Free Shield of the Gods (Aigis Trilogy, Book 1) by S.M Welles

anymore.”
                  “What do you mean?”
                  He swallowed and stared ahead. “She’s gone.”
                  “Who? What happened?”
                  They passed under the trees and were touched by a lazy breeze that carried the scent of rain. Roxie turned around and walked backwards as she looked at the sky. Sure enough, swollen cumulous clouds were gathering beyond the rooftops.
                  “What is it?” Aerigo asked.
                  “Rain,” she said, turning around. Just perfect , she mused sarcastically. Crummy weather for a crummy day. “So what happened to your lady friend?”
                  “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
                  “Your eyes are glowing,” she said. It was strange to be able to say that to someone else. “Clearly it still does.”
                  “Well it shouldn’t,” Aerigo said sharply, then kinder, “It shouldn’t.”
                  Roxie took the not-so-subtle hint and lapsed into silence. They traversed the forest and took a right, headed for Buffalo’s outskirts. Walking loosened Roxie’s limbs, although she felt like she was losing energy, instead of gaining any back. The city engulfed them with cars, people and daylight everywhere, though incoming clouds intermittently blocked the daylight. They plodded deeper into the city.
                  “Do you feel well enough to move faster?”
                  “You mean, like, a brisk walk?”
                  “I mean a jog or a run. All the way to the station.”
                  “I was never much of a distance runner.” Roxie hated long runs.
                  “Daio’s still following us. I don’t know where he is, but he has no intention of losing track of us. The sooner we get to the bus, the sooner we’ll be able to keep a safe distance between him and us.”
                  “How long do you think he’ll follow us for?” They reached the end of a crowded sidewalk and waited for the crosswalk sign to turn green.
                  “Most likely until I do something about it, or he does. But I’d rather just shake him off our trail. Other people will be sent to pick up where he leaves off, so there’s no point in killing him.”
                  “But you said you wish you had,” Roxie said over honking horns and the hum of traffic.
                  “For other reasons. Don’t worry about it.”
                  A couple of cars swept under the red lights as Roxie’s and Aerigo’s crosswalk sign turned green. The two started onto the road and took only a couple steps before Aerigo snapped his attention to their left. He took a sharp intake of breath. “Run!” He seized her wrist and yanked her into motion.
                  Roxie clung to a strap of her pack as they sped down the sidewalk. They bumped more people out of the way than maneuvered around them. “What is it?” They angled into the street, rushing between parallel-parked cars and moving traffic, and the idle cars made a flicky whooshing noise as she sped by. Everyone’s side view mirrors were within inches of clipping their sides. Roxie noticed a peculiar detail: they were keeping up with the flow of traffic—no, surpassing all the cars to their immediate left! How fast were they running?
                  “He’s very close! Don’t slow down; just tell me which way to turn.”
                  “Just stay on this road. It’s up ahead. You can’t miss it.”
                  Aerigo let go of Roxie’s arm and hoisted his pack over his head, then unzipped it and dug a hand inside. He produced his sheathed dagger and threw his pack back over a shoulder. Ahead of them a Camry had partially pulled out of its parking spot but