Night danced in the form of shadows, interplaying through the window with the intricate tapestry of the floor. Mai’s eyes opened, though in an instant, she knew that it was still the middle of the night. She checked the floor around her bed. Broken was gone.

***

Outside the Holy Citadel, in an outskirt area of the Redwood Forest, the monk Ishad had a wrenching sensation. Something was wrong here. Something was terribly, horribly wrong.

It was the middle of the night, and Ishad huddled around the fire Broken had set up for him. He had not been able to fall asleep. Hearing a sound uncomfortably like slithering, Ishad looked around filled with pure fear. He never wanted to see a Nari again, and somehow, he felt as if he was about to.

Then something dropped from the treetops. It landed behind a bush, with a noise too loud to come from anything small.

As Ishad got up, and walked over to the bush, there was a rustling, and a Nari head emerged.

“Your cloak, monk,” said the snake. “Throw it into the bushes. Now!”

“Are you the one I met before?” asked Ishad, hesitant to do anything for the creature.

“Yess, monk,” said the Nari. “Now give me your cloak.” It stood, naked, except for the golden scales that clothed it. The body was humanoid, thick and taunt. Claws protruded from fingers and from prehensile toes. It held a double-bladed scythe in its left hand.

The Nari proffered its right hand, and its black eyes gleamed. “I need that cloak, for I must meet with the one you call Broken. I meet with him now.”

Ishad knew not what to do. He wanted to stop the Nari, but he doubted that in his encounter that would be possible. Ishad shed his robe, exposing the white pants and shirt that a monk typically wore underneath.

With a deft motion, the Nari took the cloak, and covered itself. Then, a moment later, it was suddenly gone. The Nari had moved with such speed that Ishad had blinked and missed it go.

“By the God-Kings,” Ishad swore. He then proceeded on to a whole other string of curses. In his youth, his travels had taken him far and wide, and so he combined trader-speak of the Amzu with the desert language of the Dunesis, to make up whole new ways to express his revulsion.

Ishad would not allow the Nari to ruin his life a second time. It was odd, he reflected, that he could hate the guardians of the order of the world so. But he did. There was something wrong with that Nari. The thing had spoken of a meeting with Broken, and--

Ishad realized, quite suddenly, that he had to warn his new friends of what was going to befall them. He had not told Mai or Broken of how he had lost his Symbol. They would be unprepared. And if the coming of the Nari against Broken had anything to do with Ishad, he would never be able to forgive himself.

He had to help them.

But I can’t go into the Holy Citadel! A part of his mind cried, a part of his mind that still cared about the rules. I was exiled!

But if I can help, thought Ishad to himself, it will all be worth it.

And, not wanting to give himself any time to convince himself otherwise, Ishad glanced at his horse, Stride, to make sure the animal was properly tethered, doused the campfire with some on-hand water in a bucket, and took off running in the direction of the Holy Citadel.

How do I get in? Ishad wondered. The gates were barred in the middle of the night, and Ishad knew he would not be able to convince the guards to let him in.

And there was another problem. While most might not know the significance of his white clothing, any monk would. And there were many monks in the Citadel who knew him, and knew he was not supposed to be in the city. Ishad gave one brief thought to what would happen if the Asurik found him, and became terrified.

But the fear did not deter him.

Ishad came within sight of the Holy Citadel, and gazed upon its massive walls. There looked to be no way around them, and if he stayed where he was, on the night-deserted main road, spotters on the walls would see him.

But once more, Ishad confirmed with himself that he was indeed going to go inside, no matter what the cost.

He edged away from the main gate, where he knew guards were sure to be stationed. Once he was a couple hundred feet away, he headed for the wall as quietly as he could, hoping his light clothing would not help the guards find him.

Once at the wall, Ishad held himself tight against the bricks, then looked both to the left and to the right, checking the wall’s circumference, for a series of loose stones, or some other way he could climb.

To his right was the main gate. It looked abandoned, but Ishad knew that a group of the Holy Citadel’s guards, possibly Asurik, possibly not, lurked in that area. To Ishad’s left, however, maybe twenty feet away, was a rope hanging from the edge, and dropping low enough that it just bushed against the ground.

God-Kings, Ishad thought. That can’t be there! This can’t be as easy as just climbing a mysterious rope!

Nevertheless, Ishad hurried over to it. Upon closer inspection, it appeared the rope was made out of scales. Golden scales. Sheddings.

The Nari’s work! thought Ishad. He would have guessed the Nari had used a more elaborate method of getting into the Holy Citadel. But he would have been wrong.

Ishad began to climb. If it worked for the Nari, it will work for me. He simply didn’t have the time to determine if he was walking into a trap.

The climbing was hard work, but Ishad’s past, as the child of merchants, had been all about that. Ishad climbed because he had to.

Grunting, Ishad pulled himself over the edge. The skin rope had been tied tightly to a crenellation. Ishad decided to leave it there. Let the guards wonder.

Ishad looked again from side to side. He was on top of the wall, and the walkway extended in both directions for a distance until guard stations, in the form of enclosed rooms on the top of the wall, were reached. Everything seemed abandoned, but Ishad knew looks could be deceiving.

He headed left, as that direction was further away from the main gate. A set of stairs leading to the ground had been built on the interior side of the walls, and Ishad headed down.

The stairs didn’t twist. Ishad hugged the left wall, as there was no railing, and he had no desire to fall to his death.

Then, suddenly, he was off the wall. He was on the inside of the Holy Citadel. Buildings were in the foreground.

“Identify yourself!”

Ishad whirled around, just in time to see two soldiers appear from a guard room built next to the wall.

Of course there would be guards, thought Ishad. Stairs up to the wall would never be left unprotected. At least they aren’t Asurik.

“What were you doing on the wall?” asked one of the soldiers, loudly.

Ishad didn’t respond. He didn’t have the time. He took off running.

One of the guards gave pursuit, as the other hung back to maintain protection over the stairway.

Ishad ran through the nearly empty streets, the soldier close behind. Seeing a ladder leaning against a house, Ishad clamored up it, and pulled the ladder out of the guard’s reach, just before the soldier would have grasped it. From his vantage point, Ishad watched the man, defeated, fall back to his post.

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Ishad grasped the ladder, and heaved it to lie across the flat roof of the house. A moment later, when he was sure that the soldier was gone, he put the ladder back on the side, and climbed down.

The soldier had been foolish. Due to the sloping of the streets, there had been nowhere for Ishad to escape being chased down.

But now he was safe.

Hurrying along, Ishad tried to remember the name of the inn Broken and Mai had been staying at. He knew Broken had mentioned as much.

The Penitent Sage, Ishad recalled. He knew where that inn was located in the city. He could find it. He felt elated. But then his features hardened. He had a job to do, and the rope had had climbed had been tangible proof that the Nari was ahead of him.

Ishad ran faster.

***

Mai got up from her bed, and, in her exhaustion, actually spent a moment or two looking for Broken within the room. But she knew she searched in vain, and quickly gave up that pursuit.

Where could Broken have gone? she wondered. It was the middle of the night! And if he had to go, why didn’t he tell her? He had always told Mai when he was leaving before. Despite her tenuous relationship with Broken, Mai still felt a little hurt.

Then there was a knock on the door.

Startled, Mai nearly jumped. Broken gone, and now people knocking in the middle of the night. Mai didn’t like where this was going.

The doors at the Penitent Sage had no chain, and Mai was not about to take a risk, not now. “Who is it?” she called through the door.

“Ishad,” came the monk’s voice.

Mai hastened to unlock the door, and opened it.

Without waiting for even a moment, Ishad stepped into the room. He was wearing white, not his monk robes. He looked very nervous.

“What’s going on?” Mai asked him. “I thought you said that you were exiled from the city.”

“I am,” said Ishad gruffly. “But there are some things more important than that.” He looked around the room for a moment. “Where’s Broken?”

“He’s just gone,” said Mai. “I woke up a few minutes ago, and he wasn’t here.”

“Damn,” swore Ishad, and Mai looked at him, shocked.

“I didn’t know monks were allowed to curse,” she said.

“We’re not,” Ishad replied. “I had to come here to warn you and Broken that a Nari was coming, but now I fear it’s too late.”

“A Nari?” repeated Mai. “They’re real?” It was one thing that she believed in the legends of the Nari, and another thing entirely to learn that they were actually walking about.

“I didn’t know myself until recently,” said Ishad. “A Nari was the reason I was exiled.”

“Why would a Nari be after Broken?” asked Mai. “They are guardians of the natural order!”

“Apparently,” said Ishad. “That doesn’t mean they are good.”

Mai just looked at him, utterly confused.

“I risked everything to come here,” said Ishad, slowly. “I think that should prove to you I think the threat is real. You have to help me find him.”

Mai suddenly found herself believing Ishad, but that helped the situation little. “I have no idea where to look,” she said.

“Think,” said Ishad. “The Nari came to me in the woods about an hour ago, and while he took my robe, he said that he was going to meet with Broken. “At the time, I thought he was going to surprise Broken, but maybe they really had arranged to meet.”

“When would the Nari have met Broken before?” asked Mai.

“Perhaps when we were in the forest, when we were both asleep, and he was yet not,” said Ishad. “Think about a place in the city that Broken stopped to look at, in an odd way. That may be the place where they planned to meet.”

Mai frowned. That could make sense. “As soon as we entered the Holy Citadel,” said Mai, “Broken headed to the plaza.”

“At the top of the city?” asked Ishad.

“Yes.” Mai paused. “But what can we do to help Broken, if he can’t help himself?” she asked. Mai could not imagine a situation where Broken would be outclassed.

“I don’t know,” said Ishad. “But I’m going to the plaza. Join me, or not, as I am convinced you are not the one in danger.”

“Why would you risk your life for Broken?” asked Mai. “You hardly know him.”

“I cannot allow the Nari to ruin any more lives,” said Ishad.

Mai saw the look of fire in his eyes, the determination to do what was right. There is still good in the world, she thought. With all that had happened recently, she had been unsure.

“I’m coming with you,” she said. “I don’t know what I can do, but I’m coming with you.”

“I appreciate the help,” said Ishad.

And so, together, they ran from the room. Passing through the common room, where a half-asleep bartender muttered something polite at them, the two exited the Penitent Sage.

Mai and Ishad rushed through the streets, up the great hill, as the moon and stars shone down upon them.

And then suddenly, they had reached it. The plaza, a massive, empty expanse of inlaid stone. But they were too late. In the center of the area, Mai saw two figures conversing, tiny from the distance.

One was clearly Broken, as there was something about the man’s manner that was so revealing to Mai, even when they were so far apart. The other was tall, framed by shadow, and had a long, snakelike neck. The Nari.

Mai looked around. The plaza, except for the two who were speaking, and the two who watched, was bare. There were no Asurik, or lesser guards.

“Where are the soldiers?” she asked. The plaza should have been guarded at night.

“The Nari took care of them,” whispered Ishad. He ducked behind a barrel, and Mai followed his lead.

“Why don’t we do something?” she asked.

“Because I am open to the possibility that I was wrong, and the Nari only really wanted to speak with Broken,” said Ishad.

“But you seemed so sure before,” said Mai.

“I was convinced we would find Broken here dead,” said Ishad. “Now that I see that is not the case, I do not want to blindly rush into something I know nothing. Now, silence. I believe I can lip read what Broken is saying. Not the Nari, just Broken.”

Mai did as Ishad asked, curious to hear what would be said. There was so much she did not know about Broken. Perhaps the answers would be revealed here.

Ishad peered out from behind the safety of the mislaid barrel. “The snake just finished saying something,” he whispered. “Now, Broken is speaking.” Ishad had been talking so quietly, Mai moved closer to him, so that she could hear.

“Broken said some word that started with an s, and ended as such,” said Ishad. “Then he said something to the effect of, ‘Why are you telling me this, when you know I can do nothing else.’ The snake is talking again, now.”

“Your talents are amazing,” said Mai.

“Then have brought me nothing but grief,” replied Ishad. “Broken says that he gives his respect to the Nari, but it would be best if the snake left. The snake is saying something again. If only I could have studied its face longer!” There was a moment of silence, then, Ishad whispered, “Look.”

Mai did, peering out the opposite side of the barrel from Ishad. The snake had turned from Broken, and began to walk away. In a sudden great leap, it vaulted perhaps a hundred feet from a portion of the ground of the plaza, to a building at its edge, quite near where Ishad and Mai hid.

The snake then disappeared. It seemed not to have seen them.

“We should go back to the inn,” said Mai. “Broken’s all right, and you can hide in our room until morning.”

“I’m sorry,” said Ishad, turning away from her.

Mai whirled around to where he gazed. Two regular guards stood over the barrel, only a couple feet away. “You are wanted, monk Ishad,” said one of them. “The Asurik are on their way. You should not have come back.”

“Girl,” said the other guard, “you can be on your way. This fallen monk’s fate does not concern you.”

At that point, Mai made a split second decision. As Ishad stood, resigned to his fate, Mai scuttled back like a crab on all fours, pretending to be frightened. Then she got up, and turned to hurry away past the guards, and down the slope. The two leather armored men ignored her, in favor of Ishad, thinking she had already been dealt with.

They were wrong.

Stopping behind one of the guards, Mai pivoted, and, as Broken had showed her how to do, delivered a standard front kick to the area between the guard’s legs. She recalled that Broken had even used that exact move, once.

The guard, completely unprepared, dropped, and the other guard to Mai.

Just as Ishad, seizing on the opportunity, used his fists to club second guard in the head. He tripped, sprawling onto the ground, but before he could get up, Ishad kicked him, savagely, twice in the gut, and once in the head, to knock him out cold.

The soldier Mai had attacked had gotten back to his feet by this point. He tackled Mai, sending her to the ground.

But Mai enacted more of the technique she had learned from Broken. She curled her legs into her chest as they fell, then kicked out, as hard as she could, aiming for the guard’s abdomen. Her strike didn’t have enough strength in it to topple him over backwards, but it did have enough energy to twist his fall, so instead of landing on top of her, he landed flat on the ground beside her.

And then Ishad was upon him, fighting as if he was a street brawler. Instead of being graceful, he kicked and kicked again his opponent on the ground, beating the man into a state of semi-unconscious submission. The way Ishad fought was the last thing Mai had expected from a monk.

Ishad offered a hand to help Mai up, and she took it.

On her feet again, she looked at the monk in a new light. “How did you learn to fight like that?” she asked.

“Not like an Asurik, eh?” said Ishad. “The technique I learned from being a merchant’s son. If one goes a lot of places, one gets into a lot of fights. But once you started attacking, I had no choice but to join in. Why did you help me?”

“Because I saw how noble you were when it came to Broken’s safety. I couldn’t let you suffer because of your honor,” said Mai.

As Ishad said, “I appreciate that,” Mai turned her head to where Broken had stood in the middle of the plaza.

Broken was as gone as when Mai had woken up without them. During the fight, instead of helping, he had slipped away. Mai found it hard to believe he had not noticed the brawl.

Mai then looked down the street, at where Ishad stood. Behind him, a block or so away, but still behind him, eight Asurik with quarterstaves raced up the street, intent on the exiled monk.

Ishad noticed a second later. “My God,” he said. He turned to Mai, and a second later, they started running across the plaza.

The Asurik were so much faster, however. Both Mai and Ishad were winded from the fight, and the warrior monks were fresh, fresh and strong. By the time Ishad and Mai were halfway across the plaza, the Asurik were only a few feet behind them.

Then the lead Asurik grabbed one of Ishad’s arms, and held him tight. Mai continued to run, even though she was no longer being chased. She headed away from the plaza and down one of the streets.

For the Asurik, Mai knew, were not enemies on her level. They were beyond. Still, Mai was brought to tears that she could not save Ishad. She turned down a street aimlessly, intent on eventually working her way back to the Penitent Sage, but not sure during exactly which hour this would happen.

Suddenly looking up from the ground, she found a metal armored man facing her, gigantic in every way.