The next week passed even faster than the previous one, making it almost three weeks since they’d come back from the Purge. Everywhere, the populace of the capital city radiated loyalty for the empire and outrage against the rebels. The general consensus was that the ruling families should send the entire empire army out to smash Quarrybrook and send a powerful message. No one spoke publicly against the empire anymore, especially not once they scheduled the first cleansing event for Sunday morning.

Behind closed doors, anxiety and anger simmered, creating a volatile mix that had everyone on edge. Things were spiraling out of control so fast that Pax wondered if they should just abandon their plans and get out of the city while they still could. But they hadn’t even been able to get out of today’s gruesome event.

This is not how I imagined spending my Sunday, Rin sent over their Echoes as they sat in the mage student section.

It’s not fair that the other academies didn’t make their students come, Amil sent. Though I’m glad Bryn, Tasar and Tyrodon don’t have to see it.

And we got to leave our companions back in the dorms, Dahni added. There’s no telling how this kind of crowd would react to them.

Agreed. Pax tried to keep the sadness and horror he felt out of his voice. Let’s all just focus on playing our parts and not getting sick.

As the others steadied themselves, Pax thought about why this was bothering him so much. He’d seen death before. Many street rats didn’t survive to adulthood. And fighting monsters was a bloody venture. Still, a battle gave the participants a chance to decide their fate.

Here, they’d already executed two trussed-up and helpless workers for aiding enemies of the empire. The masked executioner’s ax was fast and skilled. It shocked Pax how quickly they could end a person’s life, as if it were a simple log to be split for the fire.

The raucous cheers of the crowd were even worse. It seemed they were taking all of their anger and nerves out on the helpless captives being paraded onto the stage like it was a tournament or play. If the condemned had any family or friends, they didn’t dare show up or draw attention to themselves.

There’d been the occasional execution back in Thanhil, but street rats knew better than to get anywhere near an event that brought the entire guard out in force. In fact, it was a good time to scrounge for finds in the rest of the mostly deserted city. So, Pax had never seen a live execution. Today, though, Headmaster Ravalar had required that all mage students attend, citing the two rebel mages among those convicted as the reason.

The crowd roared with excitement again. Pax looked up to see guards marching a woman up the back steps of the stage. He clenched his jaw and steeled his nerves to keep up his act.

Her face was blank, head down and staring at her feet as she stumbled along without resisting. They’d let her keep wearing her mage robes. Her tattoos in patterns of air were dark under the manacles. Pax caught the glint of another set of manacles around her ankles attached by a short chain that forced her to take small steps. The captors had made extra sure she had no access to her mana.

The crowd’s noise grew as they recognized the trappings of a mage. In the student mage section, though, a dark silence descended as heads shook and some turned away.

From his place seated on the platform, Headmaster Ravalar noticed immediately. He stood and moved to the podium, whispering something to the man who’d been directing the activities so far. He stepped aside and let Ravalar take his place.

“I’d like to address my students.” His words were stern and commanding.

Some of the crowd noise quieted.

“We teach you to follow the rules so that our empire can stand strong against its enemies with walls that keep us safe.” He turned to glare at the now shivering mage, who still refused to look up as the two guards pulled her forward. “But if we turn our powers against the empire that protects us, we are putting everyone’s lives at risk. And we punish that, immediately and harshly, so that everyone understands how critical it is for us to work together. So, don’t turn away from the harsh reality we live in. You don’t turn away from the beasts that attack our walls, so don’t turn away from what happens to those whose actions put us all at risk. Open your eyes and witness what comes next.”

He gave his students a last grim look before returning to his seat while many in the crowd snuck glances at the student section. Those who had turned away or closed their eyes were looking up again, some shamefaced while others seemed resolute. Pax did his best to imitate them and ignore his twisting stomach.

He, more than anyone, needed to see exactly what they would do to the mage. It would be his fate if someone discovered his secrets. But even more, he wanted to understand the process. How exactly did they burn out someone’s magic? And could he figure out a way to prevent or reverse it?

Rin, help me watch and figure out how they do this.

She gave a quick nod, but kept her eyes firmly fixed forward.

Instead of the black-clad executioner with the ax, this time four figures seated in the same section stood and walked toward a heavy chair bolted to the platform just to the right of the execution station.

At least they aren’t cutting her head off like the workers. Dahni sounded somber.

I’d rather die than lose my magic. Amil’s tone was grim. It’s obvious most mages feel that way, or they would just be executing them like the others. But making them live as workers . . . I just can't—

Pax wasn’t sure he agreed. Besides, how would they even burn out all his mana types? And if they left him with even the smallest spark, he would claw his way back and make them all pay.

Excitement and noise from the crowd had risen again as the four people in long black cloaks and masks moved to the chair. They had to be mages even though they didn’t have a sliver of exposed skin to hint at class or identity.

The woman finally looked up and saw the chair with the black-clad mages. She jerked back, digging in her heels as her body shook with fear. When the guards continued to pull her forward, she descended into a full-blown panic. Suddenly yelling about her innocence, she bucked and kicked. Tears streaked her face, and her breathing kicked into a frenzy.

The crowd seemed to enjoy the spectacle, cheering and yelling encouragement. The guards didn’t miss a beat. They lifted her off her feet and dragged her to the chair. After a few minutes of struggle, they had strapped her hands and feet securely to the legs and arms of the chair. The final indignity involved a leather strap they tightened around her forehead, keeping her immobile, so only her mouth and eyes could move.

The mages surrounded her, equally spaced in a formation eerily similar to an Awakening. One of the mages placed what looked like a small metal cap on her head with four handles protruding from it. Each mage gripped a handle with gloved hands, closed their eyes and pulsed their mana enough to make the faintest bit of light gleam through the dark fabric covering their forearms.

Stolen story; please report.

The device on the woman’s head flared, patterned runes coming to life in a rush. Pax groaned in frustration. He’d missed the initial flare of mana types, only seeing a bright flare of combined power now.

With the mages crowded around her, he couldn’t see many details. A sudden scream replaced her babbling pleas for mercy. Every muscle in her body locked into violent spasms, making Pax sure that the chair would have toppled if they hadn’t bolted it to the stage.

Oh, Vitur. Amil’s words were full of horror.

Someone to their right gagged followed by the distinctive sound and smell of vomiting. The loss of control triggered others to follow suit.

Pax swallowed his bile back, pushing his senses instead to focus on the device and exactly what was happening. He didn’t dare use his Mana Sight or Sphere, even if he had been close enough.

It obviously took four mages to complete the process, but were those four air mages up there to match the condemned woman’s element? Or did they need one of each primary element like the Awakening? And did they use a skill or spell? Or did it just take waves of mana to burn out her center?

When her screams cut off abruptly, Pax thought they were finally done. But they continued. The cap-like artifact stayed lit for another full minute, despite the still body strapped to the chair. Pax heard murmured questions in the student section as people wondered if they’d killed her after all.

One of the mages nodded, and the other three took their hands from the artifact and stepped back. It disappeared a moment later, leaving the top of the woman’s head burned badly enough that Pax imagined the distinctive smell of burnt hair filling the air around the stage.

After giving the guards a curt wave, the lead mage followed others to retake their seats with the executioner. The guards made quick work of freeing the woman. They turned to face the crowd, holding her limp form up for everyone to see. She didn’t stir, head slumped forward and limbs slack. A faint movement of her chest was the only sign she was still breathing.

“Let’s give a Salman welcome to our newest wall worker!” The announcer’s words prompted another surge of jeers from the crowd as the guards carried her away.

A second pair of guards already marched the next mage up the stairs. A man this time, he had the short and stocky dwarven heritage. His tattoos were earth patterned and just as dark as the previous mage’s. His face looked resigned and stoic, eyes up and focused on the chair instead of the crowd.

It played out similarly, but without the panic and screaming. But as the guards pushed him into the chair, he suddenly yelled out, his voice booming over the crowd. Many hushed to hear what he said.

“Ask the ruling families about their secret fortresses. They have plans to abandon all of us when the hordes come crashing over the walls. How many cities have we lost this year? The end is coming. If we don’t fight now, there won’t be anything left to fight—”

His voice cut off abruptly when a guard shoved a rag into his mouth and fastened it with a leather strip tied hastily behind his head.

So, screaming is acceptable, but shouting out the truth isn’t. Rin’s expression gave no hint of the derision filling the words she sent over their Echoes.

The man didn’t struggle. Instead he stared out at the crowd with eyes full of anger and urgency as if he could continue his message without speaking.

A mocking laugh came from the announcer, goading the crowd out of the dip in excitement the mage’s words had caused. “How about that, folks? This one is as delusional as all the rebels, making up lies and outlandish stories. Let’s send him up to the walls, so he can at least help the empire by running supplies to the real heroes who keep us safe.”

That was all it took to erase the impact of the mage’s statements. And no amount of stoicism could keep his body from bucking when the mages burnt out his mana. Doing his best to ignore the brutality of the procedure, Pax watched what he could see of the device, focusing hard on the color of the mana at the start.

Brown. From the two handles he could see, he caught flashes of brown before the device lit up with a bright colorless power.

At least two of the mages are earth and likely all four of them. They are using a ton of earth mana to burn out the earth mage’s magic.

And that’s important, why? Dahni asked, sounding eager to be distracted from the gruesome spectacle.

We all have more than one element. If the worst happens—

They’ll only burn out one element, Rin finished, sounding both grim and pragmatic.

They’ll still burn out the element they know about. Next to Rin, Amil shook his head in small movements. That means my flame. I don’t know if I could handle only having air.

And lightning, Pax added. Because you know we’re going to get that working for you.

Alright. Maybe I could handle that. But how about we make sure we don’t get caught instead?

That will always be our first plan. Pax just hoped they never had to resort to their new back-up plan.

Once they were done with the mages, the cleansing ended with another three executions: one warrior and two merchants. The crowd lapped it up. Pax and his friends went along with the excitement, as loyalists would. But inside, Pax felt sick enough, he was surprised he held on to his breakfast.

When the horrific event concluded, it still took forever to wind their way out of the stands and navigate the crowds of people all trying to exit the square at the same time. The mood was no longer celebratory. Instead, a cloud had descended, the fading bloodlust leaving the populace drained and a bit disoriented now that the spectacle was over. Pax decided it served them right for reveling in the death of people who were only trying to keep the empire from crumbling.

When he and his friends reached the edge of the square, it got even more crowded. The other pedestrians pressed tighter as the buildings to either side of the street forced everyone together.

With an unexpected suddenness, a familiar alarm blared in Pax’s ear. He jerked as an ominous stillness washed through the entire crowd. The alarm doused every conversation in a single sweep. Except for the babies and small children. Their cries and complaints rang out through the suddenly silent square.

The pulsing letters appeared a moment later. Pax wasn’t the only one to suck in and hold his breath as his eyes scanned them quickly. Had the empire finally conquered Quarrybrook? Was the rebellion over before it had hardly started?

***

Notice to all citizens of the Astan Empire:

Official War Update!

The People’s Rebellion has conquered the city of Dunhaven and officially lays claim to two cities now.

May Vitur guide you all!

***

Pax had to read the notice a second time, not seeing the expected news about Quarrybrook. Around him, a rumble of outrage mixed with panic. Voices came back quickly. Yells and questions filled the air.

Rin responded first as emotions flared, out of control and charging the air. Grab onto each other. Follow me. Don’t stop until we reach the pub over on the left. Flare your tattoos. Now! Don’t stop for anything.

Her hand already had a hold of the right side straps on Pax’s cuirass. He flung his left hand out to grab onto Dahni, glad to see Amil had grabbed Dahni’s other side. They pushed forward with Rin, racing through the crowd like a stampeding yugrut.

The flare from their tattoos made those closest to them flinch away. Pax threw out the occasional Bulwark to help clear their path whenever there was space for him to do it safely.

A large man with wild eyes slammed into Rin. She flew into the back of a woman to her right. She kept her grip on Pax, almost jerking him off his feet until a quick burst of Levitate restored her position.

The next few minutes were as chaotic as clearing a frenzied nest, if less bloody. When they made it to the closed door of the pub, a large bouncer stood in the doorway, using his bulk to deny them entrance. When they held up their flaring tattoos, he wavered. It was the silver that Rin tossed him that tipped the balance.

He cracked the door behind him just enough for them to slip in. The space inside the common room felt like freedom compared to the pressing bodies outside. They spun back around to peer through the thick glass window crisscrossed by iron bars. Outside, the crowd quickly turned into a dangerous riot. People crashed and flowed through the streets like a tsunami of violence.

Together with the rest of the patrons who’d made it to safety, Pax and his friends stared in horror at what was happening to the empire’s capital city. Only shocked gasps and whispers of dismay broke the silence. No one could find words.