“That monster killed my family,” Ellis said, looking straight through Michael’s chest.

  Ameena turned to Ellis like he had gone mad, realization dawning on her face as she followed his gaze. Grabbing his and Michael’s arms, she dragged them away. Michael’s smile almost stretched ear to ear at the accusation as he was dragged along. “Uh, Ellis? What are you talking about?”

  “That… that thing that spoke to us. The girl's father. He led the soldiers that day,” Ellis stammered. He didn’t think he was putting enough rage into his voice, so he raised it. “He’s the entire reason I am here! He killed my family! Please help me kill him! I’ll give you everything if you do!” Ellis begged, Ameena now far more frantic in her attempts at dragging both him and Michael down a side alley, the passerby's they walked past shooting them strange looks as they did so.

  Ellis ripped his arm out of Ameena’s grip, coming to a stop. Michael stopped with him. Arching an eyebrow, he turned and looked back at the man who was now playing with his daughter, bouncing her on one knee while the children around him manned the counter. They were emboldened by the man’s presence, and had started calling out to people passing by. The two merchants who had scolded Michael were quietly packing up their things next to them, glancing back at the man like they were sharing a seat with a Rass.

  “Yeah, okay. Let’s do it,” Michael said with a shrug, getting his sword two inches out its scabbard before Ameena’s hand clamped down on it.

  “No,” she said with a shake of her head. “That is the guard captain. The Ant Killer himself. We have no hope of killing him."

  Michael bristled at this revelation, turning full on to stare down the Guard Captain now. Ellis was shocked by the news, and decided to use it in his charade. “What? No, no. You're lying. You're lying! I don’t believe you! Why would he…. Why would he have done that to me!? Our village hadn’t even heard of him! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

  Tears started rolling down Ellis’s cheek, which surprised him. It was as if his entire body were trying to help him sell the lie he had told in that forest.

  But he had sold the lie too well. Michael had his sword half way out its scabbard, as if he were going to attack the captain right out in the open, and Ellis knew the children were going to be caught in the ensuing battle.

  Hating himself all the more, he had to rely on Ameena to curb Michael’s awoken bloodlust. Ellis resolved himself to give half hearted arguments in her attempt to talk him down, before planning to stomp off in a random direction. It didn’t matter what she said, they just needed to leave.

  Ameena took her hand off of Michael’s sword and grabbed the necklace around Ellis’s neck. “That man is the guard captain and far stronger than every man in the city! He will kill all of us if even one of the guards hears you! We can track and kill him later, alright!? But we need to leave!”

  Relief flooded his body now that she was stepping in, and then he growled in her face. “And if that was the Archduke, would you tell me we can ‘kill him later’? Would you?”

  She looked like she had been smacked by the question, taking a half step back. Her eyes softened as she looked at her feet. “No. I wouldn’t.”

  The only sound that could be heard for a moment was the hustling of the crowd, before her eyes found his again. “But I know I can get my revenge if he were standing before me now. Can you say the same? Or do you just want to make yourself a martyr? Die for nothing?”

  He held her stare for a long while, before smacking her hand away from his necklace and stomping off as Ameena turned her attention to Michael. Cutting through the crowd was a chore, so he made sure to stay within their general vicinity to let them catch up.

  It didn’t take long for them to do so, with a furious scowl Michael started cutting through the crowd for them, Ameena hanging onto his shirt with one hand and Ellis just trying to keep up with the pace. Michael’s hand kept twitching towards his sword, his jaw locked as they marched forward. Ameena would glance at Ellis every few moments, so he kept his eyes forward and tried to imitate Michael’s worsening expression.

  And so they walked far away from that section of the market, Ameena guiding them to every stall that had a ‘weapon’ in the name plastered above it. He noted she was smart about handling the potential trade as well, letting Michael do his whole ‘I’m not a monster buy my things I robbed from a corpse’ spiel to the merchants, while she stood behind him and showed off the most valuable item they had, one of the swords they had taken from those dead guards.

  If the weaponsmith shook his head no, she would grab Michael and start dragging him away. While he grumbled at this, her every light touch would have him preening like a puppy, his temper long forgotten now.

  She was making sure he didn’t start attacking random people who were just trying to earn a living, while also trying to accomplish their intended goal of acquiring weapons. Ellis almost admired her for the efficiency.

  It was only him and Michael that needed a weapon, Ellis mused to himself. Ameena had her wand and witchery, so a butter knife would be dangerous in her hands. He did not think for a moment they would spare the coin on a weapon for him though, but he didn’t complain.

  After an hour, they stumbled onto a wall as large as the one that surrounded the city. It cut through the silk road, a gate similar to the entrance for the Albus Citadel laying across it. Atop the gate sat a bell that seemed larger than the wall itself.

  He admired it for a moment, awe struck by its sheer size, before focusing on the guards that manned the gate and what lay beyond them. The market on that side of the wall looked different. None shared a stall, for one. Many of its people wore long cloaks of white and beautiful, perfectly stitched greens and blues that stretched to their ankles, golden jewelry littering every extremity that Ellis caught a glimpse of. One lady even had golden bangles around her wrists, like she was a prisoner of the gods.

  “So that's… The Silken Cradle?” Ellis asked, trying to see past the guards who were giving him a stern look.

  “And we keep him for his perception,” Michael muttered with a shake of his head.

  His little quip got a soft snort from Ameena, who seemed to be studying a certain weaponsmith who had a stall all to his lonesome on this side of the wall. Above his head was a sign that read, ‘RUTHER’S WEAPONS’, which she seemed to be taking a keen interest in. Ellis studied it in turn, trying to see if anything was amiss. All he found was the church’s symbol, consisting of five stars for the gods allayed around a circle, which represented the world. But it was wrong. There was a sixth star this time, centered at the heart of the circle.

  She studied the sign for three moments, before approaching the weaponsmith behind the counter, who had a missing finger and a bent back, his face lined with age and a smile.

  “What a lovely lass! What can I do for you my dear? Come to buy one of your handsome guards a weapon?” he greeted with a wink.

  He gave Ellis a once over, before eyeing up Michael like he was a prime slab of meat.

  “Sir, are you interested in the church?” Ameena asked, a hint of respect in her voice as she glanced at his sign.

  “As interested as anyone else! It gets a bit lonely though, unless the church is interested in you.”

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  “Their interest in me equals my faith in their… teachings.” A sneer escaped her lips, the words themselves causing her temper to rush forward before her voice returned to its normal flat cadence. “What do you have to trade?”

  “Sorry, lass. I have nothing left to offer… one from the road. The church is wise and perceptive, and the guards are strong.”

  Ellis cocked an eyebrow at their ‘idle’ chatter, since before him laid beautiful weapons which were making Michael lick his lips every time a the moonlight glinted off the steel. And they looked reasonably priced, too. One of them even went for 99 silver, rather than the full gold! But no lights went off, no weight tried to poke his eye out. So he wasn’t lying, yet he clearly was. Ellis tapped his necklace, hoping it wasn’t broken.

  Ameena’s eyes narrowed at the man’s statement. “And those strong guards would be where?”

  “My apologies, my lady. I do not know,” he said with a bow, causing a grey light to flash in Ellis’s eye now, the weight startling him away from trying to figure out what they were discussing. She spat a curse, before turning away from the man.

  Ellis put his hand on her shoulder as she turned around, and shook his head. “He’s lying.”

  “Finally something interesting,” Michael grumbled, stepping forward and slamming the man’s head against the stall’s counter, the swords rattling off the table. The people who had queued behind them and some onlookers gasped as they huddled together, watching the ensuing confrontation with awe.

  Michael stole the sharpest looking sword and put it to the man’s throat. “Tell us whatever the hell she wants, I guess.”

  “Sir! Please… there are potential customers watching us, allow me the dignity to remain on my feet at least?”

  “That doesn’t sound like an answer to my fucking question, or perhaps I’m just deaf,” Michael said with a sigh.

  “A new guard! Wants to make a name for himself, a Leno Warde or some such! He’s usually by the Crumbles Square! Now please, sir, leave me be!”

  Ameena had turned back with a deep scowl in her eye and her hand on the weapon. But her attention was solely focused on Michael, as if he had done a great crime rather than just be himself. Ellis couldn’t make heads or tails of it, until her eyes flashed with a deadly rage as she turned back to look at the old man under Michael’s grip.

  “Are you sure that name is correct?” Ameena whispered, her eyes locked on the man.

  “Yes! Please, enough!”

  “Thank you. Michael, stop,” she ordered, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Michael rolled his eyes, but let him go. He even left the sword to Ellis’s surprise, before raising his hands to the gawking onlookers. “This man cheated us! We handled him roughly, I know, but I only took my back my coin! Please, do not bother yourselves with this cheat!”

  A grey light went off in Ellis’s eye. He ignored it.

  “Why would you… we’re one in the same, how could you do this? I was trying to protect you…” the man fell back as he massaged his throat, a pained expression on his face as he looked at Ameena only.

  She didn’t answer him, just turned around, leading Ellis and Michael back into the crowd.

  Ameena had beelined away from the man, a quickness to her feet Ellis hadn’t seen before. He walked after her, and it wasn’t long before they discovered large crowds gathering at certain intervals along the silk road now.

  Ameena ignored most of them, walking them quite a ways away from the large wall by the silken cradle, until they were roughly halfway through the crumbles. Once there, they spotted a large crowd in a square not unlike the one in Solrise.

  They joined the throngs of people, and it wasn’t thirty seconds before they were boxed in from all sides, walls of people keeping them together and unable to move. Ellis squeezed past one person to get in front of Michael, to see what the fuss is about. Ameena tapped Michael twice on the back, who moved aside for her with a bow, and she glided in beside Ellis.

  Ellis whispered to a man next to him, “What’s happening?”

  “Speech on the gods and the ants. Probably just trying to get more donations, the greedy fucks.”

  Ellis eyed the man, but nodded in hesitant agreement before turning away.

  Five priests stood on a raised platform which circled around a bonfire, their eyes forward and their posture perfect. They seemed to be waiting for the crowd to grow larger, and it did not take long for thousands of eyes to lay upon them.

  The fire grew larger and larger with every passing moment, and when it felt like the flames would torch the priests as they flickered toward the sky, they all spoke as one.

  “We are the church of truth, given credence by Dumiso himself to keep his sons and daughters safe! But while his love is eternal, so are the mistakes of Anwir!” They began.

  Ellis had heard the tale differently, but was enraptured by the beautiful harmony of each of the priests' voices melding together, ensnaring the crowd.

  “Evosa is a kind goddess, a good goddess! Which is why Dumiso gave her the honour of being his second wife after he cursed Alehemet to her fiery cage. But Anwir grew jealous of their love, and tricked the mighty goddess into creating the worst of life. The ants! Sensing his wife’s betrayal, Dumiso begged Mier to kill every ant, to rid this paradise of their filth! But indifferent Mier refused! He somehow saw no difference between us and them!”

  Some of the crowd booed at that, and the priests stopped to listen until the discontent died out.

  “But rejoice, for Dumiso is strong! He battled Mier into submission and forced him into doing his duty! But Anwir had grown to love his wicked children, and once again spun his lies into the world! He told Alehemet that Dumiso had ordered Mier to kill all of life, so that they may start over! And while Evosa loved her husband, none can fault a mother for loving her children! She too wished for her monstrous offspring to remain eternal, and so the two mothers swore an oath! Evosa would counter Mier’s power against both mankind and the monsters lurking beneath our feet, and Alehemet would take us into her arms once our bodies were no longer able to sustain us! But Anwir was unhappy with just saving his terrible mistake! No! He wished for them to be the rulers of the earth! When the mothers cast their great spell, he interfered, giving birth to the wickedest of creations! Mana!”

  More of the crowd hollered their disagreements, many snarling and shouting out curses at just the word itself.

  “We must forgive the great mothers, for a mother’s love is never wrong. But the hands of man grew cruel! The mana users decided to worship Anwir’s mistake! The 1 mana in all of your hearts worsens the plague of ants! The innate sin we are born with is what they relish in! And the ones that pour more mana into the world are cause for the monsters to rejoice! Woe to the mana users, who worsen the plague! Woe to the infidels, who worship Anwir’s mistake!”

  The entire crowd roared their disapproval, the priests wearing pained expressions as they recounted the tale.

  “We must hold the ants at bay! The church will keep them out of our cities! And we will bide our time until once again mighty Dumiso can rid the world of Anwir’s meddling! Please, citizens and guests of The Albus Citadel, come forth and give the church the means to keep the beasts at bay!”

  The crowd surged forward, throwing money, jewelry, and eventually their clothes at the priests, each person trying to one up the other in their offering. Even the man who had complained charged forward, hollering as he held up a gold coin for the priest.

  The violent contest almost turned into an all out brawl when some of the men started throwing food, the only ones so far to have done so. It didn’t take long for the rest of the crowd to do the same.

  Ellis turned to Ameena, waving his hand at the priests for all the justification needed for why her— their use of mana is so evil. He hadn’t heard it that way from his Ma, and Ada’s Pa had told a very different tale, but they weren’t the church. Hearing it from the horse's mouth sent a shudder through him, the worst of reminders for what he had sacrificed.

  Ameena’s fingernails had dug into her palms, and Ellis could see how hard she was biting her tongue, as if she were trying not to shout at the priests like they were somehow in the wrong. He decided not to go through with chastising her at the moment, since he didn’t think he would live for very long afterwards.

  The crowd around Ellis thinned, and he could see that many of the guards had surrounded them, all watching the proceeding while keeping order. It took an hour for the crowd’s fervent need to give all they had died away, Ellis loitering around the back as Ameena kept her eyes peeled on the guards who surrounded them. They had changed once half way through the procession, and were changing again now, filling the area with hard faced men who watched the crowd like hawks.

  Ellis had just turned to Ameena to ask what they were waiting for, but found her eyes wide and her frown fearful as she stared at one particular guard, laughing with his friends as they started walking after the dissipating crowd.

  “Uh, Ameena?” Ellis asked, seeing danger in the way she clenched her fists.

  She spoke quietly as she walked after them. “It's him.”

  “Who?”

  She raised her head higher, like she was steeling herself against the very name. “Leno Warde. He dies today. And Michael? So do his friends. ”

  He grinned at the statement, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Bout time something fun happened!”