"Sentinel Felix, there's been another attack."

Felix shifted his ponderous weight in the reinforced steel chair he used at his desk and glanced at the messenger. "Who's responding?" "Sentinel Nerys."

Felix heaved himself to his feet. "Where is he now?"

"Administrative wing, second floor."

"Have they evacuated the area."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. That will be all."

Felix groaned inwardly as he followed the messenger out into the hall. Operations were being impacted enough. The administrative wing could not be evacuated for long without serious repercussions.

He made his way through the palace complex to the administrative wing and up to the second floor. By the time he arrived, he was sweating and panting. For the hundredth time in the past two days, he was tempted to use magic to help support his bulk, but still rejected the idea.

If he ever gave in to the temptation, he'd never be able to stop himself from doing it all the time. It wouldn't be long before he'd be unable to move on his own without using the crutch of magic. He refused to limit his freedom that way.

Sentinel Nerys met him at the end of an empty hall lined with offices. "Felix, glad you could make it." Nerys was a plain looking man with black hair and brown eyes. He wore the green ribbon of the Kereskedo on his sleeves and at his collar.

"What's the situation?"

"The curse found another hole," Nerys said with a frown. "This time it somehow passed undetected all the way to this hall before we caught it."

"How many casualties?"

"Three were struck down." Nerys nodded toward the end of the hall. "We've quarantined the area but now that it has a hold here . . ."

Felix nodded. "I know. We're losing ground."

He stared in the direction Nerys had indicated, but was too tired to walk any further. Besides, he knew what he would find. The victims would be lying where they had fallen, writhing in constant agony in the cursed flames that fed on their lives but kept them alive.

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He wondered how long people could survive the constant agony without going mad. Had the emperor already succumbed?

Within hours of his message to Harafin, the cursed fire had first broken free of the council chamber. They couldn't completely contain it or it would attack the emperor. They wasted precious time before realizing what had happened.

The first time it broke out, the curse had slipped through a drain in the council room floor. It struck down half a dozen people in a lower level before they contained it.

Since then, they had fought a holding battle against it, a battle they were not winning . . .

"It's as if the curse is sentient," Nerys said, echoing Felix's thought.

Felix frowned, "Or perhaps it's being guided, directed by someone in the palace."

"That would be . . . terrible."

"We must consider it. It's clear there are traitors hidden among us." Felix paused, struck by another thought. "I need to think on this. We need to prepare some more proactive countermeasures."

Nerys brightened. "Great idea. In fact, I've been working on something I think will interest you."

Felix maintained a neutral expression. The kereskedo were a new group within the Sentinel ranks, or at least a newly formalized one. Many of their ideas disturbed Felix. The group insisted on pursuing their agenda despite increasing opposition within the broader Sentinel ranks.

When Felix didn't stop him, Nerys continued excitedly. "I've been working on our latest portable shields." He laughed. "They make our early efforts look like child playthings."

"So you wish to donate these new portable shields to workers in the palace?"

Felix was impressed. The kereskedo were brilliant Sentinels and they were pioneering new areas of magical research in ways no one had ever explored. They were many things, but generous with their inventions was not one of them.

He was not surprised when Nerys quickly corrected him. "Not exactly. You see, the earlier models were effective, if crude. They sold surprisingly well. But once people see the benefits of the new model, I believe many of our existing customers will want them."

"How does that help us?"

Nerys clapped him on the shoulder, "Don't you see? What are they going to do with all those old shields? I mean, they're still potent for months unless triggered."

When Felix didn't speak, Nerys said, "We can take them back, maybe even give returning customers a partial credit toward purchase of a new model. Then we can sell those older models at a steep discount to workers here in the palace who couldn't afford them at full price."

Felix stared. "You want to turn this emergency into a marketing campaign?"

Nerys' smiled faded. "Well, if you say it that way, it sounds cold-hearted and reprehensible. I'm just trying to help."

"Help who?" Felix felt tainted just discussing the idea.

The kereskedo sold their inventions, artifacts imbued with enough Sentinel power to perform specific tasks for short periods. The recently-invented portable shield cloaks were but one example. It seemed a uniquely evil thing to take the glorious gifts that Sentinels worked decades to perfect and distill them down to nothing more than merchandise sold to the highest bidder.

Worse, the nobility showed an insatiable appetite for the inventions along with a disgusting disregard for custom. The kedos had been actively marketing their wares for less than a year, and their inventions were already becoming signs of status. The prices the upper-class were willing to pay for these trinkets were staggering.

Nerys said. "Look, we've never had a replacement product like this. So far everything's been brand new. We haven't had time to improve upon existing models. I think this is the answer to the dilemma. It'll help everyone."

Felix said, "I cannot condone it. You're trying to capitalize on fear for your own profit."

"I am not."

Felix cut him off. "If you want to donate those . . . items to critical personnel, I would applaud the gesture. However, I will not allow you to take advantage of people the way you suggest."

Nerys retreated a step, his face now angry. "You just don't have the vision, Felix. You never had."

He turned and stormed off.

Felix dismissed Nerys from his mind and turned his thoughts to more important things.