“Help me!” A man screamed as he ran through the cobblestone streets of Nethas.

  Five armored knights were in pursuit, following his unheeded cries deeper and deeper into the heart of the city. There could be no escape, the leader of his pursuers knew. There could be no rest for justice.

  The man turned a corner, coming to face his end. A wall rose up before him, too tall to climb. He searched frantically as the knights came upon him, but no ray of hope broke the stormy clouds above.

  “Halt!” Elaine ordered, her voice echoing through her visor.

  The man fell back against the wall, sinking down on the wet stones as fear marred his face. Elaine looked down upon him through her visor, grimacing at the pathetic sight. There would be no mercy, not in the name of justice.

  Elise, her strongest subordinate, flanked her. She could already see Elise tensing, ready to draw her sword and strike. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Now was not the time for violence.

  Elaine stepped closer, her hand resting on her sword’s silver pommel. The Grace of Astor flared from the hilt, travelling through the sigils carved inside her armor. She embraced it, drawing what confidence she could from its reassuring touch.

  “You have no place left to run.” Elaine removed her helm, glaring down upon the man with cold blue eyes. “You are coming with us.”

  “I’m innocent.” The man cowered in his grey robes, clutching at his shoulder. “I had no part in anything.”

  “You carry the night plague,” Elaine said, her voice unwavering. “We will take you into custody, for the safety of Nethas.”

  “I don’t want to go,” the man cried.

  “Take him.” Elaine ignored his plea.

  With a rough tug, the knights pulled him to his feet, dragging his limp form across the wet cobblestones and back down the street. She nodded to her subordinates, giving them permission to continue. Elaine stayed, watching as they disappeared through the wall of rain.

  It ran in waves down her braided black hair, a cooling chill rushing through her bones as the heat of the chase faded away. Her tunic clung tightly against her beneath her plate armor, soaked with sweat and rain. She shook, only then realizing that she was cold.

  She embraced the icy chill in her veins. It was a solace from the burning heat of the constant chase. She never seemed to have time to rest. Enemies were abundant in Nethas, even without the plague sapping their strength.

  Elaine grimaced, staring down the dark alleys with searching eyes. Even now, the plague spread and traitors walked the streets, their shadows crawling through the stone cracks. They swirled around her, whispering secrets to the night.

  She donned her helm again, muting the whispers with a solid buffer of steel. Only the patter of rain on steel remained. She started down the street, the fading rain following her back toward the temple.

  The sun peeked through the veil of clouds as Elaine reached the steps of the temple. Outside the speckled stone walls, adherents worked the gardens, toiling away in silence. White masks covered their faces as a sign of devotion.

  Elaine hurried past them, up the stone steps of the Temple. She pulled open the heavy oak doors and stepped inside. Bright multi-colored light filtered in through the stained glass windows, painting the pews in streaks of color.

  Priests lined the pews, meditating around the rune-covered cube that dominated the center of the room. Elaine walked in without pause, her boots clicking against the floor in defiance of the imposed silence. Heads turned to follow her.

  A crooked grin cracked her face, hidden beneath her helm.

  The man she was looking for was just ahead, standing before the black stone. His wrinkled hands ran over its surface as he mumbled softly. He was the head of the Order of Astor, one of the most powerful men in the Five Kingdoms, Nathaniel Rafret.

  She removed her helm as she came closer to him, holding it in the crook of her arm.

  “The unwilling captain,” Nathaniel said while turning, a sly smile crossing his face. “You’ve come with a report?”

  Elaine saluted to Nathaniel. He stroked his thin beard as he hobbled down the steps to her, leaning heavily on his gnarled cane. He bent forward, the weight of his age pulling him down

  “We’ve apprehended three plague victims today.” Elaine was curt, stiffening under Nathaniel’s gaze.

  “Excellent.” Nathaniel gave an empty smile as he scratched at his chest through his robes

  He motioned for her to follow, leading her past the stone and to the nave of the temple. There he found his seat, resting in a dark corner far from the ears of the others in the temple. With a feeble groan, he planted himself on a red velvet chair, reclining back with his cane in his hand.

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  “The victims of this plague spring anew from the streets every day, yet we are still no closer to finding a cure.” Nathaniel sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I only wish there was a way we could be completely rid of it.”

  “Do you have some sort of plan?” Elaine asked.

  “No, my dear,” Nathaniel said, placing his hand over his heart. “I just had a vain hope that we could end it once and for all.”

  “If only it could be that easy,” Elaine said. “Hope will not solve anything by itself.”

  “There is a simple way to solve it,” Nathaniel said. “It just isn’t a…preferable way to go about it.”

  “And how is that?” Elaine asked.

  “By stopping it at the source.” Nathaniel tapped his finger against his staff. “Those bottom scraping mages and wizards brought this plague upon us.”

  Something possessed Nathaniel, through all the years she had known him. The Order of Astor was distrustful of mages and other practitioners of magic, but he brought it to a completely new level.

  She didn’t disagree entirely.

  “We would have to find something to link them to the plague,” Elaine said, crossing her arms.

  “You haven’t studied enough magic, Elaine.” Nathaniel laughed. “Those who dabble in chaos cannot be contained with wards. Their magic grows, changes, and worms its way through the cracks in our defenses. It is not so easy to divine their spells and workings. They have the ear of the king as well.”

  Elaine stiffened at the use of her given name, but Nathaniel continued.

  “That’s the reason we formed the Order, to control these unstable dangers,” Nathaniel said. “Much has changed since the war, we were never meant to be the city watch.”

  There was disdain in his voice, the same disdain that followed her in the eyes of the priests. She was one of the many changes that the Order had accepted as the crown sent off men to the never-ending war. It was unseemly for a woman to hold this much power.

  In the end, the elders had no choice.

  “What do you want to do about it?” Elaine asked, averting her eyes.

  “There is a way.” Nathaniel smiled. “We can force these wretches from our city. It can once again be the pure capital it was.”

  “The king wouldn’t allow that,” Elaine said. “So long as they ward the walls, they will have the king’s favor.”

  “Our priests have found ways to do the same.” Nathaniel’s smile faded. “We can do that and more for our people, there’s no need for those outsiders.”

  “But, Holiness.” Elaine started to object.

  “Enough,” Nathaniel said, tapping his cane against the floor. “Go now and double the watch. I want your subordinates to bring in double the afflicted.”

  “Understood,” Elaine said, holding her right hand over her heart in salute.

  She ignored his smirk as she left, stomping out of the temple and back onto the grounds. Again, the eyes of the priests followed her out. When she reached the outside light, the storm within her settled and she left for the barracks.

  Each company of the Order had a section of the barracks all for their own, marked with a sigil. A blue wolf marked her company’s room, a symbol specifically chosen by Nathaniel for her. He thought it was funny.

  She entered the room quietly, checking quickly to make sure she was alone. She was glad that none of her company had returned to the barracks yet. She moved to her bed, sitting before she unstrapped her armor.

  Elaine removed her helm, letting the warm air of the room flow over her face. She tore at the straps of her armor at a rapid pace, loosening the straps of her gauntlets first and then working through the rest of her armor. The Grace faded from her body, robbing her of its strength.

  Only her blue tunic and brown pants remained, the cloth soaked with the sweat of the day. She felt bare without the armor, as if a part of her was missing. The captain left her with the armor, only Elaine remained.

  Elaine rose, walking to the set of polished steel plates that lined the back wall of the room. Four washbasins were set up there with buckets to supply water from the wells outside. Elaine took one of the buckets, leaning over the basin and pouring the water over her head.

  The heat of her body washed away with the cool water, flowing out in a river into the basin. However, the heat of her anger remained. It broiled within her as she continued to think of Nathaniel.

  There was only one solace for it, and she wouldn’t find it within the silence of the barracks.

  Elaine went to the oak trunk that sat at the foot of her bed, packing away her armor and sword within. She took out her only other piece of clothing. It was a simple blue dress, something that a merchant might buy for his daughter.

  It was her only real possession. She smiled as she ran her hand over it. That dulled her anger slightly.

  She changed into the dress, putting on the leather shoes she kept for when she was unarmored. Without any further waiting, she started out, leaving the barracks behind for the day and returning to the streets of Nethas.

  The clouds had cleared completely from the sky, leaving only the humid air as the sun shone down. Already, people were going back out into the streets, walking down the cobblestones and milling into a great crowd.

  They were the remnants of Nethas. They were women, children, the elderly, and the unfit. The majority of the men were on the front lines of the Moav Plains, recruited into the service of the kingdom. That left precious few to serve the city guard or the Order.

  King Leopold found the solution. He scoured the orphanages for the girls coming of age, sending them to train to guard the walls. Even the Order took note of this idea, selecting the few whom showed promise to serve Astor.

  That didn’t mean that the leaders of the Order liked the change. Necessity was the only reason. It was a way for the Order to maintain its power in harsh times and nothing more, Elaine thought bitterly.

  Yet, she continued to serve.

  Elaine melted into the crowd, joining the mass of humanity as they went about their daily tasks. This was the reason she continued, through the anger, through the doubt. She would protect the people of Nethas.

  A red ball rolled toward her feet, bouncing lightly against her and coming to a stop on the stone street. Elaine bent down, picking up the ball and holding it in her hands. She searched around, quickly finding its owner.

  A group of three ragged children stood to the side, quiet and staring at her expectantly. Elaine smiled, tossing the ball into the air once and catching it. She turned to them, twirling the ball on a finger with the careful hand of someone who played in these same streets when she was but a child.

  “Can we have our ball back, miss?” one of the children asked, wiping the dirt that streaked across his cheek with an equally dirty hand.

  “Sure,” Elaine said, bouncing the ball back, “as long as you let me play.”

  Smiles lit their faces as they started their game again. They threw the ball gently back and forth between each other, the war forgotten for just that sliver of time. They could find just that bit of happiness, even with the world caving down around them.

  That was worth fighting for.