To Whatever End (Echoes of Imara Book 1) by Claire Frank

her injured arm close to her body and left the road, seeking the relative shelter of the trees.
    Holding her Awareness open took effort, and her body felt sluggish and frail. She pushed it out, desperately hoping to find some sign of Daro and his captors. The Sensor would be hiding their movements, so she concentrated, looking for any signs of rippling, but found nothing. A knot of fear grew as she realized Daro was gone. She leaned her back against a tree and closed her eyes.
    Strength seeped back into her body, and her mind drifted into focus. Instinct told her to move. She could still be in danger. Someone might be coming back to finish her off. It was what she would do—send someone back to tie up the loose ends.
    She limped through the trees, heading east, and held her Awareness open as far as she could. Her circle widened as her Wielding Energy gradually returned. Her breath came easier and she moved quickly through the brush, fear pushing her on.
    A figure appeared at the edge of her Awareness, as if materializing from nothing. Instinctively, she dropped to the ground. Three arrows sliced past and stuck into a tree behind her, each with a dull thud. She crawled across the ground on her belly and scurried behind another large tree. Loose end, indeed. She had him in her Awareness, could sense him readying another arrow. He took a few steps toward her, his bow raised.
    Keeping still, her heart pounding, she barely dared to breathe. She was still weak and wasn’t sure what she could manage against this strange adversary. Another arrow flew by, followed by another as he kept moving toward her. He’s trying to draw me out. As she felt him move closer, she waited.
    With a flick of her Reach, she snapped a twig behind a nearby tree. Her pursuer stopped and turned in the direction of the noise. She held her breath and kept silent. After a pause, she Reached again and Pushed down on the underbrush, making the leaves rustle. He was in her vision now, angling off toward the sound. Holding her position, she waited for him to get closer.
    As she Pushed a pile of dead leaves, she swished them across the dirt and cracked another twig behind the next tree, hoping it sounded as if she’d dashed to a new hiding spot. Seeming to follow her ruse, he took careful steps toward the sound. She could see him clearly now; he wasn’t ten feet away.
    Springing from her hiding spot, she threw her Wielding Energy around his throat and squeezed, slamming him with Pressure. She grasped him as tightly as she could, squeezing with all the force she could muster. He dropped his bow, and his hands lurched to his neck. She Pushed harder, clenching her teeth against the pain in her shoulder.
    She was too weak to keep her grip on him and he rounded on her, snarling behind his mask. He had unnatural eyes, several bright colors swirling together around his black pinprick of a pupil. As he lunged toward her, she jumped to the side to avoid his wild advance. She struck him with her elbow as he passed, but he turned and grabbed her arm. Twisting, she gripped his wrist with Pressure. With a shout, he let go of her arm, but swung with his other fist, striking her hard across the face. Pain erupted in her cheek as her lip split open and blood ran down her chin.
    He grabbed her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. Throwing her head backwards, she hit him in the face. Despite the blow, he held on, so she threw her weight forward and bent over as far as she could. He slammed his Wielding Energy into her but she Pushed back, making him lose his footing. They both stumbled and rolled over each other on the ground. With a kick, she broke his hold, then scrambled back to her feet, dirt and dead leaves clinging to her. She tried to pin him down with Pressure, but she was too spent to hold him. He struggled up, growling in frustration.
    Without a thought for direction, she turned and ran. Darting in and out of the trees, she knew her pursuer was close behind. As