The pressure from the afternoon had shifted into a cold weight that sat heavy in the pit of Kotas stomach. He pushed through a dense cluster of thorns and felt the fabric of his sleeve snag and tear but he did not slow down. Behind him he could hear Leiyas breathing becoming shallow and ragged. They had been moving since the sun was high and now the horizon was nothing but a thin line of bruised purple and grey. Every step away from the clearing where the grip had first taken him felt like a gamble against time. He knew the distance was shrinking because the air behind them felt charged and restless.
He stopped for a second to catch his breath and looked at the ground. The tracks they were leaving were deep in the softening dirt and there was no way to hide them in the fading light. He looked at Leiya and saw her shivering. The transition into night was fast and the temperature was dropping enough to make their breath visible in the air. We have to keep moving because if we stop now the cold will set in and we will not be able to start again. He reached out and grabbed her hand and his skin felt like ice against hers. I need to protect her I have to mask my yen. He closed his eyes and tried to force the energy deep into the marrow of his bones. To mask the Yen meant to suppress it entirely so no hunter could feel his presence but the sickness made his power an unruly beast. It was so overpowered that even as he tried to pull it inward it leaked out like poison. A small patch of mushrooms beneath his boot turned brittle and grey dying instantly as his suppressed energy lashed out by mistake. The Yen hit a squirrel during the masking. He was a beacon in the dark and the more he tried to hide the more the world around him withered.
Kota did not know who was behind them but he knew the price on his head was high enough to bring out the worst kinds of people. Bounty hunters would be relentless for a reward like the one the kingdom had posted. He kept his eyes on the southern horizon where the mountains blurred into the sky. Somewhere out there across dozens of miles of brutal terrain lived the doctor he had been told could help with the sickness. The outskirts were a vast and unforgiving stretch of land that sat far from where their journey had begun and the distance remaining felt like an impossible mountain to climb. He did not know her name but she was the only hope he had left.
The silence of the woods was broken only by the sound of their own footsteps and the occasional snap of a dry branch. Kota kept his eyes fixed on the ridge ahead. He remembered this part of the trail and he knew that once they cleared the rise they would be exposed. He adjusted the weight of the scrolls and felt the sickness in his gut flare up. He had to reach the far edges of the outskirts before his body gave out. He had to be strong for Leiya because she had no one else to rely on in this wilderness.
By the time they reached the bank of the river the moon was high and the world was cast in a pale and ghostly light. The water was rushing over the stones with a roar that drowned out the sound of the wind. Kota saw a large cedar that had fallen across the narrows. It was slick with river foam and frozen dew but it was their only way over. He climbed onto the log first and reached back for Leiya. She took his hand and he could feel her heart racing through her palm.
Step exactly where I step and do not look down at the water. They moved slowly across the bridge and the wood groaned under their combined weight. Kota looked back toward the ridge they had just descended. The forest was a wall of blackness and he could not see any lanterns or torches. Professional hunters did not need light to find their prey. They used the scent of fear and the vibrations of the earth. He felt a shiver that had nothing to do with the freezing mist.
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Once they reached the other side he pulled Leiya into the shelter of a willow tree. They needed to rest but every minute they sat still was a minute the hunters gained on them. We will stay here for a short time and then we push forward. We still have many miles to cover and the path only gets more difficult from here. He tried to sound confident but he could feel the pressure behind his eyes increasing.
Across the river the woods remained silent. Kota watched the far bank for a long time but nothing emerged from the shadows. He knew they were out there and he knew they were coming. The distance between them was closing and the night was far from over. He leaned his head against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes for a moment. He strained his senses trying to focus on the static in the air. His father had trained him to feel the distinct pulse of Yen and Yan in the environment but he had never been very good at it. Every time he tried to reach out and sense the signatures of his pursuers the overwhelming roar of his own sickness drowned out the subtle vibrations of the world. It felt like the whole world was waiting for him to fail.
Everything about his old life felt like a lifetime ago. The only thing that mattered now was the girl beside him and the hope that the doctor was as good as the rumors suggested. He had to be fast enough to stay ahead of the ghosts at his back. As the moon climbed higher he stood up and signaled to Leiya. It was time to move again. The shadows were lengthening and the final stretch of their journey for the night was waiting for them in the dark.
They moved deeper into the outskirts where the trees grew taller and the air felt ancient. This was a land that did not care for kings or bounties. Kota felt a strange sense of relief as the familiar landmarks of the civilized world faded away. He was getting closer to the edge of everything even if the physical distance was still immense. He just hoped that whatever was waiting for him at the end of these miles was ready to help him because he did not have anything left to give.
Behind them the forest was still being combed by those who sought him. Kota did not look back. He just kept moving toward the south and the promise of a cure. The hunt was entering a new phase and the stakes had never been higher. He gripped Leiyas hand tighter and they disappeared into the thick morning fog that was starting to roll off the mountains. The river was behind them and the unknown lay ahead but for now they were still ahead of the shadows.
He could feel the path sloping downward and the air grew slightly warmer as they descended. The thick fog acted as a blanket and muffled the sound of their movement. Kota knew that the next few miles would determine if they lived to see another sunset. He pushed the thought away and focused on the rhythmic sound of his own breathing. He had a destination and he would not stop until he reached it or his heart stopped beating.
The first light of dawn began to grey the sky as they cleared the last of the heavy timber. Ahead of them lay a small valley that looked untouched by the hands of men. This was not the end but it was a place to hide. He could feel it in the way the air shifted and the way the shadows seemed to withdraw. Somewhere far beyond this valley was the sanctuary they had been looking for. He took a deep breath and led Leiya down into the mist and away from the world that had cast them out.
