Riven was glad to be simply standing there between Viriya, Mhell, and Aross. They were all more of the forward type, who liked being proactive. Who were faster thinkers, able to respond quickly in any given situation. Poor Riven had always needed a moment to think things through first.

This wasn’t the time to think things through.

“I’ll take care of them,” Mhell said with easy confidence.

Riven wasn’t sure she knew what she was up against, but then, neither was he. He hadn’t seen the Arnish in actions, didn’t know if they had any of their Essentiers with them—who was he kidding, of course they had—and had no idea if they were here to capture them or eradicate them off the face of the world.

“All by yourself?” Aross asked.

“Are you volunteering?”

“Certainly not. But best of luck to you. You remind me of an old colleague of mine, and she was much the same as you.”

“Very pushy and demanding?” Mhell asked with a little smile.

Aross shook her head. She was peering at the witch with open suspicion, her eyes roving over Mhell’s whole form. “Reckless. Throwing herself into things she never had any intention of dealing with in the first place, but always doing it before others could suffer. She was altruistic, yet so very selfish at the same time.”

Riven looked between them and realized Mhell had used her old identity to get in touch with Aross. An identity Aross had known personally, and apparently, had known very well. But they were still reluctant to admit that they had corresponded, that much was certain. What had been in those letters? Scions, Riven would have to find out somehow once this mess was done.

“We don’t have time for this.” Mhell turned to face the Spectre. “Tell the others to gather as soon as possible.”

The Spectre didn’t look as agitated as he had when he had first arrived. Maybe it was the witch. There was something pacifying about her presence, an aura that assured calm control. “They have already started doing so, Mistress.”

“Good. Then draw out a handful and send them out as scouts. I want to know if any forces are approaching as soon as they are spotted.”

“I will do so, Mistress. Any other orders?”

“No. Carry out these to the best of your abilities, and good luck. I will join you shortly.”

The Spectre bowed his head, then dashed off. He made it look like he was running but it was obvious to all that his feet never touched the ground. Some habit from when he was still alive, most likely. He was floating forward like Mhell always did.

“Then we shall immediately leave,” Aross said. She glanced at Riven. “Tollisett first?”

Riven nodded. He saw no other way, but more importantly, they needed to get away from the Arnish. How had they been found? “We can wait outside the village while I get your son.”

“Excellent. Then let us be off.”

They stuffed themselves in the car. Mhell stood still, watching the car depart. When Riven looked back via the mirror after putting some distance between them, he saw the witch float away and disappear into the mist.

Riven wished her luck.

He drove into the mist. Riven wasn’t sure when he’d become the official chauffeur of their little party, but when the only other option was Viriya driving, he was glad to be behind the wheels. They didn’t need her insanity on the road. Besides, her Essence and her shooting were much bigger aspects than her driving and they couldn’t let that go to waste.

Riven’s hand touched the lever that would turn the headlights on, but he hesitated. It would provide greater visibility in this thick mist but it would also alert their enemies where they were. Sound was a worry of course, but lights appeared for greater distances. Maybe the mist would cloak them but he didn’t want to take the chance.

As long as he was careful while still being as fast as he could, they should be fine.

They weren’t fine. Riven stayed on the road to avoid most of the thorngrass and fractures, and also to prevent himself from hitting any Coral tree looming out of the mist, but he forgot that also made their route predictable. Shadowy figures grew larger in the fog and he rammed the brakes with his foot. The car came to a screeching halt.

Riven shifted gears so that the car was reversing. He pumped the accelerator but then stopped when he looked behind.

More shadowy figures.

“Shit,” Viriya muttered.

They were caught. For all Riven’s fantastic driving skills, the Arnish had found them anyway. Wasn’t Mhell supposed to have stopped them?

“Come out of the car,” ordered an imperious voice. Riven cursed. Shasthi. “Nice and easy. Any sudden moves and we’ll blow more holes in you than you could ever count.”

“Do as she says,” Aross said.

Riven gripped the wheels tight. Maybe if he started the car suddenly and used his Essence, he could ram right through them. Yes, that was the best option. All they needed was a moment’s surprise to catch them off-guard.

Though that meant they’d then be followed. So much for going to Tollisett and freeing younger Aross.

“I said come out!” Shasthi sounded impatient as ever. “We’ll start shooting in the next thirty seconds. And don’t even think about using your Essence. We will not hesitate to use ours and you won’t like what happens then.”

Ah, fuck it. Riven turned on the car’s ignition, and as the engine thundered to life, he focused. The pressure burst out of him, throwing up webs of golden lines everywhere that weaved the air into a thick shield all around the car. Bullets shot in as the Arnish fired, but they all hit the golden shield and bounced off.

Riven didn’t wait. He pumped the accelerator again, and the car shot forward like it had been kicked in the back by a giant. The car charged. Riven grinned as the shadowy figures grew larger and more distinct in seconds. They were going to burst free. They would—

The car stopped. And rose.

It was floating in the air.

What? Riven rammed his foot down on the accelerator again and again, but it wasn’t moving. Not in mid-air. He hammered on the steering wheel as though it would provide some sort of answer to what was happening or let them down from this madness. Nothing of the sort happened.

“You see.” Shasthi rode out from the gloom, a gloating smile making the wrinkles on her face look like more gloating smiles. “You cannot escape. I suggest you surrender. We won’t be so generous the next time you try something stupid.”

Viriya popped her hand out the window and fired her gun. The bullet arced in the air and missed Shasthi completely, who laughed.

“What did I tell you? You’re trapped with nowhere to go. Now release the Invigilator and come quietly.”

Riven’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Was this the end?  There had to be some way to free themselves, but they were stuck, suspended in mid-air like the hanged, just without any of the ropes. If they were to free themselves, how would they do it?

Essence. Riven glanced around, and sure enough, there was a faint blue Essence capering on the ground underneath them. Somehow, that Essence had made gravity forget to affect the car, and so they floated.

“We’re not giving you up, Invigilator,” Viriya assured their captive.

“Don’t worry,” Aross said. “ I assumed you wouldn’t. Though I fail to see how you might extricate all of us from here. I will of course, be unable to help in any way. In fact, if you do not tie me up, I will be forced to act against you.”

She glared pointedly at Riven, and he remembered the time he’d handed his gun to her. Under the eyes of the soldiers and her son who was still loyal to Orbray for all he knew, she’d turned on him then, shooting at Riven with the intent to kill. His shield had saved him, but it was clear she would do the same if the chance arose.

There was no time to tie her up though. The thought had reminded him that he had his own gun.

Riven brough out his new pistol. It was different from the one he’d been given by Father, but it was military standard. Something he’d used before when he had practised. He pushed his arm out of the window like Viriya had and aimed it at Luminary Shasthi.

“Don’t you see the futility of your act?” she asked.

Riven smiled. “I just want you to see it too.”

He fired, but not at her. Riven angled the gun downwards and shot at the ground, focusing on the bullet and his burgeoning Essence to draw up a shield around it. A golden hemisphere popped into existence on the ground, covering the whole area where the blue Essence flickered.

The car fell. Riven rammed his foot in the accelerator again as the car bounced off the shield with an audible metallic thump that promised something had broken. He couldn’t care at the moment. The car landed on the ground next, and Riven focused on getting the Chasm away. Fixing the damn car could come later.

It charged forward, and Shasthi dived away from horse. Riven swerved to avoid the braying animal, and more figures shot away from the car’s wildly careening path.

Shots rang in and pelted off the chassis. Viriya was shooting back too. Riven only hoped none of the bullets hit the wheels. He could take care of Essence but a broken wheel was another matter entirely. And Scions forbid the engine got hit. Forget fixing, they’d have to jump out of the car and abandon it all together. It was one thing to risk getting away, another to risk an explosion.

The car started slowing down. Riven frowned, staring everywhere. Why was the car slowing down? He pressed down on the pedals and though the engine roared, the car didn’t get any faster. At this rate, they were going to be pulled back.

He caught dust flying backwards. Then an unwary Arnish soldier got caught in the strange pull and went flying backwards. Riven stared into the rear-view mirror.

The blue Essence was pulling them back.

It had formed a wide circle in the air and the gravity had suddenly reversed direction as though the world had decided to lie on its side instead of on its back as normal. No matter how hard Riven shoved his foot down on the accelerator, the car kept slowing down until it stopped.

Then it started reversing.

“Shit,” Viriya muttered. She was trying to move her arm around to shoot behind them, but her back was flattened against the seat. Riven hadn’t noticed before, but he was stuck to his seat too. Scions, they wouldn’t even be able to jump out of the car.

“Do you see who’s doing it?” Riven asked Viriya.

“If I did, they’d be dead by now.”

True enough. He stared out the window, trying to find some way of figuring out how to locate their distant assailant. It had to be an Arnish Essentier. Someone who had accompanied Luminary Shasthi from her homeland to come and torment Riven on the cusp of getting away and preparing for his eventual victory. Damn them all to the chasm.

There was nothing out there but fog. Shadows swirled in them, the Arnish soldiers now in disarray following Riven’s charge into their ranks. They should have regrouped by now but there were more shadowy figures than before.

Mhell. She must have come in with her army of Spectres.

Riven turned his head as much as he could to stare at the blue circle. He focused and golden lines shot from him to form a shield around the blue Essence. There was a loud groan in the engine and the car shot forward. He had been pressing down on the accelerator for a while now. The inertia pressed him back against the seat harder than the blue Essence’s gravity had done.

A horse shot in front of the car. Riven rammed down on the brakes and the car careened out of the road. He tried to keep a grip on the steering wheel as dashed off-road, but it became impossible as soon as the wheels got ensnared by thorn grass. Riven lost control, Aross shouting at him to regain control not all helping matters as the car crashed against a Coral tree then made a group of Arnish soldiers and Spectres dive out of the way.

Despite the damaged tires and wheels, Riven wouldn’t have stopped the car but a crack yawned up in front of him. A huge crack, like the one he had seen way back in Severance Frontier with Mhell. He pumped the brakes as fast as he could, and the car screeched to a halt.

“Get out,” Riven ordered.

They complied, even Aross forcing herself out of the car as Riven grabbed his bag and his sword. If they were going to have to cross the wilderness on foot, then that’s exactly what Riven would do.

Except, someone was already standing in front of him.

“You must be this infamous Morell everyone keeps talking about,” the newcomer said.

She was a young girl not much older than him, if even that. Arnish by the bronze of her skin, long hair somewhere between silver and white. Her long coat was white too, and gold-trimmed as well, her boots the colour of iron. An old-fashioned gun was pointed at not Riven or Viriya, but at the Invigilator standing behind him.

“Who are you?” Riven asked. He tried to shift so that he was standing right in front of Aross, but the tiniest motion made her cock her gun.

“Don’t dare,” she warned. “I won’t hesitate to shoot no matter who you think you are.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I am Uttoma, granddaughter of Luminary Shasthi, and I’m here to take you in.”

Riven laughed with all the bravado he didn’t feel. “You’re going to take us in? You and what army? Your friends back there are sort of occupied at the moment.”

“I don’t need assistance beating the likes of you.” She smiled, all confidence and surety. Her Resplendian was flawless, Riven had to give her that. Much better than his garbled Arnish. “I suggest you surrender before you get hurt too bad.”

“Riven,” Viriya said as she stepped forward. “Take Aross and get going. I’ll take care of her.”

He ought to have listened. He ought to have nodded, pretended to kidnap the Invigilator again, and gotten the Chasm out of there. But enough was enough. He had faced deadly Essentier after deadly Essentier for the past two days, and he was dead tired of fighting for his life every single second he breathed.

“No.”

The edge in his voice made Viriya pause. She stared at him with a  deep frown, and the fierce look on her face gave way to one of slight trepidation.

Uttoma was still staring at them with her arrogant smile. She thought she had this. So stupid. She was giving Riven and everyone else here all the time in the world to get away.

“Can you follow my lead, Viriya?” Riven asked.

“I assume you have a plan?”

“I do.”

“But not a very good one?”

 “Good is relative. It’s success that counts, and we can succeed. Just wait for my signal and then you’re going to shoot as far away from here as you can.”

Uttoma shook her head. The first hint of disquiet had stolen onto her downturned brows, but her smile didn’t dip. “You aren’t going anywhere. Just like you haven’t been able to get away so far. I stopped you didn’t I?”

Riven laughed. “A damn stray horse stopped us.”

“Who do you think sent the horse flying front of you in the first place?”

His laughter died. Damn Arnish Essentier had mercilessly used a horse to stop him. The poor thing might have died if they had crashed, might even be dead for all Riven knew.

Uttoma was apparently done waiting. She waved her arm and the whole area turned blue as her Essence grew up like grass. All around her, the ground started to crack and break apart, rocks rising in the air. The chunks ranged in size from the size of Riven’s fist to balls bigger than cannon shots.

Another blue glow cropped up and Riven turned. It was behind them. Damn Arnish Essentier could use her Essence in multiple places at her age, unlike Riven.

Then the rocks shot forward.

“Riven!” Viriya warned.

Rivne was ready. He focused, golden lines hooting out from him to form an auric shield a few yards ahead. The rocks and chunks of earth crashed into the golden Essence and fell back, leaving white cracks like fractured glass on the shield. Riven drew in more Essence to repair his shield, and though the cracks decreased, it was much slower than before.

Shit. His heart started to quail. He was running out of Sept again. Even after all the ones he’d brought with him from the research Facility, Riven was short of Sept again.

They had to end this fight, and soon.

Viriya shot his shield. Her golden-green bullet blasted into it from behind and her green Essence spread across the entire golden surface until it looked like Viriya was the one who had thrown the shield up in the first place.

“Break it,” Viriya said.

Riven complied, halting his Essence flow enough for the next few rocks to hammer in and shatter his shield. It broke apart into a thousand pieces, spreading in the air into particles too small to see except for Viriya’s glittering Essence. The sparkling green spread out everywhere like a galaxy of viridian stars.

Uttoma’s rocks shot through them all, catching the stars in their passage towards Riven, Viriya, and Aross. Then Viriya fired her gun again, the golden-green bullet shooting past Uttoma into the gloomy distance. The flying rocks slowed in their movement before stilling entirely. Uttoma’s eyes widened, and Riven grinned. He’d realized early on that her Essence was similar to Viriya’s in drawing things to each other. The only difference Riven saw was that the blue Essence worked in fields, like true gravity, while Viriya’s Essence always dragged everything it Locked towards a single point of focus.

Riven turned again, focusing on the area behind him. Golden lines shot out to form a shield around the circle of blue Essence behind them. With Uttoma’s influence removed, the rocks were no longer pushed forward and they flew back towards their creator thanks to the bullet Viriya had shot earlier.

Uttoma shrieked and threw up more blue Essence around herself. The reverse gravity took a hold of her too, and she went flying upwards to avoid the rocks. It worked, more or less. She was hit by some of her own debris, but the majority missed.

Drats. Riven was sure that would do her in.

“We’re not done,” Viriya said, staring daggers at Uttoma who was floating high in the sky, her white coat flapping around her like a strange combination of wings and tails.

“No we aren’t,” Riven agreed. “You still have a few more bullets in your gun?”

She nodded. “Why?”

“To shoot, why else?”

High above them. Uttoma gestured with her hand as though she wanted to kill them where she stood. Or floated, rather. Either way, Riven didn’t wait. Couldn’t wait. Blue Essence was popping up where they stood as Uttoma looked to throw them up in the air as well, where they would be far more defenceless and far more disoriented too.

“Shoot, Viriya!” Riven shouted.

She did so, her golden-green bullet losing itself in the distant darkness. They started to rise, Aross grabbing onto the car as their feet left the ground. Riven closed his eyes to stop his heart from hammering so loud and focused again. A shield popped into existence as the pressure blasted from every iota of his body all over, encompassing them and the car. They were still rising though, his shield doing nothing to stop the blue Essence’s effect when it was outside of it.

“Viriya,” Riven said again, gesturing at his shield. ”Shoot again. Quickly!”

Credit to her, she didn’t hesitate for even a fraction of a second. There was no way she could have known what he wanted to do or expected to happen, but she fired her gun anyway.

The bullet lodged into the golden shield, ensconcing itself into a white crack. Her glittering green Essence spread out like a rapid rash, a quick growth that conquered the gold faster than Riven had crafted in the first place.

Then the whole shield shot forward, taking everything with it.

Riven laughed as behind him, Uttoma screamed. Viriya’s Essence was brilliant! The bullets she had shot into the darkness before was Locked to the shield, and so it pulled the golden sphere, and everything it held, towards it. They shot into the gloom, losing sight of the battle behind them until Uttoma and her blue Essence was a distant star behind them. In moments, they touched down onto the ground, the golden Essence absorbing most of the impact.

“Safe?” Viriya asked.

Riven nodded. He focused and removed his shield. “No time to waste. Get into the car.”

They didn’t waste any time. Riven jumped into the driver’s seat and threw his bag and sword into the back seat. Aross cringed away as the blade nearly hit her, and he would have apologized for that, but there wasn’t any time.

They had to get way before the Arnish extricated themselves from the battle and came after them. Riven’s golden Essence had to have been visible for some distance. They needed to put some distance, and fast.

“To Tollisett, yes?” Aross asked as Riven started the car and set off. Her voice was slightly shaky. Slightly. Any more and she’d lose her credentials as an Invigilator of course.

Riven checked the rear-view mirror to make sure they weren’t being immediately followed. Uttoma’s blue Essence had disappeared. “Tollisett, yes. We’ll find your son and kidnap him just like we kidnapped you.”

“How are you going to find your way back there?” Viriya asked. Of course, she had to be the one asking the sensible questions. “This thing can’t run forever. We need to refill the Sept tank again.”

“I’ll find a way.”

“How, Riven?”

“I just—”

Riven’s eyes widened. He pressed down on the brakes and quickly pulled the car to a halt. It screeched as it came to a stop.

Lights were up ahead. Tiny moving pinpricks that suggested only one thing.

Tollisett was coming to them.

“That’s how, Viriya,” Riven said.

“Get the Chasm out of here, Riven.” Viriya’s voice was tight, her hands clenched hard around the stock of her gun.

They were running out of Sept and wouldn’t last long like this. Getting caught and getting drawn into another fight was out of the question. Riven reversed the car and turned it around. He drove off, keeping his eyes on the road and making sure the convoy behind them was still far off.

It wasn’t. They were catching up. Riven was heading at an angle instead of blasting the engine at full throttle and trying to escape. That wouldn’t work, not if the car was running out of fuel. No, stealth was their best option.

They didn’t get far. Riven’s heart pounded faster with every moment as the party came closer and closer, drawing nearer and nearer as they hunted down their prey—Riven, Viriya, and Aross. For a moment, he wondered if they would let him and Viriya go if they returned Aross, but no, he was a wanted fugitive as well. Besides, the very thought of abandoning Aross made him want to retch.

“Stop!” The shout was loud as thunder, cracking down and hammering into Riven’s ears like a lance aimed right for his eardrums. “Stop, or we shall fire and destroy you all.”

The closest truck was barely a few dozen yards away.

“You can’t shoot,” Riven said. “We have the Invigilator with us, or do you mean to kill her as well?”

The shot blasted into the car’s rear glass. Aross let out a very undignified shriek as the glass shattered then fell everywhere in the back.

“We can shoot,” the speaker said again. “It is in your best interests to surrender and come peacefully.”

Riven jammed his foot down on the brakes and jerked the car to a halt. A truck had appeared in front of him somehow. Part of the convoy must have circled around and caught up to them from the front. Damn the Chams, they were going that slow? So stupid to think they could have escaped on this old car.

“Come out, nice and slow.” The speaker was obvious now. Younger Aross stood at the top of a truck, silhouetted by the light from the cars and trucks behind him.

Riven swallowed, then stepped out of the car. He didn’t meet Viriya’s eyes, didn’t look at Aross to see if she was still acting or if she was relieved that this farce of a rescue was finally over. She was reunited with her son finally, so it had to be a win-win. Riven’s gambit to free her from under Orbray’s yoke was a stupid, stupid idea, and now he was going to pay for his foolish audacity.

“Son,” Invigilator Aross said as she stepped forward. “Have you come to take me back, finally?”

“Yes, mother,” younger Aross said from his perch atop the truck. He gestured at the trucks all around them. “Bring them in.”

Soldiers scampered out and pointed their rifles at Riven and Viriya, a couple of women accosting the Invigilator and taking her away from them. They were caught. It was over.