Lilly moved quickly, barreling up and down alleyways, dashing across the debris-strewn Harmony Park and sprinting through the so far untouched Serenity Gardens. Windham struggled to keep up, running behind Kal and Jaina and just barely outpacing the ancient High Elder. But the sight of that big dumb farmboy anywhere close to Lilly—his Lilly—motivated him to dig a little deeper.

This was crazy, Windham thought for about the thousandth time. He should be long gone by now, safely in the arms of his new companions in the Order of the Holy Ascension. Perhaps already reaping the rewards of his brave subterfuge. Instead, he was still here, in Safehaven, smack in the middle of a battle zone, danger all around him, with the possibility that those very same new allies would unknowingly kill one of their own. Him. A spy for their cause.

A hero for the cause, actually.

From behind him, Windham heard the High Elder calling out to Lilly.

“Lilliana, where are you leading us? Are you taking us closer to City Center?”

She didn’t respond, just kept hurrying ahead.

He was right, though, Windham thought. The sounds and signs of the battle currently raging in the middle of the capital city were getting louder and more evident. This wasn’t what he had agreed to! She said she was just going to help any citizens she could. Why were they getting closer to the battle?

“Look!” Lilly exclaimed. She came to a sharp halt and pointed.

She had brought them just outside of the north east end of City Center, to a nearly abandoned horse stable. The structure was mostly intact, the only clue to its purpose the lone horse tethered to a hitching pole.

The hay adjacent to the stall had just ignited into flame, sending the animal into a frenzied panic. The horse snorted and whinnied, tugging madly at the rope which kept it trapped. Although the fire flickered low, the stable was filled with nothing but combustible wood and hay. And with the intact roof keeping the rain away, the entire building was moments away from becoming a raging inferno.

“Kal!” Jaina called. Windham looked from the fire to the big dumb idiot farmboy who was already running to the horses side. Idiot, Windham thought. Getting himself killed for a stupid horse.

But then Lilly ran after Kal, followed shortly by Jaina and the High Elder. Windham sighed with disappointment and frustration. He was the only one smart enough not to be running into a potential out-of-control blaze. But there was no way he was letting the farmboy look like a hero.

Windham begrudgingly followed. Already Kal was at the horse’s side, speaking softly to it and stroking its face in an attempt to calm it. At the same time, he had reached around the horse to the rope attached to the pole. The animal was bucking wildly, but Kal seemed to anticipate its movements and avoid getting knocked over or kicked. Windham almost had to give Kal credit; apparently being a farmboy had its uses.

“Windham!” Lilly called, coming to a halt just outside of the horse’s stall. “Can you put that out?” She pointed towards the fire.

Windham’s shoulders perked up. “Yeah! Actually, I can!” He grinned widely at her, anticipating the look of gratitude she was sure to give him. Instead, all he got was a little nod before she turned her attention back to the horse.

Stupid animal. They could risk their lives all they wanted to in trying to save it. This was as close as he was getting.

But Windham did a quick assessment and decided the risk was minimal, at least for now. The fire had not yet started to spread, and it wouldn’t take very much effort for him to extinguish it. Better to get this done quickly so they could keep moving.

His first inclination was to create a gust of wind to put out the flames. But that might cause the fire to spread, which they’d surely blame him for. He looked for another solution, glancing quickly around the stable. He spotted a tarp hanging by a single frayed length of rope. That should do the trick, he thought.

Windham focused his energy and intention towards the tarp and made a pulling gesture with his hands. The tarp moved in the direction he wanted it to, but the rope didn’t break. He cursed. He shifted his focus to the rope and made a slashing motion. The rope snapped, sending the tarp floating gently towards the ground. Windham focused and caught the tarp before it landed, then levitated it towards the fire. With as much force as he could muster—which really wasn’t very much, magical limitations and all—he pushed the tarp down over the fire.

The fire was smothered, instantly and efficiently. His plan had worked beautifully. As he knew it would.

The farmboy had finished freeing the horse, who bolted away from the stables. “Let him go,” the farmboy said. “He’ll have a better chance on his own than having us dragging him around.”

“Hey…” Lilly had already lost interest in the situation; the fire, the horse, and the stupid farmboy. She was walking slowly towards the back of the stable, looking to Windham like she might be hypnotized or under some kind of spell.

The stable wall she came to hadn’t been damaged by the attack, but two horizontal wooden boards were cracked and hanging loosely. Lilly pushed one of them off and it fell easily away. Even from his vantage point on the other side of the stable, Windham could see what she saw. And despite himself, he was as drawn to it as she was.

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All five of them were, it seemed, as they moved trance-like to the wall with the hole in it.

“Goddess…” the High Elder murmured.

Several of the buildings that should have been between them and City Center had been completely leveled, leaving a clear view of the fighting. Everywhere they looked, invading soldiers lay scattered. Some were attempting to stagger to their feet, or reaching out to help their compatriots. Most barely moved, and for a moment, Windham thought they might all be dead. But, no, that wouldn’t make sense. Not with the Godknight standing in the center of it all, abiding by his silly code.

Windham surveyed his makeshift crew, all four lined up and mesmerized by the scene outside the stable. The hulking farmboy had to hunch awkwardly to get a good look, his height putting him at a rare disadvantage. A smirk tugged at Windham's lips; at least the oaf was inconvenienced.

“Who are they?” the farmboy asked, pointing towards a group of shield-carrying soldiers moving in a tight formation towards the Godknight.

“Oh, no,” Jaina whined, her face as pale as marble. Her eyes were like saucers and nearly vacant; her entire body trembled.

“What?” the farmboy asked her. “What is it?”

She put her hands over her eyes and buried her head in the farmboy’s chest. He looked startled, but not at all displeased. He put his fat arms around her and held her tight.

Lilly was focused on what was going on outside and showed zero interest in the pair.

Good.

“Uh oh,” Lilly said. “I don’t know what they’re doing, but it doesn’t look good.”

Windham turned his attention back to the fight and saw that there were now five groups of shield-carrying soldiers surrounding the Godknight, each in the same U-shaped formation. From Windham’s angle, all he could see were the backs of two of the groups of soldiers. But he could see the other three groups clearly. In the center of each group, protected by the soldiers and their body shields, stood someone in robes.

A chill ran down Windham’s spine as the robed figures began making hand gestures and moving their lips. The Godknight quickly sized them all up and settled into a defensive stance.

Energy—magical energy?—began to coalesce and crackle around the robed figures. Windham stared in rapt fascination as that energy grew in size and intensity, creating an eerie kaleidoscope of colors that danced and swayed around them. The magic Windham was used to rarely manifested lights of any kind, and if it did, it was usually a momentary flash of white. But that was all. What he was seeing was something else entirely. Was this the greater magic he’d been hearing about?

That question was answered immediately as all five of the robed figures unleashed a simultaneous assault. The nature of the magic they threw at the Godknight was indecipherable to Windham; all he could gauge was that it was powerful. Infinitely more powerful than anything he had ever seen previously. The Godknight was blasted from all sides by the magic, which created a whirlpool of fire and wind and lightning around him.

Everyone gasped around him, stunned at what they were seeing. All except Jaina, who was so weak that the farmboy had to hold her up. Windham was as awed as well, but not for the same reasons. This was magic. Real magic.

Real power. The kind he had dreamed of for so very long.

The Godknight stood his ground as the energy continued to flow into him, shielding himself with his arms and his back. Some instinct deep within Windham caused him to place his hand on his empty pouch. Was now the time to use it? But use it on whom, exactly? And use it how?

He remembered what Gran Gran had told him about when to use it. “You will know.” Her words had been cryptic and strange, but Windham pondered them now. Did he know that it was time to use it? What would that knowing even feel like? Windham had always trusted his instincts, and those instincts had brought his hand to the pouch. But those instincts brought him no further.

He decided to trust his Gran Gran. He was confused and undecided and torn, which was a far cry from “You will know.” No, he decided. Now was not the time to use it.

Windham’s attention was drawn towards a tall tower surrounded by guards on the opposite end of City Center. It had wheels and appeared to be some kind of moving structure, but it stood motionless now. Windham saw there was movement at its top. His eyes were drawn to one figure in particular, standing tall and still, silently taking in the battle before him. Judging by the noble and regal way the man carried himself, Windham guessed he must be the Order of the Holy Ascension's leader, the tower his headquarters.

Windham knew the name Lord Malphor, but not much else. He had been told precious little about the Order in his dealings with Savina Frost, just enough to convince him it was a better place for him then this. Was this man Lord Malphor?

If so, he was so close now. Windham could retreat back out of the stable they were spying from and circle around behind the battlefield. Go directly to the tower and this leader. He would kneel, raise his palm, make sure his sash was prominent. And they would welcome him. He would be “home.” A hero.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the sudden, violent expulsion from the battlefield of all the shield carrying soldiers. They were all simultaneously struck by some kind of invisible force that knocked them hundreds of feet backward into buildings, rubble, other soldiers. All that was left were the five robed figures, each of whom glanced around fearfully.

They began frantically waving their hands around… but it was no use. An instant later, they were levitating, floating on air, drifting towards the standing tall Godknight. Their bodies shifted until they were horizontal and spread out like a star. The Godknight then raised them over his head. He looked up at them, meeting each of their eyes, and sneered. Without a word and without lifting a finger, they began to spin rapidly in a circle. They picked up speed, going faster and faster—so fast they were nothing but a blur. Windham felt dizzy and a little nauseous just watching.

Then they stopped abruptly. One vomited, which the Godknight calmly stepped aside to avoid. He shook his head at them in disgust and disappointment, then raised his hand and forcefully clenched it into a fist. At the same time, the five floating robed figures blasted forward, their skulls cracking into each other. The Godknight let them fall to the ground.

Windham was suddenly afraid. He knew so little of his new allies’ plans, only that they were counting on the information he had given them. That the Godknight had become weak and vulnerable. Looking at the power the Godknight had just displayed...

What if Windham had been wrong? Would they still accept him if he was?

Or would there be no “Order” left to join if they failed?