Xyron looked back. Across the kitchen window, he saw movement, shadows crossing the walls. He heard someone heavy slam into the closed door, then a crack as the latch broke. He almost stumbled, but Aolyne’s grip kept him steady. Kai caught up; his face was sweaty and eyes filled with adrenaline, but he stayed silent. His mouth moved as if he was chewing on a thought, but all that came out was a strange low moan.

“Do you see them?” He whispered, so softly Xyron barely heard, but he did indeed see more men, two or maybe three, moving through the garden with the slow confidence of people who expected no resistance.

Katyl didn’t turn or look back; she was fully focused on finding the best way to survive. She moved to the edge of the property and climbed over the ditch, then turned and offered a hand to Aolyne. The little boy hesitated, his eyes huge and bloodshot, but even still, he took her hand. She pulled him over, then Xyron, then Kai. They crouched in the cold mud at the bottom.

For a moment, they just breathed. The darkened sky above was gray and lightened, covered with clouds, but the sunlight wouldn’t last much longer.  Xyron pressed Aolyne’s head to his chest and felt his thin, racing heartbeat. Suddenly, a wave of shame hit him as he realized his own chest was shaking just as hard, enough to rattle his teeth.

“Quiet now, stay still,” Katyl said, and Xyron made himself as small as he could.

He glanced over the edge of the ditch and saw the Argo Kingdom soldiers. They stopped at the edge of the garden, staring at the broken window and the splintered door. One pointed at the body above a pool of blood in the kitchen and made a low, approving sound. Another bent to look at the tracks in the dirt, Xyron’s and Aolyne’s, and then pointed west, straight at the ditch where they hid.

Katyl saw it too. She laid her hand onto the muddy ground, and Xyron heard a low, almost silent rush of air. A cool gust of wind lifted the dead flowers and wildgrass and bent them over the edge of the ditch, hiding the family in a tangle of brown and gold. This was the second time she used magic in such a short time. Xyron worried about his mother, remembering what happened to his fingers back in the ruins when he lit up a flame for the second time.

The soldiers moved closer, their boots squelching in the mud. Xyron could smell them now. Their sweat, old leather, and that metallic armor. He reached for Kai’s hand and found it. Both of them were trembling, but none of the soldiers came close enough for the group to touch their boots if they stood up. He watched as one man looked over the ditch, his eyes slow and bored, then shrugged and signaled to the others. They turned back to the house, believing whoever killed their ally was long gone.

Katyl let out a breath of relief, so small it was almost nothing.

“We rush to the old well, and then the gate.” She said. “No talking.”

She got up and led them once again, keeping to the lowest ground, moving quickly but never running. Xyron followed, still holding Aolyne, who appeared lighter than usual and stayed quiet. Kai kept up, his breathing harsh from the heavy armor he wore.

Xyron didn’t look back again. He was scared he’d find himself being chased by the enemy, and panic would not help in any way. By the time Xyron saw the center of the village, it was already a mess.

A column of smoke covered the lane from the square to the smithy. The lane, once flat and straight, now twisted and destroyed, blocked by broken rubble and the limp of some of the residents. There were more bodies, lying between houses and in the road, but Xyron didn’t let himself count them.

The air changed as they continued their escape. It was heavier, each breath packed with hot, greasy particles that stuck in the nose and throat. Aolyne gagged right away, almost collapsing against his brother’s side, and Xyron let him lean against him, dragging them both forward in a panic. He didn’t look back to see if any more soldiers were after them, and he didn’t need to. The sound of their boots faded, replaced by the louder, roaring noise of destruction from the village’s center.

“Stay low,” Katyl said, her voice so close to calm it barely sounded real. Xyron dropped his shoulders and hunched over Aolyne, pressing him down as they rushed along the inside of a fence. Kai followed, his eyes tearing up not from emotion but from the thick smoke.

A burning thatch ceiling collapsed just ahead of them, falling with a barrage of steam and dust. Xyron felt the heat on his face, and Aolyne sobbed, open and wordless, but they kept moving no matter what. The path was gone now, blocked by fire and broken glass and stone from a blown building. For a moment, the only way forward was through someone’s chicken yard. Katyl vaulted over the fence, then reached back and lifted Aolyne over with one hand off of Xyron’s arms. Xyron followed, almost tripping on a loose plank, and Kai crashed through behind him, not bothering to jump.

Somewhere behind them, someone screamed. A call that seemed to start as a name but ended in nothing. Xyron wanted to stop, wanted to know who it was, but Katyl shouted, “Don’t look!” And he obeyed.

The world shrank to four people moving in a line, Katyl in front, Xyron and Aolyne together, Kai a step behind. Every few steps the smoke shifted, revealing something new, a broken wheel, a blown-out hearth, the body of a horse twisted on its side. Once, Xyron saw a woman’s shoe, just the shoe, standing upright in the mud as if waiting for someone to return. This was the second time Aolyne vomited, splattering the ground with thin yellow bile, and for a moment, it looked like he might faint. Xyron shook him, not gently.

“Come on.” He whispered. “It’s almost over.” He hoped Aolyne couldn’t see how much his own hands wavered.

Blood dripped from Katyl’s sleeve. Xyron noticed it when she slowed for a second to check if they were still following her. The sleeve of her coat was dark with blood, and her fingers left reddish marks on everything she touched. He had no idea if it was her own blood or the soldier’s, but she was clearly unbothered by it.

The fighting seemed closer now. Through the smoke, Xyron saw three figures moving together. At first, he thought they were villagers, but then he saw the dull shine of Argo Kingdom’s armor. One was down, struggling to crawl, and the other two were kicking him, methodically, like they were making him suffer as much as possible instead of going for the killing blow. Katyl raised a hand, signaling them to stop, but Aolyne’s momentum carried them another step forward. The movement almost caught the nearest soldier’s eye.

Xyron hated them, with such raw emotion that scared him.

Katyl doubled back, pulling them around the far side of the church. Here, the wall was partly blown in, and the inside was black with soot, but it blocked the view and the worst of the heat. She leaned against the wall and crouched down, finally letting herself breathe for real.

“West is open.” She said. “We run for it. No stopping until we’re out of the village.”

“Wait!” Xyron interrupted. “Please, let’s check the church; Luzia and the other kids are there!”

“...”

Katyl stayed silent for a moment. All she wanted was to focus on her family’s safety, and she had the opportunity to do so. Then she imagined the orphaned children getting beaten to death just like the other person they passed by. Her conscience would never let her sleep at night knowing she could have prevented it.

“Urgh, stay close.”

Xyron nodded, tasting blood from where he’d bitten his cheek. Kai wiped his nose on his armored sleeve, his eyes covered in tears, but he nodded too. Aolyne had stopped crying, but his breathing was ragged and loud, like he had run a marathon. A single bell made its sound known somewhere, maybe the church’s, though Xyron couldn’t imagine how anyone could still be ringing it. The sound was warped, stretched by heat and distance, but it echoed down the ruined lane and set Xyron’s soul on edge.

They started moving again, this time running as fast as they could. Katyl remained in the lead. Her steps were light despite her size, scanning all shadows and side streets for any possible movement. The farther they went, the fewer people they saw, alive or dead. The village was only flame, heat, and the heavy ruined buildings. They had finally reached the path leading to the church, but not without effort.

A burning cart blocked the lane there, along with a dead horse that used to pull it. Its wheels were still barely spinning, one side of the frame collapsed into a puddle of broken wood, but that didn’t slow Katyl down. She grabbed Aolyne under the arms and swung him over the cart, then climbed over herself. Xyron followed, pulling himself up by the broken cart, and then Kai followed last, rolling over the top and almost tripping off the other side.

For a moment, they were exposed, with nothing but flat ground for fifty meters in every direction. Xyron waited for any attack, an arrow, a shout, or an explosion, but nothing came at them. They sprinted, Aolyne’s feet barely touching the dirt, Kai’s boots stomping like his father’s hammers, and Katyl’s blood-stained sleeve trailing behind.

The world turned silent as soon as they left the lane. The wind near the church cut the smoke to pieces, and the noise of the main battle to the east faded to a low, muffled rumble. Xyron stumbled, almost dropping Aolyne, then caught himself and kept running.

The group stopped by a pile of rubble, big enough to hide behind. Katyl finally slowed and dropped to one knee, putting her hand on the back of Aolyne’s head.

“Rest.” She said, and Xyron realized he was seeing his mother out of breath for the first time in his life.

Kai sat on the ground, almost like he fell, completely tired.

“We’ll be at the church soon enough,” Katyl said, but she didn’t move to get up.

Aolyne buried his face in Xyron’s shoulder, and Xyron held him close, surprised by how steady his own hands were. He looked at his mother, at the blood on her sleeve, at the weak tremor still shaking her left hand, and wondered how long they could keep going like this.

He was not ready for an answer.