We ran into one cat before we reached the border.

Mei killed it without stopping. One slice of her dagger was all it was to put it down.

We didn’t stop running until we reached the border. I flashed the coin at the border guards and they waved us through.

This zone was mountains. Mei guided us to a cave off the path. She touched her gold rune and her arm started glowing.

We walked into the cave, the light of her arm illuminating our path. We walked until the cave forked. We went on the right path.

Mei stopped just passed the split. She touched one of her purple runes and traced the opening with her hand. Once she let go of the rune the opening vanished behind a rock wall.

“What did you do?” I asked

“Illusion spell.” She knelt down and took a rock out. She rubbed it between her hands until it started glowing.

“What are you doing?”

Mei shrugged off her cloak. "I just used almost all of my magic.” She showed me her arms. There were seven runes left. “I have to reapply it.”

I sat down next to her. "Should I get some?”

The sound of her teeth grinding escaped her clenched jaw.

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“For emergencies?” I said

“Spell books are coded to an individual person.” She bounced her book in her hand. "It wouldn’t work even if I thought you could handle it.”

I wanted to be insulted, but Mei was exhausted. She had been casting spells for almost eight years. If it took that much out of her, then it would do worse to me.

“What do you need me to do?”

Mei opened her book in front of her. "Sit over there and be quiet.”

I moved away from her and sat down. I took the last of the cherries out of my bag. They were bruised, but I was hungry, so they tasted great.

Mei tossed me a bottle of water. "Get out your map and look for Michael.”

I took a long drink from the bottle. The water was just as good as it had been earlier. I wondered where she got it. I hadn’t seen her fill any containers all day. I supposed it was possible that she carried a lot of water on her. Her backpack was very full; there could be almost anything in it.

I spread the map out in front of me. Just like Mei had said, our three names were listed on it. I breathed out a sigh of relief, Michael was out of Trumpit. It looked like he had almost made it to the border.

“Michael’s on his way!” I announced.

“Shhh!” Mei said in a harsh whisper. "That spell doesn’t block sounds.”

“Oh.” I looked back at the map. There was nothing else for me to do.

I watched Michael walk towards the border. I knew he was walking because of how slowly his name was moving. He had reached the border, but he wasn’t crossing over.

“Did Michael have a coin?”

Mei sighed. "Yes, he got his coin a long time ago.”

There was something else she knew about that, but I didn’t think it was the right time to press her.

I got to my feet. "I’m going to take a walk.”

Mei waved me out.

I took the map and left the cave. I had a bad feeling and I wanted to check it out with my own eyes.