Carrying the body of the dead infiltrator over his shoulder, the young commander slammed open the door to the cathedral. Conflicted emotions flittered through his mind as he waltzed toward the robed woman sitting cross-legged near the front of the sanctuary. Several armed guards stood at the ready around her.

While the young man ambled toward her, a man garbed in black robes laced with red silk approached him and said, “Sir, if you don’t mind, could you please leave that, um, body… outside?”

“I thought you people worshipped blood,” the young soldier replied.

“We worship Sanguis, the god of blood. Forgive me for saying so, but… this,” the elderly man gestured at the corpse, “is considered disrespectful.”

“Ah, I see. I’ll bring it outside, then,” the young commander said, nodding politely. Before leaving, he checked to see if the robed woman had finished using her magic or not. Guessing she still needed time to figure everything out, he exited the cathedral, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. The elderly priest could only sigh since the job of cleaning it now rested upon his shoulders.

A moment later, the young soldier returned, armor grossly stained by blood. The heavy armor clinked with each stride as he approached the robed woman. The guards saluted by placing a fist over their heart when he drew near. In response, he raised a hand and said, “At ease.”

The guards visibly relaxed but vigilantly maintained their guard. Honestly, the young commander rued the fact that he had been given such a high position before turning thirty. While waiting for the woman to finish using her magic, he sat down on a nearby pew and thought back on the encounter with the infiltrator. Never before had he confronted such a man. His thoughts turned to the silver locket hidden within his gauntlet. Before hiding it there, he checked the contents, which led to his now conflicted emotions. On one hand, his heart seethed in anger that the man opened the way to danger, but on the other, curiosity made him wonder what led the man to do such a thing.

Eventually, the woman stirred and pulled back her hood, allowing her long auburn hair to fall around her shoulders. Shaking her head, she quickly rose to her feet, face contorted with worry. Briskly, she spun on her heels. Upon spotting the young soldier, she blinked and said, “Oh, good, you’re here. Did you catch the perpetrator?”

“Yes. He’s outside. Is there a problem?”

“Maybe. We need to interrogate him.”

“Oh… uh… he’s dead.”

The woman stopped dead in her tracks. Folding her hands in front of her face, she muttered, “Dammit, Stefan… don’t tell me you got angry again…”

“Sorry,” he apologized, bowing his head.

“No. No sorry. Just show me the body.”

Nodding, Stefan stood, gestured for her to follow, and said, “This way.”

“We’re going to have a talk about this, later,” the woman warned.

Ignoring her, Stefan led her, as well as her guards, outside. The infiltrator’s corpse lay sprawled on the grass just outside the grand double doors.

“You couldn’t find a better place for him?” the woman asked while kneeling over the head of the dead man.

“We can do that later.”

The woman briefly glanced at him as though asking, ‘Are you serious right now?’ However, she quickly focused on the dead man and placed a finger on his forehead. Then, she closed her eyes. A small red ring that looked like a slice of a rainbow stripped from its proper place spread out from her fingertip and over the man’s motionless skull. As usual, her expression turned tranquil.

A few minutes passed while the men waited impatiently for her to finish. Once the magical ring returned to her finger, the woman’s eyes shot open as though waking from a nightmare. The young commander opened his mouth to ask what she saw, but she stopped him with a raised hand and turned her attention to the nearest guard.

“You. Go tell the magistrate that we are about to be invaded,” she said, voice laden with urgency. The guard briefly hesitated, so she pointed at the central castle and loudly ordered, “Now!”

Although puzzled by the situation, the man nodded and sprinted toward the castle.

“What did you see?” Stefan worriedly inquired.

“Ships. Hundreds of them. They are sitting off the coast as we speak, waiting for daybreak.”

“So they sent this guy to remove the barrier…” Stefan angrily mumbled to himself.

“No, not remove. Steal,” the woman corrected. When Stefan gave her a puzzled look, she explained, “They plan to occupy the city after taking it.”

“Oh, I see… Then, did you see what happened to the keystone?”

Shaking her head, the woman replied, “I could only see it from his perspective. I don’t know how they did it. Anyway, the magistrate should be ready for us if we head back now.”

“One hell of a business trip for you, isn’t it?”

“It’s not the craziest thing to happen to me recently…”

While lifting the corpse over his shoulder again, Stefan said, “Speaking of that, I didn’t get to hear about what you came here to report.”

“You’ll hear about it later.”

“Well, you haven’t come to visit mom or anything, so we haven’t had a chance to talk.”

Sighing, she replied, “And we still won’t until this is over.”

Done with their business at the temple, the two of them, along with her guards, proceeded toward the central castle. Along the way, curiosity got the better of Stefan, and he asked, “Did you happen to see anything about this guy?”

“A little. He’s a slave, and it seemed like he was somehow forced into doing this, but I didn’t bother to learn any more than that.”

“Ah, I see…” Stefan muttered, lowering his gaze.

* * * * *

After dropping off the infiltrator’s corpse at a nearby morgue, Stefan and the robed woman left behind the escort guards at the front gates of the castle and hurried up several flights of stairs until they reached the tenth floor which housed the magistrate’s office. The whale of a man immediately welcomed them in. Upon entering, the smells of mothballs, heavy cologne, and fine wine wafted into their nostrils. It wasn’t the most pleasant combination.

Plopping down on the large armchair behind his desk, the man glanced at them with a worried expression and rubbed a fat, unblemished hand through his waxed combover. “So,” he spoke, voice weary from years of overeating and stressful work, “you sent a messenger. Please give me details, Lady Luna.”

Since neither of them received permission to sit, Luna and Stefan glanced at each other. Both wanted to roll their eyes but the situation did not call for it. Instead, Luna fixed her gaze on the magistrate and replied, “Forgive my lack of formality, Cecil, but you need to order an evacuation immediately.”

Folding his fat fingers beneath his double chin, the magistrate said, “I’m willing to do so, but please inform me of the situation.”

Ignoring a brief thought about how much easier to work with Cecil Ramsbottom was in comparison to that prick in charge of Crey, Luna explained, “A Zhulisian fleet rests offshore, waiting to bombard us at daybreak.”

The large man behind the desk slowly lowered his hands and repeated to himself, “A Zhulisian fleet…”

Even Stefan raised his brows at the new detail, though he figured Luna previously left it out in order to prevent a panic.

“Lady Luna, could I please ask you to lead the defense on the pier?”

“Shouldn’t that responsibility lie with my brother?” Luna asked, pointing at Stefan.

Nodding, the magistrate answered, “Normally yes, but,” he fixed his gaze on the young commander, “could I ask you to lead the evacuation and then guard the western walls when you are done?”

Stefan saluted with his right fist over his heart and answered, “Gladly, sir.”

“No questions about it?” Magistrate Ramsbottom asked, raising a brow.

“No, sir. I understand your reasoning. There is a possibility of an ambush, and, if not that, then any survivors will need a safe escape route.”

“I see now why General Stergidd selected you. Now, if you do-”

Before the man could finish his sentence, an explosion shook the earth. Through the window behind the magistrate, they could see a plume of black smoke rosing near the pier. Tens of homes exploded into flames right before their very eyes. The sight left them speechless.

Shaking himself from the shock, Stefan said, “We need to go. Now.”

Waving them off, the magistrate said, “Yes. Go, go.”

Before Stefan and Luna could leave, an unknown glowing object arced through the sky and caught their attention. Throttling through the air at unimaginable speeds, it plunged down on a large plot of land near the eastern walls. Another explosion shook the earth, rattling the many decorations sitting on nearby desks and shelves. Flames erupted from the point of impact.

“Zhulisian mortars…” Stefan muttered.

“That… that just landed on the Wynnelis mansion…” Luna said, a hand covering her gaping mouth.

Eyes widening, Stefan shook his head in disbelief. He hadn’t noticed until his older sister mentioned it, but the family home of the friends they visited so many times as children just got leveled right in front of him. “Mom…” he worriedly muttered, spinning on his toes.

“No,” Magistrate Ramsbottom exclaimed, “I’ll send someone I trust to retrieve your mother. I need you to take charge of evacuation efforts immediately.”

Stefan's hands clenched to the point of drawing blood. However, he took a deep breath and hesitantly nodded.

“And Luna,” the magistrate added, “please, save as many lives as you can.”

“Absolutely,” she firmly replied, following her brother out of the room.

Once the two left, the magistrate covered his face with both hands and heaved a sigh of frustration before muttering, “Sanguis have mercy on us all…”