Even though I wanted to stand and fight as much as he did, this was a battle that we just couldn’t win. Sure, we’d taken out a few of the Draconi guards, but they still outnumbered us at least three to one, and we simply didn’t have enough weapons and men to take them on and win, no matter how good our fighting might be. We had to get out of here—now.

“Move!” I yelled at my friends. “Out the back! Go! Go! Go!”

Felix grabbed Deah’s hand again, and the two of them sprinted for the rear of the restaurant. Devon and I held off the two guards that charged at us, disarming and knocking them down, then turned and hurried after our friends.

By this point, most folks had given up trying to fight the Draconis and were running away, either by stampeding toward the back of the restaurant like we were or scrambling out of the windows that they’d broken out. Devon and I moved as fast as we could through the debris, swinging our swords at any Draconi who tried to stop us. My eyes cut left and right, but I didn’t see Poppy or Hiroshi Ito anywhere. Hopefully, their guards had gotten them to safety. Roberto Salazar and Nikolai Volkov had vanished as well. Now we needed to do the same.

We ran past the bar and I shoved through a pair of double doors that led into the kitchen. The workers were all long gone, having darted out the back as soon as the fighting had started in the front of the restaurant. We sprinted past counters piled high with half-chopped vegetables, sinks filled with dirty dishes, and stoves with pans of food still bubbling away on the hot burners. Felix and Deah were already standing next to an open door at the very back of the restaurant. Everyone else had rushed past them; we were the last people still in the kitchen.

“This way!” Felix yelled, waving at us. “Hurry!”

He and Deah turned and disappeared through the door. Devon went through next, with me right behind him. Together, the four of us raced out into the night.

I sprinted through the open door and almost tripped on a couple of loose soda cans rolling around in the alley behind the restaurant. But I righted myself, whipped around, and sprinted back over to the door.

“Lila!” Devon shouted. “What are you doing? Come on! We have to get out of here!”

“Just a second!” I yelled back.

I slammed the door shut, then looked around for something to barricade it with. A small dumpster was sitting next to the door, so I ran around behind it, dug my sneakers into the asphalt, and started pushing. The metal container didn’t want to move, not even with the extra strength still coursing through my body, so I let go, took a couple of steps back, and got a running start, putting my shoulder down into the dumpster like a football player making a tackle.

Screech.

Screech-screech.

Screech-screech-screech.

Slowly, very, very slowly, the dumpster rolled forward one inch, then two, then three. Devon realized what I was trying to do, and he raced over and added his strength to mine. Together, we managed to push the metal container in front of the door.

And not a moment too soon.

Bang.

Bang-bang.

Bang-bang-bang.

Someone—Blake most likely—was ramming his shoulder into the door over and over again, trying to bust it open from the other side. The wood groaned and started to splinter, and I knew that it wouldn’t be long before he used his strength magic to break through it and shove the dumpster out of the way.

Devon grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the door. Together, we sprinted to the end of the alley where Felix and Deah were waiting for us.

I looked around. The White Orchid was located on the edge of the tourist section of town, where the shopping squares full of businesses gave way to more industrial areas. Still, I knew exactly where we were—and the only thing that might save us now.

“This way!” I yelled. “Follow me! Run!”

I set off down the street, with the others following along behind me like we were all a pack of joggers. Only this wasn’t a casual run. It was a race—one that would determine whether we lived or died.

Bang!

It sounded like Blake had already gotten through the alley door, and we weren’t even at the end of the block yet. I risked a quick glance over my shoulder. Sure enough, Blake ran out into the street a second later, flanked by several Draconi guards. He must have heard the swishing sound of our footsteps because he whirled around and looked in our direction.

“Get the cars!” he yelled. “Cut them off and chase them down!”

Some of the guards headed in the other direction to follow his orders, but Blake sprinted after us, with close to a dozen guards trailing along behind him. If they caught up to us, we were dead.

I looked over at Devon, who was running along beside me, his strides long, smooth, and easy. Deah was also running well, but Felix had already started to lag behind, sweat pouring down his face. We still had about a mile to go, and I knew that he wouldn’t be able to make it that far before Blake and the other guards caught up with us.

Devon glanced back at Felix, then over at me, his face creasing with worry as he realized the same thing I did.

“Tell us all . . . to run,” I said between gasps of air. “It’s the only way . . . we’re going to make it.”

Devon nodded. I grabbed Deah’s arm and made her stop, and Felix staggered up beside us. Then all three of us looked at Devon.

He drew in a deep breath, then stared me in the eyes. “Run!” he screamed in the loudest voice he could.

Devon’s compulsion magic immediately wrapped around my body, making it feel as though I was a puppet and someone else was pulling my strings. Beside me, Deah and Felix also jerked upright, their fingers twitching, their bodies going into spasms, and their feet and legs churning of their own accord. With one thought, we all started running again.

Deah and Felix had no choice but to run as Devon had commanded, but my transference magic quickly overcame his compulsion, until his power was mine to use however I wanted. And right now, I wanted to get us as far away from the Draconis as fast as possible.

So the four of us ran and ran and ran . . . pulling away from Blake and his guards, although they continued to yell and chase after us. Devon’s magic made it easier for us to run, but his compulsion power didn’t help with anything else. It was still a hot night and sweat soaked my body, streaming down into and stinging my eyes, and the air was so humid that it was like trying to breathe in warm soup. But I didn’t dare break stride, not even to take a second to rest. I’d rather be hot, sweaty, and miserable than dead. Beside me, the others gasped, wheezed, and panted for air as well, but we all kept running.