Three weeks after we'd returned from Nytheris, everything changed. I was at home helping my mom eat dinner when someone pounded on the door. I opened it to find Jask, his face pale.
"You need to come. Now."
"What's wrong?"
"Gideon knows. About the codex. He's figured out it won't work for him."
My blood went cold. "How do you know?"
"He sent men to the docks asking questions. One of them tried to board the ship, and said Gideon wanted to 'renegotiate' our agreement." Jask's expression was hard. "We sent him away, but he'll be back. Probably with more men."
"Where's Cypher?"
"On the ship, fortifying defenses. He sent me to get you and your mom. Said you're not safe here."
"My mom can't travel. She's too sick."
"She'll be less sick if she's alive. Gideon doesn't play around, Juno. If he decides you cheated him??—"
"Wedidcheat him."
"Then you really need to come. Now."
I looked back at my mom. She'd heard everything, her eyes wide with fear.
She waved a dismissive hand. "Go," she said. "Saurah will look after me, and I've got enough medicine. We'll hide at her family's place in the outer bend until this blows over." Her eyes hardened. "I survived worse, Junie. I know when to disappear."
"I can't leave you??—"
"You can and you will. I'm not leaving this realm without your father, but you have to go." She gripped my hand with surprising strength. "Go. Live to fight another day. That's all I've ever wanted for you."
Tears burned my eyes, but I nodded. I grabbed my pack, already prepared for a quick departure, and kissed my mom's forehead. "I love you. I'll be back when we get this figured out. Stay with Saurah and don't let Gideon's men find you."
"I can handle myself better than you think, Junie. Now go!"
Jask and I ran through the streets to the docks. We reached The Night-Piercer to find the gangplank already pulled up, the crew ready to launch at a moment's notice.
"Get aboard!" Cypher shouted from the deck.
Jask grabbed a rope and swung across the gap. I followed, my heart hammering. We'd barely landed when the ship lurched into motion, Omri firing up the engines to full power. Below us, on the dock, I saw them—at least a dozen men, all wearing Gideon's patches on their leather coats. And in the center, the man himself, his face twisted with rage.
"You think you can cheat me?" he shouted at us. "I'll hunt you to the ends of the fucking Gallery, Nytherian! No realm will be safe for any of you lot!"
Cypher appeared at the rail beside me. "Then hunt! See how far it gets you, Pike."
The Night-Piercer cut through the air toward the nearest portal, engines roaring as we picked up speed. I gripped the rail, watching Gideon's furious face recede as his men scrambled to their skiffs.
"They're following!" Kora shouted from her position near the stern.
I turned to see four skiffs launching in pursuit, their crystal engines glowing bright as they pushed to maximum speed. Each carried three or four elementals.
"Can we outrun them?" I asked, rushing to Cypher's side at the helm.
"Not with a full crew and cargo." His jaw clenched as he adjusted our course. "We need to make the portal before they get within firing range."
Ahead, the familiar shimmer of a portal beckoned, our gateway to the Gallery and relative safety. But the skiffs were gaining, their lighter weight giving them an advantage.
"Everyone to battle stations!" Cypher barked. "Prepare for pursuit through the portal!"