But during a fight, arealfight, the only goal is to get out alive. Most of them last less than thirty seconds, and most of them end with one opponent beaten bloody on the ground—or worse.
And JJ can’t afford to lose this fight. He bursts in again and swings his escrima stick, aiming for Roma’s wrist. She jerks away before he can blink, shooting towards his dead side with a slash to his shoulder that draws blood. Gasping at the sudden sting, he snaps his escrima back around, going for her temple this time.
It meets the handle of her ax with the sharpcrack!of wood on wood. She twists her wrist sharply, catching his stick just under the butt of her ax and trying to wrench it out of his hand.
JJ barely manages to keep his grip as he jumps away, his mind racing. He has more range with his escrima, but Roma has the business end of a blade and all the enhanced abilities of the Sanctum on her side. And she isn’t even going full power, isn’t even tapping into her spellcasting or her more lethal strikes. Either she’s holding back because of sentimentality, or?—
Or the Sanctum ordered her to bring JJ in alive.
Don’t think about that. Just get away from Roma and get back to Cass.
Another slice from Roma’s ax that breaks skin. JJ stumbles back with a hiss of pain, fumbling his escrima as blood makes his grip slippery. He only has enough time for a quick, gasping breath before she’s on him again, pressing in harder now that he’s fatigued, forcing him back to corner him against a building?—
Without warning, JJ hears the familiar sound of a rift crackling open behind him. Before he can react, Roma is suddenly blasted ten feet away, her ax flying out of her hand as she hits the pavement with a yelp.
JJ whirls around to see Ez and Obie stepping out of the rift, Obie holding Desi on his hip. Relief and confusion flood through him. “Guys, what?—?”
Immediately, Ez puts herself in front of Obie and Desi, her hands raised and glowing with power. “JJ,” she says curtly, her eyes locked on Roma. “Is this one a friend or an enemy now?”
JJ looks over at Roma, at her wide eyes and bloodless face and heartbroken expression?—
He looks away. “Enemy,” he says flatly.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Ez says, and she lights up a fireball in her palm.
Roma is back on her feet in a flash, taking off at a sprint. Ez’s strike just barely misses her as she swerves around the first corner and disappears from sight, leaving her ax behind.
“What are—?” JJ sucks in a ragged breath, his heart still trying to beat its way out of his chest. “Thanks for saving my life and all, but—but what are you guys doing back here?”
“Someone breached my spell work at the safe house,” Ez says, her gaze still sweeping around. “And there’s an anti-rifting zone set up around it.”
JJ’s stomach drops.“What?”
Obie’s eyes narrow. “Where’s Cass, JJ? We thought he’d be with you.”
“He’s—” The roaring is back in JJ’s ears. “He’s back at the house. Roma said that Bryant wanted to defect, so we were going to meet her, but it was a trick, and she sent his address to the Sanctum, and?—”
Ez’s eyes widen. “That’s the kind of thing youleadwith, lackey!” she snarls, advancing on him. “What happened? Did Gutierrez sabotage my spells to get inside? When?—?”
“Ez.”Obie’s quiet voice cuts through her questions, and she turns her glare on him. “Breathe.”
“Cass is indanger,Obie!” she hisses. “Cass is in danger, and?—”
“And we willdealwith that, Ez.” Unceremoniously, Obie deposits Desi in JJ’s arms. She buries her face in his neck, clearly sensing the tension around her even if she doesn’t quite understand it, and JJ pulls her close, tucking his chin over her hair and hugging her tightly. “How long ago did you leave Cass’s house, Jackson?”
“I—” JJ resists the urge to shrink back under Obie’s bottomless eyes. “I don’t know. Where’s my phone? Roma and I left around one, but I don’t know what time it is now, and?—”
Obie snaps his gloved fingers before JJ can finish. Instantly, both JJ’s cell phone and Roma’s ax fly into his hands. “It’s 1:14,” Obie says, tapping into JJ’s phone as he drops the ax into a pocket dimension, “and you have a missed call from Cass from two minutes ago.”
JJ’s heart leaps. “So he’s okay? So he’s?—?”
Ez snatches the phone out of Obie’s hand. “If he picks up, I am going to besopissed at him for ignoring my call earlier,” she says, and she jabs the redial button.
JJ holds his breath, his eyes locked on the screen. As long as they can warn Cass, he’ll be able to escape before the Sanctum arrives, and they can all rendezvous in a more secure location. Once they’re safe, JJ can apologize for putting him in danger, and everything will be okay.
Everything will be okay, and?—
The call connects.“The person you are trying to reach is not available. Please?—”
