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“What about a trial?” Bryn demanded, turning to Justin. “Mr. Rafferty said there would be a trial first!”

“There should have been. It’s in the bylaws,” Justin replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But I am guessing Arioch and Daran aren’t too worried about following the letter of the law.”

“Can they do that after removing Mr. Rafferty for what they deemed the very same issue?” Jace asked, bewildered.

“They have enough of a mob to where they can do anything,” Declan remarked, his hand moving to point at the wall, as if they could see through it to the townspeople out there planning and preparing for Bryn’s death. “Those people are not rational right now. They are being fed a steady stream of poison in the form of anger and hatred, and we have no antidote.”

Everyone was silent at Declan’s words before Sage spoke up.

“Then it looks like we are leaving together. Screw the prophecy.”

Chapter 39

WaitingforJacetograb his medical gear, Bryn watched as Travis and Caden came out of the back door to the Cauldron, bags packed and rifles slung over their shoulders. Caden gave Bryn a wink and a smile when he walked up to her.

“We are going to need each other, and this town is no longer the place to make our stand against the king.”

“And where would that stand be made?” she asked, watching him as he strode by with a cocky look on his face. She knew where she planned to go but was unsure if everyone else was on board.

Bryn hoped not to have to split off from them on their travels, but she would find her mother and answers.

“Wherever the goddess of war decides it is.” Caden snickered as he walked into the small barn behind the Cauldron.

Of course it was.

Declan and Kessler were the next to stride around the corner of the Cauldron, moving to the back barn that Declan had kept for himself and where Caden and Travis had just gone to.

How long had they been planning this? This was a little coordinated for a spur-of-the-moment decision.

But she knew that Mr. Rafferty most likely knew the tides could change at any moment, and he created several backup plans.

The power structure in the town was far too fragile not to have an escape plan years in the making, and one was now being enacted.

Breaking away from where she’d been leaning against the building, she caught up to Declan and Kessler, both of them larger than her by far. She was almost childlike in height next to them, and that was saying something since she was not a short woman.

“What are y’all up to?” she asked as Justin walked up with his own bag, Finian loping to Bryn and smothering her in his canine affection.

Rubbing Finian’s head, she looked to Declan as he took her elbow and pointed to where Kessler moved to something huge under a tarp in the barn.

“Backup plan.” Declan winked, confirming her thoughts as Kessler tore the tarp off, jumping into the back of a monster made of metal.

She knew what it was, but they had long since been rendered useless due to the war on resources after the Collapse. Food, gas, anything that could keep a person at the top and alive was coveted until the king came in and started controlling the import and export trade.

People still fought for food and land, but things like gas and fuel were long gone.

So, without the fuel to power it, why this was some amazing thing struck her as odd.

“A truck,” she stated, trying to keep an optimistic tone but failing horribly.

“A truck,” Kessler said with a pride she’d never heard from the man of few syllables. “Been working on her for a while, but with that magic rock igniting something in my blood, now she works!”

He smacked the metal side as if it were a prized horse.

“You can magic the metal to drive it?” Sage’s voice joined them, holding the awe she was sure the men had hoped to hear.

“Sure can.” Declan looked at Kessler as the man admired his work.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Kessler jumped down next to them and stared at the metal contraption. Various colors adorned her from where he had somehow managed to find random metal to weld together, most likely during the rare times he went with Declan to trade outside the walls of Ifreann.