Firewalker (Worldwalker 2)

Little Pip ran point as they crept out of their hiding place. “S’all clear,” he lisped around his missing two front baby teeth.

They followed Mary through the maze of branching tunnels while Lily tried to think how she was going to do this. They neared the Ranch Four stop on the subway and Mary called a halt. They could all hear voices and marching boots ahead.

“It’s right up there,” Mary told them. “The next stop is the staging place for most of the city guards’ raids.”

Lily nodded, finally understanding why the tunnel people didn’t use it. She felt Breakfast brushing up against her mind.

So, what’s the plan, boss?

I’m trying to think, Breakfast.

You don’t have a plan?

Lily shot him a frown and he looked at Una. They seemed to share a few exchanges in mindspeak that ended in Una giving Breakfast a nasty look and Lily an encouraging one.

Rowan? Are you there?

Yes, Lily. I’m sorry I got captured, but I had to stop short of killing anyone to get away. The guards are trying to goad me into it, though. They want a fight. They’re actually hoping that one of them will get killed so they can “clean out” this whole tunnel.

Rowan transmitted a memory flash of one of the guards getting in his face, acting tough and bullying Rowan and the biggest of the captured teens. Lily felt Rowan getting punched in the gut and cringed.

I’m coming, Rowan.

“I need fire, but not too much,” Lily told Riley as they passed a torch. “It can’t be too bright. Everyone needs to keep out of direct light, okay?”

Riley grabbed the torch and Lily could see her coven starting to understand.

“Can you cast a glamour that big?” Tristan asked. He switched to mindspeak. Are you strong enough?

I’d better be.

“I want you to run down the tunnel toward the guards. I’m going to make you all look like Woven, okay?” she told them. They looked back at her, frightened. “I need you to be brave,” she told them.

Pip stood up straighter. “I’m brave,” he said defiantly.

“Woven never go belowground,” Mary said, shaking her head.

“So this should really scare the hell out of them, shouldn’t it?” Lily said, hoping she sounded more sure than she felt.

Mary looked uncertain, but nodded her assent anyway. “If the guards don’t go for it, you all scramble,” she told her people.

Lily turned away and shut her eyes, concentrating on gathering energy from the torch. She was so depleted she didn’t know if she’d be able to transmute the heat. Luckily glamours required little energy, or Lily knew she wouldn’t be able to do this at all. She concentrated on making each individual in the group look like a different kind of Woven. Her imagination failed her, so she delved into her nightmares instead. They never seemed to run out of strange concoctions of tentacles and pincers, armor and

scales.

Lily heard a gasp of surprise coming from Mary and knew that her trick was working. At least for now. When Lily opened her eyes she had to look away. Staring at her nightmares-made-real was too unsettling.

“We’ve got to really sell this, or it won’t work,” Breakfast said, turning to Riley.

Riley looked down at the younger kids and gave them an order. “You three pretend you’re monkey Woven. I want you to make a lot of noise.” The kids were silent and staring, too shaken from the reality of Lily’s glamour to move. “Snap out of it!” Riley commanded. “Keep it together, you lot, or we’re sunk.”

Lily felt a wave of nausea. “I can’t hold this forever,” she told them.

“We’re going,” Tristan said.

“Everybody start making noises,” Una said encouragingly, and then started moaning like a zombie. The kids followed her cue and started hooting like monkeys.

Rowan. It’s a glamour. We’re trying to scare off the guards.