As soon as the coin was in the beggar’s cup, he jumped up, flinging off his cloak—for dramatic effect—and drew a knife from his belt.

Jade squeezed in between two fifty foot boulders between a cliff and the dense woods. What she saw nearly made her scream.

When the cloud of dark smoke finally cleared away, the three boys and the prisoner were long gone.

Pheonix stood up. "At this rate, I may not even have any family left!"