Capturing Caroline by Anya Bast Page A

all the way up to the front of the line.
    The guards all
looked like hard soldier types. Although they were probably the
tallest, broadest men the Magica had to offer, their demeanor made
her assume they were all men with small hearts and big inferiority
complexes. She erped again and pressed a hand to her mouth.
    Torrent touched
her shoulder. "Are you all right?"
    She closed her
eyes and nodded her head, afraid if she opened her mouth something
other than words might come out. She wanted to confide her
suspicions to him—that she carried his child—but it felt cruel. It
would only add to his despair.
    Oh, but it made
a sliver of hope and happiness flicker deep inside her. She prayed
it was true.
    The guards
dealt quickly with the compendium salesmen, opening all their packs
and asking them a few general questions. Each person needed to show
their identification, something Jessa and Logan had already
prepared for them. Jessa's plan of buying the books had been a
sound one. The guards had watched the group smiling and laughing
all the way up to the gate. It made them seem relaxed and as though
they belonged there.
    "Halt!"
commanded the head guard when their wagon approached the entrance.
All of the men were dressed in black from head to toe and had an
orange armband wrapped around their right biceps. Each of them held
one of those long magicksticks that looked a lot like a cattle
prod. "Get out of the cart, state your names, and show your
identification."
    Crap! They
hadn’t made anyone in the other wagons stand. Why them? Torrent
couldn’t get up. He just couldn’t!
    Caroline
thought fast. "Sir, I'm sorry, but my husband has hurt his ankle on
the road. He shouldn't put any pressure on it. May I request he
remain sitting?"
    "No, mistress.
It's our policy that all vehicles of commerce be fully checked."
The man paused. "But he can remain sitting until after we check the
rest of you."
    Caroline met
Torrent's eyes for a moment, then she slid off the back of the
wagon and joined Logan and Jessa in front of the guard. They each
stated their false name and showed their false identification. The
guard seemed bored as he verified everything. Caroline erped again, and the guard glanced up at her, frowning. "Are you all
right, mistress?"
    "I’m just a
little sick from the road."
    He dismissed
them and jerked a thumb at Torrent. "Now, you," he barked.
    Torrent held
Caroline’s gaze for a moment, then, slowly began to rise.
    Caroline
decided that was a great time to throw up. She thought of every
disgusting thing she could—specifically hard-boiled eggs with
ketchup—and the contents of her stomach spewed out in a rush that
would have made any horror movie director proud.
    Logan and Jessa
stared in horror and all the guards backed away. She finished
vomiting and glanced at Torrent. Every muscle in his body looked
strained, like he was trying very hard not to go to her. She gave
him a small smile and a little nod to let him know she was
okay.
    The head guard
covered his nose and mouth with his hand and waved them through.
"Go, go! All of you. Consider yourself checked. Here are
your papers. Move along." He thrust some papers at Jessa.
    They nodded and
all of them apologized profusely, moving through the huge gates of
Titan...and into enemy territory. Again.
    She took a seat
on the back of the wagon and Torrent wound an arm protectively
around her, feeling her forehead. "You really are sick," he
murmured. "We need to get you somewhere you can rest."
    "No worries."
She smiled up at him. "It was just nerves. I feel much better
now."
    Caroline
swallowed hard and tried not to gawk as they entered the city. Of
course she'd been here before, but that time she'd been running for
her life. She couldn't remember much of what the city looked
like.
    Whereas Lycaon
territory was all about living in communion with nature, the Magica
world seemed to be about dominating it. Honestly, it felt a lot
like the Flip Side, what she'd come to call the