"Ser Edwin!" James raised the practice blade to a ready stance, his voice cracking with panic.

  Ser Edwin burst from the house with a hooded lantern in hand. The light shone brightly across the small yard. The figure walked a few more steps towards the light, raising their arm to shield their eyes from it. Red hair caught the light from under the hood as the figure collapsed.

  "Max!" James yelled, tossing the blade to the side and running to his friend. "Max, what happened? Max."

  Ser Edwin was there a heartbeat after James, his strong arms scooping the broken boy's body in a fluid motion. James couldn't tell the look in Ser Edwin's eyes, but something was there; was it doubt? The older man only paused for a moment before taking the boy towards the house. Blood streamed down his thick arms.

  "James, fetch Miss Silvia. Better hurry—your friend is in rough shape." James lingered, his feet not wanting to move.

  I did this. I caused this. It was the Master. He couldn't hurt me, so he hurt Max.

  "Boy! Now. Hesitation spells death. We have moments to save your friend's life— move!" Ser Edwin's eyes were furious, a look James had rarely seen. He moved his feet, no longer frozen in place, running before his brain could catch up.

  The road was dark, the only light of a crescent moon barely piercing the canopy of trees. James's mind whirled as his body ran. Dust chased after him like gnats to a corpse.

  I did this. I hurt Max, and I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have been so happy.

  "James, what are you doing here, dearie?" Miss Silvia's voice cut through the panicked thoughts. Her frame outlined in the doorway, Whiskers circling her feet, the cat's tail twitching back and forth. The scent of herbs was of little comfort to the knot in his belly.

  "Max is hurt. I think I got him killed." The tears streamed down his face for the second time that day. His voice cracked on every word. "He showed up, he's all bloody, and his fingers…"

  "Take me to him." Was all Miss Silvia said, grabbing her bag for the second time in the same number of days.

  The frantic walk back was a blur. James pulled at all his willpower to stop the tears, to hold the thoughts at bay, until Max was safe.

  He's tough, been in scrapes before, he can pull through.

  The door was left open, the firelight casting Ser Edwin's shadow larger than life in its frantic movements.

  Miss Silvia stopped at the open door as James pushed into the house, rushing past her. A look of confusion crossed his face.

  "I must be invited in." She said with a slight nod of her head.

  "Get in here, you old crone!" The bark was more order than an invitation. Silvia slowly brought her foot across the threshold, then pushed James out of the way. Rushing towards the kitchen.

  Ser Edwin had pushed the small table and stools to the side. He had laid Max down in front of the fire. Blood covered the boy's clothes. One eye was black and swollen to the size of an orange. Dried blood ran down his cheek from his hairline and covered most of his face. One of his arms bent the wrong way above the wrist, and at least every finger James could see was clearly broken.

  "Can you fix him so soon after patching up James from the fall?" Ser Edwin's voice was flat. There was a controlled evenness to it. Ser Edwin's gaze did not waver from Max's face.

  "I can fix the hand, the head wound. The arm will have to heal on its own, as well as the bruised ribs and other spots." Silvia had knelt next to Max, her hand lightly on his head. "I won't be in any state to get home, though."

  "You can sleep in my bed. I have a feeling I won't need it tonight." The evenness was cold, detached. The spark James had seen growing in Ser Edwin's gaze was gone. Silvia put her free hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly. They met eyes briefly, and James felt that some unspoken conversation was happening between them. Ser Edwin's shoulders sagged then like air let out of a festival balloon. "You're right. I'm needed here. We will let you work."

  Miss Silvia removed several small objects from her bag, a candle, a smooth stone, and a bundle of herbs. Slowly, she began setting them up around Max in a pattern while drawing a circle of complex lines. James felt the shove more than saw it. Edwin had positioned himself between James and Max. His bulky frame blocked the other boy from James's view.

  "Upstairs now." Ser Edwin crossed his arms, clearly not moving, no matter how James tried to peek around him. The slap was so quick and hard it nearly sent James to the floor, his face stinging from the force. "Now. This is not something boys should see."

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  James thought about trying his luck again as the light in the room began to dance and flicker. But Edwin's raised hand said clearly he would not like the results. James slowly backed up to the ladder and climbed to his room. As he climbed, he saw something his mind would replay over and over until the blackness of exhaustion finally claimed him.

  Miss Silvia's face was all wrong over Ser Edwin's shoulder; the skin had been grey and pulled tight against her face, and her raven hair was colorless and brittle. She had seemed in pain, her head tossed back and mouth open wide in a silent scream.

  The following day, he came awake to the events of last night springing to life in his mind. James all but fell down the ladder to the sound of laughter and clanking of plates. Ser Edwin and Miss Silvia sat over the small table, bowls of oats forgotten and smiles on their faces.

  "You know you are supposed to climb down the ladder," Miss Silvia said, taking a drink from a small glass cup. The color had returned to her face, and her hair was thick and dark once more, but James swore there were more lines around her eyes and the corners of her mouth. "You are staring, James. Some women might find that rude."

  "Give it a rest, Sil. He must be nervous for his friend. Come eat before the oats get cold." Ser Edwin scooted his stool a bit closer to Miss Silvia, leaving enough room for another stool at the table.

  "Max is fine. He's sleeping it off in the forge. I didn't have another bed here, so I put him in my hammock. Here, take a bowl to him." Ser Edwin pointed to two bowls on the table.

  James bolted from the room, a bowl of oats in each hand and laughter chasing after him. Sure enough, Max sat on the hammock, slung neatly in a corner. Despite the fire not being lit, the forge was still relatively warm. Slowly, his feet grew heavy, and his gaze plummeted to the floor.

  "Heya, Max. I, uh, got breakfast." James held out the bowl to his friend. Max tried to reach for it with his broken arm, but it was bound against his chest. Clumsily, Max took the bowl with his left hand.

  "Thanks," was all Max could muster, awkwardly trying to hold the bowl and eat with his left hand. "Sorry I scared ya last night."

  "What, I wasn't scared. I, I, I wasn't scared." James said, pushing down the guilt he felt.

  "Ha, ya were totally scared. Ser Edwin, help!" Max pitched his voice high and raised his free arm, nearly spilling the oats off his lap.

  "I was not." James sat down on the hammock next to his friend. "What even happened, Max?"

  "Eh, be honest, I ain't remember much. The older boys, da ones about to graduate, They say the Master wanted to see me, ya. So I followed them down into the basement. Next thing I knew, there was a bag on me head, and one of them said that Master was disappointed in me and that they were to make sure I understood. Proper like. Then it's all kinda a blur. I think they were kicking me and hitting on me with something hard, ya. Next thing I know, I'm walking the road here. I can't tell ya why I knew to come here; I just did."

  Max scratched at his head, the bowl of oats finally falling to the ground. Both boys just looked at it, horrified, then started laughing.

  "Guess a part of you knew you'd be safe here," James said, wiping tears from his eyes.

  "Guess so. I think part of me knew ya always had my back." Max elbowed James, causing the hammock to rock and James's bowl to fall to the ground next to Max's, and another round of laughter. "Guess we betta clean this up."

  "Probably. I don't think Ser Edwin would want rats in the forge." James said, hearing a commotion outside the forge. Both boys jumped up and made their way to the closest set of forge doors, the spilled oats left behind, forgotten.

  "You are allowed one apprentice, Ser Edwin. Per our deal, you got James. Max will return with me to the school, where he can complete his training and join the Imperium like the rest of the teens. It is his duty."

  The Master stood nearly toe to toe with Ser Edwin, his sky-blue coat flapping in the morning breeze. The Master, a head shorter than Ser Edwin, jabbed the larger man's chest with his finger, emphasizing each word.

  "The Imperium demands sacrifice, and it is our honor to provide it."

  "If you don't take a step back and stop poking me, I'll break that finger, sir." Ser Edwin pulled himself up to his full height, his thick arms held tight against the sides of his body. The look he gave the Master was what James's teachers had called the killing gaze. A single determined look of detached emotion. Miss Silvia pushed her way between the two men. "This won't be like last time."

  "Now, we cannot be breaking agreements, gentlemen; it would be unwise for us to do so." Miss Silvia turned, putting her back to Ser Edwin and fully facing the Master. "I would like to take Max as my apprentice. The boy has shown promise the last two days…"

  "Shut your mouth, witch! I will not hear a word you have to say." The Master tried to push Miss Silvia out of the way.

  Smack.

  The sound was like thunder. James had thought the slap on him had been hard, but this left no doubt that Ser Edwin had held back. But the Master's head had barely moved, and when Ser Edwin pulled back his hand, a large red patch was visible even from where the boys hid.

  "That was unwise, blacksmith. Fine, keep the boy, consort with the witch. I will deal with you both later." With that, the Master turned with a flourish of his coat and stormed back up the road.

  Nobody moved for a long moment. Ser Edwin's hand was still held out before him, and he looked at it as though he had never seen it before.

  Miss Silvia hugged him. It was only for a moment before she pulled back and straightened her clothes.

  Ser Edwin moved then, slowly lowering his arm the rest of the way and resting a hand on her shoulder.

  "Come on out, boys," he said, rhythm returning to his voice and the spark returning to his eyes. James and Max slowly made their way to the adults, their feet shuffling along the ground.

  "I hope I don't get ya in trouble, Ser Edwin." Max's eyes were firmly searching Ser Edwin's boots for something.

  "I can go back to the Master, Ser Edwin. I don't want him to hurt the other kids." James heard the pleading in his voice, even though he tried to hide it. "It's been a dream being here with you, but I can't…"

  "None of that. Get the fire going, we got work to do. I'm going to walk Miss Silvia back to her place. By the time I get back, I want that fire to be roaring and the metal to be heating up. Do it right, or I'll take it out on you at sword work this afternoon." The gruffness was back, and his tone left no words for argument as he and Miss Silvia walked away.

  "Watcha know about starting the forge?" Max asked.

  "Nothing. But I think we better figure it out."