Firelight danced in the cool night in front of Logan, its glow warming him in its orange embrace. Logan’s feet ached as he pulled his blanket tight around his shoulders. The day’s walk had been a long one, but just two more would bring them to Atria.

  There had been very few travelers on the road during the day, but each had a story to tell when they met. The roads were no longer safe, each one had said in a hushed voice. The five armies could no longer safeguard the land. Dark creatures walked in the night and every day they found more of the dead.

  Logan warned each of Atral’s fate for his part. He hoped word might at least get back to a magistrate. While they couldn’t go back to Nethas themselves, someone in Tyra needed to know about it.

  Both Joshua and Elaine had remained quiet through their walk. Logan was starting to expect it from Joshua, it seemed like his normal way, but Elaine’s silence was odd. She hadn’t been able to look him in the eye since Atral.

  Not that that there wasn’t at least one reason, he thought as he rubbed his jaw.

  It was healing a lot faster than he expected. Already the swelling had faded and only a faint bruised line remained. He guessed it was the pact, a sort of benefit to having a sylvestrian in his head.

  Logan gazed into the cursed fire. He hadn’t wanted to start one. It would attract attention even though they had moved away from the road. But, after Atral, they could all use something to keep their spirits up.

  It crackled as he tried to get a grip on his heart. It was like there were two beings warring inside of him, each trying to send him down a different path. He desperately wished that Adrian were there. Adrian would know the right way.

  It had been so long since he had been on his own. He hardly recognized it. With the Crows, the path was always obvious. Every person had his place and his job to do. When trouble came, they followed their orders.

  Adrian was a leader, something that Logan never was. There was a certain respect that Adrian created in all of his men, and Logan knew for sure that he did not. The pact was the only reason they followed him.

  Logan wished he had paid more attention. The Crows always felt like a family to him, but he wasn’t sure how Adrian did it. He didn’t know how Adrian had taken so many different men and formed them into a band.

  “What should I do?” Logan whispered.

  “Did you say something?” Joshua asked, looking up from the fire.

  “I’m going to gather some more wood.” Logan stood, walking away from their camp.

  The cool night wrapped around him as he walked away. There was a copse of saplings nearby, far away enough that neither Elaine nor Joshua could see him. He couldn’t really think with them nearby.

  ‘You doubt yourself too much,’ Talan said. ‘It’s annoying.’

  “I can’t help it,” Logan said. “This is a bit new to me. I keep thinking that you need a warrior, not a coward in this.”

  ‘Standing up to monsters isn’t cowardly. Neither is protecting your companions.’ Talan said. ‘Do you truly believe that what you’ve done so far is the work of a coward?’

  “No, but I’m afraid of my choices,” Logan said, kneeling down in the grass and looking up at the starry sky. “Back in Atral, my choice might have gotten everyone killed. I should have known that there might still be some sarpans in the town.”

  Talan didn’t respond.

  “That’s sad, isn’t it?” Logan asked. “I’m afraid to push forward or to go back. The path both ways is so dark. I can’t see a light on either side. I’m not afraid of fighting, or of monsters. I’m afraid of what might happen.”

  “Everyone is afraid of something,” Talan said, rising up from his shadow. “I’m afraid of what I must do to end this, I’m afraid of the path I’m on.”

  Logan wasn’t sure, but there was sadness in Talan’s gaze. Her green eyes stared at the ground, and a frown marked her face. Every time before she had seemed so feral, but now, he could see a trace of what the sylvestri once were.

  “What do you have to do to fix the seal?” Logan asked.

  “It’s not important.” Talan faded back into his shadow. ‘Just remember that all magic has a cost.’

  Logan stood in the dark for some time after that, pondering her words. He wasn’t sure if he really felt any better after, but at least he had something to think on. He wasn’t the only one afraid. He finally gathered a few branches and returned to camp.

  Elaine was already asleep when he got back, wrapped in her blanket and turned away from the fire. Joshua was awake, his eyes still focused on the flames. Logan wasn’t sure he had blinked.

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  ‘Be wary of him,’ Talan said. ‘The mage is acting strangely.’

  Logan wasn’t so sure. Mages had odd practices. He really couldn’t fault the man if he liked to stare into a bright light. It might not be the smartest thing to do, but he had no real understanding of magic.

  “Wake me up when you get tired Joshua,” he said as he wrapped himself in his blanket and rested against the ground.

  Joshua only nodded in response, and Logan didn’t push it any further. He closed his eyes, shutting out the orange light and embracing the dark. In moments, he was asleep and he left the world behind.

  The next day came sooner than Logan would have liked. The cool night air heated as the sun peaked over the horizon and a humid blanket rested over him. He moved with aching muscles as he rose up and looked around the camp.

  Elaine still slept with her back to the now smoldering fire. Joshua still sat where he was, staring at the thin wisps of smoke with vacant eyes. He turned his head to follow Logan in a token acknowledgement.

  “It was a quiet night,” Joshua whispered, blinking a few times and then rising up from where he sat.

  They woke Elaine and put out the remainder of the fire. After a dry breakfast of nuts and berries, they walked the road again, heading north toward Atria. There was still an uncomfortable silence between them.

  Logan knew it had to be broken.

  “I never thought I’d be going back here,” Logan said, adjusting his pack on his shoulder.

  “You mean to Atria?” Joshua asked, still seemingly unfazed by his sleepless night.

  “The last time I was there was nearly ten years ago,” Logan said. “It was before I met Adrian, and before I became a mercenary.”

  Those were different times, back when he still had something he could call a home. He doubted that Atria had changed much since he left. He didn’t doubt that the same people were still there. He didn’t doubt he would see his brother again.

  “I left Atria then, when I was barely a man,” Logan said. “I was na?ve back then.”

  “Were you a coward then as well?” Elaine’s words still carried anger behind them.

  “That might have been when I first became one.” Logan laughed hollowly.

  “I take it you never wanted to go back.” Joshua walked up beside him.

  “No sense dragging up bad memories,” Logan said, smiling. “I drifted a lot afterwards, until I finally found some work on a farmer’s field.”

  It was honest work, backbreaking and unrewarding. Logan wasn’t quite sure how he stayed so long at it. The family that worked the field had lost their son years before and they were thankful for another hand to till the land.

  “Things changed, after the war got worse,” Logan said. “Farmers weren’t important enough to have protection, and sarpan raids were common in the north. They raided the farm and killed almost everyone. Before the end of it, the Crows rode in, like a black tide. They killed every sarpan on the field. The wheat was stained with blood.”

  “That was when you joined with them,” Joshua said.

  “Yes.” Logan nodded. “Everything I learned about being a mercenary came from them.”

  “Interesting,” Joshua said.

  Elaine didn’t comment for her part. Logan still wasn’t sure how to deal with her, especially after his words the day before. He wouldn’t be able to fix things immediately. It would take time.

  It took them an entire day of walking to reach Atria. Farmers worked the fields of wheat as they approached the grey walls of the town. Some of them looked up at the travelers, but most kept their hands working the in the dirt.

  Logan was just thankful to see people this time.

  There were quite a few homes outside of the walls. There were a few buildings in tight groups reaching out into the fields. Atria had grown since Logan left. The walls were no longer big enough to contain everyone.

  The town never had too many people; it was not anywhere close to the size of Nethas. However, there were many families that rested in the safety of the walls, and the war brought caravans and gold through it.

  At the entrance of Atria, a wolf statue marked the gate’s arch, dividing the path in half. The stone beast rested back on its haunches in a perpetual howl at the Veil above. Logan nodded his respect to Valni as they entered through the gate.

  Logan saw many wagons as they walked along the rough road through the town. At least there would be no shortage of work for them. One of the caravans would be sure to be heading north to the front lines.

  Most of the buildings were made of timber, though a stone made up a few of the buildings closer to the center of town. One building stood out to Logan from the crowds of people, standing proudly with a tall tower extending from its roof.

  It was the magistrate’s office.

  Logan knew he shouldn’t go in there. The risk of capture was too great. He also knew that word of Atral needed to get out. Someone needed to go in.

  “I need to go there first.” Logan pointed to it. “If you both wait outside, it won’t take long.”

  “That’s the magistrate’s office,” Elaine said. “Why do you want to go in there?”

  “I need to report to someone what happened in Atral,” Logan said. “I know the magistrate, so it shouldn’t take too long.”

  “We’re still going with you.” Elaine crossed her arms and slammed her foot down. “We’re not some children that need to be told when and where to wait.”

  “You don’t need to come with me in there.” Logan shook his head.

  “What are you afraid of?” Elaine asked. “We still need you to finish this journey. If they still have a reason to arrest you, or even execute you, then we would be in trouble.”

  “We don’t really know why you left,” Joshua said. “Until you tell us, we can only really assume the worst.”

  “You don’t understand,” Logan said.

  He couldn’t let them know why he ran away Atria. There were some things in his life that needed to stay forgotten. His heart hammered in his chest. He would never share some secrets.

  “If there was a better way north, we would have taken it,” he said, his voice shaking. “I wouldn’t have come through here otherwise.”

  “But we did come this way,” Elaine said. “And we did see what happened in Atral. We should all report it to the magistrate.”

  She wouldn’t back down. Grim determination filled her eyes. He knew that she wouldn’t let herself lose another argument with him. She was ready to fight the entire way.

  “Okay,” Logan said, throwing up his arms. “I won’t stop you from following me in.”

  “You couldn’t have stopped either of us,” Elaine said.

  “I’m starting to see that.” Logan sighed, walking toward the building.

  The crowds cleared to make way for them. Curious eyes followed the three as they entered the magistrate’s office. Logan did his best not to pay them any heed. He only hoped that no one would recognize him until they were far away.

  “Let’s go meet my brother,” he said as he opened the door and led them in.