Tanzik, Allena, and Lura gathered together as the Rooks began to surround them. Allena held up her hand and a wisp of fire wreathed itself around her index finger. She pointed it to the shelf behind the bar that was filled from top to bottom with alcohol.

“Take another step,” she said softly, “and I burn this whole place to the ground.”

Yudhi grinned and spat on the ground. “You wouldn’t risk yourself, little girl. Or your friends.”

Allena held up her other hand and a blue surge of magic sprouted from her palm and enveloped the three of them in a shimmering shield. Her breath caught in her throat and her voice shook, but she held firm. “I’d rather not. But I will.”

Yudhi’s grin faded and she stayed in place. Tanzik shifted his weight uncomfortably and gripped his sword as he looked at Allena. She glanced over to him, but she was too nervous to take her eyes off of Yudhi. Lura put her weapons away and smirked, but moved closer to Allena and whispered “What are you doing, mage?”

“Trust me.”

“You’re asking a lot.”

“The three of us are walking out of here alive.”

“Remember we’re in King Hárkast’s city,” Tanzik whispered. “Try not to be too rash.”

“Do you not know her?” Lura seethed.

“Talk to each other if you must,” Yudhi said, “but we have the upper hand. You won’t be faster than me.”

“You’re not willing to risk your life on that,” Lura said as she casually lowered her bow. “Else you’d already have done something. Nah, this is a stalemate.”

“No,” Allena said. “A stalemate is when no one can win. There’s only two ways this ends, Rooks. You can walk away or you can burn.”

Tanzik was uncomfortable with the sudden shift in her personality. It was hard to see her so willing to resort to extreme violence, but he knew he was being hypocritical. He had killed Furstin’s scouts without giving them a chance, so he knew he wasn’t any different. But still, it was such a change in how she acted before that it made him uneasy.

Yudhi stepped back and pulled a stool from the bar to sit on. “So you think. You can light this place on fire, but who’s to say we all die? And even if we do, the Rooks will put the full weight of their power on you. Even if you make it out of Stormhall alive, you’ll be chased to the ends of Deyrnas. So yes. Stalemate.”

“They can chase us all they want, you’ll still be dead.”

“And so will you.”

“But so will you.”

“I have made peace with my lot.” Yudhi moved her iron club to her other hand. “Have you?”

“We’re all dead in the end anyway,” Allena said resignedly, the threat of the Phoenix at the forefront of her mind.

“And this is how you want to die?”

“More than you know.”

Lura’s eyes widened with a realization. In her time as a thief she saw the look of desperate people with nothing left to lose about to do something incredibly dangerous and foolish. With the Phoenix threatening to destroy the world, Allena no longer cared if she or anyone lived or died, and Lura knew that was not the kind of person it was safe to be around.

“Hey, Yudhi?” Lura said. “All threats and bravado aside, she’s completely serious. She’ll kill you all and Veza too once she finds him.”

“I am just following orders, Lurala.”

“Sure, sure, orders are great. Love those. Lots. But Veza would rather you be alive than dead. Just give us the name of who commissioned the theft of the iron token and we all walk away from here.”

“You know you can’t convince me. I will not waste my time listening to you.”

“I don’t think any of us want to die here,” Tanzik said, taking one hand off his sword to put on Allena’s arm. “Let’s try to negotiate.”

Yudhi sighed, now getting visibly frustrated. “There is nothing to negotiate. You have crossed the Rooks and will now die. If we die and you survive, someone else will finish the job. You have to sleep sometime. You will make a mistake. And when you do, you will die. It is simple. I do not wish to waste anymore time here. Let us end this.” She stood up and readied her weapon.

Yudhi moved her leg to step forward. Allena’s body tensed as she got ready to unleash fire. Tanzik stepped forward in front of her. “Wait,” he said. “Allena… should we tell them?”

A pained expression crossed Allena’s face. “Tanzik,” she said.

“They get the information they wanted from you, and maybe they can help.”

“We’re not working with them,” Lura said. “We can never trust them and they’ll kill us after they get what they want anyway.”

“She is right,” Yudhi said. “Stand in the way if you want, little man, but I am ending this stalemate.”

“You might change your mind when you hear what we have to say,” Tanzik said.

“This only ends in violence.”

“It doesn’t have to! This world might be ending soon. An ancient monster has reawakened to destroy Derynas and we might have a way out if we can understand what’s on the token.”

If Yudhi was affected by his words, she didn’t show it. She simply raised her iron club and walked forward with murderous intent. Allena pushed outward and a billowing cloud of fire erupted from her fingertips and shot toward the stores of alcohol. They ignited and exploded in a shower of flames and glass. Yudhi raised her weapon, but Allena pulled the fire toward them, wreathing her and the other Rooks in flame while she and her friends were protected.

The strain was immense, and the pressure of using two different magics drained every ounce of energy she had. The windows of the inn blew out as the whole building lit up. Lura shot a couple of arrows, killing the Rooks who approached from behind. Allena passed out from the strain. Tanzik sheathed his sword and picked her up as the building began to crumble. The Rooks inside were all burned to death, and Tanzik’s heart raced as he carried Allena out, deeply unnerved by the display of magic he just witnessed.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“How’s that for a target on our back?” Lura asked. Her ears rang and her eyes darted in all directions as people began to scream for help. She didn’t see any other Rooks, but knew after this it was only a matter of time. Tanzik laid Allena down as people rushed to help.

***

The city guard arrived quickly and began to keep the under control. Lura and Tanzik were shackled on the spot by a lieutenant as the rest of them helped the fire and tried to keep the crowds at a safe distance. “What happened?” He asked firmly.

Lura immediately realized they had an advantage. The Rooks were tolerated because they worked in secret and kept the few who knew of them too afraid to do anything. They kept quiet because too much fear would turn people against them. They were vicious and brutal, but they knew how to keep out of trouble. “It was the Rooks!” Lura said. “They burned the whole place down. I don’t know how many people were inside there, but we were the only ones who survived.”

“There’s two beggars dead with arrows in their chests!”

“My friends and I were trying to escape. They… they had weapons. I didn’t want to, but we had to! Allena had already passed out. I think they were Rooks too, trying to keep people out.”

“Pretty good aim for a bystander.”

“I was raised on the frontier, I had to be a good shot.”

The guard frowned and had another guard check the dead Rooks.

“Checks out,” she said as she returned to the lieutenant. “They had the tattoos of a Rook. Weapons on the ground nearby look like they were being brandished before they got shot. Good aim, kid.”

Lura smiled weakly. “I don’t feel good about it.”

The lieutenant looked at his guard. “Any other survivors?” She shook her head. “Get this one to a medic.” He looked back at Tanzik and Allena. “I’m going to ask a few more questions but this sounds like self-defense.”

“Our friend isn’t safe,” Tanzik said.

“She’ll be kept under guard.”

“She survived an attack by the Rooks,” Lura said. “You don’t think they’ll want to tie up loose ends? We’re all in danger.”

“Fine. Fraga!” He shouted after the guard who was carrying Allena away. “Take her to the castle infirmary instead. I’ll interrogate the survivors there.”

They were led back toward Castle Stormhall and asked questions. Lura expertly kept the heat off of them and their involvement with the Rooks to make it seem like they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tanzik reminded him that they had stopped the coup against Hárkast and were friends of Stormhall. The lieutenant was satisfied with their answers and released them.

They went to see Allena, who was awake but exhausted. “Hey, you two,” she said weakly as they entered her room.

“So what happens now?” Tanzik asked.

“Well,” Lura said, “I’ve convinced the guards the Rooks are the threat. We’re dead if we try to face them on our own, but the guard might actually stand a chance.”

Tanzik sighed. “I didn’t want to bring them into this, it’ll get a lot of people killed. Now they’re fighting a war on two fronts.”

“Not likely. The army has mobilized already it sounds like, but there’s enough guards here to protect the capital that they could handle the Rooks. Really all we need is Veza dead, he’s the one holding them all together.

“You don’t think he has contingencies?” Allena asked.

Lura shrugged. “Probably. I would, if I were him. But if we can get the info on the token from him and get him out of the game, that’s one less problem for us to worry about.”

“You’re talking about an assassination,” Tanzik said.

“Yeah!” Lura grinned. “That’s the word, assassination. Allena does her magic on him to make him talk, then we kill him. No more Rooks.”

“Agreed,” Allena said cooly.

Tanzik rubbed his chin in thought for a second. “I don’t see any other way.”

“Whatever’s going on is bigger than any of us know,” Lura said. “We’ll have to be a little extreme if we want to find out what it is.”

“So let’s review what we know. The Rooks somehow found out about this token, which has something to do with the Phoenix. They were hired to retrieve it, but Lura got to it first.”

“Wish I hadn’t,” she chimed in with mock cheerfulness.

“Allena recognized it and tried to kill Lura to stop her from figuring out the secret.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill her,” Allena protested.

“Shut it, still bitter,” Lura said.

Tanzik continued. “The token was destroyed but the Rooks caught up and got Lura to give them a description to go off of. Veza has some kind of vested interest in finding what it means, so he tortured Allena for information.”

“I gave him nothing,” she said firmly.

“I know,” Tanzik said. “Veza just failed in his attempt to bring us back, so he’s going to try something else. But if we can get to him first, he’ll reveal his source and we can find more out from them.”

“That’s about it,” Lura said. “And now that the guards are on to the Rooks, they’ll be able to flush enough of them out for us to find Veza.”

“Hopefully,” Allena said.

“I’m really not used to you being the dour one,” Lura said. “Leave that to him.” She elbowed Tanzik in the side. He frowned.

“I’m going to report to King Hárkast. This will be a lot easier if we have his permission to do this. It’ll look better for us, too. His focus will be on routing the Empire, we can help him with this so he can keep his attention where it needs to be.”

“We’re coming with you,” Lura said.

“So you’re a team player now?” Allena said.

“Yeah,” she said, narrowing her eyes, “or I don’t want to get shivved in a back alley somewhere. Strength in numbers and all that.”

“Good,” Tanzik said. With that, they went to the great hall to request an audience with the king, who gladly granted it.

“I hear we now have you to thank for exposing the Rooks!” He wore a proud smile, though they could tell it was hiding the weariness of many sleepless nights.

“Yes, Your Grace,” Tanzik said with a bow. “You said you would send for us if you needed me, but I wished to approach you first to offer my sword again. The Rooks are a threat to Stormhall’s security, and with your permission, I’d like to request that we oust them from the city.”

“And Lura?” Hárkast asked. “I thought you had other affairs to attend to.”

“As did I, but plans change. I’ve… run afoul of the Rooks before. As much as I love being altruistic, this is for my own good.”

Hárkast nodded thoughtfully. “Very well, you have my permission. As you are still unsworn to me, let’s call this a bounty. Nine hundred crowns for the head of the Rooks leader, and an additional hundred if you can provide proof that they’ve left the city.”

Lura blinked in shock, mouth agape in spite of herself. A thousand crowns was a small fortune. Even split three ways, it was about a year’s wages apiece. She bowed low.

“That’s… very generous, Your Grace,” Allena said, seeing her companions were both speechless.

“Our armies have met the Empire on the field of battle,” Hárkast said. “We’re pushing them back to the border now. We can’t afford to let up now, and trouble on the homefront is the last thing we need. War is expensive, but I’ll pay whatever price I need to for ensuring the capital is secure. You’ll be risking your lives for Serevar going up against an enemy just as dangerous as the Empire, you’ll be rewarded generously for your success.”

“Well, we best get to work then,” Lura said. The three bowed and left.

“Where would we even start?” Tanzik asked.

“Yudhi went to the Void without giving Veza up,” Lura said, “but I don’t think the rest of the Rooks will be so keen on dying. What we need to do is find a weak link somewhere.”

“A weak link that also knows information as sensitive as their leader’s location.”

“Pretty small list, I’ll admit,” Lura said. “I’d like to say we should wait for them to come to us, but trying to lure them into a trap won’t work again. They knew we were trying to play them and we only got out alive because the mage blew them up. They won’t be stupid enough to try the same thing again.”

“That means I’ll be the target,” Allena said.

“Yeah. Probably. No, definitely. Yeah, you’re the target. They’re not going to try an ambush again, they’re going to go with the lethal option, probably from a distance when you least expect it.”

“I’ve survived worse.”

Lura sighed. “You don’t understand. They know how powerful you are now. They’re not going to take any chances. Somewhere, somehow, out of absolutely nowhere, you’re just going to drop dead. That’s their plan. They’re going to hit you as hard as they can as soon as they can and you won’t even see it coming even after it’s too late.”

“Then what do we do?” Tanzik asked.

Lura clenched her jaw and looked at both of them in turn. “I don’t know.”

“She’s not going to die,” Tanzik said firmly.

“Actually,” Allena said, the thinnest whisper of a smile playing on her lips, “that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”