straight wooden wall met the uneven, faintly-curving faux-stone of the landscaping.
His eyes scanned it in an instant, assessing. It’d be tight, but...they could fit. Probably.
Olivia wasn’t waiting. She’d already shoved James through the gap by the time Daniel hurried forward, and pushed herself in after him. Leon darted forward to duck in next. His hand closed around Daniel’s, hauling him forward.
Daniel let him. The warmth of their palms pressing together anchored him, belying the fear that coursed through his veins. Only when they all sat in the dark, trapped between the points of light on either side, did he allow himself to breathe.
“They’re going to find us,” Leon hissed, and Daniel saw him glance toward Olivia. “If you lead them here-”
“Shut the fuck up,” Olivia spat back. “You don’t- You have no idea how much I risked, getting word to you.”
“Quiet,” Daniel snapped, as forcefully as he could without raising his voice. “Olivia, how’s James?”
James mumbled something inaudible in reply. Olivia sighed. That said it all.
He opened his mouth, ready to launch into...something. A retort, or a new plan. Something rang out across the quiet, stopping him before he could utter a single syllable.
Footsteps.
His body locked up, freezing in place, and he felt Leon go rigid alongside him. Even Olivia stopped her muttering—and from the corner of his sight, he saw her clap a hand over James’ mouth.
If they got caught here, squeezed into a crevice like sardines in a can, it would be game over. No one said it, and no one had to.
No one moved. No one spoke. Daniel held his breath as the sound of racing feet drew closer and closer. Leon’s hand stayed clasped in his, both of them wrapped together so tightly he wasn’t sure he’d still have blood in his fingers after.
“W-Where’d they go?” he heard someone gasp. His skin prickled. They were close, damn it. He didn’t dare peek his head out to look.
“Fuck if I know,” someone else said. Their voice was brighter. Sharper. “When’s that finder guy supposed to get here?”
“Does it look like I know?” the first speaker snapped. “Jesus. Call Rickard
