Chapter 22

I liked running with Autumn, she kept pace and there wasn’t any of that chatter people thought was required. All that could be heard was the in-synch fall of our shoes on the ground and gentle breathing. It was nice, having another female to run with. I always felt like I had to run harder and take longer strides with the men.

Four guards rode past us on their horses, I gave them a simple acknowledgement with a bob of my head, I didn’t want to throw off my rhythm.

I wasn’t feeling much better than I had last night, but this was helping. Jogging a hundred miles wasn’t going to erase Emil’s touch from my mind, or his words from my memory, but my head was clearer. If I could keep it up, my resolve might not be so cracked either.

We followed the path and turned to run across the field surrounding the guards’ yard. I smiled briefly as we hadn’t needed any signals to let the other know where we were going or if we were continuing. As we passed a few trees in the middle of this space, two guards were standing under them, talking. For a second, I figured they were just taking shelter under the tree for a break. Six paces later, I glanced back over my shoulder.

“What’s up?” Autumn asked, not even sounding out of breath.

“Did you notice something missing?” I glanced at her. We both slowed slightly but kept moving.

“They had no horses.” She said.

I hadn’t thought of that, although being on foot was also a norm. “Patches.” I said. I put my arm out to slow her until we were both walking.

She stopped and stretched to the side, then squatted down to work out her legs. “Patches?” She glanced back in the direction the men had been.

“They were in uniform, but they didn’t have the silver patch on their shoulders.” I bent forward, then straightened and rolled my shoulders.

“Good eye.” She said quietly. “I think we should go ask about that.” She started to walk.

“Hang on.” I touched my pocket, then realized I didn’t have a phone. “You have your phone?”

Nodding, she handed it to me. I took it and opened the contacts and found the captain in her list. I dialed it and hoped he wasn’t busy.

“Autumn?” Rafael answered.

“No, it’s Kinsley, we’re out for a jog, I forgot my phone.”

“Okay, what’s going on?” His light tone was gone.

“Saw two guards by the trees in the south field near the yard.” I turned and looked to see if I could see if they were still there. “They had no patches, sir.”

“Rafael. I see. Did you recognize either one of them?” I could hear voices in the background now.

“No, but with all the guards called back from other posts it’s possible I just don’t know them.”

“All my guards know to have the patch visible. It’s mandatory.”

Autumn gave me a questioning look, then shook her head an held her hand out for the phone. She took it from my hand, “Raf, yeah, we’re going to go ask them.” She shrugged. “I’ll put it in my pocket.” She nodded and then tapped the screen and tucked the phone back in her pocket. Turning, she adjusted her hood, so it was hard to see who she was and started back toward the trees.

I followed alongside her.

“You’ll know right?” She glanced at me.

I nodded, knowing she was asking if I’d know if they were actual guards.

“Good. I wouldn’t want to lay a beat-down on any of Raf’s people.” She smiled at me, then walked faster.

“They should know you.” I said simply.

She glanced at me.

I shrugged, “your kind of famous with the guards, after Eunice.”

She snorted.

They were still standing under the tree when we got there. “Hey guys.” I said, not sure how else to start this.

Autumn stopped right beside them. “Taking a break?”

The one to the left glanced at his buddy for a second. “Yeah.”

Autumn stretched her one arm, like she was doing a cool down from the run. “Those new uniforms?” She looked them up and down.

The man gave her a confused look. “Uh, yeah.” He pushed his sleeve back and held his hand over a porter. It wasn’t a guard’s porter.

Autumn bobbed her head. “Cool.” In a move so fast no one could anticipate; she swept her leg out and knocked him off his feet.

I lunged for the second guy as he shoved his sleeve up. “Not so fast.” I said, then everything blanked for a second.

When the fog cleared, I realized he’d ported us somewhere. I snapped out of it faster than he did and lunged at him, jabbing my elbow in his face. He reacted slowly I added a fist to the nose for good measure. The sound it made, combined with the pain in my hand told me I’d broken his nose. I glanced around, to make sure we were alone. We were in trees—somewhere. He was bent over holding his face. I looked down at what I was wearing and realized I had nothing that I could use to confine him. Bending down, I lifted his fake guard’s coat and saw a belt. “Take off the belt.” I commanded him.

He squinted at me above his hand.

I spotted the porter on his arm and quickly took it off. He still hadn’t moved to take off the belt. I sighed and lifted the jacket and undid his belt. “Don’t make a move or I’ll smash it some more.” I warned him.

Once the belt was free, I shoved him back toward a tree until his back hit it. “Sit.” He slid down the tree, blood was dripping between his fingers. I wrapped the belt around his waist and the tree, jerking it tight. I did it up and hoped he didn’t get stupid and try to leave. When I went back around the tree, he was holding his sleeve against his face. “Tip your head back.” I looked around again. “Where are we?”

His look would have killed me on the spot if that were possible. He made a move that looked like a shrug.

I glared at him. “You used a porter and don’t know where it comes out?” I continued to look until I decided he wasn’t going to speak. “Great.” I turned and investigated the trees, there was nothing that way. If I left to go see what was in the other direction, he’d get free and leave. Or that’s what I would do. I went back toward him. “Do you have a phone?”

He gave me a hard look, then reached his bloody hand into his pocket. With jerky movements he freed it from his pocket, not an easy task when you were tied to a tree.

I took it, then wiped it on my track pants. Pacing away a few feet, I squatted down and put my back to a tree. I looked at the phone. It dawned on me then, I was holding one of their phones in my hand. I opened the screen and brought up the message log. There was a long list. Hopefully my stupidity in landing here without a phone would be offset in my favor because I had his phone. Had they gotten phones before? I didn’t know. I know they wouldn’t port to the cells, nothing with a trace of metal could.

I brought up the dial screen and then stared at it. My mother’s words popped into my head. The technology is bad for us, and the part where no one remembered a phone number anymore especially. I blew out a breath, then started dialing, there was only one number that I knew by heart. I should, I’d called it thousands of times.

“Hello?”

I almost shouted into the phone. “Dad.”

“Kins? What’s going on?”

How did I even start to explain this? “I was out for a run with Princess Autumn and we found two guys lurking about.”

“Are you all right?”

I waved my hand in the air. “I’m fine. I just don’t know where I am, and I don’t have my phone.”

“How did you get there?”

“The jerk used a porter…” I held up my other arm and looked at mine. I looked over at the guy. I couldn’t port him back to the palace or either of the other two locations on my porter. The tracker. “You need to call the Captain and tell him to use my tracker. I can’t port this guy back. I won’t take a chance that this is a set up.”

“You have a tracker?”

Leave it up to him to zero in on that. “Yeah. That’s a totally different conversation for another time. Call the Captain, please, or Ira and he’ll get a hold of them.”

“Okay, sit tight, I’ll call the calvary.” He said in a funny voice.

I grinned, even though this wasn’t the time. “Okay. Give them this number too.”

“Will do. Watch your back, kid.” He hung up.

I closed the screen, checked the battery level. There was twenty percent, so hopefully they didn’t take too long. I clutched it in my hand and then stared at the man tied across from me. The phone rang. I looked at, and for half a second wondered if the call was for me or the guy with the swollen face. I answered it. “Hello.”

“Kinsley.” It was Rafael.

“Sir—Rafael, I don’t want to bring him back to any of my porter options.” I looked at him, “in case he has a transmitter or something on him.”

“Good call.” It sounded like he was walking somewhere fast. “Michael is checking now to see if we can use your tracker to find you.” There were mumbled voices.

“Is Autumn okay?”

He laughed softly, “she is. The guy, not so much.”

I nodded. “Good.”

“Just stay on the—it’s unlocked. The phone you’re using.”

“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure what that meant.

“We’ve never been able to get through the security on other ones. Don’t turn it off.” He said quickly. There was more talking I couldn’t really make out. “Okay, we know where you are. It’s about a five-minute jog to you from a location we know. Hang tight, we’ll be there soon.”

“Okay.” I stood up, “I’m in trees, if that’s helpful.”

He snorted, “It is.” More talking. “Do you need someone to stay on the phone with you until we get there?”

I made a face. “No. I don’t want to drain the battery and have the phone turn off.”

“Fair enough. See you in a few.” The line went quiet.

I looked at the phone again, checking the battery, now that I knew it was an important find. I got up and walked a few feet in the other direction, trying to see something through the trees. I turned around and looked at the guy. “Why here?” I lifted my hands and motioned around him, “what’s here?”

He held my look, and it didn’t look like he was going to reply for a few seconds. “They don’t work properly.”

It was hard to understand him with the swelling. “The porters don’t work?” He didn’t make a move to tell me he was planning on replying. “So, they’re not programmed properly?”

He winced when he lowered the material from his face. “They don’t always work,” he huffed out a breath, then made a moaning noise, “between realms.” He finished.

I looked at him for a moment. He wasn’t planning on saying more. I studied the porter; they really weren’t anything like ours. Stepping back from him, I glanced around again. So which realm were we in? “Does it bring you out close to where it’s supposed to?”

Something flashed through his eyes, but he wasn’t planning on sharing his thoughts. He didn’t make a move one way or the other.

I nodded, that was fine. We’d search near here.