Of course, it was Daniel who came to the rescue and saved Orrin from becoming the first to die outside the Outer Wall. As Orrin’s thoughts jumbled into a half dozen plans that would inevitably end with him flattened against the hardpacked dirt below, Daniel leapt toward his falling friend, reaching out his hand. Orrin just made out multiple bodies tackling Dale, which stopped the wind magic’s intensity. It was too late, though. Daniel’s hand was out of his reach.

  Orrin didn’t notice that his descent had slowed. His eyes were wide as he stared at Daniel’s face, covered with sweat, as he slowly bounced up and down in midair.

  “Push air behind you, idiot,” Daniel growled through clenched teeth. Vessels in his right eye burst. “Hurry.”

  Orrin jerked and pointed his left hand down, pushing mana into a cast of [Gust] as he bobbed again. The spell rocketed his body forward into Daniel’s arms. Orrin wrapped his arms around his friend as he pulled him back on the wall.

  “Thanks,” Orrin said, breathing heavily. He quickly dropped his arms from around Daniel and watched his friend dry heave, his hands on his knees. “How did you do that?”

  “[Gravity Well],” Daniel got out before he spat bile on the ground. “I figured if it can pull monsters toward me, it might stop your dumb ass from falling to your death.”

  Daniel grinned up at Orrin and the worry melted away. Daniel used his skill to pull the attention of nearby enemies his way. The added effect of physically dragging monsters toward him was a gentle tug for a second but Daniel had held him there over fifty feet of unimpeded air for much longer. The stress of the skill started hurting him.

  Orrin cast a [Heal Small Wounds] on his friend, ignoring the scuffling of the man who’d tried to kill him nearby. He trusted Leanthun and the other elves had it under control.

  “Don’t waste your mana,” Daniel grunted as he stretched and rolled his neck. “I’m not hurt, I bottomed out my stamina. Don’t try flying again, please.”

  “It’s not like I did it on purpose,” Orrin complained. “He attacked me.”

  “Why?” Daniel asked. He was winded like he’d run for an hour.

  That spell is dangerous, Orrin thought.

  “I have the same question,” Leanthun appeared behind Orrin, making him jump. “Easy, Orrin. No more heroics from you this morning.”

  “Sir, he’s resisting still,” one of the elves shouted. “Permission to knock him out?”

  “No,” Daniel answered before Leanthun could give the order. “I want to talk with him.”

  Orrin took a step but Daniel put an arm out and stayed in front of him. “I’ll do the talking this time.”

  Dale’s fear was palpable as they approached. The dirt tracked on the walkway of the Outer Wall stuck to his face where he’d been shoved to the ground. Blood leaked from a wound under his hair, matting it all into a dark tangle. Orrin checked him over with [Identify] but overall, the elves had been gentle.

  I could have died. The shock wore off and the fear hit him. Orrin cast [Calm Mind] on himself, staving off the trauma for later.

  “Who sent you?” Daniel crouched and grabbed Dale’s head, pulling it back so he had to look Daniel in the eyes. “Why did you try to kill Orrin?”

  Dale’s eyes moved frantically in any direction but toward the [Hero]. “I—I told him. Lord Cat… Catanzano wanted to see him but he attacked me.”

  Daniel raised an eyebrow at Orrin. “How’s his health?”

  “He’s mostly fine, why?” Orrin asked before stepping back in surprise.

  Daniel smashed Dale’s face into the stone twice. He calmly brushed some leaves from the man’s mouth and shook the blood from his fingers. “I’m not going to ask again. The next lie earns you a jump off the edge.”

  Orrin clenched his fists until his knuckles popped. He hated this. A few months ago, Daniel would have never done anything like this. A few months ago, Orrin would have tried to stop him.

  Now, he kept an eye on the man’s health and waited to see if healing would be needed or not.

  “Please, please just come back with me. I’m dead if you don’t,” Dale cried around his broken nose.

  Daniel shook his head and stood up. Dale let out a sigh of relief that turned into a strangled yell as Daniel grabbed his collar and walked toward the edge of the wall. “I warned you.”

  “No. No, wait,” Dale tried to pry Daniel’s hand off his shirt but Daniel’s strength was buffed beyond what anyone could gain naturally in Asmea. “I’ll talk. Promise you’ll protect me. I don’t want to die.”

  Daniel casually threw Dale against the battlement and drew Gertrude. “A name or you go over the edge in pieces.”

  “I didn’t get a name but they work for the Hospital. Two Teachers, I think. They wanted Orrin. I had to get him to them or else they’ll blacklist me from any healing. One of them said I’d be better off dead than running. I swear that’s all I know,” Dale whined as he shrunk against the stone. Beaten and broken.

  Orrin knelt beside him and started healing his wounds. “Where did they want me?”

  Orrin felt the stillness of his [Calm Mind] spell fade as anger built inside.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Are you sure we have time for this?” Leanthun whispered from under Orrin’s [Camouflage Ward]. “The Horde could arrive any minute.”

  “If members of the Hospital are operating in open sedition of the rulers of Dey, we must immediately rote out the snakes at our back,” Madi answered in a near-perfect copy of her father’s voice. “Dale, you will point these two Teachers out and if you try to give us away, you better hope the demons kill us all or I will find you and make you regret it.”

  Dale shivered next to the twenty members of the guard and Daniel, who kept a close eye on the man. “I gave my promise to your father. I had no power to reject their request. How was I supposed to know it wasn’t an official order?”

  Orrin ignored the man. He’d listened to his story again when they’d brought Dale to Lord Catanzano’s manor. Orrin used [Teleport] to bring Daniel and Leanthun with them. He’d hoped to drop Dale into Silas’s lap and make him deal with it but the politics of the ruling class of Dey and the Hospital left much to be desired.

  Madi’s intervention was all that had kept Daniel from throwing the man and his wheelchair out a window. An accusation by a single [Locationist] was hardly viable proof of an attempted kidnapping. A full retinue of guards, the [Hero], and the daughter of a lord of Dey witnessing the attempt would give Silas the political capital he needed to force the Hospital to help more with the demon Horde.

  Or so they hoped.

  “I don’t like this,” Daniel said for the tenth time. “You don’t have to walk out there with him. He can say he failed and we can move in.”

  “That’s not going to work,” Orrin whispered, putting his finger to his lips in silent rebuke at Daniel’s loud voice. “We don’t know what they want me for. Silas needs evidence of wrongdoing. Dale attacked me in panic, not in an attempt to kill me. We need more.”

  Orrin wasn’t happy about playing bait yet again but he had more tricks up his sleeve this time. Literally. He carried two of his new spell orbs that reduced a target’s dexterity when hit. Nobody would run away. His practice in Battle Class at the Sanerris School improved his reflexes and use of [Gust] to move around. [Way of the Water] kept him agile and hard to hit. His own buffs to his dexterity and strength made him quicker and stronger than almost anyone in the city.

  In short, Orrin was ready to kick ass.

  “I still don’t like it.” Daniel’s hand reached over to touch his sword’s bone handle, checking it was ready to draw. “I trust you, though. Be careful and remember the signal.”

  “The signal that is literally me running away?” Orrin deadpanned. “How ever will I remember that?”

  The plan was simple enough. Guards and his friends surrounded the coordinates where Dale had been ordered to bring Orrin. Orrin and Dale would [Teleport] a few feet in and set off whatever trap was set. The cavalry, namely Daniel, would then rush in.

  Orrin pulled up his [Map] and let out a sigh of relief.

  “What?” Daniel turned at the sound.

  “No traps. I just had the thought, what if they set something up to explode and kill me.”

  “Damn it, Orrin. Stop coming up with terrible ideas.”

  Madi chuckled. “That’s kind of his thing.”

  “Be quiet, all of you,” Leanthun whispered. “We are in place.”

  Besides the guards, Leanthun had his best scouts hidden on the roofs around them. Orrin trusted the elves more than the guards. His eyes hurt as he glanced at Daniel and Madi’s blurry shapes through his spell. I trust them more.

  “Let’s go, Dale. Just hand me over and get back to the Catanzano manor. You’ll be protected,” Orrin said, trying to calm the man. He’d already tried his spells but Dale was too used to having his ability to teleport away from danger. Walking headfirst into it went against every fiber in his body. Orrin was surprised the man was still there. “Do you need me to [Teleport] us in?”

  “I can do it,” Dale said, reaching up to touch the healed wound on his head. “I’ll do what I can to apologize for almost killing you.”

  Daniel growled. Madi shushed him. Dale and Orrin disappeared and popped into existence fifty yards away.

  “Hello? Anyone here?” Orrin spoke loudly. “Dale, I thought you said Lord Catanzano wanted to talk with me?”

  “Thi-this is where I wa-was told to bring yo-you,” Dale stuttered.

  His acting is worse than Daniel’s. I’m not seeing anyone new on my [Map] yet. I think every one of these dots is someone from our group. Oh, there we are.

  Orrin turned toward the new dot on his screen and waved. “Hi, who are you?”

  The man stepping out of a nearby building stopped in the doorway for a moment before continuing his quick gait toward Dale and Orrin. He was wearing a dark cloak but Orrin saw the white robes of the Hospital underneath.

  “I’ve brought the kid as requested, so I’ll be leaving,” Dale said when the man was about twenty feet away. He was supposed to [Teleport] away and get out of the danger zone.

  Dale scrambled backward and cursed. “Not again.”

  He turned and ran.

  “Not a very bright man,” the approaching figure commented. “He should know better than to run.”

  Orrin sighed dramatically. “Is this the part where you threaten me? I’m getting very good at being threatened, you know. You’re not Silas. Who are you?”

  The man pulled back his hood revealing brown hair tied in a bun. He smiled. “You know who I am?”

  “Should I?” Orrin asked honestly. “I haven’t dealt with the Hospital much, so sorry if that offends you.”

  The man laughed, a quick sharp sound like the last breath of a dying man. “I am Principal Viccio. You may call me Logan.”

  Orrin said nothing.

  “You truly do not know me?” A hint of annoyance tinged his voice.

  “No, dude. I truly don’t,” Orrin answered in his most obnoxious voice. “If you wanted to speak to me, you didn’t need to trick me. I’m pretty easy to find.”

  Principal Viccio sneered. “You are protected by Silas Catanzano and impossible to approach. A [Healer] who is not a [Healer]. A member of the [Hero]’s party. A friend to the heretic who upends our work in the city. If this was not so urgent, I would tell you of the hundred ways we’ve tried to contact you and been ignored. But time is short. What do you know of the negotiations between the Lords of Dey and our great organization?”

  Orrin didn’t let his guard down but was happy that Viccio didn’t attack outright. “The Hospital wants a healing monopoly and is using the demon Horde to negotiate in bad faith. I’m not part of those talks. Bring it up with Silas.”

  Viccio kept his distance, both hands in his sleeves. “Na?ve boy. We need [Healers] who are schooled in the way the body works. If we allow anyone to—”

  “I’m going to stop you before you get all worked up,” Orrin cut him off. “I don’t give a single shit what the Hospital wants. Why did you trick me into coming here? You know the Horde is almost at the Pass, right?”

  The man waved a hand in obvious dismissal. “I don’t care about the Horde. We have a [Hero] on our side. They always turn back the [Demon Lord]. I’m worried about these new magics you’ve introduced. Do you have any idea what is going on within our ranks? The chaos you are spreading throughout our young recruits?”

  The turn in conversation confused him. “What? What do my buffs have to do with the Hospital?”

  Viccio laughed. “This is the problem. You don’t even know. The schism already runs deep and you’ve set a charge between the members that will soon explode.”

  “What. Are. You. Talking. About?” Orrin said slowly, enunciating each word.

  “You bring doubt into our believers’ hearts. If Silas lets [Healers] run wild from our control and you create the means for them to do so, it will end with a crusade. Please. You must—”

  Viccio gagged when the first arrow hit his throat. He clawed at his neck, mana flashing to close the wound but more sprouted from his back.

  Orrin stepped back, looking around. Those were not elven arrows. He’d paid too much attention to the man and not enough to his [Map]. Ten red dots filled his view.

  White robes swirled around corners, as more arrows and magic rained down on the square but Orrin was not the target. They were attacking each other.

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