“Oh.”
The quiet exclamation was filled with more emotion than Alana had ever heard Talia use in a whole sentence, let alone a single syllable. Alana understood the sentiment. If she weren’t completely focused on the mission, on saving her sister’s life, then she might also pause to admire the sheer scale of destruction her lover was unleashing. All she could do was engrave the image of a looming hill of twilight decimating centuries of efforts in a matter of minutes in her memory to think on later. Whether she’d be impressed or horrified remained to be seen.
While Lou’s rampage seemed random, it had been planned extensively. Her route took her close to the places where Talia and Yulia were being kept, the goal to cause maximum disruption before Alana attempted a rescue. That meant they traveled in Lou’s wake as they moved toward Yulia’s location.
Alana was prepared to face resistance, but she overestimated the hunters’ mettle. She expected the men and women with the gumption to challenge the north to, at the very, rival Victory’s spirit, but they didn’t have the heart to face inevitable death. There was still an organized resistance attempting to slow Lou, flinging ineffectual spells and hacking at her lower half, but most of the people on the street, hunters and civilians alike, were running for their lives. Or, as close as they could come to running.
With the majority coughing up their lungs, the sickness made worse by the dust and debris in the air, the best they could manage was a quick shuffle. Worse if they were weighed down by heavy armor or worldly possessions.
It was a pitiful sight. Disdainful. She hated watching them, knowing each one would weigh on Lou’s conscience. She wasn’t entirely without compassion for them, knowing intimately how frustrating it was to be weak and believe you would always be weak, but she had no respect for their privilege.
It was an undignified existence but the weak existed on the whims of the strong. When she labored through servant work as a girl, she accepted that simple fact as life. Those who could not fight, served. Those who didn’t fight well followed orders. It was the natural order of things.
The weak got out of the way. Otherwise, they got trampled by titans. That’s what the hunters should have done. They should have gotten out of the way. But because they hadn’t, because they thought they were the saints’ gift to the world and nothing could touch them, they hadn’t. That meant she’d have to comfort her titan later, as the other members of her clan weren’t up to the task. It didn’t sit right with her, Lou doing everything she could for everyone else and still ending up hurt. Something else she pushed down to be dealt with at a better time.
There was one thing she did know. Things were going to change. If Lou didn’t have the heart to handle these kinds of situations, that was fine. Alana loved her generous and slightly naive heart. It was just another battle she’d fight for her. But never again did she want to be in a situation where they had to choose which loved ones to save.
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“Oh?”
“What is it?” Alana asked as they ducked into an alley and easily scaled the wall.
“Yulia isn’t in the building where she was being held.”
“Speed up.”
They had been traveling at a casual pace, as it was a poor strategy to arrive tired to a conflict, but at her order, they sprinted. She panted with effort as the buildings, becoming more rubble by the moment, blurred past. She ran like lives depended on it because they did. Her ignorant, annoying, caught-up-in-her-own-world, sister who she still loved no matter how much she hated her.
“She’s not alone.”
Whoever was with her would die.
“There are three moving with her, but they do not seem to be captors or enemies. They’re more afraid than she is.”
That eased Alana’s worries somewhat, but she didn’t slow her pace. She noted that they were moving away from Lou, heading north toward the Myriad Zone. Lou had plotted her route to avoid it, not wanting to antagonize the Hall that had a significant presence in the strange corner of the city. Whoever was plotting their escape route was using their head. She doubted Yulia would have such clarity of thought in an emergency. It spoke well of her chosen allies.
“The next street over.”
They rounded a corner and saw a group of four further down the road. Alana couldn’t make out anything about them as they were covered by cloaks, but Geneva wouldn’t make a mistake about something like this. “Yulia!”
At her shout, one of the figures stopped. A second tried to grab their arm but the first pulled away, dropping their hood. Relief mixed with elation surged in Alana’s chest as she saw her sister’s face, healthy aside from a few dark circles and full of surprise. The others noticed her reaction and stopped but Alana could tell they were tense as she came to a stop in front of them.
“Allie!” Alana didn’t resist as Yulia threw her arms around her neck, feeling the way her sister relaxed into the embrace. “You—"
“We were coming to get you.”
“Beat you to my own rescue then, huh?” She pulled back and smiled but the expression dimmed when she looked over Alana’s shoulder and spotted Talia. The conclusion was obvious. A worm of guilt tried to burrow into Alana’s heart, but she stomped it viciously. One of them had to be saved first. She had her reasons and it all worked out for the best. She wouldn’t blame Yulia for her feelings, whatever they were, but feeling guilty was a waste of time. She didn’t deserve it.
“Come on. We need to get moving.”
“Where?” one of the cloaked strangers asked.
They flinched when Alana frowned at them. “Who said you’re invited?”
“Wait! They helped me in return for me helping them.”
The two sisters stared at each other until Alana relented. A promise was important. Beyond that, she could practically smell the fear coming off them. If there was something wrong, Geneva and Talia would have spoken. Their silence meant the three presumed hunters weren’t threats. “Fine. Then we’re going the same way you were. North. The Myriad Zone will be safe.”
“Why not go straight to the Hall?” one of the hunters asked while another exclaimed, “I’ve got to find my family!”
“The Hall has a camp outside the city. Anybody with any sense or luck is there. Your best bet is to go out of the western gate and circle around, that’s if the guard hasn’t closed it down. Don’t go through the city. As for why we’re not going to the Hall, it’s because they’re not our allies and they don’t want anything to do with this mess. We go to the Zone, find a bar, and sit tight until we get the all clear.”
“But—"
“And if you don’t like the plan, you can make your own,” she snapped. Alana grabbed Yulia by the arm and marched her forward, tugging her until her sister got the message and started to move on her own. Geneva and Talia were right behind them and soon the hunters followed suit.