“Is that thing looking at you?” Bet said.

Will didn’t know what to say. It definitely seemed as if the toad looked right toward his direction.

“Why yes, I think it certainly is,” The Mender said, smiling.

The three of them weren’t the only ones alarmed by the beast’s presence.

“She’s back,” Murden muttered just loud enough that Will could hear him. Then he whistled sharply for his firefly, and turned to run.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ezra said. “That thing’s likely the Link of some Darkhand charged with keeping the peace, and I’m not so sure whoever it is will be interested in figuring out who was right or wrong.”

The toad began to lumber their direction.

“Where do we go?” Will said.

“Who cares?” Bet was tucking Pexel away into her bag.

“Tenebrim, come on,” Ezra said. To Will’s delight, the large blue mantis shifted sideways and began to follow. “Get Swoop down here.” Ezra pointed to where she perched between a crook of two adjoining buildings. “In the air, she’ll be easier to spot.”

Will was shocked. Ezra usually just called her his bird.

“Swoop, come on,” Will yelled and she dipped low to land on his shoulder.

The three of them sprinted down the street, and as they did, the Mender called from a distance. “Don’t forget the map.” His voice was fading. “Get to my brother, and learn whatever it is you have to learn.” But that was the last Will heard. The three of them rounded a corner, and the man was gone.

Ezra led them through Bezda’s dusty streets until they managed to run across a portion of the wall damaged by a deep gash. The crack opened several feet and split nearly all the way to the ground. It was a tight fit, but they should be able to squeeze through.

One by one they pressed themselves between the rocky opening. Ezra had to encourage Tenebrim in, but the mantis eventually obeyed. Once he was out, Will turned from the wall and saw the nearby woods.

“We’re almost free,” Ezra said. “Get to the trees and from there we can look for a place to hide.”

Inside the city walls, Will could still hear people’s cries of alarm. That toad was still on the move. But what was it chasing. Murden… Or them?

Will followed into the cover of the woods, but Ezra didn’t stop. They ran till they had made quite a bit of distance from Bezda, and finally, Ezra halted and came to rest with his hands against his head in an effort to catch his breath. All of them were winded but Tenebrim it seemed. The Mantis showed no signs of exhaustion and looked as if it hadn’t run at all. Once they’d each had a bit of time to recover, Ezra sat down against the ground and looked at Will.

“You got more secrets than I thought,” he said with the hint of a smile. “And we’ve most certainly got a few new things to talk about. But first things first. Get out that map. We need to see where we’re headed.”

“You mean you’re coming with me?” A wave of relief spread through Will.

“Of course we’re coming. You’re one of us now.” Ezra reached forward and touched his hand to Tenebrim’s thorny shoulder, and the mantis regarded him calmly. Will turned to Swoop and smiled.

“Alright,” he said as he began to fumble for the map. “Here it is.”

Where does the map lead?

Through a large cave

Behind a rushing waterfall

Through a murky swamp

This Poll is Closed