Daniel

At Paul’s direction, they called ahead for the Terminal’s Signpost to open the westernmost World Gate. Cassie tucked in her wings as they barreled through the portal. This marked the third such transition in the last hour, and thankfully they hadn’t run into anything else dangerous. Unfortunately, the Tracker hadn’t been fooled in the slightest by the decoy portals they’d opened or the false trails they’d laid, and Cassie was flagging.

:Keep going as far as you can,: he told her.

:I can’t… hold it… anymore!: Even Cassie’s mental voice sounded tired and breathless.

He’d never seen her work this hard, but they’d covered days’ worth of marching in minutes! He had to push Cassie to the limit. :Make it to that rock.:

:The big flat one here?:

:Don’t pretend you don’t see where I’m pointing, the jagged one on the horizon.:

:No way! I’m gonna crash if I go any further!:

All it took was a stray thought to rekindle the anger he’d been struggling to suppress for the past hour. This conversation was private. :Having trouble keeping up without your supplements?:

Silence from her end, but they didn’t crash, and they made it to that jagged rock before landing. Cassie neared the ground, shrank, and reverted to humanoid. Kenta caught the others in a hair cushion as they fell a short distance, then deposited them on the dirt.

“Five-minute bathroom break,” Rana said as she helped the bat girl to her feet, then checked her pulse and forehead temperature. Cassie grinned and hugged her friend while making assurances of good health.

Daniel gritted his teeth, remembering how he’d met Cassie: A crying twelve-year-old, the ‘baby’ of the group, frightened of her own prophecies and clutching a stuffed animal. He remembered how Rana had comforted the bat girl from the first, donating blood without hesitation. How could Cassie betray that love?

Kenta added, “Make sure to wash your hands.” He gripped his Pwyll’s Pouch sword medallion as he strode away, ready to open his pocket dimension for the water bottle stockpile. “Now, to rinse off that beast’s slobber.” It was Kenta’s shift next, as they’d agreed.

They had three members who could carry the group at speed—Lea’s floating caramboles were too slow, and Rana too weak—leaving Cassie, Wendi, and Kenta. Cassie was the fastest by a long shot but had an hour-max limit. Alternating Wendi and Kenta in eight-hour shifts while the others rested, they could keep the group moving nearly 24/7.

:It’s a good plan,: Rana sent to Daniel. :Your logic was sound, Daniel, but you made one dangerous assumption.:

:What?:

:That we’re faster than the Tracker on average. Maybe so for an hour, but over the course of a day or more? That’s yet to be seen.:

Fear mingled with the already dangerous frustration he’d been dealing with as she spoke. :There’s no way they can keep up with this strategy. The mages have to stop and sleep, don’t they?:

:We don’t know what kind of Tracker they have, remember? Keep making bad assumptions—:

:—And I’ll get us killed. Got it.: Daniel locked eyes with the girl he respected and admired for her intelligence and compassion. Her vibrant green and gold mosaic eyes held a depth of resolve he couldn’t reconcile with the frog girl’s actions. Why hide Cassie’s need to feed after that first day? Why indulge those feedings to the point she couldn’t form Toadstones and regenerate life-threatening injuries?

While the coin’s magic had closed her wounds, Daniel saw through the thin layer of camouflage that concealed her real state. Saltwater and blood loss had stripped the gloss from her amphibian skin. Her humanoid lips were cracked, her athletic musculature showing stark and desiccated. :Drink something; you’re dehydrated. We’ll need you in top shape.:

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Rana scanned him head to toe and stated her satisfaction, :You’re taking this seriously. Good.:

:At least one of us is,: Daniel let loose another spark of anger. If she was startled or confused, it didn’t show; she simply stared at him with those beautiful eyes. He went on, :I’m watching, Rana. You can take a break with the others, but I’m not letting you both out of my sight at the same time. Whatever happened ends here.:

Daniel wanted her to get angry. He wanted her to blow up at him. If she retaliated like he knew she could, it would give him something to do with this building anger.

She didn’t get mad. :You’re smart. Figured it out on your own. Quick to judge without the full story.:

:Then tell me!:

:Not my place. Take it up with her. I’ll accept your verdict after you’ve heard all,: Rana turned to walk into the bushes. Before she left sight, she added, :But Daniel, if you make Cassie cry, I’ll make you take responsibility.: He shivered.

Yet, when Cassie made to follow her, he bade the bat girl wait and faked a conversation to avoid alerting everyone. Paul stayed with them as the others performed their ablutions.

Wendi returned first, all smiles and infectious laughter. Bless her for lifting their spirits after the day they’d had. Her loose shirt and boy shorts—spade-tip tail sticking through the back—spoke to her active, playful disposition. The red devil girl stretched, easily lifting hands that each weight more than Daniel, and he averted his gaze from her chest as her shirt went taught. She was like a sister to him after what they’d been through; he’d look elsewhere for a girlfriend his touch didn’t harm once they stopped running for their lives.

When Rana came back, her incredible metabolism had absorbed enough bottled water to rejuvenate her skin and smooth the harsh edges of her elbows and hips to healthy curves. Even the fullness of her pretty round face had been restored. Her sleeveless black top and running shorts emphasized her fine fungoid frog coloration: cream-pale abdomen, dark chocolate flanks, marbled appendages, and a red stripe from forehead to tailbone running under a canopy of short brown hair.

Seeing her whole and hale untied a knot in his gut he’d held since she took his place under the beast’s claws. No one else had come closer to death except Daniel. While his trauma didn’t bother him so much now, he couldn’t bear the thought of Rana in such jeopardy again. Would he be disrespecting her to insist she let herself be protected? Or would the request be mere foolishness when they needed her strength so desperately?

After clearing his head with a shake, Daniel gave Cassie a low-key signal to go.

Kenta strode from the foliage hair damp but drying while he adjusted his red tie to the exact slack he preferred. The Kaminoke boy made the business casual of his black pants, open vest, and white shirt with the top button undone look like a uniform.

Lea emerged from cover while straightening her flared blue skirt, her ability to look good under challenging circumstances astounding. Still straightening her flared blue skirt as she emerged from cover, Lea astounded him with her ability to look good under challenging circumstances. She turned her white tee, brown belt, and leather shoes into a fashion statement through force of will. In her hands, brushing her blond tresses became an act of defiance against their cruel pursuers.

Even after a quick wash, the returning bat girl seemed worn, bedraggled, and bone-tired. Daniel couldn’t stay mad at Cassie. Those who knew to look could see turmoil on her face. Her shame-filled glance at Rana told Daniel a ‘punishment’ wasn’t the answer. He needed to harness his emotions and find a productive solution.

They’d taken longer with their break than he’d budgeted, but Daniel didn’t have much experience considering he neither ate nor drank. Daniel met their eyes one by one and said, “Let’s get moving. Sleep when you can; there’s no telling when we’ll have to fight.” True rest replenished their magic better than anything else.

Though Kenta had forced himself to nap on their flight, an hour didn’t make much difference. No matter, he wouldn’t back down from this challenge no matter how grueling it became.

Kenta fashioned his hair into several constructs. First, he wove a platform the others climbed onto, supplying handholds and cushioned sleeping cradles for the road ahead. Then he braided a pair of tank treads that would roll smoothly over almost any terrain. It was a nearly ideal setup for sleeping on the go.

While they’d spared Cassie from Paul’s increased weight, Kenta had no issue with the lantern boy riding in his armored form. Cradling Daniel in her enormous hands, Wendi carried Daniel aboard and drifted unconscious in seconds. The bat girl settled in beside them but didn’t close her eyes.

After cracking her knuckles, Rana sprayed a springy foam mattress onto one of the sleeping cradles to improve shock absorption. The Kaminoke aborted his squawked objection as Lea stepped off her floating carambole and laid on the makeshift bed with a contented sigh and mumbled words of thanks. In a testament to restraint in trying times, Rana threw herself into an empty sleeping cradle without lining it in foam or slime.

Kenta swallowed his protests, accepting Rana’s peace offering and tolerating the frog foam for Lea’s sake. Then they were underway.

One by one, they fell asleep until two riders remained.