3/5/2020
Aylward:
We are packed up and on our way. Amory and I are side by side with Haven keeping up behind us. We are trying to use as many back roads as possible. The three of us used the perception spell before we left. It’s the same one we used before we found Amory, but stronger, boosted by Amory’s magic. Even with the spell, we are keeping to the shadows, taking back roads, and even going through wooded areas where we can.
Amory is quiet, too quiet for my liking. He is also hyperaware of everyone around us. Haven said Amory had a moment of panic, but now I’m wondering if he was trying to lessen the severity of the situation. Amory looks tired, worn down, and scared. I don’t like to see him like this. I want to see him confident in his abilities. My hope is that will start to show once I get him home and into training.
“I think we should stop and eat something before we get any closer to the gateway,” I hear Haven speak up from behind us. “We don’t know what we will be walking into when we get there.”
“Okay, we can start looking for a decent place to sit down and take maybe thirty minutes to eat and rest a bit.” I glance over at Amory to see if he is ok with this, but he is just staring off, stuck in his own world. I share a worried look with Haven, then we start walking again. A few minutes down the path we find a small clearing big enough for us to spread out.
“Amory,” Haven says. “You need to eat something. We still have a little while to go, you need to refill your reserves.”
“He is going to find me, Haven. He is going to grab me at the last minute before we go through the gateway. The punishment for this will be so much worse than the others,” Amory has tears in his eyes as he talks. His head is down, and he is biting on his lower lip.
“Amory, I need you to listen to me,” I say. He looks over at me with so much fear in his eyes. My heart is breaking for him and all the pain he has gone through for the last seventeen years. “I will not let him get to you. Even if it is only you and Haven that make it through that gateway, I promise you, he will not take you away from us now. I am here now, and I will protect you with my life, not just because its my job, but because I love you….so much.”
He nods at me and leans over for a hug. He lays his head on my shoulder while he takes little bites of his sandwich. Once we are done, we clean up and head back down the path toward the gateway. When we get about two miles away from the gateway, we notice more congestion at a certain area. There are too many people to go around easily. The three of them stick close together and slowly make it around the edges of the group of people. They notice a table with two guards checking everyone that comes through it. Amory looks at me with wide, worried eyes and I can see the panic slowly start building in him. Haven puts a hand on his shoulder, and I grab his hand and give it a squeeze.
We continue, around the edge of the crowd, and I pray that our perception spell holds up long enough. All of sudden everyone starts covering their ears and one of the guards run off. We look around and notice that we made it past most of the people and everyone is looking at us and that’s when I hear the faint echoing of an alarm going off.
“Oh shit……”
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