"Hey, wake up!" Someone slapped her across the face.

Meera's eyes fluttered open, but apparently, that was not fast enough for her captor. He slapped her again. She shook awake and winced. The back of her head throbbed from where he had hit her. But, of course, that was not the only wound she had. Her various cuts and burns had not fully healed before someone knocked her lights out.

The first thing she did was look down and sighed in relief. She still had her armor on. She did not want to be caught in that awkward position like last time. As a matter of fact, he had taken nothing. Her chakrams were still on her arms as well. He hadn't even bothered to tie her up as well.

"Good, you're awake," he said.

Meera focused on him. The pounding in her head was still making her see double. She activated Vitalize and hoped she had enough Mana remaining to heal herself fully. The man before her was wearing dark clothes which covered him from head to toe. He had a mask on that only had holes for his eyes. He even wore gloves on his hands.

She used Identify on him, and it didn't work.

Meera frowned. "Why isn't Identify working on you?"

He waved a hand at himself. "Because you can't see me."

Meera noted that down for the future. She activated Mirror Eagle's Perceptivity. She used this skill more often than her own eyes to see. They were in a dark room with a lit candle beside the man. From what she could tell, the room seemed run down, and the windows were boarded up, with no light coming from the outside, which meant it was night still.

"Who are you then?" Meera asked.

"I'm just a curious thief who witnessed your fight with that Blazer. You made prime—I mean short work of him."

Meera nodded. Something about the way he spoke reminded him of someone else, but she couldn't nail down who. "So, you call the Phoenix Protectors Blazers, huh? Tell me, does everything have a different name in this kingdom?"

He chuckled and shrugged. "Just about. Those royals like to keep long-winded, annoying names, so we shorten them for ease." He paused and looked away. "And I'm sorry for hitting you. But there were others on the way, and if I wasted time trying to explain it to you. They would have gotten you or us both."

"I see." Meera didn't see any other…Blazer swooping down from the sky, but then again, she was more focused on staying alive. "Well, thank you then err….I don't know your name."

"It's Dirik," he said. "And you are?"

"Meera, and you're a thief?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Yet, you did not take a single thing from me. Well, nothing that I can see."

He chuckled. "I may be a thief, but I am not stupid. I saw you take down a Blazer who must've gained you quite a bit of levels."

Meera had the urge to check her notifications, but not until she knew she was safe. "I'm sure I must've. Now, let's cut to the crux of it. Why did you bring me here?"

"I need your help with something. Well, not you particularly, any strong person would have done. I have a few strong friends in the city, but they are—how should I put it—they scare people into keeping quiet when I need them to be more open."

"And why should I help you?" Meera asked.

"Well, because I saved you."

Meera just stared at him. He was right if the other Phoenixes were actually on their way. She had no way of confirming that either. And even if he did save her, the way he went about doing that may have been a tad overzealous.

"A-And I'll pay you," he added. "I have money stashed away."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Meera snorted. "I don't need your money. I have enough of my own. Look, I'm thankful and all for you saving me, but I have troubles of my own that I need to tend to."

Like how to find the prince now that I've alienated his bodyguards.

"I'm sure you do, and maybe I can help you. If you don't want money as payment, I can help you in other ways. I have many contacts in the city."

Meera paused at that. "Okay, I'm looking for Crown Prince Delkoris. The one who comes out and waves to the crowds is not him. Can you help me locate the real one?"

His eyes widened. "So… that's why the Blazers were…"

"That's right."

"Why are you looking for the prince? Are you really a Varshan assassin?"

Meera drew a sharp breath. I've gone from being a Varshan spy to a Varshan assassin. Can't really call that moving up in the world.

"No, I'm not a Varshan assassin," Meera said through gritted teeth. "The king has sent me to bring him home. That is all."

"I see." She couldn't see his face, but his eyes told her he was contemplating something. "You know, now that you mention it, there has been a strange fellow going around town asking odd questions. Richly dressed fellow, I should add. I almost nicked his purse. He might be the man you're looking for."

Meera raised an eyebrow. "How do I know you're not making it up just to get me to go along with you? As a matter of fact, how do I know you're not part of the city guard or some such who is having me walk into a trap?"

He laughed. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead by now. And City Guard? Trust me, lady, I am not remotely anything like that."

"See, that's the thing. I don't trust you." Meera crossed her arms. Thankfully, there was no pain. "How can I trust you when you won't even show me your face?"

He looked away. "I can't. I can't show you my face. It's… It's horribly disfigured. I ran into a foul element of society who left his permanent marks on me."

"Then I thank you for saving me if that is why you brought me here. I will take your leave." Meera moved to stand.

"Okay, wait! I will show, but please don't make fun of me."

"I won't."

He slowly moved his mask up and winced a few times, but when his mask came off. It was Meera who winced. The poor boy's must've been a few years younger than Meera, but his face looked like dogs had chewed on it. The left side of his face was scarred. He had a hole in his cheek that let her see his teeth underneath, and he was missing a few of them. The tip of his nose had been sliced off. There was a scar right along his scalp, which must have come from a very sharp knife.

He quickly lowered his mask down. "I'm sorry, I don't like to show what I've become."

"I understand, and I'm sorry."

"I would say it's okay, but it's really not. One day, I will get even with those who harmed me, but for now, I must focus on my task."

"What task?" Meera asked. "You haven't told me much. And what exactly do you need from me?"

"I am going to join the Wardens of Numheia."

"Who?"

He frowned under his mask. "You know, the ones hunting down any practitioners of occult arts, monster summoners, age-old curses, and other such cursed beings or objects. You know, the followers of Numeheia."

Again, Meera gave him a blank look.

"You don't know of Numeheia, the Goddess of Justice, the Judge of wrongdoers. The one responsible for announcing the sentence to those deemed to suffer in hell. She is the sister of Lord Lorendor. How do you not of her? Wait, you do know of Lord Lorendor, right?"

"Isn't he the one they talk about in that benediction?"

He stared wide-eyed. "Are you even from this world or any of the three worlds? Do they not worship the gods in Varsha?"

"Didn't I say I'm not a Varshan?"

He gasped. "Oh my, you're a-an…atheist." He whispered the last word like the gods were outside the door, listening.

"In a way, I suppose."

Even with the mask, Meera could tell the boy had blanched. "You shouldn't blaspheme the gods. I did so once, and they did, well, this." He motioned to his face. "Anyways, Lord Lorendor is one of the most important and respected gods. He judges a person's deeds after they die and sends them to heaven, hell, or back down to the worlds to live again."

"Interesting. So, who are these Wardens, and why do you want to go to them?"

"They are the group responsible for making sure we don't get run over with monsters of all sorts, and recently, they've taken up a hunt for a peculiar monster. I don't rightly know what this monster is, but apparently, it attacked the king and his entourage when he went to inspect Itris Prison."

"Is that the one that was hit with a lightning bolt, and a whole bunch of prisoners escaped?" Meera asked.

He put his hands on his hips and tilted his head. "You know of that but not the gods."

"So, am I right?"

He sighed. "Yes, that's the one."

Meera paused. "Why do you want to find out about this monster?"

He looked away. "My mother was imprisoned in Itris. She…she didn't survive the lightning bolts. I mean to ask the Wardens to let me join them on the hunt."

"For revenge?" Meera asked.

"Wouldn't you do the same if you were in my place?" His eyes had turned glassy.

If not the Crown Prince, I can find something about the Queen.

Meera sighed. "Fine, I'll accompany you. But what am I supposed to do there?"

"Keep me alive, as their base is not exactly supposed to be known by…"

"A thief?"

"By anyone. So, they might try to kill me or us."

"Awesome. Things can never be easy for once, can they?" She looked around the room and saw an outline of a door leading to another room. "Is anyone in there?"

He shook his head. "No, do you need to do something?"

"Yes, change my clothes and take a little nap," she lied.

"Sure, go ahead. No one lives here but me."

Meera stood. "Good. Wake me up when it's morning." She moved for the door. I think I should call the soul-sucking warlord.