They were ushered into the backroom and forced inside at gunpoint. A man with a sawed off shotgun stood by the door entrance, waving it around threateningly. Hailey thought he looked a bit silly. The weapon he held was anything but.

  She kept a close eye on it as it moved, but he looked a bit uneasy. Maybe he isn't totally committed to this. If she could pick out which of the men weren't on board, she'd narrow down her first target more easily.

  The men started to carry out their plan and her hopes were dashed into dust.

  "You!" the leader shouted, pointed at a random person in the crowd. A young woman, maybe only a couple years older than Hailey. She stepped forward, looking like she might burst into tears. "Forward."

  "Please don't hurt me," she begged, walking toward them slowly.

  He gestured for her to stop, which she did on a dime. He stared at her for more than a minute, the eyes in his black mask twitching slightly. With the guns trained on them and the general air of fear and confusion, it felt like an eternity.

  "Okay. You're fine." He waved at the door. "Don't try to leave."

  She didn't understand, rooted to the spot.

  "Go into the next room," he said again, his voice harsh but firm.

  "Go," Hailey hissed. She looked around, startled, and Hailey gave her a little wave forward. Just work with them, it'll go quicker.

  The young woman finally went through. The leader nodded at Hailey with approval.

  He's being friendly? Who are these guys?

  "Thank you. If you all cooperate, we'll get through this more quickly." He called forward another person, and after a moment's inspection, waved the young man through.

  What the hell is going on? Hailey looked around at the crowd, but despite the sudden cordiality of the leader, the rest of her fellow captives were still quite petrified. Alden, too, was frozen in place.

  "You!" the leader shouted again, pointing at a middle-aged man—the one Alden had identified as Harold.

  He stepped forward. The man looked at him as well, like he were being inspected. What is he doing? Hailey had a sudden inspiration, and forced her vision to shift into the view she'd been practicing, drawing energy out with a whispered spell and sending it into her brain.

  She couldn't get much, but just from the brief interaction she'd already formed a hazy and vague relationship with the leader. She could trace the line to him, and try to follow it further with a lot of effort and concentration. It was slow going, as she had to keep as still as possible so they wouldn't notice her in the back.

  One clue stood out. As the leader inspected Harold, there was a strong line drawn between him and an object in his pocket.

  The man waved Harold forward, but the line didn't go away. Harold breathed a sigh of relief, taking a step into the doorway. Hailey was confused. What are they looking for?

  As Harold stepped into the threshold, the leader raised his pistol and shot Harold through the head.

  Quite a few people screamed. Harold collapsed to the floor. Dead.

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  Hailey froze. She'd never actually heard a gunshot up close before. It was deafening, especially in the confined space of the bar's back storage room. She clapped her hands to her head involuntarily, her ears ringing.

  The men dragged Harold's lifeless body out of the way. Most of the room was staring either at the man with the gun, or the stain of blood on the floor.

  "You!" the leader shouted again, only barely audible through the after-effects of the gunshot. He pointed at the next person in line. The man stepped forward immediately, not daring to disobey. After a few minutes' inspection, he was waved through.

  They're looking for magic. They can find us.

  Hailey was only a few people away from being called. Alden was almost at the end, if the man kept following his pattern. She had to think of something, fast.

  There wasn't any time to figure out how they were doing it. Hailey focused on the guns. She had to disarm them somehow.

  The leader called another person forward, inspected them and waved them through. Hailey only had one more to go before she was called.

  Wait until they wave me forward. Only the leader can tell who's awakened. The rest of them relaxed until the gunshot. They didn't know it was coming either.

  "You!" he shouted, pointing at Hailey.

  She stepped forward, still trying to look meek and terrified. Her mind was alight with suppressed fury. Maybe the man saw it behind her eyes, maybe he didn't. Either way, he waved her forward.

  Hailey walked to the threshold. The moment his arm moved, she'd take him down. The tourmaline stone under her shirt laying against her chest thrummed with energy. She'd blow them all away, as fast as she could.

  She walked through and into the next room.

  He didn't try to shoot me?

  Hailey tried to look back into the storeroom, but one of the men on the other side of the door pushed her away. "Keep going, back into the bar. Go sit down."

  She walked forward and sat down at the nearest booth. In the distance, she could hear sirens. Finally. Making sure she was out of sight, she pulled her phone from her bag and checked the chat room.

  Ruby was on her way, with plenty of backup from the Greycloaks. No response from the Laushires. Ruby's group would have to be enough.

  How can I stall? Hailey wondered. She had to assume they could still find Alden, and that she'd only escaped by the fluke of her special status as an awakened. If they get to him, he's dead. He can't fight them, especially not now.

  More people were filtering through the doorway, one by one. Some took much longer than others. At least there weren't any more hidden in the bar. She tried to take some comfort in that, but the blood seeping across the doorway drained it away.

  "Excuse me," Hailey spoke up, standing and approaching one of the men by the door.

  "Go back to your seat, please."

  Worked on the bouncer. Go for two? Hailey batted her eyelashes at him and smiled innocently. "I forgot something in there. Is it all right if I go back and get it?" For effect, she brushed his shoulder just slightly with her hand. Maybe overdoing it… but he looks like the lonely type.

  The man looked flustered, to Hailey's satisfaction. Still got it, Hales. "Hang on a second." He poked his head through. "Hey, can you stop for a moment? This girl needs to get something she forgot."

  "What the hell?" the leader called back. "Are you an idiot?"

  "They're people, they don't deserve to be treated like scum. Just let her get her thing."

  "...Whatever. Just be fast."

  Hailey wasn't sure what she planned next, but she gave the man a grateful smile and bounded through the doorway. She made a big show of searching through the crowd. "It must have fallen out of my bag. Oh shoot," she said loudly. "Where could it be?" She made her way over to Alden, standing directly in front of him as she pointedly looked around the shelves on the wall.

  "What are you looking for?" the leader asked.

  She shot a look of disdain back at him, exaggerating her disgust. "You don't ask a girl that!"

  Alden, who'd been looking pale as snow, almost cracked a smile at her tone. Good. Relax, Alden. That's the only way we're getting out of this alive.

  "What are you doing?" he hissed, as quiet as possible.

  "Stalling," she whispered back. She might not be able to grab nine guns at once, but Ruby probably could with her magnetic spells. Anyone who wasn't immediately disarmed would get pounced by Makoto, and Hailey could clean up the stragglers. It was only a matter of time. Hailey just had to keep Alden alive long enough for help to arrive.

  She looked him straight in the eye and whispered, making sure her voice only carried to his ears by shaping the sound with magic:

  "I'm going to get you out of here. Everything's gonna be okay."