Crimson Red, Cerulean Blue

(Lucas)

I hid around the corner until they left.

Cripes, it’d killed me to see Violet’s expression when she realized I wasn’t going to stick around. But there were things I had to do, and I couldn’t involve her in that kind of stuff. She was better off with the other members of the Seven, where she could learn about her magic and help finish this war. My side of the story was too risky, and there wasn’t any place in it for a ten-year-old girl, no matter how much I wanted to stick with her.

That didn’t help much with the guilt, though. I’d lost someone already, and hearing Violet cry out for me wasn’t exactly the best way to hold back the memories. I was fighting back tears by the time she finally gave up, and the only reason I didn’t break down was because it wouldn’t do a single freaking thing.

I left the tunnels right before they filled up with lava by using my antigravity magic, to the cave Kari and I had been in right before this. The fire had died out, but I’d restarted it the old-fashioned way, huddling as close to it as possible because damn, Rogue City was cold. Like, beyond belief.

With luck, Violet would’ve found the flash drive I’d slipped into her pocket by now and passed it to Orange. There was info in there they really needed to know, info on the Opposite Plan and what they were planning. And hopefully, they’d finish that up for me, while I took care of other things.

I took out the tracer I’d managed to slap on Kari while no one was looking, fiddling with the buttons. (Hey, I used to work in Mask’s army. I take precautions.) The screen read, Yellowton.

Turns out it was a good thing I was so paranoid, actually. Because Kari had saved my life.

And I still owed her for that.

Abruptly, I got to my feet. No point in sticking around any longer than I really had to. There were too many things to do, and too little time. Plus, Rogue City was way too cold to stay in for very long. I was freezing.

I took one last look at the tracker before slipping it into my pocket, then faced the snowstorm outside. It looked like it was going to be wet and seriously uncomfortable, not to mention cold. And painful.

Letting out a sigh, I headed out, leaving the fire to burn itself out yet again.