closed? That would force a showdown unless they veered off to one side and kept running. Might Trillian send help? What if the help he sent turned into even bigger trouble?
Settling into a steady sprint, Cole let his worries get swallowed by the joy of running. Something about being a mountain lion made it much easier to tune out fear. He wasnât fleeing in terrorâit felt like a race, and he was confident that he could keep stretching his lead.
âWhy run?â Jace complained, dashing at Coleâs left. âThey want a fight. Letâs give it to them.â
âI feel the impulse too,â Dalton said from the other side. âMy bull side wants to turn around and plow through them.â
âItâs not just my wolf side,â Jace replied. âWe could take them.â
âThey have pretty good aim with those bows,â Cole said. âThey didnât miss many shots until Skye put up those walls.â
âIt would be harder for them to shoot us if they were dead,â Jace growled. âTheyâre made of meat. Letâs eat them.â
Cole didnât want to admit how tempting that sounded.
âKeep running,â Skye called back from a few paces in front of them. âThese Enforcers will give Trillian something to worry about besides capturing us.â
âNobody is going to capture us with these masks on,â Jace said.
âRemember the sky castle rules,â Mira said. âDonât fight when you can run. Why risk arrows bringing us down if we can get away?â
âSheâs right,â Cole said.
âWhatever,â Jace said. âIs it bad to hope we get cornered?â
âItâs not healthy,â Cole said, though he also felt the strong urge to fight. What if Skye returned to her normal form and raised some illusions so they could attack out of hiding? The Enforcers would be down before they knew what hit them.
The conversation ended. They ran onward in silence, the rumble of hoofbeats receding.
In the moonlit distance the Lost Palace rose into view. The skeletal castle looked like it had barely survived abombing raid, but Cole knew that for anyone who passed the front gate, the charred building became a shimmering wonder of pearl and platinum. Cole had never figured out whether the real version was the scorched ruin or the fairy-tale palace. Maybe they were both seemings.
âRiders,â Mira said.
Peering ahead along the road, Cole counted at least ten riders approaching, shrunken by the distance. âAnother illusion?â he asked.
âTheyâre pretty far off,â Skye said. âI think theyâre real.â
âRed Guard or more Enforcers?â Dalton asked.
âItâs hard to recognize color in the moonlight,â Skye replied. âThey seem to be coming from Trillianâs prison.â
Joe came swooping back from the direction of the Lost Palace. âRed Guard!â he called. âTwelve of them.â
âThink theyâre here to help?â Dalton asked.
âIf not, itâs their funeral,â Jace said.
âLeave the road when they get near,â Skye said. âIf they ride past us, weâll know theyâre after our foes.â
Cole had heard that the Red Guard were dangerous, though on his previous visit to the Lost Palace he had only seen a few people besides Trillian. But that proved nothing. Other members of the Red Guard could have been out on assignment, or they could have been hiding.
Running at top speed, Cole watched as the galloping riders rapidly drew closer. Still charging hard, Skye led Cole and the others off the road as the riders came near. With hardly a glance to the side, the riders raced by them, except for a woman who slowed her chestnut stallion to a stop.Coldly beautiful, she gazed down at Cole and his friends as they also came to a standstill.
Cole recognized her. It was Hina, the woman who had escorted him around the Lost