While they really didn't have had much time, Petrim knew very well that Air was the most energy-demanding of the four elements, so he made sure, that Felim ate something before they left the City Hall.

Vampires had no use for human food, other than meat, but the clerks did, so there was a kitchen at the place. Felim told the clerks, that Hargvan was testing Felim's ability– hence the shooting– and that the boy needed food to restore his energy for further testing. He wasn't even lying, or not much.

While elementals had a far faster metabolism than golems, they still needed to rest for an hour, so that Felim more or less regained the ability to use his power.

Because they needed his ability. Freeing even a few of the slaves won't be an easy task, Petrim knew.

Oh, not because of the guards. The slave pens weren't too heavily guarded. The vampires did not expect the slaves to try to escape, thanks to the fact that each attempt was seriously punished and that being constantly fed on weakened the humans not only in body but in spirit too. And that was the real problem. The lack of spirit.

So, they couldn't just free any random group of slaves, they needed a very special group if they wanted to have a chance at their escape attempt. Luckily, Petrim just happened to know the right kind of group.

The chosen slave pen– a former high school– was only guarded by one vampire and five zombies.

"Alright," said Petrim, "we don't have much time, but we still should be careful not to make too much noise. Remember what I taught you about using a gun?"

Felim nodded. Petrim wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let the boy keep the gun he took from Siriem, but they needed all the advantages they could get, so he showed him how to use it before they left the City Hall.

"Good. Now, remember that these things are noisy as the Void, so stick with your power. If you feel a strange coldness then likely you're in a ward. Your telekinesis won't work there, so be careful. Also, if you start to feel too tired, hungry or thirsty, stop using the Motion. Got it?"

"Yes," said Felim.

Petrim nodded, and led the boy to one of the side entrances, which was only guarded by zombies. The undead were inside the building of course, so they were protected from sunlight during daytime. Luckily, as the only healer, Petrim was responsible for keeping the slaves in relatively good health, so he was quite familiar with the slave pens.

"Okay, we shouldn't have much trouble here. Zombies are easily fooled."

"Zombies?" Asked Felim. "You mean they use zombies as guards? Bot how? I mean, they're basically animals."

"They are tamed zombies," said Petrim. "Conditioned by an aspect of the Fire. With the right passwords and command words they'll do whatever we tell them to do. And I have some of those passwords and commands."

"But how?"

Petrim showed him a small notebook. "I took it from Siriem. He was Hargvan's zombie tamer. Now, follow me, and do nothing. It is possible to turn off a zombie's survival instinct, but there's no command word for it in Siriem's notes, so don't try to kill them, because they will defend themselves."

Petrim went to the doors, and opened them, not even trying to be stealthy about it. There were two zombies there, as the earth elemental predicted.They immediately turned in Petrim's direction.

They were hideous creatures, barely humanoid, with strange outgrows like small horns, claws and additional but stumped limbs. Their clothes were some kind of a uniform, with numbers on it. Under the numbers there was a logo, which resembled three, horned bulldog's heads.

Before the undead could attack them Petrim said the password , and for a wonder it worked– it made the zombies stop. They actually returned to their original posts, and stood there like the two elementals weren't even there.

Petrim smiled at Felim, then urged him to follow him into the building. The boy did so only reluctantly. The two undead stood there like statues,– grotesque and horrifying statues– and Petrim could feel, that the kid breathed in the Air. Luckily he didn't do anything with it, but Petrim still thought he should be more careful about hiding his element. Not to mention that they couldn't afford to waste his strength, since he could use it only about three times, without needing to eat and rest.

Stolen novel; please report.

They met another zombie inside the school building, but when Petrim told him the same password it went on it's business, like nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"It was a patrol," he said to Felim. "There is one more inside the school building. The vampire and the last zombie guards the main entrance. The plan is that we let the slaves free and then escort them out on the side entrance we came in. Then we attack the nearest district gate. It is only guarded by four vampires, but they have an alarm system there, so we need to kill them silently. That means it's only going to be you and me, while the freed slaves will create some diversion."

While he was talking, they arrived at a locked classroom door. There was a small window on the door, so they could see that there were people sleeping inside the classroom.

"Most golems are only used for feeding purposes. They are useless to us. However, these slaves here work with construction vehicles, so the vampires mostly leave them alone, but they're still treated like animals. Hopefully they can be convinced to come with us. Now, open the door, please."

Felim looked questioningly at Petrim first, but then he understood what he meant. Petrim was pleased that he didn't need to explain everything to him. He felt as the kid reached out with the Motion to the lock, inside the lock, feeling the intricate mechanism of it. Petrim knew other levitators before the First Purge, and one of them told him that touching something with Air wasn't so different than touching something with his hands. Anyway, Felim couldn't open the lock on the first try.

"I can't," he said.

"You can, it's a simple lock. Just try again."

Felim nodded and tried again. Sure enough, this time he managed to open the lock. Petrim was relieved, they couldn't afford another try.

"Good," he said. "You are getting better at using your aspect. We will need it to survive, but you also need to be careful with it. Use it too often, and you will need much more food and water, not to mention resting time. We won't have much of either of those. Also, try to hide the Air when you use it."

Petrim opened the door slowly, but the slaves were deep in slumber. They didn't have much time, and the main entrance with the vampire was quite far away, so Petrim wasn't too gentle about waking the slaves: he touched them, letting the cold of the Earth wake them. There would have been a few cries of surprise, but the he was wise enough to shut their mouths with his hand, and only wake them after that.

While the vampires despised the healer, most of the golems respected, and even liked him, despite being an elemental. In fact, the vampires' contempt only made them like Petrim even more.

So, when they recognised him, they immediately stopped struggling against his hold, and remained silent while he raised the others.

Except for one. He was a robust man well in his middle years, but still heavily muscled with wide shoulders. His head was shaved, but his face wasn't, however his beard was well kept.

"Don't tell me, Petrim," said the golem, though in a hushed voice, "that you plan some kind of an escape."

He nodded, and started to awaken another slave. "You were always a sharp one, Kiriin. Too clever for your own good."

Kiriin shook his head. "I mean, why else would you sneak around like that. But you're insane. Even if you manage to escape, you know what happens."

Petrim sighed. He could have explained to him, convinced him. He even prepared a speech for that. But then why bother? Kiriin was indeed sharp, so there's no need for long speeches.

"Hargvan is dead." He said.

It only took one second, and Kiriin swore, understanding the implications of it. There will be mass executions, whether anyone escapes or not.

"Did you do it?" One of the other golems asked. They were all awake now.

"Does it matter?" Asked Petrim. "They will randomly kill a bunch of us, whether we had anything to do with Hargvan's death or not.

"Yes, it does matter" answered the slave. "If we turn you in, then they'll punish only you."

Petrim and Kiriin exchanged a look. They both knew the man who was talking, Azakh. He always was a coward and even worse, he was always willing to let others suffer if he could profit from it.

The big golem nodded and seized the other slave from behind, grabbing his head, and with a quick twist broke his neck. The others, including Felim, looked at him in horror. But not Petrim.

"He knew, just as well as you do, that if he turned me in, he would have only saved his hide. Or am I wrong?" The earth elemental asked.

The slaves said nothing, but that was answer enough.

"If we left him alive" Petrim went on, "and brought with us, he would have likely betrayed us to the vampires to save himself. If we took him as a prisoner that would have slowed us. If we left him here unconscious, he would have given our pursuers valuable information about us. So tell me, what should Kiriin have done?"

Again, silence.

"There is a reason, I chose you for this escape. You are strong. You have no family, believe me, as your healer, I know." That last part was a lie, of course. Some of the men here had children still in the undercity, but that knowledge would have helped no one, and could have killed them all, so Petrim lied without blinking an eye. "And, you already survived a few decimations. You know what it's like, right?"

They nodded, and there was even some murmur of agreement.

"So, you know what we need to do. I have a plan. Listen closely, for we do not have much time…"