The city of Rosia surrounded a small but deep lake. On this side of the city, the main thoroughfare skirted closer to the mountains than the lake. If Seth wanted to catch the fleeing carriage, he would need to know what side of the lake they were heading towards.

It turned north, towards the Palace. Both Seth and Booth took off running. They raced through alleys and darted across squares, and in a couple instances, even jumped gates and ran down private ways.

"They're that way," Seth panted. He pointed east towards where he could feel Mau was. They'd both slowed to a jog to catch their breaths. "We'll get there before them."

Booth nodded.

"Then, how can we stop them?" Seth asked.

"Dunno," Booth panted. "Think of something."

They started sprinting again. They darted around people and jumped over crates and trash, and even dodged the occasional table and chairs.

They were about three quarters of the way there. A big man in workman's clothes was walking towards them and stopped and stepped aside into a narrow alley when he saw them running. Seth was going to say "Thanks," as he ran by but before he could the man grabbed the back of Seth's shirt and whipped him around, sending him sprawling into the alley. Seth barely had time to yelp.

In an instant, the man pounced on Seth, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the wall.

"Well, well, well. Lookie what I caught. I thought you was locked up tight in that school o' yours."

Seth's feet weren't touching the ground. He couldn't breathe. He grabbed the scratchy fabric on the man's arm and pulled at the fingers squeezing his throat. Seth had no idea who this was or why this was happening. Panicked, Seth kicked at the man and tried to wiggle away.

"No, no, no. None 'o that." The man hip chucked Seth's knees to the side and then pressed Seth's legs against the wall with his knee. He gave Seth a quick punch in the side.

Seth choked in pain and what little air he had escaped. Desperate, he tried to scratch at the man's eyes.

The man jerked his face away, and caught Seth's arm in his other hand. He slammed Seth against the wall again, and pinned Seth's arm with his other hand. Seth couldn't move.

"We're gonna have a little conversation," the man said. "And I better be liking the answers."

What? Why? Seth didn't know anything! Who was this? Did the man think Seth was someone else?

"Let him go!" Booth shouted from the entrance to the alley. Seth felt a surge of hope.

The man looked over at Booth calmly. "Walk on, little boy. This doesn't concern you."

"I said, let him go."

"Keep walking or I snap his neck, and then yours."

Booth glared at him for a second, and then left. Hope died, and it took fear with it, leaving only anger.

Seth closed his eyes. He didn't want to die here. He didn't have time for this. Blaise didn't have time for this. He poured all his anger into his power, and tried to bring the wind.

The man squeezed. Seth could feel himself starting to black out. Seth struggled, but the man was twice his size and he had no leverage. The wind was there, but it was waiting for direction that Seth couldn't give it.

"That's right." The man smiled with white teeth and a breath that smelled foul. He loosened his grip enough for Seth to take a breath before squeezing again. "Now, where was we? Ah, yeah. I got questions."

"Let him go," Booth said. This time Booth had two knives out, and was approaching in a fighter's crouch.

"I'll make you eat those pig stickers, boy."

"Try me."

The man stepped back and threw Seth at Booth, knocking them both to the ground. The man moved a few steps down the alley and jumped a wall at the end of the building.

Seth realized he'd landed with one of Booth's knives at his stomach. "Your knife!" he croaked and rolled over to look for a wound.

"It's fine, there's no knife," Booth said. "It was an illusion. See?" He showed his empty hand. "No knife." Booth stood up and extended a hand to Seth. "Are you all right?"

Seth accepted Booth's help and got to his feet. "Yeah," he croaked. "Hurts to breathe," he whispered. "You came back. Thanks."

"Of course. And don't sound so surprised." Booth looked in the direction of the bridge where Blaise was being taken and then back at Seth. "Stay or go, right now."

"Go," Seth said, and started staggering into the street himself. On impulse, he picked up a broken wooden dowel, about three fingers thick and as long as his arm. It was pointed at one end.

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Seth touched the pendant Saben had given him and mouthed the command for healing. He focused on his ability to breathe and let the power do its thing for a few seconds. As soon as he felt he could breathe well enough to run, he took off. Booth followed.

Booth glanced at Seth's pendant a few times as they ran. Seth made sure it was tucked safely under his shirt again.

The delay cost them. The carriage would get to the stone bridge before them and there would be no way to get ahead of it now. Owen and Duvessa weren't very far behind it, but too far to help. Seth watched Mau trying to attack the guy on the roof of the carriage. Her single paw slaps were not hindering him at all.

Seth tried to think how he could turn the situation around. "Here," he said and tossed the wooden dowel to Booth. "The spokes."

Booth nodded and kept running. Seth stopped and tried to focus. He would try Wind Blade. He had to be careful though, not to hit Mau or the others.

Do I aim for the horses? It felt horribly wrong to target them. But not targeting them meant they could get away with Blaise. He decided he'd aim for the front of the carriage. If he hit the horses, so be it. He'd cast it horizontally and aim for the driver. Seth closed his eyes and cast the spell, just as Saben had taught him, and used Mau as a reference point for targeting.

Either it was too weak, he was too far away, or he'd missed. The blade of air flew by without cutting anything. He'd have to try casting while moving next time or he wouldn't be close enough. As it was he might be able to cast two more times while the carriage passed by.

The carriage reached the bridge barely a second before Booth. The man on the roof kicked at Mau again and got a hatch at the back of the carriage open, releasing a giant hunchbacked dog from a cage there. Not a dog, a hyena, Seth realized. There was a family famous for raising them as guardians, and some of them even became magic beasts.

The hyena was wearing stiff leather armor on its chest with little metal spikes embedded all over the leather. Owen jumped in front of Duvessa who stepped off the cave crawler and pointed at the hyena. The cave crawler surged forward.

Booth paused and looked from the hyena to the carriage. He stabbed the dowel into the wheel spokes of the rear wheel. The dowel thwacked against the carriage body and locked the wheel. The carriage jumped, jerking the horses to a stop.

The hyena was startled by the stopping carriage and skittered forward, barking its laughing bark. It locked eyes with Owen and charged.

Seth closed his eyes and tried again. Lower, he thought. More forward and vertical, catch the front wheel. He cast the spell again. It was denser, and more cutting. It hit the front of the carriage causing chips and splinters from the base to the roof. It was not enough. All the damage was superficial.

The man on the roof kicked at Mau again and turned to look at Seth and then Booth. He reached into the compartment where the hyena was and pulled out a crossbow. Mau leapt at the man's back. Booth pulled open the door of the carriage and jumped in.

The driver slapped the reins, urging the horses forward again. The jerking of the carriage had knocked the dowel loose and the carriage started moving again. It was now at the far end of the bridge. The man on the roof ignored Mau and aimed at Booth.

Seth decided to just try Breeze, as strong and focused as he possibly could. He hoped to knock the carriage over. He closed his eyes and again used Mau to target the spell, aiming below and forward. He put everything he could into it.

The carriage rocked and tipped up on two wheels. The back wheel scraped the wall of the bridge and the horses screamed. Mau yowled and clawed at the man in her efforts to stay on the roof. The man screamed in pain and fell off himself. For the briefest of moments, Seth thought it worked. Then the carriage stabilized.

Booth was sent sprawling out the open door when he was kicked in the face by the man inside.

The man from the roof struggled to his feet. His arm had been completely shredded, right down to the bone, and was covered in blood. The man who had kicked Booth grabbed the injured one and dragged him inside just as the carriage surged forward. Booth staggered after them.

Seth spared a glance at Owen and the hyena. Owen was fending it off while Duvessa's cave crawler attacked from behind. Seth skirted the hyena and ran towards the carriage.

The cave crawler was faster than the hyena, and darted in for fast bites and sped away before the hyena could react. Owen was using the climbing pick to block the hyena's crushing bites and swiped at the beast to prevent it from turning on the cave crawler. Then the hyena darted to the side, whirled on the cave crawler, and mauled it. The cave crawler disintegrated into shadows that dispersed. Duvessa cried out and staggered.

The hyena looked from Owen to Seth, trying to make up its mind who should be its target. Duvessa threw her boots at it but it lunged after the fleeing Seth. Owen tried to intercept it.

"Reginald! Stay with it! Don't let them out of your sight!" Duvessa cried.

Booth chased after the carriage. Seth paused on the bridge, looking for a way to help either Owen or Booth. Running after Booth would leave Seth open to the hyena. He needed to get rid of it first.

The hyena paced with its eyes on Seth, giggling and laughing in a very disconcerting way. Past the bridge, Seth saw Mau climbing out of the river. That gave him an idea. It was risky, and he only had enough mana left for one more powerful blast. Timing it with his eyes shut would be really difficult and potentially deadly.

"I need it right in front of me!" Seth shouted.

Owen immediately circled to Seth, fending off a couple of testing bites by the hyena.

"All right, turn this way. Now, the instant it starts to jump, say 'now'," Seth instructed. Seth closed his eyes and prepared Breeze again.

"Now!" Owen shouted. The hyena was faster, reaching Seth and Owen before Seth got the spell off. But the spell did go off, and the beast was blasted off the bridge and into the river where it panicked. But not before it caught the edge of Owen's arm with its teeth and tore a nasty gash in his flesh.

Several hundred feet away the carriage passed an empty gatehouse and entered the tunnel. Reginald swooped after it, and collided with a barrier of yellow light. The shadow bird sparked and fell to the ground, but did not disperse like the cave crawler did. Duvessa cried out again, and collapsed to her butt.

Booth banged on the barrier, sending sparks and light skittering on the surface. The barrier stayed up, and continued to hold no matter how they beat on it. They were all exhausted, winded, and thwarted.

The kidnappers had escaped and they still had Blaise.

Duvessa collapsed to the ground and started to cry. "This is the worst day ever."

Seth sat on the ground too. Mau walked up to him, her paws still slightly bloody despite her dip in the river. That guy was going to need healing, probably something better than a potion too, if he wanted to keep the use of his arm.

"We are going to find her," Seth told them. The authorities arrived moments later.