They all looked at her, wide-eyed.
“And how would you know that?” Conval asked.
“Because they are thieves,” she said. “And so am I. Thieves always know where each other go.”
The boys all looked at each other, surprised by her candor.
“I can lead you on their trail,” she added. “It leads out of the city. They are not here.”
Elden narrowed his eyes, distrustful.
"Why don’t you just tell us how to go and we’ll be on our way," Elden said.
Thor could see something he hadn’t seen before in Elden’s expression; he seemed more than merely curious. He seemed interested in this girl.
She shook her head.
“That’s not the deal,” she said. “Either I go with you, or not at all.”
“Why do you want to come with us?” he asked.
“I want to leave here, too,” she said, “and this is my chance.”
"And how can we trust you—a thief?” Reece chimed in.
“You can’t,” she answered. “But you have to trust someone. Free me now!” she demanded, looking both ways down the alley as a guard ran past, “or else, I will be content to just watch you die here!”
Elden looked at her long and hard.
"I say we free her," Elden said.
"And trust our lives in the hands of this slave girl?" O'Connor called out. “This thief? She could be leading us to a trap.”
“She might have no idea where the Sword is,” Conval added.
"What choice do we have?" Reece asked.
They all looked to Thor.
Thor cleared his throat.
“The way I see it,” Thor said, “she saved our lives once already. She didn’t have to. We need to find the Sword, and she says she knows where it is. That’s better than what we have now, which is nothing. Thief or not, slave or not, I say we trust her.”
Thor stepped forward, close to her, and raised his sword.
“If you lead us to safety, and on the trail of the thieves,” Thor said, “I promise to protect you. If you betray us, I promise I will kill you.”
"I don't need your protection,” she sneered, defiant. “Now stop talking and get me out of here!”
Elden stepped forward, raised his sword and brought it down in a single clean stroke. With a decisive clink, he severed her chain.
"Follow me!" she said, not wasting a beat as she took off at a sprint, twisting and turning down the narrow alleyways of the city.
Thor and the others did not wait a second longer; they took off after her as she twisted and turned, darting down the alleyways, leading them deeper and deeper into Slave City. Groups of slaves, chained to each other, turned and reached out and yelled at them as they went, trying to grab them, to stop them. But they ran too quickly.
The girl was incredible, like a living map. She clearly knew every inch of the city, and she took sharp turns through narrow alleyways that Thor could hardly imagine. The six of them stayed close, Krohn by Thor’s side, as they weaved their way out of the city, heading clear through to the other end. It was hot and dusty as they ran, and the streets, filled with the sounds of whips and cries and machinery, began to become filled with something else: the sounds of slaves rising up, looking their way, and calling out.
Suddenly, an Empire taskmaster stepped forward with a whip and lashed the girl hard across her back.
She cried out in pain and stumbled, falling flat on her face.
“Get back to work, slave girl!” the taskmaster yelled.
Elden, red with rage, didn’t even slow as he continued to sprint, raised his sword and swung it for the taskmaster. The taskmaster turned and caught a glimpse of Elden, and his eyes opened wide with fear; but there was no time for him to react.
Elden chopped off the man’s head and continued running without even slowing. He then reached down, picked up the girl by the arm and dragged her up, helping her back on her feet, to run with them.
Thor turned and saw dozens more troops gathering, chasing them. He looked forward, saw the city limits before them, and saw a wide open expanse, an open field that would leave them vulnerable once they exited—especially with the large contingent following them.
Thor ran up beside the girl, trying to catch his breath.
"You are leading us out of the city and into the open fields!" Thor yelled. "We will be exposed! How shall we outrun them in the open?”
"Those fields are not open," she said, gasping for air. "Trust me."
They all ran as one, bursting out into the open fields; Thor did not understand what she meant, but he knew they had no choice: they had to trust her.
They followed her out into the open field, Thor wondering what trick she had up her sleeve, as suddenly a huge flame burst out of the ground, right beside Thor, and singed his sleeve. He jumped back, barely avoiding it, and continued to run.
"What was that?" he screamed.
"The fire fields!" she yelled back. "Look behind you. Do you see the Empire troops?”
Thor turned as he ran and saw the dozens of Empire troops had stopped, standing at the edge of the city, wavering, unsure whether to follow.
"They are not crazy enough to pursue us out here!” she yelled.
Before she could finish her sentence, another huge flame shot up into the air, near O'Connor, who screamed out as the flame burned his forearm. He reached over and swatted it, putting it out.
"Where have you taken us?" he screamed to her.
"It is our only hope to freedom!” she screamed back. “And it is the path the thieves took!”
Thor checked over his shoulder again, and saw a handful of troops break off from the group and decide to chase after them. As he watched, one of them ran right into a huge ball of flames—screaming, he collapsed to the ground, dead.
Flames shot up around them with greater frequency as they went, and Thor weaved left and right, hoping and praying they could survive this minefield of flames. All around him his brothers did the same, as did Krohn, who was whining and snarling as they went, snapping at the balls of fire. A flame singed his leg and he whined and jumped, but kept running.
“When does this end?" Thor yelled to the girl.
Thor heard a scream and watched another Empire soldier get burned to death, shrieking.
"There!" the girl screamed, pointing. "See there, in the distance?”