Shadow Weaver (Back on 抖阴社区 2020!)

Chapter 7

You've run out of time, Mirra. It's now or never.

The tiredness in my limbs vanishes as adrenaline surges through my body.

"Tug," I say. My voice sounds like a strangled squirrel. "Tug," I repeat. He turns, wariness already dancing in his eyes. I edge towards him. "You don't need Kel. You could let my brother go, just sell me. I'm worth a fortune."

He observes me coldly. "Please," I beg. "Please, Tug." I let the desperation I have kept mostly hidden slip into my voice. He turns back to the view of the Hybourg, as though the sight of me is too pitiful to behold.

That moment is all I need. I lunge for the wolf dog, seize her by the scruff of the neck and yank her from the bag. Tug spins, reaching for his knife but he has not anticipated the dog move.

I leap away, moving to the edge of the cliff. The dog is too large to dangle over the sheer drop, so I cradle her in my arms.

"Step back, Mirra."

"Let Kel go before the mutt has another accident." The wolf dog starts paddling her back legs. Carrying her with my injured arm is hard enough, without the extra struggle.

"You can't help your brother if you fall off the edge of a cliff."

"Get going, Kel." I glance around and catch the look of shock in my brother's golden-flecked eyes. "Get going!"

He moves towards the slope, tentatively at first, then with more speed. In response, Brin crosses to intervene, but Tug holds out an arm to stop his associate.

I lock gazes with Tug, while dipping into Kel's mind. Through the blurry haze of panicked thoughts I see him scrambling up a rocky slope. Run, Kel. Run!

"You're sending him to his death," Tug says. "A cold, frightened, lonely death, if he is lucky. Ripped from limb to limb by savage, hungry beasts, if he is not. Now let the dog go before we have to scrape you both off the rocks below."

Frustration and disappointment crush me. I have been patient. I have waited four days for Tug to make an error, to let his guard slip, to find a way through the fortress of his mind. And now I'm forced to desperate acts.

"You don't need Kel. I'm worth a fortune." I repeat the words over and over, but Tug is right. Kel won't get far by himself.

I hold out the wolf dog. Tug hooks her up, swings her over his shoulder, and drops her into the rucksack as though she were a kitten. I move away from the cliff edge as Brin swaggers towards me. I take a deep breath, trying not to be intimidated, but his fist rises and fires towards my face.

The next thing I'm aware of is the cold and the pain. I blink at the night sky. Stars twinkle. For a moment I have no idea where I am. The world seems beautiful, quiet and frozen.

Kel's anguished cry shakes me back to reality. Everything beautiful vanishes.

Brin curses in the distance. "Stop kicking or I'll knock you out."

I struggle to sit up. My hand reaches for the enormous lump beneath my eye. A little way off, Brin twists Kel's arm, dragging him back down the hill. My brother shouts until a palm clamps over his mouth. Then he stops struggling.

Beast-face's only weakness is the stupid wolf dog. I should have thrown it from the cliff just to show him he doesn't control everything. Even now, he stands with his back to us looking at the Hybourg, as though our scrabble for freedom is so insignificant, it doesn't even bear watching through to the end.

I hug my arms around my chest and shiver. Snow has gotten into my hood, and a wet patch presses into my back. I clamber to my feet.

I cannot bargain the information about the King's soldiers searching for the missing Prince of Caruca. I don't know if it is of any value to Tug, but if he suspected I knew something, he would simply beat it out of me, or hurt Kel until I revealed what I've hidden. A diversion to free Kel is pointless. I need to escape with him, but with Tug pre-empting everything I do that's next to impossible.

I have run out of time. The only option left is to offer cooperation during my own sale, in exchange for information concerning Kel's buyer. Tug doesn't care what happens to us after he has been paid—whether Kel and I escape our new masters is not his concern. But he will have difficulty raising a good price for me if he cannot prove I have the sight. And besides the dog, the only thing he cares about is coin.

I fight a sinking feeling, hold a chip of snow to my swollen cheekbone, and hope Tug does not hold a grudge against me for threatening his precious wolf dog's life, for the second time.

Hi! The next chapter will be posted on Friday 13th March. Hope you're enjoying it so far :)