The voice had been right that there was no invisible wall blocking the back of the toy aisle. Instead, there was a physical wall since this section of the store was located in the back left corner. The rest of the store lay off to their right, easy enough to see from here. There must have been a barrier wall there—or this mysterious girl wasn't really to be trusted—because Mara led him to the left.

They ran past six aisles and had almost reached the end before she yanked him down an aisle. She spun on her heel when they made it midway through, dragging Josh behind her, and turned to face the direction from which they had come.

Josh paused for a moment, but when he heard a crash from Darren's direction, he whispered, "So, we safe enough for you to explain what in the world is going on?"

Mara glanced over her shoulder at him, her nose scrunched in a thoughtful frown. If not for the circumstances, the expression would be adorable.

"Do you trust me?"

Josh blinked. "What?"

"I asked if you trust me," she repeated. Despite the frown on her face—adorable despite the situation, he decided—her eyes held fast, sincerity lacing them and her words.

"Not sure if I should," Josh said slowly, "but considering it's between you and the guy trying to kill me..." He gulped, then nodded. "Yeah, I trust you."

Mara's lip twitched, and for a second, he thought she was going to smile, but another crash pulled her lips back down. "Then I'm going to need you to trust that I know what I'm doing and that I'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to focus on you surviving."

Josh winced. Surviving. That word felt like a punch in the gut. "So, what do you need me to do?"

She shot him a quick glare. "I need you to stay out of the way. And I need to figure out how to do this." The second part came out as a whisper, one he was sure she didn't mean for him.

Maybe trusting her hadn't been the wisest decision.

Don't worry, the voice assured. Mara won't let anything happen to you.

Josh rolled his eyes. Thanks for the reassurance, random voi—

Another loud smash cut him off, then Darren called, "You're going to regret this, Paladin!"

"Does that idiot want to bring everyone running?" Josh grumbled.

Except they'd been loud this entire time. More than Mara should have appeared. He twisted to look out toward the rest of the store. As he watched, a few people walked around, but none spared the toys even the quickest of glances.

"Is nobody noticing this?"

"The barrier is keeping them away, now quiet please," Mara muttered. "Trying to focus."

Yes, of course, the barrier. That mystical force field or whatever it was that the voice in his head kept mentioning. Maybe he should try talking to the voice in his head. He was out of danger now. At least, he was for the moment.

Something flashed in front of Mara before Josh had the chance to reach out. He shifted to get a better look, and his eyes widened. Mara had sheathed her knife and lifted her hands up. Between them wavered a ball of pale blue light with a core darker than the rest of it.

"You trying to hide now? No amount of time will make me go away."

Josh tensed, and Mara muttered under her breath. The energy flickered out of life as she reached for her dagger. Darren's voice had been close.

"You see, I haven't been out in this world for a very long time." Closer. Maybe only a couple of aisles away. "So I wanted to enjoy my time here. Thought I would get to toy with the bonding brat, have my fun. But you know what?"

Darren stepped around the corner and turned straight toward Josh and Mara. Black energy blazed within both of his hands, casting an eerie glow over his face. He glared at them, his mocking smile replaced by a sneer.

"I think I'm done playing."

"Down!" Mara snapped.

Josh dropped to his knees without a second thought. Mara followed with a shouted "Asa praetimus," and placed her dagger on the ground. It glowed blue as she swung her arm in an arc. A wall of thick ice followed the dagger's path.

Mara had just gotten the wall higher than their heads when something crashed into it, illuminating the ice with black light. Cracks spread across the surface. The wall groaned.

"Move." Josh didn't know if he meant it as a question or an order, but Mara nodded. With one last glance at the protective wall, as if to confirm it wouldn't hold, he shot to the other side of the aisle.

He rolled into a kneeling position and twisted to look back at Mara. His stomach clenched. Mara had risen into a half-ready position while Darren charged forward with the energy blast. The energy sputtered out a moment before he crashed through the ice and right into Mara. They hit the ground, rolling as both struggled to be on top.

Josh scrambled to his feet and rushed over. They'd come to a stop with Darren on top, his back to Josh, throwing energy-infused punch after punch at Mara. Josh slid his arms underneath Darren's armpits, earning a surprised yell. Gritting his teeth, Josh heaved up, pivoted, and flung Darren.

Josh looked over his shoulder at Mara before facing Darren again. She had a busted lip and another bruise blooming, but she also didn't hesitate before getting up.

"You knew he was coming and left yourself there as bait," Josh pointed out.

"I just guessed," Mara said. "And I'm trying to keep you out of this fight."

Josh frowned but kept his eyes on Darren as he got back to his feet. "First, I don't need to be babied. Second, I don't want you risking yourself just to keep me out of it."

Mara huffed, the sound an odd mix of amused and annoyed. "That's my job—"

"Aren't you both adorable," Darren spat, cutting her off. He glanced between them as darkness once more surrounded his hands. "You think it matters what either of you wants."

Darren sprang at Josh. Before Josh had the chance to meet the assault, Darren twisted and grabbed at Mara, who had been stepping forward to intervene. He yanked her forward by the shirt and smashed his fist into her face.

"Hey! Leave her alone." Josh swung a hook toward Darren, but he grabbed Josh's fist and twisted. Sharp pain traveled through his muscles as Darren pulled Josh over by his twisted arm, placing him between Mara and Darren.

"Have a present," Darren said. He released Josh's fist then kicked him in the chest. Josh flew back straight into Mara.

She twisted out from behind him, and he thudded to the ground. "Sorry," she muttered before rushing at Darren.

Josh, I have a bad feeling we may have to go with my earlier idea.

Oh hey, Josh said as he tried to ignore the ache in his chest. He pushed himself up. You're back.

Yes, I'm back, the voice said. He spoke hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure he really wanted to be back. Do you remember what I was saying before—

Darren grunted. Josh snapped his eyes toward the fight. Blood dripped from a sharp cut on Darren's chin. Ice encased Mara's hands, blood painting one jagged edge red.

Snarling, Darren thrust one of his darkness-encased hands in her direction. The light condensed in the palm of his hand before shooting out as a beam straight into Mara's gut. She hissed, curling in and wrapping an arm around herself. He used that moment to grasp a handful of her hair and jerk her straight into an elbow strike.

Mara hit the ground with a cry, blood rolling down her face. 

Fun fact: Fun fact: Asa translated to English means ice. How did I decide it? Tried to figure out what a growly/flowy way of saying ice would sound like, and asa came from it xD

Things aren't going the best for these guys. Mara has to try to work around Josh and not being able to attack as hard as she'd want (though definitely working on execution of her "holding back" next draft), and Josh... Josh is just failing xD But I'm sure they've got this...

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D It's in my bio if you'd like to join!