Neve? Galen assumed that must be Usoro's first name. She did say that Eamon used to be her commanding officer. He wondered how close the two of them were before they lost contact because Eamon didn’t look happy to see her. In fact, he looked terrified, like Usoro would attack him at any moment.

Usoro grinned, "Sir, it's good to see you again."

Eamon cleared his throat. His face was obscured by a face shield; something Galen had never seen a blacksmith wear. His apron, gloves, and boots were all made of leather, and he wore loose clothes underneath them. He asked, "Are you here to take me back?"

"No, I just want to talk. Can we come in? Don't worry, Galen's not a part of the military."

Eamon didn’t seem to trust her word. Understandable considering how often she lied or omitted the truth to Galen. Nonetheless, he moved out of the way, so they could come in. He said, "It's messy in here, but the table over there should be clear. Take a seat."

Usoro and Galen sat down at the table. Jivanta came in from a side room and cleaned up the small mess that covered the table. Once she was done, she scampered back to the side room. Eamon took off his apron and gloves, keeping on the face shield. He also took a seat at the table. He asked, "Why are you here if not to take me back?"

Galen answered, "Usoro wants to leave the military, and we need to know how you did it."

Eamon shook his head, “It won't work.”

"You did it. Why can't I?" Usoro questioned.

"Because I escaped due to sheer luck. Nilalan won't bless the same half-baked plan."

“You don't know that," Usoro argued, "If you tell me what happened, I would know if I could do it."

"I refuse. I don't want to talk about it."

"You owe me, Eamon," Usoro said coldly, "Tell me what I want to know."

Eamon glared at her, "No!"

Galen startled when Usoro slammed her hands onto the table. She growled, "I won't take that for an answer. Tell me!"

Eamon slammed his hands on the table as well. He stood up, towering over Galen and Usoro. He growled back, "Get out of my house."

Galen moved to exit, but Usoro pulled him down. She hissed at him, "Sit down. We're not going anywhere. Not until he tells how he did it."

Galen whispered, "I don't think we should push him on it. He doesn't want to talk. We can come back when he cools down."

Instead of heeding Galen's advice, Usoro rose out of her chair. She glowered at Eamon, drawing her reuûn'oard. She said, "Tell me. This is the last time I ask nicely."

Galen grabbed her arm, wrenching it to him. He demanded, "What do you think you're doing?"

She yanked her arm out of his grasp, saying, "I'm getting answers."

“You’ve changed, Neve.” Eamon was furious. He held his shoulders back, widening his stance, and he clenched his fists tightly. He repeated, "Get out."

Usoro raised her reuûn'oard in front of her. She chanted, "Aheurtean oesipy—"

Eamon's hand shot out and covered Usoro's mouth, stopping her from completing the spell. His fingers dug into her jaw. Galen stood and tried to remove Eamon's hand, but the grip was too strong for him to break. Usoro glared defiantly at Eamon. He matched her gaze before releasing her and saying, "You really want to know."

"Eamon, I wouldn’t have found you if I wasn't serious about this. I need to know. I need to leave Zamsune."

"I know how you feel, but my plan won't work. I was an idiot to think it would."

"You escaped, didn't you? I will be the judge of what works or not."

"You aren't listening." He brought a hand to his face shield, stroking the metal piece fondly. He clutched the edge of it, but hesitated. His fingers slipped away before tightening. He ripped it off, revealing disfiguring scars that engulfed his entire face. Galen gasped and fell back into his chair. Usoro didn’t react at all besides a subtle widening of her eyes. She asked, "How did this happen?"

"Sit down," he said, taking his own seat. Although he knew it was rude, Galen couldn’t stop looking at Eamon's misshapen head. Eamon said, "It looks terrible, doesn't it?”

"Um," Galen replied, “It looks alright.”

"It's fine. Galen, was it? I know how it looks, and how others see it. I'm merely happy to be alive."

Usoro motioned for him to go on. He sighed, "The easy part was getting rid of the tattoo."

Usoro absentmindedly touched the back of her neck. "Did you get a magician to take it off or did you hack it?"

"Hacked it. I got a mirror and cut it off with my knife. Dressed the wound and started running."

"Tattoo?" Galen asked.

"All soldiers have the insignia of the Zamsunian military tattooed to the back of their necks. It has two purposes: marking us as soldiers and acting as a locator. The magicians in the military use enchanted ink. It says, 'Veruofrae Zesnmyaeuo gïnrouhnoa.'"

"Forever honoring Zamsune," Galen muttered to himself.

"You’re a magician?"

Usoro smirked, "Yes, he is. A magician that is loyal to me."

Galen bit the inside of his cheek in an effort not to say anything nasty to her. The tattoo interested him. It reminded him of the brands Stolital used to identify visitors. He said, "I've encounter something like this before. May I see it?"

Usoro turned her back to him, lowering the collar of her shirt. The tattoo was stark against her pale skin. The thick black lines formed a serpent swallowing its own tail. Thinner lines formed the Oxuri words. His fingers brushed the tattoo. He said, "This enchantment is powerful. It must have taken a lot of asteran parts. How long does it take to ink?"

Eamon answered, "Many painful hours. We have to go in periodically to keep the enchantment strong. For regular soldiers, the mark will disappear after they complete their mandatory service and will need to be redone if they choose to continue their military careers."

Usoro said, "We're getting distracted. Eamon, continue."

The huge man sighed, "After I removed the tattoo, I ran to the artic circle."

Usoro leaned back in her chair, "Smart."

"No, stupid. I knew someone was on my tail, so I rushed my plan. I took a fast-acting poison to fake my death. I laid there in the snow and waited for the others to find me. I hoped they would think the cold killed me. I wasn't expecting the astera." Eamon gestured to his scars. Galen winced in sympathy. He couldn’t imagine how much that must have hurt.

"The astera was attacking you when a retrieval agent showed up," Usoro guessed.

Eamon nodded, "They saw the beast shredding me and decided to leave. They knew the only way to save me was to fight the astera, and they didn't want to take risk. I wasn't important enough to keep alive."

Galen crossed his arms, "Usoro told me that you were a high-ranking officer. That sounds important to me. Why wouldn't they want you alive?"

"They had a choice. Keep me alive or keep the astera alive. They chose the astera. They probably thought I was a goner anyway. I certainly thought I was going to die."

Usoro butted in, "Who saved you?"

"The poison I took killed the astera, and I laid there too weak to move after the mauling. One of the nomadic tribes found me. They nursed me back to health and lied to the retrieval agent when they came back for my body. They said the astera ate everything. Showed them my bloody clothes for proof. Once I was healthy enough to travel, I came to Ardogris and remade my life. I became a blacksmith."

"You became a father."

A smile stretched Eamon's marred face. The mere mention of his daughter brightened the man. He said, "I thank every god in the Mistress' hall that I was able to live so that I could meet Jivanta. I am eternally grateful for her."

Usoro conceded, "This plan won't work for me."

"I told you."

"But," she was quick to add, "The idea will."

Galen furrowed his brow. "How?"

"I can fake my death. It will keep the retrieval agents off my trail, but I won't do it like you. I want to leave Zamsune, so the arctic circle isn’t a viable option. However, the mountains that border Zamsune might be. We'll fake my death there."

Eamon shook his head, "Did you not hear what happened to me?"

"Yes, what happened to you. I don't need to take any poison or hurt myself in any way. I have Galen, a magician. Someone who can do illusions."

Galen understood what she was getting at. "The Yubal mountains are steep. I could cast an illusion that showed you falling off a cliff in a way that would stop them from wanting to retrieve the body."

"Exactly!" Usoro exclaimed, "Then, I could sneak over the border into Kurak or Hidara."

Eamon snorted, "I guess you got it all figured out."

"Yep, and it's all thanks to you. Thank you, Eamon. Truly." Usoro rounded the table and pat Eamon's shoulder. He grunted, shoving off her hand. Usoro wasn’t offended.

"Don't thank me, Neve. I'm the one who put you in this situation in the first place."

"That's true. Consider your debt paid."

"Now, will you get out of my house?"

Usoro gathered Galen and said, "We're leaving."

Usoro skipped out of Eamon's house with Galen in tow. She was vibrating with happiness. Galen commented, "You're happy."

She beamed, "I'm leaving. Galen, I'm finally leaving."

***

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The train ride back to Thuraya's house went better than the one to Ardogris. No astera attacked any of the train cars, and Usoro had been giddy the whole way back. Nothing could dampen her excitement. It was nighttime when they arrived, and Thuraya greeted them at the door.

"Galen, Usoro, how was your trip?"

"We got the information we needed," Usoro said. Thuraya glanced at Galen. He nodded slightly, confirming Usoro's statement.

Thuraya smiled, "That's good. Do we have a plan?"

"Yes." Usoro launched into explaining the plan to Thuraya.

After she finished explaining, Thuraya was pensive. "Where in the Yubal will you go? Do you have a set route?"

Usoro grinned. She went to her luggage and pulled out a map, which she held up for them to see. She pointed to a red dot on the map, "This is the trail of Bylau. Travelers used to traverse it but a landslide struck and rendered it unusable. The only thing that lies there are rocky cliffs. A perfect place to fall to my death."

"How long will it take a retrieval agent to find out about Galen removing your tattoo?"

Usoro thought it over, "We aren't usually made privy to the locations of the agents, but I heard that Kenmel was back in Zamsune. When I figure out where he is, I'll come back and tell you. We can start the plan then."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I don't know. I'll tell you when I have more information."

Galen said, "That works. We'll be waiting."

"Can you do anything else?" Usoro laughed.

Thuraya rolled her eyes, "We'll see you later. Don't keep us waiting."

"I don't plan on it." Usoro left the house and went back to wherever she goes when she is not watching them. Galen put his bag in his room before exiting, closing the door behind him. Nessa ran up and hugged him.

"I missed you," she said.

Galen returned the girl's hug. "I missed you too."

"You said I wasn't going to be bored, but I was! You lied," she accused.

Galen chuckled, "Sorry, Nessa. Did you complain to Miss Thuraya?"

"Too much," Thuraya answered. Nessa ducked her head, pretending to feel shame. "Stop faking, little star."

Nessa lifted her head, giggling. "I won't be bored anymore. Mister Galen's back. I can do magic!"

"Our lessons are just as important," Thuraya said.

"I know. You always say that," Nessa groaned.

"It's because it's true, Nessa," Galen said, "Anyway, isn't it time for bed?"

"No," Nessa whined.

"Yes," Thuraya said, "Go to bed." Nessa wasn’t happy to be sent to bed, but she complied. Thuraya and Galen watched her drag her feet to her room. Once the door closed behind her, Thuraya turned to Galen. She raised a brow.

"What?" he asked.

"What happened in Ardogris?"

"Usoro told you what happened."

"I want to hear it from you."

"We got on the train. It was attacked by astera, but we took care of it. We arrived in the city. It was easy to find Jivanta, and we followed her to a forge. Eamon opened the door, letting us in. Usoro persuaded Eamon to tell us how he escaped. We came up with the plan. We took a train back. No astera that time, by the way. We came back here and you know the rest."

"Brisk retelling."

"Do you want an hours-long play-by-play?"

"No."

"You have any questions?"

"Should we stay in Zamsune?"

"Huh?"

"This whole thing with Usoro makes me wonder if we should go somewhere else. If either of you get caught, it could spell trouble for all of us. And, once Usoro is gone, they'll send someone to take her place. What if Nessa spills the secret again?"

Galen sighed. He didn’t know the answer. He could see where Thuraya was coming from, but he also thought that Zamsune was an excellent place to train Nessa. They also couldn’t keep running away from the fact Nessa couldn’t keep her mouth shut. He said, "It doesn't matter where we go. Nessa will always be a risk. We just have to drill it into her harder. Wouldn't it be more suspicious if we left immediately after our handler disappeared?"

"You have a point."

"I understand your worry, though. Usoro and I's failure will spell out disaster for you two, but we must do it. Usoro is the immediate threat."

"A threat we wouldn't have if Nessa didn't say anything."

"It's too late for that now. She's said it, and now we have to deal with it."

"Lalai, that girl. I'll make her write 'I won't tell anyone we're asteris' three hundred times if that's what it takes for her to understand."

"Thuraya, she's young. Us keeping the consequences of her actions away from her isn't helping either."

"You're right. We'll tell her what happened after all this over."

Galen yawned, "I'm tired, doing all this running around isn't good for my old bones."

"I'm older than you, and I don't get half as much joint pain as you do," Thuraya smirked.

Galen waved a dismissive hand. "I'm going to bed."

"Good night."

"Sweet dreams."

Two weeks passed with no news from Usoro. Galen, Thuraya, and Nessa fell back into their old routine. Swapping between lessons and magic practice. On the eve of the third week, there was a knock on the door. Galen opened it, revealing Usoro. She said, "It's time."

Thuraya appeared behind Galen, "Time for what?"

"For the plan! What else?" She pushed past Galen into the house, stumbling to the kitchen.

"Miss Usoro," Nessa cheered.

"Nessa, it's good to see you. How have you been?"

"I'm good." She pouted, "Well, I've got homework."

Thuraya cut in, "Yes, you have homework. Complete it in your room."

"But I don't want to."

"Nessa," Thuraya scolded, "I won't ask again."

Nessa frowned and went back to her room, slamming the door behind her. Usoro shook her head, "You made her mad."

"Stop focusing on that. Once you remove the mark, how much time do you have?"

"15 minutes."

"That's it?" Galen exclaimed.

"We have plenty of time to prepare before we need to remove the mark."

"I still feel the time window is too short."

"Get over it. I have a horse and supplies. Let's go."

Galen nodded. He turned to Thuraya, "I'll be back."

"Don't fail."

"We won't."

The plan was on. Galen had his arms wrapped tightly around Usoro's waist as they cantered down the path to the Bylau trail. Their speed caused blasts of wind to hit Usoro's face. Galen was glad he could hide his face behind her, escaping the brunt of the wind. Although, the cold air still chilled him.

"At this speed, we'll reach the trail in a couple of hours," Usoro said.

"That's good."

"Yeah, I want this over with as soon as possible."

"I've never agreed with you more."

Two hours later, Usoro slowed the horse. A rickety sign confirmed that they were at the Bylau trail. Usoro tied the horse to a tree branch, grabbing the supplies. She slung the pack over her shoulder and motioned for Galen to follow her. Searching for the perfect place to stage a death, they wandered up the trail. Steep rock walls boxed them in, making the path narrow.

Usoro said, "We might be walking for a while."

"Okay."

When Galen made no move to say anything else, Usoro continued, "It would be a waste if we let ourselves fester in silence."

"If you want to talk, just say so."

"I want to talk."

"Fine. Why do you want to leave the military?"

"I already answered that question. You asked when we were on the way to Ardogris."

"I did ask, but you evaded answering it. I want to know why."

Usoro gave Galen an amused grin, "If you really want to know."

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't."

"I'm sure you know that Zamsune requires every citizen to serve a mandatory five years in the military once they hit adulthood."

"Yes, I know."

"Spies, also classified as special soldiers, like me are taken when we're children."

"What?"

"We're sent on long missions outside the country and carry sensitive information. Zamsune doesn't want us defecting, so they start young."

Galen looked at Usoro in a new light. "How old were you?"

"I was seven. It's been 17 years since then."

"How did your parents react?"

"It was me and my mom, and there wasn’t anything we could do. If they choose you, you will serve," Usoro pulled out a necklace, "She was jeweler. We had matching necklaces, though she doesn’t wear hers any longer."

“Why not?”

“It was easier to forget me than be reminded of her loss.”

"Do you miss her?"

"I do, but it's too late for me to reconnect with her now.'"

"Is she dead?"

"No," Usoro laughed, "She just has a new family now."

Galen frowned, "She, what, remarries and has new kids. That doesn't mean she stopped caring about you."

"I know, but it feels like she's moved on without me. I'm a stranger in that house. I just want to start over far away from Zamsune."

"Do you resent them?"

"Who? My family?"

"No, the military for choosing you."

"No, I don’t feel much about it anymore. What I felt was anger not resentment. Anger that my childhood was taken away. Anger over all the people I’ve killed. But I’ve learned to let it go because it doesn’t change anything I’ve done. Resentment won’t resurrect the dead, and neither will anger."

Galen didn’t know what to say. He looked to the side and saw a deep gorge that was filled with sharp rocks. He stopped Usoro, pointing to what he saw, "This will work."

Usoro clapped her hands excitedly, "Yes, this is perfect."

She crouched down to inspect the edge of the sheer drop. She wondered aloud, "Could I dangle from here?"

"I think the problem will be how long you can dangle there."

She scratched her chin, "True. Also, where would I hide after they see me die?"

Galen peered over the edge, "I could dig a hole with magic and then cover it with an illusion."

"That works."

"I'll need to be in front of where we want the hole to be to dig it."

"How much time will you need?"

"Depends on how big you want the hole."

"It needs to be big enough to fit two people comfortably."

"Ten minutes, maybe."

"Good." Usoro brushed her hands off on her pants and stood up, "Remove the tattoo."

"That's cutting it too close."

"After you remove the tattoo, I'll have to dangle off this cliff. We know the retrieval agent will come fifteen minutes after you remove the mark. It would be more believable that I was stuck if I was panting and out of breath. I would recover holding you after fifteen minutes of rest, but not five."

"Okay, lay down." Usoro took off her shirt and then laid down on a flat rock. Galen kneeled next to her, hovering his hands over the tattoo. He closed his eyes, concentrating. He pressed his fingertips to the mark. He asked, "Do you want me to remove the magic and the tattoo, or just the magic?"

"Which will hurt less?"

"Just the magic."

"Leave the tattoo."

He started to extract the magic. Purple tendrils seeped from the insignia, fading into nonexistence. Usoro clenched her teeth, fighting back whimpers of pain. Sweat began to drip down her face. Galen held strong, steadily drawing out the invasive magic. He said, "I'm almost done."

She gritted her teeth, "Hurry up."

The last tendril oozed out of the tattoo. Galen said, "It's over."

Usoro rested her forehead on the rock. "Finally. We have fifteen minutes starting now."

"Can you even hold me up? We should have done this after I dug the hole."

"I'm fine." Usoro pulled her shirt back on, rubbing a hand on the tattoo. She let down her hair to make sure the mark was covered. "Let's do it."

Galen sighed but knew he wouldn’t convince her to do anything else. They walked to the ledge. Galen took Usoro's hands and she helped him down the cliff. He was now dangling, relying on Usoro's strength to keep him safe. He let go of one of her hands to cast the spell. Purple gathered in his hands. To ease his burden, he chanted the spell, "Penuo aá oèehl yni oehti ahuerta."

Galen had a decent sized hole ten minutes later. He leapt into it. Usoro breathed a sigh of relief, sitting down to catch her breath. They still had two minutes before the retrieval agent would arrive if Usoro's calculations were correct. Galen casted an illusion on the hole, hiding it from prying eyes. He called up, "It's covered."

"Good. We're ready."

"Wait, we need a code word."

"A code word?"

"Yeah, to notify me when you plan on letting go."

"If I say something about not being taken alive, that is your que."

"Got it."

Usoro then heard footsteps. She got into position, hoisting herself over the edge. A slender man approached. He grinned when he saw Usoro, "What do we have here? I knew your death would be idiotic, but this is a surprise!"

"Kenmel. As unpleasant as ever."

Kenmel walked to the edge. He towered over her. "You know why I'm here."

"I do."

Kenmel brought his foot down onto one of Usoro's hands, grinding it into the stone. She winced. He said, "Maybe I should let you die here. A spy like you is better off dead."

A toothy grin stretched Usoro's face, "Once upon a time, you told me Zamsune needed me."

A stormy expression crossed Kenmel's face, and he shrugged, "Despite how I treated you, I did think you were honorable. Weak and cowardly but honorable."

"When did that change? Before or after Erasima?"

"Who cares? What’s done is done. Now, all I have to decide is whether to let you die or let you live."

"For some reason, I fear that you want me to die."

"There would be some beauty in a traitorous wretch meeting the same demise as her dearly-departed commander."

Usoro's grin widened, "Are you going to kill me?"

"No," he sighed, "While the desire burns my blood, my commander has been up my ass about breaking the rules recently. Today, you get to live."

"Pity."

Kenmel frowned, "What?"

"I don't plan on being taken alive." With that, Usoro let go of the ledge. Galen cast the illusion, and Usoro slipped into the hole. All Kenmel could see was Usoro skewered on the rocks below. Above them, they heard the spy curse.

"Shit, what am I going to do about this?" Kenmel peered over the edge at Usoro's battered and broken body. "I'm going to be in so much trouble."

Kenmel continued to stare at Usoro's dead body, blanking on a way to explain this to his supervisor. After a few minutes of silent thoughts, he said aloud, "Neve isn't worth this effort. I'll come up with a cover when I get back."

After Kenmel left, Galen and Usoro waited thirty minutes to make sure that he was gone. Usoro lifted herself out of the hole and proceeded to help Galen up. Once they were on the surface, Usoro let out a small victory cheer. She pulled Galen into a tight hug, almost lifting him off the ground in her excitement.

Galen laughed, "We did it!"

"I didn't think it was possible to be as happy as I am right now!" Usoro let go of Galen, who needed a minute to balance himself after the aggressive hug. She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him in the eye, "Thank you, Galen. I mean this sincerely."

"To be fair, I didn't have a choice."

"I know, but still."

Galen's voice turned serious, "I trust that you'll keep our secret."

"Galen," Usoro said, "I will never tell another soul. Not even on the pain of death."

Galen nodded, "I believe you."

"If you ever need me for anything, and I mean anything, I will help you."

"I'll hold you to that, Neve," Galen grinned

Neve smiled back. She took in a deep breath, slowing exhaling it. "I'm ready to restart my life."

"Where are you going?"

"Erasima. Ever been there?"

Galen's grin dimmed, "Yeah, I've been there."

She grabbed her bag of supplies. "Well, I'm off. Remember to find me if you need help."

"I will."

Neve waved, walking further down the Bylau trail. It would take her a week of walking to make it to Kurak. From there, she would find a ship and set sail for Erasima. Before she could get too far, Galen called, "If you meet a man named Severin Roscoe, can you tell him that I miss him?"

"I would be honored to," was called back.

Galen watched her disappear. He looked up at the stars and wished that he could see into Neve's future. If she came across him, he wanted to see Severin's reaction. He wanted to know if he would be welcome if he returned. However, Galen wasn’t one to dwell on these thoughts. He lived far too long to curse the unfairness of the world. To keep his mind from wandering, he started the journey back to Thuraya's. Hopefully, the horse was still there.