Morwin’s lungs burned. He didn’t care. His legs groaned. He ignored it. Every muscle in his body screamed out in fatigue. He can just rest later. This took precedence.

  Morwin didn’t know why he wanted to protect Galvin. His mind raced to the sapphire which dangled as he sprinted. Galvin couldn’t have… no, that was impossible. The powers of the sapphire did not allow for commands to linger as long as it did. Even if Galvin lied about its potential, Morwin had used it. Felt the powers leaving his body and the commands dissipating. On top of that, he didn’t hear anything whisper to him. His actions were nobody else’s but his own.

  Lord Demarian had taken him to an unfamiliar part of town, so it took him longer than he’d thought to get back. He ran through main roads, back roads, alleyways.

  People looked in concern as he sprinted past. Sweat rolled down his face in rivers. Every breath he took sent a burning pain through his body. There had to be some gemstone he could use that would help him have more endurance. One he didn’t have.

  His heart raced, feeling like it might burst out his chest any moment. He clenched his fists and pushed on.

  How did he know where Galvin even went? Did he have the necessary precautions and abandoned the inn he’d been staying in? What kind of bribe did Galvin give to the inn owner that might convince him to harbor rebels?

  A familiar road lie ahead. Seeing it, Morwin ran even faster, the aching and burning of his muscles screaming even louder than before. He broke out into the main square where city workers were cleaning up from the horrific scene from before. Bodies being swept off the street, blood washed off the stones, weapons collected for reuse. At the far end of the square, Mr. Axwel stood, looking around.

  His eyes locked onto something and his expression suddenly became somber. Any other moment, Morwin would have been glad to see the man, but he had something to do.

  He ran past the head servant. Apparently whatever he’d seen was more devastating than Morwin thought, as Mr. Axwel did not even notice the man he was looking for running past. He tried to recall the turns he’d made to get to the square.

  His heart skipped a beat when he saw the inn he came out of earlier. He reached out to his sapphire and Absorbed some essence. It was easier to do it the second time. The magic of the gem flowed through him, and the words filled his mind. Suddenly, he was back at the place where a decision had to be made.

  Senses.

  Everything became clearer. Too clear. He could pick up light more easily and it blinded him. He could taste the salty air of the oceans’ thunderous waves. A wind he couldn’t feel before made rustles up his skin and gave him goosebumps. He could smell the ash and blood from all the way in the main square, among other aromas around. Was that a pie he caught a whiff of? He shut his eyes and tried to block out all the noisiness but found it was near impossible.

  He focused on his ears. Chatter everywhere, moving around his head. He could hear things from several hundred meters away. It all cluttered around his brain, making noise. Conversations, birds, even footsteps against cobblestone became amplified. It was just too loud.

  But there was a particular voice he heard. Morwin found it difficult to hone into that voice when the sound of the city and other voices overpowered it.

  No. He had to focus. He could do it.

  His ears twitched. One by one, all the other random noises died down around him. Until only one voice remained, coming from inside the inn. The voice of someone he knows.

  “I’m sure Morwin is fine,” the voice spoke. Galvin. Not only could he hear the words from outside the building, he could also hear a tiny tinge of panic in the way he spoke. A small enough hint that is not noticeable, one that he’s trying to hide. But Morwin could hear it.

  He could feel his body hating him and groaning again when he made the move. He shoved the door to the inn open and busted into the building, nearly collapsing, but catching himself before he fell.

  Faces turned towards him.

  Oh no, what if they report seeing him there. They would tell Lord Demarian and he’d realize he’d been fooled. A coincidence if Morwin goes to the very inn that Justicar made into their temporary base, the very same place he just came from. Any logical person would draw an unfavorable conclusion from that.

  Morwin Absorbed the remaining essence of sapphire from his necklace. He felt it drain completely.

  Forget, forget, forget, forget, forget!

  He thought that same word violently as he focused on Mind. He could feel his thoughts permeate around the room. A short-term command that they would have no choice but to heed. And none of them would ever remember listening to that simple suggestion.

  Morwin didn’t realize he had that kind of power. He felt a pang of guilt for messing with the patrons’ minds like that, but… they would have no idea.

  With the couple seconds he’d gained from practically brainwashing an entire room, he scurried up the stairs. He couldn’t feel any of the familiar heartbeat from his sapphire anymore, so no more relying on that. The feeling of emptiness crept back in. The same way he felt when Mr. Axwel initially took it.

  He ran up to the door and banged on it. No response.

  “Galvin!” Morwin shouted. “It’s me!”

  The door jerked open, the servant grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

  “You idiot!” he exclaimed. “Do you know how much danger we’re going to be in if you keep shouting my name like that?” Galvin’s eyes softened for a bit before saying “Have your eyes always been blue?”

  Morwin ignored his words. Finally, some rest. Morwin collapsed on the ground, staring at the ceiling, heaving in and out, every muscle in his body sore and his chest twisting in pain.

  “Dem,-” he tried to get out before his breath gave in.

  “What?”

  Morwin looked around the room and saw Galvin, Guenevir, Kaden, Darius, and another man he didn’t know there. He had to take a minute, but… this matter was more pressing.

  “Demarian,” he managed to get out. “Inn owner.” Another breath. “Knows. Told.” His mind ran circles around him and he found it difficult forming the words he wanted to say.

  Galvin’s eyes went wide when he realized. “The owner of this inn went and told him?”

  Morwin gave one nod before laying down to rest, wanting desperately to close his eyes and drown out the world. The exhaustion was too great.

  But no, he couldn’t rest that long. If he were to lose consciousness, Lord Demarian would come with many soldiers, and they would find him there. And then he’d be in big trouble.

  Why was he putting himself in so much risk for these rebels? He struggled to find the answer, but a part of him felt… right.

  “Morwin,” Galvin said. “How do you know?”

  “I was taken,” he replied, still panting. “Demarian believed my story. Me being kidnapped. Well, it wasn’t a lie. But on my way out, I saw him.”

  Galvin pursed his lips. “That bastard!” he shouted. “He swore to secrecy.”

  All eyes in the room were on Galvin at this point. “What do we do?” Kaden spoke.

  “There are more Justicar in this inn then you realize,” Galvin said to Morwin. “We’re going to have to evacuate them all.”

  “What about the ones not residing in here?” Guenevir asked.

  “I don’t know. Their identities aren’t out. If they keep the mask and cloak off, then we’ll be fine. But if they choose to continue to cause havoc, then their fate is beyond my hands.”

  “We have to get to work then,” Darius spoke up.

  Galvin nodded. “We’re going to have to make preparations. We need to go to each room and gather their cloaks and masks. We leave no evidence here. Guenevir, I want you on that. Jules, follow behind Guenevir and tell our comrades about the emergency evacuation. Kaden, I need you posted in front of the inn. If you see any signs of Lord Demarian and his soldiers coming, you give a signal. One not to alarm the other patrons but one that we’ll know. Darius, try and slow them if you can when Kaden gives the signal. Morwin, you’re with me.”

  “Got it,” everyone’s voices echoed except Morwin. He was still panting, so he just gave Galvin a thumbs up from the comfort of the floor.

  “You need to snap out of it,” Galvin said to Morwin.

  “Sorry… I’m exhausted. It was not an easy run.”

  “Amethyst,” Galvin said, holding out a hand. Darius produced a purple gem and Galvin clutched it. He leaned in and pressed a palm against Morwin’s legs, and immediately, he felt the fatigue draining from his body and strength return to his muscles.

  “You’ll be fine,” Galvin said. “Hopefully this helps. I didn’t actually give you more energy, I just tricked your brain into feeling that way.”

  “Whatever, thank you!” Morwin exclaimed, jumping up and stretching.

  “Don’t overdo it. It’s not a permanent solution. Just breathe and you’ll recover naturally.” A moment passed before Galvin turned around to everyone. “What’re you waiting for? Go!”

  Footsteps scurried. Kaden, being the smallest, was the first one out the door. Receding footsteps rang out from all four of them.

  “What do you want me to do?” Morwin asked.

  “Do you have another igian on you by chance?” Galvin asked.

  Morwin shook his head. “Do I look like I’m made of money? You took the only one I had.”

  Galvin reached into his pockets and produced three igians. “One is completely empty, the one you gave me. The other two barely have any essence left in them. We won’t be able to teleport anyone out.”

  “Why can’t we just walk through the front door?”

  Galvin stared at incredulously before he spoke. “One, the soldiers are going to be approaching from that direction, no doubt about it. Two, what do you think will happen if we all leave and the people downstairs see us leaving? Demarian is going to interrogate them and they’ll tell him we were here. That is, assuming we don’t run into his soldiers first.”

  “Got it,” Morwin pursed his lips. “Not a good idea to use the front entrance. What’s the plan with the diamonds?”

  “Absorb a little bit. The tiniest sliver. You’ll get to know its essence.”

  Galvin tossed the igian that Galvin claimed was empty to him. Morwin fumbled a bit but eventually caught it.

  He reached out with his mind, and could feel a receding heartbeat within. A tiny pulse. The sound of it… it sounded like naivety. Like a young girl in a fancy dress, dancing and prancing across a ballroom while young men stared at her with lovestruck eyes. An almost childlike tempo resonated from within the object.

  Morwin took a whiff of it, a tiny Absorption. He could feel how little he’d taken in, but despite that, the words filled his mind.

  Spatial. Grace. Speed.

  Morwin turned to Galvin and gave a nod. “Got it,” he said.

  “Good. Now follow me.” Galvin led him down the creaky wooden stairs, turning a corner at the base into a secret hallway. Morwin peered into one of the rooms and saw that’s where they stored perishables. Another room was stacked to the top with crates full of bottled drinks, most of them alcohol. Another room had towels and barrels lying about.

  “Yes this is a good space,” Galvin said, motioning for Morwin to come into the room with the barrels.

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Use the diamond. We’re not going to teleport people out. We’re going to create a temporary escape route, one that would disappear so Lord Demarian wouldn’t know where we came from.”

  “Got it,” Morwin said.

  “You stay here. I’m going to return back to the room so people can report to me, and I can direct them to you.”

  Galvin took out the other two igians and handed it to Morwin. “Can I trust you with these?” he said.

  “Y-,” Morwin started but stopped himself. He didn’t know. Could Galvin trust him? Why did he have to rely on him so much? Galvin had never trusted Morwin before, keeping the secret of his involvements from him (and for good reason too). Could Morwin follow through this plan without turning to Lord Demarian and turning them in then and there?

  “I’ll help you,” Morwin said. “But on one condition.”

  “Speak,” he said, his voice urgent.

  “You don’t bring harm to my family or my servants.”

  “Done, harm will not come to your family or your servants by my hands or any hand from Justicar,” Galvin said. “You have my word of honor on it.”

  With that, Galvin retreated.

  I am doing this for you, father, Morwin thought, trying to justify his actions. You better be grateful if you ever find out.

  But deep within him, he knew how weak of a justification it was. Perhaps in the end, he didn’t want to lose Galvin as a friend.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Galvin sat in their original room, waiting. Could he really trust Morwin? He’d seem more than willing to follow him, despite being angry earlier. He will just have to understand in time… In the back of Galvin’s mind, he felt like Morwin would be central to the rebellion being successful. There’s something about him, some untapped potential. And he could be the one to make him realize it.

  Kaden was the first to return, his eyes wide and sweat dripping down his face. “They’re coming,” he spoke.

  Galvin shot up and nodded. “How many? And how long do you think it’ll take for them to arrive?”

  “I saw the owner of the inn by Lord Demarian’s side. I’d ran far up along the road. It seems to be his entire legion that he brought with him to Jovin City. As for how long… at most, thirty minutes.”

  Galvin pursed his lips. “I was hoping we would have a little bit more time.”

  “They want to catch us by surprise,” Kaden acknowledged.

  Galvin finally decided that he could trust Morwin. He had no other choice. Morwin had plenty of time to run to Lord Demarian seeking asylum. But the fact he came back to warn them about the threat, well, it was worth something.

  “Did you see Darius on your way in?” Galvin asked.

  Kaden nodded. “He was circling the building, making sure it was clear. Hopefully the patrons don’t think much of it; I don’t think they will.”

  “Go to him. Tell him to buy us some time. Every minute is going to count in this situation.”

  Kaden gave a curt salute. “Yes sir!”

  “I’ll be here. I’m going to redirect people to where Morwin is, ready for the evacuation. After you give Darius the go-ahead to be the distraction, I want you to meet up with Morwin. He is down the stairs on the first floor, behind in their storage hallway in one of the rooms. Wait there until I arrive.”

  “Got it.” Kaden replied before making his way out the room.

  Galvin sat back down in his chair. If Morwin didn’t pull through, he could just have the members of Justicar escape through the windows…

  No that would be too foolish. The windows lock from the inside and if all the windows were unlocked it would raise some bells. They were going to explore this place thoroughly, he knew that much. And if they chose a single window or just a couple, there wouldn’t be enough time.

  They had to leave no traces of ever being there, and Morwin was the key to accomplishing that.

  Several minutes passed and Guenevir opened the door, holding a leather sack. She dropped it on the floor.

  “Are you sure this is all of it?” Galvin asked. He untied the sack, and sure enough, all the black cloaks and demonic masks were in there, neatly folded and stacked on one another. He frowned. “You didn’t have to fold it like that.”

  “Wanted to save as much room as possible,” Guenevir replied. “And yes I’m fairly certain that’s all of it.”

  “Perfect. What about Jules? Is he gathering everyone?”

  As if on cue, the door opened and some of Justicar’s members stepped through. Most of Justicar, he didn’t know their names and were only familiar with some of their faces. He relied on an extravagant network to have all the members of Justicar mapped out. Despite that though, they all bore the same terrified look.

  “Guenevir, since your job is done, I want you at the foot of the stairs,” Galvin said. “Hidden from sight of the main bar. Morwin is in one of the storage rooms at the back of the inn. I want you to direct the people I send to you there, and you guys wait in there until I arrive.”

  Guenevir nodded.

  Galvin looked at the newcomer that just came in. “Go with Guenevir,” he said.

  The young boy nodded and she led the way.

  For the next several minutes, one by one, members of Justicar came in. The way they’d rented the inn was in separate groups as to avoid arousing suspicion. The only other person who knew that Justicar was staying there was the inn owner himself.

  To pull off an escape of this magnitude with barely any time, it was going to be difficult. But not impossible.

  Every single member that came in, Galvin told them the whereabouts of Guenevir and she would direct them from there.

  Galvin wondered how Darius was doing. What method of distraction did he have to stall them? He hoped it would buy another thirty minutes, but it was wishful thinking. Perhaps ten would be good enough.

  The last person to come into the room was Jules. He was panting and heaving by the time he arrived.

  “Did you go through all the rooms?” Galvin asked.

  Jules nodded. “The inn is empty of members of Justicar.”

  “One last thing I’m going to need for you to do,” Galvin said. “I’m sorry to make you the one to do this, but you’re the one most capable of it. The owner of the inn keeps a ledger somewhere in his office of people that’s checked in. We all used fake names and took up multiple rooms. It would seem suspicious if they got a hold of that ledger and went to rooms that were supposedly being rented only to find it empty. I want you to erase the twenty records of us checking in.”

  Jules nodded. “Got it.”

  “And after that, meet with Guenevir at the bottom of the stairs and she’ll lead us to the rendezvous point.”

  With that, Jules spun and ran out the door.

  A benefit of having the inn owner gone was that there’s no one to protect the ledger. Hopefully all the pieces fell into the right places and they could escape without a hitch.

  Morwin waited in the room. One by one, more and more members of Justicar filed in. Some of them recognized him, but at Kaden’s instruction, he was to not be harmed. Morwin didn’t understand why the members listened to Kaden of all people.

  Some of them showed enthusiasm at convincing the son of Lord De’Shai to join hands with them. Morwin had to remind them that he’s not a part of them, and they showed concern he would rat them out.

  An argument broke out, but it was halted by the arrival of Galvin. Morwin expected Galvin to yell at them for losing focus or something, but the servant remained calm. In his right hand, he carried a rather large sack.

  His eyes scanned the room. “Where’s Jules?” he said.

  “He hasn’t come yet,” Morwin said.

  “And Guenevir?”

  “Probably waiting for Jules,” Kaden said.

  “Are you sure he won’t try to do what he did before? Try and take out Demarian?” one of the members asked.

  Galvin shook his head. “He has experience as a soldier. He’s not one to go against orders of his direct superior.” A flat out lie, but one that seemed to placate them.

  They waited for several minutes. Those several minutes seemed to stretch for an eternity, but at last, Jules arrived and Guenevir followed closely behind.

  “Okay Morwin, do it now,” Galvin said, nodding in his direction. Morwin pulled out the two igians that had the most essence in them and Absorbed it all. He felt every last trickle of it flood into his body. His very blood came alight with the mystical power. His sense of being and balance increased drastically. Similar with the sapphire, the essence raged inside him, thrumming against his veins and filling his mind with its mysterious power. Morwin needed to control it, but the nature of the essence was nothing like the sapphire. It pranced around, bouncing from every corner of his body, striking his skin. Instead of fighting it, Morwin ran along with it. He let his muscles relax and allowed the tension from within to fade.

  He focused on Spatial and closed his eyes. He imagined the wall in front of him no longer existing. No, he didn’t just imagine it. He willed for it. Every inch of his mind screamed out for that one desire, for the word Spatial to be directed into the wall. He thought of when he did that to the patrons of the inn, how he directed the power of the sapphire to them, and he did the same thing to this obstacle before him. He opened his eyes and surprisingly found that a large hole had appeared. Not a completely solid hole. It had a faded image of the wall still remaining. He put his hand on it and it phased through, as if it was air.

  “Go!” Galvin said.

  At once, all of the people in the room flooded through the invisible wall. Morwin felt his essence fading. As it did, Morwin’s sense of self gradually returned and the hole grew smaller and smaller, the material of the wall popping back into existence. Thankfully, he had just enough to get everyone out. With the last opening of it, he leapt through and landed on the grass outside.

  The wall closed completely behind him.

  “Good work,” Galvin said.

  Everyone waited for Galvin’s instructions, all with eager eyes.

  “Spread out,” Galvin instructed. “Don’t travel in groups of more than three. Any larger group would raise suspicion. “Guenevir go back to our inn. Mr. Axwel is going to yell at you, so just take it for now.”

  She nodded and ran off. “Jules, were you successful in getting the ledger?”

  He nodded. “All destroyed,” he said.

  “Good. Now you go somewhere else. Go by yourself. You’re one of the more well known members of Justicar, so stay hidden if you can. It’s been a long time, so I don’t know if you’ll be recognized or not. Better safe than sorry. We’ll meet again.”

  Jules nodded. “Take care of yourself lad. Protect Morwin and Guenevir.”

  Galvin smirked. “You know I will.” Jules dispersed.

  “What about Darius?” Kaden asked.

  “He’s going to be fine,” Galvin replied. “Don’t doubt him. As for you, go with someone. I’ll be in contact with you soon. Our mission here in Jovin City is complete, so we can pull out now!”

  And all the members of Justicar were gone. Just like that. All that was remaining was Galvin and Morwin.

  “What about me?” Morwin asked.

  “I would tell you to go with Guenevir, but I want you here with me. You have to see this. We really do need you among our forces, it could mean the difference between winning and losing.”

  “I won’t join, no matter what I see,” Morwin said. “I’m just helping you so you won’t bring harm to my father.”

  Galvin said nothing in response. He placed the sack he’d been holding on the ground and turned to Morwin. “You might want to take a couple steps back,” he said.

  Morwin obliged.

  Galvin held his palm out towards the bag and a stream of fire erupted from his hand, engulfing the entire bag in the flames. In his other hand, clutched tightly, he held a ruby.

  “We have several seamstress working with us who make the material of the cloak and mask with a very flammable material. In case something like this happens, we can destroy evidence of being here quickly.”

  Galvin had been right. The sack took a while to burn, but all the cloaks and masks inside disintegrated nearly instantly.

  Galvin then took out a gemstone Morwin had never seen before. Within seconds, a pitfall formed right underneath the sack, stretching deep underground.

  All the ash fell and the hole closed up immediately after. Galvin held up the gemstone he used. “Topaz,” he said. “Comes in handy. And don’t worry, I’ll show you all the gemstones later when we’re not running for our lives.”

  After the burning and burial of their attire, Galvin ushered Morwin to a brush nearby. Having the two of them there was very dangerous, as it’d be suspicious if Lord Demarian spotted Morwin around the area of the inn. However, Galvin insisted he stayed and watched. Watched what, Morwin had no idea.

  After about three minutes, Morwin could see Lord Demarian and his legion approach the inn. He knocked down the doors and entered. The inn owner protested but Lord Demarian paid him no mind.

  One by one, the patrons of the inn filed out. The soldiers would be searching through the entire inn for any sign of Justicar. Morwin saw shadows in the windows, moving about each room and then moving on. He held his breath, waiting for the inevitable. He felt like there was something they forgot.

  The inn owner waited outside his building, fidgeting, thumbs twirling. Galvin eyed the man with a look of intense hatred, but Morwin couldn’t blame him. If he didn’t go to Lord Demarian and the soldiers showed up anyways, he would have been in big trouble. Imprisoned, or possibly executed. Morwin half-expected Galvin to leap out and slay the man.

  After half an hour of agonizing waiting, Lord Demarian emerged from the inn. Morwin saw a sinister smile creeping on the man’s face.

  “What’s he smiling at?” Morwin asked. Galvin’s face had turned pale.

  Morwin followed his eyes and found what he was staring at, and his heart skipped a beat. There, in Lord Demarian’s right hand, he held a black cloak and mask.