Raven turned around and saw a soldier waving at them from the main road. There was a gun hanging from his shoulder and he was firmly holding the leash of a dog that barked continually, though it would occasionally choke from the sharp yanks on the leash that practically strangled it. The soldier waved his hand back and forth over his head, indicating that he wanted them to come back to the road. Raven did not hesitate. He threw Maya over his shoulders and took off running. It took the soldier a moment to pull his hand out of the dog’s leash as it jumped and lunged, excited to begin the hunt. Finally he pulled his hand free and the animal took off like a shot.

  Raven ran as fast as he could, taking huge strides. He was holding Maya tightly against his shoulder with his left hand. Her legs were hanging in front of his chest and her head was flopping up and down against the middle of his back.

  “He’s getting closer!” howled Maya, seeing the dog gaining on them. “He’s going to catch us!”

  Raven pushed himself to the limit, somehow managing to dodge a hole as he ran through a small group of trees. He heard the sound of fabric tearing, then felt a tug on his right arm that made him momentarily lose his balance and he stumbled. He tried to pay close attention to the ground in front of him to avoid any icy spots.

  He had to do something, and do it quickly; it wouldn’t be long before the dog caught them. He went around a small abandoned house and was stopped in his tracks by a barbed wire fence. They could go no farther. He put Maya down on the ground.

  “Listen to me, Maya. You have to go hide. I’ll deal with the dog and the soldier.”

  “No!” Maya grabbed his hand and pulled it forcefully. She was sick to her stomach, and deathly afraid. “Come with me or they’ll catch you!”

  Raven took the girl by the shoulders. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” He pointed across the fence to the river. “Run in that direction but don’t try to cross the river. It might not be completely frozen. Look for someplace to hide. I won’t be long.”

  He didn’t wait for an answer. He pulled the girl to her feet and helped her over the barbed wire fence. Maya fell into the snow on the other side and sat there, looking at him. Her eyes begged for him to come with her.

  “Go!” Raven urged the little girl.

  Hearing a bark close by, the child finally reacted. She got up, turned, and ran off through the snow. Raven watched her for a few seconds before turning around.

  The dog appeared around the corner of the wall. Its back paws went skating out of control when it tried to turn at top speed, and its back end slid in the snow. It recovered immediately, driven by its hunting instincts, and hurled itself at its prey, slobbering and barking.

  Raven reached out his hand.

  The dog came quite close to Raven and leaned on its back paws, preparing to jump on him, when suddenly it froze in place. It stopped barking and stood staring at Raven. It walked all the way around him, sniffing. It seemed to be assessing him, as if it weren’t sure that Raven was really the one it had been chasing. Twice it got so close to Raven that it almost grazed him with its snout. Then it simply backed away.

  Raven’s outstretched hand turned ever so slightly.

  The dog took off running and barking, going back the same way it had come. Raven watched it disappear around the house, and then went looking for Maya. He effortlessly jumped the fence and found her footprints, a trail of tiny depressions in the snow. As Raven followed them, a feeling of alarm was growing inside him. Her tracks led to a slight slope that went down to the frozen river. His eyes desperately swept the area; he saw no sign of Maya. Raven headed down the slope, carefully following her trail. The footprints went in a straight line, then a few yards ahead they became two ruts that led to a spot where the snow was pushed away. Raven assumed Maya had slipped and fallen there.

  Not much time had passed, so she couldn’t be far away. Fear continued to rise up in him. The soldiers no longer mattered, nor did getting into London or following the strange force that had drawn him there. Absolutely everything else had disappeared from his mind. Only Maya and the gripping fear that he’d never see her again remained. He fell to his knees and searched in desperation for anything that might reveal the girl’s whereabouts. He crawled on the ground until one of his hands touched something solid.

  It was ice. He hadn’t realized that he was on the banks of the Thames. He looked out over the ice and one of his worst fears took shape: there was a crevice in the ice. It wasn’t very big, but unfortunately a small girl’s body would easily fit through it. He stuck his arm into the icy water between the edges of the crevice and moved it around in circles. He felt nothing. He pulled his arm out and wiped the snow off the ice with both hands. He scoured the ice near the crack, and pounded the surface of the ice. Just then, a blurry figure appeared beneath the surface. Raven clasped his hands above his head and brought them down hard, striking the ice with all his might. The ice cracked. Raven unleashed another blow and this time the ice gave way and his hands plunged into the water. He grabbed hold of the shape that he now knew was Maya and pulled her from the water. He dragged her onto the bank and turned her over.

  A mop of tangled hair partially covered Maya’s little face. Her eyes were closed and she was not breathing. Her skin had turned a purplish color and she was not moving.

  He pulled her hair away from her face and hugged the girl against his chest. A knot formed in his throat; he was on the verge of crying. He couldn’t let her freeze to death. Warmth. She just needed him to make her warm.

  He pulled his right arm from around her and positioned Maya so she was lying face up over his left arm. He closed his eyes, placed his right hand on her little chest and concentrated. He forced his mind to it limits, exerting all his strength. Within his own chest a burning warmth was rising; it flowed through his arm and into his right hand. He felt a kind of energy, a force that he still did not understand, leaving his hand and penetrating into the child’s body, slowly raising her body temperature and making a slight, soft tingling. He didn’t dare open his eyes for fear of interrupting the process. He stayed still, feeling Maya’s body as if it were his own. In the place where the warmth was flowing into her, her muscles were loosening up and her skin was going back to its normal color.

  When Maya suddenly opened her eyes, she found herself in Raven’s arms. She coughed uncontrollably, expelling the water from her lungs. Touching her skin, Raven could feel Maya’s fear, so he pressed her more tightly to his chest to calm her trembling. Her temperature finally returned to normal and she stopped shivering. Her skin and clothing had dried. Maya was fine now, and was looking at Raven and wondering what was happening. She tried to sit up but she couldn’t. Raven’s hand was glowing with a golden shimmer that lit up her chest. She wondered why his eyes were closed. She began to feel frightened, and a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead.

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  Raven suddenly grimaced.

  The tingling around his hand gained intensity. It had become an unpleasant stinging. An irrational terror overwhelmed him. Energy was still flowing from his chest into Maya, and it was getting stronger every moment. Raven’s body spasmed as stabbing pain suddenly shot through him. The stinging in his hand was now burning painfully. Something was happening that he could not control, and he was now overcome with panic. He felt several blows against his chest.

  Maya let out a shrill and desperate scream.

  Raven opened his eyes and was stunned by what he saw. A transparent reddish-blue flame was shooting out of his hand. Maya was wrapped in a yellowish aura; she was punching him and screaming hysterically. He took his hands off her and she fell into the snow. Another sharp pain shot through his chest and he realized, horrified, that energy was still flowing all around him. His entire body was glowing now. He tried desperately to stop himself. A noise from deep within him, like an agonizing explosion, burst into his head and he collapsed onto the snow, unconscious.

  With a start, Raven regained consciousness. He sat up on the ground.

  For ten feet all around him, a perfect circle marked off the only area without a flake of snow. The ground within the circle was blackened, and the ice in the river within the perimeter had thawed in the shape of a semicircle.

  Raven stared blankly at a pile of ashes at his knees, the silhouette of Maya carved into the earth below it. He was panic-stricken and sick with grief when he realized what had happened. A rush of emotions relentlessly assaulted his mind, drowning him in an endless sea of pain. The guilt was like a burning hot spear that stabbed him a thousand times within a fraction of a second. In that moment, it was as if his mind shut down and his reflexes took over. His hands pressed on each side of his head and, independent of his will, he tore at his hair. His fists pounded the ground, oblivious to the physical pain it was inflicting. Mournful sobs and despairing howls burst forth from his throat as bitter tears poured from his eyes.

  Time passed and he was once again aware of himself and his surroundings. He opened his eyes. Still kneeling on the ground, he looked down at his trembling hands. There were still strands of hair tangled between his fingers and Maya’s ashes had mixed with his own blood, forming odd scabs on his fists. His eyes were vacant, devoid of emotion. Something resonated deep in his mind but he ignored it.

  He stood up, wobbly and disoriented, incapable of deciding where to go. Everything was spinning around him. The world had become gray and blurry, a place where he didn’t fit in, a place he didn’t understand and of which he no longer wanted to be a part.

  Raven took two steps toward the river and stopped. He heard a familiar voice from far off. He knew he’d heard it before but he couldn’t place it even though something inside was telling him it was important. What more could happen to him now? A quick, shrill whistle cut through his confusion and put him on guard. It was a sound that was burned in his memory from the first time he’d heard it.

  A thin, orange light in the shape of a crescent was coming toward him from the other bank of the Thames, leaving a long trail in the air behind it. Raven brought his arms up and crossed them in front of his face, instinctively protecting himself. The impact threw him back a few yards, slamming him hard against the trunk of a tree.

  A hand grabbed his throat and pulled him forward so he was half sitting up, his face inches away from his attacker. The pressure on his throat was brutal, and Raven could barely breathe. He grabbed his attacker’s wrist but was unable to free himself.

  “We meet again,” snarled the man strangling him. “It’s been a long time since our last clash.”

  Raven recognized the face before him. The man had smooth, tanned skin. His eyes, disproportionately large for the size of his head, were adorned with eyelashes that curved upward unnaturally. A silver headband with strange symbols wrapped across his forehead and disappeared into his short, ash-blond hair. He was wearing a dark gray leather jacket and pants that were tight-fitting—not practical attire for cold weather.

  “Why are you hounding me?” Raven asked, his voice muffled and straining.

  His attacker seemed delighted with his predicament.

  “I’ve spent too much time chasing you.” His voice was full of rage. “And now it’s time for you to come before us and give us an explanation.”

  “Who are you? And what do you want from me?” Speaking was torture now.

  “Who are we? Are you mocking me?” He drew in closer to Raven’s face; their noses were almost touching. He increased the pressure on Raven’s neck, causing him to gag. “Don’t worry; you’ll never again forget who we are. I can assure you you’ll regret ever having tangled with us.”

  Raven desperately fought to free himself from the crushing grip; he was suffocating. Colliding with the tree had knocked the wind out of him, and it wouldn’t be long before he passed out—assuming this guy didn’t end up breaking his neck first.

  “That’s enough, Vyns!” said a new voice. The pressure let up only slightly and Raven saw another man approaching. He was very tall and was crossing the river, walking both on the ice and the water with equal skill. “We need him alive. Have you forgotten that?”

  Raven felt air reentering his lungs and his survival instincts took over. Not knowing where his strength was coming from, he struck his attacker’s chest with the open palm of his hand. A gold flash appeared then disappeared, and his attacker was blown backwards. Another orange arc. Raven crouched down, rolled on the ground, and stood up—all in an instant. The tree he’d been leaning against moments before crashed to the ground beside him, split in two. Raven took off running, following the river.

  He felt rage spreading through his entire being. After so much time, he’d thought they were going to leave him alone. He’d hoped that the constant pursuit was a thing of the past, a nightmare that now haunted him only in the rare moments when he was able to get some sleep. He was wrong. His pursuers were very real, spending years hunting him down and always finding him, no matter where he went.

  A bluish flash exploded just to his left and a hole the size of a watermelon appeared on the ground. Raven turned right and kept running. He detected the presence of two new pursuers in the direction he was now going. He remembered them saying to take him alive and knew they were trying to encircle him.

  He still had no idea of the reason for all this, and that fed his rage and frustration even more. They were never going to leave him alone. If he managed to escape this time, the same thing would happen again a few days or months from now. Fleeing was not the answer. That revelation was now so obvious that he couldn’t imagine why he hadn’t realized it before. Hiding would only prolong the hunt. Sooner or later he would have to face his pursuers—and perhaps then he would understand why they wanted to capture him. The reason must have been buried somewhere behind his amnesia since, from where his memories began, nothing he would have done could anger someone enough to dedicate years to tirelessly stalking him. They’d been chasing him far too long.

  He saw another flash that made a hole much larger than the first one. Raven agilely jumped over it and continued heading directly toward where he’d sensed the two pursuers were waiting. He had to think of something—fast.

  A little farther up, a large steel sewer pipe was sticking out of an embankment in the snow, a trickle of brown water flowing out the end of it onto the ground. Raven ran to the pipe, crouched down and crawled in, oblivious to the stench that enveloped him. The pipe was lit briefly thanks to another explosion at the opening he’d just passed through. Raven knew he didn’t have much time. He went up the pipe as quickly as he could. Each time he placed his hands or feet in the river of filth, he was displacing all sorts of unimaginable muck and refuse. He pushed the remains of dead animals and other unidentifiable objects out of his way as he raced his way through the sewer pipe.

  The voices of his pursuers sounded close. They were catching up with him, and in this stinking, cramped space his ability to maneuver was badly limited. He needed to gain time on them to make it to the sewers. Raven stopped his effort to escape, turned back toward the entrance of the pipe, reached out his hand, closed his eyes, and concentrated—hoping this time he wouldn’t lose control.

  There was a light tremor. The top of the pipe cracked and a pile of earth and debris buried the entrance.

  Raven hurried to continue onward. He knew from experience that it wouldn’t hold them back for long. He fled into the web of London’s sewers.

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