Meera had just wasted a lot of time cleaning and dusting a portion of the wall and was hoping to get some sleep when the thief knocked on the door.

"Miss Meera," Dirik called. "Can I come in?"

"Yes."

"Oh, you're ready," he said. "It's time we head out. It's almost dawn. We should get a move on before daybreak. It'll be harder to move around the city then, and I'm sure the Blazers, the Bleeders, the City Guard, and any bounty hunters in the city will be looking for you."

"All of them?"

"Yes, unfortunately, killing a Blazer is a grave crime. I wouldn't be surprised if more of them arrive from the capital. I fear you've painted a huge mark on your back."

Meera groaned. Next time, I'm only running. No fighting the royal bodyguards. She wanted to know if they had to go to these wardens today, but she had only six days left to find the queen. She didn't have the luxury of getting any sleep.

Meera sighed. "Okay, give me a moment. I'll join you shortly."

"Please don't take long. I don't want to expose this place. I rather like it. It's got a homely feel to it."

Meera looked around at the dusty, broken-down furniture, the spider webs, and the insects. "Yes…it sure does."

He moved to leave. "Oh, and if you have any dark clothes or even a cloak, that would do nicely. Can't have you walking around in that flashy armor. Personally, I like it, but it's a dead giveaway."

"Okay. Anything else I should change?" Meera asked sarcastically.

"No, your hair is shortened already, so that should be fine."

"Give me a moment, and I'll be out."

She wanted to weep at the loss of her hair, as it didn't even go past her shoulder anymore. If she could kill Garas again, she would. To be safe, she tied it into a braid. Women in movies never lose their hair.

She changed all the gold in her armor to black, put her hood up, left the room, and found Dirik by the door.

"Ready?"

Meera nodded.

"One word of advice, please let me do the talking when we get there," Dirik said. "It is not to say that you will say the wrong thing, but it's more that this will be my only chance, and I've rehearsed what to say many times in my head. I cannot lose this chance."

"Okay."

"And if we see any guard or some fellow coming after you, it would be best if we ran. Remember, we don't want to cause a commotion."

"Okay."

"Oh, and—"

"It'll be fine," Meera interjected.

"But—"

"It'll be fine." She closed the matter, or she would be here listening to his warnings till daybreak.

He gulped and unlocked the door. Outside, it was still dark, but Mirithia had pretty much set, meaning the sun would be peaking above the horizon. They must have been on a backstreet as the streets were so tight that only two people could move abreast. They were not the only people out and about.

It was early enough that some people had come out to go about their business, and others seemed to be coming back from a night shift. Two city guards were coming down the street, giving each person a stern look.

"Hey, this way," Dirik whispered.

They took a right, and this street wasn't any better either. They had gone just a few steps when she saw two more guards loitering in the street. Dirik made them take the next right. This street was emptier than the ones they had been on.

"This is not good," Dirik mused. "But it could be good as well."

Meera stared at him.

"We'll take the next left and—"

He never got to finish his sentence as two Bloodstone Watchmen came out of the street he was telling her about and stared left and right. Their eyes stopped on them.

Meera and Dirik turned around as one and walked back briskly.

"Hey, you two, stop!" A Bleeder called.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Meera wasn't planning on stopping, but she did because Dirik did. She used Identify.

[Bloodstone Watchman – Level 126]

[Bloodstone Watchman – Level 131]

"At least these are stronger than the last ones," Meera muttered. "Dirik, you jump to the floor when I tell you, and I will make short work of them."

"No!" He cried. "We don't need to kill them. Maybe I can talk us out of this situation?"

"But—"

"Please let me try at least."

Meera sighed. "Fine."

They turned around, making the Bleeders frown. "Where are you two lovebirds going this early in the morning?"

"We're not lovebirds, sir," Dirik said. "This is my err…sister. We're just returning from our shift at the warehouse on the docks."

"What work do you have her working, boy? On her back?" said the skinny one, laughing at his joke. Meera nearly took off her chakram.

"No sir, we're—"

"Why is your face covered, and why does she have her hood up? It is dark still. Eh girl, take your hood off," commanded the other one.

Meera sighed and was about to lower her head and shoot them with a Mirror Shard Barrage, but Dirik moved in front of her, blocking her line of sight. He moved his mask up, and the Bleeder's eyes widened.

"You're—"

"Yes, sir. We have the pox. It's best if you stay away."

"Y-Yes." The Bleeder looked like he'd seen a ghost. "O-On your way, then."

They practically ran down the street, took one more look at Dirik, and disappeared the way they had come.

"Let's go. This way. We have to go the same way as them. I wonder if we'll get to scare them again."

"Okay, let's not get carried away in our fun," Meera said.

Dirik didn't get to have his fun as they didn't see those Bleeders or any Bleeders. They easily navigated the city, aside from the city guards, who seemed to be everywhere—knocking on doors and stopping anyone suspicious, basically, every woman who looked remotely like Meera.

It was all good until they ran into the behemoth Blazer. Meera stopped right there in her tracks. Dirik took a few steps before he stopped, then backtracked to her.

"Quick, do the pox thing again," Meera whispered.

"I don't think it's going to work on him," he replied.

"Why not?"

"I did it last week to get out of something."

The behemoth noticed them and pushed aside the man and woman he was interrogating.

"Oh no, he's coming this way," Dirik cried.

"Quick. Hold my hand."

As soon as he did, she activated Mist Concealment, turned around, and pulled Dirik along. It didn't take them long to get out of her mist, then Dirik took the lead again.

Behind her, the behemoth roared. "That's it. She's the one. Watchmen, guards, on me. She's after the prince's life. We must capture her."

"Oh, that cannot be good," Dirik commented.

The Blazer's men ran after them. The sky had brightened enough that the soldiers wouldn't need their torches. This was like being back in the mist wall again. The only difference was her enemies were flesh and blood. She could've killed most of them, but each would slow them down, and the rest would be on them. She couldn't take them all despite how strong she had gotten. Not with the number that was coming after them.

Dirik successfully avoided them for the first few streets, but they came upon an intersection with roads going in every direction. Dirik took too long to make his decision. The behemoth came up on their backs and shot a column of flames, though not as devastating as the one Garas had shot in the prince's room.

Meera put up a Mirror Shield and blocked it. Next, she flooded the area with mists and cast an illusion of her and Dirik running out in every direction while she activated Druvis Power, gripping Dirik by the waist, and jumped to a rooftop.

"That was—"

"Shh!" She lay on her belly. "Get down."

Down below, the soldiers argued that they had seen them go in each of the three directions. It was mayhem and confusion of the finest kind. Dirik couldn't help laughing.

"SHUT UP!" The behemoth roared loud enough to wake the dead. Everyone quieted. "Everyone split up and go in each direction. Remember, she's a pesky one and can cast illusions, so be wary of your surroundings. Now, go."

He chose to stay behind, just to make things difficult. Dirik tapped her on her shoulder and motioned for her to follow. The last thing she saw was him bending down to inspect the little crater she had made from her jump.

They jumped down from this roof to the next, which was lower than this one. She heard the behemoth grunt, thanks to her Gem of Echoes. Meera gripped Dirik's arm and pulled him down, and in just time, the behemoth landed on the roof.

"I know you're up here, assassin," he said.

Then, before Meera could devise a plan, a slanting black screen covered them. It went from corner to corner of the house. Meera frowned and was about to get up.

Dirik stopped her and shook his head.

Meera heard the behemoth's footsteps stomp all over the roofs of various buildings as he looked for them. He huffed like a bull uttering curses. She heard his footsteps recede until finally, with a grunt and a heavy thud, he landed on the ground.

"He's gone," Meera said.

"You're sure?"

She nodded, and the shadow vanished into the natural shadow of the taller building.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"I have skills, too, you know." He stood and dusted himself off. "Come, let's go. It's not far off now."

They stuck to the bird poop-covered rooftops. Occasionally, they caught city guards looking for them down below, but hardly any bothered to look up. Meera knew they had arrived when Dirik found his way down to the street level.

He knocked on the door of an unassuming house while Meera kept watch. After taking what seemed like an eternity, a man finally opened the door. He had droopy eyes and messy hair.

"What?" He barked.

"Now, please don't resort to violence, but I'm here to see the Wardens of Numheia," Dirik said.

The man laughed. "That was a good one. Now, be on your way. I have things to do." He tried to shut the door, but Dirik stopped him.

"Please, I know the Wardens are here. I've been watching the house for some days now. I've seen them come and go."

"Again, still no clue who or what you're talking about?"

"Come on, please, I know the Wardens are hunting the monster that attacked Itris Prison. My mother was imprisoned there, due to be released a week ago, but she died."

"All very sad. But can't help you." The man tried to shut the gate again, but Dirik wedged his foot in the door.

"I can be of great help. I found you, didn't I?

"Found what? You haven't found anything, kid. My brother works in the city guard. Get lost, or I'll have him throw you in prison, too." He stomped on Dirik's foot.

"Ow!" Dirik cried, pulling his foot back and jumping on the other.

"Don't come back here again!" He slammed the door shut.

Dirik pounded on the door. "Please, you've got to let me help you."

Meera touched his shoulder. "Dirik, you're causing a scene. We need to go. Maybe you got it wrong."

He jerked her hand off. "No, they're here." He breathed in deeply. "I used to be a Shade of the Shadow Vanguard."

The door slowly creaked open.