I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping merrily out my window.

  Groggily, I sat up and looked around the room. It took me a second to remember where I was.

  ‘Right, I got a new house. Man, yesterday was so chaotic that I just fell asleep on the floor due to exhaustion. That never happened to me before, not even in the army.’

  I stood up, wobbling a little on my feet as I tried to catch my bearings.

  ‘My legs feel like jelly. That workout yesterday was really tough.’

  I slowly worked through my morning routine, that being showering (this house had a shower, something the army did not) and changing clothes.

  After eating a small breakfast (consisting of some eggs and a strip of meat that I had found in the cold box) I went outside to enjoy the feeling of the morning sun against my skin.

  ‘This feels good. Far better than the damp and cold feeling that I felt in the underground headquarters. Though, one thing that was good there was that the air wasn’t stale. I wonder how they managed to freshen it while being so deep underground? Maybe Elias did it, he is a wind mage after all. Oh, that reminds me, Pallock told me to return to the Red House today and meet Cedrick there. I wonder if he’s going to show me how to enter the base on my own?’

  With a destination in mind, I navigated my way through the slums and found the gothic-styled building once more.

  ‘It’s honestly pretty surprising how hard it was to find this thing again. Not only is it huge, towering over the small flat-roofed buildings around it, but it also has a very distinct look. And I’ve been here before. Is it because of illusion magic? I wouldn’t disregard the chance.’

  I walked up to the front door and tapped on it twice. After waiting for about a minute, I tapped again.

  ‘Huh. No answer. Honestly, this is sort of giving me a bit of Deja Vu concerning the first time I came here.’

  After knocking one more time for good measure, I sat down at the doorstep and pondered my choices.

  ‘I could return home. Maybe try again tomorrow. Pallock did say that Cedrick would be here today, and he doesn’t strike me as a lying man. Perhaps Cedrick just forgot? Or is something else going on? I can’t know, since I can’t enter the house. Or maybe, I can?’

  I fished through the left pocket of my pants and retrieved my house key.

  ‘Would this work? No way, right?’

  I stood up and faced the door, and then carefully inserted the key and turned it in the socket. I heard a light click.

  ‘It worked. So that's how everyone has a way to enter the Red House. We all have the same key.’

  After entering and closing the door behind me, I walked through the house until I found the kitchen.

  ‘So, how do I get into the headquarters? From what I remember, Pallock was sitting at the kitchen table when he last brought me here, so maybe there is some sort of button on it somewhere?’

  I scoured the table, looking for any inconsistencies. After two minutes of searching, I finally found it.

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  It was a little black button hiding on the underside of the table, right in reach of where Pallock had been sitting before.

  I smiled lightly.

  ‘Found you.’

  I pressed the button, and the world fell from underneath me. Instinctively, I closed my eyes in surprise.

  I felt the rush of wind, and a gust of warmth, and then everything was still.

  I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in the room with the door that led to the headquarters.

  I walked up to the door and opened it, peeking at what lay beyond.

  The headquarters was exactly the way it was before, with one exception. There were tens of people wearing the black uniform of the rebellion running around and conversing, and I even spotted a few with weapons strapped to their waists.

  I stepped through the door and stopped one of them in their path.

  “Uh, I just got here, and I’m wondering what’s going on. Did something happen?”

  He scrutinized me and sighed.

  “You’re the new recruit, right? There has been a change of plans, and we are committing to plan Arc early. Someone was murdered within the base.”

  “What? Plan Arc? Someone was murdered? What does all that mean?”

  “Go ask the leader, I have to get my gear ready.”

  I watched him as he ran off behind a tower and disappeared.

  ‘What is going on?’

  ————

  “Alric, I’m sorry for the sudden commotion. Everyone is just uptight after the recent attack.”

  I was sitting in front of Darian Dusk, in his office in the main tower.

  “You see, last night, tragedy struck. An unknown assailant murdered Bethan, one of our earliest members, in cold blood, right next to the training grounds.”

  I sat silently, not knowing what to say.

  “Due to that, we are hastening our plans. Originally, we were going to execute plan Arc in two months, but due to this incident, we are going to do it today.”

  “And, what exactly is plan Arc?”

  He smiled.

  “We are going to destroy the central research institute of the empire, and steal all of their secrets for ourselves.”

  ————

  “Why am I participating in this operation again?”

  Pallock gave me a winning smile.

  “First hand experience of course! You can’t miss out on your first chance of fighting the empire! For all we know, risking your life is what will unblock your meridians.”

  ‘I don’t think that’s how meridians work.’

  We were inside the armory tower, one of the shorter towers within headquarters, and the place where all of the equipment of the rebels was held.

  “And why couldn’t I just stay back and defend the headquarters? I would rather not attack the empire with my full might being my candle spell.”

  “Defend the headquarters? Don’t kid me now, Vayne. There is no need to defend the headquarters, no one knows where it is other than us.”

  “But wasn’t there an attack just last night? Doesn’t that mean there is an intruder here, or a spy?”

  “Maybe. But that’s why you aren’t defending the main base, it’s too dangerous! The leader is staying, so you do not need to worry.”

  ‘I have a feeling that attacking the main research institute of the empire is far more dangerous than staying put in the headquarters of the rebellion.’

  I frowned slightly at the thought.

  “Come on, don’t be so nervous, this operation will succeed,” Pallock said while patting my shoulder.

  I turned to look him in the eye.

  “Where is Cedrick?”

  ————

  I sat in my office and stared at the message that lay on my desk.

  ‘I bet that Alric kid will not be happy that he is going on the attack. But he will survive, since everyone will be there with him, to protect him. Hopefully this will also help us with unleashing his true potential.’

  I leaned back in my chair and cast a small water spell, twirling it around my head.

  ‘Honestly, this whole “plan Arc” is just a diversion. It’s the only way I’m able to evacuate everyone from headquarters without complaint. After all, this is the largest operation we have done in twenty years. Even Elias is a little excited about it. Only I will remain here. Judging by the fact that there was an intruder last night, and he was found out, they are going to attack the base today in an attempt to get rid of us all before we can prepare. I’m guessing that the empire found out about headquarters somehow, and were planning an attack, with that first intruder being a scout. But how did they find us? There are no spies among us, Pallock made sure of that with his magic. And another worrying thing is Cedrick. He disappeared from headquarters just last night, at the same time as the murder. He can’t be a spy, but he probably knows something. Something way bigger than I could possibly imagine.’

  I looked down at the message that Bethan had been carrying last night, the message that Cedrick had written.

  It was a black disk, with red glowing letters etched into its surface. They said:

  “All is not as it seems. The fire is coming.”