Bodies swarmed past mine in a rush, knocking into me with elbows and luggage in their haste, but one big body pushed itself into place beside me, arms and luggage stretched out like a shield, and another pair of arms had already closed firmly around me from behind, keeping me upright and Ruby safe. I knew whose arms they were even before I’d swum all the way back into my solid human body, leaving that sea of gloriously fluid metal behind.

“You see?” I told Leander as I opened my eyes. “I knew I could take down that shoddy barricade on my own.”

“And it was a sight that I’ll remember for a very long time,” he assured me, as I adjusted little Ruby in my arms and she made fretful, meowing sounds in the jumbled chaos of big running bodies in the dark. “But right now, we need to hurry.”

Ah. Those shouts in the distance weren’t all friendly, were they? Shrill whistles blew in their wake, signaling the City Guard on its way.

Damn it! This part, I hadn’t counted on. Without magic on their side, there should have been no way for the guards to tell this was where the breakout had begun. That barricade had broken all at once, and it had stretched for miles! Our little group of refugees certainly wasn’t the only one taking advantage of its destruction now. Dozens of citizens were streaming out from the streets around us, whole families running and whooping and carrying trailing armfuls of hastily swept-up belongings.

Jasper had been acting as our shield ever since the onslaught had first begun, and now Ruby wriggled impatiently in his direction, letting out insistent little whimpers of demand. “Not yet, kitten.” He hefted their luggage at his sides and aimed a worried look over my head. “Let’s go!”

Unfortunately, I was still light-headed and drained from my exertions, and the long satin skirts and petticoats of my fancy gown tangled in my legs with every step, trying to trip me up as I stumbled forward in my high heels over the shifting mass of tumbled wood and metal shards. I cradled Ruby close to my chest as she wriggled furiously in my arms. Her patience had apparently given up for the night; those earlier whimpers turned into piercing wails that hammered directly into my eardrums. Only Leander’s hand on my right elbow kept me safely upright as we hurried forward in the panting, surging, yelling crowd, with Jasper acting as a solid shield on my other side.

Horses’ neighs trumpeted warningly well ahead of us, beyond the mass of escapees who filled my vision. More shrill whistles blew behind us.

“Our carriage is waiting only a quarter mile away,” said Leander.

“We won’t get there in time.” Jasper’s deep voice cracked in anguish as he came to a miserable halt. “They’re closing in on us. Oh, Ruby—”