Tarik stared in horror with his arm in the air, waiting for Lumeo to become a tattoo. Fang held the otter in his jaws, ready to kill him at any moment. Chinwe desperately grabbed Lynk's arm as he approached Tarik while trying to convince him to stop. A guard kicked his arm and held it down with his boot, ruining the chance to save Lumeo.

"Please stop this!" Chinwe cried. "You're hurting him!"

"You're either with me, or against me!" Lynk snapped at the girl. "Don't you understand that Erdas lies in his hands?"

Chinwe shook her head, unable to say anything as Lynk pushed her away. Tarik stared at Lumeo while the otter stared back in fear. He moved his gaze to Fang.

"Do you remember when you freed me from that horrible place your partner kept me?" Tarik said weakly, barely loud enough for everyone to hear. Lynk stopped and stared at his spirit animal, then back at Tarik. Fang's eyes seemed to soften, but only slightly. It was clear that the mountain lion remembered.

"And then we ran away together?" Tarik continued. "You had my back when I was threatened by a man in Xin Du, and then tried to feed me while we were on the edge of that river before being found," he began to cough before clearing his throat.

Fang had been listening and had loosened his grip on Lumeo just enough that the otter could wriggle his way out and run back to Tarik's body, biting the guard's leg to free his arm. Fang turned to face Lynk in a defensive way, his tail thrashing.

"You freed him?" Lynk echoed in disbelief, staring at his spirit animal.

The guard stepped away from Tarik, as Lumeo once again stood in front of him to protect his body. Chinwe also rushed to Tarik's side and summoned her wildebeest. Lynk frowned at Chinwe.

"Don't be so stupid, we're on the same side," Lynk hissed.

"No," Chinwe's voice sounded stronger. "I'm on Olvan's side, not yours." Her wildebeest huffed and stamped its hoof on the wooden floor.

The ship halted roughly, as if crashing into something. Fang yowled in alarm, and Lumeo jumped in fright. Chinwe fell onto her side, while Lynk and the guards did the same. The wildebeest kicked the wall and, by reflexes, stabbed a horn into the closest guard causing him to cry out in pain.

A man opened the door to the room. "We've made it to Fort Zourtzi!"

Everyone except Tarik were now on their feet, the injured guard clutching his wound and leaning against the wall.

"Before you become captain of a ship, learn how to halt us peacefully!" Lynk barked, then pointed at Tarik. "Grab him and get him on land," he ordered before fixing his stern gaze on Fang. "I'll deal with you later."

Was Fang being abused? Tarik thought. It would make sense, as spirit animals don't normally turn against their own partners. Fang had helped Tarik escape when he was first captured, but he was their enemy, and because of that he couldn't figure out why the cat helped him until now. It all made sense, even if he couldn't physically see marks on the animal. But at the same time, Lynk's men shot him at the river without hesitation.

Chinwe grabbed Tarik before the uninjured guard could. "Don't touch him."

Tarik felt like he was in a daze. He could barely move, and he couldn't speak. He could feel Chinwe lifting him up off the ground, he was surprised that she could even carry him. Perhaps he had lost weight, or she was just stronger than him.

"Chinwe!" Lynk aggressively made his way to her and grabbed Tarik. "Let him go!"

Lumeo jumped up onto Lynk's shoulder and began to bite him again. Chinwe's wildebeest pushed Lynk away as a warning without hurting the man. The otter jumped off and landed onto the wildebeest. Using her spirit animal as a shield, Chinwe moved out of the room with Lynk and the guards behind her. Tarik's body still hurt so much from everything that Lynk had done to him.

"Tarik," Chinwe whispered. "You need to try to walk, I'll support you."

The sun was so bright that it hurt his eyes. He felt himself being placed down as Chinwe still held his upper body. His legs began to shake and he was worried he might fall over. Chinwe pushed both of them towards the bridge that led them off the ship.

The ship's crew were beginning to surround them, and Fang blocked the way out.

"Move!" Chinwe yelled to the cat.

"No!" Lynk said. "You traitor!" The man ran to his spirit animal's side, drawing his sword.

"You're the traitor!" She screamed back at her mentor. "You betrayed the Greencloaks!"

Lynk sourly frowned. "I won't hesitate to kill you."

"I won't hesitate to kill you either!"

The wildebeest huffed and crouched down. Tarik felt Chinwe push him onto the animal's back.

You've got to be kidding me, he thought. He sat up on the wildebeest, barely holding himself up.

"Don't you dare," Lynk warned.

"You need to move out of the way," Chinwe said. "Hold on, Tarik!"

The wildebeest snorted and charged forward, almost sending Tarik flying into the ocean. He held on for dear life, as Lynk and Fang had to jump to the side. He heard the mountain lion yowl and begin to chase him.

He looked behind him and saw that Chinwe aimed an arrow at Fang as she placed herself above the ship's deck. She fired and struck Fang's hind leg, stopping him from attacking her beloved spirit animal. Lynk surprisingly cried out, and Tarik looked forward again with a smile across his face.

The walls surrounding Zourtzi were huge, and Chinwe caught up not long after she had shot Fang and ditched her mentor. They both ran inside the gates of Zourtzi, which were broken, but guarded. Tarik's green cloak swirled around behind him, giving himself away as a Greencloak to the people. Chinwe's cloak also billowed behind her. The guards tried to stop them from entering, but Chinwe's spirit animal was too quick. The wildebeest was huffing, getting more tired from running as they went down many alleyways and small streets, damaging properties and shops along the way.

They halted in a far alleyway from the entrance. Tarik fell off Chinwe's spirit animal and the girl rushed to his side, panting. Lumeo jumped down and watched Tarik.

"Thank you," Tarik said weakly.

Chinwe smiled, but it faded shortly after as the Zourtzi guards had found them.

"Stop Greencloaks! You are under arrest!" the leading guard said.

Tarik stared up at Chinwe, frozen.

"Please have mercy, we are children running from our enemies," Chinwe said as she was handcuffed.

"What's wrong with him?" another guard said as he handcuffed Tarik and carried him, Lumeo anxiously following behind with Chinwe's wildebeest.

"He's hurt!" Chinwe cried as she was dragged behind Tarik's guard. They travelled along what seemed like the main path of Zourtzi, passing many different shops and homes. Tarik could still hear Chinwe talking, but all the carpet shops were what grabbed his attention. The group stopped in front of what looked like a castle. Tarik stared at the balcony above. It had scratches on the sides of the walls, and arrows that had struck the building.

"Lord Faisel," the leading guard said. "We have captured two trespassing Greencloaks, they caused a lot of damage entering the city."

Tarik was dropped onto the floor, he lay on his side in pain. Lumeo squeaked angrily at the guard. A tall Zhongese boy stepped into view with a girl next to him. His eyes widened as he recognised her.

"Stop! That's my brother!" LaReimaja wore a bandage around her head as she grabbed Tarik's body. "Faisel please, you have to tell them to let him and the girl go."

Tarik's vision was leaving him. His hearing was also fading, he felt as though he might fall unconscious again.

And that's exactly what he did.

---

Tarik woke in a comfortable, soft bed. He blinked slowly and rubbed his eyes as he looked around the room that he was in. He noticed a fennec fox sleeping on a rug in front of a fireplace that wasn't lit. Lumeo was also asleep next to his side, and the windows only let in the darkness from outside. It was night.

Chinwe sat on the floor next to Tarik's bed, resting her head on the blankets. LaReimaja sat on the other side of the bed, with her hand resting on his leg. Everyone was asleep. Perhaps they had been here all day and most of the night. He could barely remember what happened. He looked at himself, noticing that he wasn't wearing a shirt, but a bandage was wrapped around his torso instead. His cuts and bruises were also covered. His arm that had been stomped on by Lynk's guard was bandaged, and he felt as if he wore one on his head. LaReimaja also wore a bandage around her head.

What happened to her? he wondered.

He looked at both Chinwe and LaReimaja. He had missed his sister greatly, but Chinwe had betrayed him at first. She was the reason that he had been captured in the first place, but she had just proved herself to be good. There were still some people missing.

His brothers.

His parents.

The Greencloaks.

Lishay.

Oh, the things he would do to have Lishay here with him. He noticed how strong he felt. He had denied and pushed away the feelings he felt towards her for weeks. He missed her too, and Dorian. Dorian was his first Greencloak friend. And it was clear that Ricko did care about him, but Tarik was too stubborn at the time to see that. He regretted running away, but after all that had happened on the ship with Lynk, this was worth it.

Because he had found his family and knew that they were safe for now. He sighed and blinked again, drifting back to sleep.