Nua was tempted to launch into a sprint. She had to remind herself that she was still in the junkyard, and any lack of attention when choosing the route could end up badly. They did not know she was there. She was not pursued – yet. She needed to hurry, but not to the degree that she’d have to run.

Anki was out there, watching if the path was still safe.

Her knees were shaking when she finally arrived near the place she started from, and noticed five of the gang members standing, talking, and occupying the space in a direct sight line to the hole in the fence. She could be fast enough to pass them by. If she used ether.

“Crap.”

“Do you know of another gap?”

“Nope. I don’t have a map in my head to look for it from inside.”

“You’re not thinking about me.”

“Forget it.” She furrowed her brows. “Looking for a way could take forever. We need to wait them out, or distract them. If I could only… oh.”

“What?”

“Anki, could you take a look at the fire pit? I think those are the same guys.”

“Remember. If you have any ideas, go through them with me.”

Nua looked around. She was currently crouching between a mostly decomposed pile of old wooden crates, and a very unhealthy coniferous shrub.

“It’s not a brilliant plan. It’s just a plan.”, she said, picking up a small cone with a knowing smile.

“I do not understand.”

Nua took a long, hard look at the king.

“You have thousands of books in your head.”

“Correct.”

“You’re the smartest guy I ever met. You know sorcery, you were a literal god, but you don’t know what happens when you throw a cone into the fire?”

“I never threw cones into the fire, Nua. This type of outdoor activity is not exactly connected to the royal upbringing.”

Nua shook her head.

“Oh, Anki. You’re just going to find out what fun means. I’m so sorry it’s such a bad time to learn that. Just check first if nobody’s there.”

“Please stop being cryptic and explain. Proper communication is vital to our survival.”

The girl made a wide gesture and mouthed the word “Kaboom”.

“This could go wrong in so many different ways”, the king complained, but he went away to scout.

The fire pit was left unguarded, and while no one extinguished the fire, nobody fed it, either. Nua settled close to the ashes, knocking over several empty ale bottles. She had to blow at the coals for a while, snapping off dry branches at the edges of the pit and sticking them inside to rekindle the flames. Anki kept watch.

Finally, there was some sizzling and cracking, and a puff of smoke went up. Nua thought it could do instead of the cones, but apparently, Mekhet’s Sons weren’t sober enough to notice it. She followed with her original idea and threw several small, moist cones into the fire pit, then promptly backed away when she was sure that flames started to lick them.

Soon after, the first one popped with a deafening sound. Other followed. The explosions carried in the air. Nua listened, hidden behind a crate at a safe distance.

“They’re moving out,” Anki said. “They seem very agitated.”

Nua nodded. So far, everything went according to plan. The gang was moving toward the fire with their crowbars and knives out; she was watching them from the distance, while running in the opposite direction, and jumping through the piles of household refuse – torn baskets, dirty cloth, broken furniture, and all kinds of compost. Soon she was at the fence, then she got into the hole, and stuck for a while in the tamarisk bush, watching for people on the opposite side.

The boss was there.

Or she supposed he was one, a broad-shouldered man, clad in a leather jacket and trousers, with bronze earrings, multiple rings, and a heavy chain on his neck. He shaved both sides of his head, leaving only a patch of black hair on top. And if those obvious signs of status weren’t enough, he had small indigo dots tattooed under his eyes. From the look of it, he was probably an Unsagga, too, which did not bode well. While it was not a definite barrier to advancement in the gang, you needed a lot of violence to make up for your ancestry.

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He didn’t seem inebriated. He obviously heard the sounds from afar and probably left the task of checking them to his people. Now he was facing the entrance, frowning, while Nua watched him with her breath catching in her throat. Then, he decided and moved, intent on going through.

There was no choice, no leeway, and no time for trickery. Entirely aware that she can’t use sorcery, Nua wondered briefly if she should just walk out as if nothing happened and play dumb. After all, she was just another street kid.

But the gang probably had orders to stop anyone coming through, and she could not risk it. She focused, mentally forced her shaking legs to obey, then sprang forward.

She ran. The gang boss turned, but the inertia cost him a few heartbeats that Nua used to sprint toward the half-ruined buildings that surrounded the scrapyard. She heard shouts.

Step by step, her feet were hitting the pavement. Her sore back exploded with pain, but she quickly stopped feeling it. She knew that at a moment’s notice, she was able to fill her muscles with crackling power, speed up, and get away.

And leave traces that would draw the sniffer.

“He’s after you!”

Heavy boots thundered like destiny.

Nua focused on running, muscles still leaden, weak as they always were. Her lungs were burning.

“Nua, he’s closing in!”, she heard Anki’s panicked calling.

I know, she thought, unable to subvocalize. I can’t do anything about it!

A wall emerged in front of her. Made of dried mud bricks, cracked in some places, missing the bricks in others.

“Stop right there!”

Determined, Nua started climbing. Even as she was doing it without the reinforcement, the movements registered in her mind, her heightened attention spotting and locking elements that eluded her earlier, in training. Each time she pulled herself up, knowledge was crystallizing, forging a memory that she knew she could carry over to form the next Matrix. The temptation to try it right now, on the spot, was immense. It could save her life.

And it could also end it, if she betrayed her skills to the gang leader and let the hunter come after her.

The boss was cursing. She heard him very well. He was stronger, and faster, and could easily overrun her, but he was also heavier. She heard a brick falling on the pavement. Still, his reach was longer. He was still following her.

“Come on, girl!”, he yelled. “Won’t hurt ya! Someone just wants to see you!”

He knows, thought Nua, then corrected herself. No, he is probably paid extra for each detected spy, real or not.

Her arm caught the rooftop. At the same time, she felt someone touch her foot. With an effort she could not imagine before, she pulled herself up for the last time.

Then, she started running forward.

The next roof was not that far away. With sorcery, she could jump the distance with ease. Without it, there was a high risk of falling and cracking her bones, depending on whether anything could break her fall. She never had to make decisions that fast, that serious. Back in the Temple she just ran in panic, without thinking. Now she had to actively stop herself from using the Technique. She did not have to focus to channel the ether for it anymore, it was the opposite.

She held her breath, then she jumped.

At that moment Nua understood that not only ether remembered. Her body did, too. For over a week, she was repeatedly jumping from rooftop to rooftop. While she was perfecting her Technique, her muscles used the exercise as well. She did not get stronger or tougher in such a short time, but she did practice a specific movement. There were glaring differences in the distance she could jump, her posture, or the quality of landing. But it was enough to get her to the opposite side. Barely so, and scratching her knee – even like that, she managed it and that’s what counted.

She did not stop. She was quite certain that the gang leader is still following her. The next rooftop was almost connected, so there was no risk of falling. She saw someone’s laundry – this building was inhabited.

“He had trouble jumping”, she heard Anki. “But he’s still behind.”

Almost imperceptibly, she nodded. She was already looking for her next target. Her feet were hurting, and her lungs and pained back were on fire. She jumped again, once again choosing a rooftop of the building where people lived.

“Help!”, she yelled. “Help! He wants to kill me!”

“Shut up! No one wants to kill you, stupid!”

She jumped the roofs. People started emerging, first an elderly lady – somehow, they were always around, watching the neighbors – then a surprised matron that had the hardened looks of someone who had sons in the gang. That one launched into a high-pitched shriek. “Thief! Killer!”

This, finally, stopped the chase. The gang leader gave up, deciding that a bit of extra pay is not worth all the commotion, and that he should check on whatever was happening back in the junkyard. On top of it, according to Anki, a guard patrol appeared in the vicinity, and without support of the other gang members, he had to avoid them as much as she did.

Nua had to muster all her strength not to collapse and fall asleep somewhere in the streets. The day was far from over, and there was no time to spare if she wanted to warn Hala, and then… she didn’t know what to do, yet. Leave the city? How, and where to go? She could not stay. The last thing she wanted was to wait for the hunter to catch her trail and come straight to her house. She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She brought Hala trouble after all.

The Great Utu was still making sure to scorch the back of her neck when Nua finally made it home. She pulled the curtain, entering the kitchen.

Hala was sitting beside the counter, mending an embroidered dress – a commission, most probably. Hearing Nua enter, she turned. Her eyes widened, and she went pale as ash. The girl knew that after this adventure, she didn’t exactly look fresh, but Auntie has seen worse. Something was off.

“Nua.” Hala said. “Weren’t you at work today?”

“I had some trouble.” she answered, serious when it counted. “I need to tell you as soon as I can.”

“Yes.” Auntie nodded. “We need to talk.”

She swallowed.

“Temen found something behind your bedroll.”