Page 29 of The Study of Fire
Ryda nodded. He rolled the groundwater map up, said goodbye to the captain, and headed to the safe house where he dropped off the map and his pack.
By the time Valek reached the Garden District, it was full dark. The lamplighters had filled and lit the lanterns that hung from posts. They were spaced about a hundred feet apart in this area. The distance between them lengthened on the streets that were further away from the central Market District.
Stars glittered in the night sky. The half-moon shone with just enough light to aid Valek, but not enough to expose him. A few citizens bustled along the sidewalks, finishing their day. There was only one tavern in the area, but it was closed. Most of the buildings in this part of town were residences and everyone was quick to get inside before it grew late.
Valek kept to the shadows, avoided the patrols, and let his instincts guide him. He covered the entire district twice over, but the night was quiet and still. At dawn, he returned to the safe house and stretched out on the couch.
Changing the direction of his route the next evening, he traversed the streets from the north to the south and back again, encountering nothing.
The third and fourth nights yielded the same results. If the cause had been a drug in the water, then perhaps it had lost its efficacy. Or somehow the person responsible knew Valek was hunting them.
Captain Ryda confirmed the quiet spell was the longest one since the incidents started. She hoped it signaled the end. But Valek suspected it wouldn’t be that easy.
And he was right. Two hours past midnight on the sixth night, a woman’s scream pierced the silence.
CHAPTER6
“He’s gonna find me!” the woman screamed. “He’s gonna kill me!”
No longer keeping to the shadows, Valek ran toward the shrill voice. He raced down the empty streets, hoping to beat the Castletown patrollers to the woman.
“Gotta run! Gotta hide! He’s close!”
Half a block away, a flash of white disappeared around a corner. Valek increased his pace. When he rounded the bend, he spotted the woman. Her feet were bare, her long hair flew behind her like a horse’s tail, and she clutched the bottom of her nightgown to keep from tripping over it.
“Wake up, wake up!” she screeched. “Or you’re gonna die!”
He caught up to her. “It’s okay,” he said. “You’re safe.”
She slowed and turned to him. Her wide eyes resembled a frightened animal, and tears streaked her face. When she met his gaze, she shrieked, “It’s you! Don’t kill me!” She kicked him before taking off.
Good thing he’d moved instinctively, otherwise she’d have hit his groin instead of his thigh. Valek sprinted after her. This time he didn’t bother trying to soothe her. Tackling her, Valek twisted so he hit the ground hard on his back, skidding on the cobblestones while she landed on top of him.
She thrashed in his arms, but he held tight. Magic clung to the woman. He cursed. Flipping over and curling around her, he hoped to block the source of the power. After a few more attempts to elbow him, she went limp. Valek waited in case she was playing dead.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked in a small, scared voice.
Valek sat up. He touched her shoulder. The magic was gone. He said, “Carrot Street, I think.”
“Do you need assistance?” a masculine voice asked.
A patroller holding a baton stood a few feet away. Another officer ran toward them. She had also pulled her baton. Valek wondered if that was how they subdued the victims.
When she reached them, she asked, “Another one?”
Valek helped the woman to her feet. “No. She had a nightmare that seemed so real, she ran from her house screaming. As you can see, she’s awake and not raving. I’ll escort her back home.”
The woman stared at him in shock, but thankfully didn’t say anything. The patrollers weren’t happy, but they didn’t stop him. Valek suspected they would follow as he led her down the street.
“Where do you live?” he asked.
“Twenty-five Cucumber Court.”
“What’s your name?”
“Bea. Is that what really happened to me?”
“What do you remember?”
