“They cannot leave. Not alive.” The Moustache continued to talk, wholly content to waste time. Even as Isabel moved towards him, he continued. “But you? I can’t stop you.”

The way he suggested Isabel left her group behind sickened her. She growled and attempted several compact stabs towards the man’s centre of gravity.

The Moustache wiggled and slid back, seeing he couldn’t avoid all of Isabel’s attacks.

“Get moving. I am going to be right behind you.” Isabel kept on her assault. She glanced around. The street nearby was now mostly empty. There were a few rare stragglers, but they were running away as quickly as possible.

Seeing Mortimer pull Kanna behind him while carrying Vatim, she returned her full attention to The Moustahce and got blinded by a sudden flash of light.

Isabel let out a startled yelp and hurried to roll back. She heard a heavy woosh pass over where her head had just been. She tried to blink out the white noise out of her vision.

While trying to open her teary eyes and see what the Moustache had done, Isabel retreated. As her vision returned, she braced herself to block any incoming attacks.

But to Isabel’s horror, the Moustache was now moving after Mortimer. “Shit!” Her legs moved, but she felt she would be too late. “Crap!”

In desperation, Isabel pulled her hand, holding the sword, back and launched it through the air at the Moustache’s back. The rotating weapon quickly closed the gap between them, aiming at the open back.

It worked. To Isabel’s relief, the Moustache spun around, leaving the stumbling Kanna, horrified Vatim and panicking Mortimer alone.

Unfortunately, Isabel was now without a weapon as the Moustache gave her a toothy smile and swatted her sword to the side.

“Gotcha!” The ashole relished in his success and raised his two-handed monstrosity to swing at Isabel. The motion was exaggerated but powerful and promised a heavy attack.

But it was partly an act. They both had clashed several times, and the man knew just as well as Isabel he couldn’t overpower her defences.

This time, Isabel didn’t miss how the man prepared the spell. She saw him subtly point at her, and a small ball of light seemed to gather at the tip of his index finger. She guessed it was another flashbang.

And Isabel invited it. She pretended not to notice and started to move to the side after her weapon.

Just to be sure Isabel was paying attention, the Moustache taunted her again. “I am going to make the worker's death slow. And even slower for your little friends.”

Even knowing better, Isabel could not help but retort. “Worker? You mean slave.” She prepared her own move.

The Moustache gasped in mock horror. “Slavery is-” He began and finished his flashbang spell. “-against the law.” He sweetly finished.

Isabel used the moment the blinding light filled the street. Even the caster wasn’t immune to the effect, and neither was anyone else in the vicinity.

As the light appeared, so did Isabel’s gaudy shield. She could not help but glance down at it and the intricate depiction of Mila’s eye. It still was a sore topic for her to touch upon. It DID look nice, but still…

With shield in both hands, Isabel stepped forward just as the Moustache finished his words and sought out Isabel to complete his telegraphed but powerful attack.

Everyone still had trouble seeing. Isabel knew it was the perfect chance for her. Without anyone close to notice, she could go all out. If only for a moment.

Feeling the power course through her body, Isabel hefted her actual shield, letting the barrier settle against the Moustache’s raised sword, not letting it fall.

Isabel felt the man struggle against the barrier while trying to understand what was happening. He grunted in exertion as he struggled to bring down the deadly attack he had prepared.

It was pointless. Even Mila had no answer against Isabel’s ability. There was nothing someone who kept targeting children could do against her.

For a moment, Isabel relished in the feeling, but the screams behind the wall of fire she had conjured reminded her what it had cost to arrive at this point. She wasn’t innocent. Not anymore.

And with this chilling thought, Isabel smashed the edge of her dummy shield right into the Moustache’s nose, breaking it and blinding the man. He stumbled back, stifling his strangled scream of pain.

Isabel continued with her other shield’s edge to punch the man’s neck, crushing his windpipe.

It was enough. The man let out the last breath he would ever be able to before falling on his knees with the sword tumbling on the ground behind him.

While dismissing the shield, Isabel released a sigh of relief. She rubbed her eyes before looking at where her partners were. She felt tired. The fight had been short but exhausting.

With mixed feelings, Isabel started to move. First, she picked up her sword that had landed next to one of the buildings, then ran after Mortimer. They had not managed to get far.

“Come,” Isabel spoke once she was next to Kanna and picked her back up. The girl patted Isabel’s leather armour as if to see if she was injured. “I am fine.” Her mind struggled to not think about the five lives she had taken directly and the injuries she had caused by starting the fire.

Mortimer looked at her in disbelief. “How are you fine?” He blurted out.

“I am sturdy.” Isabel simply replied. “How are you three? Any injuries?” She examined Vatim in Moritmer’s hands, then Kanna in hers.

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“We are fine,” Kanna replied while Vatim nodded in agreement.

“That’s good.” Isabel picked up speed and moved to the front. They were about to hit a wall of people craning their necks, trying to see what had happened, and she wanted to clear the way. “Move out of the way!”

But the crowd moved too slowly, and Isabel too fast. She crashed into it where it appeared the thinnest but still had to push over several people.

“G-go right here.” Mortimer followed. He huffed, finding it hard to follow Isabel’s quick steps.

Isabel skidded around the corner. There were even more poor people here. She could not help but avert her eyes from a beaten child begging for food. She couldn’t help him. And the child wasn’t alone. “What the hell…” She couldn’t help but be horrified. The city continued to find new ways to repulse her.

“It’s gotten worse again,” Mortimer commented. “It always does.”

There was a posh-looking woman ahead berating a dirty man without a leg. The man simply hung his head and listened - even when the woman kicked him.

“Doesn’t guards care about this?” Isabel moved towards the bitch.

“Here? No. Any honest guards have long been killed in this part of the city.” Mortimer explained.

Isabel was now next to the posh woman. She had done worse things today, so she didn’t hesitate for a moment in shoulder-checking the woman, sending her spinning into the closest wall.

The woman crashed against the wall, screaming. Despite that, Isabel didn’t feel any better. The street continued, and so did the people just asking for the simplest thing - a chance of survival.

Tearing away her eyes from the tragic sight, Isabel followed instructions from Mortimer on where to go. She turned and ducked and moved between buildings.

The surroundings turned into tight corridors with barely any people in them.

Without Mortimer guiding her, Isabel would have never found the place. She looked down at the dirty channel beneath her feet. The water flowing reminded her of a mix of mud, manure, piss and, for some reason, blood. It certainly had the smell of those things.

“J-jump down.” Mortimer hurried Isabel from behind. He was struggling to regain his breath. “We are almost there.”

“Why here?” Isabel pressed Kanna against her chest and carefully moved down next to the flow of dirty flow.

“Take a guess.” Mortimer wrily smiled. “It’s left from here.” He took the lead.

“Is that waste?”

“Yeah. It has to go somewhere.”

That was fair enough. Isabel didn’t ask anything else to avoid inhaling the air more than necessary.

With the silence between them, the sounds of the city grew louder. There was shouting somewhere. Isabel wondered if that was because of them.

The buildings surrounding the channel took away the sunlight, making them look bleak and foreboding.

It took them a couple of minutes before Mortimer stopped in front of a rotten wooden door leading beneath the homes above. “Here. One of the entrances.” He explained shortly before knocking.

The corroded wooden planks rattled dangerously close to snapping, then - silence.

For almost a minute, they continued to stand, trying not to breathe. Isabel felt Kanna turn in her arms, trying to see how Vatim was doing.

Then the doors fell open, revealing a scarred, dirty man in a tattered cloak - not better than those that beggars above wore. “Whatyawant?” He spat out, making his breath carry an overpowering smell of alcohol towards the group.

Mortimer tried to smile, but it quickly became strained under the man’s unimpressed, angry stare. “We are-, uh, here to see, I mean-” He looked at Vatim, then Kanna. “We have a-, umm-”

“Are you sure we are at the right place?” Isabel risked taking a breath. She could not see the man as anyone else but as a homeless drunkard. He even swayed and hiccuped.

“Oh, yeah.” Mortimer nodded with surety. “Uh, mister-”

“Mortimer, you are not welcome here.” The man had spent the past few moments studying them all in turns. “You know that.” His demeanour changed entirely. He spat in front of Mortimer.

“Ahah, well, I do, but-”

“We need help.” Isabel butted in. She pushed Kanna forward and Mortimer to the side to give the man a better look. “We rescued her from slavery and need a place to hide.” She then nodded towards Vatim. “That’s her brother. He showed where Kanna was held.”

The man’s severe glare softened. He did a once over again before stepping back to let them in. “You can come three can, but,” He jabbed a finger at Mortimer. “He can’t.”

Vatim’s arms coiled around Mortimer’s neck in fright. “He can’t?” The boy whispered.

The man hesitated and scratched his scar on the cheek. “He can’t.” He resisted.

Mortimer hugged Vatim tighter while the boy whispered something in his ear. “No, Vatim. I-I’ll be fine. You can stay here.”

“No!” The boy raised his voice, surprising everyone. “I want to stay with you!”

Kanna struggled in Isabel’s arms and, before long - stood on her own feet. She caressed Vatim’s head and soothed her brother. “Vatim, tell us what’s wrong?”

Isabel could tell how much energy it took for Kanna to stand. It made her wonder how she could work at all in this condition.

Vatim leaned into his sister’s hand. “I want to stay with Mortimer.” He cramped into his holder’s clothes.

“Ah, dammit!” Suddenly, the scared man interrupted them. “Fine! You can come, too! But you are going to explain the situation to Naran. I am going to stay here.” He let them all in. “And if you don’t do it properly, I’ll make sure your bed is always filled with itching powder.” He threatened.

“I will, I will.” Mortimer quickly agreed and slipped past the man.

As Isabel stepped inside the tunnel, she prepared herself for another assault on her nose, but the air inside was surprisingly clean. It was dark but not damp as she had expected.

As the doors fell shut, Isabel found herself almost blind. Only then did the man light a torch and hand it to her.

“Just walk forward and don’t exit the tunnels or enter the smaller branches.” He gave instructions. “We don’t like people wandering in and out.”

Isabel nodded and raised the torch. “Need a hand?” She looked at Kanna, who was enjoying a moment with Vatim. He had finally left Mortimer’s hands.

“N-no.” Kanna shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

Isabel doubted she would be, but seeing her hold on her brother, she didn’t push. “Okay, then forward?” The doorkeeper nodded. “Forward it is.”

They began to move. Isabel kept the speed low to allow Kanna and Vatim to keep up. From time to time, the tunnel grew wider or split off into smaller passages. A couple of times, they passed another entrance. Those, too, were guarded.

Isabel nodded towards the guards, unsure of what she should say. In the end, she just moved on. “How-” She paused.

They were passing by another entrance just as it opened. Isabel glanced to see who was entering and froze.

A young woman with crimson hair had pushed the entrance cover open. And behind her stood a very familiar girl.

“Isabel?” Mila narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

And Isabel panicked. “Uh, Mila?” She tried to find a reason for her being underground with the same people she had stayed behind to guard. “I can explain.” She stalled and tried to smile what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “You see…