Kevlin stood at a long window in Harafin's quarters in the Sentinel Tower and stared at the panoramic view of the city. Of course Harafin’s apartment took up the entire top floor of the tower.

Kevlin could have stared at the city for an hour. The view helped ease his frustration. He'd chased Indira, but she'd told him to leave her alone. Hopefully with a little time, she'd forgive him. He needed to find a way to make it up to her. Maybe Adalia would tell him what restaurants Indira liked.

From Harafin's window, he could study the city flowing down the gentle slope below the plateau of the inner city and filling the eastern plain. He could easily trace the four spokes that split the city into distinct quarters and extended all the way to the distant horizon. At the outermost edge of the city, the imperial highway wrapped around the plain, connecting the city with the Six Kingdoms.

The door opened and Harafin entered, followed by Ah'Shan. Kevlin and Leander had been escorted up to the tower room only moments before. Leander had expected the summons, so they had just waited for it near the main entrance to the Sentinel Tower.

Leander beckoned Kevlin to join him on a pair of wooden chairs in the sitting room. Their clothes were still singed and reeking of smoke.

Harafin regarded the pair of them. "That was rash."

"Necessary," Leander countered.

Ah'Shan dropped into an overstuffed chair. "You should have waited for a Sentinel to go with you. We might have been able to salvage something."

Leander said, "That's unlikely. Even if you or Harafin had joined us, you might not have recognized rogue fire soon enough to prevent the destruction of any evidence."

"Perhaps," Harafin said. "We shall never know."

Ah’Shan growled, "Bajaran was thorough. I wonder what he was trying to hide."

"That's assuming Bajaran set that trap before he left," Leander said. "It's just as likely that someone else didn't want to be connected with him."

Harafin said, "We have too many questions already. Let's not add to the list."

Leander began to reply, but Harafin leaped to his feet, waving him to silence. He strode across the room to a carved column that looked identical to the one in the emperor's council chamber they recently left. He placed a hand on the same carved fist, and closed his eyes.

After a moment, he dropped his hand and slowly turned. "I felt a minor quiver in the shielding around the palace."

"Tanathos?" Kevlin asked, standing, eager to chase down the Shadeleech.

"I do not know. By the time I connected with the shield matrix, they were gone."

"Where were they?" Leander asked.

"I cannot tell," Harafin said with a frown. "The contact was very weak. I will have to fine-tune the shield parameters to provide better directional location for the next contact."

"If he hasn't already turned and run," Kevlin said. Some of what Harafin was talking about made no sense, but Tanathos had proven he was good at running.

Harafin did not look bothered. "I do not believe he will run yet. I still think the curse was designed primarily to draw us here. Now that we've arrived, I expect the enemy is already preparing their next strike."

Kevlin hated giving the enemy the first move.

"We should strike first then," Leander said.

Harafin chuckled. "I'd love to. Point me to the enemy and I will gladly destroy them."

Ah'Shan leaned forward in his chair. "Is it possible to extend the shield matrix?"

"Of course," Leander agreed. "Only the palace complex is shielded. Extend the shields around the city."

Harafin shook his head. "The shields were never designed to extend so far. It may be possible to do what you suggest, but the power required to maintain such a spell for any length of time would be staggering."

"It's worth it," Leander said.

"I cannot agree. With so many Sentinels residing here, managing the levels of latent magic is already a challenge. It's a struggle to maintain sufficient for daily usage and also fuel the existing shield matrix and the multitude of other fixed enchantments. The balance is extremely fine. Establishing a long-term, full-city shield matrix would drain all the latent magic from the area."

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"The Sentinels can deal with it," Leander said.

Ah’Shan scowled. "That's easy for you to say. Your gift wouldn't be affected. We'd be the ones weakened."

"Ah'Shan is right," Harafin said. "If the enemy's next attack is more powerful, which is likely, we would have insufficient latent magic for our Sentinels to go into battle."

Leander paced to the window, head bowed in thought. He turned, his voice solemn. "Activate the palace defenses."

That surprised Kevlin. Harafin had spoken of Rhisart, the then-Gerent of Il'Aicharen who had activated the keep's defenses there. With that power, he had fought off the entire attacking horde for days. Upon his death, Wayra had gained control of those powerful defenses and nearly destroyed them all when she turned against them.

It made sense that Tamera might be imbued with similar defenses. Hopefully there were better controls in place to make sure that power never fell into the wrong hands.

"No," Harafin said. "I cannot."

"Do it," Leander urged. "That would grant you more than enough power to blanket the entire city with a shield strong enough to pinpoint the enemy. We could destroy them before nightfall." His hand clenched at his side, as if anticipating calling his mighty hammer.

Harafin shook his head. "I understand your eagerness, my friend, but the defenses were never designed for such a purpose. Activating the defenses drains vast stores of magic. It would likely take years to fully reset them."

"We need that power now," Leander insisted. "There's time to replenish the store."

"We are moving into a time of war. What if we had a real emergency?"

"This is an emergency," Leander snapped. "Someone cast rogue fire inside the palace, Harafin. Rogue fire!"

Kevlin hoped Leander could keep his anger under control. If his family had been murdered and he knew the murderer was hidden close by, he'd use any option available to hunt them down. He feared what might happen if Harafin said no again.

So he interjected. "What is rogue fire?"

Leander paced to the window and stood looking out, his expression grim.

Harafin watched him for a moment before speaking. "Rogue fire is the hallmark spell of Kyllikki, one of the twin rulers of the Sigrun council."

"It's an extremely dangerous spell," Ah'Shan added. "One that all Sentinels are forbidden to use."

"More than that, Kyllikki jealously guards its use even among the other Sigrun," Harafin said.

Sigrun, Kevlin thought. Forbidden spells. He'd asked the question to ease tensions, not make himself more afraid. Could one of the Sigrun have infiltrated the city?

As bad as Tanathos was, he didn't want to stand within a thousand miles of a Sigrun.

"What does it do?" he dared ask.

"It destroys," Ah'Shan said simply.

Harafin added, "The great irony in rogue fire is that it started as a practical joke."

"A joke?" That raging inferno in Bajaran's room hadn't been a joke. Kyllikki had one twisted sense of humor.

"When they were young, before they rose up against our nation and overthrew it, Kyllikki and his twin brother Nyyrikki loved practical jokes and excelled in inventing ways to torment the other students."

Kevlin had to remind himself that Harafin was over a quarter of a millennia old. Every time the old man spoke of the Sigrun and times before the formation of the Tamerlane Empire, it surprised Kevlin. Harafin had lived through so much history. He knew things the history books had forgotten.

So much of it had been so bad. It was a wonder Harafin hadn't moved to an abandoned island somewhere for a little peace.

Harafin continued. "Rogue fire is as powerful as it is simple. Kyllikki invented it to burn another student's research notes. Any of the common spells used to extinguish fire only make it stronger. The poor student who was its first victim torched an entire room and barely escaped with his life."

"I have no doubt Kyllikki was himself surprised by how very powerful it proved to be. He extinguished it himself before it could do more damage, and before any of the teachers realized what was happening."

Harafin's voice turned grim. "He never showed such restraint again. He used rogue fire in several of his earliest attacks against the Sentinel High Council."

For a moment, Harafin looked his age as a great sadness weighed him down. He whispered, "Such a simple spell."

Ah'Shan said, "The more power directed against rogue fire to quell it, the faster it grows."

"It was uniquely effective against some of the most powerful Sentinels of the day," Harafin said. "Their very strength was their downfall. They didn't have time to realize their mistake before they were consumed."

"And now someone used it in Bajaran's quarters," Leander said. "Can't you see, we need to stop this now?"

"It manifested also when the curse first struck," Felix declared as he pushed open the outer door. He leaned against the doorframe, panting. Kevlin was surprised he hadn't heard Felix's wheezing breath long before the fat Sentinel arrived.

"I didn't know that," Harafin said.

Felix staggered across the room and dropped onto a sofa that groaned under the load. He wiped his sweaty face and managed a weak smile. "Sorry I'm late. And yes, when I first tried to contain the curse, it struck with rogue fire." He shook his head. "Nearly had me for a minute, there. That's why I knew how to deal with it today. I've had it on my mind."

"All reasons why you should activate the defenses," Leander reiterated.

Harafin hesitated. "I still feel that step inappropriate." He held up a hand to forestall Leander. "I have a feeling, a premonition, that we will need those defenses, and soon. However, I believe I can improve on the current situation."

Harafin rubbed his hands together, a look of anticipation on his face. "I will extend the shield matrix down the spokes, like feelers, if you will, to trigger a warning if a Shadeleech crosses."

Ah’Shan barked a hard laugh. "Brilliant. No one travels far without crossing one of the spokes sooner or later."

"How difficult is it to make that change to the matrix?" Leander asked. "It has stood unchanged for over a century."

Harafin considered the question. "It won't be easy. However, I assisted with laying the foundation for the original matrix so I understand what must be done."

"I'll share my strength with you," Leander said.

"That's not necessary. I can manage."

"Allow me to help anyway. It will ease my heart to know I helped put the plan in place."

"In that case, by all means."

Leander visibly relaxed. "Very well. We have a plan. I'll organize patrols of Stalwarts throughout the city."

"That's an excellent idea," Felix said. "We should add Sentinels to the regular city guard patrols. If there's a Shadeleech hidden in the city, they'll need Sentinels to bring him down."

"Unless we find him first," Leander said with a wolfish grin.