I took a deep breath as I drank in the scene before me, rage and fear fighting for dominance in my head. My eyes darted over the masked assailant, over his hand, over his surroundings. I took in all the details. There had to be a way to help Kate.

A pair of ebony metal revolvers sat holstered on the man's gun belt, partly obscured by his dark coat. He made no effort to draw. That could be a chance for me. If I just...

He suddenly moved his free arm up to Kate's face, making a strange gesture with his hand. The unfamiliar clockwork mechanism on his wrist whirred to life, a dark crystalline blade about the length of a shortsword springing out, stopping just short of slicing into Kate's neck.

“Hey now, throw the gun down right now and we won’t have any problems kid.” The emerald-haired stranger spoke with the unnerving calm and familiarity of old-time friends talking over drinks at a bar.

Much of his face was obscured by the black crystal half-mask, but from this close I could make out his eyes. They were still lakes betraying absolutely no emotion. I gritted my teeth and tightened the grip on my repeater, the rifle trembling slightly from my white-knuckled grasp.

“Come on kid, you know you can’t shoot me with it anyway right? Best case scenario you kill me and your friend here with the blast, worst case none of us walk away.” The man grinned in an infuriatingly calm manner, the many scars on his lower face making the smile appear truly demonic.

He was clearly familiar with crystal firearms and knew I couldn’t safely shoot him from this range. Not enough of his body was visible behind Kate that I could get a clear shot, and if the rubyshot detonated… I didn’t even want to picture that.

“Just let her go. I was hired to protect her, and I’m not leaving without her.” I knew the man wouldn't listen, but I needed more time to come up with a plan.

The best I had at that moment was to fire the repeater at the ground behind the green-haired stranger, and cause an explosion. He and Kate would be sent sprawling, leaving me free to catch her and then somehow deal with him.

His wouldn’t be the first life I had taken out here. Killing gave me no pleasure, but I learned even before coming to the Scorch that it was sometimes a necessity. Hesitation in a situation like this could be fatal for both Kate and myself.

The odds were against me. A single mistake and that blade would slit Kate's neck. But there were no other options. I began inching the rifle towards the ground, then a moment later noticed Kate trying to get my attention.

She had moved her right hand in front of her body, and was rapidly repeating the same couple of gestures. First, she pointed at herself, then she opened her hand and wiggled her fingers wildly before pointing to the man holding her tight. She was clearly trying to communicate some kind of plan to me, but the best I could make out was that she wanted to try to do something to the man.

Was she trying to tell me she would tickle him? I met her eyes and shook my head slightly, trying to tell her I didn’t understand without letting on that we were communicating. Kate grimaced and nodded to me, a look of determination in her eyes as she started to move her hand in a wildly different pattern.

“I’m afraid you’re not leavin’ then kid, don’t say I didn’t…” The stranger narrowed his eyes, seemingly only just noticing that my attention had drifted elsewhere.

“Hey, you wanna maybe listen to me or do I have to-” The stranger trailed off mid-sentence as he looked down at what I was staring at.

Kate’s hand was moving rapidly in what was practically a blur, repeatedly going through several rapid motions.

Both he and I didn’t know what to make of it until her hand started giving off a powerful blue glow. I had seen enough mages try to use their magic in the Scorch to know what was coming next, so I dove backwards as the stranger swore, trying to push Kate away from him.

“Sorry pal, this is gonna hurt me as much as it hurts you!” Kate grunted out, surprising both her captor and me by reaching up for his bladed arm with her glowing hand and gripping onto it tightly.

The stranger had lost all of his cool now, shouting and trying to wrench his grip free, but Kate had him good. The glowing from her hand grew brighter and brighter, violent sparks of bright light lashing out from her bare skin.

I pulled my goggles down over my eyes before the light became too blinding. There was a violent flash of white, with a resounding “CRACK” that rivaled the sound from my repeater.

The light flared up and faded in an instant, and then I was able to see again. I made out the forms of both Kate and the stranger, laying seemingly unconscious in a tangled heap on the starsand, faint traces of smoke coming off them both.

I rushed to my feet, intent on separating Kate and the stranger, but it turned out I didn’t need to. The young researcher, who had confirmed my suspicions of being a mage of some kind, coughed and groaned, peeling herself off the stranger. She staggered to her feat, swaying dizzily back and forth.

I hurried over to Kate to make sure she was alright. There were no cuts or external injuries that I could see, but I knew too little about magic to be certain about anything.

“Guess I lied, hurt him a bit more than me from the looks of it…” Kate coughed, groaning with pain.

She seemed to be doing better already, seeing that she could crack jokes, but I still helped steady her while she took a few steps away from the man.

“So, what the quartz was that?” I pointed towards Kate’s exposed hand, which was still giving off a faint glow.

She seemed alright enough to stand now, so I moved back over to the man in black. I checked his pulse first, seeing that he was still alive, just rendered unconscious, then pulled my backpack off and rummaged around for a coil of sturdy rope.

First, I took the pair of revolvers out of the man’s belt and stored them safely in my bag, I used his still extended crystal armblade to cut off a couple of suitable lengths, then set about tying up his arms and legs.

“Oh yeah, guess I forgot to tell ya before. Got a Soulgate with the domain of lightning, doesn’t work too well out here but I figured it was better to take the chance than let him take me.” Kate pointed down to the man, her hand letting off a few loose sparks that bounced off my duster.

“Sorry, should have warned ya.” She winced, pointing her hand down to the ground as I finished tying a few sturdy knots before turning back towards her.

I had known that Kate likely had some kind of magical ability if she was studying at Lunar Heights, but I hadn’t expected something quite so dangerous as lightning. She was extremely lucky it didn’t end up killing her.

Magic manifested differently for all the many races of the world, but as far as I knew it was something humans were either born with or without. As a kid, I had looked it up whenever I went to the library, hoping that maybe I would develop magical powers too someday.

I think every kid I knew had the same dream of discovering they held magical powers and could go off to a magical school to train them, but I wasn’t lucky enough to be born with a connection to a domain like Kate. Only about one in twenty people were.

There were practically countless known magical domains, from mundane things such as fire and water to more conceptual types of magic such as knowledge and deception. These domains were essentially different dimensions made up of unique types of magic, and mages were born with a connection to one of these domains in their soul, often referred to as a "Soulgate", that let them draw some of the magical power from the domain and channel it through their own bodies.

For example, a mage with Soulgate to the domain of knowledge could draw some of that magic into themselves to help them learn new information, while a mage with a Soulgate to the domain of deception could use their power to create illusions or mentally trick others.

What one could actually do with the powers of their domain largely depended on the individual. The common saying I had always read in the books was: “Just as every soul is unique, so too is every Soulgate that dwells within.” This meant there was no guarantee that two mages connected to the same domain would have the same magical abilities.

I had to shake my head and snap myself out of my silent magic nerdout, realising I had been staring at Kate’s hand for a little too long.

“Be careful with your powers. They're good for emergencies but I feel like you could have easily fried yourself as well as greenie over here.” I gave the man a soft kick to illustrate my point, eliciting a groan from him.

“Oh don’t worry, one of the conditions my professor gave me for coming out here was never to use it unless my life is in grave danger. Perk of my Soulgate is that I’m more resistant to lightning than most, but if it gets out of control…” Kate grimaced once again as she no doubt pictured something gruesome. “Let’s just say there’s a big difference between resistant and immune and leave it at that, yeah?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry Kate, I’m supposed to be your guard and I let that happen to you. I feel like quartz, if you want to dock my pay or hire someone else…”

“Neither of us saw him coming Cy.” Kate was dead serious as she cut me off. “I don’t know why he grabbed me, or what he wanted, but it sure as shootin’ ain’t for anything I wanna be a part of.”

“I’d guess kidnapping or ransom, but he’s definitely dressed a lot fancier than your average bandit.”

“And I’m guessin’ that kind of equipment is pretty rare too?” Kate pointed to the still exposed blade.

“Never seen one before, and I know quite a few crystal tool experts across the Scorch” I nodded.

Kate sighed, placing a hand on her head and closing her eyes.

“I’ll be honest Cy, I’m scared. That scared me worse than I’ve ever felt in my life. Worse than that scorpion or those spiders.” I was going to step in and reassure Kate, tell her it was natural, and that I would help her leave if that was what she wanted, but she kept on going. “But I can’t let it drive me away. I spent so long tryin’ to get permission to come out here, and what we saw earlier? This place is as fascinatin’ as I hoped it would be, I need to stay, I need to see more.”

“Even if your life is in danger?”

“It’s worth it.” Kate spoke with a certainty and assuredness that left me genuinely stunned.

“Alright.” I nodded, keeping an eye on the man on the ground to make sure he was still out cold.

“What, it’s that simple? Ya not going to try and talk me out of it?” Kate almost seemed disappointed.

I simply shrugged.

“I can tell you the risks, but you’re the one paying me to protect you, Kate. You’re my employer, so you have the final say.”

“So what, ya gonna let me make stupid decisions because I’m paying ya?”

“I’ll give you my opinion, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, but at the end of the day it’s your choice whether we stay or go.” Kate was silent for a few long moments after I spoke.

“Back at the canyon, you pulled me out of there, even though I wanted to stay.”

“I did yeah.”

“Doesn’t that go against what ya just told me? If you were just workin’ for me surely ya should have just stayed and kept me safe.”

“If it was just one scorpion sure, but we don’t know what was going on back there. I can’t protect you from the unknown, Kate.”

“Alright, I’m sorry ‘bout that. Guess I’ve been thinkin’ of us differently to ya.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno, just find it hard to think of ya as workin’ for me. I’m probably bein’ silly, despite payin’ ya I’ve been thinking of ya as my friend, Cy.” Kate almost sounded hurt, and I immediately felt awful.

“Hey, so long as you’re paying me I can always try to be both right?” I tried my best to make a joke out of it, but I instantly realised it was not the time.

Kate just grimaced, turning away from me toward the prone man. I hated how bad I could be with people. I usually kept a healthy distance from any of my employers, keeping the professional wall up between us. Kate had been chipping down that wall in the short time I had known her, but it wasn't something that could just disappear overnight..

“Kate, listen…”

“So, what do we do with this one? Reckon he probably isn’t in this alone.” Kate ignored my response, her expression still a grimace as she nodded to our captive.

I sighed, but snapped right back into professional mode. I would try to apologise to her later. Tell her I wanted to be her friend, but that trust was far from easy for me.

“Well first of all, do you recognise him?” I had lowered myself back to the body of the man again and pulled off his crystal mask.

“Sorry, not at all.” I met Kate’s eyes and she seemed genuine.

I looked long and hard at the face of the man. His green eyes that matched his hair, the many scars, the stubbly beard, there was almost something there that rang a bell, but I couldn’t place it.

“I got nothing, maybe the rooks can identify him.”

“So, what do we do with him?”

“For now, we head back to town. We’ll need to speak to the rooks but he’s probably going to be the first resident of the jail there.”

“Sounds good, but what then? I still have my assignment, but what if he wasn’t workin’ alone? Could be more kidnappers in the area.” Kate had handled herself well, but the brave face she had put on was starting to give way now the adrenaline had died down.

“I’m not sure. Figure we need to ask our friend here and the rooks some questions before you make any decisions. Take a look at this.” I held up the man's arm with the blade attached for Kate to see.

Her eyes went wide at the clockwork mechanism, and even more at the black crystal blade. I could practically sense her desire to reach for a notebook.

“Is that… obsidian?”

I nodded in response, examining the mechanism closer and wincing at the sight of how it was attached.

“Seems to be, matches the mask, means our friend is probably in a similar line of business to me. Tied him up extra tight to make sure he doesn’t cut himself free.”

“Isn’t that kinda useless? Obsidian is like glass right?”

“Pretty much. No clue why you’d go through the lengths to use it over some other easier to find stuff out here. Could still cut a person just fine though.”

“Can’t ya just take it off him like the mask?”

“Not unless you want to cut off his arm; thing is bolted to his flesh.” I winced again as I examined where the strange clockwork mechanism and the man’s arm intertwined.

“H-how horrible, why would someone ever do that to themselves?”

“I don’t know, but it worries me. Seems like you may have some enemies after you Kate, anything I should know about?” Kate went pale as I finished examining the man and stood back up.

“W-what? Why would someone want me? I figured he was just a bandit or something looking for someone to ransom?” I stared Kate down, trying to determine if she was keeping something from me.

I had never been the best at body language, but she seemed genuine. She had been trying to joke and act brave in the aftermath of the sudden attack, but now the adrenaline was leaving her system, I could tell she was afraid.

“I’m not so sure. Lot of things worry me about this guy, the clothes, the gemblade, just how he acted.” I hung the rope attached to our prisoner over my shoulder and starting to drag him across the sandy ground, making sure none of his skin was exposed so we didn’t end up shredding him against the starsand.

Some would argue that he would deserve much worse treatment, but I wasn’t going to sink to that level. I just silently wished I could afford a horse of my own, the effort of hauling the man making me walk much slower than I usually would.

“Whaddya mean?” Kate jogged to catch up, still sounding understandably worried about the idea of people hunting her down out here.

I grimaced, knowing what I would say next would do nothing to soothe those worries.

“For one thing he snuck up on us out of nowhere, so why didn’t he just shoot me in the back and take you away?”

Kate was dead silent in response to this. I had to look back to make sure she was still following close behind.

“And for another, I really don’t like how he just happened to show up a few minutes after that scorpion fired that stinger into the air, was almost like a signal or something.”

“Wait, what are ya saying Cy?” Kate still sounded worried, but a tinge of that familiar excitement had snuck back into her voice now, likely without her even realising.

“I’m saying there may be a lot more to that canyon than we saw, and I have a hunch our friend here might know a lot about why the creatures are acting so strange.” When Kate failed to respond once again I looked over my shoulder, but she was just desperately scribbling in a notebook.

I was surprised the paper didn’t catch fire with the speed she was going. I just sighed, adjusting my grip on the rope over my shoulder and looking to Clearvein far in the distance.

“I need a blasting root beer…” I grumbled, quietly wondering if the rooks ever had to deal with dragging bandits into town by hand.