“You knew?” Grace asked, unable to hide the look on her face.

Max snorted and nodded, giving a slight shrug as Grace continued to frown as they stared at each other.

“I’m not the smartest person, but when those two didn’t come back, and I saw how you were acting, it wasn’t hard to figure it out. I was initially upset, but it also solved a few problems within our gang. A couple thought I did it.” Max chuckled after saying that. “Part of me wishes I had, but I needed them. They were scary in their own way, and it kept the other gangs from pushing into our territory.

“Thankfully, you solved that need with your actions. Most of the people in the gang weren’t killers or fighters. They were just survivors like you. If you were a little older and bigger, you would have also been part of it.”

Max reached out and ruffled Grace’s hair, earning him a grunt and slap from her hand.

“Now, let’s get back to our people, and I’ll try to figure out who I can approach for an order like this. In the meantime, you can tell me how you came across a gold coin.”

Max began moving, and Grace turned to follow him, amazed at how quickly he had moved past her killing two members of his gang.

“It was the knight, Michael. He gave it to me, and I know it was meant to be a reward I could never collect.”

She saw Max nodding his head.

“How would a dirty little girl ever spend a gold coin inside their part of the city without being accused of stealing it or not cut down by someone with less savory ideals on the value of your life?”

“Exactly,” she replied, feeling a little anger inside her. “He actually winked at me, I think, when he saw me look at him. That guy was a prick, but the Lord Knight over him–”

Max moved like a top, spinning on her and his hand on her chest before both realized where it was and took it off.

“Sorry, I–”

“It’s ok,” Grace answered as quickly as he had spoken.

Coughing, he shook his hand a moment and then remembered why he had stopped her. “You said a Lord Knight. Older man? Grey eyes that seem to bore into your soul and mind?”

Grace nodded her head at every description Max gave.

“Bloody hell,” Max cursed, scowling as he scratched his bald head momentarily.

“Who is he?” Grace asked after Max stayed silent, staring off at nothing.

He groaned and looked at her, one eye looking like it was twitching slightly. “He is trouble. Everything I warned you about. That one is an emissary of Grimdon. I know he took a large part in the king's attack here as they were looking for something or…” his voice went low as he looked at Grace, eyes getting wider. “Or someone… maybe the one who recruited you.”

Grace tried to remember everything she had spent months trying to forget.

That night the attack came, and over a third of the city was gone in a moment. The northeast section was the first to feel the brunt of the attack. She and Levi had been fortunate to be hidden by her parents along with a few other children.

In one day, the city had burned beyond anything she could have imagined. A week later, all that remained was a small fragment of those not living in the northwest section of town. Not long after, she had found Max and convinced him to let her and Levi live in his area.

Grace had forgotten just how one-sided the fighting had been. The guards from the northwest section that served Grimdon had holed up in that side of the city while the king’s army killed everyone else in the city that got in their way.

She shuddered, remembering the fires that burned all over and how many bodies were simply tossed inside the homes and buildings before the army had started them.

“You ok?”

Max’s question snapped her out of those memories that had flooded her the moment she unlocked them.

Nodding, Grace remembered what Max had said. “I’m not sure, but the King didn’t actually enter the city, right?”

Max shook his head. “He was surrounded by his guard. His elite troops handled the city. I don’t think he wanted to risk coming in himself. You realize that he is like you?”

“Like me? You mean?”

“Yes. The only difference is the king is probably the strongest in this kingdom while you are… not.”

The grin Max wore told Grace he was trying to be nice.

“It’s only been a week. My real question is, why don’t most people know about this? I mean we heard stories of heroes and magic, but I always thought those were just myths.”

“Why did you think they were myths? Did someone tell you they were?”

Frowning, Grace’s mind recalled everything in a moment. Since the last quest gave her two points into her mental stat, she could remember almost everything perfectly. The answer to Max’s question was simple.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“No… I guess I just assumed those stories were.”

“And now you are one of them,” joked Max. “Now listen to me and pay attention. Do not fight the Lord Knight unless a quest specifically states you must. Stay away from him. He has a reputation for making people tell things they normally wouldn’t and is one of the best when it comes to finding out the truth. Do you understand?”

Wincing, Grace nodded.

“Good, now why don’t you head back to our place? I’m going to go and see if I can’t talk to a few people who might be able to get everything you asked me to buy.”

Grace smiled and moved quickly, giving Max a quick hug around his massive mid-section before letting go and running off toward home.

Max stood there a moment, shaking his head before he rubbed his massive hand against his face and groaned.

“Balethem, please don’t let that girl get hurt,” he whispered as he turned and began his trek back toward the northwest part of town.

Levi squealed and laughed as Grace caught him again, having spent the last half hour chasing him and the other kids around the different areas of the garden.

Most of them couldn’t believe it when she joined, and no one had more fun than her brother Levi, whose smile never left his face.

Collapsing on the ground, Grace felt him pounce on her, trying to tickle and play along, pretending to laugh before turning the tables on him.

The loud laugh he let out echoed around her, and Grace felt her heart almost bursting from the joy she felt in this moment.

“What are you thinking?” Levi asked, seeing the weird expression on his sister's face appear.

She smiled and tickled him a few more seconds before answering. “I missed this. Missed getting to play with you like this.” Rolling over, she looked at him as he lay on the ground next to her. “No matter what, never forget how much you mean to me and how much these moments make everything worth it.”

“What?” Levi asked.

Rolling her eyes, Grace growled playfully and attacked him with her fingers again, ignoring his cries for mercy until she felt he had been tickled enough.

“I’m hungry,” he groaned as he lay on the ground, trying to recover his breath.

“Well, stay here, and I’ll go get you something,” she whispered.

He nodded and watched as she bounded to her feet and waved as she walked toward one of the exits in the wall. “Be good and stay here until I get back.”

Lilly snuck up on Grace, nipping at her leg playfully as she jogged through a back street toward her parent's house.

Laughing, Grace bent down and gave her dog some love, spending a few minutes talking to her and scratching every part Lilly felt she needed to be scratched.

Taking random turns and different routes, Grace finally arrived at the house, and as she made her trek around it, looking for clues of someone bothering it, Lilly started growling softly.

Bending down and getting low, Grace looked at her dog and how she was baring her teeth slightly and moving around the house's edge.

Together, they slowly crept around, stopping and listening.

Lilly sniffed a few spots, and on the north side of the house, Grace saw the marks on the ground near the window. There had been an attempt to cover them, but she was accustomed to hiding her tracks around her so much that she immediately noticed them.

Spending a few seconds reading them, Grace saw where the person had entered the house, a small scuff on the side of the wall, and then the slight indentation when they dropped to the ground and turned, leaving the house.

She reached out, patted Lilly’s head, and scratched her ears.

“Good girl. Go hide and let me know if someone comes,” she whispered.

After Lilly had moved to a spot nearby, Grace pulled herself up partially in the window, scanning inside to see if she could see anything or anyone.

With nothing visible that showed a person in the empty room filled with nothing but burnt and broken furniture, she pulled herself up and into the room, rolling across the floor as she came through the window.

As Grace stood up and glanced around, she spotted the board slightly lifted up in the corner of the closet where her hidden area was.

Grace’s heart stopped.

Everything…

She ran to the closet and bent down, grimacing as she grabbed the board and pulled it up, unsure what she would find or what it was she wouldn’t.

Her ears rang, and something wet was licking her hand.

Squinting, Grace realized that she was on her back, and there was a fire burning, and every part of her body hurt.

She slowly lifted her head and saw what she hadn’t realized had happened.

Her gut had metal pieces embedded inside it. Up and down both her legs and even in her right and left arm were metal pieces, each a half-inch thick and well over eight inches long.

Groaning, she grabbed the piece in her right shoulder and pulled it out. Blood poured as it came free. Thankfully, each had only pierced her about two inches, but it was still deep enough that she could feel her stomach and core hurting from the pain.

I’m bleeding inside and out.

Her ears rang, and all sounds felt hollow.

Working as fast as possible, she yanked each piece out of her right arm first before taking the three out of her left arm. Seven more came from her legs, and then she set to the task of pulling out the three in her stomach.

It burned, and she felt weak already from the loss of blood. Her hand was wet, and grasping the last one in her lower abdomen, she took both hands to pull out.

The moment she did, she cried out, “Heal!”

A wave of warmth came over her as she went limp on the floor.

Grace wanted to believe that her body glowed for a few seconds as she felt every part of it vibrating and something moving around inside her.

She coughed, spewing out mouthfuls of blood as she rolled to her side.

After a few moments of coughing and retching a large amount of blood, a cold flowed through her from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head.

Goosebumps appeared, and a second later, she realized she could hear the whimpering of Lilly next to her.

The smoke assaulted her lungs, and Grace realized it was time to move. Time to flee.

Without waiting, she got up on her hands and feet and motioned toward the door Lilly had apparently broken down to get in.

“Go, girl!” she shouted, following her dog outside the burning house.

Not wanting to wait around, Grace ran, dodging streets and moving around till she found a house she knew was empty and ducked into it. Breathing hard, she looked at herself, seeing her clothes pierced and covered in blood.

She was furious and angry, and knowing someone had set a trap for her made the bile in her stomach rise up.

Balethem, I swear I’ll kill whoever did that…

A red window appeared as if she had desired him to hear her promise.

For the first time Grace could ever remember, she smiled. Happy to obey the quest offered.