The stable doors banging open jolted Felitïa awake. She scrambled to the corner of the stall and pressed her back against it, hugging her knees to her chest. If anyone took a serious look into the stall, she could easily hide herself, but the less energy she used, the better. She might need it later.

“Good morning!” Rudiger said. “Or pre-morning, I suppose. I’m Rudiger.”

“I’m here to check that the horse is ready if called on,” a man’s voice said.

“There’s the horse, ready to go, as you can see.”

Borisin snorted.

“Ugh, does he always do that?” the man said.

“They all do that,” Rudiger replied. “That’s horses for you.”

“All right. Looks good. There will be another inspection at noon.”

“I know,” Rudiger said.

A short time later, the doors closed, and then Rudiger peered into the stall. “It’s safe.”

Felitïa stood up and brushed straw and dirt off her body, then began pulling bits of straw from her hair. “You have to do this every day?”

“New rules. Inspection at dawn. I’ve slept here the last couple nights to make sure I’m here on time. Also have to have Borisin ready to be summoned on a moment’s notice. Fortunately, none of them can tell when a horse has been properly prepared. Haven’t done a thing with Borisin this morning. We were up too late; I slept in. Uh huh. Yeah, sure, okay. He says I should be ashamed of that. Not the talking with you part, the not having him ready part.”

“I got that, thanks,” Felitïa said.

“I’m gonna go round to the servants’ quarters to pick up some food. Want anything?”

Her stomach rumbled. “Yes please. I haven’t had a proper meal in two days.”

“All right. Be back soon.” She heard him rummaging about for a few moments and then the doors opening and closing behind him.

She pulled what she hoped was the last bit of straw from her hair and opened the stall door. While she waited, she went over to Borisin’s stall. The big roan horse was chewing on some hay.

“So you’re talking to two people now,” she said.

Borisin turned his head away from her.

“But you can’t talk to me, Rudiger says. Some sort of barrier. Maybe you could explain to Rudiger as best you can what that barrier is like. I’d like to know. It might help me break it. You can understand me, right? You can’t talk to me, but you can understand me.”

The horse snorted.

“If you can understand me, tap your foot four times.”

Borisin turned his head back towards her, seemed to stare her in the eyes, but with only one of his. He did not move his feet.

“Okay, either you don’t understand me after all, which I doubt, or you’re trying to tell me that you find the idea of tapping your feet on command degrading. Sorry. I was just trying to establish...”

He tapped his hoof against the gate of his stall four times.

Felitïa smiled. “Thank you.” She reached out to him, but he turned his head away again. “Just tell him about the barrier, okay?”

She went over to the doors, cracked one open, and looked out. It was still dark, but not the pitch darkness of last night. The dim glow of dawn provided some light, and the clouds had parted so the stars provided a tiny bit more. She closed the doors again.

Fra-Atl.

She needed to find Fra-Atl. Of all the people Felitïa had encountered or heard about in the Palace, Fra-Atl seemed the best bet for an ally. She had also read and was familiar with the secret Ninifin texts. She had been excommunicated, but from what Rudiger said, she hadn’t been kicked out of the Palace or exiled, so there was a chance she was still here. If not, she would probably have gone to her villa, so Felitïa would need to find out where that was.

Moving around in the daytime would not be ideal, but she could get Rudiger and Nin-Akna to make the initial enquiries. Once they’d determined where the priest was, she could go herself.

The news she had sent Meleng and Quilla straight to the headquarters of the Ninifin Resistance was unexpected but welcome. That would have reunited them with Jorvan, and they were hopefully now working with the Resistance and whatever the Resistance was planning. It would give Garet something to do, at least. Perhaps they might even make some insights into Zandrue’s location.

Zandrue’s disappearance concerned her. She wasn’t particularly worried about Zandrue—she knew full well Zandrue could take care of herself. It was the manner of it, a lot like when she used to take off in Quorge: sudden, no explanation other than it was for everyone’s safety, no indication of where she was going, and only a vague statement of when she’d be back. Felitïa had hoped the disappearances had stopped, though Zandrue had said they’d be at a reduced frequency, not stopped completely. But at the very least, Felitïa had hoped Zandrue would have the decency not to take off during a delicate time like this. Yet that was another similarity. These disappearances happened regardless of what else was going on, like Zandrue really had no choice and somehow no advance warning of them either. That Rudiger said she’d seemed ill did worry Felitïa. There hadn’t been any indication of illness on her previous departures, although on those occasions, it had been easier for her to get away. What if Zandrue had tried to wait longer this time? What if what Rudiger saw was an example of what happened to her while she was away? Had it always been to cover up some illness?

The big difference this time, though, was that she hadn’t come back, and while Rudiger might be afraid he had offended her, Felitïa was sure that wasn’t the reason. Something else had happened that had delayed her. But what?

When Rudiger returned with the food, she ate her fill of tortilla bread and squash—perhaps a little more than her fill—and suggested he try to find where Fra-Atl was.

“I’ll ask around,” he said, “but it can be surprisingly hard to find people in this place. First though, I really do have to get Borisin ready. The Queen usually gives me some notice, but I suspect Fra-Ichtaca will arrange to give me no notice next time just to show me up.”

“What about Nin-Akna?”

“You know her better than me,” Rudiger said. “Though Izel told her not to come round to the stables until we contacted her. Coming round here could look suspicious.”

Felitïa nodded. “That’s wise.”

Rudiger finished his food and began gathering materials for cleaning the horses. “Borisin says you want to know about the barrier blocking him from communicating with you.”

Felitïa nodded.

“He says it’s like your mind is surrounded by something. Like a big ball of emptiness. He says he tried to get past it once, but couldn’t. Says it was like something grabbed hold of his thoughts and yanked on them. He felt like something tried to rip his mind from his body, but then threw it right back. Really painful, he says.”

Felitïa frowned. Then how had Castroff managed contact with her?

“Better get out of sight,” Rudiger said. “Borisin says Eztli and Itotia are coming.”

Felitïa hurried back into hiding as the two children who assisted Rudiger arrived. They cleaned the other horses and swept the floors. None of them looked into her stall or came in though, so she didn’t need to expend any magical energy to hide from them.

When Rudiger was done cleaning and preparing Borisin, he headed out again, though the children remained. They giggled and laughed between themselves as they continued their chores.

A little while later, the stable doors slammed open and the two children gasped.

“Where is the stable master?” a woman’s voice said.

“Out arranging a supply run,” the boy said. “We’re low on feed. He should be back soon.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the woman said. “We don’t actually need him here. Check all the stalls. You two, stay out of our way.”

Felitïa made a quick check of how many mental presences there were and cast the spell to hide herself from them. A moment later, a warrior opened the stall door, walked in, looked around, and walked back out. Felitïa could hear others moving about in the stables, and two others passed her stall.

“All clear,” someone said.

“All right, let’s go,” the first woman said. “She can’t have gotten far.”

There was some rustling about and then the sound of the stable doors closing. Felitïa peered out. Only the two children remained. She withdrew back into the stall and released the spell.

A few minutes later, Rudiger arrived back. “There were warriors here, Rudiger,” the young girl said. “They were looking for someone.”

“Yeah, there are warriors all over the place,” Rudiger replied. He was pitching his voice a little louder than normal. “A noble was murdered. One of the Queen’s cousins. They’re saying that person who arrived with the Youth Guard did it, the one called Will-Breaker.”

“The one who killed the jailer?” the boy asked.

“Same one,” Rudiger said. “The warriors didn’t make too much of a mess, did they?”

“No,” the girl said. “They just looked around and left.”

“That’s good. Everything looks good. Why don’t you two take your afternoon break a little early? Come back in a couple hours.”

The children eagerly agreed. Once they were gone, Rudiger came to Felitïa’s stall. “You heard?”

“I heard. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m starting to think coming here openly was a mistake. I was hoping I could convince the Queen and Council to honour the deal Nin-Chicahua made with me even though she wasn’t actually queen. Instead, they’re using me as a scapegoat to launch their own political coup.”

“The Resistance should be ready to act soon,” Rudiger said. “With Nin-Akna’s help, hopefully they’ll be able to put a stop to this before it goes too far.”

“Hopefully,” Felitïa said, though she wasn’t feeling hopeful at the moment. The Ninifin secret writings said she was the harbinger of a time of destruction, one that might be starting right now. “Were you able to find out anything about Fra-Atl?”

Rudiger shook his head. “Everyone’s talking about you right now. Nobody’s heard anything about Fra-Atl.”

“We need to find her, Rudiger. She could be next on their kill list.”

“Fra-Tepeu and Izel think their targets will be people in line for the throne. Fra-Ichtaca wants her daughter to be next in line.”

“Yes, but in order for it to not be obvious that only people in line for the throne are being targeted, they’ll target other people too. Especially ones who are politically opposed to them.”

“Good point,” Rudiger said. “Izel will probably come by soon. She might have more information. Let’s wait for her and then decide what to do.”

Felitïa sighed. Wandering around a highly-populated, on-alert palace would probably not go well, so she agreed to Rudiger’s suggestion. She sat down along the wall of the stall and waited. After a short while, she dozed off.

She awoke to the sound of Ses-Izel’s voice. “Your friend’s arrival has really shaken things up, and Fra-Ichtaca has started moving faster than I expected.”

Felitïa jumped to her feet and hurried out of the stall.

“Here’s the murderer now,” Ses-Izel said.

“I assume you realise I didn’t do it,” Felitïa said.

“Of course,” Ses-Izel said. “But it doesn’t make a difference. You’re gaining a public reputation as a murderer whether you killed anyone or not. See, Rudiger, this is another reason why you and your friends should have stayed out of things that have nothing to do with you. Unintentional it may be, but you provide useful scapegoats. Fra-Ichtaca can rely on people’s existing prejudices to literally get away with murder. People are all too willing to believe an outsider did it.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to understand,” Rudiger said.

“I’m sorry,” Felitïa said. “The mistake’s mine here. I shouldn’t have arrived openly like I did.”

“You’re right,” Ses-Izel said. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Does it really matter right now?” Rudiger said. “It’s done. We have to deal with it, so let’s deal with it.”

Ses-Izel took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right. I came here to tell you that I’ve received a message back from Fra-Tepeu. They’re coming today. I’ll let Nin-Akna know to be ready.”

“I need to find Fra-Atl,” Felitïa told her.

“That’s the other thing I came to tell you about,” Ses-Izel said. “They just arrested Fra-Atl.”

“What?” Rudiger said.

“On charges of conspiring with the Will-Breaker.”

“I’ll get her free,” Felitïa said. “Where is she?”

Ses-Izel shrugged. “As a noblewoman and former priest, she’s probably being held under room arrest here in the Palace. Nobles don’t have to endure the public jails. Before you ask, I don’t know exactly where her room is. I could give you the general area, but are you sure you want to go in there? I know you’re good at making yourself unseen, but they’ll pin this on you whether they see you or not.”

“They’ll pin this on me whether I’m there or not,” Felitïa said. “They’re already doing that. I’ll get her out.”

Ses-Izel nodded. “Nin-Akna will know where to go. Youth Guard have to learn the layout of the Palace by heart as part of their training. I’ll send her to you as soon as she’s made arrangements for her warriors to be ready.”

“Thank you,” Felitïa said.

Ses-Izel turned to Rudiger and touched his arm. “I don’t know if either of us will survive this day, but in case we don’t, I just want to say, it’s been fun.”

“Same here,” Rudiger said, bent down, and kissed her.

“Remember everything I’ve taught you,” Ses-Izel said. “You’re going to need it.” Then she left.

“Back to waiting, I guess,” Felitïa said. It felt like today had been nothing but waiting—long, interminable waiting. She’d spent most of the last several months at sea doing nothing with only brief interruptions on Scovese and the mainland. Yet today seemed twice as long as all that put together.

Rudiger began hauling bails of hay off the large haystack and moving them aside.

“What are you doing?” Felitïa asked.

“Getting my things. It was the best hiding spot I could think of. I just made sure the hay was replaced before reaching the bottom.” He began removing the bottom row to reveal his sword and armour lying there.

“Clever,” Felitïa said.

Rudiger moved his sword and armour aside and then began replacing the hay again. Once that was done, he donned the armour and strapped the sword to his back.

“You’re going to stand out if you start walking around like that,” Felitïa said.

“We’re going in the main building. I’m not supposed to be there, so I’ll stand out regardless.”

After what seemed an eternity, Nin-Akna arrived. She was alone, but carrying three spears and a shield. She passed a spear to Rudiger. “Ses-Izel wanted you to have this. She said you’d go for your sword if I didn’t push it on you.”

Rudiger took the spear with a sheepish look.

Nin-Akna held out a second spear to Felitïa. “I told her you probably wouldn’t want a weapon, but she insisted I offer.”

“It was thoughtful of her, but I’m not trained, and it will just get in the way.”

“That’s what I thought.” Nin-Akna placed both remaining spears to the side and reached for a pouch. “But I did bring you this.” She opened the pouch and let out a pair of protesting rats.

“Lon! Nesh!” Felitïa took the rats and held them up to her face. Rats had much smaller mental presences than humans. It was easy to ignore or not even notice they were there. But she’d grown used to Lon’s and Nesh’s on the trip back from Scovese. She’d begun to notice their absence over the last couple days. After giving Lon a few comforting strokes and a kiss, then the same for Nesh, she placed them both in her hood.

Rudiger had a bemused smirk on his face. “They were gifts from someone very special,” she told him. “Where are Fra-Chan and Ses-Iktan?” she asked Nin-Akna, who had retrieved one of the spears.

“With Ses-Izel,” she said.

“What about the other warriors?” Felitïa asked.

“They’ll be ready. I hope. Over the last couple days, they’ve all been reassigned to different divisions. Fra-Ichtaca is trying to separate them from us, but we’ve got a prearranged signal with them in case something like this happened. We can rely on them.”

“Good. Then we’ll leave the rest up to Ses-Izel. Do you know where Fra-Atl is?”

Nin-Akna nodded. “As long as you can keep us unseen, I can get us exactly where we need to go. Whenever you’re ready.”

“One moment.” Felitïa took a deep breath, unfolded the Room, and took stock of the mental presences in the area. For the moment, she could only detect Rudiger, Nin-Akna, Borisin, the other horses, Lon and Nesh, and a few other rats. She kept the Room active, though, as she knew that would change very soon.

“Yeah, I’ll be back to let you out of there soon, buddy,” Rudiger said. “Once this day’s done, I don’t think I’ll be allowed to run the stables any longer.”

“Okay,” Felitïa said. “Move casually, no sudden movements. Don’t do anything to draw attention to yourselves. Let me open any doors. Just point to them when we need to go through. Ready?”

They nodded and Felitïa cast the spell.

There was only a short distance to traverse to the nearest door to the main Palace building. There was a guard on the door, just like there was on every door along the building’s length.

This would be a lot like sneaking through the Volg apartments on Scovese, but with the newer trick she’d learnt, it should be a lot easier. Opening the first door without the guard noticing seemed almost effortless in comparison to how it had been before. She motioned the other two through.

She had to be sure not to let herself get over-confident, though. It was taking a lot less energy than it used to, but it was still taking some, and that energy could still deplete her over time.

The interior layout of the building was straight-forward. It was a much smaller place than the Arnorin Royal Palace, and while the rooms were smaller too, they were also more open, often with multiple entrances and exits. Most didn’t have actual doors, just archways, some of which had curtains strung across them.

There weren’t many corridors either. Rooms connected to other rooms, which meant they passed a lot of people. Every room had multiple people in, from nobles lounging to servants doing chores to warriors standing guard or searching. Even the “private” rooms tended to have two or three people in them and nothing but a curtain to separate each room from the next.

The small number of doors made things easier, but the large number of people meant this was not turning out as easy as she had started to think it would. It was also cramped at times. Walking between two people talking—something they had to do several times—was something of an attention-drawing act, and not only did Felitïa have to convince the speakers’ minds that there was no one new in front of them, but also that they could still see the people they were speaking to. The number of adjustments she had to make to the spell rose quickly and after only a short time, she started to feel a hint of strain.

The Palace’s small size, however, meant it didn’t take long to reach their destination. Nin-Akna pointed to a curtained archway. Four warriors stood on guard, two to either side of the archway and two more several feet in front of them.

“Wait here and let me take a look,” Felitïa whispered to the other two, while increasing concentration on the spell to ensure the guards didn’t hear. Then she moved up to the curtain, made certain she had extended the spell to cover every presence in the Room except Rudiger’s, Nin-Akna’s, Lon’s, and Nesh’s, and pulled back the curtain a short way.

Fra-Atl dozed in a chair in the room, a book in her lap. She wasn’t far from the entrance, but neither were the two guards standing by her. There wasn’t much free space in the room. Most of the space was taken up by two large beds, a table, and several more chairs.

Now came the hard part.

She could put the two guards in this room to sleep, but not without risking the invisibility spell. It would also be hard to keep the four guards in the adjoining room from hearing these two fall. She might be able to get Fra-Atl out of the room without the two guards noticing, but it would only be a matter of moments before they realised she was gone.

She moved the curtain back into place and returned to Rudiger and Nin-Akna. “Be ready. There’s a high chance we’ll need to fight our way out. But don’t do anything unless they see you.” Then she went back to the curtain and stepped through it.

She knelt in front of Fra-Atl, who was still asleep, snoring softly. She put a finger to her lips and with her other hand gave the priest a gentle nudge.

Fra-Atl awoke with a soft gasp. The guards looked in her direction, and the strain of the spell ramped up. She tapped her finger against her lips, hoping Fra-Atl would get the message.

“Bad dream,” the priest said to the guards. “It’s always a bad idea to fall asleep sitting up. Gives terrible dreams.”

Felitïa leaned close to Fra-Atl’s ear. “I’m going to get you out, but it won’t be easy. Do exactly as I direct.”

Somehow, she had to not only hide Fra-Atl’s movement from the guards, but also convince them she was still sitting in the chair. In principle, it was the same thing she had done with the doors and curtains, but a living human was a much more complicated thing.

“Pretend to sleep,” she told Fra-Atl.

The old woman closed her eyes and let her head loll.

Felitïa crooked her fingers a little and directed the image of the priest sleeping at the guards. She gave it a few seconds, then told Fra-Atl it was all right to move. “Slowly, and stay with me. We should be fine until the next room, but after that, things could get sticky.”

Felitïa stood up and moved back to the entrance. She checked back to ensure Fra-Atl was with her and the guards hadn’t noticed, then pulled back the curtain and motioned Fra-Atl to go through.

On the other side, they walked to where Rudiger and Nin-Akna were waiting. Fra-Atl gave Nin-Akna a vigorous hug, and Felitïa struggled to maintain the spell. “No. Too much strain.”

Fra-Atl grimaced and put her hands over her mouth.

Felitïa motioned to Nin-Akna. “Closest—”

“She’s gone!”

The four guards snapped to attention and raised their spears. Felitïa made a quick adjustment to the spell to account for the added scrutiny. She’d hoped it would take them a little longer to notice Fra-Atl’s absence. This was going to get difficult.

The guards inside Fra-Atl’s room came running out. “The prisoner’s gone!”

Felitïa motioned to Nin-Akna and whispered, “Closest exit.”

Nin-Akna took the lead, motioning for Rudiger to take the rear. Two of the guards dashed in the same direction and Felitïa had to pull Fra-Atl out of the way to stop them running into her. The spell strained, but didn’t break.

Once the guards had passed, Nin-Akna resumed her movement, heading back the way they’d come, though changing to a different direction in the next room.

“Keep slow,” Felitïa whispered as they moved, “but keep out of people’s way. A sudden movement is easier to handle than colliding with someone.”

Two more warriors rushed past amidst startled cries from nobles.

“What’s happening?”

“Watch where you’re going!”

“She didn’t come this way!”

From room to room, it was the same. Warriors running about. People huddling aside. Servants dropped trays they were carrying in their rush to move aside. People yelled. Emotions flared. So many emotions. Felitïa hadn’t expected this. It wasn’t like with the Volgs. Dealing with the emotions and the spell was... No, it didn’t matter. She had to do it.

It was only a couple rooms this time, yet it felt like a thousand. Then a short corridor. They spent some time there with their backs against the wall. Then a small entry room with a wooden door.

And three warriors standing in front of it. Shoulder-to-shoulder. No space between or behind them. No way through the door.

Nin-Akna paused and looked back at Felitïa.

“Next one,” Felitïa mouthed.

They backtracked to the corridor, and took a different route. It was a little calmer now, both physically and emotionally. People were adjusting to the situation. Non-guards had gotten out of the way and the guards had settled into a pattern. Felitïa could still feel urgency from them, but not so overpowering. The strain on the spell lessened.

After a couple more rooms, they reached the next exit. Like before, it was a small entry room with some plants and statuary—and three guards positioned shoulder-to-shoulder against the door.

Nin-Akna paused once more.

Felitïa sighed. Someone had realised she was using invisibility to get them out. Clever.

“Next one?” Nin-Akna asked.

Felitïa shook her head. It would be the same everywhere now. The guards had the advantage of being able to move much more quickly.

There were two other ways out of this room. One led to a corridor which had a warrior stationed in it. The other went into a larger foyer lined with animal statues. Three more warriors stood there.

Felitïa motioned to Nin-Akna and Rudiger to watch those two ways and took a couple steps closer to the guards at the door.

Could she put them all to sleep?

One at a time, certainly. But once she’d done it to one, the other two weren’t going to stand still and just wait for her to do it to them. She’d never tried to do it to more than one person at a time. She wasn’t even sure it was possible.

She waved Nin-Akna over to her and leaned in beside her ear. “I’m going to try something I’ve never tried before. It probably won’t work. Be ready to fight our way out.”

Nin-Akna positioned herself in front of the three guards, her spear ready. Rudiger continued watching the other exits.

Felitïa closed her eyes halfway. No, of course. There was no way to get a good enough view of all of them this way. Maybe with her eyes a little more open? There was only one way to find out. She tried it and cast the spell.

The spell energy released and it went awry at once. It was too unfocused. It just spread out and dissipated. One of the guards did sway a little and stumble, though.

“They’re here!” one of the others yelled.

Nin-Akna’s spear jabbed forward at the one who’d spoken. It ripped through his chest. And threatened to shred Felitïa’s mental control over the invisibility spell.

Felitïa dropped the spell. She grabbed hold of Fra-Atl and pulled her back against the wall. She placed herself in front of the old priest.

Nin-Akna had taken a few steps back, both spear and shield raised. One of the remaining guards had stepped to the side of the door.

The third guard was still stumbling by the door. Still drowsy. Felitïa focused on him and completed the spell. The guard dropped to the floor.

Rudiger cried out. Spear-wielding warriors were attacking him from two sides. Blood dripped from a hole in his chainmail at his side. He parried one attack, but the second almost struck him.

Rudiger took a couple steps back and bumped Nin-Akna. “Watch it!” she cried.

Felitïa focused on one of Rudiger’s attackers. He was moving too much to put to sleep, but perhaps just a clouding of the mind. She released the spell and he stumbled in his attack on Rudiger.

Rudiger shoved his spear into the man, then let go of the spear. He drew Slay.

Nin-Akna blocked a spear thrust with her shield, then brought her own spear down over top of it and into her attacker’s chest. “The door’s clear!” she yelled.

“Behind me,” Felitïa told Fra-Atl and rushed for the door. She opened it, but the priest cried out.

The guard she’d put to sleep had grabbed Fra-Atl’s ankle and pulled her over.

Felitïa cursed herself. She’d forgotten about him, forgotten the fall would probably wake him.

The guard was reaching for a dagger at his belt. Felitïa half-closed her eyes, but Rudiger’s sword slid through the man’s chest.

“Check ahead,” Felitïa told Rudiger. While he ran through the door, she helped Fra-Atl up.

Nin-Akna had spun around and was blocking attacks from the warriors coming in the other way.

“More company!” Rudiger called from outside.

Felitïa helped Fra-Atl through the door. They were on the south side of the Palace now, not far from the barracks, and right along the edge of the hill the Palace was built on. Warriors were forming walls of spears to both sides. Rudiger spun back and forth, trying to keep an eye on both directions.

“Nin-Akna, get out here!” Felitïa called.

The young Ninifin backed out the door, and Felitïa slammed it shut.

“Which way?” Rudiger said.

The walls of warriors to either side once again made squeezing past impossible. Hiding them would do little good.

But why were the warriors moving so slowly?

And why had the ones on the other side of the door not re-opened it yet?

“Something’s wrong,” Felitïa said.

“Shit! They’ll have bows!” Nin-Akna cried. “The cliff! Run!”

They ran.

On each side, a volley of arrows flew over the heads of the warriors. Felitïa tried to keep beside Fra-Atl, tried to shield the priest’s body with her own. Arrows thudded all around them. One tore through Felitïa’s cloak. Another scraped against the armour on Rudiger’s back.

The arrows stopped and the walls of warriors took several steps forward.

Felitïa and Fra-Atl reached the cliff edge. Rudiger was already there. Nin-Akna came up behind them. Two arrows protruded from her shield.

“They’ll be expecting us to do this,” Nin-Akna said. “They probably even want us to do this. But there’s no other way. Unless you can provide another one.”

Felitïa shook her head, then looked over the edge. It wasn’t very steep and there were plenty of hand-holds.

“Surrender!” someone yelled.

“How do you feel?” Felitïa asked Fra-Atl.

“Not good,” the old woman said, “but at least there’s a chance.”

“Then we go,” Nin-Akna said. “Move!”

“They’ll just pick us off like flies,” Rudiger said, though he was already lowering himself over the edge.

“I’ll hide us again,” Felitïa said. She recast the spell just as two more volleys of arrows launched. Her right shoulder exploded in pain as an arrow tore through it. She cried out and lost the spell.

“There are lots of rocks to shelter behind,” Nin-Akna said. “Use them!”

Felitïa gritted her teeth against the pain and started climbing down the side. Any movement of her right arm intensified the pain, so she did her best to use only her left to stabilise herself as she stepped from rock to rock.

She looked back up. Warriors armed with bows were lining up at the top. She quickened her pace. There was a large rock outcropping up ahead. She’d try to make for that.

Where were the others? She’d lost track of them.

There was Rudiger, well ahead of her. No sign of Fra-Atl or Nin-Akna.

Arrows thudded against the ground near her. Felitïa ran for the outcropping, slipping, sliding, but somehow staying on her feet. She dived under it, pushed herself against it. Her feet continued to slip as she sought for a handhold. At last, she found one, and held on for dear life.

Nin-Akna and Fra-Atl were there with her. They looked in more stable positions, though they still grasped at small handholds in the rock. Nin-Akna no longer had her shield.

“I can’t hold on long,” Felitïa told them. “And I can’t move my arm. You need to get that arrow out of me.”

“When we’re on flatter ground,” Nin-Akna said. “Rudiger’s trying to draw their fire. When we no longer hear arrows hitting this rock, we run for that one over there. It’s not as big, but there’s a flatter patch on the other side and we can hide behind it there.”

Felitïa’s fingers were slipping, and she was still scrambling with her feet to stop from sliding down the cliff. Her fingertips were burning.

“Now!” Nin-Akna said.

Felitïa let go and let herself slide the first part of the way. It was unavoidable. Getting back to her feet when she stopped was difficult. Her shoulder burned when she accidentally put pressure on it.

Nin-Akna and Fra-Atl had already made it to their next stop, where Nin-Akna helped Fra-Atl over the rock. “Hurry!” she called to Felitïa.

Arrows hit the ground near Felitïa. She scrambled over the rock, pain shooting through her arm once more. She slid down behind the rock, pressed her back against it. All the time breathing heavily. Trying not to think of the pain.

Fra-Atl gasped for breath. She was covered in dirt and grime, but otherwise looked uninjured.

Nin-Akna had scrapes on her knees and elbows, but otherwise looked fine.

At least they were doing better than her, Felitïa thought. She hoped Rudiger was okay.

“Let’s get that arrow out,” Nin-Akna said, climbing over Fra-Atl to get beside Felitïa.

“You could expose yourself,” Fra-Atl said.

“At this distance, they don’t have much accuracy,” Nin-Akna said, “and it’ll only be for a moment. The arrow is slowing Felitïa down though because she can’t use her arm. See if you can find something for her to bite down on.”

Felitïa just stared ahead of her while the other two shuffled about. She tried to focus on her emotions, on the emotions of those around her. The Room wouldn’t cooperate though. The walls kept collapsing every time she formed them.

Damn her concentration problems!

“Will this do?” Fra-Atl asked.

“It’ll have to.” Nin-Akna handed a rock to Felitïa. “Bite down on this when I tell you. The arrowhead went all the way through. I’m going to yank it the rest of the way. Bite down.”

Felitïa put the rock in her mouth and bit down on it.

“Ready?”

Felitïa nodded and closed her eyes. She screamed as the pain shot through her. But it was over fast enough.

Nin-Akna ripped a hole in Felitïa’s blouse to bare her shoulder. She then tore a piece off Felitïa’s cloak, and wrapped it around Felitïa’s shoulder, under her armpit and around again a couple more times. She pulled it tight and tied it off.

Felitïa spat out the rock. She had loved that cloak.

There were arrows lying on the ground near them. Nin-Akna’s shoulder was bleeding.

“It was just a nick,” Nin-Akna said.

Felitïa’s shoulder still throbbed. Moving her arm still increased the pain, but she had a bit more mobility. At least she could move her hand and fingers much more easily now. That meant spellcasting would be possible again.

If she could concentrate.

The walls of the Room sprang up at her command, and she took stock of the mental presences around her.

Lon and Nesh!

Yes, they were still there.

She reached into the hood and pulled out a squealing rat. It was Nesh. He looked okay. She soon found Lon as well, and he too seemed fine.

She needed to learn to deal with pain better. If she was going to get caught in situations like this, she could keep losing concentration whenever she was injured. She also needed to learn alternative casting methods so she wasn’t so reliant on her hands. From what Meleng and Nin-Akna had told her of Ses-Tlacotl and from what she had seen herself, it was clear that woman had been much more capable of mobile spellcasting than Felitïa was. She wished there was a way to learn her secrets.

“Are you ready to move on?” Nin-Akna said. “They’ve started sending people down after us.”

“I think I can hide us again,” Felitïa said. “But do your best not to send too many rocks sliding. That’ll draw their attention. I know that’s virtually impossible, but just minimise it.”

“We understand,” Nin-Akna said.

“Once we’re at the bottom, first thing we do is find Rudiger. Then we find a spot to rest.” Felitïa concentrated, then cast the spell. The pain threatened to wreck her concentration, but she adjusted her finger position a little to redirect the energy flow. That was a little better. “Let’s go.”

They stood up and continued down the slope. Felitïa kept a constant eye out behind them and kept note of their pursuers’ presences in the Room. The warriors at the top were already too far away to appear in the Room, though they were still in reach of the spell. Just. She had to adjust the spell to compensate for that. She’d gotten so used to combining her spellcasting with her telepathy recently, she’d almost forgotten how to do it without.

Another thing she needed to improve.

There was a loud bang and crash from the east.

Felitïa looked in that direction, but the plateau blocked view of anything.

“What was that?” Fra-Atl said.

“I don’t know, but it’s diverted their attention,” Nin-Akna said, pointing to the top. The warriors were gazing to the east as well. A moment later, they began rushing to the source of the sound. Their pursuers coming down the side after them had also paused and were calling back up to the top.

“We can find out what it was later,” Felitïa said. “Let’s keep moving while they’re still confused.”

Whatever the confusion was, it helped them lose their pursuers, and they were soon at the bottom. From there, they hurried into the forest. Now they just needed to find Rudiger.

* * * * *

The wagon was cramped and hot. The heavy cloak Jorvanultumn was wearing did not help matters any, either. Not only did it make him hotter, it cramped his wings, which were already cramped by the wagon’s benches being right against the side. He had to sit leaning forward, bent almost fully over. Then there were the constant bumps along the road.

Jorvanultumn hoped this ride would be over soon.

Still, at least he was out of the cellar, and he would not have to remain in the wagon for too long. Unfortunately, the cloak had to stay, though.

He was one of a dozen people, along with several crates, packed into the back of Ses-Izel’s covered wagon. One of Ses-Izel’s people, Ses-Abet, was driving it and the boy Ervin was riding at the front with him. The rest of the Resistance were already in the City, positioning themselves in areas close to the Palace, waiting for the wagon’s arrival.

The wagon came to a bumpy stop. This was not the first time. It had happened multiple times as they had tried to manoeuvre through the cramped and crowded City. Jorvanultumn hoped this was the final time. As usual, it was not, and after a moment, it jolted forward again, shook, and tilted a bit to the side as it made a tight turn.

“Who planned the layout of this stupid city anyway?” Garet grumbled.

No one answered him.

Jorvanultumn wished Meleng were there, but Meleng, Quilla, and Ses-Inhuan had remained at the ranch. As they had little weapon or combat training (except Ses-Inhuan, who went wherever Meleng went), they were helping Fra-Mecatl and Fra-Tepeu prepare to take in the injured, of which there was likely to be a lot.

“Remember,” Fra-Tepeu had told them, “the warriors you will face are not our real enemies. They are merely doing their duty, misguided though their loyalty may be. If possible, try to incapacitate rather than kill. This might put you at more risk, and if there is no other choice, then by all means, do what you need to survive. However, if we want to gain and keep public support, people must not think of us as butchers.”

A few minutes passed before the wagon stopped again—the longest length of time since they had entered the City.

Ses-Ihuicatl, seated beside Jorvanultumn, whimpered. “I’m scared.”

“It will be all right,” Jorvanultumn told her.

“How do you know? What if Ses-Xipil is there? What if she finds out I’m alive?”

“Then she does,” Garet said. “It makes little difference now.”

Ses-Ihuicatl whimpered again.

A full minute passed without the wagon moving again. Three knocks came from the front—the signal to be ready.

“What’s going on here?” a woman outside said. Her voice was muffled, but the words were still audible.

“We’d like to set up in the market,” Ses-Abet said.

“Are you serious?” the woman replied.

From what Jorvanultumn had been told, this very rarely happened.

“You bet. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“No one ever sets up here.”

“That’s because you charge so much,” Ses-Abet replied. “Most people can’t expect to make enough to pay off the price.”

“And you can?”

“We think so. See, we’re part of Ses-Izel’s crew. People will be lining up to buy our stuff.”

“Who?”

“You haven’t heard of her? Wow, we thought she’d be famous by now. She’s a guest at the Palace, invited by the Queen herself.”

“The Queen has a lot of guests,” the woman said. “No reason why I should remember them all.”

“She’s been invited to stand with the Queen at the New Year’s sacrifices. The one who brought the horse last month?”

“Oh, that one.”

“See? You have heard of her. Anyway, we’re sure our association with her will bring out more than enough people to pay the fee.”

“What are you selling?”

“Exotic goods from beyond Ninifin.”

“This really isn’t a good time, you know. There was a murder in the Palace last night, and they’re chasing down the perpetrator right now. Things could get dangerous.”

“Don’t worry,” Ses-Abet said. “We’ll stay out of the way.”

“Fine. You got the money?”

“We do.”

There was a pause as, Jorvanultumn presumed, the money was exchanged.

“All right, set up over there,” the woman said.

The wagon began moving again, but only for a short time before coming to a stop once more. Another series of knocks came from the front. Kianto and Acat, who were sitting at the back, got up and untied the canvas that covered the back, but did not pull it open. They lifted it just enough to slip through, then dropped it closed again.

Ses-Patli and another Resistance member—a one-armed man, Fra-Mecatl’s son—started sliding the crates to the back, and pushed them through just far enough for Kianto and Acat to collect them.

Jorvanultumn found this part of the plan to be the riskiest. Anyone watching was bound to wonder why Kianto and Acat did not remove the canvas completely, and might become suspicious. However, it was too soon to reveal just how many people were in the wagon, so they had to keep the canvas in place.

Once all the long crates were off-loaded, Ervin began his role.

“No! You can’t make me do it! I won’t!” His words became harder to hear as he ran out into the courtyard, although Jorvanultumn knew what the boy was saying next. He was calling for help from the guards and complaining that his uncle was making him wear a “stupid outsider costume”. The idea was to keep making a fuss until none of the guards (or any other non-Resistance present) were looking at the back of the wagon.

Jorvanultumn moved into position. He needed a clear view for this to work, and so they needed to pull back the canvas all the way. After several more seconds, the canvas moved aside and Jorvanultumn took stock of what he could see.

The back of the wagon faced the south wall of the courtyard. Beyond it, the forest trees rose above it, several of which Jorvanultumn estimated were large enough for the task. This was going to take a very powerful gust of wind. He hoped he could still manage it in his weakened state.

Everyone else still in the wagon had crammed themselves to the front to give him enough room.

He circled his right arm around, catching on to the currents of air. With his left, he began to stir those currents up, coagulating them together into one larger mass. With both hands and arms working together, he sent the new-formed wind past the tree, then drew it back in in one quick motion. For a brief moment, a swirling funnel of air materialised around the tree, tore it from the ground, and hurled it at the courtyard wall. It hit with a loud bang, smashing right through the wall.

There were startled cries and yells from outside as Jorvanultumn collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. They had wanted something big enough that all their allies would recognise as a sign to begin. Jorvanultumn was confident he had given them just that. He felt sorry for the tree, though.

Garet was the first past him, leaping out of the wagon. Jorvanultumn moved aside to let the others out. Acat and Kianto were already ripping open the crates, which contained mostly spears and daggers, along with a few axes, crossbows, and bolts—and Garet’s sword. The Resistance members grabbed what they could and rushed into the courtyard.

Jorvanultumn sat where he was for several moments. He had warned them he would need a short time to recover. He was worried now that it would be longer than he had expected. Ses-Ihuicatl remained beside him.

From outside, he heard yells and cries, a scream here or there. Occasionally, the wagon shook from someone falling against it.

After a minute, he stood up, and adjusted the cloak. They wanted him to do his best not to reveal his features. He was not sure that the cloak did a very good job of hiding his bulkiness compared to humans, though it did cover his wings—if somewhat painfully—so in the heat of battle, people might not notice.

He raised his head, said a quick prayer to Power, then held out his hand to Ses-Ihuicatl. “Come.”

“I don’t know if I can,” she said. “I’ve never been in a battle before.”

“I will protect you, but I also need your help. Please come.”

There were tears running down her face, but she nodded and took his hand. Together, they climbed out of the wagon.

Things were going well for the Resistance so far. There were a couple dozen members in the courtyard now, all wearing white tunics or feathers to mark their allegiance. A couple guards had been tied up; a couple others lay on the ground in pools of blood, as did a few Resistance members. There did not appear to be any more opponents for him to help with.

“You missed the fun,” Garet said, coming over to him and Ses-Ihuicatl while wiping blood off his sword with a cloth. “Still, pretty impressive with the tree.” He slapped Jorvanultumn against the wing, causing Jorvanultumn to gasp. “Oh, sorry. Forgot that’s not your back.”

“They’re coming!” someone yelled.

“Now the real task begins,” Garet said. “This was just the warm-up.”

Ninifin warriors were running down the steps of the upper courtyard. Others were already spreading along the edge of the middle courtyard, raising bows and nocking arrows.

“Look out for arrow fire!” Garet yelled.

“I will take care of it,” Jorvanultumn said. He waited for them to release. Then, with a much simpler variation of what he had done to the tree, he sent a strong gust of wind which drove the arrows off path. A cheer rose from the Resistance.

The warriors raised their bows and fired again. And again Jorvanultumn sent the arrows spiralling to the ground far from any potential target. They tried one more time. Then they tossed their bows aside and joined the other warriors rushing down the stairs.

Perhaps emboldened by Jorvanultumn’s actions, the Resistance charged forward to meet the oncoming warriors. Garet roared and ran forward with them.

Jorvanultumn began gathering air around himself. He would need a ready supply. The wind had a welcome cooling effect, but also blew the edges of the cloak up. No matter. With the other elements mixed in, his form would be blurred anyway.

“Ses-Ihuicatl, water and fire please.” Fire was the only element he couldn’t easily gather from the environment, although water was only in limited supply, so he and the young conjurer had agreed that she would keep him supplied with both.

The expected supply did not appear.

Jorvanultumn looked to Ses-Ihuicatl. She was backing away, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I just can’t. I’m so sorry.” She turned and ran from the courtyard and into the City.

Jorvanultumn shook his head. He did not blame her. What they were doing terrified him as well, and she was so very young.

He could condense water out of the air. It would not be a large supply, but it would be something. There were rain clouds in the distance. Too far to use right now, but maybe they would come fast. They would be very useful. For fire, there were a few torches about the courtyard. He could draw from those. For now, though, he would make do with air and water, and add earth in as necessary.

A supply of air ready, he began condensing water and looked to see where he could help. The Palace warriors were pushing forward, overpowering the Resistance members in their path. Garet opposed three warriors. The Arnorin prince tried to swing at the one in front of him, but did not have the reach. The two warriors to either side did have the reach though. They thrust their spears forward, but Jorvanultumn sent a gust of wind to knock their blows aside. Garet backed away.

Jorvanultumn turned his attention to helping others in the same way. Anywhere he saw a Palace warrior bearing down on someone who looked unable to block, he sent a gust of wind to help.

He was not fast enough. Wind knocked many aside, but there were just too many. He could not watch them all. He was also tired. The tree had taken a lot out of him. The heat had taken more. Resistance members were falling.

He had not condensed much water yet. It might help though. He sent the water in a small wave along the bottom of the steps where warriors were still arriving. A burst of air made some of them slip on the now-slick ground. The water would dry fast, though.

“Blasted spears!” Garet yelled. He sheathed his sword, and picked up a spear from one of the fallen.

The Resistance was falling back.

There were yells from farther up. More warriors arrived at the top courtyard and began hurrying down the stairs. Isolated from the rest of the battle as they were, perhaps he could disrupt them.

They were different though. They wore the outfit of the other Palace guards, but they had white feathers tied to their arms. Leading them were three people. Two wore red jerkins and black skirts, but also had white ribbons on their arms and in their hair. The third wore a white jerkin and white feathers like the others. Jorvanultumn recognised her.

Ses-Izel.

“In the name of Eleuia!” she yelled.

“Eleuia!” the Resistance chanted. “Eleuia! Eleuia!” Even Garet joined the chant.

Why not? Jorvanultumn thought. He joined in too.

“Eleuia! Eleuia!”

The Resistance pushed forward again, and the new arrivals came in to flank the Palace guards.

Jorvanultumn searched within himself for every bit of strength he could find. Then he began to draw more air in. The rain clouds were still too far, though maybe he would not need them now.

Again, he used air currents to knock spears aside. Then, as the Resistance moved in from two sides and forced closer combat, people drew blades and axes. Those would be much more difficult to blow aside.

Garet yelled in triumph. He was again wielding his sword. As Jorvanultumn watched, he took down one Palace guard and then another.

Jorvanultumn needed a new tactic. There were so many people in close quarters now. It was difficult to tell friend from foe. He looked around for something else he could use.

The collapsed portion of the wall. The stone.

He clenched his fist and twisted his arm slowly round. Stones and gravel rose from the wreckage. He only wanted the smallest. The gravel he kept. The tiny pebbles and pieces of stone he kept. The rest he let drop to the ground again. Then he guided it across the air.

Wherever he spotted an enemy, he used a small puff of air to blow gravel into their eyes. One after another. They stumbled. They rubbed at their eyes. The Resistance knocked them to the ground. Or grappled them. Sometimes killed them.

The Palace guards began dropping their weapons. One after another called for surrender.

Jorvanultumn relaxed and the remaining gravel and stones dropped to the ground. The air swirling around him dissipated. The water splashed on the stone floor. He dropped to the ground himself. All he wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but he contented himself with sitting there. As an afterthought, he pulled his hood down lower to keep himself hidden.

Resistance members tied the surviving guards’ hands behind their backs and led them aside. Others checked who amongst the fallen was still alive, then called others over to tend to them.

There were people at the gate. People from the City, presumably. Come to investigate the commotion, no doubt. Jorvanultumn looked to see if maybe Ses-Ihuicatl had returned, but there was no sign of her.

Ses-Izel came forward, followed by the two girls in red tunics. They had to be from the same group Ses-Inhuan was part of. “Bring me some of those boxes!” Ses-Izel called.

Acat and Kianto rushed forward with the crates that had transported the weapons. Jorvanultumn was glad they had survived. They stacked the boxes on the ground in a small pile. Then Ses-Izel climbed on top, the two Youth Guards to either side.

“People of Ninifin!” she cried to the crowd gathering at the gate. “For too long, we have lived under the rule of a corrupt priesthood, one that sees to its own needs over the needs of the people. They keep us half-starved. They over-tax us, and they execute us for the smallest of offences. They manipulate our queens, isolate them from the people so they do not know the truth of what is happening in their own kingdom.

“This is not the first time we have endured such treatment. Two hundred years ago, we lived under the thrall of Elooria. They enslaved us, and beat us down. But then one rose amongst us, who said, ‘No more!’ She gathered the best of us. She stood up to the Dragon and his cruelty. Her defiance brought her death, but even as she burned at the stake, she remained committed to our freedom. Through her, we were inspired to rise up. We said, ‘No more!’ We fought and gained our freedom.

“To this day, she continues to inspire us. Once again, it is time to follow her example. We say, ‘No more!’ Today, it ends! The rule of the priests shall be no more!”

She raised her spear above her head. “For Eleuia!”

“For Eleuia!” the two girls at her side cried.

“For Eleuia!” the Resistance joined in.

People in the crowd joined in as well. Soon, the sound was almost deafening.

“Eleuia! Eleuia!”