"This farce must end!"

Leander, dressed in full battle armor, paced before the emperor and the ambassadors who were assembled in a large meeting room in the Northern Kingdoms Admin Palace. They had chosen the room for its close proximity to the central courtyard and easier access from the wall and other parts of the inner city.

Through the long night and the following morning, messengers relayed updates to the command post set up nearby. Now the council sat around a trio of long, mahogany tables formed into a rough horseshoe. Harafin sat with the council at the heavy tables, and Sentinel Durgesh flanked the emperor's chair in the center.

The burly, shaven-headed Stalwart, Basak, also dressed for battle, flanked Leander. Kevlin stood to one side with his brothers, all still dressed in their mail shirts from when they took Remiel late last night. It seemed days ago when Remiel revealed Tanathos had escaped, not barely twelve hours.

Kevlin rubbed his face. His body ached all over, after-effects of the fight with Tanathos yesterday and of the long night spent scouring the city for the escaped Shadeleech. He felt dirty, tired, and irritable.

Tanathos had vanished.

Immediately after news of Tanathos' escape, Leander and Harafin had ordered all available Stalwarts and Sentinels out into the city to hunt for him. Battle-ready columns of Stalwarts had raced down the spokes while Sentinels flew upon the senses of birds and even rats to hunt. Others led columns of soldiers through the streets, searching with their minds for the dangerous, elusive prey.

Unfortunately, the very obvious presence of these forces sparked panic-driven riots throughout the city. Two full legions had been mobilized to assist the normal city watch in restoring order. The population, already in turmoil from the Grakonian attacks earlier in the evening, could barely be contained.

Some neighborhoods erupted into armed conflict, while in others people accused neighbors of being in league with the enemy and murdered each other in the streets. The attackers who struck last night had been killed to the last foul Makrasha in less than an hour. They'd kill almost five hundred people and sparked riots in four districts. Now everyone seemed ready to flee or attack each other at the barest whisper of suspicion.

After hours of fruitless searching, and as the situation in the city deteriorated, the emperor took drastic action. He mobilized the entire military might of the inner city and stationed columns at every major intersection. Companies a hundred strong patrolled the neighborhoods. He agreed with his ambassadors that Tanathos had almost surely fled the city long since, and called off the hunt.

Worse, he issued a proclamation that the final enemy had been slain, and conspirators imprisoned. The proclamation, read in every neighborhood, did little to quell the unrest, but it effectively terminated any overt attempt to hunt Tanathos.

Now Kevlin stood in the council chamber, filled with restless anger. Gabral stood nearby. The short colonel wore his silver-trimmed armor under a long burgundy overcoat. He looked decidedly grumpy about being up most of the night. As Emperor's Champion, he had played a major role in re-establishing order throughout the city, and had reported to the council only moments ago.

Ceren stood against the wall at the foot of the long chamber, covered from neck to toe in a dark green cloak. She leaned against the wall as if tired, her eyes fixed on her feet. Her expression was strangely blank, but her skin was flushed as if with excitement. Kevlin was surprised she didn't draw closer, but he never pretended to understand any woman. Ceren confused him more than most.

Not far from Ceren, although not exactly close either, stood Indira. She had briefed the council on casualty counts and work being done by the Healers in attending the sick and injured.

Kevlin's eyes kept drifting back to her. Even though she looked exhausted, he yearned to touch her tousled hair. If only he could go to her, offer his shoulder for her to lean on, inhale the gentle scent of her, and just feel her closeness.

Instead he held his ground. Their eyes had met briefly when she first entered the long council room, but she'd looked away at once. Her body language spoke louder than words. She still didn't trust him.

He wished he'd punched Remiel a few more times.

The Sentinels Ah'Shan and Felix stood off to one side, and the Stalwarts cast many unfriendly glares in their direction. Tension filled the room so thick it was almost palpable. Kevlin wanted to pace with Leander to relieve some of his impotent rage. They'd been so close to complete victory.

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Now Tanathos was gone, escaped from the very heart of their stronghold. Remiel was locked in a glowing prison to prevent him from speaking a word that might kill him until Ah'Shan could dig through his mind. No less than ten trusted Sentinels stood guard, and a full dozen Stalwarts guarded the entrance to the dungeon.

It almost didn't matter. Tanathos was already gone, and the ambassadors couldn't agree on what steps to take next to protect the city. They all but admitted they planned no further pursuit of the Shadeleech.

From Harafin's face, Kevlin could tell the subject was far from dead. He expected the old Sentinel to eventually convince the emperor to launch a covert team to chase the Shadeleech down. He planned to be a part of it.

The ambassadors argued about the cost of recent unrest, about best ways to calm the city, and about a hundred other topics, most of which seemed ridiculously petty. With such important things to deal with, all of the other bureaucratic nonsense irritated Kevlin.

Leander planted his feet and faced the ruling council. "You've bickered away any chance to take Tanathos. He's gone until he strikes again."

"Watch your tone, Stalwart," Sentinel Durgesh said from where he stood behind the emperor. "You forget yourself."

"As do you," Ah'Shan said. "You're here as a protective measure, not as a participant."

"Forgive me, master," Durgesh said with a little bow. "I take my responsibilities too seriously, perhaps."

Emperor Tegnazian waved Durgesh to silence and said to Leander, "I understand your anger, master Leander, but we've already proven tonight the folly of allowing emotion to trigger hasty responses. We cannot compound those mistakes with new ones."

"Angry?" Leander repeated loudly. "I am far beyond angry, Your Excellency. Two of my Stalwarts lay dead, murdered by Sentinels."

"How dare you?" Ah'Shan called. The powerfully-built Sentinel swelled with outrage. "One of my Kestrels, a long-time personal friend, also died in that dungeon attack."

Leander rounded on Ah'Shan. "Then why not join with me in demanding Truth on every Sentinel?"

"You're mad."

"Am I? Then you explain how our men could be riddled with half a hundred crossbow bolts without enough warning to so much as draw their weapons?"

"I cannot explain it."

"Of course you can. That many men approaching would have been ample warning. Our people would have been on alert and not taken by surprise. Besides, you couldn't fit enough men in that corridor to fire so many crossbows at one time. It's not possible."

"What are you saying?" Emperor Tegnazian asked.

Leander declared in a ringing voice, "Only Sentinels could have facilitated that attack."

"I disagree," Felix said. The obese Sentinel pointed at a small table standing against the right hand wall of the council chamber upon which sat three elaborately carved wooden rods.

"The evidence recovered from the dungeon shows that the attackers had access to Kedo artifacts. Nerys has already identified these items as some of the artifacts stolen last night from their new market location when it was broken into during the riots."

"And yet none of those artifacts deliver crossbow bolts," Leander said.

"No, they do not."

"What of the final artifact?" Leander said. "I don't see that box here."

Felix said, "It was deemed unimportant."

"By who?"

"Nerys."

"What box are you talking about?" the emperor asked. "Bring it here."

While they waited for the evidence to be fetched, the ambassadors started arguing about Leander's proposal. Ambassador Janezeko strongly supported the idea and presented compelling reasons why they should adopt the plan. Sentinels Ah'Shan and Felix argued strongly against it.

Finally the emperor said, "Enough debate. Despite the strong reasoning against this course of action, I am leaning toward implementing it."

"Your Excellency, you cannot do this," Ah'Shan said.

"So you suggest we do nothing?" Leander fired back.

Emperor Tegnazian held up his hand for silence. "I agree this is an onerous plan, and one I wish not to implement. And yet we're faced with unprecedented danger. Somehow an unknown enemy has infiltrated the very heart of the inner city. The city is in chaos, and murder and mayhem are unleashed within these very walls. I will not accept a plan of action that calls upon us to do nothing."

"Therefore," he continued loudly, "I decree that if you cannot provide further information through the traitor Remiel by noon tomorrow, we will lock down the inner city until every Sentinel submits to Truth."

"And what if that doesn't uncover any more traitors?" Felix asked, his voice strained, his face angry. "Will you insist on casting Truth on this entire council?"

"Preposterous," Ambassador Janezeko called. "Stop trying to twist the conversation."

"I am not," Felix said. "Where will we stop? What line will we not dare cross once we start down this road? Once we choose to not trust each other, only anarchy results."

The outer door opened and a soldier marched in carrying a small, plain wooden box.

"Is this the artifact you found in the dungeon?" Emperor Tegnazian asked.

"It is," Leander said.

That box looked familiar. Kevlin approached the soldier carrying it. "Let me see that."

Close inspection confirmed his suspicion. "Leander, did you say Sentinel Nerys claimed this box was irrelevant?"

"Yes, he did."

"He lied."

"Explain," Emperor Tegnazian commanded.

"I recognize this box," Kevlin declared. Everyone's attention fixed on him and he felt the weight of their stares. "I stopped by the Kereskedo shop the other day and Nerys himself showed me around. In his shop I saw a box identical to this one. He said it was an experimental product. He described it as a multi . . . something. At the time I didn't pay it any mind, but I'm convinced this is the same box. I believe it was designed to fire those crossbow bolts that killed your men."

"It must have been stolen from the market location with the other artifacts," Ambassador Janezeko said.

"Then why claim it was irrelevant?" Leander asked.

Kevlin shook his head. "It couldn't have been stolen. Nerys said the box was experimental, one of a kind."

Emperor Tegnazian said, "This is a serious accusation. Summon the Sentinel Nerys to explain."

Leander said, "I will fetch him myself."

He strode for the exit with Basak on his heels.