Taking a deep breath, Isaac sheathed his daggers. While Abdul went to face Al Yara and the others who’d surrendered, Sasha and Isaac ran to each other before tightly embracing. Isaac asked her all sorts of questions. “Are you okay? Hurt? They do anything to you?”

In response, Sasha couldn’t keep herself from sobbing. She returned not much other than nodding and apologies. “I’m okay, and I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I really am.”

Abdul spoke to Al Yara who still wouldn’t look at him. “I overheard you all on the way here. I’m sure that, at some point, Rath Ghul may’ve been a decent family. That beastman high owl I killed, Ricard, seemed to think so at least. Where did it all go wrong?”

“...”

“Don’t want to answer me? Fine then. It’s too late for your words to matter now anyway.”

Elise approached and placed her soft hand on his shoulder. At first, Abdul expected something to be stolen, but he felt nothing. She questioned him. “What should we do with so many prisoners?”

“The easy answer is to kill them all. I’d do it with my own two hands too, but…” He looked over at Isaac and Sasha still in each other’s arms. “I feel like there are other things that come first. I don’t want to ruin the mood.”

Elise nodded, a little surprised. She glared at Al Yara. “There are some more deserving than others.”

Primus, hanging from Abdul’s back, went about crazy when Sasha entered its line of sight. He handed the claymore to Elise and sent her over to the others. When Sasha saw the claymore machina, her face lit up. “Primus?”

“Sasha?” It shot back.

As Sasha cradled Primus in her arms to the joy of that blade, Elise piqued her interest. Isaac noticed them staring at each other. He grinned and wrapped his arm around Elise’s shoulder. “That’s right! My woman came to your rescue too!”

Elise gave an exhausted sigh. “You saying that makes it sound like you own me. Isn’t it the other way around?”

Isaac gulped.

Sasha reached toward Elise to give her a handshake. “I can’t even put into words how much this means to me. You being here, I mean.”

Elise accepted the gesture and then pulled her into a light hug. “Don’t mention it. Isaac talked about you all the time before your incident. Whenever he got the news that you were kidnapped, girl… I’ve never seen him so depressed. Events were canceled because they couldn’t get him out of bed.”

She shook her head, keen to focus on the positives. “I’m just glad our lives can return to normal. I’ll get to see that smile of his again.”

Isaac got awkward after this reveal. “Ah, there you go, spilling my beans. She didn’t need to know that I fell that low.”

Primus, nervous, spoke to Sasha. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. If you would accept me, then let’s form a contract. You are worthy. I want to protect you. I want to be with you.”

Sasha looked excited but then a bit bleak. She showed off the dagger, Major, whose eye opened. Isaac and Elise gave it an apprehensive look as well. “I’m sorry, Primus, but I’ve already entered a contract. This is Major the great machina.”

“What? You’re taken? And by a dagger of all types? I... I see.”

Isaac shook his head. “They were right. A great machina?” He crossed his arms in contemplation. “When news gets out, which it will, you’ll have a target on your back visible to everyone with ambition on this continent.”

Sasha’s face stiffened up as Isaac went on. “As far as I can tell, you only have two options. Either go into hiding somewhere lonely for the rest of your life, or...”

Major interrupted. “I’m sorry to break it to you all, but there will be no hiding. All machina have a soul signature that makes them sensible to the most powerful cultivators. My signature as a great machina is especially distinct. With enough time, we will be noticed and tracked down.”

This dreadful fact hit the group like a bomb. Elise looked panicked. “You can’t mean that! There’s no way!”

“I do. They could be approaching as we speak. This continent is fated to fall into greed-driven mayhem like a gold rush.”

Isaac shook off the tension. “There’s only one thing we can do.” He put his hands on Sasha’s shoulders, giving her a fired-up declaration. “You pursue Convergence yourself then. No, we pursue it together. You’ll have to make that decision. It’s your life on the line, after all.”

Sasha looked down. “I’m not certain yet. I don’t have any real ambitions, but I can think about it. The things I want are mundane… like hot baths, warmth, and getting to eat every day. Such a wish would be wasted on someone like me.”

Isaac shrugged. “I’d rather leave changing the world in your hands than some king like Andre or these bastards. Maybe you’d even do something good with the power.”

“Does it have to be me?”

“No, but I say it should. Like your knife was saying, trouble’s coming no matter your choice. They’ll kill you to take Major from you. Just know that you wouldn’t be alone if you decided to set out on the journey.”

Elise looked distant. “That’s a big decision to make yourself, Isaac. It’s dangerous. Horribly dangerous. I don’t know what to say at this point.”

Isaac took her hand, intertwining their fingers. “I’m sorry. We can talk about this more together. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.”

They headed over to Abdul who stared down Al Yara and the last owls. The vacancy of Xavier from sight gave her chills. “If you’re here but he isn’t, then…”

Abdul nodded devoid of emotion. “That’s right. He’s gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“You owe me nothing. This man does, but he seems to have lost his tongue. I suggest you decide our next course of action before I do.”

Sasha understood what he meant. “To kill them or not? Is that the question?”

“Think about it. If you decide to pursue Convergence, then letting them go means more enemies later. It means more people knowing your identity. Knowing that, I suggest we kill them all.”

Isaac shook his head in disapproval. “But they’ve surrendered peacefully. It’s true that they may get absorbed into another sect of Rath Ghul, but so be it. Better than sinking even lower than them. I’d lose sleep over this. Wouldn’t you?”

“Not at all. I’d sleep like a baby.” A few owls close enough to hear his coldness looked up at Abdul in horror.

Elise pitched in too. “I’ve got no preference, but I can tell that these two would argue all day. Sasha, your future is what everything seems to be revolving around. I leave it to you.”

Isaac sighed. “I just don’t want to be haunted any more than I already am.”

Abdul scoffed. “Living means being haunted. Toughen up.”

Sasha furrowed her brow at the division, ordering with firm authority. “No more fighting. There are decent men here. We have much in common. We only owed different debts. They’ll walk free.”

This decision relieved Isaac and the owls but frustrated Abdul. Sasha added to the ruling. “But Al Yara here… he’s dead.”

Abdul looked at her with respect. With a short nod between the two, he yanked Al Yara’s hair back to expose his throat and teary-eyed face for everyone to see.

Sasha spoke to every owl watching. They stiffened so badly that you couldn’t even hear breathing. “I’m choosing to let you go. You’re being freed with the knowledge that I have a great machina. Do with that what you wish with that but do know that the last thing I’d use it for is my own convenience.”

She took a deep breath, keen to avoid stumbling. “Use this as an opportunity to forget everything you’ve seen. Live normal lives not shackled to serving this guild. I promise that the changes I bring will benefit all of you.”

One of the furthest kneeling avian knights watched, mouth agape, in what she hoped was admiration. He wore an eyepatch, had a light beard, and looked to be in his early twenties. Sasha couldn’t pinpoint why, but he stuck out compared to the others.

She ended her speech with a warning. “But if my words haven’t reached you, then know that targeting me will end badly. If I must defend myself or those dear to me, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

Abdul went to slit Al Yara’s throat, but she stopped him. Sasha looked down at her toes, unsure of herself, before shaking her head. “I don’t want them to fear you. I’m the one they need to fear. This is about sending a message.”

To the room’s surprise, Sasha plunged the dagger into Al Yara’s throat. She carved it out to his panicked cries before shoving him face into the stone. The execution was brutal, yet she felt nothing from it. The owls front row to the display jolted back with gasps, splattered with blood.

Al Yara drowned in his own blood on the cold, dusty ground. Elise whispered to Sasha. “You did well. Perhaps you’re cut out for this.”

“For now, I only want to go home to see my father.” She turned to Abdul, apprehensive. “Hey, how is Randle? Is he holding up fine? Not drinking, right?”

“Could be better. Seeing you in one piece is the only medicine that’ll work for that man’s disease though. Let’s hurry.”

***

Abdul led the group down Low Monestate’s empty night streets. He shook his head. “Can’t believe we really let all those owls go.”

Isaac next to him sighed. “Was Al Yara not enough for you? Or Jericho? Or all the owls and knights we killed? Or those men in The Golden Wield? Something’s telling me that flame of yours will never stop burning.”

“I did have tunnel vision. Didn’t expect to survive or want to either. ‘What now?’ is all I can think about, and I’m not sure about the answer.” Such a reflection inspired a look of fascination from Elise.

Primus on his back got to yapping. “Homunculus, I want the girl to hold me! Unhand me.”

“Please don’t call me that, and she’s taken. You’ll have to settle for me.”

“I’ve never met a man both hot and coldblooded. Decide your temperament!”

“It’s not that easy.”

Sasha tilted her head in interest, watching the two go at it. “What did you say? Homunculus?”

Abdul shrugged. “It’s hard to explain, so don’t even ask. Just know that I’m somehow different. The same kind of different as that Jericho guy. Whenever I try to think about it, my mind blanks out. Not sure if I’ll ever remember.” He turned his attention to Isaac and Elise still with them. “I’ve got it from here if you’d like to go get some rest.”

Elise shook her head. “I’d like to see this to the end. Rath Ghul knew where you lived.”

Sasha pondered the future the last few turns home. As an enemy of the guild, could she even live in Monestate? And what about Randle’s safety? No; everything would change. Where would they even go? New Gareth or Ethela where more sects ruled? She thought back to the night she saved that man from The Doctor. He traveled everywhere only to end up preyed upon anyway.

Running away accomplished nothing. Everything would have to change. Standing up to them was the only option. What did they call this dreaded thing she faced? Fate? Sasha gripped Major tightly. The dagger sensed her determination and whispered through her mind. Make up your mind?

“Do I even have to answer?”

Abdul stopped in his tracks. “Shit.”

Sasha walked right into his back. It snapped her out of contemplation. “What is it?”

“I hope that’s not our house. Don’t see the smoke a block away? Same street.”

They all cast their attention to the night sky Abdul eyed. Nobody saw what he recognized. Then the scent of burning lumber hit Sasha like an axe. Her stomach coiled. She broke out into a sprint home without warning. No words were needed to explain the fear lingering in the air. It was a miracle she didn’t trip as wildly as she ran. Everyone else took after her without question.

Sasha turned onto Tanner’s Street to see Troll’s Treasure devoured by an all-consuming inferno. She fell onto her knees on the sidewalk, her mouth agape but face frozen in shock. Abdul caught up, threw his helmet and Primus to the ground, and ripped his armor from his body piece by piece. Absolute misery and panic fell over him. “Old man, don’t you worry. I’m coming,” he promised.

Shirtless, Abdul entered the roaring flames through the front door. He growled as the immediate heat boiled his skin. “Randle, you in here? Randle!” He yelled over and over, descending deeper into the shopfront.

Isaac rushed over to Sasha whose expression still hadn’t budged. He and Elise dragged her backward from the radiating heat which now reached them. “This is only the beginning of the destruction you’ll see holding that dagger. I watched my home burn to the ground too, all because my family unearthed the great Lovecraft.” He stared off into the flames. “Abdul, that crazy bastard. Does he think he’s invincible?”

Elise shook her head. She looked bitter. “He just doesn’t care about himself. Even if he was normal, he would’ve walked into there anyway.”

Sasha struggled to regain her composure. Getting up to her feet, she doubted herself. “I don’t think I’m tough enough for this.”

Isaac let a bleak chuckle out. “You’re doing great. Got the makings of a hero. I cry myself to sleep at least twice a week, and here I am. It never got easier.”

A dust-covered stranger limped up next to them. It was a man with a crutch supporting a broken leg. He had curly, blonde hair, and looked at the burning house with defeat as if it were his own. Sasha questioned him with a confused face. “And who are you?”

He gazed at her blankly for a moment before grinning. “Ah, so you’re that Sasha girl. We succeeded then! Where’s Abdul?”

Unsureness rattled Isaac. He explained the new face to her. “Oh, this is Ignazio. He was a prisoner Abdul took who helped us out a ton... their relationship has grown into something complicated.”

Nervousness took form on Ignazio’s face. He beckoned Isaac’s attention with impatience. “Hey, I asked you where Abdul is.”

Everyone gazed dreadfully into the inferno. His shoulders slumped. “Seriously? He’s in there?” He asked.

Sasha nodded. Without a second thought, Ignazio took to limping along the borders of the flame toward the shop’s back yard. Isaac grabbed him by the shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going? It’s dangerous, but Abdul’s different. If anyone would survive, it’d be him.”

Ignazio shoved Isaac away. “And if he doesn’t? You’ve got a well back there, don’t you? And a bucket? Right? Right!?”

“Sure, but that’s not going to do anything.”

“I don’t care. I’m going to go make myself useful and get to scooping.” He glared at Sasha, his face tense with stress. “Care to join me?”

She nodded. “Even if it seems useless, I’d rather fall asleep tonight knowing that I did what I could.”