Free Fearless Magic by Rachel Higginson

flooded my cheeks and neck, “Well, there's you and me, and Angelica, and.... Silas,” I finished weakly.
    “How many people are living with Silas now?” Jericho asked with furrowed brow, I could tell he didn't like the numbers already and I hadn't even dropped the bomb yet.
    “I am not exactly sure.... but it doesn't really matter. I'm not counting Silas's people because they won't be fighting. I am only counting Silas.... just Silas.” Too embarrassed, I couldn't even look Jericho in the eye. If the situation was reversed and I was the one taken and Avalon left on the outside to rebuild the rebellion, I was sure Avalon would have a thousand people behind him and probably more by now.
    “Just Silas?” Jericho turned on me, horrified.
    “He says that his people have suffered too much already, that he wouldn't ask them to fight and I agreed. Each person should have their own say and since none of them was there to volunteer I.... Listen, I was just thankful for Silas, Ok. I didn't know you would be waiting for me behind lucky door number two. I was just happy that someone was willing to help me,” I huffed honestly and remembered those despairing moments of loneliness before Jericho unexpectedly became part of my journey.
“You're right, of course, you're right,” Jericho admitted, and he sounded humble.
    “Plus, I mean, I can't be sure about this, but that night at the farm, like not everyone was there, right? Where are Titus, Xander and Xavier?” I asked a question that was nagging at the back of my brain stem for weeks.
    “You're right!” Jericho said again with enthusiasm. “They would have gone underground, almost immediately. I'm sure they wouldn't have been caught. And the teams in India and Morocco and.... South Africa!” He was excited, his step suddenly had a bounce to it and he gripped my hand with purpose. “We just have to find them.”
    “Right,” I agreed, finding his spirit catching; that was a lot more people than I planned on. Things were looking up. “Do you have any idea where any of them might be?”
    “Xander, Xavier and Titus were in Paris the day that everyone was taken. Avalon and I just got off a conference call when the Guard showed up. There is a safe-house inside the city that they would have gone to once they heard, assuming they heard about the attack while they were still in Paris. We'll start there since they weren't scheduled to move on for another week. I know where the team in India keeps its headquarters after our trip there last winter, assuming they haven't completely gone underground also; we should be able to connect with them too. Morrocco and South Africa will be a bit trickier, but maybe once we hook up with the other teams they will have a better idea where to look.”
    “Ok, good.” I was in awe of how things were starting build momentum. Jericho meant the difference between hopelessness and real action. We had a plan, we had begun to move on it and I could feel the aggressive, vengeful, excitement rush through my blood like kindle to a flame. I could feel the fearlessness growing.
    “But what about your parents?” Jericho asked, as if he were checking off a to-do list.
    “I'm hoping Gabriel will have more answers,” I mumbled, almost sarcastically. So far, they felt like a completely unattainable goal, but at the same time necessary to my cause. I wasn't even looking for them as abandoned daughter seeking long lost parents; I was simply a general of an army that needed every last soldier to take up their arms and fight. Their son would be sacrificed and their life choices essentially got us into this mess. Their obligation was to help and I was positive I would give them no other choice once I found them.
    If I could find them.
    “Me too,” Jericho mumbled underneath his breath as we stopped in front of an old, crumbling church with chipped, ecru stucco and a rusted, ancient red door that I was not entirely sure would still open.
    “Um, are you sure