Mikiva turned a corner and glanced quickly up and down yet another dark city street. Honestly, they were all starting to blend together at this point. They’d been searching for some time now, but no one they had spoken to had remembered seeing the person they were looking for. Perhaps that wasn’t so surprising, Jade’s appearance was rather… unremarkable. In fact, Mikiva hadn’t noticed until trying to describe her just how difficult it was to think of anything specific that distinguished her. Either way, they were making little progress. She turned to Av’ry.

  “This is ridiculous. We are never going to find anything just running down random streets.”

  “I was kind of hoping that you would have some suggestions on that front,” Av’ry replied without breaking stride. “I mean, I am sure we’re both thinking that this is the work of the Scorpions, you are the one who knows them. Do you have someone we could ask, or know a place that they would take her?”

  Mikiva paused. He was right. On their way here, she had managed to convince herself that Jade must have, for some reason, left of her own accord. There was no sign of struggle, after all. But that was a na?ve hope, wasn’t it? If she had been abducted, they needed to change tactics.

  “Yeah, ok, I have a few ideas. Let’s…” Mikiva stopped speaking abruptly.

  Following her gaze, Av’ry could see why. Wandering down the street towards the palace, in plain sight, was Jade. Shocked, it was a moment before they both gathered themselves and ran over.

  Drawing closer, Av’ry could tell that something was wrong. Much as he had deduced back in her room, Jade was wearing no socks and no outer clothing despite the chill in the air, just a light undershirt, a pair of chaps and boots on bare feet. A leather bag dangled loosely from her shoulder. Her gate was slow and shambling and her eyes were strangely unfocused. He waved and called out to her, but even though they were close, she didn’t seem to see him, nor did she respond. He reached her half a step ahead of Mikiva and put a hand on her shoulder,

  “Jade, what are you doing out here?”

  She didn’t even look at him, she kept trying to walk forward so he grabbed her other shoulder and held her firmly in place.

  “What in the Void is this, Av’ry?” Mikiva joined him.

  “I have no idea,” he replied, equally mystified.

  Waving his hand in front of her eyes, he noted with alarm that her pupils didn’t follow his fingers.

  “She seems entirely non-responsive,” he murmured.

  He shook her gently by the shoulders,

  “Jade, Jade, it’s Av’ry. Can you hear me?” he raised his voice until he was almost shouting.

  A strange, crooked smile spread across her face, though her eyes remained distant. She reached into the leather satchel on her arm and handed him something wrapped in brown paper, without saying a word. She laid a hand gently on his shoulder, then, without warning, she collapsed to the cobblestones. Kneeling next to her, Av’ry reached down to check her pulse.

  “She’s alive,” he sighed with relief.

  “What just happened?” Mikiva asked, baffled.

  “Search me,” Av’ry replied. “It almost looks like she is asleep.”

  They looked down at her, her breathing was smooth and even and her eyes were lightly closed.

  “Well, let’s wake her up, then. I need an explanation.”

  Mikiva reached out and slapped her across the face. Jade sat up with a start, a look of surprise and panic on her face. But at least her eyes were clear and focused.

  “Mikiva? Av’ry?” Jade blinked up at them. “Where…? What is going on?”

  “We were sort of hoping you could tell us, actually,” Av’ry replied, trying to sound reassuring. “You went missing from the palace a few hours ago, we have been looking for you. We found you here, wandering the streets, and you didn’t seem fully conscious.”

  “Wandering the streets?” Jade looked perplexed. She closed her eyes tightly and massaged her temples with her fingers. “Did I hit my head when I fell?”

  Av’ry took a moment to gently prod her skull, front and back,

  “No, you didn’t. And I don’t feel anything,” he said at last. “Why do you ask?”

  “My head feels like it’s been cracked in two,” she groaned. “Are you sure?”

  He pressed his fingers into her scalp again,

  “Does anything feel especially tender?” he asked.

  “No, nothing. Or everything” she cringed. She breathed deeply for a moment, mastering herself, then she opened her eyes again. “What was I doing when you found me?”

  “You were walking down this street, towards the palace. You didn’t seem to see us at first, but when I tried to stop you, you reached into that bag on your shoulder and gave me something. Then you just collapsed.”

  “What did I give you?” Jade asked the obvious question.

  With a shock, Av’ry realized he hadn’t yet looked. Turning to the object in his hand, he saw that he was holding a large rectangular object wrapped in brown paper. Carefully, he removed the wrapping and almost dropped the item in shock.

  “What is it?” Jade asked insistently.

  Unable to speak, Av’ry held up the book so the two women could see the cover.

  Mikiva’s jaw dropped for the third time that day,

  “That’s…”

  “The book. The missing book from our list,” Jade finished, obviously as shocked as any of them. “B’elitz and Bareina’s journal. How is that possible?”

  “You’re asking me? You had it!” Av’ry replied incredulously. “Where did you get this, Jade?”

  “I don’t know!” Jade shouted, almost hysterical. “I don’t know,” she repeated more calmly. “I remember talking with you, Av’ry. Then I went back to my room. I lay down and tried to sleep. I was so tired; I haven’t slept in days. I must have finally dozed off, because that is the last thing I remember. Really,” she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.

  Av’ry sighed and took off his cloak, draping it over her shoulders,

  “You must be freezing,” he said, helping her to her feet.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  She buckled the cloak around her throat.

  “Thank you. I’m sorry… I don’t understand any of this,” she sounded frustrated. And a little bit frightened.

  “You said you haven’t been sleeping and that trying to sleep is the last thing you remember, right?” Av’ry asked, thoughtfully.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, based on that, and on your behaviour when we found you, it looks like you might have been sleepwalking.”

  “Ok, that makes some sense. But that still doesn’t explain where the book came from, does it?”

  “No, but it explains why you don’t remember what you’ve been doing. Perhaps subconsciously, you found a clue to where the book was hidden, and you sought to locate it while you were asleep? Stress can provoke strange responses in people,” Av’ry offered weakly.

  That was unlikely and they all knew it, but what other explanation was there?

  “Even if that is true, how do I know for sure?” she seemed worried and Av’ry couldn’t blame her.

  “I might be able to help you with that,” he began hesitantly.

  He didn’t usually like to tell people about his… talent, but he was beginning to suspect that something was very wrong with Jade. These bizarre and incongruous events kept occurring around her and this latest sleepwalking incident was dangerous and unusual enough that he felt he no longer had any choice.

  “When we get back to the palace, there is something I can try, if you’ll let me,” he offered.

  “If I’ll let you?” Jade raised an eyebrow at his ominous phrasing.

  “It’s kind of complicated.”

  “Then can we discuss it later?” Mikiva broke in suddenly, her eyes darting to the top of the building closest to them. “I thought I saw someone moving across the rooftop just now, and I don’t know if both of you have forgotten, but Jade is still the target of assassins. We are out in the open and very exposed. We were not being especially subtle in our search, Av’ry. We could have easily drawn their attention and led them right to her. We need to find someplace safe. Preferably quickly.”

  “Don’t you think you are being a bit paranoid? No one even knows where we…” Av’ry turned back towards Mikiva, fully intending to finish his thought, but instead, she shoved him backwards, hard. The arrow that embedded itself in the crate behind him kind of made his point invalid.

  “So, leaving now, then?” he asked her.

  “It might be a little late for that, if they have archers in place,” Mikiva muttered. “Go left, that alley has some cover. Maybe we can lose them.”

  “What do you think the chances of that are?” Av’ry asked as they scrambled for the alley.

  “After they’ve already fired a shot? Very poor. Their men are all in position or they wouldn’t have made a move. They’ve been watching us for some time by now, waiting for the right moment.”

  “So, this should be fun then,” Av’ry muttered sarcastically.

  “Shut up and run,” the dark-haired spy advised curtly.

  Ducking behind some crates in the alleyway, Mikiva looked around, trying to spot their hunters.

  “Three on the roof tops that I can see,” she muttered. “Four more running up behind us. Doubtless the same number, at least, ahead of us. Scorpions favour a symmetrical flanking pattern.”

  “That many?” Av’ry asked.

  “Probably more. They failed a queen once on this commission, I doubt they are in the mood to take chances,” Mikiva replied.

  “Where to, then?” Av’ry glanced around.

  “This way!”

  They both turned to see Jade standing in the sliver of light from a door that opened out into the alley.

  “Hurry!” she urged, waving them through the door.

  With no time to waste, they quickly ducked inside. Jade slammed the bar down, locking the door behind them. Inside the dimly lit space, a panoply of odours assaulted Av’ry’s senses, none of them good. Foremost was the smell of stale beer, layered overtop of the stench of rancid cabbage, burnt food, sweat, vomit and, of course, urine. Looking around, he realized they were in the back room of a seedy tavern.

  “Why this place, Jade?” his nose wrinkled in displeasure.

  “I’m sorry, were we looking for a classier rat hole to disappear into?” she shot back. “A guy dumped a urine bucket in the alley, I grabbed the door. We could go back and hang out with Mikiva’s old friends, if you prefer.”

  “No, this is good,” he admitted.

  Something slammed into the barred door.

  “Perfect, actually,” Mikiva grinned, listening to the din of the rowdy clientele beyond the swinging door. “Follow me, we’ll mingle.”

  “Mingle?” Av’ry said incredulously. “They are going to break down that door any minute.”

  “Mingle quickly, then,” Mikiva lead the way out through the doors and into the tavern proper. “Stay close to me and keep your heads down.”

  “They will definitely spot us.”

  “Good,” Mikiva wove her way quickly and carefully into the centre of the packed and raucous crowd.

  Two men in dark cloaks entered from the front and began scanning the room carefully as three more men burst in from the back.

  “I hope you have a plan,” Av’ry hissed.

  Mikiva didn’t answer, she just kept watching their pursuers intently. After a moment, they spotted the trio and began trying to close on them through the crowd. Mikiva maneuvered the group further from them. Seeing their quarry so close, the assassins grew impatient with the crowd blocking their way and began to shove aside the patrons who impeded them. Grumbles of outrage began to percolate through the crowd. Then, just as they were drawing near, Mikiva threw a well-timed sucker punch at a random passerby and sent him reeling into the cluster of people separating them from their pursuers. The man, knowing he had been assaulted, but unsure from which direction it had come, gained his feet swinging. The other patrons, already irritated by the aggressive tactics of the Scorpions, did not take kindly to this new assault. In an instant, the mood of the room changed. People were pushing and shoving and then punches started flying and so did mugs and chairs. People wielding everything from knives to broken glass were taking swipes at anyone within reach. The Scorpions, as well trained as they were, quickly lost control of the situation. They were swallowed up by the chaos, losing sight of their targets as they battled the violent mob around them. Prepared and well-positioned for this outcome, Mikiva stayed low and ducked deftly around the brawlers, leading them to the front door and out into the night.

  “Move fast,” she instructed. “There are more out here, and they have already seen us exit. We need to lose as many of them as possible and then take out the rest. It’s the only way.”

  As she zigzagged her way through the back alleys, Mikiva attempted to explain further.

  “They will try to drive us towards ground that is familiar to them. They know the streets; they know the city. And they are assassins, not warriors, so they would prefer not to engage in a direct confrontation. If they can, they will flank us, nip at our heels, drive us into a corner and then pick us off.”

  “Like a wolf pack,” Av’ry offered.

  “Good analogy,” Mikiva approved. “The key is not to be prey and not to run away. At least not forever. We need to pick somewhere to go, somewhere we can make a stand and force a confrontation. We can’t let them control our movements or run us to exhaustion.”

  “This is your town, where do we go?” Av’ry asked.

  “We go to the place they know the least.”

  “And where exactly would that be?”

  “Not where you’d expect,” Mikiva laughed. “Assassin’s love sewers, back alleys, seedy dives, abandoned buildings. But, because of their job, they are also intimately familiar with the wealthy and the opulent. That’s where most of the targets are.”

  “Doesn’t that pretty much cover everywhere?”

  “You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But it doesn’t. If there is one place that the Scorpions rarely go, it is the middle-class areas. The people there are of little interest to them. They do not have the money or the resources to hire a Scorpion, the people are rarely influential enough to be the target of assassins, they can’t purchase the type of supplies they need there, and the area is too open and insular to make a good hiding place.”

  “They hide and restock in the slums, and they ply their trade among the socialites, but they leave the average citizen alone, eh?”

  “Exactly. Stay close, there is a neighborhood park this way. The families will have gone home by this hour, and the area is pretty open. They’ll have no place to hide and sneak up on us and no tall buildings to conceal snipers or reinforcements in. We’ll force a head-on confrontation; it’s the best we can do. I hope you know how to fight.”

  “Lead the way,” Av’ry replied grimly.

  Confrontations with packs of trained killers were not something that he looked forward to, so it was never a good thing when that was the best of his options.

  “Two targets, ahead and to the left,” Jade warned, glancing at the pursuers that had suddenly materialized from the shadows off to the side of the street.

  “They don’t like the direction we are headed in; they have been sent to herd us to the right, towards the docks,” Mikiva surmised.

  “I take it we don’t want that?” Av’ry asked.

  “Definitely not.”

  “Well, what direction do we want to go?”

  “We are going to hang a left at the next corner, if we can.”

  “Leave that part to me. Just be prepared to take the corner blind. Can you do that?” Av’ry inquired.

  “No problem.”

  “Alright, here we go then.”

  As he spoke, Av’ry reached into his leather satchel and tossed three little clay balls ahead of them onto the road, where it forked. As they shattered and broke on the hard-packed dirt, an acrid smoke billowed forth. By the time they reached the fork, the entire intersection had been swallowed up in an impenetrable cloud. Without hesitation, Mikiva lead them into it, and the two Scorpions sprinted in after them, still trying to intercept. But they were instantly lost in the smoke, and as the trio slipped out to the left, staying close to the building to avoid being seen, the others ran straight through, overshooting the turn and losing sight of them.

  “Nicely done,” Mikiva gasped, sucking in a lungful of fresh air. “Now, don’t look back, just follow me.”

  Nobody argued, they needed to save their breath for running, anyway.