Lyss sees that Kyma's emotions are about to overwhelm her and she pulls Kyma into a hug. "Hey, hey. It's all right. He can't find you."

Kyma sniffles. "But what if he does?"

"Then we'll work together to stop him. You can do it Kyma, I know you can. You got away from him in the sídhe, didn't you?"

Kyma nods. "I stabbed him in the side."

Just the thought of what she had done makes her skin turn clammy and her stomach lurch. She almost vomits, but holds it in. There is a quiet sound from Lyss, and Kyma finds herself being pulled over to the mouth of the cave and into a kneeling position.

"If you need to vomit, then do so, Kyma."

Kyma nods and shudders as her body tries to expel the contents of her stomach. She forces herself to refrain from vomiting and stands shakily, stepping away from the edge of the cave's mouth. Now that adrenaline is no longer rushing through her body, her mind calms and tries to work through the events that had just occurred. Her face pales.

"Lyss . . ."

"What is it?"

"You know how we shifted and used the river to get here faster, instead of running the whole way to the waterfall?"

"Yes, I remember that. What are you trying to say, Kyma?"

Kyma swallows nervously. "He told me that there is a tracker in my tail, he knows we went this way."

Lyss' eyes widen. "Come on, we're going out to sea. He may not know the way to get to the cave, but we can still get you out, and then get that tracker off of you in safety."

She takes a step forward towards the waterfall, and as Kyma turns to follow her, she sees a hint of movement from the land entrance. Her lips part in a wild plea.

"Lyss, watch out!"

Lyss spins defensively, one hand on her spear, but she is too late. There is a bang from the mouth of the cave, and Lyss falls. Kyma is overcome by panic and she darts forward to grab Lyss from where she is lying on the floor. There is a slowly growing red stain on Lyss' chest, and Kyma grabs her arms to drag her towards the healing pool and away from Dr. James.

"Ah Ah ah little miss Kyma. You can't get away from me now. You can't help your little friend either, she's dying."

Kyma tried to drag Lyss toward the pool with renewed vigor. If she can get her there quick enough, Lyss will be fine. But she glances down at Lyss in fear. Her eyes are closed in unconsciousness, and the red stain is spreading faster now. Dr. James darts forward to the side of Lyss, and Kyma springs away, back towards the mouth of the cave. His eyes narrow in anger at how she is now in the vicinity of escape. He grabs Lyss and props her up, pointing his gun at her head.

"You weren't dragging her away from me, where you. You were trying to get her somewhere to be healed. Well, Kyma, if you try to escape from me, she will die right now. You can't heal her if I put a bullet through her head."

Kyma gulps, conflicted. Lyss is her friend and she wants to help her, but Lyss would want her to get away no matter the cost. She glances towards Lyss' face and finds that Lyss has regained consciousness. Her eyes are wide, and she is looking at Kyma in fear. Not for her own fate, Kyma can see even from this far away that Lyss is resigned to dying. Lyss' fear is that Kyma will give herself up for Lyss' sake. Her fingers twitch, and Kyma's eyes narrow in on them. Lyss is signing to her. Kyma's hands creep back towards her pouch as she looks at the signs, preparing for what comes next.

"Go. Dive. Dive off the waterfall."

Kyma remembers how adamant Lyss was that Kyma would be able to dive off here, as well as how Alai said there would be a mental block. Well now Kyma has no choice. She has to take that path. She summons two of the throwing daggers, one to each hand, just as Dr. James speaks once more.

"What will it be, Kyma? Come with me and possibly save your friend's life, or flee and condemn her to death?"

Kyma swallows and whips the dagger's toward him, already turning to run by the time the dagger's hit him. She knows one of them hit him in the arm by the clatter of the gun hitting the floor, and the other hit him in the stomach, she saw a glimpse of that one. As Kyma runs towards the waterfall at full tilt, preparing to dive, Kyma hears him grapple with Lyss for the gun. There is another bang just as Kyma dives through the waterfall. The bullet slices through Kyma's thigh, instead of Lyss as Kyma had feared. Kyma screams through her clenched teeth and shifts, her silvery tail wiping the pain away.

That's one of the few benefits of having the two forms. An injury to the tail won't transfer to legs, and vice versa. Kyma speeds towards the closest beach with the hill-cliffs. As the swims, she feels along her tail for any sign of the tracker. Nothing, nothing, there! A bulge beneath one scale. It feels attached to the scale's underside, not in the flesh beneath. Hidden by the swells of the waves, Kyma stops and pulls out her dagger. She slips the point beneath the scale and pushes upward, prying the scale free. The pain is blinding and instantaneous, but she pushes through it, not stopping until the scale parts from her skin. Her pain-filled tears are wiped away by the sea and Kyma gets as far into the shore as she can before shifting back into her legs.

She can't let him get anywhere near the rest of the merrows, even if she is the price. The salt water rushes into her wounds, and Kyma bites down on her tongue to keep from screaming again. The agony is blinding, but her adrenaline dulls it slightly, enough for her to limp out of the waves and towards the hill-cliff, her tattered clothing waving behind her in shreds. She hadn't unpinned her pants before shifting, so all of the buttons have been torn away, leaving her with wide strips of fabric.
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Well that is intense. Do you think Lyss is dead? What about Dr. James? How bad do you think Kyma's wounds are? Will he find her again now that she has removed the tracker? What do you think will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.