El eyed the wide river, then the plumes of black smoke rising above the thick walls of the fort town on the island across the way. With the wind blowing away from them, she couldn’t smell much, but didn’t need to to know that smoke wasn’t normal.

  “Hope that’s not the fort you were planning to hole up in until the boat arrived,” El said to Tas, the man standing grim beside her.

  He shook his head. “No, but I knew some of the men and women stationed there.”

  “I’m sorry,” El said, tsking at herself for making light of the situation.

  “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not, but I get where you’re coming from,” Tas said, eyes dropping back down to the rushing river. Then he took a step back, and another.

  El almost ignited her swords, but Tas hadn’t drawn his guns, and she instead took two steps back to join him. “Seawyrms?”

  “Has to be. No reason for the army to attack this fort like that. It’s the only protection for the nearby farms, and with the lava-slates so close, they wouldn’t risk it,” Tas explained.

  “Farms?” Laze asked. “I haven’t seen anything but stone. What do you grow? And where?”

  Tas took one last look at the fort—and whatever had to be burning inside—then backed further away from the water and waved them over. “This has always been a… harsh land. Despite how many islands we have, few of them have arable soil. Then the storm came and buried everything in snow. Luckily, I guess, we’d already found a solution to the problem of crops.

  “Mushrooms,” another voice said, a woman dressed like Tas coming over to join them. Tas’s second in command—his bulldog, as the other soldiers called her—Macer. Like Tas, she had a pistol on each thigh, but also carried a rifle, with it casually thrown back on her shoulder at the moment. “Lots and lots of mushrooms. So many of them, for every meal, that you start to wonder if you’re going to look like a mushroom from how many of them you eat.”

  “It’s not that bad,” Tas said.

  “Have you looked at Buck’s head recently? Shaped like a mushroom,” Macer said.

  “That’s because his dad…”

  “Fed him nothing but mushrooms for twenty years,” Macer interrupted.

  “So,” El interrupted. “Mushrooms. Where?”

  “Caves stretching under some of the islands,” Tas said. “Different caves produce different kinds, along with some mosses and other plants. They’re not as versatile as something like wheat, but they’re nutritious, and way better than starving.”

  “They’re not bad with butter,” Macer admitted.

  “You don’t have wheat, but you have butter?” Nidina asked.

  “Mushroom butter.”

  “… ew.”

  “And this town protected some of those?” Laze asked, pointing back across the water.

  “This end of the main set of tunnels, yes,” Tas said. “This island and the next five are all riddled with the underground farms. The rivers after this one aren’t nearly as deep as here. After we pass the other end of the tunnel, we’ll just be two islands away from the coast.”

  “Shouldn’t be too bad,” Nidina said. “This island doesn’t look so big.”

  El nodded at her wingmate. She could see both ends of the island, though the river was uncomfortably wide and fast. At least there looked to be a bridge about half a mile to their right. These people are in no shape to swim, and while we could ferry people across, it wouldn’t be fast.

  Tas shook his head, though. “The next few islands are shaped like knives. Narrow, but long. We’re still… what, twenty miles from the coast?” He looked at Macer.

  “Twenty-three,” she said.

  El’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the bridge again. “We’re going to have to follow the road, aren’t we?”

  “Afraid so,” Tas said. “Or at least stick pretty close to it.”

  El looked distantly to her left. There was another island over there, but the water between them and it was wide. Burning near a mile wide. And no bridges in that direction.

  “Risky if the army responds to this smoke,” Dayne said.

  “No other choice. On the bright side, no monkeys on the next few islands,” Tas said.

  “Bears?” Nidina asked.

  “Always the risk of those,” Tas said, then looked again at the smoke coming from the fort. “And they have very good noses…”

  “They’re going to smell that. Burn it,” El said. “The smoke is blowing in the direction we’re going, which means any bears that way are going to be coming straight at us.”

  “We should get a move on, then,” Nidina said.

  “Actually,” Laze interrupted, turning to look back at the refugees sitting on ground nearby. “Let’s give everybody a few minutes to rest first. They’ve been running since we spotted the monkeys. If we encounter one or more of those bears like this…”

  She didn’t need to finish her sentence for everybody to picture it in their minds.

  “Fifteen minutes,” El said. “We probably can’t even wait that long, but you’re right.”

  “Should we scout in the meantime?” Dayne asked. “One of us could go check on the fort. See if there are any survivors.”

  “As much as I appreciate your eyes in the sky,” Tas said. “With the smoke that visible, somebody will see it soon and send scouts to check it out. If there are any survivors, they’ll get the help they need from people far more equipped for it than us. If you’re zipping around up there, just as likely you’ll get spotted too.”

  “All the more reason we should be moving,” Nidina said, but her face softened when she looked at how exhausted the refugees were. “At least let me and Dayne go scout the bridge, and maybe a mile or so in each direction. Don’t worry, we’ll stay on the ground, but we should make sure we aren’t going to stumble on an army patrol when we move to cross.”

  “It’s a good idea,” Laze said, but looked to El.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Do it,” El said. “Stay in touch with your communicators. Use your wings, but try to stay on the ground and otherwise not to do anything that stands out.”

  “Hold up,” Tas said. “You mentioned communicators? Magic connected to your Spark?”

  El looked at the man a little sideways. “Yes…?”

  He shook his head. “Good chance they won’t work once you cross the river. After… well, the last time you folks came by, we developed our own communication system with the primary goal of disrupting yours. Can’t say we’ve ever had the chance to test it, but each fort has a tower designed to block your communication.”

  “But we’re fine here?” El said.

  “Uh… national secrets and all, but let’s just say water blocks the blockage and leave it at that?” Tas said with a shrug.

  “Whatever,” El said, shaking her head. “Try to use your communicators. If you can’t, and you find something, report back as soon as you can.”

  “Roger,” Nidina said. Punching Dayne gently in the shoulder, she waved for him to follow, and the two jogged down the sandy coast towards the bridge.

  After watching the two Firestorm head for the bridge for a minute, El turned her attention back to Tas. “You must’ve been planning to take this bridge the whole time. How were you expecting to deal with any scouts you came across?”

  Tas chinned in the direction of the fort town. “They are—were—neutral in what’s going on with the army right now. They didn’t support the desertions, but they also didn’t turn in any they came across. Didn’t make them very popular with the bigger cities, but the stance actually reduced the number of deserters around here. More trust, I guess.”

  “Were you going to stop in?” Laze asked.

  “Not unless we absolutely had to. While they wouldn’t come hunting us, I also didn’t want to put them in a tough spot if there were people from the capital visiting. And I sure didn’t expect… that,” Tas said, chinning again to the smoke spewing into the sky.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stop in? Or send a few of your men to check? Even if you don’t find… survivors, there could be supplies you need,” El suggested. “Food. Bandages. Bullets.”

  Tas glanced down to the guns on his thighs as if considering it again, but shook his head. “No. Fort Spear—where we’re going if the ship isn’t at the dock—will have everything we need. And, we should be there by tomorrow at the latest. We can make it one more day with what we’ve got.”

  El nodded. “Probably the safest anyway.”

  “Since we’ve got fifteen minutes, I’m going to check in on my people,” Tas said. “Macer, make sure everybody gets a drink before we get moving again, but not too much—there might be more running in our near future.”

  “Will do,” the woman said with the familiar salute. The rifle stayed casually propped on her shoulder as she turned and marched back to coax people off their backs and closer to the river.

  “It’s fresh water?” Laze asked El quietly, looking at the river.

  “Must be. Guess that makes sense if it’s flowing to the sea, though.” El spotted a conveniently flat rock nearby and sat down, just a few feet from the moving water. “We should rest while we can as well.”

  Sitting down beside her, Laze bumped shoulders with her. “How’re you doing?” she asked quietly.

  “Ah, fine, I guess,” El said. “This was supposed to be straightforward—return the Ember and go home. But, now this? I feel like I’m in over my head. General Cannon really should’ve sent the Boomers. Or Faled, he would’ve been better at this.”

  “The Boomers are… very good at blowing things up,” Laze said. “Which, admittedly, would’ve been pretty handy with those bears. But, do you think they would’ve helped these people like we are? Maybe they would’ve saved them from the bears, but then from there? Maybe you missed the part where they’re very about the mission.”

  “You think they would’ve gone straight to returning the Ember?” El asked.

  “Even if they had to explode their way into Fort Prominary to do it,” Laze said.

  “Explode their way in?” El asked, raising an eyebrow at her best friend. “Never quite heard it used that way before…”

  “It’s accurate, isn’t it?”

  El elbowed Laze gently in the ribs, but then shrugged and nodded. “Very accurate.”

  “Anyway, what would’ve happened to all these people without us? Do you think they would’ve made it past the monkeys? Or those bramble-devils?” Laze asked. “No, not even counting the fact you’re the only one who can bring us through the In-Between, you were the right choice for this.”

  “Thanks, Laze. I needed to hear that,” El said. “Couldn’t do it without you and the others, though. You really do have a knack for seeing the flow of fights.”

  “Do you think so? I… was worried you’d think I was a coward, hiding up above while you, Dayne, and Nidina did all the dangerous stuff,” Laze said quietly.

  El slowly turned her head and looked—really looked—at her friend. “What? I’d never think that about you.”

  “Why wouldn’t you? I’m always looking for reasons not to fight. Maybe… maybe I can’t ignite my wings as fast as you all because I’m afraid of what’ll happen in battle. I’ve practiced just as much as you, but it still takes so long. I’ve thought and thought and thought, and this is the only thing I can come up with…” Laze trailed off. “I must be afraid.”

  “So?” El asked.

  “So? What do you mean, so? Look, no, sorry, I shouldn’t have… just forget I said anything, okay?” Laze said.

  “Do you look up to Nexin?” El asked after a few seconds of silence.

  Now it was Laze’s turn to raise an eyebrow at El. “You know I do,” she said. “He’s… amazing. Everything I want mixed up with everything I wish I could be. Except a man, I don’t really want to be one of those… unless… do you think Nexin likes men?”

  “Going a little off-topic there, Laze,” El said flatly. “Anyway, I look up to him a lot too. Why wouldn’t I? When it comes to the Firestorm, there aren’t many—if any—stronger than him. But, you know what a very wise person once told me? She told me Nexin isn’t perfect. Neither am I. Same with Nidina and Dayne.

  “So, I’m going to give you the same advice she gave me when I needed to hear it. Don’t try to be Nexin. Don’t try to be me. Just be you. That’s enough. Actually, that’s not true. It’s more than enough. Laze, the reason we work so well as a wing is because we bring different strengths to the table.

  “Dayne is our consistency. He keeps us stable when we need it. He doesn’t rush ahead or hold us back. He’s just there when we need him. Every time. Nidina is our healthy pessimism. She asks the difficult questions other people are too afraid to ask, but she isn’t so stubborn to think her questions mean she’s right. Me? I’m the one who makes decisions. For better or worse, when I have to, I’ll make a choice. It’s not always the right one, but it’s a decision.”

  “And… me?” Laze asked, her voice quiet.

  “You’ve always been our moral compass. You said it was me who made the choice to help these people behind us, but that’s not the whole truth. It’s because you’re part of this wing reminding us—showing us—what’s right.

  “But all this wishy-washy nonsense aside…”

  “Nonsense?” Laze whispered. “You’re the one saying it!”

  “You’ve shown us another side of you recently.” El ignored her friend’s words. “And not just since we came to Pili. You were the one who figured out the Church was controlling us through our Sparks. You’re… you’re the one who saved Pycrin by convincing the Firestorm on the frontlines with Guld to come back to Balacin and stop the Church,” El said.

  “I didn’t save Pycrin, El, you did that when you threw the blue Ember into the Pyre,” Laze said.

  “Which I never would’ve been able to do with all those Pyre-forged-mutations focused on me. If you didn’t bring the cavalry, we would’ve lost. Plain and simple. Laze, give yourself more credit. It doesn’t matter if it takes you an extra second to ignite your wings—keep practicing, you’ll get there if you want to—you have so many more strengths than that.

  “I’m thrilled you’re good at coordinating groups like a general—because I’m not. Give me a small, surgical squad, like us, and I’m your woman. Getting this group of civvies to a ship in one piece? Nope, not my wheelhouse. I need you. We need you, to do this.”

  “Really?” Laze asked.

  “Really,” El said, patting her friend’s knee. “Oh, and I left your most important accomplishment off that list a minute ago. You saved Nexin when the Pycrin golem dropped him. I wasn’t fast enough, but you were.”

  “I did save him, didn’t I?” Laze asked, a little wistfully.

  “You did,” El said, but a line of orange across the bridge beyond Laze caught her attention. Orange? Flame. Correction, flaming wings. “What the Blaze?” El stood up, Laze catching on quickly to stand beside her.

  Dayne zipped across the bridge, trailing flames behind him to reach their side, then cut hard and powered low down the coast. Not a second behind him, Nidina rounded the corner from the other direction, and both landed in front of El, their wings vanishing.

  “How bad is it?” she asked them. They would’ve have used their clearly visible wings if it wasn’t an emergency.

  “Climbed that cliff there,” Dayne said, pointing at a large rockface on the next island. “Spotted what has to be an army patrol about two miles further down the road.”

  “How many?” El asked.

  “Easily a hundred. Definitely not civilians like this group. Heavily armed and armored,” Dayne explained.

  “Burn it,” El cursed and turned to the other Firestorm scout. “Nidina?”

  “Hate to say it, but the same thing, coming from the other direction,” Nidina reported.

  “You’re telling me we’re caught between two army patrols?” El asked.

  Dayne and Nidina looked at each other, then nodded.