“Told you,” Delia says to James. Then to Jiron she asks, “What took you so long? You had us scared to death you weren’t going to make it back!” She stares him down with hands on hip as he walks over to them.

“Sorry about that,” Jiron apologizes, as he hands her a backpack.

“Yeah,” Tinok says, “we had to lay low for a while. They brought in extra soldiers and are still in the process of searching houses.” He hands his extra pack to Cassie.

“Seems they know there’s a mage here somewhere, and they want him bad,” Jiron comments as he looks toward James. “We overheard some talk between soldiers about it.”

“Is this going to hamper our efforts to get out of here?” he asks.

“Shouldn’t think so,” Jiron explains. “I don’t think they’ve blocked the way I was planning for us to take.”

“And what way is that?” James asks.

“Can’t really explain it,” he says. “But trust me, the way should still be open.”

When Cassie puts on her backpack, she says, “Just what is in here that makes it so heavy?”

“Some dried beef, water bottle, and other essentials,” he explains. “There are also some extra clothes, just in case.”

Once everyone has their backpack on, Jiron leads the way through the passage, with James right behind. Tinok is taking up rear guard with the girls in between.

They all wait at the bottom of the stairs while Jiron goes to make sure it’s safe. “It’s clear,” he whispers back down after scanning the park, “come on up.”

James begins to climb the stairs with the girls close behind. He reaches the top and joins Jiron outside while they wait for everyone to exit.

“Now where?” James asks once everyone has joined them up top.

“Just follow me and stay close,” Jiron says. He has them hug the wall while they make their way toward the street at the end of the park. As they approach, marching feet can be heard coming toward them from further down the street.