And then Cass will whisk them away, and JJ will officially be branded a traitor.
Just like Sawyer and Naomi.
JJ forces the thought away. That’s a problem for later. For now, he tries to fall back on his training: making sure every footfall is fast and steady, keeping his breathing deep and even, checking around every corner and intersection?—
What about behind you?JJ tries to glance over his shoulder, almost stumbles when the motion pitches him off-balance, and focuses his eyes forward again. “Are we being followed?”
Cass’s head snaps around. His jaw tightens. “Yep.”
“How many?”
“Three strike teams,” Cass says, the words clipped with trepidation. “Where are the other two?”
All at once, the hairs on the back of JJ’s neck shiver upright. Based on past experience, that could be a latent instinct firing, a tracking spell settling into place?—
Or a magic strike charging. “Bank right!” he yells, skidding around a corner and yanking Cass along with him. Moments after they clear the intersection, a blast of offensive magic shrieks down the street where they would’ve been, fast and lethal.
“Good call, Jackson!” Cass jerks JJ to the left this time, snapping his fingers in another unsuccessful test of the anti-rifting zone. “The Courtyard should be out of range. We just have to get there, and we’ll be home free.”
JJ’s stomach roils. There are a lot of civilians in the Courtyard, a lot of soft targets?—
A lot of potential casualties.
Especially because the strike force hasn’t been shy about indiscriminate magic offensives. Right on cue, JJ sees a blur of motion in his peripheral vision. “Cass, on your?—!”
He’s not even halfway through the shouted warning before Cass throws out his arm. Another blast of purple-gold tears down the road, forcing the oncoming strike team to scatter. “Not my first rodeo, JJ,” he says, shooting JJ a savage smile, andthis?—
This feels good. This feelsright.Fighting side by side with Cass feels just as seamless as his years of working with Strike Team Kappa, their instincts and fighting styles blending together in a flawless dance, their strengths and weaknesses perfectly balanced?—
If JJ weren’t so worried about protecting Desi, he would probably be enjoying this.
The thought has barely flashed through his mind when he hears the sharpcrack!of a combat whip behind him. Before he can jump out of the way, cold metal bites into place around his shins, coiling tightly and jerking him backward. He pitches towards the asphalt with a gasp, twisting sharply to fall on his shoulder instead of on top of Desi.
“JJ?” Desi squirms out of his arms, shaking his shoulder. “JJ!”
“JJ!”Footsteps stumble against the pavement as Cass doubles back for him, dropping into a crouch to yank at the thin metal cord around JJ’s ankles. A split second too late, JJ lunges forward to bat him away, but Cass is already snatching his hands back with a curse.
Bile rises in JJ’s throat at the angry welts on Cass’s fingers. Corrosion-imbued weapons. “I’ve got this,” JJ stammers, wrestling at the tight band himself. “Just—just take Desi and run. Take Desi and?—”
“Don’t be amoron,Jackson,” Cass snarls, pulling the silently crying Desi into his arms. “We’re getting out of here together. We’re getting out of here—” His hand flies out again, palm facing away, and another blast of magic rages down the street.“—together!”
Suddenly, JJ feels a shimmer in the air. His heart leaps. “Is that?—?”
Cass settles Desi on his hip and stands up, a wolfish grin spreading across his face. “Looks like I hit their spellcaster,” he says, and he snaps his fingers. Instantly, the beautiful purple-gold of a rift billows to life, and Cass takes a quick half-step through it, extending his free hand towards JJ. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
JJ finally wrenches the cord off his ankles and scrambles to his feet, lurching forward. Cass stretches out his fingers, JJ reaches back for him?—
And JJ may not have been born into the Sanctum, but he’s been a hunter for twelve years. He knows all of their strategies, all of their tactics.
All of their tricks. He snatches his hand back, heart pounding. “They can track me.”
“Of course—” Impatiently, Cass reaches out again. “Of course they can track you. That’s what anti-tracking spells are for. JJ?—”
JJ stumbles backward. Away from the rift, away from Cass and Desi. Cass’s eyes widen.“Soul tracking,Cass,” JJ says desperately. “Sanctum enchantments, remember? Anti-tracking spells won’t work. I don’t think they suspected me before, so your house and safe house should still be safe, but you need to go—you need to?—”
“Not without you,”Cass hisses. “Ez can break your enchantments, okay? She can deactivate them. Just—just come with me, JJ, and?—”
“She can break them today?” JJ’s heart feels like it’s crumpling. “In the next hour?”
