††† Siegfried †††

It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since Haylee was gone, but it felt like hours to Siegfried. Anxiousness was eating away at his patience. Everything she said was sound and logical, but since the pert cat-girl vanished into the gatehouse, a thread of uneasiness constricted around Siegfried's heart, tightening with every passing minute. The thought of her getting hurt or even killed just to get him past the walls was maddening.

After all, this was the very reason he agreed to leave in the first place — to prevent others from suffering in his stead. Being reduced to inaction was nerve-wracking, so he placed his ear once more against the cold steel of the thick door Haylee told him about. The seamless stonewall did not let any sound through. He hoped at least the man-made door would.

But nothing was to be heard. Sieg cursed silently before concentrating fully on his senses once more.

And, finally, there was something. A noise so low Siegfried nearly overheard it. A human shout. And shortly after, a cry of desperation. And another one.

Siegfried’s angst spiked. He slammed his palm into the door, tried to pull at the handle, heaved with all his strength and weight, but it wouldn’t budge. Fists clenched in frustration, he pressed his ear against the door again, listening to the muffled cries. They got louder. Closer. Haylee was making her way down — she was still alive!

Sieg stepped back and drew his sword. He pulled back the hood of his coat and fell into an aggressive stance, ready to run in with a straight thrust.

Every fibre of his being vibrated with unleashed energy as the thick steel creaked and the heavy door moved outwards. Sieg gripped the edge with his off-hand, and in a burst of raw strength, his muscles bulging beneath the black raincoat, he wrenched it open, ready for everything.

Everything except the sight of Haylee drenched in her enemy's blood. She was somehow standing taller, at the height of his eyes. Her now seemingly endless legs and dark-champagne tan gave her a predatory look. And the wickedly sharp claws on both hands and more muscular thighs only underlined her battle-ready posture.

Her appearance was the perfect canvas for the red paint that saturated it. And while Siegfried’s first instinct was to take her into his embrace, relieved beyond measure that she was still alive — that alien, predatory beauty let him hesitate for a spell.

The sudden vulnerability that crept into her gaze indicated that she misperceived his hesitation, but there was no time to set it right as the second door on the opposite side of the room opened.

The stern look on the female enforcer turned to recognition and then shock. "It's him!" She shouted, alarming whoever was behind her while drawing her sword. Haylee instantly dashed to the right when the foreboding red glow enveloped the woman, and Sieg had just enough time to dodge to the left, raising his sword to parry. With a loud clang, Siegfried's blade snapped.

There was not enough space for the woman to run by him, so she stopped just behind him, facing the wall.

She pivoted, trying to catch Sieg with a quick swipe, but he was already out of reach. Before he could counter, Haylee was already in mid-air, ramming her knee into the enforcer's temple. The cat-girl grunted in pain, holding her left side as fresh blood seeped through the bandage.

"You're injured!" Sieg called out.

"No time. Maybe five left, including the second-class."

Sieg checked the unconscious woman on the floor while taking her ornated sword. "This one's alive and recognised me, kill the rest — don’t leave them any space to work with," Sieg told her while trying to move a low drawer resting against the wall. He only made it a few steps when the thumping of several heavy footsteps sounded through the now-open doorway.

Haylee was positioned to his right in a clear-cut way to the door as two of the three newcomers charged their dreadful gift. Siegfried shoved the drawer between them with a heavy grunt, and both enforcers immediately dropped the ominous glow.

Siegfried grinned savagely at the revelation. Apparently, they could not even adjust direction or distance once they started. He rushed forward with a deep growl as they spread out. The enforcers tensed visibly, focused on the broad-shouldered, black-clad mountain of fury that barreled towards them.

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Sieg swung his borrowed weapon in a wide arc to keep the outer two from lunging in as he rushed forward. His eyes registered a flash of dark-champagne colour to his right as he brought the blade down. The man tried to parry, but the weight of Siegfried's blow battered the sword aside.

Instead of pressing the advantage, Sieg rushed the enemy to his left, who tried to create some space. Unable to use his power in time, the enforcer thrust his sword into a quick stab. Sieg leaned diagonally into the attack and rammed the pommel of his weapon into the man’s face.

The warrior quickly glanced over his shoulder, expecting at least one enemy rushing at his back. Both enforcers lay in puddles of their own blood, and Haylee wasn’t there either.

As he looked back again, the cat-girl's slender form appeared behind the last dying enforcer as he dropped to his knees, a fresh amount of red liquid trickling from her hand and claws.

She must have moved in his blind spot all time. Siegfried believed himself to be quick, but Haylee was like an elusive shadow compared to him.

He was caught unaware when a spark of red registered in his peripheral vision, and Sieg tried to raise his sword. But he had not so much flexed the muscles as his right arm sent a fiery jolt of agony to his brain, the grip on his blade loosening.

The vicious grin of a woman with hawkish features appeared before him. She was instantly enveloped by a bright red glow again and vanished, leaving Haylee's claws to strike only empty air.

"The infamous Siegfried 'The Just', " the woman sneered. "I heard Ultor himself would like to interrogate you."

A cold wave of dread swept away Siegfried's anger as he spotted the black iron paddings shielding her upper and lower arms. The markings of a second-class enforcer.

††† Hall †††

Hall was on his last legs as he reached the sewer entrance near the changelings' hideout — or whatever he should call those people now. If he wanted to avoid questioning, he couldn't risk visiting a healer of the Guard, so his only choice was to hope that Bolverk was still in the shabby wooden house in the slums. Fortunately, after he rapped the door with his knuckles, Eirik opened it.

"Shit, what happened to you, Hall? And how did you know we're here?" Eirik asked, not sure if he should be concerned or wary.

"Let him in, idiot!" Bolverk growled. "Ya can barely stand anymore. Let's get ya into the back," he ordered, not bothering with explanations. There were a lot of other people Hall didn't know. Some had clearly visible, inhuman changes to their appearance, but no one hindered them when Bolverk and Eirik helped him into the infirmary.

"The wound on yer back 's seeping through the bandage – might need to stitch it. Can ya lie down on the table?"

"No—" Hall panted, trying to keep his breaths shallow, "—cracked ribs."

"Here, sit down, young man," a soft, fruity voice came from behind. As Hall turned around, a gorgeous blonde woman set down a wooden stool for him. "My name is Eurydike. I'm something like the protector of this merry lot," she told him while removing the bloodied bandage. Hall recalled the soothing, mature voice from when he followed Siegfried in the sewers, although he never went near enough to get a glimpse of them.

Eurydike inspected the flesh wound on Hall's back and tested each rib to ascertain the damage. "It's a small miracle that you're still conscious… you're a tough boy. I need to stitch the gash on your back, and the ribs will put you out of commission for a while, but it will heal," she said confidently.

"Thanks, lady Eurydike," Bolverk intermitted when he was sure the boy would be out of danger. "Now," the big guardsman said while squatting down to Hall's sitting height, looking him straight in the eyes, "tell me what kind of trouble you brought yourself into and how you found us here."

Hall's pulse sped up again as he heard the severe tone Bolverk was using. Guilt was nagging at his conscience, but he held Bolverk's gaze.

"I followed you since that girl led you away from the barracks," Hall said as steady as his condition allowed. "And I tailed you through the sewers."

Bolverk's eyes went wide, his jaws clenched together. "What. Did. You. Do?" His voice trembled from a mixture of fear and anger.

Hall hesitated for a spell, but there was nothing he could say to make this easier, so he didn't try. "I laid a trap for Siegfried, and we fought — but he is ok," he quickly added, wincing from the strain on his ribs. "By the time I woke, his wounds were already healing — some kind of ability of his."

Bolverk visibly tried to restrain his anger. His hand was clenched tightly into a fist, the knuckles white. Gritting his teeth, Hall expected the older guardsman to vent his fury when the latter took a deep breath.

"And afterwards, Sieg told you everything. That’s why you're here and not with the guard. Because he still trusted that you make the right move after knowing the truth," Bolverk concluded.

The guardsman closed his eyes and let the tension in his muscles slowly relax. But when he opened them again, his glare had lost nothing of its ferocity. "I will not undermine Siegfried's decision," he growled, his voice more gravelly than ever. "But if my boy dies tonight at the gate because of this injury, your life is forfeit."

Hall gulped. He had never seen this side of Bolverk before — even as the veteran guardsman reprimanded him for wanting to hunt a changeling with their squad, it was more a stern tone of command. But the finality in his voice assured Hall that this was no idle threat.

Before he could reply, Eurydike spoke up in a firm tone. "You have made your point, Bolverk. Now get out of the infirmary — I have a patient to attend to."

When they were alone, she turned her attention to Hall again, a motherly smile on her lips. "Don't worry, Haylee will keep Siegfried safe. And Bolverk will honour Siegfried's wish to give you a chance. For now, you should focus on recovering. I can answer most of the questions that surely are on your mind right now. We will have a lot of time together until you can resume your guard duty after all," she added with a wink.