My Infinite System.

Marc found them a place to hold.

It was nestled against a broken rise of stone with half-standing remnants of some past construction offering a degree of cover and height to take in the approaches. Some of the terrain held residual traces of power from previous use, but it was old work, not theirs, and Lucian gave it a single glance before nodding in approval.

”This will do.”

They fell into place without a word, packs discarded and bodies settling in against the rock. It was the first true pause since the camp had fallen to them in scattered pieces.

Silas drew up against the wall while Reia gave his bandaged arm another thorough examination, Lucy kneeling nearby to settle Althea in a more sheltered spot with Vyn close on her heels. Finn, Mira, and Dorian took up positions along the far wall in equal measure, the former two settling down while the latter watched the distant horizon with few words. Evelyn stood for a long moment before coming to a decision and pressing against the opposite wall with Lucian’s side.

Marc was the first to speak after a circuit of the perimeter. ”No tracks on us. They’re either not pushing yet or have considerable distance to travel if they want to make a sweep.”

”Good,” said Lucian, settling down with a tired sigh. ”We’ll take what we can get.”

Water passed from one waiting pair of hands to another. Mira continued tending to the lingering drain on some of the group even as Finn flexed and tested his fingers, Dorian watching the distant road with an uncharacteristically unengaged expression. Reia finally pulled away from Silas, shaking her head. ” Lucky for you it’s not worse.”

”I’m lucky you’re not still in pieces,” Silas replied, receiving a noncommittal grunt in response.

Lucy pushed dust from Althea’s sleeve as the girl sat with her legs tucked beneath her, watching with a detached expression that had become increasingly common since their extraction. Vyn murmured quiet reassurances to her, filling the space with idle words.

Evelyn nudged Lucian’s shoulder from where she stood. ”You’re already thinking three moves ahead.”

”Someone has to be,” he replied without looking at her. ”I’m sure you’re seeing right through me”

”I am,” she said after a pause, ”but I understand why you’re doing it.”

He looked to where she stood, back to the wall. Her jaw was set, expression resolute, something he recognized well. ”I’m also not missing the parts you’re avoiding.”

Lucian rose to his feet, brushing off his trousers. ”We can’t return to the keep and simply stand waiting. It would be foolish with the numbers we’ve lost and those still recovering.” He folded his arms across his chest. ”We need to pull back here so those people can stabilize before we move to better ground. From there we can decide whether the keep holds at all or what needs to be done with Alistair.”

There was the sound of several sharply inhaled breaths at that.

Marc pulled up a knee as he settled against the wall where Lucian had been. ”We have to talk about the keep.”

”And Alistair,” said Lucian, prompting another set of startled looks from his people.

”What about him?” asked Silas.

”He wasn’t with the others,” said Lucian after a moment. ”Not according to the records.”

Evelyn’s expression darkened, but she said nothing.

”He was still in the keep when you left the first time,” said Marc. ”And when we returned the second time, it was abandoned with the same residue as the group that was taken out. If they took him, it was separate from the others. If they didn’t...”

”He either escaped before they got to him or failed to leave an identical trail,” finished Lucian.

Reia was the one to speak first, eyes flicking between the two men. ”You think he’s dead?”

”I think we don’t know anything about it,” said Lucian. ”And that means we can’t act on what we think we know yet.”

The hush that followed was even more stifling than the one before. It was Lucy who finally broke it, her voice quiet as she looked up at Lucian. ”He was trying. Toward the end anyway, but that’s still something, isn’t it?”

Evelyn’s mouth tightened, but she didn’t gainsay her younger friend, only turning her gaze toward the broken off remnants of the wall.

Lucian straightened, resting a hand briefly against the rough stone before rising to his feet. ”We can’t return to the keep and sit waiting for them to come to us. Not with this many people and not with the state we’re in. We need to hold here for a while before we move on more secure ground. Then we can decide whether it’s worth pressing back in at all and what to do about Alistair.”

”I can get us better ground,” said Marc. ”Something with fewer traces and more cover to watch the approaches.”

”Do that,” said Lucian, giving the spot a final once-over. ”I’d rather not be sitting in someone else’s kill site if it can be avoided.”

Finn looked up from where he’d been tracing idle patterns in the dirt. ”And what about if the Warden comes for us before we can move?”

”We won’t be waiting to be caught, not again,” said Lucian, ”and no one is left behind without the whole group knowing about it.”

They seemed to reach a silent understanding on that, no one pressing further even as the weight of it lingered.

They broke up the group in small pieces for the next watch, Mira doing what she could to help clear the excess drain on Finn and herself. Dorian finally sat down properly after a long stretch on his knees, the tension in his shoulders easing as he turned his back to the wind. Lucy kept occupied with Althea, who had been growing increasingly listless, while Reia and Silas took up positions beside each other with few words exchanged in passing. Vyn took inventory of the few supplies remaining while Evelyn waited until Lucian was nearly at a distance before following him.

”You left him there,” she said, falling into step beside him after a moment. ”I know it’s what you had to do, but you left him there.”

”I did,” said Lucian.

”And now he’s gone.”

”Yes.”

She studied him for a long moment, taking in the set of his shoulders. It wasn’t enough, not really, but it would have to do. ”If he’s alive, he’ll be their problem eventually. If he’s not, it still won’t be ours until it is.”

Evelyn looked past him, at the broken terrain ahead. ”I still can’t see him without seeing the end of the world.” She exhaled a quiet breath. ”That hasn’t changed.”

”I know,” said Lucian. ”But it shouldn’t have to. I think that’s what’s changed, actually. You’re seeing it for what it was, not necessarily what it is.”

”But Lucy’s right,” added Evelyn. ”He was doing his best. It’s just not much.”

”It usually isn’t,” he said with something like dry amusement, the sound swallowed almost immediately. She stayed where she was for a moment longer before moving to stand beside him again.

Marc was waiting when he returned, an estimated course and distance given to him as he took in the terrain. Closer to them, safer in some ways. Less of the kill site, more of the ground under their control. More defensible if pressed, easier to move if they chose to do so. It would take a day, maybe more, to reach if they moved carefully.

Lucian gathered the others with a glance, indicating the shift with only his eyes. ”We move before nightfall settles in entirely. We keep close watch and keep forming if something comes up. Everyone knows not to stray off on their own.”

No one argued.

They fell back into formation with practiced ease, the group moving with the steadiness of those who had already been through such an ordeal once. Silas gave his arm another once-over before nodding in satisfaction, Lucy tucking Althea closer to the middle of their group. Finn, Mira, and Dorian took their places without comment, Evelyn falling in beside Lucian easily enough. Marc took the front with the others at his back.

As they left their temporary camp behind, Lucian cast one last look across the expanse before falling into step with the rest of the group. The immediate threat was less tangible, but the greater force was no less present.

Somewhere beyond the horizon, Alistair was either being held, being hunted, still being hunted by the Warden, or none of the above. Somewhere else, farther still, the Warden’s people were already adjusting for their failure to hold their people in place. The Outer Gods were an ever-present force at the edges of everything, pressing in when and where they could.

Lucian set a steady pace, and the group moved with him, carrying on toward ground that held promise of being far enough to make a stand. Behind them, the broken rise disappeared into the distance, and ahead, the path stretched out before them.