Dust whirled around Joshua as he picked his way through Atral. He stepped over the dead with ease, observing them with a dispassionate eye. He took in each one’s injuries as he walked; guessing at what had killed them.

  He had never seen so many different types of cuts. Simple swords and axes, like any he would expect on a battlefield, made up some. The ones that stood out were the stripes of three slashes across some of their bodies.

  Joshua had never actually seen a sarpan before, but he knew the stories. They were towering masses of scale and muscle. They could skin a human with ease, and particularly liked the taste of human hearts.

  Joshua knelt next to one of the bodies. He closed his eyes and blocked out the world from his mind. He hadn’t quite mastered it yet, but with a little effort, he called forth the power. When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.

  He was getting used to it now, the enhanced view of the world. He wasn’t sure what he was seeing when it activated, but he knew that it was powerful. All he had to do was draw it into his body.

  He could see the spots in the grass and even the spots in the flies. There weren’t any left in the bodies and he couldn’t see a single speck. That wasn’t right. Joshua had watched Logan and Elaine the previous day. The spots should be all over in the people.

  “Very interesting,” he whispered as he rose up from the dirt. “Maybe it’s connected with their blood then.”

  He blinked again and the real world returned. There wasn’t much else he could find out unless he found someone alive. The thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth. There was something wrong with the idea.

  He didn’t want to draw it out of them. It wasn’t the right thing to do. Even if they were dead, they were still people. However, he still needed to know. He needed to learn what the black spots were.

  “I don’t have to worry about it for now, at least,” he said.

  He looked around cautiously. There was something that he needed to try, but he couldn’t let either Logan or Elaine overhear. He didn’t want them to think that he was completely mad, even if he wasn’t sure himself.

  “So, voice, savod, whatever you are,” Joshua said. “I want to talk to you.”

  He held up his wrist to the light, eyeing the armband as he waited for a response. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, that he wouldn’t get it to respond with just a demand. However, he needed to know more.

  He needed to know about the power, and its source. He needed to know the meaning behind the visions. He needed to know what was happening in his body and what the infection was doing to him.

  Joshua staggered from just the volume of the voice. It was so much louder than before, so much more powerful. It impeded his every thought, and a wave of dizziness nearly brought him to his knees.

  “Find your center,” he said, slamming his fists together and concentrating on the void.

  “I want to know, why do you whisper to me? Why do you torment me with these visions?” Joshua demanded.

  It was unexpected. Joshua would never have thought that he would question whispers. Yet, it was responding to his questions. A chill ran through him. If it could talk back, the whispers were truly real.

  “What truth?” Joshua asked.

  “You’re not telling me anything,” Joshua said. “All I see are visions I don’t understand.”

  “I see things far beyond what I am. I see things that make me feel small,” Joshua said. “Why do you want to tell me these things?”

  “Sarrack is coming,” Joshua whispered. “Why do we need you then?”

  “Why don’t you just ask us?” Joshua asked.

  Joshua thought about it. Sarrack was coming. He had no doubt. He didn’t know why. He thought of the visions. There was something that the savod had taken with them, something that they had tried desperately to protect.

  “He’s coming for the crystal,” Joshua said. “You aren’t going to help us; you just want to keep it safe.”

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  “So it all ends the same.” Joshua smiled. “You might be telling the truth, you might be telling only lies. I don’t know if it matters, but I’m not sure I should just trust a voice in my head.”

  “I think I can live with that,” Joshua said.

  Joshua started to walk again, aiming for the town’s center. He found only one thing he thought useful as he walked. One home contained a set of long brown robes, so close to his old red ones. It fit him loosely, but it would do.

  Joshua felt right being in robes again. It was a lot better than the ramshackle disguise from before. The rough cloth over his skin was a reminder. He was what he was and would always be, a mage.

  “Joshua,” Logan called out as he and Elaine stepped out from a side street. “Thank Valni, you’re still alive.”

  “What happened to you?” Joshua asked, noticing Logan’s swelling jaw.

  Logan looked to Elaine. Joshua couldn’t read his expression, but he could swear that Elaine’s face blushed. They were keeping more secrets hidden from him. He kept his mouth tight. There was no sense in giving away more than necessary.

  “There were sarpans still around and one escaped,” Logan said. “Did you find anything besides new robes?”

  “No,” Joshua said.

  “I found some blankets and some food.” Logan held up a pack. “We won’t find much else.”

  “Then we can leave before more sarpans show up, right?” Joshua asked.

  “There is something that we must do first,” Elaine said.

  “We’ll need your help to do it,” Logan said.

  “What is it?” Joshua asked.

  “We need to make a pyre.” Elaine crossed her arms over her chest.

  “We’re not moving them all…” Joshua said.

  “No, just a pyre,” Logan said.

  They led Joshua outside of the town, out and through the gates. From the inside, it was easy enough to remove the bars. They gathered as much free wood as they could, taking some from stacks outside buildings.

  Joshua watched as they stacked it up high, making a towering column of stacked logs. In the end, it was nearly as tall as Logan was. Sweat covered them in a glistening sheen when they finished.

  “You two finish this,” Logan said, walking back into the town. “I’m going to finish the second part of this deal.”

  Elaine knelt down before the wood, looking expectantly to Joshua. He sighed as he complied, his hands alighting with a red flame. He sent out a single shot onto the pyre, and in moments, it was entirely ablaze.

  He stepped back, folding his arms and pulling his robes tight. Elaine stayed kneeling in the firelight, her eyes closed in a silent prayer. Joshua couldn’t bring himself to smirk at it.

  Maybe all of the dead were finally getting to him. He wasn’t sure. It was as if their voices were in the wind. The dead screamed in pain. He just couldn’t bring himself to think about it.

  He found himself wishing he had paid more attention during his lessons on the Order. He knew so little about it, so little about anything that wasn’t magic. So much knowledge he never thought would be important.

  He looked down at his skin, eyeing the runes that covered his hands. This was what he knew, the intricacies of elemental magic. He could summon rocks to defend himself. He could call water to drown his enemies. He could burn entire fields with a flick of his fingers. He could create a maelstrom of wind.

  They were already dead. Praying would not bring them back. He didn’t understand why this woman thought it so important to kneel down and pray. There had to be something else that she could do.

  He wasn’t sure why he did it, but a compulsion overtook him. He knelt next to Elaine and bowed his own head. He didn’t have any words to say, he didn’t know of any gods to pray to. He had long since forgotten any from his own home and Dionmus didn’t accept prayers.

  That wasn’t what was important to him. He didn’t need to say any words or to indulge in Astor’s faith. All he needed to do was be there. He struggled to find the right word for it.

  By the time Logan returned, the pyre was burning low. The wood cracked and fell down every few moments, collapsing inward as it ran out of fuel. Joshua and Elaine knelt no longer. Instead they sat back away from the fire and watched it burn away.

  Logan tossed down three pieces of armor, a leather chest piece and arm bands, at Elaine’s feet. He then sat down with them. Elaine looked over the armor with a frown, as if she disdained them even being near her.

  She strapped the chest piece and pulled on the two bands, tightening them both around her. Joshua did his best not to watch her, focusing on the flame. It was dying out now, only a few pieces of wood remained.

  “I have to ask something,” Joshua said. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing? Are you sure that the savod are what Talan said they are?”

  “I know that they’re hunting us now,” Logan said. “I know that I can barely even scratch one with my sword. That’s enough for me.”

  “Nathaniel was corrupted by them,” Elaine said. “If they are released, then Nethas won’t be safe.”

  It was right. They trusted Talan’s words so easily. They had no way to verify if she was telling the truth. They couldn’t get the savod’s side of the story. All they had was the word of a creature that hid in the shadows.

  “I see,” Joshua said. “So where are we going now?”

  “Further north,” Logan said. “The next nearest town is Atria. That’s where we might find a caravan.”

  They continued after that, walking away from Atral as the sun was setting in the west. Joshua kept quiet as they walked. He would have to find out more before he brought it up again. They trusted Talan already, so it would be hard to bring up…alternatives.

  Nathaniel drummed his fingers on his cane as he looked over the grounds again. There were more and more tents on the grounds now. He almost couldn’t see the grass through the men and women in grey robes. Ever since they had expanded the search to include the surrounding towns, they had found many more traitors.

  “Your holiness,” Elise said as she entered the room behind him.

  Nathaniel did not turn. She would not have entered alone if she had succeeded. He grimaced, scratching at the faint itch in his chest and closing his eyes. So, the traitor and her conspirators had escaped.

  “I take it that you have failed me, captain,” Nathaniel said as he turned.

  “I apologize.” Elise bowed. “We searched the countryside, but saw no sign of the traitors.”

  “We will catch them,” Nathaniel whispered. “We must have faith.”

  Nathaniel shuddered as Astor’s voice rippled through him. He bowed his own head and said a silent prayer to Astor. He asked for what he needed to do. He needed Astor’s guidance if he was to catch the traitors.

  An image flashed in Nathaniel’s eyes, and when he looked out the window, he knew where to send Elise.

  “Atria,” Nathaniel said. “Take your chosen few and the fastest horses from the stables. Ride to Atria and search for the traitors there.”

  “Yes, your holiness.” Elise turned to leave, opening the door.

  “Captain,” Nathaniel said.

  “Holiness?” Elise asked.

  “Do not fail me in this,” Nathaniel whispered. “We cannot allow them to escape. They will compromise everything.”