Zora did not stop running until her lungs burned and her shop came into view. Her hands were shaking so violently that she struggled to fit the heavy iron key into the lock.
She didn't bother to arrange the fabrics or tidy the counter as she usually did. There was no time for that now. She grabbed her small bag from behind the counter, threw in a few essential items, and rushed back out, locking the heavy wooden door behind her with a loud click.
Luckily for her, the main market area was mostly deserted. Most of the townspeople were either still gathered in the square watching the captured witch or had fled to their homes in a state of panic.
The air was thick with the smell of smoke and the sound of distant shouting, but the street directly in front of her shop was empty.
Zora knew she couldn't stay on the main road. She darted into a narrow alleyway, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She had not spotted any other sorcerers yet, and she hoped that they were still busy dealing with the chaos in the town square.
She avoided the wide, open roads, choosing instead to use the darkest pathways and the narrow gaps between the tall stone buildings.
Every time she reached a corner, she slowed down and peeked around it, her eyes wide with fear. When she emerged from one alley and was about to turn into the next, she suddenly froze.
Just a few yards away, two sorcerers in purple robes were walking with a group of five soldiers. She immediately ducked back into the shadows, pressing her body as flat as she could against the cold stone wall.
She held her breath, praying that they hadn't noticed the movement of her dress.
She stayed there for a long time, her pulse thumping in her ears, until the sound of their heavy boots faded away.
She was terrified, but she knew she had to be smart to survive. She quickly turned and went in the opposite direction, ducking through a tiny pathway that ran between two shops.
She came out into another alleyway and began to run again, her feet hitting the dirt as softly as possible. But before she could make the next turn toward the edge of town, she saw him.
A lone sorcerer was standing right in her path. He was holding a glass ball in his hand, and the moment he saw her, the object began to react.
It started glowing a bright, angry red, the light fading in and out with a sharp intensity.
The man's eyes widened with surprise and excitement. He pointed his free hand toward her and reached into his robes, likely pulling out the same white powder that had brought down the witch in the square.
Zora didn't wait for him to act. Using her vampire speed, she moved back in a blur of motion just as he threw something toward her.
She avoided the attack, but she realized she was in trouble. She was in a dead end, and the sorcerer was the blocking the only way out.
If she tried to run past him, he would surely catch her. She bit her lip until she tasted blood. She had never fought anyone in her life, but she knew she had to do whatever it took to survive this moment.
The man approached her again, his face set in a grim look. But before he could cast another spell or throw more powder, he suddenly gasped and slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.
Zora stood there, stunned and gasping for air. She looked past the fallen man and saw another figure standing in the shadows.
It was a different sorcerer, dressed in robes of dark gray and deep blue. He looked to be a middle aged man with kind, steady eyes.
Zora's alarm did not go away, if anything, she grew more confused. Why would one sorcerer attack his own kind to save her? She moved back, her body tense and ready to run.
The man in gray gave her a gentle smile. "You don't have to worry, little one. I won't hurt you," he said. His voice was soft and carried a strange sense of peace.
Before Zora could find her voice to speak, she noticed another young man stepping out from the shadows behind the sorcerer. His expression was unreadable, and he watched her with a quiet, focused gaze.
"Then what do you want from me?" Zora asked warily, her back still pressed against the wall.
"Nothing at all," the sorcerer replied. He chuckled softly. "I am a sorcerer who doesn't believe that all supernaturals are bad people.
Surprising, right? After all, our very powers are copied from the magic of your kind. It seems wrong to hunt those who have done no harm."
Zora eyed him and the younger man next to him. She didn't want to believe him, but he had just saved her life. "That still doesn't answer my question. Why save me specifically?"
"Well," the man said, tilting his head. "It is obvious that you are innocent. Your eyes are clear and free from the bloodlust that your kind usually tries to hide.
Even now, you are not attacking me. You look like you don't even know how to fight. Did you grow up here in this town?"
Zora felt a wave of relief wash over her, but she still didn't let her guard down completely. "Yes," she whispered. "I was raised by humans. I've never hurt anyone in my life, I promise. Please, just let me go."
The sorcerer smiled again. "I believe you. You don't have to worry about us."
The younger man, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. "You should leave this place," he told her. "The village, the town, leave it all behind tonight. It is no longer safe for you here."
He explained that the search would be much more thorough than she realized. The King's men would be going from house to house for many days, and they would not stop until they found every supernatural hiding in the area. He told her that her best chance was to go to the capital city.
"The search in the capital is being concluded by now," the young man said. "Because they started there first, it is actually safer now than any other city or town in the kingdom.
You should go there and look for a job in one of the noble or ducal houses. Those places are never searched by common soldiers or sorcerers because of the power the owners hold.
You would be safe, provided for, and hidden in plain sight."
Zora thought about his words.
It made a lot of sense to her. She didn't have a hiding place in Gayle anymore, and the town of Lardin was becoming a cage.
She realized that she would finally have to go to the capital after all. She thought of the Duke and the offer his men had made her just days ago. If she went to his mansion and asked for work, he might still accept her.
He didn't seem to suspect anything, and his people had been the ones to ask for her in the first place. He was her best bet for a safe future.
She looked at the sorcerer in gray and thanked him profusely. She bowed low, her voice thick with emotion. "I owe you my life. If I ever see you again, I promise to pay back this favor."
The sorcerer looked at her with a vague, knowing expression. "One day, perhaps you will have to fulfill those words," he said quietly.
He and the young man then gave her one final piece of advice; she must leave tonight or very early in the morning before the roads were completely blocked.
Zora nodded, her mind already racing with the things she needed to do. The two men turned and disappeared back into the shadows of the alleyway, leaving her alone with the unconscious sorcerer.
Zora took a deep breath. The world she knew was gone, and the village of Gayle was no longer her home. She had to prepare herself for the real world outside her quiet shop.
She turned and began to make her way back toward the edge of town, her heart set on the long road to the capital. She was a vampire, but tonight, she felt like a very small girl starting a very big journey.