I sniffed a few times, blinking rapidly.
“How did you know?” I whispered hoarsely. “That I was marked.”
There was no point denying it now.
“We were in the prison, investigating the breakout,” the man on my right arm answered. “Your energy called to us and we knew there was an active marked in there. For your energy to blast through as it did, you were not in the special marked area with its securities. We set up these secret rooms in all of the prisons, we know the five elements which limit the power of the marked and we thread them through each of the prisons worldwide.” His gray eyes flashed down at me. “Since you weren’t in the secret room, then you were in the main prison. After that it wasn’t hard to figure out who you were. Other than the male, you were the only one to leave the prison, and he is dragon, they are never marked.”
“Can you trace the marked energy from anywhere? Will you be able to find all the ones who were freed?”
The same four answered me again. “No, we must be in close proximity, although there is a bit of a pull for the stronger ones. Generally, supernaturals contact us and report a marked. Then we go to that area and it is pretty easy to find them after that.”
So if I actually had run, they might never have been able to find me. I bit my cheek hard enough that I tasted blood. “What did you do to the Compasses?”
“Nothing,” he said. And that was all I got from them.
We reached the edge of Stratford. I could see the shimmery dome which prevented the outside world from just walking into our town. Of course a human couldn’t see these protections, but they still worked on keeping them out. This dome was supposed to keep me safe … but, in the end, nothing had kept me safe. The man holding my left leg halted, he reached out with a hand to touch the barrier. About an inch from connecting, he stopped … or froze. What the hell? My eyes flicked up between all of them. None of them were moving.
What was going on? Had the barrier done something to them?
I started to wiggle, to see if I could free myself. Sure enough, as I started to move and squirm I managed to wrench my left leg free, followed by my arm on the opposite side. Then with a huge intake of breath, I closed my eyes and jerked the remaining arm and leg clear.
I hit the ground hard, jarring up my body and into my brain. But I didn’t stop for a second, I had to get away before whatever halted the Four lifted.
Just as I was springing forward, my arms pumping ready to sprint, a familiar figure stepped into view. I ground to a halt before throwing myself into his arms. “Louis,” I gasped. “You saved me.”
I should have known. Only a sorcerer as powerful as he could have done this.
He hugged me back hard, before pulling away to stare down at me. “Listen to me, Jessa, I can only hold them for a short time. They’re joined and they’re very powerful.” There was strain on his face. “You need to run. Go now, out of the dome and into the car I have waiting for you at the end of the road. Do not hesitate. Get to the private supernatural airport and onto the plane that’s waiting there ready to take off. The Four will come after you. This is our one chance to get you to a safe place. Wait for me there and I will come once I make sure your family is protected.”
“I’m going to have to run forever?” I cried.
He shook his head. “No, we will make you safe, we will find a way. But for now there is no time. If they take you, they will be able to hide you from me. Instead, I beat them at that game and I will hide you from them.”
He shoved a bag into my hands, a heavy knapsack.
“Go now, Jessa. I have learned much this night, but there is no more time.” He pretty much picked me up then and tossed me through the portal.
I closed my eyes, bracing for whatever protections to attack me. But there was nothing, just a weird sucking sensation, then with a diving roll on the ground, I was on the other side. I was in the human world.
Holy shitballs.
I took off along the long, winding, dirt road, nothing on either side but trees and fields. I didn’t slow until the black Range Rover came into view, just sitting there in the center of the dirt path as if Louis had dropped it out of the sky. Skidding to the side, I wrenched open the driver’s door and without hesitation jumped into the black leather seat. I didn’t take any time to remove the bag; it clanked to my side as I hit the button to start the powerful machine. I knew there would be keys inside somewhere, and sure enough, at the touch of my fingertips the V8 engine roared to life.