Page 24 of A Tempest of Shadows

If word got out that another lightning bearer resided in Tempest, and it was also the Hooded Robber, they’d relentlessly hunt me’. I was powerful, but my power was nothing compared to those who controlled this realm.

Being under the thumb of powerful men was a fate worse than death; I couldn’t face it. Plus, my mother would learn that I was the Hooded Robber, and Scarlet would discover the secret I’d kept from her for years; I couldn’t stand the idea of their hurt and disappointment.

That was something I’d have to worry about later though. For now, I had to escape or I’d never see either of them again.

Gathering my wits and grace, I leapt over a fallen log and dashed around a tree. The tree groaned, and the roots that had descended from its branches to implant in the ground creaked as the tree swayed.

There were so many branches with roots that many would think they created a solid wall, but I knew how to dance through the roots to avoid their confines. Ryker didn’t.

Turning sideways, I twisted through the thick curtain as leaves rustled and ghosts howled. Free of the maze of branches, I drew on the power of the earth beneath my feet and darted around a boulder as fog rolled in to surround me.

Swallowed by the thick mist, I sprinted through the woods, plunged into the icy river, and dove beneath its racing current. I kicked into the flow, letting it sweep me downstream, around some rocks, and past the trees whose roots drank from the water.

After a few minutes, I broke free of the surface, sucked in greedy gulps of air, and snagged a tree root before I was sucked further toward the waterfall ahead. Pulling myself from the river, I crawled onto the shore and collapsed there.

I gasped air into my cold, burning lungs. Water slid down my face and past my lips; I drank it as I licked my lips and tried to get my arms under me again.

I couldn’t stay here. I’d gained some distance on Ryker, but he was determined and would track me down.

When I glanced back, my fog remained over the river. It blocked my view of Ryker and the path I’d taken here, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there, closing in on me.

Pushing myself to my feet, I raced into the trees to hide with the ghosts and creatures.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Ryker

I skidded to a stop in the middle of the forest as the thick fog created a blanket amid the trees. The Robber controls fog too.

It was the one weather element I couldn’t control. I could wield lightning and thunder, rain, wind, and snow but not fog.

Who is this guy?

The question ran through my mind while I searched the woods, but I couldn’t see beyond the trees three feet away. I hunted for footprints, but when I came across the river, I knew the Hooded Robber was gone.

My mind spun as I tried to process how he’d managed to get away from me. The Hooded Robber was smaller than I’d expected but faster and a lot more powerful.

How is there another lightning bearer in this realm that no one else knows about?

Word of another lightning bearer would have spread like wildfire through Tempest. Lightning bearers were rare and admired. Not even Leo, his soon-to-be-crowned brother, or my father were lightning bearers.

It was just me and now the immortal who had robbed and evaded me; I seemed to be one of only two who knew that. And the other was a complete thieving mystery.

They couldn’t have fought in the Ghoul War. They most likely would have exposed themselves against those monsters.

This meant they were either young, wealthy, lucky, or hiding in the Revenant Woods to avoid recruitment. I was leaning toward young, as it was only a matter of time and danger before the Robber used their power in front of others.

He could have grown up in the woods. Maybe he’d lived in them since he was a child, and that’s how he avoided the war that took so many others.

But why would they care about money and distribute it to the towns if they were wood rats?

It was a good question, and when I caught the Robber, I would discover the answer to it and all my other questions.

I ran a hand through my hair and tugged at its ends as the fog dispersed. A ghost floated through a tree and into me. I didn’t blink as the ghost passed through me, turning my insides to ice before the spirit drifted out and vanished into the trees.

Turning away from the woods, I returned to where I first discovered the Hooded Robber. He’d escaped me this time, but it wouldn’t happen again.

The next time I tracked him down, I would know what to expect; this time, he’d stunned me with his ability to wield lightning. It wouldn’t happen again.