The frigid air reminded Elijah of the recently departed tower, though there were enough differences that he didn’t start experiencing flashbacks. For one, he increasingly thought that he was immune to post-traumatic stress. Certainly, in the immediate aftermath of some horrible experience, he felt the full weight of his trauma. More than once, those instances had very nearly broken him – at least temporarily. However, the more distance between him and what should have been life-altering trauma, the more he could look at it like from the perspective of an observer. He knew he should feel differently. Everything he’d ever learned about human psychology told him as much. And yet, he didn’t, lending weight to his budding theory that the influx of Ethera had come with some sort of inoculation to the psychological impact of life-and-death struggle.

Or maybe it was his cultivation. It might’ve even been his archetype. As a steward of nature, he had a unique perspective on the struggle inherent in nature, so perhaps that insight was enough to alter the way he processed the things he’d been forced to do. Either way, he was grateful for it. Without that ability to keep going in spite of everything he’d been through, he would have long since succumbed. And if that had been the case, there’s no chance he would have survived.

In addition to that seeming inoculation to the psychological consequences of his decisions, the other reason he didn’t descend into flashbacks was because of the clear, blue sky. It was the sort of morning that only seemed to come in winter, and freezing though it was, there was a certain crisp beauty to it that certainly had never been present in the tower.

But the irritation and murderous thoughts were similar. In the tower, he’d aimed those feelings at ogres and elves, but in Norcastle, the target landed squarely on the backs of the mayor’s men who’d been sent to harass him.

Or kill him.

Maybe they even thought to kidnap him. Elijah had no idea what their goals were, but he had seen enough to recognize that the realization of those goals would be bad news for him.

Not that they had any chance at all. They were weak, blundering idiots, and they posed no threat to him. Even in his human form, which was markedly weaker than either of his other shapes, he could tear them apart with ease. And he was sorely tempted to exercise his superiority, as well. The only thing holding him back was simple morality. Defending his grove was one thing. So was fighting his way through a tower. But when he had the option of simply leaving? No – he couldn’t make himself take lethal steps if he had that option in front of him.

Of course, that wouldn’t be the case if they’d hurt Essex or Jess. Or any of the other Healers at the hospital. Elijah was hesitant to kill other human beings, but he wouldn’t hold back if they were the first to cross those lines.

So, he stalked through the town, and despite the city streets being bathed in bright sunlight, none of the other pedestrians could see him. They were completely unaware of the predator in their midst, and that fact excited his draconid instincts like nothing else could.

But he pushed those wild impulses aside and focused on the task at hand. At first, he’d followed a few of the thugs who’d meant to ambush him in the inn, but he’d quickly lost interest when they gave up on the chase and returned to the castle in the center of the city. Elijah could have followed, but he thought another tactic was appropriate, which was why he found himself traversing the city on his way to the hospital.

Once he reached the building in question, he waited a few minutes for an opportunity to slip inside. When one didn’t present itself, he circled the structure until he found an open window on the second floor. Using his sharp claws like he was climbing a tree, he vaulted to the window and slipped inside. From there, it was easy enough to find Jess.

She was perfectly fine, which was quite a relief. However, he didn’t immediately confront her. Instead, he waited until she was alone until he shifted back to his human form and said, “Don’t scream.”

Of course, she screamed.

Or tried to. But before more than a peep could escape from between her lips, he had himself pressed against her, with his hand over her mouth. “I said not to scream,” he repeated. “I’m going to let you go. Please, for the love of my friend Nerthus, don’t scream. Okay?”

She nodded.

Elijah let her go and backed away. That moment of closeness had felt nice, though. Way nicer than he would have expected. But he had been alone for quite some time, so maybe he should have known how much a little human contact would mean to him. In any case, he pushed that aside and said, “I saw you have some visitors in the hospital. Want to tell me what’s going on?”

Jess didn’t answer. Instead, she punched him – inexpertly – in the chest. Then, she hit him again. “Don’t ever do that again!” she hissed. “I thought I was about to die! And where did you even come from? How did you get in here? I swear, if you –”

Elijah took the first couple of hits, but then he caught her wrists as gently as he could. “I came in through one of the windows, okay? And I couldn’t very well use the front door, could I? I saw the goons out there,” he said. “And the ones inside, too. What the hell is going on?”

“Let me go,” she said with a calm iciness that brooked no hesitation.

Elijah pulled away and held his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. I just can’t afford to let you take all your frustrations out on me. I’m sure those idiots out there are going to notice if you’re gone for too long,” he said, looking around the storage room. It was large enough to accommodate the two of them, but only just.

“It’s your fault.”

“What is?”

“That they’re here,” she said. “They’re the mayor’s men.”

“I saw two women.”

She rolled her big, brown eyes. “It’s a figure of speech,” Jess said. “It doesn’t literally mean that they’re all male.”

“People. You should call them people so you can avoid these kinds of –”

Stolen story; please report.

“Fine! People!” she interrupted, and with some vehemence. “You are so frustrating to talk to sometimes!”

“Just take a deep breath,” Elijah said, his hands still in the air. He had his staff in one of them, and the butt hovered dangerously close to what looked like a shelf full of cleaning chemicals. “Woosah.”

“What does that mean?”

Thinking it was probably safe, he lowered his hands. Fortunately, Jess didn’t react to that. “I saw it in a movie once.”

“What does that have to do…you know what? Never mind. You need to get out of the city,” she said. “The mayor is after you. I don’t know exactly what he wants to do, but I can guarantee it won’t be good.”

“I could just kill him.”

“What? No! You can’t kill him. He’s…it’s complicated, okay? I mean, he’s an asshole, but he’s also the reason a lot of people are still alive.”

“Counterpoint, he sent people to probably kill me. And it wouldn’t even be that hard. Probably. I haven’t really killed any humans though, so…yeah,” he said, trailing off when he saw the expression of horror on Jess’s face. “Not that I want to kill people. I just…I mean…okay. I won’t kill anybody unless they deserve it.”

“That’s…a good policy.”

“And just so we’re clear, the mayor and his goons don’t deserve it, right?”

“They do not.”

“Alright. Noted. Just maiming and crippling. I can do that.”

“No.”

“I was…I was mostly joking,” Elijah lied.

“I think you’d better leave,” Jess said.

“Ouch.”

“It’s not like that. It’s just that…I mean…with everything going on, it’s probably best. Not that we don’t appreciate what you did.”

“Sure seems like nobody appreciates it,” Elijah said, more than a little annoyed. He’d done nothing but try to help the people of Norcastle, and now he was getting chased off? That wasn’t right.

“We do. I swear, we do,” she said, stepping forward and gripping his arm. “This is for your good as much as it is for anyone else’s.”

“I promise you, it’s not,” he said, gently pushing her hand away. All the playful quirkiness was gone from his voice as he continued, “But I get it. I’m dangerous, weird, and I scare people, right? Or maybe the mayor heard about what I did – either in the tower or the hospital – and he wants to use me. Either way, if I stay here, I’m going to have to make it clear why that’s a bad idea. So, you’re right. I probably should leave. I just wish it would have ended differently.”

She looked down. “Me, too.”

Elijah shook his head, then said, “Don’t freak out.”

Without any more warning, he used Shape of the Predator, assuming his draconid form. To her credit, Jess didn’t scream, but she definitely reacted with some alarm, pushing herself against the wall in an effort to get as far away from him as she possibly could. Of course, that just highlighted an issue Elijah hadn’t anticipated.

So, he cancelled the transformation, shifting back to his human form. Then, he said, “Okay, so I had this cool thing planned where I was just going to transform into a draconid, then disappear. But that’s not possible, because apparently, you being all freaked out by it counted as me being in combat. Which…you know…ouch. That hurts. But whatever. I get it. Giant lizard dragon monster, right? Of course you’d be scared. But it does raise an issue, chiefly that I need you to leave the room first so I can use my stealth ability.”

“What kind of a Healer are you?”

“I’m technically not one. I’m a Druid. Totally different thing. Better, in my opinion, but your archetype is totally cool, too. So…unless you want to, you know, give me a proper goodbye…”

“Not going to happen,” she said, snorting a chuckle.

He shrugged and grinned. “Didn’t really expect it, but you can’t blame a guy for trying. But I do need you to tear yourself away from me. I won’t get past those thugs without going on a killing spree if I’m unable to use my stealth.”

“Just take care of yourself, okay? And come back. Maybe we can…you know…see what happens,” she said. Then, before he could respond, she left the room.

The moment she did, he whispered to himself, “That went really well.”

Even as he said it, he shifted back into his draconid form and adopted Guise of the Unseen. A moment later, he was padding through the hospital toward the window he’d used as an entrance. He took a few seconds to watch Jess, who was cut off by one of the goons, but her responses to his questions were acceptable enough that he let her go a moment later. So, seeing that she was fine, Elijah left her and the hospital behind.

One facet of his Mind paid attention to his surroundings as he traversed the city, but the majority of his thoughts were on the Healer. He’d never really expected anything to happen. Maybe if he’d stuck around a little longer, but he knew that, even in the best of times, he was an acquired taste. He’d been a lot smoother before the world changed, but two solitary years had a way of affecting a man’s personality. He still hadn’t returned to what he’d once considered his normal demeanor, and he wasn’t certain that he ever would.

But that was fine.

It might make things a little lonely going forward, but hopefully, the more time he spent around people, the easier it would become.

In any case, Elijah soon crossed the town, barely noticing the festive decorations along the way, and soon arrived at the guard’s quarters. It only took a little patience to wait for an opportunity to enter and make his way to Essex’s office. It was empty, but that didn’t stop Elijah from heading inside and waiting on the captain.

An hour later, the man himself showed up. Upon entering, he shut the door, then plopped down in the chair behind his desk. A second later, he’d opened the drawer to retrieve a bottle of whiskey.

Elijah let Guise of the Unseen and Shape of the Predator drop at the same time. The captain reacted quickly, yanking a long dagger from his belt. But Elijah slapped it away with one of his staves. The other, he balanced on his shoulder as he said, “Calm down, captain. I’m just here for a little information.”

“How did you get in here?”

“Just waltzed right in. Nobody even tried to stop me,” Elijah said. “But never mind that. There are some things I need to know, and I think I’m correct in assuming that I’m not going to get the Branch access you promised.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I did try to –”

“It doesn’t,” Elijah said. “In fact, it makes me feel like you took advantage of me. Here I was thinking we had a deal. Shame on me, I suppose. But here’s the thing – you still have information I need. Even if I can’t access the Branch, you can help me out.”

“What do you need to know?”

“Are there any other settlements nearby?” Elijah asked. “Ones with Branches, I mean.”

“No. Not that we’re close enough to connect with, but there were some refugees that came from the east. They said that the population is denser in that direction, but it’s also more dangerous.”

“I can deal with danger,” Elijah said. “Did they say anything about what towns or cities are there? I’m looking for Seattle.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, what?”

“I have heard some things about Seattle,” Essex stated. “It’s in that direction, but I don’t know if you really want to go there.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a warzone,” Essex stated. “Three different factions. I don’t know much beyond that.”

“Who does?”

“Nobody here. The group who came from there died about four months ago,” the captain explained. “They never integrated with the rest of the population. They didn’t trust us. They ended up being some of the first to die from the plague.”

“Crap,” Elijah said. Then, he sighed. He’d come in search of a direction, and he’d gotten that much. Still, he’d hoped for a little more. “Any luck with item identification?”

“Sorry, no. All the crafters are loyal to the mayor, so…”

“So, if I go to them, they’ll run to tell his people. Great. Well,” he sighed. “I guess that’s it, then. I wish I could say I’ve enjoyed my stay in your town, but the last bit where people were trying to hunt me down and kill or capture me kind of soured me on Norcastle. I’m sure you understand.”

“I’m sorry it happened like this. If I was in charge, I would have done things very differently,” the captain responded. Then, he looked Elijah in the eyes. “Take care of yourself, Mr. Hart. I have a feeling that things are going to get a lot worse for you before they get better.”

Elijah shrugged. “Story of my life. I’ll survive.”