I shouted, “Fara!” And magic whipped over my body.
I reappeared on the roof, crouching to peer at the flashing lights beneath me. Silfarson’s Bank, it seemed, did not mess around when it came to apprehending thieves. High Elves swept through the air, mounted on moths as big as horses. At any moment, I’d be spotted.
I needed help, and I needed it fast. I pulled on my headset. “Barthol, are you there?”
“Ali!” he whispered sharply. “What’s going on?”
“Can you help me get out of here?”
“Are you okay? What happened—” A strange, strangled sound cut him off.
“What? Barthol?”
“Run! Run!” he shouted frantically, before cutting off again. My headset filled with the hiss of static.
I whirled and sprinted over the rooftop even as I tried to work out what was going on.
Then I heard a noise that explained everything.
“Ghhhroooooarrgh!”
My blood turned to ice, and I froze where I was. There was no mistaking the hunting cry of a troll. Born in the hearts of mountains and made of living rock, trolls were the size of maple trees and virtually indestructible.
The troll pounded the snowy street just below me. The building on which I stood shuddered as the creature barreled through the exterior wall. The whole structure began to shake, and I wondered if it would collapse.
Shit. Only sunlight could stop a troll, turning them to solid rock. But by my calculation, dawn was at least four hours off, and this thing was tearing through the building fast. Screams pierced the air, residents shrieking as the troll tore through the lower floor.
How did it know where to find me? It was at this point that it occurred to me what had hit my leg earlier—a tracking spell. The troll would know exactly where to find me, wherever I went.
Quickly, I scanned my surroundings. A building of similar height stood across the street to my left, and it looked like the best escape route. I started to run, but the roof juddered beneath me, and I sprawled flat.
Like a cannonball punching through the side of a ship, the troll burst through the shingles behind me. It was a deep, speckled gray, and it glared at me with tiny eyes that glowed like lava.
“Bllllrooooooahhh!” As it howled, molten saliva spewed from its mouth.
Covering my face with my arms, I knew then that I was one hundred percent, completely and utterly fucked.
Still, I flew to my feet, sprinting toward the rooftop to my left. As I neared the edge of the roof I was on, I threw my crystal across the gap between the buildings, then teleported myself in a flash of magic. I snatched the crystal off the icy surface.
The troll leapt after me, howling. With a splintering crash, it landed about ten feet away. The creature must have weighed at least a ton, because its bottom half instantly disappeared under the shingles. Trolls were big and strong, but not good for chasing people over roofs.
Unfortunately, the moth-mounted elves had no such limitations, and I soon heard the hiss of hexes whizzing past my head. I ran as fast as I could, darting under water tanks and behind chimneys as I tried to stay out of range.
But the next roof was… not there. I skidded to a halt before a three-story drop to a white expanse of snow, speckled with a few barren trees—the frozen remains of Boston Common. I’d be totally exposed if I went down there.
My knuckles were white over the crystal. Stuffing it into my pocket, I began to turn back, but the troll was closing in on me. The bricks were crumbling beneath its weight, but not before a stony hand shot out and snatched me around my waist.
As its other hand reached for me, the roof finally gave way.
There wasn’t time to contemplate the disappointment, the failure to save my people. Already, we were crashing through wood and plaster, screams erupting around us. Something cracked the side of my head, and pain shot through my skull.
Four stories and three seconds later, we landed with a deafening crash. Pain rocketed through my body and I tasted blood in my mouth.
Fuck. This job had meant everything. This job would have meant freedom for my people, finally.
I tried to stand, but the troll was already pulling me through the building’s wreckage. As an elf, I was sturdier than a human, but I was still in rough shape, and I hung limply in the troll’s grasp. It began to drag me