Her throat felt dry as dust as they walked. They still had their packs but somewhere in the night the bag with the water bottles had disappeared. Fortunately they came across a creek meandering through the grass on its way to the sea and drank their fill. Jason seemed to have lost his worries about "unprocessed" water. As they got to their feet again, Kira looked Jason over, dismayed. "You look like you spent all last night fighting and rowing and running and then slept in the open in the grass."

"So do you," Jason said. "I'm sure it looks a lot better on you than it does on me."

"We have to hope nobody notices when we reach the road. Try to look a little nicer, though. As if we haven't done anything unusual and got dressed this morning in clean clothes."

"You're kidding, right?"

"I guess. Mother told me to take care of this coat and look at it!"

He grinned despite the fatigue and dust on his face. "I think it still looks real good. On you."

"Stop it." Kira headed up the slope again, angling west as well as north. The line of riders was still a good way off, but gaining on them, and the drones were moving in a pattern over the city and slowly expanding their search outward. "Jason, we have to move faster."

He didn't answer, but kept pace as Kira forced herself to walk more quickly. She could see people and wagons on the road ahead, some moving east toward Kelsi and some toiling up the slope westward to the pass for Ihris and the high plains around that city.

They finally reached the road, Kira's legs shaking with tiredness again. Jason appeared ready to fall over. Kira looked east, seeing the riders getting uncomfortably close and the drones nearly even with the riders now. They searchers had reached the point where the rail line being built west from Kelsi had so far been completed, the new twin rails gleaming beside the old, old road.

Jason shook his head. "Kira, I don't think we can stay ahead of them."

"We can't." Where could they hide? The grass wouldn't offer concealment up close, especially not from the drones overhead.

As Kira despairingly considered the few, bad options left to her and Jason, she felt something. A presence. One familiar to her. She stared in that direction, seeing someone sitting alone a bit north of the road. "Jason, this way!"

"Huh?" But he followed as Kira walked with renewed energy and hope toward the lone figure, seeing that the person wore Mage robes. She was right! It must be her! "Mage Alera? Lady Mage Alera?"