Wyn swerved out of the way to avoid yet another explosion, but the tires still strayed into the broken road. Bits of asphalt flew into the empty cavity that was once the roof, littering me with small burning rocks.
I could hear Wyn’s quick erratic breathing from where I sat, and I could hear her whispers as she spoke to the empty air around her. She spoke to Talon; she moaned his named as tears streaked down her face. She was trying to be brave, but her heart betrayed her. She knew there was no hope; she knew we were going to die.
Part of me knew she was right, and sadly, I was okay with it. I wanted to see my mother again; I wanted to apologize. As much as my heart ached and screamed for my mother though, a much bigger part knew I could not leave Ryland. I needed him, just as much as he needed me.
Ilyan sent another round of ammunition flying past in a steady stream of large rocks, small cars, and everyday mundane objects. Ilyan had grabbed everything he could with his mind and launched it away from us like weapons.
He lifted his hands again as a large, brilliantly-red, ball grew from his hands, shooting away from his palms like a bullet and pushing him back inside the car. The sound of the explosion rolled through me, the power loud and angry. My body called out in pain; my voice moaning and gasping with each movement. I remembered what Ilyan had told me; we had to escape alive and not in comfort. He had also said there were too many for him to fight alone. I looked to his crumpled form in the passenger seat, my heart sinking.
His face no longer held the joy, the solid determination, that it had held a moment before. Ilyan’s face was screwed up with panic, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. Wyn swerved blindly to the side in an attempt to escape another explosion, the front of the car nicking another of the escaping vehicles.
“Take Joclyn and run, Wyn. Get back to Talon. I will hold them off as long as I can.” Ilyan gripped Wyn roughly, his voice a panicked command that made my stomach flip.
“You’ll never make it out! I can’t… can’t let you.”
I could tell how much it cost Wyn to say the words, to actually be willing to not make it back to Talon.
“Don’t worry about me; I can do a lot more when I don’t have to worry about keeping others safe.”
I twisted myself in the seat, my body screaming out in agony as I moved. Behind our speeding Mazda, a line of black SUVs followed, each one large and foreboding. Their gauntlet herded everyone down the highway, moving us into certain death. In the center of the line, speeding in front of all the others, was a bright yellow Lotus.
My heart stopped beating, my breath caught, and I felt the tears of panic splash down my face out of nowhere.
“Ryland.” Had I meant to say it out loud, or simply speak to him in my mind? My voice caught in my throat, but the reply was right in my ear.
“Run, Joclyn. Stay with Ilyan.” Ryland’s voice was a whisper, but clear as day. I whipped my head to the side, devastation filling me to see nothing but the gray bag. I looked back to the Lotus, desperately searching for his dark curls.
“Ryland.” I lifted my hand and placed it on the glass of the back window. The firm, smooth surface of the glass was hot under my touch. It felt like the burn of the necklace that still pressed against my skin.
I focused on the warmth, on the heat, the image of his face floating into my line of sight. The warmth grew, both in the necklace and in my hand. It moved into me, the heat seeping into every part of my soul. I pressed my hand harder into the glass in my desperation to see Ryland. At the increased touch, the glass shattered under my hand.
A million pieces scattered across the trunk of the car, over the road. I didn’t have time to look at it; I couldn’t be surprised. Only a moment after the glass shattered, the road behind us shifted. I screamed as the asphalt heaved itself into a giant pile, the earth moving to lift it upwards toward the sky, into a mound. The cars began to move up the increasing mountain for only a moment before they were hidden behind the large pile of asphalt, stones and earth that spanned the freeway.
I spun around, my body aching, to face Ilyan. I expected to see him standing with his hands extending out, but instead, he remained inside the car where he had fallen, his eyes wide and staring.
“Drive, Wyn.” His voice was calm and awed.
I flipped my head back to the mound of earth and back to Ilyan, wincing at the pained movements.
“What happened, Ilyan?” I asked quietly.
He just looked at me. The answer was clear on his face—he didn’t know.
I turned my body around, looking toward the distancing earth pile. Behind that pile, somewhere, was Ryland. I lifted my hand to my necklace, the warmth receding. The heartbeat of scorching heat left it, leaving only a slow throbbing. I held it tightly again, still staring back out the window.
“Did I do that?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure?” I rounded on him; how could he not know? I stared into him in a panic, my throat burning, my body aching.
“I will know soon, Siln?.”