《Ascended》


 Book 1 Bokor - Chapter 1

    <h2>Chapter 1</h2>


    I could taste the fear in the air.


    It was bitter. Like the shell of a pecan.


    I wiped my nose with the back of my glove. The brisk winter air wasn¡¯t helping to calm anyone¡¯s nerves either. The warm smell of urine told me that someone had succumbed to fear. It wasn¡¯t unexpected, we were about to enter a zombie nest after all.


    This wasn¡¯t my first time out hunting, I was apprenticed to Master Bran, one of the most respected Bokor in the Kingdom. By my master¡¯s side, I had helped dispatch dozens of zombies, and their more sentient cousins, the Touched. Zombies were mindless savages, reanimated by the Touched plague, they roamed the barren lands outside the city walls looking for any hint of magic that they could devour. To the untrained person, they were terrifying. To a hunter, they were only a problem in large numbers.


    The Touched were a different story. Unlike their zombie brethren, the Touched still had their wits. Worse, the plague, buried deep within them, that would turn them into zombies once they died, gave them access to magic while they were alive. I had only met a few of them in my sixteen years of life, and they were not something that I would like to meet without my master.


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    One of the townsfolk stirred nearby. My master had to forbid them from coming, but they had insisted. At best a few of them were going to get infected, the lucky ones would get killed outright.


    Any of the citizens who got infected would become one of the Touched. My master couldn¡¯t leave anyone alive that would begin infecting others. The hunters were sworn to destroy the Touched plague and reclaim land outside the walls for normal humans. As one of the few groups that were trained to fight the blight, it was our job to protect the rest of the humans.


    We were just outside of their city. A few days ago, zombies had broken through the outer wall and killed a few guards. It wouldn¡¯t have been too devastating, but the mayor had insisted it was urgent. Urgent meant more money, which the hunters would never turn down.


    The zombies had fled the field as soon as we arrived. That meant there was a Touched nearby, one strong enough to direct the zombies to get away from danger.


    The nest was in a cave about a mile away from the outer wall. It had been easy to find. Zombies had destroyed everything living outside of the city walls. It didn¡¯t take long to find a cave that had seen recent traffic. It also hadn¡¯t been difficult for some glory seekers from the city to follow us, which is how we had come to this situation.


    ¡°Boy!¡± Master Bran¡¯s stern voice rode the silence, leaving it undisturbed.


    I nodded. There was no need for me to answer. We were about to start hunting.

 Chapter 2

    A man ran towards the cave.


    That was all it took to alert the zombies that we had arrived. The revolting scent of ammonia trailed behind the man. He was probably trying to make up for his fear with a show of courage. All he was going to do was get people killed.


    Five zombies burst out of the mouth of the cave. Their bloodshot eyes were fixed on the doomed man. He froze in their path, consumed by the stampede of claws and hunger.


    Master Bran shrugged off his cloak. The purple scars on his arms burned bright as he unsheathed his sword. None of the zombies paid any attention to him as he walked over to them. The purple blade of his sword cut through the neck of the closest zombie without making a sound.


    ¡°NO!¡± the wail shrieked out of the mouth of the cave, ¡°NOT MY BABIES!¡±


    The hair on the back of my neck tried to run away. The other people weren¡¯t attached to my skin. They left their weapons on the ground as they ran as fast as their legs could carry them.


    My hand shook as I pulled out my sword. The blade wasn¡¯t purple like my master¡¯s sword. Mine was normal steel, with only a heartstone in the hilt.


    The Touched mother crawled out of the cave. Black scars crisscrossed her skin, marring it almost beyond recognition.


    ¡°GET AWAY FROM THEM!¡± she screamed


    ¡°Finish them.¡± Master Bran ordered.


    I scurried over to the four remaining zombies. They ignored me as they dug into their meal. I held my breath as I decapitated the closest one. I had made the mistake of breathing around a zombie once before. The stench of rot still haunted my nostrils.


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    ¡°STOP!¡± She yelled


    That got their attention.


    The other three zombies stopped eating and turned toward me. Their red eyes brimmed with excitement, their old meal already forgotten.


    I heard the Touched mother move toward me, but I ignored her. My master would deal with her. Right now, I had to worry about three zombies.


    The first one impaled itself on my sword. I had been expecting that, the thing about zombies was that they were predictable. They used brute force and attacked in a straight line.


    I dropped my sword and stepped to my left. The zombie kept running forward, its claws slashing at empty air.


    The other two zombies were on me. Without a weapon, I needed to stay as far away from them as I could. I danced out of their arms and made my way toward the pile of weapons that the cowards had left.


    I was halfway to the stash when the impaled zombie righted itself and charged. I ducked under its arms and kicked it into one of its companions as it ran past me a second time. My sword impaled the second zombie, linking the pair in a strange hug.


    With only one zombie able to chase me, I ran straight for the weapons.


    In a straight line, zombies could build up a lot of speed. Without the marks, I¡¯d never be able to outrun one, but that wasn¡¯t my plan. Unlike humans, zombies had a problem with stopping.


    I stopped just before the discarded weapons and dropped to my knees. For added insurance, I covered my head with my arms. It took more than a single scratch to infect someone, but I had gone through detox once before. It wasn¡¯t something I wanted to go through again.


    The zombie tried to slow down, but it was going too fast. One of its knees caught my shoulder as it flipped over me.


    I ignored the pain in my bruised shoulder as I grabbed the closest weapon. The blade of the shovel bit into the zombie¡¯s neck. It wiggled as it tried to stand up.


    I jumped on the head of the shovel, putting an end to the creature¡¯s thrashing. A quick kick knocked the head away. I¡¯d seen lots of zombies, but their eyes still sent chills down my spine.


    I bounced the shovel off of my good shoulder as I turned to the pair of stuck zombies. It was time to finish my job.

 Chapter 3

    Master Bran finished before I did.


    The scythe in the pile was quite sharp and took both zombies'' necks in one swing. I retrieved my sword and fell in step behind my master. We still had to clear the cave.


    My master snapped his fingers and a spark of flame covered his fingers. It wasn¡¯t the best light but could be used as a fireball in case a zombie was in hiding.


    The cave wasn¡¯t as deep as some that we had cleared out in the past. I had been inside one cave that could¡¯ve held the entire city we had just come from. Most of the Bokor had been with us during that clearing. Rumor had it that a rogue Bokor had tried creating a zombie army. I hadn¡¯t seen a rogue Bokor, but there had been a lot of zombies.


    ¡°Boy.¡±


    I pushed the memory out of my mind. Even by my master¡¯s side, it was dangerous to be distracted in a zombie nest.


    There wasn¡¯t much in the nest. The bodies of two guards, a sleeping pallet for the Touched mother, and a moaning person under a blanket were all that there was.


    Master Bran extinguished the flames in his right hand. He grabbed the corner of the blanket and pulled it back.


    The person looked almost dead. A mild case of being infected would just cause flu symptoms. A full-blown case was something that few people recovered from. Those who died came back as zombies, and those who lived were either Touched and cursed to feed off of magic for the rest of their lives or Bokor and drafted to become hunters.


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    This woman didn¡¯t look like she was going to make it. Fear screamed out of tired eyes. She knew she was dead and was afraid of what she was going to become.


    ¡°Master?¡± I asked.


    He held up his hand and kicked at the sleeping palate. Once he was certain there was nothing else in the cave, he knelt down next to the woman.


    My master pointed at the black streaks on her neck, ¡°She¡¯s transitioning.¡±


    I sucked in a deep breath and choked on it. Zombie stench was thick in the air.


    My master pulled out his sword. The blade glowed soft purple as he slid it through her heart.


    Relief replaced fear as she closed her eyes for the last time.


    He used the bottom of her dress to wipe the blood off of his blade. He sheathed it without a word.


    My master stood up and walked to the mouth of the cave, ¡°Take care of it.¡±


    I nodded. I knew what I had to do next, but was confused.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± He replied, but didn¡¯t turn around.


    ¡°Why did you kill her? I stared at my master¡¯s back, ¡°Wasn¡¯t she making the transition.¡±


    ¡°She was becoming Touched.¡± The answer was firm, ¡°She would have lived for a few years, but eventually, she would¡¯ve gone crazy.¡± He spat on the dirt, ¡°Thinking that those things are her children.¡± He shook his head, ¡°I spared her that pain and someone the trouble of putting her down later.¡±


    My master glanced over his shoulder, ¡°Make sure you hurry. I want to be behind the walls before sundown.¡±


    I watched my master walk away. It was harsh, but he wasn¡¯t wrong. Touched always went crazy.


    I took my knife off of my belt. Like my sword, it was a steel blade with a heartstone in the hilt. Unlike my sword, this blade wasn¡¯t for cutting necks. This blade was for harvesting hearts

 Chapter 4

    I was glad to have my leathers.


    Harvesting the zombies'' hearts was a messy job. I had seen what happened to apprentices who weren¡¯t careful. The fresh screams kept my hands steady and as clean as I could keep them.


    The leather kept the blood from getting on my skin. They would have to be cleaned, but at least I wouldn¡¯t get infected. For that I was thankful.


    I¡¯ve cut into more zombies than I can remember and each one of them is different. Depending on the age, sometimes there was no blood at all. These bodies were fresh, they hadn¡¯t been turned that long ago.


    I finished cutting the hearts out of the zombies and put the stinking organs into the bag. Once we got back to the fortress, the hearts would be cleaned and the heartstones would be collected.


    The bodies had to be taken care of. There wasn¡¯t much life outside the walls, but it wasn¡¯t worth the risk.


    I pulled the bodies into the cave. The human looked out of place beside the mangled zombies. She hadn¡¯t been infected long enough to have a stone in her heart. I covered her with a blanket. It seemed like the least I could do for her.


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    The pieces of the stupid man I dumped around the body of the headless Touched. The heart of a Touched didn¡¯t hold a heartstone, so there was no reason to maim her body. It was also considered irreverent. After the trials, one of three things could happen; the apprentice would accept the magic and become a Bokor, reject the magic and become Touched or be killed by the magic and turn into a zombie. Since Touched could function for a time like a normal human, many were allowed to live in the fortress. It was considered the last mercy for failures. Plus, it kept them from running off and making nests like this one had.


    ¡°Are you finished?¡± Master Bran¡¯s voice boomed inside the cave.


    I turned around and nodded, ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    I scrambled out of the cave. A fireball streaked over my shoulder.


    Flames erupted out of the cave, engulfing everything inside.


    The heat washed over me. I breathed out and clamped my lips shut. The fire washed over me, eating every drop of zombie blood.


    I resisted the urge to gasp. This wasn¡¯t the first time that my master had used fire to cleanse the blood. It served a dual purpose, eradicating the infected blood and training an apprentice¡¯s focus.


    The runes on my master¡¯s face dimmed as the fire subsided. I gulped in the hot air around me, relieving the burning in my lungs. It smelled of ash, but that was better than the stink of the cave.


    ¡°Where are the hearts?¡± My master demanded.


    I held out the bag.


    He snatched the bag and looked inside. Content that I had done an acceptable job, he threw the sack over his shoulder, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of this dump.¡±

 Chapter 5

    The journey home was uneventful.


    Most zombies had the good sense to avoid Bokor. The reason we lived in a fortress wasn¡¯t to protect ourselves from the zombies. It was to protect ourselves from humans.


    More Bokor died at the hands of humans than to zombies or Touched. There was something about the power we had that drove humans to imprison us. Plus, they really didn¡¯t like having to pay us to handle their zombie problems. Behind our walls, there was little that could reach us. It was one of the safest places on the planet.


    The fortress was on an island in the middle of the largest lake in the southern kingdom. Every little bit of protection helped keep our daily lives easier and it was one less thing that we had to worry about. Apprentices stood watch on top of the turrets, bows in hand with watch glass nearby. It was their job to alert the guard if anyone or anything tried to cross our watery borders.


    The bridge itself was an impressive structure. Almost half a mile long, it was wide enough for three wagons and it had a walkway underneath that only the Bokor were allowed to use.


    The guard station at the base of the bridge was staffed by a pair of Bokor and their apprentices. These masters were old enough that they didn¡¯t go on missions anymore, but they were more than capable of dealing with the day-to-day filtering through the gate.


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    ¡°Master Bran!¡± The old master in front of the guard house next to the gate got out of his chair.


    ¡°Master Trine,¡± my master bowed his head. I already had my head lowered. It was disrespectful to look at a master before you were acknowledged. Cleaning out the harvesting rooms is not a job I was eager to do again.


    ¡°Enough of the pleasantries,¡± Master Trine¡¯s voice was full of hunger. ¡°You¡¯re back earlier than expected.


    We straightened up. I thought it was weird that my master bowed to some of the older masters, but not others. I had asked him about it before, but he just said that I¡¯d understand him when I was a master.


    ¡°It was a simple mission,¡± Master Bran nodded at the gate, ¡°but we have been walking for a while.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Master Trine snapped his fingers and the gate began cranking open.


    Master Trine stepped forward and lowered his voice, ¡°Did you get many?¡±


    My master slung the bag off of his shoulder and opened it for the older master to see. Master Trine¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the five hearts inside.


    ¡°So many!¡± Master Trine motioned for one of the apprentices to come over. The boy winced as he ran over. He was new, about six years younger than me. The Bokor started training apprentices when they were about twelve. Before that, well, there wasn¡¯t much of a life before getting taken by a master.


    The apprentice took the bag and ran off through the gate. I could tell by the look on his face that he was scared. I didn¡¯t blame him. The Bokor gave the younger apprentices the more dangerous jobs. It was how they weeded out the ones that wouldn¡¯t make it.


    ¡°That one¡¯s probably a dud,¡± Master Trine remarked as we watched the boy leave. He looked over at me, ¡°What about yours? Isn¡¯t he supposed to start his missions soon?¡±

 Chapter 6

    A master thought I should start my missions!


    The path to becoming a master and getting the marks was a very long one. First, an apprentice had to survive for years in lethal situations, where a single mistake could mean death. Then, once the Masters believed an apprentice had learned enough, they would graduate them to potentials. These potentials would be paired up and sent on a series of missions without the supervision of a master. Becoming a Bokor granted a lot of power and the Masters wanted to be certain that they weren¡¯t promoting someone who wasn¡¯t capable of using that power.


    I stole a glance at the gray-haired master and held my breath as I waited for my master to speak.


    ¡°The council is waiting for another apprentice to pair with him,¡± Master Bran answered.


    I felt my heart swelling inside me. Master Bran thought I was ready to become a Master!


    ¡°Looks like your lucky day.¡± Master Trine slapped me on my sore shoulder, ¡°Master Junk just petitioned the council to send his apprentice on missions.¡±


    The joy I was feeling vanished. Master James, or Master Junk as some of the Masters called him, had the worst rate of graduating apprentices of any Master ever. Most of his apprentices died before they started their missions, and none had ever survived to become a Master. That¡¯s why they called him Master Junk because that was the type of apprentices he turned out. Apprentices that were worth junk.


    I wanted to speak up, to plead with my master not to pair me with someone that would doom my chances of becoming a Master. I didn¡¯t speak. To do so would only earn me a punishment worse than failure. I know that if the council paired me with a junk apprentice, then there would be no arguing it. We obeyed the will of the council.


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    I hung my head as we started walking to the passage under the bridge. I had seen some of the Junk apprentices once. It had been when I was on cleanup duty. The apprentices had tried to bypass the whole process and had swallowed a heart stone. The magic had been too much for him and he had become Touched. I shivered as the memory of his screams shook me. I tried to forget watching a group of masters drag him to one of the warded cells.


    I let my hand touch one of the heartstones on the wall. The purple reservoirs of magic were all over the island fortress. Part of the job of being an apprentice is to tend to the stones to make sure that if there is ever an attack, the Masters would be able to draw on the magic to protect us. During my time as an apprentice there hadn¡¯t been an attack, but some of the masters, like Master Trine, would talk about how the island had been under siege in the past. It was something that I hoped to never see.


    I followed Master Bran down the path to the city. Once we were inside the walls, the guards on the other side waved us through. Unlike Master Trine, who wanted to talk about everything, the apprentices just wanted to verify we had permission to use the passage and then get back to their chores.


    It wasn¡¯t a long walk from the bridge to the houses. Part of the defense structure was to keep the masters close to the front gate and the council as far from danger as possible. The gate was the only way onto the island unless you climbed the walls, so any army would have to make it past all the masters before they could reach the leaders.


    There was a note tacked to Master Bran¡¯s door. He pulled it off and read it. I wondered what he was reading but knew better than to ask. He¡¯d tell me if he wanted me to know.


    ¡°Report to the council.¡± My master muttered. He tossed the note at me.


    I had to reach forward to catch the letter. I looked up in time to see the door close in my face. For a split second, I wondered if I was supposed to follow. I got my answer when I heard the click of the lock.

 Chapter 7

    I was on my own.


    I wasn¡¯t surprised that Master Bran left me. He had very little to say and expected me to do what was required with very little instruction. Part of me had hoped that he would say something profound when this moment came. Or at least tell me I was a decent apprentice. To be honest, I think that would have shocked me more than it would have put me at ease. Master Bran had stayed true to form, he said nothing when we parted.


    I didn¡¯t stand in front of the door for very long. If Master Bran came out and found me loitering, then I¡¯d be punished. I tucked the note in my pocket and walked out of the building. The sunlight felt different on my skin. I knew there was nothing different about how it had been when I walked inside a few minutes before, but there was something different. Maybe it was the piece of paper in my pocket.


    I realized that I hadn¡¯t read the note. Bokor were big on rules and I didn¡¯t want to walk up to the Council Hall if the letter said to report to the square or the Apprentice Hall.


    I smoothed out the paper and glanced over it. It simply read, ¡°Master Bran, have your apprentice report to the council chambers.¡±


    I turned up the street and headed to the council building. I had no doubt there would be more instructions waiting for me once I arrived.


    I passed the garden on the way. In a place that didn¡¯t have many guests, it was odd to have such a well-tended place set aside for flowers. It made sense that we¡¯d have plants to eat, but there always seemed to be something blooming.


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    I didn¡¯t go into the garden. Unless an apprentice had orders, it was taboo. I began wondering what rules might change once I was no longer an apprentice. The potentials had very little interaction with the apprentices. In fact, the potentials rarely stayed on the island. Most left the same day that they delivered their mission reports. I began to realize that I knew very little about my new occupation.


    The last building before the Council Hall was the kitchen. The smell of vegetable stew teased my stomach. I hadn¡¯t eaten anything since that morning. My stomach growled in protest as I walked by. There would be time to eat after I reported to the council, or I¡¯d eat dried bread as I was going on my mission. Either way, now was not the time for food.


    The Council Hall was a great white building with stone columns in front. My hands ached as I remembered having to clean those columns. Another apprentice had fallen while I had been near the top. It was a dangerous job and one that I was happy not to have to do anymore.


    The purple heart stones were set into the stone and arranged in a way that made it look more decorative than defensive. I slowed down so I could take in the scene.


    As an apprentice, I had seen many different towns and the ruins of a dozen others. The council hall resembled the buildings from the ruins more than the normal buildings. The arches and overhangs weren¡¯t very functional for defense. Most of the human towns didn¡¯t have time to devote to such luxuries anymore. I wondered how the council could find the labor.


    Actually, I didn¡¯t have to wonder, I knew the answer. Apprentices. There were lots of apprentices to do the work.


    I opened the large door and walked into the building. I wasn¡¯t going to be an apprentice for very much longer. I took a breath, I was ready for my mission.

 Chapter 8

    The waiting room was huge.


    It wasn¡¯t really a waiting room, but I didn¡¯t know what else to call it. It was a large, well-decorated room that the council made people wait in until they were ready to receive them.


    I showed my letter to the apprentice at the door. He gestured for me to take a seat and then walked into a side room, all without saying a word.


    I sat down on a plush couch and tried not to stare. In all of my years as an apprentice, I had never been assigned to the Council Hall.


    The walls were covered in paintings. Every one of them was of scenes I didn¡¯t recognize. Many I doubted were of real places, or at least, places that hadn¡¯t looked like that in a long time. The pictures were too green, the water was too clean, and there were animals, some of which I had never seen before. Though I hadn¡¯t seen many animals in my life. Bokor made most living things uneasy, so interacting with animals was kept to a minimum. Since any animal could become infected with the Touched plague, eating meat was something reserved for only the very rich. Only those who could afford to pay to ensure that the animal was properly conditioned and raised.


    Even the plants by the edge of the couch were foreign to me. I had thought I was well-traveled since Master Bran had taken me to every corner of the ward, but clearly, I hadn¡¯t seen enough.


    I was so entranced by the new items around me that I didn¡¯t hear my name called. It wasn¡¯t until the apprentice that I had talked to earlier began walking over to me that I noticed there was another person in the room. I silently berated myself for not staying aware of my surroundings.


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    I stood up and faced the apprentice. I was at least three years older than the ruddy-faced boy, but something about the way he carried himself exuded authority. It was like I was in the presence of a Master. I wondered what it must be like to be an apprentice to the council. If it instilled this type of presence in such a young apprentice, it had to be intense.


    ¡°They will see you now.¡± The apprentice locked eyes with me. There was something in his gaze that ordered me not to speak.


    I nodded and began walking towards the big doors. Two white staircases wrapped around them, leading to what I assumed were the living quarters upstairs. There were more paintings on the stairs, these were of Bokor. I recognized their marks, but I didn¡¯t recognize any of their faces. There were little gold plates at the bottom of the paintings, but they were too far away for me to read. I didn¡¯t detour from my path to the doors. There would be time to read such things when I was a Master. Until then, I needed to follow my orders.


    The doors to the council room were red wood that I couldn¡¯t place. I was used to the few trees that we had in the Ward, but those were mainly tropical, and there weren¡¯t that many. These doors had been made from wood from one of the other wards.


    I wasn¡¯t surprised by the luxury here. These were the council members after all. They watched over the whole ward and protected everyone from the zombies. It was only natural that the people with the most important job to receive the best.


    My stomach tied itself in a knot that any apprentice would have been proud of as I grasped the door knob. It was time to receive my first mission.

 Chapter 9

    The council room wasn¡¯t as big as I expected.


    It was about the same size as the room I had just left. That puzzled me because, from the outside, this room should have been a lot bigger. By about four or five times as big.


    I didn¡¯t have long to worry about the size difference. When I walked in every eye turned to me. I felt like I had just walked into a trap.


    To my right and to my left were five boxes. The top of each desk was at eye level, so I had to look up to see each council member. Not that I wanted to look at them. The frowns on their faces begged me to be anywhere else.


    I dropped my eye and looked in front of me. Master Junk was standing in the middle of the room with his arm around a black-haired boy about my age. I felt a pang of jealousy run down my throat. Master Bran had never put his arm around me like that. I would have been so happy if only once he would have been so protective, firm, and warm. The light embrace dared anyone to approach them and at the same time promised that they would meet the Master first.


    Such things only fostered weakness. Or so Master Bran had told me once. I knew that all of Master Junk¡¯s apprentices had died, rather horribly at that, but part of me thought it would be worth it, just to know the feeling of that type of bond between myself and a Master.


    I studied the pair as I walked towards them. Master Junk looked like he had seen a rough seventy years. His skin was covered in small scars and his hair had turned gray. His green eye spoke of experience and sights that few others had seen. The wear on his body and time on his soul hadn¡¯t worn him down. He stood tall and strong, and his breath came evenly. If not for the cosmetic signs of his age, he could have passed as a young man.


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    His marks were thin lines. It was a skill that older masters learned. They could condense the width of their marks. This provided them with an element of surprise if they were attacked. It was widely known that the size of the marks on a Bokor was in direct proportion to their magic strength, and the brighter the purple, the deeper their reserves. An older Master who had condensed their marks almost always had bright purple lines. This made it impossible to tell just how strong they really were.


    The apprentice wasn¡¯t as imposing. His skin was a light brown, which led me to believe that he was from one of the islands to the west. His black hair and brown only further confirmed that suspicion. Not that I had been to the island kingdom, but I had heard stories from the other masters. The islands were the only place where the plague hadn¡¯t spread. It was said to be a much different place, but I doubted I¡¯d ever see it. Bokor and Touched weren¡¯t allowed. The water weakened magic and left them vulnerable, since the islands were viciously defended against the plague, it was unlikely that it was a place I¡¯d ever see. I wondered how Master Junk had found his islander apprentice. I made a mental note to ask him later.


    The council member on the far wall broke me out of my thoughts.


    ¡°Apprentice Byler,¡± Her voice silenced all whispers in the room, ¡°are you going to join us or stand in the door?¡±


    I looked at the far wall. There were three desks, similar to the ones to my right and left, but these were just a little higher. The middle one was the highest of the thirteen council members, and it was where the woman who had just chided me sat. Women were a rarity among the Bokor. Most became Touched instead, so to see one in a seat of power in the council surprised me.


    The look on her face told me that I didn¡¯t need to respond. I hurried over to stand by Master Junk. It was time for the mission to start.

 Chapter 10

    The councilwoman commanded everyone¡¯s attention when she spoke.


    I was still in awe over seeing a female Bokor. Not just that, but she looked so young. If I had to guess, I would have sworn that she was barely over thirty. Her hair was a vibrant blonde, and her eyes were a bright blue. Even her marks were thin lines that were barely visible from twenty feet away. If she hadn¡¯t been wearing the combat leathers of the Bokor, I wouldn¡¯t have assumed she was a Bokor at first glance.


    I gave a nervous second look at all of the other council members. They were all in similar condition. Either the council was full of thirty-something Bokor with very little power, or these council members were very old and had found a way to conceal their strength and age. I was inclined to go with the latter.


    I turned my attention back to the councilwoman. I did not want to give her any other reason to be angry with me.


    ¡°You were not summoned,¡± She stared at Master Junk. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°This body has a reputation for sending fresh potentials on suicide missions.¡± Master Junk looked around the room, ¡°I do not intend to have another of my apprentices die because you want to reduce the number of new masters.¡±


    ¡°Remember your place!¡± One of the councilmen on my right shouted, ¡°You do not give orders to us!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Master Junk turned to look at the councilman, ¡°but you answer to the High Council.¡±


    ¡°Are you threatening us?¡± The councilman in front of us on the left asked.


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    ¡°Not a threat.¡± Master Junk tightened his grasp on his apprentice¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Just a reminder that you are not the highest authority.¡±


    The council was visibly shaken. I had heard of the High Council but knew very little of it. Once a year, a delegation of Masters would head north to give a report. In all the time I had been with him, Master Bran had never been selected. Not that I would¡¯ve gone with him. It was a Master only trip. Apprentices were left at home.


    ¡°It is not the place of masters to demand missions for potentials.¡± The councilwoman growled, ¡°That is the responsibility of this body.¡± She glowered at us, ¡°If you believe we are being unfair, then it is within your right to take your grievance to the High Council.¡± She nodded at the door, ¡°But this is not a meeting that you have the privilege to attend.¡±


    She let the threat hang in the air. For a moment I thought Master Junk might defy her, but he kissed his apprentice on the forehead and then walked to the door. For a moment, I thought I saw a tear on his cheek, but when I looked closer, I couldn¡¯t see it.


    Master Junk paused at the door and looked over everyone in the room. Something on his face said that we would never see him again. I watched him walk through the door and then we were alone with the council.


    The defiance I had just witnessed was shocking. Every other Master on the island that I had dealt with had demanded absolute obedience. It had been drilled into me so much over the last six years that while I might silently question orders, I did so while I carried them out. It didn¡¯t matter how dangerous or how unpleasant they might be. Disobedience was certain to be more unpleasant.


    I mulled over the thought that the missions were dangerous to keep the number of Masters low. That didn¡¯t make sense. We needed more Masters to take back more land from the zombies. It didn¡¯t make sense. The missions were difficult because the council needed Masters that could handle themselves. It would be a waste to have a Master that was unable to fight.


    I filed the concerns away as the ramblings of an over-concerned old Master. If he had trained his apprentice right, then there wouldn¡¯t be a need to worry.


    I knew I was ready for the mission.

 Chapter 11

    The councilwoman took a moment to compose herself.


    ¡°I trust there will be no more interruptions?¡± Her gaze cut through both of us.


    Neither of us could speak. We both just shook our heads.


    ¡°Good.¡± She shuffled some papers in front of her, ¡°Your mission is to go to Port Town and check it for zombie activity.¡± She held up two pieces of paper, ¡°Here are your travel documents. You are to report back in a month.¡±


    The Junk apprentice didn¡¯t move, so I stepped forward and took the papers. Since neither of us had marks, there was no way for the humans to know that we were with the Bokor. The papers were signed in heart stone ink and would serve as our verification. They were only good for one month, but for that month, we commanded the authority of the Bokor whenever we showed the papers.


    I walked back over to the Junk apprentice and handed him his paper. I stood at attention and waited for further instructions while he looked it over.


    The councilwoman glared at us, ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± She growled, ¡°You¡¯re dismissed!¡±


    I turned and hurried out of the room with the Junk apprentice on my heels. We didn¡¯t stop moving until we were outside.


    I began to plan out what we would need before we left when Master Junk came around the corner.


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    ¡°Follow me,¡± He ordered as he walked by.


    I didn¡¯t want to follow after someone who had just challenged the council, but obeying him right now wasn¡¯t violating our mission. Disobeying a Master was a punishable offense.


    He led us into the garden and didn¡¯t stop until we reached the apple trees on the far side. It was one of the most open areas of the garden, and also one of the least colorful.


    I wondered why he took us there but didn¡¯t ask. I just wanted to start the mission so I could get on to the next one and become a Master.


    He looked around like he was checking for eavesdroppers, ¡°What¡¯s your mission?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that the council would like us talking to you about that,¡± I said.


    His apprentice handed his paper over, ¡°A scouting mission to Port Town. We have one month to return.¡±


    I scowled at my partner but said nothing. A fight here would just delay us.


    ¡°Port Town?¡± Master Junk looked up like he was calculating, ¡°That should be enough time.¡± He handed the paper back.


    ¡°Enough time for what?¡± I asked. I really wanted to start the mission, but I was curious about what he was planning. Plus, the council might ask me when we reported once we got back. I didn¡¯t want to get in trouble because I didn¡¯t ask questions when I had the opportunity.


    Master Junk ignored me, ¡°Max, I won¡¯t be here when you get back.¡± He looked at both of us, ¡°This is an easy mission, but Port Town is dangerous. Guard those papers, they¡¯re your ticket home.¡±


    He turned and walked away before I had a chance to ask anything else. I wondered why he wouldn¡¯t be here when we got back. I thought about going back to the Council, but that thought only lasted a moment. I knew nothing for certain and I didn¡¯t want to be held up any more than we already had been.


    I tugged on Max¡¯s arm and urged him towards the exit. It was time to start our mission.

 Chapter 12

    We needed supplies.


    There wasn¡¯t much that we could or needed to take. We always had daggers on us, but now, as Potentials, we were allowed to have a sword as well. I guided us to the storage house next to the kitchen. My stomach groaned at being taunted by the smells of food once more, but I tried to ignore it. I hoped the hunger would speed us up.


    Max was dragging his feet. I was beginning to wonder about how hard this mission would be if I just left him behind. I shook the thought out of my head. The Council had ordered us to go, so I¡¯d have to take him.


    The store room was open for anyone to come and go as they pleased. Apprentices quickly learned not to take advantage of the trust bestowed upon them. I shivered as I tried to forget about the time I had been caught picking up a sword without permission. It had been my first month as an apprentice and I had been supposed to get a suit of leather. The weapons were in the room next to the armor, and the shiny swords were too cool for a twelve-year-old boy to resist. The beating I had received had left me unable to get out of bed for a whole day. It wasn¡¯t the last lesson I had received about adhering to the strict rules, but it had been an eye-opener to what was expected.


    I moved through the storehouse with the ease of muscle memory. Years of stacking the bags of corn and beans in the food room, folding the leathers in the Armory, and polishing the swords in the weaponry had burned the floor layout in my brain. The Bokor¡¯s adherence to detail while keeping things constant ensured that the layout never changed.


    I grabbed two swords with shoulder holsters and tossed one to Max. He caught it and slung it over his head, then tightened the band around his chest. It was easier to move faster with the sword on our backs, considering that we had to travel all the way to the coast, mainly on foot, we¡¯d need to be able to move quickly.


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    I considered our route in my head. I¡¯d been to Port Town once during my time as an apprentice. It would take us at least ten days of walking to reach the coastal town. Probably more considering Max wasn¡¯t acting like he was going to be moving very fast.


    There were other options for traveling. Since we didn¡¯t have a Bokor with us, we could get horses from one of the nearby towns, but those animals attracted zombies. Plus, even though we had papers, I had my doubts that it would be easy to get the rare beasts from their owners.


    A railway system connected the larger towns, but it didn¡¯t actually enter any of the town walls. Zombies had gotten onto a train during the early days of the outbreak. The conductor had stopped at a nearby town for help, but most of the passengers had already been turned. The town guard had been unable to stop the zombies from overrunning the town. By the time the local Bokor had been petitioned for help, there were no humans left to save. After that, the train stations had been walled off so that it wouldn¡¯t happen again. Other towns refused to let trains stop, purely out of fear.


    Some tracks went to Port Town, but it was a two-day hike to the closest train station, and I had no idea when the train would be running. I might ride the train back, but for now, the fastest route would be on foot.


    I grabbed a length of rope and tossed one to Max. All that was left was to grab something to eat.


    My stomach growled in agreement as we went next door. The cook was one of the newer apprentices. That was usually an indicator that the food wasn¡¯t going to be very good, but I was too hungry to care. I grabbed a bowl and nodded for him to fill it up. I took my warm bowl of vegetable stew and sat down outside. With the fire inside the kitchen, it was too stuffy to stay in there any longer than was needed. Max sat down next to me.


    The stew wasn¡¯t bad. Most of the vegetables were undercooked, and it was a little salty, but it was warm food and my stomach stopped growling.


    I set my empty bowl on the kitchen step and slapped Max on the knee, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 13

    Max didn¡¯t slow us down.


    I was actually surprised that he was able to keep a brisk pace. I had been expecting him to drag his feet, but he fell in line behind me and didn¡¯t show any signs of slowing down. If we kept up this pace, then we would reach Port Town in well under ten days.


    I felt confident enough with our pace to angle us towards a well that was a little off-path. It would let us rest for a bit and refill our water bottles. To be honest, the faster pace was starting to wear on me and I wanted the break.


    The well was in the middle of a deserted town. The town hadn¡¯t been very big, just about a dozen buildings. There hadn¡¯t been enough people there to build a wall or the people had all been killed before they could start. Nobody knew what really happened, but it was a place that the Bokor used to get water while traveling between towns.


    Most people avoided the ghost towns, and for good reason. The old buildings were sometimes nests for Touched or zombies. The broken-down structures provided enough natural noise that only the most vigilant human would realize that they weren¡¯t alone until it was too late.


    I wasn¡¯t very worried about this particular town. Master Bran and I had stopped here while on our last mission. A Touched might have taken up residence in the last few days, but that was unlikely. Plus, without a nearby food source, the odds of a zombie nest appearing in the last few days was almost impossible.


    Max stopped at the first building, ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡±


    I didn¡¯t feel like explaining everything. I just walked past the building, ¡°It¡¯s fine, come on.¡±


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    Max pulled out his sword and followed me into town. I wasn¡¯t going to blame him for being cautious. I had my hand resting on my dagger and was scanning the corner of every building. Despite the low chance of there being any danger, it would be foolish not to be on guard.


    The well was located in the middle of the town. A stone wall with a wooden lid on top. The lid looked very out of place compared to the rest of the town. Most of the buildings showed signs of age and wear, but the lid was fairly new. It had probably been replaced in the last year or two by one of the Bokor. I pulled the lid off and tugged on the rope attached to the well. It wasn¡¯t long before I pulled up the metal bucket about half full of water.


    I scooped up a handful and touched it to my lips. Wells had been poisoned in the past, but this water was sweet, not sour or bitter like poisoned water. Someone could have used a tasteless poison, but highly unlikely on this out of the way well.


    ¡°Is it okay?¡± Max asked, never lowering his sword or taking his eyes off the buildings.


    ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± I took out my bottle and filled it up.


    ¡°Can you get mine?¡± Max held his bottle out with his left hand while keeping his right hand on his sword.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I dropped the bucket back into the well. It came back with enough water to fill up his bottle.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± He took the bottle and slipped it into the holster on his hip, ¡°Can we leave now?¡±


    ¡°Once I seal this back,¡± I replaced my water bottle in my own holster before tossing the bucket back into the well.


    ¡°Why are you so nervous?¡± I asked, ¡°If there were any zombies, we would¡¯ve seen them by now.¡±


    Max didn¡¯t look at me, ¡°Can you please hurry?¡±


    I shrugged. If he didn¡¯t want to talk about it, that was fine with me. I flipped the wooden lid back on top of the well. It would stay in place until the next group came through looking for water.


    ¡°We¡¯re good,¡± I announced. That was all the information that Max needed. He took off at a brisk pace back the way we had come.

 Chapter 14

    I caught up to Max just outside the town.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I called out, but he didn¡¯t stop.


    I grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around to face me, ¡°What was that about?¡±


    Max stumbled as his forward momentum was changed. Fear covered his face and his hands were just barely shaking. I was confused, there was nothing in that abandoned town that should have rattled him this deeply.


    ¡°What?¡± I tried to think of the right question, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Max looked around nervously, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± He started to turn back around, ¡°We should get moving.¡±


    I grabbed him, ¡°That wasn¡¯t nothing.¡± I turned him back to face me, ¡°I need to know what that was about.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Max sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t like being in the open like this.¡± He pointed his thumb south, ¡°Can we go now?¡±


    I thought about letting it go, but he was holding back on me. When we encountered our first pack of zombies, I needed to know why he had fled, because I¡¯d need to know how long he¡¯d have my back.


    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°That¡¯s not good enough. I need to know why you ran out of the town back there.¡± He started to speak, but I cut him off, ¡°And don¡¯t give me that line about not liking being out in the open.¡± I waved my hand at the emptiness around us, ¡°No sane person likes being exposed, but that doesn¡¯t mean they run from an empty town.¡±


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    He looked down at his feet and kicked the dirt. He wasn¡¯t going to make this easy.


    ¡°Look, we can stand here waiting for you to talk until a zombie pack finds us. Then, if we survive, we can wait until the next one, and the next one.¡± I bent down so I could look him in the eyes, ¡°Until you talk or you die. Your choice.¡±


    I could tell that got his attention. He stood up a little straighter and looked at me. For a moment, I thought he might try to run.


    ¡°I¡¯m from the islands,¡± His voice trembled as he began. ¡°My father was sent as an ambassador to the continental kingdom.¡±


    That didn¡¯t surprise me. The island kingdom might be very strict about trading, but they still traded with the mainland.


    ¡°So?¡± I urged. I was starting to regret stopping him out in the open like this. Without a Bokor to deter the lone zombies, it was only a matter of time before one saw us. I needed him to hurry up and finish his story.


    ¡°The mainland gave us an abandoned town to fix up.¡± His voice cracked and tears started running down his face.


    I didn¡¯t need him to finish the story. The incident he was referring to happened just over ten years ago. Zombies had attacked the town the second night. Despite there being Bokor there to defend it, the zombies had slaughtered everyone. At least that¡¯s what we had been told during our history lessons before we became apprentices. It was a warning against becoming too comfortable and not moving people into a place until the walls were finished. If he had been in the town, I couldn¡¯t imagine what he must have seen.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I put my arm on his shoulder. ¡°We can get water other places.¡±


    He smiled, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I headed off down the path. Max would freeze at some point during a fight. With demons like that plaguing him, there was no way of knowing when that would be. I shook my head, a Junk apprentice indeed.

 Chapter 15

    We made it to the orchard at dusk.


    It was starting to concern me that we hadn¡¯t seen a zombie yet. While traveling with Master Bran, we rarely saw a zombie on the road, but we had been taught that there were hundreds of zombies roaming the wastes. Each was hungry for an unprepared traveler.


    The orchard was a grove of orange trees around a small pond. The water there was fresh and it kept the trees alive. I picked an orange and started peeling it as I looked around. It wasn¡¯t the best meal, but it would give us something to put on our stomachs until we could reach Pline.


    Pline was the closest city to the island. Despite being so close, I¡¯d only been inside its walls once. Master Bran didn¡¯t care for cities and since zombies rarely attacked him while outside, he usually set up camp well away from the cities.


    My fellow potential and I didn¡¯t have that type of luxury. Zombies wouldn¡¯t see us as potential Bokor. Instead, they would just see two humans out in the open. While I was confident that we could kill a couple zombies, it wasn¡¯t worth risking a fight that we might lose. We had the time, so there was no reason not to be careful.


    ¡°You ready?¡± Max asked.


    I raised my eyebrows in surprise, ¡°You want to travel at night?¡±


    The look on his face told me that he didn¡¯t. ¡°No, but we can¡¯t stay here.¡±


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    I pulled the rope off of my shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ve never slept in a tree before?¡±


    Max shook his head, ¡°Master only stopped at towns.¡±


    That explained why Max was able to travel as well as he did. Most towns were multiple days apart. To think that he would march for a few days with little to no sleep was slightly impressive.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ve gone far enough for today,¡± I said. ¡°Plus, there isn¡¯t a moon out tonight.¡± I pointed up at the sky, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be able to see the zombies until they were on top of us.¡±


    Max still looked uneasy, but he saw the truth in what I was saying.


    I pointed at a limb about halfway up the closest tree, ¡°Climb up to there and I¡¯ll tie you in.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t I fall?¡± Max¡¯s face was full of the thought of being eaten in his sleep.


    ¡°Not after I¡¯m done.¡±


    Max looked like he was going to protest, but he turned and began climbing. Once he was up on the branch I had pointed out, I climbed up after him.


    ¡°How am I going to get loose?¡± Max asked as I took his rope from him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not tying your hands,¡± I answered as I wrapped the rope around his waist and the tree.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about this¡­¡± Max began.


    I looped the end of the rope around his legs and tied them to the branch he was sitting on. I pulled the rope tight, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to fall as long as you don¡¯t mess with the knot.¡± I glared at him, ¡°Don¡¯t mess with the knot.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Where are you going to sleep?¡±


    I pointed to a nearby tree. Before he could ask me anything else, I hopped down to the ground. It was dark enough that by the time I had secured myself, I could barely see Max in the other tree.


    ¡°Byler?¡± Max called out.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I regretted letting him know I was still awake.


    ¡°How do you go to the bathroom?¡±

 Chapter 16

    It wasn¡¯t Max that woke me up.


    I had finally been able to ignore his whining long enough to fall asleep. I was beginning to see why Master Junk only stayed in towns. Max might have survived as an apprentice, but fear was going to kill him before he became a Master. I had my doubts that he was going to be an asset, but the Council wouldn¡¯t look favorably on me if I turned around and asked for another partner. I was just going to have to stick it out with him until the missions were over.


    I heard the noise a second time. It was still too dark to see much, but I didn¡¯t need to see to know what the growl belonged to.


    ¡°Byler?¡± Max¡¯s voice was full of the fear he was projecting.


    I leaned against the tree, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°Hear what?¡± I asked.


    The growl rumbled again beneath me.


    ¡°THAT!!!¡± Max exclaimed.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± I said, ¡°just the wind.¡±


    There was no reason to freak out any more than he already was. Plus, it was too dark to fight the things. Add in that I also didn¡¯t know how many of them there were, it was just better to stay up in the trees where they couldn¡¯t reach us.


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    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like the wind¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you see anything?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Max answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going down there until it¡¯s lighter.¡± I said, ¡°We still have a few hours until morning, so try to rest.¡±


    I closed my eyes and began counting the seconds until his next question. I made it to three.


    ¡°Byler?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I pushed the word through clenched teeth.


    ¡°What are we going to do if there are zombies down there?¡±


    ¡°We kill them.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe he asked the question. Killing zombies was what we were literally trained to do.


    ¡°What about the heart stones?¡±


    I opened my mouth but realized that he had a point. If we kept the hearts until we got back to the island, then the flesh would be rancid and nothing but mush. That meant that we would have to harvest the stones on the spot. It had been over a year since I had cleaned a heart stone, and it was something that I didn¡¯t look forward to doing.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to clean them here,¡± I answered.


    Max was silent for a moment. ¡°We could always leave them.¡±


    His offer shocked me. I didn¡¯t want to do the dangerous job, but it was something that had to be done. If the Council found out that we had left heart stones in the wastes¡­ I shuddered at the thought of the punishments.


    ¡°It won¡¯t take me long to harvest them,¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Max answered. There was disappointment in his voice. Almost like he had been hoping I¡¯d want to leave the heart stones behind.


    I closed my eyes as I wondered just what Master Junk had taught his apprentice. And just how many rules Max was going to try to get me to break in the future.

 Chapter 17

    Morning came too fast.


    If the light could have waited a few more hours, then I would have felt more rested. Or not, the constant growling beneath me was a reminder of the fight that was to come. Since I could only count the shadows, it was impossible for me to know just how many zombies were beneath us. I kept my eyes closed and tried to rest as much as I could.


    ¡°Byler?¡±


    I opened one eye and looked over at my companion. The light was dim enough that I didn¡¯t have to shield my eyes but bright enough that I could see him.


    ¡°What,¡± I asked, ¡°are you doing?¡±


    He had already untied his ropes and was looping them over his shoulder. He pointed at the zombies beneath us, ¡°We need to take care of them.¡±


    I sighed and grabbed a nearby orange, ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡±


    He looked at me like I was asking him to dine on the zombies.


    ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll want to eat after we clean them?¡± I tossed part of the orange peel at the zombies beneath me. It caught it in its mouth, then spit it out. I chuckled, ¡°Not what you¡¯re hungry for?¡±


    I leaned against the tree and popped a slice of orange in my mouth. Max nervously picked an orange and started peeling it. I wondered what kind of training Master Junk had taught him. All I had seen so far was that he was good at running. At least I would know how good of a fighter he was soon.


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    I tossed another piece of peel at the zombies. It was light enough now that I felt comfortable fighting them, but I didn¡¯t want to rush things. I grabbed another orange. I needed a plan before I jumped down.


    There were three zombies that I could see. Two under Max¡¯s tree and one under mine. I doubted there were any closer by. Restraint was not a quality that zombies could display without the guidance of the Touched. A Touched might have been directing these, but it was well known that Bokor would hunt down any Touched that attacked one of theirs. So while it was possible, the odds were fairly low.


    I finished my orange and began untying myself. I would¡¯ve liked it if there had been only two zombies. With just two, we each could have focused on one and the fight would¡¯ve been over quickly. With three, that meant we were going to have to get creative. I just had to hope that Max would follow my lead.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I waved at Max to get his attention.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Max looked like he was about to jump out of the tree.


    ¡°NO!¡± I yelled.


    Max looked over at me, curiosity etched on his face, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We need a plan.¡± I pulled out my sword.


    Max pointed his weapon at the zombies beneath him, ¡°I¡¯ll take these two.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I fumed, ¡°That isn¡¯t a plan!¡±


    Max looked over at me, ¡°Huh?¡±


    I sighed, ¡°How sure are you that you can kill both of them as you are falling?¡± I could see him getting lost in thought, ¡°Without getting bit?¡±


    That registered what I meant. He looked over at me, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    I pointed at the zombie beneath me, ¡°I¡¯ll take this one.¡± I pointed at the other zombies, ¡°When they come after me, you jump down and we¡¯ll finish them off.¡±


    He nodded in agreement.


    I clenched the hilt of my sword tightly. It was time to kill some zombies.

 Chapter 18

    I slid off of the branch.


    I was only about fifteen feet off of the ground, so it wasn¡¯t far to fall. The fall wasn¡¯t what concerned me. It was the snarling monster beneath me.


    I led with the blade. In close quarters like this, zombies weren¡¯t that agile. That didn¡¯t mean that I needed to get cocky.


    The sword plunged in between the zombie''s eyes. I planted my feet on its shoulders and rode it to the ground. Its head tried to turn to snap at my boots, but I held it in place with my sword. I pressed down, driving the point of the sword through the zombie¡¯s skull, pinning it to the ground.


    The zombie flailed its arms, clawing at the sword through its head. I looked up, and the other zombies started moving toward me. I didn¡¯t have enough time to pull my sword out and decapitate the zombie under me before they were within arm¡¯s reach.


    I pushed the sword all the way into the ground so that the hilt sank into the bone. It wasn¡¯t a permanent fix, but it would keep the zombie in place until the other two were dead.


    I looked up at where Max was still in the tree. He was staring at the ground while rocking forward. I think he finally realized how far up he was.


    ¡°Come on!¡± I shouted, ¡°Jump!¡±


    Max jumped off the branch and landed on his stomach. I sighed, I was going to have to do this myself.


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    I dashed forward, ducking under the left zombie and twisting behind them. I pulled out my dagger and plunged it into the right one¡¯s neck. I smiled as I heard the spine pop as the blade slid between the vertebrae. You didn¡¯t have to completely decapitate a zombie to stop them, you just had to sever its spine. The zombie dropped as I pulled my blade out. That left one more zombie to deal with.


    The zombie turned around and swiped at me. I danced backward, staying out of its reach. I planted my feet and prepared to move in for the kill.


    ¡°Look out!¡± Max screamed.


    I turned to look at him, but all I saw was a charging zombie. It was moving too fast for me to get out of the way. I dropped to the ground and the zombie ran over me, sprawling face-first into the ground. I rolled over and kicked at the other zombie¡¯s knee. Its leg buckled as it bent sideways. The pain wouldn¡¯t slow it down, but the broken leg would.


    I held out my dagger as I looked for an opening. The maimed zombie rotated on its knee as I circled around. I was about to make a move when I noticed the other zombie was getting up. I needed a longer blade to deal with both of them.


    I backed up to where Max was standing with his back against a tree. If he would help, then the fight would already be over.


    I grabbed his sword from his hand. If he wasn¡¯t going to use it, then I would.


    The fourth zombie started picking up speed. They were dangerous when they moved fast, but they could only move in one direction.


    I sidestepped and swung the sword at shoulder height. The zombie''s head rolled off as its body kept moving. It didn¡¯t get very far before it fell.


    I walked up to the maimed zombie. With the sword, I could stay out of its reach as I swung. Then there was only the first zombie to decapitate.


    I finished it off and pulled out my sword. The blades would have to be purified, and the heart stones needed to be salvaged, but the hard part was done.


    I looked over at Max, who was heaving. He wasn¡¯t going to be any help.

 Chapter 19

    I needed to move fast.


    The fourth zombie hadn¡¯t been holding back, waiting to ambush me. It had probably heard our fighting and ran over to get something to eat. If there had been one zombie roaming nearby, then it wouldn¡¯t be long before there were others.


    I glared at my useless companion. He was still heaving by the tree. It was a good thing that I had stopped him from attacking. Otherwise, he would probably be dead right now.


    I threw the heads outside the orchard and pulled the bodies to where they landed. It was going to make a decent-sized fire, and I wanted to do as little damage to the trees as possible.


    Once I had the bodies out of the orchard, I used my dagger to cut out the hearts. Once I had all four hearts out, I was ready to harvest the stones.


    A Zombie heart reminded me of an overripe peach. They were squishy on the outside with a hard pit in the middle. I sliced into the heart until I felt the blade hit the stone. I rotated the blade around the stone and pulled half of the heart off of the stone. That was the easy part.


    I steadied my breathing as I pushed the tip of the dagger between the stone and the flesh of the heart. One slip here was all it would take to slice my gloves and infect myself. At best, it would take a week to detox. At worst, I¡¯d become a mindless zombie-like the monsters I had just dismembered.


    The tip of the dagger ground against the stone, but the flesh offered no resistance. I was able to peel back the heart until the stone was free.


    I tossed the mangled heart onto the pile of corpses behind me and dropped the stone at my feet. I wasn¡¯t finished with it yet, but I had three more heart stones to harvest.


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    I was on my third heart when Max staggered away from his tree.


    ¡°Is there something you want me to do?¡± He asked.


    I didn¡¯t look up, ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± He took a few shakey steps towards me, ¡°I could clean the blades, or¡­¡±


    I put down the heart and my dagger, ¡°Look, I¡¯m doing something very dangerous and I don¡¯t need you distracting me.¡± I waved at the wastes around us, ¡°If you need to feel useful, then keep an eye out for more zombies.¡±


    He looked down at his feet. For a moment, I thought he was going to say something, but he turned and walked off.


    I sighed. I had been hoping that he would be able to handle himself in a fight, but if he got queasy around blood, then most of the fighting would be left to me. I began to see why Master Junk had trained him to be able to walk for days with very little rest. Part of me wished that the rules would allow me to do the missions on my own, but I had to have a partner to be on a mission. If Max died or was sent back, then I would also be downgraded to an apprentice until another apprentice was ready to start the missions.


    For better or worse, I was stuck with him until the council decided I was ready for the marks.


    I pushed the thoughts about things I couldn¡¯t change from my mind as I picked up the heart again. I finish pulling out the stone and moved on to the last heart. The first three hearts got the muscle memory kick-started and I finished it in almost no time.


    I picked up the heart stones and walked away from the corpse pile. Once I was far enough away, I dropped the stones and then shed my gloves. I pulled a piece of flint out of my vest and put my gloves back on. I used the flint and my dagger to create a spark. Zombie blood was very flammable, so much so that some masters carried some to start fires. I was glad Master Bran had never done anything that dangerous.


    The first spark caught the blood on my gloves on fire. I closed my eyes and held my breath as the flames ran around me, licking up all of the blood. The leather refused to provide fuel though, and once the blood was gone, the fire died.


    I opened my eyes and let myself breathe again once the fire was gone. Now that I was clean, I could finish.

 Chapter 20

    I still had more stuff to burn.


    I picked up the stones at my feet and walked into the orchard. It was smart to put distance in between yourself and a corpse pile you were about to light on fire. The blood trails I had made while dragging the corpses would be more than good enough to use to start the explosion. I dropped the stones at my feet one more time. It was becoming a hassle to keep picking them up, and it would still be dangerous for me to put them in my pocket.


    The trail of blood caught on fire with the first spark. I picked up the stores and waited. It only took a few seconds for the explosion to tell me that the pile was on fire. I watched the trails burn and then set about stamping out the places where the grass had caught fire. It had rained recently, so the grass wasn¡¯t very dry; otherwise, this could have started a wildfire.


    With the small fires stamped out, I turned my attention to the bigger fire. I still had the stuff to do when it burned itself out.


    I ran the blades of the swords and my dagger through the flames. Once they were cleaned, I waved the flint through the flames. Once I was sure it was clean, I put it back in my pocket and sheathed my dagger. All that was left was to finish the stones.


    Heart stones were able to withstand some heat, but they would shatter if you left them inside a heart that you were burning. The trick was to wave them through the fire enough to burn away the last of the gore while not heating them up so much that they shattered. I placed the first stone in the indention in the middle of my sword. Bokor swords were crafted so that if stones had to be harvested in the field, then they could be used instead of the regular tools back on the island.


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    I was nervous as I edged the sword into the flames. I had done this back on the island over a hundred times, but I had never done it with a sword before. In concept, the process was the same. In practice, it was very different.


    The spoon we used on the island was a lot lighter than the sword. Also, the spoon had a head that was made to hold stones. The sword only had an indention. If I turned the blade just a little, then the stone would fall off into the fire.


    I slowly waved the blade through the fire, pulling it out after every swing and inspecting the stone. It would take longer, but it was the best way to ensure that I didn¡¯t break the stone. It would have been nice if the stone would stop burning once the gore was gone, but the stones would slowly burn long after all traces of zombie parts had burned up.


    I continued the slow process until I was confident it was clean, then dropped it in my pocket. I repeated the process with the other three stones. It took a good part of the morning, but thanks to the early wake-up call, we had only lost a few hours.


    With four heart stones in my pocket and the fire in no danger of spreading, I was ready to head out. I sheathed my sword and picked up the other one. Now all I needed was my companion.


    I looked around. I had expected him to bother me while I had been cleaning up, but he hadn¡¯t come back after I sent him away. When I didn¡¯t see him at first, I began wondering if he may have run into some zombies, but I spotted him on the other side of the pond before I could start to worry too much.


    I walked through the orchard, nabbing a low-hanging orange as I went. They were sweet and juicy and I planned on grabbing a few more before we left. Fruit was a common meal in the ward, but fresh fruit was not something that I got daily. Most of my meals with Master Bran had been dried fruit or weird vegetable soup. I was going to enjoy the treat while I had the chance.


    I slowed down as I approached Max. The sounds of soft sobs were coming from his direction. My partner had run over here so he could cry.

 Chapter 21

    My first instinct was to hit him.


    It¡¯s what Master Bran would have done if he had been here. Outside the walls of the island was a battlefield, and a battlefield was no place for tears. If you had to cry, then hold it in until you got back to the island, because if you cry out here then you¡¯ll die.


    Somehow, I doubted that particular pep talk would do much good in this situation.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I announced myself a few feet away. I didn¡¯t want to surprise him, nor did I want to get too close. Weepy people were huggers and I did not do hugs.


    I tossed his sword next to him, ¡°It¡¯s time to go.¡±


    Max put his hand on the blade of his sword. His tears had slowed to sniffles. I took that as a good sign. We should be able to head out soon.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to die out here.¡±


    It was a simple statement and one that I couldn¡¯t disagree with. He had way too many issues that his Master hadn¡¯t dealt with. Add in that he had an aversion to blood and I was amazed that he had survived as an apprentice, let alone made it to be a potential.


    I almost agreed with him, but that would have sent him back into tears. We were already behind schedule, and I didn¡¯t need any more delays. I thought about telling him to toughen up, but that was a conversation that should have been had years ago.


    I took a step forward. Getting closer meant that I ran the risk of uncomfortable physical contact, but we really needed to get moving. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was going to say, but I hoped something came to me soon. The bonfire of zombie corpses was going to attract more zombies sooner or later. I wanted to be gone before they showed up.


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    Max turned to look at me, ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡±


    I froze. Sure, he was going to be a pain, but the thought of killing another potential, let alone my partner, was revolting.


    ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±


    He stood up, ¡°You are, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I kill zombies.¡± I shook my head, ¡°Not humans, and definitely not my partner.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m useless,¡± Max whined, ¡°I get sick when fighting zombies¡­¡± His voice trailed off, ¡°The other Masters would kill me if they found out¡­¡±


    ¡°Do I¡­¡± I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice, ¡°look like a Master yet?¡±


    ¡°No, but you¡¯ll never become a Master with me as a companion.¡±


    I sighed, I was going to have to spell this out for him.


    ¡°I can¡¯t let you die,¡± I promised. ¡°If you die, then I go back to being an apprentice until the next potential is ready for missions.¡± I held my gaze on him, ¡°I am NOT going back to being an apprentice.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± He started.


    ¡°No..¡± I picked up his sword and held it out to him, ¡°No more excuses. I¡¯m not going to let you die, and that¡¯s that.¡±


    He cautiously took the sword and sheathed it. I could tell he didn¡¯t believe that I was going to look out for him, but at least it looked like he was willing to travel.


    I pointed toward the bonfire, ¡°There are going to be more zombies here soon. If you don¡¯t want to fight, then we need to get moving.¡±


    He nodded and wiped his face. It wasn¡¯t a perfect fix, but at least he was moving.


    ¡°Byler?¡±


    I sighed. I wasn¡¯t sure I was ready for another of his questions. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to report this when we get back?¡±


    It was a simple, but loaded question. If I didn¡¯t detail what had happened and the council found out, then I could be thrown out. If I wrote up Max¡¯s aversion to fighting, he would be cut loose. While he hadn¡¯t spelled it out, what he was really asking was if I was going to turn him in later or if I was going to cover for him.


    I chose to put the answer off, ¡°We¡¯ll work on it,¡± I forced a smile I didn¡¯t feel, it was the only thing I could think.

 Chapter 22

    We made it out of the orchard without running into any more zombies.


    I thought about what Max had said. It hadn¡¯t crossed my mind until he said something. The council was very strict about who they let join the Bokor. That was the purpose of the Missions. We had to prove that we could handle ourselves without the Marks before we were allowed to receive them.


    I looked over at my companion. He wasn¡¯t having any trouble with the brisk pace I had set. His endurance was definitely Master worthy, which just left his fighting ability as the only thing I didn¡¯t know. I thought about stopping our march to have him spar, but decided it could wait. I already knew I had to work on his aversion to zombies, that would be plenty to work on right now.


    I stopped in my tracks. I couldn¡¯t believe what I was thinking. I was actually planning how I was going to deceive the council.


    Max went a few steps before he realized I wasn¡¯t moving. He stopped and looked at me with confusion all over his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asked.


    I didn¡¯t want to tell him, but I couldn¡¯t lie. If he learned that I was struggling with what to tell the council, then he would freak out. That would only lead us to get even further behind schedule.


    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking,¡± It was an evasion, but the best answer I could think of at the moment, ¡°on how to help you work on your zombie problem.¡±


    I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn¡¯t very interested in the topic.


    ¡°You are?¡± He asked.


    ¡°You can¡¯t keep hiding this from the council,¡± I pointed out. ¡°They will find out eventually.¡±


    ¡°Not if you don¡¯t tell them!¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°And then what?¡± I asked, ¡°How are you going to become a Master?¡± I stared him in the eye, ¡°How are you going to complete the final rite to get your Mark?¡±


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    His face fell and with it any argument he had planned. He took a deep breath and looked away.


    The final rite was where the Council gathered to watch the Potentials harvest a heart stone. The Potential had to leave his protective leather armor outside. Infection wouldn¡¯t matter after the rite, either the Potential would receive the marks and infection would no longer be an issue, or they would become something else. I had never been allowed to watch a final rite, but every Apprentice knew about it. It was the day we all feared and longed for. The day that we either became a Master or our struggle ended.


    It was well past noon, and the water we had saved from the orchard would only last us until we made it to town, we didn¡¯t have time for him to sulk. I thought about putting my hand on his shoulder but decided the risk of dying was too great. Instead, I started walking.


    ¡°We have a month to figure it out,¡± I said,¡± there¡¯s no reason to worry about it now.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure if it was something I said or if he didn¡¯t want to get left in the open by himself. Whichever it was, he started jogging after me.


    We kept the brisk pace in silence. I was glad he didn¡¯t want to talk, I wasn¡¯t sure that I had any good answers to his endless waves of questions. I knew what I had to do once we got back to the island. I just hoped I had enough time to fix it.


    We were able to see the city a long time before we got close. It was one of the perks of traveling in flat lands. It also meant that we could see any zombies a long time before they got close to us. I was glad that my first mission had taken me south instead of north. Up north, the terrain wasn¡¯t as flat, the hills and curves provided many dangerous areas where you wouldn¡¯t know a zombie was close until they were on top of you. Here you just had to avoid the clusters of trees that dotted the landscape. Zombies weren¡¯t smart enough to hide, so as long as you had some distance, then you couldn¡¯t be taken by surprise.


    The city got closer and I picked up the pace. The sun was starting to set and there wasn¡¯t much of a moon out. If we didn¡¯t reach the city soon, then it would be much harder to be aware of any approaching zombies.


    We were five hundred feet from the city walls when I stopped. Something wasn¡¯t right. There weren¡¯t any guard torches on the wall, despite there being light coming from the city.


    Max stopped a few paces ahead of me and turned around, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Something¡¯s not right.¡± I pointed at the stone wall in front of us, ¡°There aren¡¯t any guards.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s light in the city,¡± Max insisted, ¡°come on.¡±


    I pulled out my dagger. Something was watching me, I could feel it.


    Max stared at me but made no move to reach for his weapons. ¡°What are you doing? There¡¯s nothing out here.¡±


    Four shadows rose out of the ground around us before I could answer.


    I braced myself for a fight. I hated being right.

 Chapter 23

    We were surrounded.


    The shadows had stood up too smoothly to be zombies. That was the only reason my dagger was still in my hand. Master Bran had told me that sometimes humans would try to rob Bokor. It wasn¡¯t because we had lots of money, it was because of our weapons. The heart stone inside the hilts of our swords made them superior to anything that the lower humans could acquire.


    I waited for them to make the first move. The letter in my pocket would protect me if I had to kill them, but considering that Max would freeze up once blood got spilled, I thought it would be safer to react.


    I did a double take as my partner spoke up.


    ¡°We are Bokor, seeking refuge for the night,¡± Max spoke in a calm voice.


    I stared at him. I had expected him to be shaking in fear, but there was no trace of the scared boy from back at the orchard. Standing next to me now was someone who screamed authority and confidence.


    ¡°Where are your Marks?¡±


    The voice was female. It was soothing and yet commanding. Despite being Bokor, I felt compelled to answer her.


    ¡°We have papers,¡± Max answered before I could speak.


    Silence followed his answer.


    The shadows weren¡¯t moving. The tension in the air was getting so thick I could feel the fight that was about to start.


    ¡°What are you doing outside the walls?¡± I demanded, ¡°Town guards are supposed to stay behind the walls.¡± I kept my eye out for any sudden movements. There was something off about this group.


    ¡°Papers can be stolen or forged.¡± The woman¡¯s voice grew more serious, ¡°And we aren¡¯t the ones where we don¡¯t belong.¡±


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    ¡°The wastes are too dangerous for humans,¡± I said. ¡°Humans aren¡¯t supposed to be outside of city walls.¡±


    ¡°What my friend is trying to say¡­¡± Max interrupted, ¡°Is that every minute we stand out here puts us all in danger.¡± He held up one hand as he reached into his vest and pulled out the papers. He held them up so the humans could see in the fading light.


    ¡°We¡¯re more than happy to wait in the holding area while you verify them.¡±


    ¡°We what?!¡± I exclaimed, ¡°I am NOT waiting in a cell because some humans are being disrespectful.¡±


    ¡°These humans,¡± she spat, ¡°are the ones you are asking to rest in our city.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hold back my anger. I knew humans were jealous of the Bokor¡¯s ability to handle zombies and our affinity for magic, but this was insulting. The Bokor¡¯s sole function was to protect humans and kill zombies. In return, the humans were supposed to house us as we traveled from city to city. These humans were refusing to do their job!


    I opened my mouth to explain this to her and to inform her that I would be including this insult in my report once I got back to the island, but I never got the chance. A light appeared on the wall and a timid voice called out.


    ¡°Val, is everything okay?¡±


    In the dim light, I couldn¡¯t see her reaction, but the way she stiffened, I knew that this was someone in authority over her.


    ¡°There are two humans out here claiming to be Bokor, but they don¡¯t have any marks.¡± She yelled.


    ¡°Do they have papers?¡± I could hear the fear in his voice.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered for her.


    ¡°Escort them in immediately!¡± His voice squeaked, ¡°I¡¯ll meet you at the gate.¡±


    I smiled. It was too dark to see, but I knew she wasn¡¯t happy about the order.


    ¡°Put that away,¡± I told Max. The faint purple glow of the heart stone ink the council had signed the paper with was giving off just enough light that it could attract a wandering zombie. We had just got them to let us in, I didn¡¯t want a zombie fight making Max sick and having them question our authenticity again.


    After the paper was back in his vest I turned to Val, ¡°How long does it take to open the gate?¡± I had been watching the city walls but nothing had moved once the light had vanished.


    ¡°These gates don¡¯t work anymore.¡± There was the faint smell of sulfur as she stuck a match. The stick in her hand exploded in flames. She pointed the torch at the hole in the ground to her right, ¡°The gates are down there.¡±

 Chapter 24

    The entrance was through tunnels.


    I had to admire the craftsmanship of the stonework. The walls of the tunnels were brick with a small hole in the wall about waist-high every few feet. There were thick metal doors that slid into the wall with clasps where it could be bolted closed into the wall. After we passed through the third door that they bolted behind us, I began to feel like I was walking into a vault.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little extreme?¡± I asked.


    Silence was the only answer I got.


    Since our escorts didn¡¯t seem to be in the mind to chat, I took a closer look at them. The dim torchlight wasn¡¯t very good, but I could make out general features.


    The group was made up of one woman and three men. Each of the men was wearing leather armor that was very similar to my own. For weapons, they each had a sword at their hip, but that wasn¡¯t what they carried. Two had two-pronged spears and the third had a bow. As a guard, the bow would work, but the spears were impractical. Particularly ones that looked like they had been pitchforks at one time. Those would be better suited for pinning their opponent to the ground, but the tines were too close together to use on a citizen and not kill them. Unless they stuck the eight-inch long tines through a leg or arm.


    An idea started to form. I looked over to Val, who was obviously their leader. She was dressed in leather like the men. The same mark less leather. City guards would have emblems on their armor or some metal to protect them. This group had none of that. In fact, their entire wardrobe seemed to focus on not standing out.


    Their skin was dark, and by the dim light of the torch, I had assumed that they had darker skin. I took a second look and discovered that one of the men did actually have naturally black skin, but the rest were covered with some kind of black grease. The men had buzzed haircuts and no facial hair. Val had short hair as well, but hers came just below her ears.


    This group wasn¡¯t part of the city guard. They were zombie wranglers.


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    It made me mad. The whole purpose of the Bokor was to fight the zombies and protect humans. It was true that we didn¡¯t stop humans from venturing outside their walls. We did our best to protect them, but if someone wants to touch a flame, they¡¯ll keep reaching until they get burnt. Or in this case, bit.


    Zombie wranglers were the worst of the danger seekers. Instead of sending a horse or even a runner to the island to ask for help, these fools would go out and trap the zombies until we came around to clean them. A long time ago, the wranglers just killed the zombies and burned the bodies, but that destroyed the heart stones. We had convinced them to instead keep the zombies in pens outside the city by telling them that only magic fire would fully cleanse the zombie. It stopped most of the wasted heart stones and the number of zombie wranglers dropped to almost nothing. The job became too dangerous and people didn¡¯t like knowing that zombies were penned up nearby.


    As mad as I was, I had to admire their setup. The tunnels would allow them to retreat without getting swarmed. The multiple doors allowed them to wall off a horde and keep the city safe. Scorch marks near one of the holes in the wall was all I needed to see to realize their purpose. If zombies made it past a door, then the fire could be sprayed through the hole. It was a waste, but a good way to reclaim a lost tunnel. I began to wonder just how many tunnels there were down here.


    I dropped back so I could share my new information with Max.


    ¡°They¡¯re zombie wranglers.¡± I whispered under my breath.


    ¡°I know.¡± Max replied.


    ¡°How?¡± I asked. I had thought I was going to have to explain everything to him.


    ¡°Guards don¡¯t leave the walls.¡± Max replied, ¡°You need to be careful with them.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because we don¡¯t like your kind,¡± Val replied.


    I straightened up. I hadn¡¯t thought she could hear us.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my kind?¡± I asked, ¡°Are you jealous? Is that why you¡¯re acting like one of us?¡±


    She started to answer but was cut off as the door we were in front of creaked open. On the other side of the door was a short older man. He was barely five feet tall and was completely bald. His clean-shaven face was weathered and his dull gray eyes begged to be allowed to go back to sleep. His clothes resembled a suit of the upper class. It was the only thing about him that didn¡¯t betray that he had been pulled out of bed.


    ¡°Welcome to our city!¡± The old man spread his arms wide.

 Chapter 25

    This was the reception I had been expecting.


    A quartet of guards stood behind the old man. Their armor shone as they stood at attention. The metal was branded with the emblem of the city on each of their shoulders. Their swords were on their left hips and crossbows were strapped across their backs.


    ¡°Thank you for your warm welcome,¡± Max stepped forward, ¡°I hope we didn¡¯t wake you?¡±


    I glanced at my companion. What did it matter if we had woken up the Mayor? We were Bokor on a mission, and the city should be happy to help us.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± The Mayor¡¯s face was covered with a fake smile, ¡°Though I must admit, we weren¡¯t expecting you for a few more days.¡± He scowled as he looked at Val, ¡°I can assure you, this problem won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Max assured him, ¡°You can¡¯t be too careful.¡±


    The old man looked relieved. What had he been expecting, I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Have you ever seen someone with fake papers?¡± I asked.


    The Mayor turned to me, ¡°Not personally,¡± he stammered, ¡°but Cyprus arrested a thief with fake papers a few years ago.¡±


    He was referring to the mayor of the closest railroad station. Cities that were on the rail system attracted more problems, so it made sense that something like that would happen there.


    ¡°But nothing like that has happened here?¡±


    ¡°I caught a man with one of your swords last year.¡± Val crossed her arms, ¡°He didn¡¯t have any marks or papers.¡± She shifted her gaze between us, ¡°We handed him over to the next Bokor that came through.¡±


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    I could tell that was what she wanted to do with us. I thought about daring her to try it. We were outnumbered eight to two, but I doubted they would be able to take us. Even if they did, the consequences would be harsh once the Bokor came to collect us. As tempting as teaching her manners was, I couldn¡¯t risk my mission. The council wouldn¡¯t forgive such a delay.


    ¡°As you can see,¡± Max held up his paper, ¡°we have our papers.¡±


    The mayor looked at the paper but didn¡¯t touch it. The ink had been mixed with heart stone dust, giving it a purple hue. Most humans refused to have anything to do with the stones, though it didn¡¯t hurt that we told them that touching them could turn a human into a zombie. It wasn¡¯t a lie, the heart stones carried the infection as well as magic. In the polished form, there wasn¡¯t much of a risk of infection. It was when the heart stones were broken that an infection could occur.


    ¡°Everything seems to be in order,¡± The mayor turned to me, ¡°do you, um, have your papers too?¡±


    I reached into my vest and pulled out my papers. The mayor read over it quickly and smiled. He clasped his hands together, ¡°Looks like everything here is in order.¡± He took a step back, ¡°Once you rest, you can dispose of the zombies.¡± He turned to leave.


    I hadn¡¯t been expecting that ¡°There are zombies?¡± I put the papers back in my vest, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I handle that tonight¡±


    The mayor froze mid-step. A worried look crossed his face for just a second, then he was smiling again.


    ¡°We have them penned up outside the city.¡± He nodded at Val, ¡°Our wranglers have them where they won¡¯t be a threat to anyone, so I¡¯m sure one night won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    I thought about insisting, but considering that I couldn¡¯t bring Max with me, it wouldn¡¯t be smart to go back outside the walls at night. I also had a feeling it would be Val who escorted me. While I had no doubt I could beat her in a fight, I didn¡¯t want that fight to happen around zombies. It would be too dangerous to fight her while also making sure neither of us got bit. The option of waiting until morning would be the best route.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Great!¡± The mayor clapped his hands, ¡°Val will show you to your rooms and we¡¯ll send someone to get you in the morning.¡±


    I watched the mayor scurry off. I could tell he didn¡¯t want to be around us. That was fine by me, as soon as I cleaned the zombies, I would be happy to leave.


    Val turned to the right and motioned for us to follow her. Without a word, Max and I took off behind her.

 Chapter 26

    The streets were empty.


    For some reason, this surprised me. Back on the island, there was usually someone arriving or leaving all the time. Most zombies were aware enough to avoid Bokor, so traveling at night was something masters frequently did. For the humans, there wasn¡¯t really anything for them to do at night. At least that was what I thought.


    As we moved through the streets I realized that the buildings we were walking between weren¡¯t for living. They seemed to be factories of some sort. I paused to peek in one of the windows to get a better look.


    What I could see wasn¡¯t much, there wasn¡¯t much light in the city. There were various machines on the tables, all of which I had no idea what they were. Back on the island all of the food processing was done by the apprentices and we had done everything by hand. To the Bokor, these machines fostered laziness. Laziness led to people getting more complacent and complacent people died faster. I began to wonder if these machines might be why the zombie wranglers were so rude. If they had grown up in a place that didn¡¯t demand hard work, then that would explain the suicidal drive to chase zombies.


    ¡°What¡¯s the hold-up?¡± Val demanded.


    I jumped at the sound of her voice. Despite any personal opinions of her profession or her lack of respect for the Bokor, there was nothing that I would call soft about her. She was ready to fight for her right to keep living, and the edge in her voice screamed that she wasn¡¯t going to let anyone take that away from her.


    ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± I asked, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡±


    ¡°I thought all you Bokor were well-traveled?¡± Val¡¯s voice dripped with venom.


    I thought about firing back an insult or about telling her how much I had traveled, but Max spoke up before I could say anything.


    ¡°There are very few zombies behind city walls,¡± Max walked over to me, ¡°there are some Bokor who have never been inside a city.¡±


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    The way he said it made me sound like some sort of uncultured heathen. I wanted to defend myself, but I realized that he was right. I knew a lot about the Bokor and zombies, but I knew very little about the humans that I was supposed to protect.


    Max looked in the window for a second and then he turned to me, ¡°This is a cannery. It¡¯s where they package food to save for the colder months.¡±


    I nodded even though I didn¡¯t really understand. On the island, we dried all of our fruits and vegetables so they would last during the few colder months. I wasn¡¯t sure what they were doing in three, but it sounded like a lot of unnecessary work.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Val asked, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.


    ¡°Most Bokor deal with zombies,¡± Max said, ¡°A few have to interact with the people.¡±


    His answer seemed to satisfy her and she started back down the street. This time, she walked a little bit closer to us. We wove our way through a few more buildings and then we reached the inner wall. This was why there weren¡¯t any people around. The factories were in one of the outer sections of the city. No one was working at night, so it made sense that there wouldn¡¯t be anyone out there.


    Val marched up to the door and banged on it three times. ¡°Open up!¡±


    A small metal window about the size of my foot slid open, letting light pour into the outer area. I blinked as my eyes readjusted to the light. Once they did, I was able to see a friendly older face on the other side of the door. His demeanor reminded me of Master Trine. Judging by the age on his face, I concluded that he was one of the older guards who had been moved to one of the easy assignments.


    ¡°Valerie!¡± He exclaimed, ¡°How was the hunting tonight?¡±


    In the light, I was able to see her face flush. It was also the first time I noticed her eyes. They were almost silver. Most of the humans I had seen had brown eyes, and a few had dark green. I wondered where she was from originally, because something told me that it wasn¡¯t this ward.


    ¡°It¡¯s Val,¡± She stepped away from the window, ¡°And I found a pair of Bokor.¡±


    ¡°Bokor!¡± The door swung open to reveal an older man with a wooden right leg, ¡°Are you putting them up at the Bucket?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a Bucket?¡± I asked. Something told me that I wasn¡¯t going to like the answer.


    The old guard waved us through the door, ¡°It¡¯s the best place for a pair of tired travelers to rest.¡±

 Chapter 27

    The Bucket was a tavern.


    It was actually called the Dry Bucket. I didn¡¯t understand the name, but I decided that I didn¡¯t want to know. It was bad enough that I was in this strange place. I didn¡¯t want to ask the question only to get an answer that wouldn¡¯t make any sense.


    I stood outside the wooden building and tried to ignore the hoots and shouts that were escaping through the slatted door. This did not sound like a place for someone to rest. It sounded like a place to get into a fight.


    ¡°Why are we here?¡± I had to raise my voice so my companions could hear me, ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like a place to sleep!¡±


    ¡°The rooms are upstairs,¡± Val was talking louder too, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll calm down in a little bit.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, ¡°Do you live here?¡±


    ¡°I own it.¡± She turned and walked inside.


    Her profession began to make more sense. I¡¯d rather fight zombies any day than deal with this degree of noise.


    Max began to follow her inside. I grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. He turned to see what I wanted.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on in there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Probably a bunch of drunk people playing a game.¡± Max shrugged and walked inside.


    I stared at the empty black sky. The noise from inside the tavern did not sound inviting at all, but there weren¡¯t any other options. I gritted my teeth, took a deep breath, and then walked through the doors.


    I had been expecting a larger crowd because of the noise. In reality, there were only a dozen people inside and two of them were the ones making most of the noise. They were with the two other men at the central table playing cards. The loud pair were sitting across from each other, each one bobbing and swaying out of rhythm with the other. The pair they were playing against seemed to be winning. At least I assumed that was what the stack of coins in front of them meant. I had never played cards before. Master Bran had called it a waste of time and talent and that energy could be used in much more productive ways. In all of our travels, this was the place that he had avoided the most.


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    Max was sitting at the bar talking to a woman that looked like a slightly younger but much happier version of Val. Val was sitting next to him, but she was talking to one of the men that had been with her outside. I wondered when he had got here, but it would have been easy for him to get ahead of us. Especially since he had probably taken shortcuts and back alleys that Val hadn¡¯t wanted to navigate us through.


    I walked up to the bar and sat down on the other side of Max. My companion turned to me, his face a big smile and devoid of the exhaustion that he had been suffering from just a few minutes ago.


    ¡°This is Sera,¡± Max bubbled, ¡°She¡¯s Val¡¯s little sister and she¡¯s the one who runs this place.¡±


    Sera stuck out her hand. This one was smooth and soft, missing all of the small scars and callouses of her older sister. I began to wonder what had happened that had made these two to be complete opposites.


    ¡°Pleased to meet you!¡± Sera smiled warmly. There was no hint of false sincerity behind that smile. She was the first person who seemed actually happy to see us.


    ¡°It¡¯s a, ugh,¡± I tried to remember the proper reply, ¡°nice place you have.¡±


    ¡°It was our father¡¯s.¡± Sera took a glass out from under the bar and placed it in front of me, ¡°He built it so that the workers would have a place to unwind after their shifts.¡± She held up a bottle of clear liquid, ¡°Rum?¡±


    I held up my hand, ¡°No thanks.¡± Master Bran had been very firm about his stance on liquor. It dulled the mind and slowed the reflexes. It was something that a Bokor had no business consuming.


    She nodded and filled up Max¡¯s glass. I watched with dismay as he downed the whole glass. It was one more thing I was going to have to work on before we went back to the island.


    ¡°Where is your father?¡± Max asked, ¡°He sounds like a pretty cool guy.¡±


    Sadness crossed her face for a moment, but her smile never left, ¡°He died in a zombie attack almost ten years ago.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Max said.


    ¡°You should be,¡± Val turned from her conversation, ¡°It¡¯s the Bokor¡¯s fault that he¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°Val¡­¡± Sera shot a stern look at her sister.


    I was trying to figure out what to say when I realized that the bar was quiet. Behind me, I heard the sound of a chair scraping its legs against the floor. It was followed by a drunk voice.


    ¡°Are y¡¯all Bokor?¡±

 Chapter 28

    I didn¡¯t say a word.


    It was obvious to the entire room that something bad was about to transpire. Part of me dreaded what might happen next. Against a room full of zombies, I wouldn¡¯t have been as tense. Zombies fought in a linear method and you didn¡¯t have to worry about them once you killed them. Against a room full of humans, it was a different story. It was our job to protect humans, not kill them. I knew that the Council wouldn¡¯t punish me if I was forced to kill one of the patrons here tonight, but they wouldn¡¯t be happy about it. I glanced over at my companion. I didn¡¯t need any other reason to be on the Council¡¯s bad side. The fear of blood and drinking I could try to fix before we returned to the island. A human death was a little more permanent.


    ¡°Are you deaf?¡± The drunk slurred, ¡°Maybe you¡¯re already a zombie.¡±


    Val stood up and moved in between us, ¡°Fred, you need to go home.¡±


    I turned around in my seat. The man that she had called Fred was standing more or less in front of her. His rocking from side to side was hypnotic enough that I wondered how he was able to remain vertical. His hands clenched into fists and I knew what was about to happen.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have any marks!¡± Fred yelled, ¡°They¡¯re no more Bokor than me!¡±


    Val reached for the hilt of her sword, ¡°I¡¯m not going to warn you again.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Fred grinned, ¡°Since when did you take a shining to the tattoo junkies?¡± There was an evil gleam in his eye, ¡°Hoping they¡¯ll make you a freak like them?¡±


    I slid out of my seat and put my hand on her arm, gently keeping her sword in its sheath. I slid around her so she¡¯d have to go through me to hurt him.


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    ¡°Let go of me,¡± She growled.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s getting late,¡± I said, ¡°Maybe we should all turn in.¡±


    Val pulled against my hand. She was strong, and I had to struggle to keep her sword in its sheath.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Fred taunted, ¡°Afraid of letting a woman fight for you?¡± He burped and pointed his finger at nothing in particular, ¡°Not that she¡¯s much of a woman.¡±


    I had thought that Val was using her full strength, but she wasn¡¯t. She pulled away from me with enough speed that I wasn¡¯t able to hold on to her. The best I was able to do was to tear the loop of her sword sheath off her belt. I stood alone in the bar, holding her sword as she rushed the drunkard.


    The poor man didn¡¯t stand a chance. In his drunken stupor, he was able to register that he had gone too far just a fraction of a second before her fist connected with his face. I heard the crunch of bone as his nose flattened against his face. His legs and arms flailed as he rose off the ground and landed on the table where he had been playing cards. The cards scattered, drinks sloshed on the men who had remained seated. The coins that they had been betting with rolled toward other tables.


    Patrons scrambled to scoop up the unclaimed money. Two of the men pulled out weapons to scare away greedy fingers while the third pulled out a dagger and turned to Val.


    ¡°That¡¯s the last mistake you¡¯re going to make.¡± He slurred his words, but there was no mistaking the intent in his eyes. They were the same eyes that I looked into every time I fought a zombie.


    The other patrons were too busy fighting over the money to pay attention to us. I cringed as I watched more of the people reach for weapons. This was quickly devolving into a situation that was going to end with fewer people breathing than it had begun with.


    I looked over at my companion, but Max was watching the brawl from behind his drink. There was no look of interest on his face, no sign of concern about the lives that would be lost if this was allowed to continue.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I bellowed, but the noise of the fighting drowned out my scream. The bar brawl was in full swing and the only thing that was going to stop it was brute force. I took a deep breath, this was the last fight I wanted to be in right now. Right now what I wanted to do was sleep so that I could be prepared for cleaning whatever zombies they had caged outside the city.


    I clenched my jaw. I would just have to end this quickly.

 Chapter 29

    The patrons with weapons were my first targets.


    The drunkard in front of Val and me was the first on my list. He slashed the blade in front of him, but his target was Val, not me. She backed up out of the range of the dagger, and before she could counterattack, I was moving forward. With the blade on his left side, his right was open.


    I grabbed the back of his neck with my left hand and as he swung his right arm toward me, I caught his wrist in my right hand. Keeping the dagger pointed away from us, I used his momentum to twist him around. Mid-turn I pressed my knee into the back of his leg. The motion was too much for the inebriated man. He began to fall forward and I slid my left hand up to the back of his head, guiding his face towards the empty part of the table between his friends¡¯ legs.


    There was a thud as the man¡¯s face bounced off of the hardwood. I released my hold on him as his unconscious body slid onto the floor. One was down, and that left eleven more to go.


    I turned to Val. I could see in her eyes that she wasn¡¯t happy with me for stepping in, but she wasn¡¯t overcome with drunken rage like everyone else.


    ¡°We need to stop this before someone gets killed,¡± I raised my voice so she could hear me.


    ¡°We?¡± She glared at me, ¡°When did we agree to team up?¡±


    I ignored the contempt in her voice. ¡°Since we are the only ones who are sober enough to end this without someone dying.¡± When that didn¡¯t seem to interest her I added, ¡°This is your bar.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± She growled, ¡°how do you want to do this?¡±


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    The scream of pain alerted us to our next target. One of the card players had impaled a greedy patron¡¯s hand to the floor. That wouldn¡¯t have been life-threatening, except he had a second knife and he didn¡¯t look content to stop the man from reaching for the coins. He wanted a more permanent solution.


    A third man, who looked like a friend of the one who was on the floor pulled out a sword. The card player was oblivious as he knelt over his prey.


    I thought about going after the man with the sword, but I was on the wrong side. I would have to move around the pair on the floor and Val to reach him. Val would have to handle him, but her sword was lying on the floor near the bar where I had dropped it. The solution to the problem wasn¡¯t one I liked.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I screamed as I pulled my sword out of its sheath on my back, ¡°Catch!¡±


    Val didn¡¯t look at me as I tossed her my sword, unfortunately, the guy with the knife did. I watched her long enough to see her grab the sword and heard the clang as she intercepted the blade of the other man. I had to trust her abilities as I focused all of my attention on the problem in front of me.


    The card player was on his knees with the knife over his head. He slashed it at me as he stood up.


    I let the slash go wide and caught his right wrist with my left hand. I stepped forward, grabbing his left shoulder with my right hand, knocking him off balance, and pushing him closer. I went with his motion and pulled him forward and jerked up my right knee. He didn¡¯t realize what happened as my knee connected with his jaw. I watched his eyes roll back and let him fall to the floor.


    The pinned man was reaching for the knife. I sighed and kicked him in the face, knocking him out.


    I had just saved his life and that was all the thanks I got? I was never going to understand humans.


    I turned to see how Val was doing, but as I looked up she screamed.


    ¡°Behind you!¡±


    My sword was flying towards me. I plucked it out of the air and twisted around, just in time to block a patron from stabbing me in the back.

 Chapter 30

    I didn¡¯t understand humans.


    I didn¡¯t understand why this fight had started, or why they were trying to kill me. I stared into my opponent¡¯s eyes and tried to look for answers. All I saw was hate and a thirst for blood.


    He raised his sword over his head and swung downward. I twisted out of his way and stepped away from the follow-up swing. Against zombies, I could wield a sword efficiently, but zombies didn¡¯t swing back. If I treated him like I would a zombie, I wasn¡¯t confident that I wouldn¡¯t permanently maim him. The problem was that if didn¡¯t fight back, I was going to lose.


    He swung again, this time aiming for my neck. When I stepped back I bumped into a table, keeping me from getting out of the reach of his sword. Without proper footing, my block was weak and only slowed his blade. The tip drew a thin red line above my collar.


    I ignored the pain and grabbed a mug from the table and threw it at him. He swatted the mug away, but his sword was less effective against the beer. The liquid splashed on his face, giving me a few seconds to act.


    He wiped his eyes with the back of his sword arm, allowing me to rush in close. He tried to bring his sword down, but I dropped mine so I could grab his arm. I pushed it over his head to keep the blade away from us and jabbed him in the stomach with my left fist. He started to move to his left so he could twist his arm down, but mid-step he stopped and fell forward.


    I cradled him and guided the unconscious man to the floor. Behind him, Val stood with a thick stick in her hand. It didn¡¯t look like much, but it had been enough to knock the man out.


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    ¡°Are you okay?¡± It sounded like there was concern in her voice.


    I rubbed my neck. I was bleeding, but the blade hadn¡¯t cut deep enough to be deadly. I¡¯d need to bandage it, but I wasn¡¯t in any danger.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I picked up my sword and looked at the others. Only two were still fighting, one was pinned to the floor with a knife in his chest and the rest were unconscious.


    I gestured at the pair, ¡°Shall we?¡±


    She nodded and we advanced on them. We didn¡¯t make it halfway across the bar.


    The swinging doors exploded inward and four guards in full armor rushed inside. Each was carrying sticks similar to the one that Val had. They hit the pair with them, adding two more to the unconscious total. Then they turned their attention to us.


    ¡°Drop the sword!¡± One of the metal cans screamed.


    I gripped my sword tighter. I had no doubts that I¡¯d lose to these guards, but I didn¡¯t like the idea of being forced to take a nap. I decided to bluff.


    ¡°I¡¯m a Bokor!¡± I stood up as straight as I could, ¡°Is this the thanks I get for helping you put down a drunken mob?¡±


    The guard didn¡¯t know what to say. He lifted his visor so he could look at me better, ¡°Where are your marks?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s Bokor, Jax,¡± Val sat down on a chair and put her stick on the table, ¡°I saw his papers.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, but¡­¡± Jax began but stopped.


    I sheathed my sword. There was no point in having it out anymore. If the armored guards decided to attack, then I¡¯d fare better with both hands-free anyway. Now that they knew who I was, it would be better to rely on my affiliation than my weapon.


    I looked around the room. Max was still on his bar stool, nursing his mug. Judging by the stupid grin on his face, he had enjoyed the fight. He also didn¡¯t look surprised to see the guards either. Considering Val¡¯s sister was the only other person at the bar, I guessed that it had been the other wrangler who had gone for help.


    I turned my attention to Val, ¡°What now?¡±

 Chapter 31

    She never got a chance to answer.


    Two more guards burst into the bar. Unlike the first group, these were wearing leather and carrying crossbows. The loaded weapons scanned the bar, once they were sure there were no threats, one of them yelled ¡°Clear!¡±


    The missing wrangler walked in with the mayor. From his disheveled look, I assumed he had been dragged out of bed yet again. Horror crossed his face as he surveyed the scene. He marched over to us.


    ¡°Valerie! I have warned you about this! We cannot have drunken brawls injuring the workforce and assaulting our guests!¡± He looked at me, ¡°Good God! Someone get a healer! Our Bokor friend is hurt!¡±


    He reached out but stopped short of touching me.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I rubbed the cut again, ¡°it¡¯s just a scratch.¡±


    ¡°We have some of the best healers in the ward,¡± The mayor stepped back, ¡°where is that healer?!¡± He pointed at Jax, who was standing beside him, ¡°You! Go get the healer!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said too forcefully. I lowered my voice, ¡°I don¡¯t need a healer.¡± I patted my vest, ¡°I need to fix it myself.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± The mayor flashed a sheepish grin, ¡°of course.¡± He waved at Jax, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the healer, just get this mess out of here.¡± His grin turned to a frown, ¡°Put them in the drunk cage, they can stay there until their shifts tomorrow!¡±


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    The guards began picking up the unconscious men and carrying them away. The other wrangler got us drinks as we waited for them to finish. I waved away the one he offered me. He shrugged and set it on the table next to me. I watched in dismay as Val downed hers in one gulp. I had been hoping for a little help from her. It was actually funny when I thought about it. Just a few minutes ago, she had been the one I had been keeping an eye on. After fighting with her, I felt a sort of kinship with her.


    We sat in silence until the last man was carried out. The guards returned to salute and then left. The crossbow-wielding guards stayed behind, taking a position by the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to experience that.¡± The mayor said, ¡°I can assure you that this city does not harbor ill intent towards the Bokor.¡± His face turned to a scowl again, ¡°And I promise that those involved will be punished.¡±


    I yawned, which set off a chain reaction around the table. Val blinked and began swaying. It was obvious that the liquor and excitement were catching up to her. Before I could say something, Max fell off of his stool and face-planted on the floor. The sound of his snoring told me there was no major damage done. To him anyway, I wasn¡¯t so sure about the floor.


    ¡°Well,¡± I stood up, ¡°it¡¯s been a long night and I need to get my companion to bed.¡± I looked around the room, ¡°I don¡¯t think I have to worry about anything else tonight.¡±


    The mayor and wrangler stood up. Val looked like she could barely keep her eyes open, much less stand on her own.


    ¡°Very well,¡± The mayor said, ¡°I¡¯ll send Darren here to get you in the morning so you can tend to the penned zombies.¡± He glanced at Max, ¡°Would you rather he wait until noon?¡±


    ¡°Morning is fine,¡± I said, ¡°My companion won¡¯t be joining us.¡± I realized Max had just given me the perfect excuse to exclude him, ¡°I can manage by myself.¡±


    ¡°It appears you can,¡± The mayor turned, ¡°He¡¯ll be here for you after breakfast.¡±


    I watched them leave. Val fell forward, asleep on the table. I sighed, there was still work to do before I could get to bed.

 Chapter 32

    I was glad I didn¡¯t have to handle them alone.


    Sera was as bright as she had been when we first walked in. The evening¡¯s violence had done nothing to dull her mood. She didn¡¯t even show any signs of being tired.


    I watched her pull her long gold hair back and tie it up. She had the same silver eyes as her sister. I thought about asking where her family was originally from but decided against it. Depending on the number of zombies, I would be done before noon. There wasn¡¯t much point in learning much about her, I¡¯d only be back to this town maybe a dozen more times in my life. Once I got my marks, I¡¯d spend most of my time in the wastes. That realization sent a shot of regret to my core for the first time. Until a few minutes ago becoming Bokor so I could fight zombies and make the world safer had been all I could think about. Now I was starting to realize just what I was going to be giving up so I could do that. The Bokor couldn¡¯t have families. Being with a human woman would only infect them, and since the marks killed most women, it would just be a cruel way of turning them into a zombie.


    Sera¡¯s sweet voice broke me out of my thoughts.


    ¡°Do you want me to help you get your friend to his room?¡± her voice was so sweet it was like she was singing a lullaby.


    I looked down at my companion, ¡°I can carry him,¡± there was no need for her to exert herself on his behalf. ¡°If you could just show me where to drop him.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± She rolled up her sleeves revealing more pure white skin, ¡°He looks heavy.¡±


    I picked him up and flipped him over my shoulder. He was heavy, but I wasn¡¯t going to admit that, ¡°I¡¯ve got him.¡± I shifted his weight so I could hold him better, ¡°Just show me where to drop him.¡±


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    Sera nodded and led me down the hall behind the bar. There were three doors back here, and none of them were labeled. She opened the one on the right, revealing a room full of liquor and a cot in the corner.


    ¡°My father used to crash here when he worked late,¡± She stepped out of my way, ¡°I thought it would be better than having to carry him upstairs.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine,¡± I knelt down and rolled him onto the cot. I had thought about just flipping him, but I wasn¡¯t sure if the cot could handle that. ¡°He slept in a tree last night.¡±


    Max groaned but didn¡¯t wake up. I stood up and turned to Sera, ¡°Where do you want me to move your sister?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to¡­¡± She began.


    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± I cut her off, ¡°just tell me where to carry her.¡±


    She stepped across the hall and opened the door. ¡°In here.¡±


    I peeked into the room. It was not what I expected. Instead of weapons or trophies, the room was decorated with shiny stones, seashells, and colored glass. Even the color was wrong. The rest of the tavern was raw wood, but the walls were painted white, which matched the blankets on the bed. I had been expecting something darker, to hide the dirt.


    ¡°Is this her room?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Sera laughed, ¡°It¡¯s mine.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± I barked out, ¡°That makes sense.¡± I looked over at the baubles, ¡°Are these normal?¡± As far as I knew, most humans didn¡¯t go near the shore. While the water did provide some defense, zombies not being able to swim and all, neither could most humans. Bokor avoided it as well since water had a grounding effect on magic. With how few beaches were visited, all the shells in the room were probably worth a small fortune.


    Sera picked up a smooth piece of glass and rolled it around in her hands, ¡°Val brings these back whenever she patrols by the ocean.¡± She put it back on the shelf, ¡°It¡¯s her way of promising that she¡¯ll always come back.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. I wanted to tell her that Val should leave the zombie hunting to the Bokor, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say it. It wouldn¡¯t stop anything and I felt compelled to say something nice.


    ¡°Your sister¡¯s strong.¡± It was all I could think to say. I walked away before she had a chance to reply.

 Chapter 33

    Val was a lot lighter than I expected.


    I¡¯m not sure why I was expecting her to be heavy. She was about average height, but thinner than most women I¡¯d seen. Her armor was also thinner than that of an apprentice. Compared to Max, she felt like she weighed nothing.


    I started to flip her over my shoulder but decided that doing so would be disrespectful. Instead, I cradled her in my arms and walked sideways so I didn¡¯t knock her head on the walls.


    Sera was standing in the doorway and moved into the room to pull back the blankets. I paused when I reached the bed. It was so white and clean, and Val was covered in dirt, blood, and liquor.


    ¡°Are you sure want me to put her in there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Sera smiled, ¡°she¡¯s slept in her gear many times.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t what I was worried about, but I complied. Once I laid her down, I moved to the doorway.


    Sera flipped the blankets over and tucked her sister in. she kissed her forehead and then turned out the light.


    I watched the tender moment. A moment that I had never seen growing up on the island. I started to wonder what life might have been like for me if I had never been an apprentice. It was a future that I couldn¡¯t imagine. My life was not this despite how curious I was about it. My future was to become a Bokor, so other people could have this.


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    Sera turned towards me and must have seen some of my thoughts on my face.


    ¡°What?¡± She blushed as she asked the question.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s, uh,¡± I tried to think of the right words. ¡°Are you going to stay here and watch her?¡± I realized that was a bad question, ¡°I mean, um, I was just wondering where my room was.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± she smiled as she brushed past me, ¡°follow me.¡±


    I could¡¯ve followed her singsong voice into a zombie next without my pulse rising. There was something about her demeanor that just put me at ease.


    She led me upstairs to the last room in the hall. She held the door open so I could see inside. The room wasn¡¯t much. There was just a bed and a corner table. The blanket on the bed was old and frayed, but it smelled clean.


    ¡°I cleaned it this morning,¡± She stepped back into the hall.


    ¡°It¡¯s better than what I¡¯m used to,¡± I said as I stepped into the room.


    ¡°What are you used to?¡±


    ¡°Trees, mainly.¡± I sat down on the bed. It was firm, but not uncomfortable, ¡°Sometimes caves.¡± When I was on the island, I slept on the floor of Master Bran¡¯s room. That was only once my chores were done though. Sometimes I slept in the garden. The soft dirt was where I had gotten my best sleep.


    ¡°You poor thing,¡± Sera cooed from the doorway. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll always have a bed when you stay here.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I fought a yawn and lost.


    She smiled and grabbed the door, ¡°I¡¯ll let you get to sleep.¡± She paused before she shut the door, ¡°I¡¯ll be in the first room if you need anything.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I tried to think of what I might need. The room had a bed. It seemed dry and closed in from the weather. I couldn¡¯t think of anything else I might need.


    I stared at the closed door for a moment. It was late and tomorrow was going to be long. I took off my boots and vest and dropped them on the floor beside the bed. The blankets practically wrapped themselves around me. In a few seconds, I was asleep.

 Chapter 34

    Morning came too fast.


    I expected to see Max staring at me when I opened my eyes. I was relieved to find myself in an empty room. I had too much to do today to deal with his bad habits this early.


    I dressed and flipped the blanket out. It didn¡¯t look like it had the night before, but I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how it had been made. I¡¯d been around beds, but making them was something that the Bokor had neglected to teach me.


    I stopped at the first room and knocked softly on the door. The answer I got was not from the other side of the door. It came from the first floor.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Val¡¯s sharp voice sent a shiver down my spine.


    I stepped away from the door. I had expected her to still be asleep after how hard she had passed out last night.


    ¡°I was just checking on Sera,¡± I tried to think of something else to say. ¡°I thought she¡¯d be up by now.¡±


    ¡°She usually is,¡± Val took the stairs two at a time, ¡°she stayed in my room?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°She thought it would be easier for me not to have to carry you up the stairs.¡±


    Val paused with her hand on the doorknob, ¡°You carried me to her bed?¡± There was no mistaking the venom in her voice.


    I couldn¡¯t speak. Despite being a Bokor in a human city, I felt like an apprentice who had just messed up. A single nod was the best I could manage.


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    ¡°Don¡¯t do that again,¡± Her glare bored through me, ¡°understand?¡±


    I gave another single nod. Part of me was outraged at her for talking to me like that, and another part was mad at myself for letting her get away with it. I was about to say something when she opened the door. The scene inside rearranged my priorities.


    Val¡¯s room was exactly what I expected it to be. Weapons and clutter were everywhere. Judging by the way some piles of broken swords and bows were stacked, I doubted it had been cleaned in a very long time. The whole room reeked of dirt, oil, and blood. It was the last smell that grabbed my attention. Val appeared to be smart enough not to bring zombie blood into the tavern. Besides, it was the salty smell of human blood, not the acidic smell of zombie blood.


    My eyes were fixated on the empty bed. A decent-sized pool of fresh blood was soaking into the middle of it. I tore my eyes away from it and scanned the room. The blanket was missing as well, and there was no other trace of Sera.


    Val grabbed my vest and slammed me into the doorpost, ¡°What did you do?¡±


    I broke her hold and stared into her silver eyes, ¡°You think I did that? Why would you think that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Bokor, aren¡¯t you?¡± She turned away and ran down the hall, throwing open the other doors.


    ¡°The Bokor protect humans!¡± I called after her, ¡°We don¡¯t kill them!¡±


    She threw open the door to the room I had slept in, ¡°Really? And what do you think those zombies you kill used to be? Bunnies?¡±


    I had seen a rabbit once. I thought about informing her that despite looking sweet and innocent, rabbits were as vicious as any zombie I had ever fought. But her words hit the mark before I could speak. I had never thought about what the zombies had been before. To me, they had just been a monster to kill. A case that had to be cut away so that I could harvest the heart stone inside.


    Val marched up to me with balled fists. She was breathing heavily and I could tell that she wanted to hit me.


    ¡°What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?¡±


    ¡°I swear that I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± I held up my hands to get ready to block the impending blow.


    Her fists never flew. We were interrupted by a male voice entering the tavern.


    ¡°Hello?¡±

 Chapter 35

    I was happy for the distraction.


    Darren had come to escort me to the zombie-holding area. In my opinion, he had shown up at just the right time. One of her wrangler friends might be able to convince Val that I had nothing to do with the scene in front of us.


    ¡°Up here!¡± Val took a step back. I could still see the anger in her eyes, but the threat of impending violence seemed to have passed.


    Darren hopped up the stairs. He looked shocked to find us so tense. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Val pointed into the room, ¡°He killed Sera.¡±


    Darren reached for his sword.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± I grabbed the hilt of my weapon, ¡°I did not kill anyone. That¡¯s what I keep trying to tell her. I was asleep whenever this happened!¡± I watched him study me, ¡°I want answers as much as you do! She is a good person.¡±


    Darren kept his sword in its sheath but didn¡¯t take his eyes off me as he walked into the room. He knelt down and touched the blood and then smelled his fingers.


    ¡°It¡¯s fresh.¡± He declared, ¡°Maybe a few hours old at best.¡± He turned to Val, ¡°What was she doing in your room?¡±


    ¡°He did it.¡± Val pointed at me.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± I held my hands up, ¡°As I¡¯ve already said, Sera told me to put you in her room, so she decided to sleep in yours.¡± I looked between both of them. ¡°It was Sera¡¯s idea, not mine. I just did what she told me.¡±


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    ¡°Can anyone verify this?¡± Darren asked, ¡°What about your partner?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s passed out in the store room.¡± I said, ¡°Sera had me put him there first.¡±


    Darren moved towards the door, ¡°So no one can vouch for what you say happened?¡±


    ¡°Why would I lie?¡± I kept my hand on my sword and backed up a step. ¡°I¡¯m Bokor! We kill zombies, not humans!¡±


    Darren shrugged and turned to Val, ¡°He has a point, they might be uppity jerks, but when have you heard of a Bokor killing someone?¡±


    I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone was thinking clearly.


    ¡°If he didn¡¯t do it, then who?¡± Val demanded.


    ¡°What about those guys from last night?¡± I offered, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine they were happy with you.¡±


    ¡°They are still in the drunk cage.¡± Darren said, ¡°I saw them there on my way over.¡±


    ¡°What about family? Friends?¡± I pushed the point, ¡°Or anyone else that might have a grudge against you?¡±


    Val sank to the floor, tears streaming down her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Her voice trailed off.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I knelt down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder, ¡°I promise I¡¯ll help you figure out who hurt her. And I¡¯ll make sure they pay.¡±


    She blinked away tears, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Your sister was a good person.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe I was willing to risk the timetable, but this was worth it. The council would not be happy to learn that humans were killing their own and I did nothing. At least I hoped they¡¯d buy that.


    ¡°That she was.¡± Darren clapped his hands together, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, you take our Bokor friend to the zombie cage for me and I¡¯ll call the guard to start investigating.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Val asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡± Darren waved for us to leave, ¡°Go clear your head and when you get back, you¡¯ll have a pair of fresh eyes.¡± He took a somber look, ¡°Now go, I¡¯ve got this.¡±

 Chapter 36

    I didn¡¯t think she was going to go.


    I know I didn¡¯t want to go. The zombies weren¡¯t going to go anywhere. The longer we waited to start searching, the harder it would be. Cleaning zombies was the last thing that I wanted to do, and I couldn¡¯t see how it would help.


    Darren acted like the matter was settled and turned his back to us. I was about to tell him that I wasn¡¯t leaving when Val stood up. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and turned towards the stairs.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± I asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we stay and do something?¡±


    ¡°Darren¡¯s right.¡± Val her back to us, ¡°Once the guard gets here, this place will be swimming with soldiers. We won¡¯t be able to do anything for a few hours until they get done recording everything.¡±


    That made sense. I wanted to do something, but for now, all I was going to do was get in the way. I might as well do my job while I couldn¡¯t do anything here.


    ¡°How many zombies?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Two.¡± Val started walking down the stairs.


    Two zombies wouldn¡¯t take very long to clean. We¡¯d be back well before the soldiers got done. I stole one last glance at the room. Darren was rubbing his temples as he looked at the bed. I decided to let him handle things here and I¡¯d be back soon.


    I dashed down the stairs to catch up to Val at the door. She set off at a brisk pace down the street.


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    The city was alive with more people than I expected at such an hour. Workers were pushing their way toward the factories. Shop owners were setting out their wares. Young children were laughing as they skipped school. The smell of fresh bread filled the air. My stomach growled to remind me that I hadn¡¯t eaten yet.


    Val stopped at one of the shops, giving me time to catch up. I watched her hand the shop owner two coins and then take two pastries from the window. She eyed me.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± She asked.


    ¡°A little.¡± The pastry smelled of sweet berries. My stomach growled again, asserting that I was more than just a little hungry.


    ¡°Do you want to eat?¡±


    At first, I thought her question had a sinister undertone. I began to think of what she was going to try to barter for the pastry, but the look on her face held no ulterior motive. The only emotion was a concern, she knew what I was about to do and was wanting to know if I wanted something on my stomach.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a strong stomach,¡± I said.


    She held out the pastry, ¡°Most Bokor don¡¯t eat first.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I took the pastry and bit into it. It was warm and flaky. And filled with berry jelly. ¡°Most Bokor have never had this.¡±


    She smiled. There was a hint of her sister on her face. I began to wonder why she had chosen to be a wrangler. Max had said that she had a reason to hate the Bokor, and I began to wonder what her story was.


    She noticed my staring and brushed her hair back, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I replied, ¡°I was just wondering how someone so kind became a wrangler.¡±


    She bristled. ¡°We do what we have to to survive.¡± She turned away, ¡°We should get going. I want to be back as soon as you finish.¡±


    There was more to the story, but now wasn¡¯t the time to push. I realized that I was thinking that there would be time later. I shook my head. I was on a mission, and as curious as I might be, I was already behind schedule and I had already promised to help find Sera. I pushed my questions about Val from my mind. Maybe in a year or two I¡¯d be back and could ask more questions. For now, I had too much to do.

 Chapter 37

    The pen was built into the city wall.


    The first thing I noticed was the lack of people in this section. The city had been alive just a few blocks back, but this part of town was deserted. Buildings had boarded-up windows, and the grass was poking through the cobblestone. The whole block felt as hungry as it was empty. Anyone foolish enough to wander down the streets would vanish before they could leave. It made the ghost town I had visited earlier seem like a vacation spot. I would be glad when I could get away from it.


    Our destination was a scaffold built onto the wall. The structure looked dangerous, but it was obvious that it was the newest thing built in this section. Just because it was newer didn¡¯t mean that I trusted it. It looked like someone had made the stairs from old wooden shingles. The posts were tied together in some places. Overall, I estimated that a good gust of wind could knock the whole thing over.


    ¡°We¡¯re climbing up that?¡± I scanned the top of the wall. The scaffolding led to the walkway that the guards used to patrol the wall. ¡°Is this how the guards get up there?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Val shook her head. She pointed to turrets at the corners of the city, ¡°They have their own access through those.¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we using one of those?¡± I eyed the structure. One of the crossbeams was sagging in such a way that it looked like a smile. Like it was happy to have two more victims.


    ¡°There are gates we have to go through and guards we have to talk to.¡± Val stepped onto the first step, ¡°This is the fastest way to get to the pen.¡±


    Safety beat speed every time. That was the first thing that apprentices were taught on the island. Going too fast meant more mistakes. All it took was one mistake to get infected while dealing with zombies, and that meant death. The lesson had been drilled into us, risks weren¡¯t worth saving a little extra time. I was about to tell Val that when I noticed she was halfway up the scaffold.


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    ¡°You coming?¡± She paused to watch me.


    ¡°I was waiting for you to get up first.¡± I said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it will hold both of us.¡±


    She grabbed the post closest to her and shook it. The whole structure banged against the wall, but it stayed together. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She smiled, ¡°I built it myself.¡±


    That explained the death trap look. Val watched me from her perch as I looked it over again. The wall was only about twenty feet high. Even if I fell off the top of the wall, I wouldn¡¯t be too hurt. I decided that this was an exception to the rule. The faster I finished the faster I could get back on track.


    The whole thing shook as I put my weight on the first step. It shook again as Val started climbing. I grabbed the sidebar for me to move with her. The moment she stepped off I slipped, expecting the scaffold to move more than it did. I grabbed the nearest post with both hands to steady myself.


    ¡°You okay?¡± Val asked.


    I looked up at her, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up,¡± Val said, ¡°You still have to get down the other side.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t imagine that there were stairs on the other side that the zombies could use to climb over the wall. I didn¡¯t want to think about what half-built structure she had waiting for me once I finished with this death trap.


    Her scream became the singular point of my focus. Without thinking about it, I took the stairs two at a time, bounding up to the top of the wall.


    Val was on her knees with tears streaming down her face as she leaned against the railing.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I knelt down next to her. I couldn¡¯t see any injuries.


    She pointed into the cage below. Held captive by a ten-foot high fence were not two zombies like I was expecting, but four. The one she was pointing at had blonde hair.

 Chapter 38

    It was the first time that I¡¯d known a person before they become a zombie.


    As time passed, the zombie''s hair falls out. Their incisors get longer until they resemble fangs. Their skin gets dark, dirty, and leathery. The older a zombie is, the less human they look. Until now, I had never thought about the humans that the zombies had been. Zombies were monsters that had to be killed. As I looked at the fresh zombie in the cage, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking that it was still Sera.


    She was wearing a white gown. It must have been what she had changed into last night after she went to Val¡¯s room. The gown was covered in mud and blood. The gash on her neck was where the blood had come from. The magic of the infection was already starting to heal the wound. By tomorrow, it wouldn¡¯t even be there. That was the downside of the infection. Zombies fed on magic, and that magic kept their bodies running after it fried their minds.


    I started doing math; it took a few hours for the infection to animate a body. Whoever had killed Sera had done so at most an hour or two after I had fallen asleep. I mentally berated myself. I should have been more attentive. If I had paid more attention, then I should have been able to stop this.


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ She¡¯s¡­¡± Val closed her eyes to try to stop the tears.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± I put my hand on her shoulder. I touched her chin with my other hand so I could look into her eyes. When she opened them, I spoke.


    ¡°I will help you find who did this.¡± Anger laced every word. Humans should not be killing their own, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving until we solve this.¡±


    She wiped her face, ¡°Why?¡±


    I thought about her question for a moment. Zombies were Bokor business. Humans killing other humans fell under the laws of whichever city they were in. Technically, I had no authority to investigate the murder, but whoever had killed Sera had also turned her into a zombie to try to cover their tracks. Humans murdering each other might not fall under my jurisdiction, but humans making zombies did.


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    ¡°She didn¡¯t deserve this.¡± I stood up and looked down into the pen, ¡°Besides, the Bokor need to know who is making more zombies.¡±


    The look on her face was the same as if I had turned purple.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Know what?¡± I scanned her, searching for some clue, ¡°Do you know who is doing this?¡±


    She eyed me for a few seconds and then took a deep breath, ¡°You are.¡± Her voice was calm and firm.


    ¡°Me?¡± I sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t do this. I don¡¯t kill humans!¡± I paused and lowered my voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t kill Sera.¡±


    ¡°Not you.¡± She waved her hand north, ¡°You. The Bokor.¡± She looked back at me, ¡°Do you seriously not know about this?¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± My stomach twisted in a knot. I didn¡¯t know what she was about to say, but I dreaded what lies the humans might be spreading about the Bokor.


    ¡°The tax.¡± She pointed at the fourth zombie in the pen. It had been the man who had been killed in her bar in the fight the night before. ¡°All our dead are thrown in here to pay it.¡±


    ¡°What tax?¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°The Bokor are trying to wipe out zombies, not make more.¡±


    ¡°For protection.¡± Val said, ¡°We have to pay the Bokor with zombies or they won¡¯t patrol our area.¡± Her words were full of anger, ¡°That¡¯s why I became a wrangler, so the lottery would stop.¡±


    ¡°A lottery?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. The Bokor would never force humans to make zombies.


    ¡°The old, the sick.¡± Val started to tear up again, ¡°They were gathered by the gate.¡± She pointed to her left. We couldn¡¯t see the gate, but I saw the turrets that flanked it, ¡°The losers were taken out to the pen.¡± She pointed down at the two areas below us. ¡°They¡¯d leave them there.¡±


    It made me sick. I wanted to tell her she was lying. That the Bokor would never condone such a thing, but there was too much pain in her words. Someone had lied to these people and got them to do horrible things.


    ¡°The Bokor didn¡¯t ask for this.¡± I said, ¡°I promise you, we would never condone something like that.¡±


    ¡°I hate to be the bearer of bad news,¡± The mayor said as he stepped around the turret behind her. Guards moved in front of him and behind me. More guards circled the scaffold on the ground.


    ¡°Everything she¡¯s said is true.¡±

 Chapter 39

    I pulled out my sword.


    ¡°It was you.¡± I snarled, ¡°You¡¯re the one killing people.¡±


    The old man stepped back to allow another pair of guards in front of him. Val stood up and drew her sword, stepping to my left as I shifted right. There were guards in front of us and behind us. Zombies were to our left and the scaffold was surrounded to our right. There was no way we were getting out of this without a fight.


    ¡°You are incorrect.¡± The mayor clicked his tongue as he spoke, ¡°It is you Bokor who are forcing these people to die.¡± He pointed at my sword, ¡°All so you can make those shiny rocks.¡±


    I tightened the grip on my sword, ¡°We would never ask for any humans to be killed!¡± I could see by the looks on the guards¡¯ faces that my words weren¡¯t having any effect. I played my trump card again, ¡°I¡¯m Bokor! I¡¯m telling you that he is lying to you!¡±


    ¡°But you aren¡¯t Bokor.¡± The mayor sneered, ¡°You¡¯re just as human as anyone here.¡±


    I glared at him, ¡°You aren¡¯t human.¡±


    The mayor laughed, ¡°You don¡¯t know much about humans, do you?¡± He grinned, ¡°We do anything to survive. Even if we have to sacrifice a few to save the many.¡±


    I gritted my teeth, ¡°I know enough to know that what you are doing is wrong.¡± I straightened up, ¡°When I tell the Bokor ¨C ¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll what?¡± The mayor sneered, ¡°They want zombies, so we give them zombies.¡± He chuckled, ¡°You¡¯ll make good zombies.¡±


    My heart started racing. I had prepared my whole life to fight zombies. I had never thought about becoming a zombie. I assumed eventually I¡¯d die while fighting zombies, not humans. I¡¯d thought I¡¯d be cremated like people were supposed to be buried.


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    I began preparing for the fight, ¡°You¡¯re going to kill a Bokor?¡± I swept my gaze over the guards, ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll get away with this?¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to kill you.¡± The mayor laughed, ¡°It¡¯ll be so tragic. Wannabe Bokor goes into the zombie pen and gets himself a bit. What are we supposed to do?¡± He shrugged, ¡°We¡¯re only humans?¡±


    I stepped away from Val. I had no doubt that if he offered her a deal, she would help throw me in the pen.


    ¡°Trying to save yourself?¡± The mayor teased.


    ¡°I¡¯m giving us room.¡± I slashed my sword in front of me.


    ¡°You can¡¯t win.¡± The mayor teased, ¡°Put your sword down and we¡¯ll knock you out before we throw you in.¡±


    He was right. There were too many guards. The fight wouldn¡¯t last very long and then they¡¯d throw us in. I tried to think of an exit route, but the only options were guards or zombies. I thought about jumping in the pen and killing zombies, but then I¡¯d be stuck in a pen with a bunch of dead zombies. Eventually, I¡¯d die from hunger or thirst and then I¡¯d turn into a zombie myself. I started to lower my sword.


    ¡°You killed Sera.¡± Val hissed, ¡°I don¡¯t care how many guards I have to kill. You¡¯re going to pay.¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± The mayor held up his hands, ¡°I had nothing to do with that. If she hadn¡¯t been in your bed then she¡¯d still be her lovely self back at the Bucket, wondering what tragedy befell her older sister.¡±


    ¡°Then who killed Sera?¡± I demanded.


    The mayor pointed behind us. We both turned to see Darren standing in front of the guards. The wrangler had a knife to my partner¡¯s throat and was holding him tight. My partner was still too hungover to tell exactly what was going on.


    ¡°Darren!¡± Val exclaimed, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°This town is barely surviving.¡± Darren sneered, ¡°The old and the sick are dragging us down. If we¡¯re going to survive, then the sacrifices have to continue.¡±


    ¡°You did all of this so you could kill more people?¡± My temper flared, ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡±


    ¡°What do you know?!¡± Darren screamed, ¡°What gives you the right to stick your nose in our business?¡±


    I started to tell him exactly why what they were doing was wrong, but I was interrupted by the soft plea of my partner.


    ¡°Byler,¡± Max¡¯s voice was full of fear, ¡°Help me.¡±

 Chapter 40

    I didn¡¯t know what to do.


    It was supposed to be easy. The humans were supposed to give us food or shelter while we were in their cities. Whatever we asked for, they were supposed to provide and then leave us alone. In return, we killed zombies and they were safe.


    I thought my life as a Bokor was going to be simple. So far it was anything but simple.


    I needed more time to come up with a plan. I decided to stall.


    ¡°Why were you trying to kill Val?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Like her father, she was becoming a hassle to deal with. The brawl at the tavern would¡¯ve been much more devastating if either of you had been actual Bokor.¡± The mayor said, ¡°Eventually, her luck is going to run out and we will be the ones who have to pay for her mess.¡± He shrugged, ¡°So I told Darren to take care of it.¡±


    ¡°What about us?¡± I pointed at Max, ¡°Why risk trouble with the Bokor?¡±


    The mayor tsked, ¡°As I¡¯ve already said, you aren¡¯t Bokor.¡± He flashed an evil grin, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone here will lose any sleep over stopping you from becoming one of those monsters.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t ¨C ¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve stalled long enough.¡± The mayor interrupted, ¡°Drop your weapons.¡±


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    ¡°Never!¡± Val lunged.


    I was torn between backing her up or trying to rescue Max. Not that I¡¯d figured out a way to do either. There were too many guards for us to win.


    I moved towards Darren. Val was never going to reach the mayor, even with my help. The best I could do was free Max. After that, I didn¡¯t have any ideas, but I was hoping an opportunity would present itself.


    Darren backed away as I charged forward. The guards beside him rushed forward with shields raised. I could¡¯ve gotten around one guard, but two blocked the whole walkway. I jumped back a step to give myself more room, and ran into another guard. Too many hands grabbed me and pulled my sword out of my hand. I was slammed into the stone floor and a knee pressed into my back as my hands were bound with a rope.


    The whole fight was over in just a few seconds.


    My dagger was taken as well as my papers. Val was thrown down next to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± She screamed, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to get away with this!¡±


    A guard kicked her in the stomach, silencing any more threats.


    I craned my neck so I could look up, ¡°What now?¡± I asked, ¡°Are you going to kill us?¡±


    The mayor started to answer, but Darren spoke up.


    ¡°Killing you would be too boring.¡± Darren pulled Max over to the rail, ¡°Let¡¯s have some fun.¡±


    I watched in horror as I realized what he was going to do. Max didn¡¯t understand until his feet left the stone.


    ¡°No!¡± I screamed. I struggled against the man on top of me, ¡°Throw me!¡±


    ¡°Byler!¡± Max¡¯s voice trailed as he fell into the pen. The growl of the zombies mixed with my partner¡¯s screams.


    The guards laughed and chuckled until it was quiet.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t take long,¡± Darren snickered and turned towards us with an evil gleam in his eye. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡±

 Chapter 41

    My partner was dead.


    That fact sent a cold chill down to my stomach. I had been trying to think of a way to save him, to make him a better Bokor. In the end, all I could do was watch as he was thrown into a pit of zombies. The only positive thing was that I couldn¡¯t see it from where I was being held. I might not have watched it, but the sound of my partner¡¯s final moments and the screaming of my name was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.


    Which was going to end in a few minutes.


    I glared up at Darren, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you.¡±


    The wrangler laughed as he kicked me. I tried to buckle with the blow, but the man on my back had me pinned. I felt more than heard a rib crack. I gritted my teeth, I wasn¡¯t going to give them the satisfaction of hearing me scream.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± The mayor cast a nervous glance at the horizon, ¡°we need to finish this.¡±


    Darren bent down so he could look me in the face, ¡°You want to go next don¡¯t you?¡±


    I spat in his face.


    The man on top of me slammed my face into the stone. The world spun as I forced myself to hold onto consciousness. If I got knocked out before they threw me in the pen, then I¡¯d be dead for sure.


    Darren wiped the spit off with the back of his sleeve. I was pulled up to my knees when he waved for the men to stop.


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    ¡°Not yet.¡± Darren cast a hungry look at Val, ¡°Her.¡±


    I struggled as they forced me back down. Val started kicking as they hauled her to her feet.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± She screamed, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill every one of you!¡±


    Guards grabbed onto her legs. It took three of them to hold her, but she still fought as they carried her to the edge.


    Darren patted her cheek. She tried to bite his hand but missed.


    ¡°Be a good sport.¡± He grinned, ¡°I know you¡¯ll last longer than the last one.¡±


    She opened her mouth to respond, but never got the chance. While the guards still had her held, Darren kicked the back of her knee. As she stumbled he grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her over the edge.


    The guards cheered as she fell. Unlike Max, she didn¡¯t scream. The only sounds coming from the pen were grunts and the growls of the zombies.


    The guard on top of me craned so he could see what was going on. That must not have been enough, because he stood up so he could watch. The only thing holding me down was his foot.


    Everyone was watching the fight, which allowed me to roll to my right and out from under the pinning foot. I tucked as I rolled, bringing my hands in front of me.


    The guard glanced down, but he was too late to act. I clenched both hands together and swung. My fist ached as it smashed into his helmet, but it knocked him down. As he fell I rushed for the ledge. Most of the guards were too busy watching the fight to notice me. The one that did only saw someone about to knock him into the pen.


    He did what any sane person would do when faced with the same split-second decision.


    He moved out of the way.


    I charged through the hole he had made and lept into the air. As I passed Darren, I thought about grabbing him but didn¡¯t want to risk not being able to pull him down with me. There would be time later for revenge. Right now, the only thing I needed to focus on was saving Val.


    My heart thundered in my ears as I began to fall. I hadn¡¯t been able to save my partner. I hadn¡¯t been able to protect Sera. I wasn¡¯t going to fail Val.

 Chapter 42

    It was a twenty-foot drop.


    I had expected the fall. I had even prepared myself for the impact. What I had forgotten about were my ribs.


    Lights flashed across my vision as I rolled over my wounded side. The sharp inhale that followed the pain was almost enough to make me pass out. Both from the stench and from the breathing.


    I blinked back the tears and steadied my breathing as I stood up. The zombies were still focused on Val. I wanted to admire her ability to stay alive this long, but I couldn¡¯t. There were tears in her clothes and she had been bitten at least on her left arm. My heart sank. Even if we killed all the zombies, the odds were good that she would die from the infection.


    I pushed that thought out of my mind. She would die now if I didn¡¯t do something to help her.


    Both of my weapons had been taken. I had my matches, but using fire to fight zombies in this small space would be suicidal. Not that fighting zombies without weapons was much better.


    I ran at the closest zombie. The guards cheered, apparently they weren¡¯t worried about me being in the pen. It was four against two, and we were both wounded. They believed the outcome to be a foregone conclusion. Apparently, they had never seen a Bokor fight.


    I clubbed the zombie with my double fists. There wasn¡¯t anything around to cut the ropes and I didn¡¯t have time to use my teeth.


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    The zombie staggered but didn¡¯t go down. I hadn¡¯t expected to kill it, but I had hoped to knock it out.


    It was enough to grab the attention of the rest of the zombies. They paused, unsure of which meal to go after first.


    I clubbed the zombie again. This time it dropped to its knees. I grabbed the back of its head and pulled it towards me, raising my knee at the same time. There was a crunch as I broke its face. It fell to the ground with barely a sound.


    The remaining zombies rushed me. I caught the first one by the arm and flung it away from me. It tripped over Max¡¯s body and face-planted. Low growls promised another attack, but I had a few seconds for it to find its feet.


    That only left Sera.


    She was running at me as the other one had. The happy smile she had worn was gone, replaced by a hungry growl. I tried to see her as just another zombie, but she looked too much like herself. For the first time since becoming an apprentice, I froze.


    It was the worst mistake a Bokor could make. That had been drilled into me by Master Bran. Make a choice and follow through. Bad choices could be corrected later, but hesitation was time that you could never get back.


    All of this berated me as she bowled into me. I heard the guards cheer as she knocked me over. They wanted to watch her kill me. They were happy to see me die.


    It made me angry. I had dedicated the rest of my life to protecting humans. To fight monsters so they could be safe. And they were enjoying watching me die.


    I pushed the hungry teeth away from me and pulled my legs up. I planted them in her stomach and kicked her off of me. I wasn¡¯t going to die today. They needed to be stopped, and they¡¯d keep getting away with murder if I died right now.


    I flipped onto my feet and prepared for the second attack. I wasn¡¯t going to hesitate this time.


    I felt teeth sink into my shoulder. I had forgotten about the other zombie. That carelessness had gotten me bitten.

 Chapter 43

    My knees buckled as the zombie charged down on me.


    I had heard Masters talk about what getting bit felt like. They had described it like getting caught in a steel trap. This sensation was so much more.


    The teeth were sharp and strong. There was a chill on my shoulder where it was attached, and my breath felt like it was freezing in my lungs. I choked as my knees buckled. It felt like I had two grown men on my back.


    I pushed against the fog that clouded my vision and reached behind me. My nails scratched the zombie''s hide as I strained for a handhold. My hands were still bound and I couldn¡¯t reach under its arms.


    The cheers of the guards almost masked the snap of the rope binding Val¡¯s hands together. Before the zombie could react, she put it in a sleeper hold. The zombie bit her left arm, but that didn¡¯t stop her from twisting her arms. There was a satisfying crack as she twisted the zombie¡¯s head around. The zombie¡¯s body fell forward, spraying gore in front of her.


    Val arched her arm and threw the zombie¡¯s head at her sister. The dead monster turned its attention from me to her. I would¡¯ve liked her to help me, but drawing Sera away was good enough. It allowed me to focus on the zombie behind me. I watched her move away from me and tried to think.


    The chill was spreading up my neck and down my back. I needed to do something fast or I was going to pass out. I knew that if I lost consciousness then I wouldn¡¯t wake up again.


    Instead of trying to grab the zombie, I changed tactics. I pulled against the zombie¡¯s neck with my hands and rolled forward. I fought the jolt of fog that clouded my vision as I landed on top of the zombie. I was on my back now with my hands behind me, pinning the zombie between me and the ground. The zombie¡¯s mouth popped off of my shoulder when we landed and I could hear its teeth gnashing together, trying to latch back on to me.


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    I rolled my shoulder under its jaw and pulled tight. The zombie was strong and I wasn¡¯t going to be able to hold it for long, but I only needed a second. I was thankful for the numbness of the zombie¡¯s bite. It was blocking all the pain in my shoulder, which I imagined would be refusing to move otherwise.


    I pushed with my legs and twisted over. The zombie was now facing me as I lay on top of it. I pulled tight on my arms to keep it in place. Its cold breath pulled a gag out of me as my stomach tried to empty, but I swallowed the bile. Now was not the time to be sick.


    I didn¡¯t weigh enough to hold the zombie pinned for long and my arms were busy trying to keep its claws pinned to its sides. I needed something to hit it with, but there was nothing around, besides, I¡¯d have to release my hold to swing something.


    I used the only blunt weapon I could.


    I brought my forehead down into its face.


    The first blow threatened to knock me out, but I blinked away the stars and focused on the crunching sound that the broken nose had made. I smashed it again, this time drawing a howl out of the undead monster, but its struggles were losing strength.


    I hit it a third, then a fourth, and finally a fifth time.


    I had zombie blood running down my face, and was pretty sure I had busted an eyebrow, but the zombie was barely moving. I pulled the monster up as I stood. My knees wobbled as I tried to keep my balance, but I didn¡¯t fall. I could hear the cheers of the guards, but the noise sounded so distant.


    I turned the zombie around so that our backs were touching and cradled its neck over my right shoulder. I braced and pulled the zombie off of its feet as I leaned forward.


    The undead creature began to lash out weakly, but I was too numb to care about the few scratches I received. In a few moments, the popping noises stopped as a wet thud announced that I was only holding a head. I tossed the head across the pen, then looked over at Val, who was standing over the body of her sister. Tears ran down her cheek and blood leaked from her arms. We had beaten the zombies for now, but in a few hours, Max would turn and the magic inside Sera would heal her wounds. Not that it mattered, we would be zombies ourselves by then.

 Chapter 44

    A crossbow bolt zipped past my ear.


    I turned to the wall and saw Darren reloading his weapon. The wrangler wasn¡¯t content to let the infection kill us. He wanted to make sure we were dead.


    I braced myself to dodge but knew it wouldn¡¯t do much good. I was getting weaker and there wasn¡¯t anywhere to hide. Eventually, he would hit me.


    ¡°Stop!¡± The mayor ordered.


    Darren had the crossbow sighted at me. I tensed because the look on his face told me that he wasn¡¯t going to lower it.


    ¡°I said stop!¡± The mayor pulled the crossbow down before it could fire.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t dead,¡± Darren pulled the weapon away. ¡°We can¡¯t leave them like this.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve both been bit.¡± The mayor gestured at us, ¡°They¡¯re as good as dead.¡±


    Darren started to sight the crossbow again. This time the mayor tried to pull it out of his hands.


    ¡°Son, I¡¯m not going to tell you again.¡± The mayor gave one final yank and pulled the crossbow out of Darren¡¯s hands.


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to leave them?¡± Darren insisted, ¡°What if more show up?¡±


    ¡°Then we delay them.¡± The mayor passed the crossbow to a guard, ¡°Spending a few hours with those things,¡± he spat as he said ¡®things¡¯, ¡°will be easier to explain than an arrow sticking out of one of their own.¡± He glared at his son. ¡°Unless you want to go in there and pull it out?¡±


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    Darren was upset, but he shook his head. I tried to smile but didn¡¯t have the strength. At least we had a chance now.


    I watched the mayor walk off and most of the guards followed him. Darren glared at us for a few minutes but eventually got bored of waiting for us to die and stormed off.


    Once we were free of prying eyes, I began digging in my pocket. Val had sank to her knees and was running her fingers through her sister¡¯s hair. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have an antidote for the bite?¡± She blinked back the tears.


    I pulled out two heart stones from my pocket but hesitated. What I was about to do could earn me execution back on the island. Making the transition to Bokor without permission was almost always rewarded with execution, because it was very dangerous without aid, and also because the council had very strict rules about who could receive this power. By making the transition, there would at least be an opportunity to plead my case before the council. I hoped they would understand why I did what I was about to do. It was that or death, and I wasn¡¯t ready to die yet.


    The other heartstone in my hand felt warmer. Giving a stone to Val could be considered treason. She was a human with no training. She had not gone through the conditioning that apprentices received, but looking at her holding her sister, knowing that she had become a wrangler to protect her people, the very core duty of a Bokor, I knew that she had paid for the chance to try.


    I held out a stone in my hand, ¡°Do you trust me?¡±


    She eyed the stone in my hand, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a gem like you have in your sword?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Sort of.¡± I took a deep breath. I was running out of time, ¡°We have to do this fast.¡± I swallowed. From everything that I had learned about her so far, she was not going to like my question. I thought about just telling her it would save her from the infection, but that was a lie. The transition could kill her faster than the bite. Besides, she deserved to know upfront what I was offering her.


    ¡°Do you want to be a Bokor?¡±

 Chapter 45

    She looked like I had just kicked her.


    I had been expecting shock, even rage. She had a lot to process with that question, but I needed an answer first. I didn¡¯t have long before I was going to pass out. I had to finish the process before that happened.


    ¡°Will it work?¡± She fought back bitter tears, ¡°Will it work on me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I shivered. The infection was spreading, ¡°It might not work on me either, but I have to try.¡± I took a step closer to her, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a zombie.¡±


    She closed her eyes to bottle up the pain. When she opened them, she reached out and grabbed my hand with both of hers.


    ¡°Promise me.¡± She looked into my eyes, ¡°Promise me that if this kills me, you¡¯ll make them pay for what they¡¯re doing.¡± Her chest heaved to contain a sob, ¡°For what they did to them.¡±


    I could see Max out of the corner of my eye. Killing humans was not what the Bokor did, but sometimes the bad ones had to be held accountable for what they had done.


    ¡°I promise,¡± I said.


    She nodded and took the stone from my hand, ¡°What do I do?¡±


    I walked over to the city wall and smashed the heart stone I had against the stone. The stone hadn¡¯t been cured, so it crumbled to dust once the outer shell was crushed.


    I swept most of the dust in my hand and watched Val mirror what I had done. I fought a final wave of hesitance and cupped the dust into my mouth.


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    The dust was bitter and popped as it touched my tongue and cheeks. I resisted the urge to spit it out or cough and started swallowing. I lost the battle with coughing but clamped my mouth shut. I needed to swallow all of the bitter powder.


    My mouth was so dry I felt like I could drink gallons of water. There were no fluids around. Not in the pen anyway. I struggled to keep my mouth closed, but I lost to that too. The cough that broke my lips sprayed purple dust into the air. I sank to the ground, curling up in a ball as I coughed and heaved.


    I fought against losing consciousness. The fog begged to be allowed to engulf me, but I refused to yield. It was the only thing I had left that I could fight against, and I refused to lose.


    I lost track of how long I coughed. I had my eyes open, but everything was a blur. When the world finally stopped spinning and my eyes could focus, it was dark.


    The growl of zombies was all around me. I couldn¡¯t see them, but I knew where they were. It was a skill that only a few of the masters possessed. While it was good to know where the zombies were, I wished I couldn¡¯t. It felt like icicles on my skin, pointing in the direction of the zombies. Useful at the moment, and not a good feeling in general.


    I fumbled in my vest for the matches. The zombies were staying at the edges of the pen. I could feel the fear coming off of them. They could tell there was a Bokor in the pen and they didn¡¯t want to be near me.


    I struck a match and saw Val lying next to the wall. Fear gripped my stomach. Very few women made it through the transition, and those were the ones who had trained their whole lives. I should never have offered her the stone. I had killed her with false hope.


    I poked her cheek. It was still warm. I brushed her hair back and saw a purple line running from her ear down her neck. The marks had taken! I hadn¡¯t killed her after all.


    Val moaned and opened her eyes. I smiled as I saw her silver eyes look at me.


    ¡°Byler?¡± She mumbled, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I felt my face, there were no scars.


    ¡°They¡¯re purple.¡±

 Chapter 46

    I hadn¡¯t become a Bokor.


    I was Touched.


    It made sense that I could feel the zombies. As a Touched, I was connected to them. I also realized that it wasn¡¯t me that the zombies were afraid of. There was only one Bokor in the pen, Val.


    ¡°Did it work?¡± Val sat up and rolled her sleeves up. Purple swirls danced up her arms. It was the first time that I¡¯d seen marks like that. Every Master from the island had marks that were in straight lines. If I wasn¡¯t so worried about my condition, then I would have been stunned by the elegance of her marks.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re good,¡± I shrugged off my leather shirt. There were no marks on my arms. No marks anywhere on my body. I was cursed.


    ¡°How does it work?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°What?¡± I snapped.


    ¡°The magic.¡± Val was too amazed to notice my tone, ¡°How do I use magic?¡±


    ¡°I ¨C ¡± My voice trailed off, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    I had been around Masters for most of my life. I had watched them use magic, but never asked them how they did it. They just pointed and stuff happened. The thing that we needed most was the one thing that I didn¡¯t know how to use.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Val exclaimed, ¡°How do you not know?¡±


    ¡°I was taught how to fight zombies.¡± I fired back, ¡°Magic doesn¡¯t come until after you get the marks!¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Val looked at me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I repeated, ¡°What¡¯s wrong is that I didn¡¯t make the transition.¡±


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    Val took a step back, putting her hands against the wall, ¡°You¡¯re going to become a zombie?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I groaned, ¡°I didn¡¯t get the marks, but it didn¡¯t kill me either.¡± My shoulders sagged, ¡°I¡¯m Touched.¡±


    ¡°Touched?¡± Val¡¯s eyes widened as she realized what I was, ¡°You mean one of those things that make zombies?¡±


    I didn¡¯t know how to answer her question. It was true that most Touched made zombies, but not all of them did. There was at least one on the island that lived in solitude in the caves under the fort.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to make any zombies.¡± I looked at the walls of the pen. As much as I was disappointed about being Touched, I couldn¡¯t dwell on it. If the guards realized that we weren¡¯t dead, then I had no doubt that they¡¯d put an arrow in us.


    The walls of the pen were only ten feet high. It was too high to scale without help. I looked over at Val. It wouldn¡¯t be very hard for the two of us to get over the wall if we worked together.


    I walked over to the wall. It was course, but smooth enough that I couldn¡¯t get a handhold.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Val asked from behind me.


    I turned around, ¡°We can climb over the wall here.¡±


    There was a look of horror on her face. I started to assure her that I wasn¡¯t going to be a danger to anyone once we got out.


    She exclaimed, ¡°We¡¯re leaving?¡± She looked to her right, ¡°What about the people.¡± There was worry in her voice, ¡°We can¡¯t let them start the sacrifices again.¡±


    I started to tell her that we couldn¡¯t help them. We didn¡¯t have any weapons, not that they helped us much before. We could go to the island and tell the council what had happened, but I¡¯d be imprisoned at best and Val would probably be executed. I looked at her swirling marks and had an idea. The people inside didn¡¯t know that we couldn¡¯t use magic. All we had to do was use a little flair.


    I looked at the wall of the city. It would be just as easy to climb the city wall from the pen wall as it was to climb the pen wall. I scanned the pen. The decapitated zombies had stopped leaking blood into the dirt, but the pools hadn¡¯t soaked in all the way. I slid next to the closest one and began tearing strips of its clothes off. I ignored the blood that I was splashing in. Now that we had transitioned, the zombie blood couldn¡¯t infect us.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Val asked.


    I didn¡¯t have time to explain. If we were going to succeed, then we needed as much darkness as we could get.


    ¡°Tie these in knots,¡± I threw her a handful of scraps.


    She caught them and started tying knots. ¡°What are we making?¡±


    I dropped one of the knots in the corpse.


    ¡°Fireballs.¡±

 Chapter 47

    I filled my vest with blood-soaked rags.


    Because of how flammable the knots were, one of us needed to hold them, and the other needed to have the fire. Since Val had the marks, it made sense for her to be the one throwing the knots around.


    We scaled the walls without a problem. I felt bad about leaving the zombies alive in the pen, but once we got our weapons back, I was going to come back and cremate them. It was a waste of heart stones, but I wasn¡¯t going to butcher Sera or Max. Plus, these people had been made zombies to create heart stones. I wasn¡¯t going to harvest the stones of the others. This would only encourage more sacrifices.


    We had only made it a few feet when we heard the scraping of boots. Two guards stepped into the torchlight.


    ¡°You should have¡­¡± The first guard¡¯s voice trailed off as we saw Val¡¯s marks. We had torn off her sleeves so that she could show off more of her marks. We were trying to be intimidating and judging by the look on the guards'' faces, we had succeeded.


    ¡°You tried to kill a Bokor,¡± I rumbled. I threw a knot at the torch. It exploded, showering fire on the walkway.


    Val walked over the cooling embers, ¡°Swords. Now.¡±


    Both guards dropped their weapons.


    ¡°Please.¡± Begged the second, ¡°It was all the mayor!¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t want to throw you in there.¡± The first proclaimed.


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    ¡°I remember all the guards cheering for our deaths,¡± I remarked.


    ¡°Yes, they did.¡± Val picked up the weapons.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill us.¡± The first begged.


    I took a sword from Val. The guards must have seen my eyes for the first time, they both shrieked.


    ¡°You want to live?¡± I asked.


    They both nodded vigorously.


    ¡°Go get the mayor.¡± I said, ¡°We want to talk to him.¡±


    The guards looked at each other before nervously running off.


    ¡°You know they¡¯re going to warn him,¡± Val watched them run.


    ¡°I know,¡± I took off after them, ¡°but they¡¯ll get all the doors open.¡±


    Val took off after me. I tossed her a knot and she lit it and threw it after them. The guards whimpered and sped up. It was enough that they left the doors open behind them and the other guards scattered. Lights began popping up across town. Word was spreading fast that the Bokor were attacking. Families were running to the other end of town to protect their loved ones. It was having the right effect. By the time we reached the mayor, most of the innocents would be on the other side of town.


    Val stopped as we approached a fork.


    I halted my chase and turned to her, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    She pointed at the path leading to the left. The path that the guards hadn¡¯t taken.


    ¡°The mayor¡¯s tower is this way.¡± She nodded towards the route the guards had run, ¡°They¡¯re going towards the prison.¡±


    ¡°Well, there goes our key.¡± I looked at Val, ¡°Can you get us the rest of the way?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Val shook her head and pointed behind me, ¡°but he can.¡±


    I turned to see Darren standing in the doorway. In his hand was the crossbow he had shot at me with earlier. On his hip was Max¡¯s sword.


    I set my feet as he raised the crossbow. This was the man who had murdered both Sera and Max. I wasn¡¯t going to let him kill anyone else. I wasn¡¯t supposed to kill humans, but the thing in front of me wasn¡¯t human. It was a monster.


    And I killed monsters.

 Chapter 48

    Val was moving before I could say anything.


    Darren looked like he was expecting her to charge. He drew his stolen weapon and waited for her to close the distance between them.


    I could hear the clank of metal on the stone. Soldiers were coming. Our fear tactic had worked for a little while, but the fear we had used had worn off. We needed to gain the upper hand soon or this time we would die. I had no doubts that they¡¯d use arrows on us instead of risking getting close.


    Steel rang as their swords crashed into each other. I could tell that Val had a lot more training with a blade than myself, but so did Darren. My stomach twisted as I watched them clash. Val¡¯s victory wasn¡¯t assured.


    I had a sword myself, but it wasn¡¯t going to be much help in the space we had to work with or against an actual swordsman. I left my weapon on my belt and decided to use something else.


    I still had about a dozen knots in my vest. As the two fought, I began to untie them. The strips were only about the length of my hand, which weren¡¯t much by themselves, but when tied together they became a five-foot-long strip of knotted cloth.


    I closed the distance and flicked my whip at Darren.  The wrangler swatted at the cloth, knocking it aside and leaving himself open to Val. She stabbed at him, drawing a cut on his arm as he jumped back.


    He scowled at us and drew a stolen dagger from his belt.


    ¡°Two against one?¡± He growled, ¡°I always knew Bokor had no honor.¡±


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    ¡°You murder innocents in their sleep!¡± I cracked the cloth at him, spraying him with zombie blood. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve honor!¡±


    Darren wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.


    ¡°Zombie blood!¡± He screamed, ¡°You infected us?¡±


    ¡°Not us.¡± Val pointed her sword at him, ¡°Just you.¡±


    I cracked the cloth at him again. He raised his swords, but they couldn¡¯t stop the mist.


    ¡°Stop!¡± He screamed, ¡°Stop it!¡±


    I flipped the cloth around and snapped it a few more times. He tried to block it with the sword, but he wasn¡¯t fast enough.


    The sound of boots was getting closer. We needed to end this before they got here. I moved closer so I could hit him with the cloth. He saw what I was doing and stepped forward, slicing at the whip. The cloth wrapped around the blade, with the knots grabbing it. I pulled back, locking us into a tug-of-war.


    Val moved in, slicing at his arm. He started to block with the dagger, but decided against it and let go. The sword clattered to the ground.


    Darren began backing up with the dagger out, slashing at the air to keep some distance between himself and Val.


    I pulled the sword back and unwrapped it from my whip. I saw the soldiers filter through the archway behind us.


    ¡°Lay down your weapons!¡± A familiar voice ordered.


    Val knocked the dagger out of Darren¡¯s hand and slid behind him, pressing her sword to his throat.


    ¡°He killed my sister!¡± She screamed.


    I didn¡¯t wait for an answer. I flicked my whip at the torch behind me and then to Darren. The strip erupted in flames, casting an eerie glow on the walkway. That wasn¡¯t the biggest distraction either. Once my whip touched Darren, he caught on fire.


    His screams never escaped his lips as Val slit his throat.


    The soldiers gasped as Darren dropped to his knees. Val pushed him to the side, knocking him over the wall.


    I looked at the guards, ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡±

 Chapter 49

    <h2>Chapter 49</h2>


    The guards didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Val picked up the Bokor blade, which shone purple as soon as it touched her hand. There was something about them being in the hands of a master that called the blade to life.


    There was something fitting about Max¡¯s sword being in her hands, like it was accepting her as its new owner. That was something I¡¯d have to talk to her about later. For right now we had other problems.


    I could see the guards trying to decide what to do, so I focused on the old guard. I hoped he would at least be reasonable.


    ¡°Jax.¡± I put my hand on the hilt of my stolen weapon, ¡°Darren tried to kill two Bokor and killed another.¡± I nodded at Val, who looked absolutely terrifying at the moment. ¡°What do you think is going to happen to the city now?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­¡± The old guard shook his head as he stared at Val. ¡°How did you become this, Valerie?¡±


    Val wasn¡¯t wanting a conversation. ¡°Where is the mayor?¡± I was surprised the words made it past her gritted teeth.


    ¡°I would get out of her way.¡± I had an idea, ¡°Unless you¡¯re part of this rebellion.¡±


    ¡°Rebellion?¡± Jax¡¯s eyes got wide. ¡°There isn¡¯t a rebellion! We¡¯d never¡­¡± He realized what I was saying. He saluted, ¡°We are loyal allies of the Bokor.¡± He looked at the other guards. ¡°Aren¡¯t we?¡±


    They looked as confused as he had at first.


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    ¡°And we¡¯re very thankful that they¡¯re going to help us put down the rebellion that Dillar started..?¡± Jax tried to prompt them.


    Most of them seemed to recognize what he was saying and they moved to the side of the wall.


    ¡°YES SIR!¡± they all saluted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll escort you.¡± Jax went and opened the door leading to the ground floor.


    Val grabbed his keys and took off, prompting the two of us to have to run after her.


    Jax was wheezing as he tried to keep up. ¡°You know¡­¡± He took a deep breath, ¡°I would have tried to stop it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I wanted to think he wasn¡¯t rotten, but I couldn¡¯t understand how he hadn¡¯t known what was going on. ¡°You would have stopped them from killing my partner?¡±


    He leaned against the wall to a large house that Val had run in to. After a moment to catch his breath, the old man looked up at me, ¡°I said try.¡± He shook his head, ¡°Dillar and Darren have this city in a stranglehold and too many people are too scared of being the next sacrifice that they won¡¯t say anything.¡± He nodded at the house, ¡°I¡¯ve been talking Dillar out of offing Val for a few years.¡± Jax shook his head, ¡°Last night was the last straw. I thought I¡¯d gotten through to him, but then¡­¡± There was a tear in his eye. ¡°I did try.¡±


    I wanted to scream at him. I was ashamed that I hadn¡¯t been able to do more. But in a way that meant that I understood where he was coming from.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot to make up for.¡± I started walking towards the house. ¡°But we have other problems to deal with tonight.¡±


    Val met me at the door and handed me my sword and dagger. She looked over at Jax. ¡°Tell your boys that this place has been infected and it has to be cleansed!


    Jax nodded slowly.


    ¡°Did you..?¡± I tried to look around her inside, but she shut the door.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to see in there.¡± The redhead started walking away.


    I thought about going back in, but I felt like she needed me more, even if I had no idea what to say.


    ¡°Val!¡± I ran after her. Jax was gone, off to inform the guards of the change in leadership, I supposed. ¡°Wait up!¡±

 Chapter 50

    <h2>Chapter 50</h2>


    I burned all of the zombies, including Darren¡¯s body.


    It was a waste, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to butcher Sera or Max. The people hadn¡¯t said anything to me about it. In fact, Jax was the only person who was willing to talk to me or Val. Her marks and talk of there being a rebellion had terrified most people. The little interaction we had in town had been done with barely seeing anyone.


    It had taken me a while to burn away all the blood on the wall from our fight, but once I was done, I¡¯d gone outside with Val and we¡¯d lit the pile of zombies on fire. Now we were both standing outside the city, watching the flames slowly die down.


    ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± The older woman looked over at me.


    I didn¡¯t really need to think about it. I still had a mission to finish. I was going to do it and go back to the council. There might be something they could do to help me. If not, then they could at least make sure I didn¡¯t go crazy and start making nests. The world didn¡¯t need any more of that.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to finish the route.¡± I looked to the east where the next town was.


    ¡°Oh.¡± She swallowed as she looked at the city wall, then at the almost burnt up pyre.


    ¡°You could go with me.¡± I had been trying all day to find the right way to ask her to join me.


    ¡°What will happen to me?¡±


    I could hear the mix of emotions in her voice. There were far too many for me to pick them all out, but I knew that she needed hope, just like I would like.


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    ¡°If you stay here?¡± I looked back at the town.


    She nodded. ¡°Or if I go with you¡­¡± her voice trailed off.


    ¡°Best case? The next Bokor Master that comes through will arrest you and take you back to the island for illegally becoming a Bokor. The Council would decide whether to train you or execute you.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°And if I go with you?¡±


    ¡°We finish the mission and hope that it shows the Council that we are worth sending us out on more missions.¡±


    ¡°And if they don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Same fate.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d much rather try to prove my worth if I have a chance.¡± I looked out at the open land. It seemed larger and smaller somehow.


    ¡°What if we ran?¡± Val looked south. ¡°We could get a ship in Port Town and go to the islands, or one of the other continents.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Once Max and I don¡¯t show up, they¡¯ll send out a team to track us down if we¡¯re still alive. And this will be their first stop.¡± I shook my head when I read the next question she was going to ask. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t go with you, once I show up without Max, they¡¯ll send a team here to verify what happened.¡± I jerked my thumb back towards Pline, ¡°Do you think everyone in there is going to keep your secret?¡±


    The redhead glared at me with her gray eyes, ¡°You make it sound like I don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s the least bad option that I see.¡±


    She looked like she was about to cry.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a month before that happens.¡± I had no idea how to make her feel better. ¡°Don¡¯t think about that. Let¡¯s just focus on today and get ready for that.¡±


    Val looked back at me. ¡°What are we getting ready for?¡±


    I thought for a moment. I had no idea what we were going to run into next. The idea excited me. There was so much beyond the walls of the cities to explore. Now that we had ascended, there was no reason to fear the zombies. I would be able to see everything in a new way.


    ¡°For an adventure.¡±

 Ascended - Book 1 Bokor - Epilogue

    Master James was packing.


    Interfering with a Potentials mission was a good way for them to be disqualified. There were so many things that he had tried to change since he¡¯d become a Bokor and learned what they were all about. He¡¯d tried to do the little things that he could, but nothing was changing. In fact, things felt like they were getting worse.


    There was a chance that the Grand Council would take exception to what was going on. He wasn¡¯t sure that it would work, but he had to know. If the problems were prevalent in the entire kingdom, there were six other kingdoms that he could go to. He could get to any of them from Port Town, so if things were as bad here as he was afraid they might be, he¡¯d take Max and leave. He didn¡¯t think that the Council would care if he took a Potential out of their mission. Especially if he was right and they were hoping that Max and Byler would fail.


    He walked out of his room and almost ran into an apprentice.


    ¡°Master James!¡± The teen was staring at his feet, ¡°The Council wishes to speak with you.¡± The apprentice didn¡¯t wait for him to reply, he just ran off.


    There was a part of Master James that was afraid that the Council knew what he was planning and they were about to forbid him from going on his trip. He thought about just leaving, but that would give them an excuse to send the Hunters after him.


    He walked out of the apartments and headed down the path, everyone was in a tizzy.


    Master James grabbed an apprentice. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°They found a cure!¡± The teen pointed at the Council Hall.


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    He hadn¡¯t been expecting that. Given his misgivings lately, he wouldn¡¯t have thought that would be something that they would have been working on.


    Master James walked into the lobby of the Council Hall and the apprentice behind the desk jumped up.


    ¡°The council is expecting you!¡± He motioned for the Bokor to go in.


    Master James almost skipped as he walked into the room. He¡¯d been waiting for this day for too long.


    ¡°Master James.¡± The head councilwoman glared at him.


    He¡¯d always found it odd that out of all the members of the Council, including the new ones since he¡¯d ascended to a Bokor, everyone always looked older than Master Zere. In fact, she didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d aged a day since he¡¯d been aware of her.


    He tried to keep the anticipation off of his face. ¡°I was summoned?¡±


    ¡°I take it you have heard the rumors?¡±


    ¡°I have¡­¡± He looked at the other council members. He had expected there to be a little more excitement, instead all he saw was disappointment and sadness. ¡°Is it true?¡±


    ¡°Sadly, the sample that was brought was inconclusive.¡± One of the councilmen on his right shook their head.


    ¡°Which is why we are sending you.¡± Master Zere crossed her arms. ¡°We want you to go to Gher and talk to their scientist. Learn what you can about their process and the formula. We may be able to modify it¡­¡± She let the implications hang in the air.


    Gher was the second town on the route, which meant he¡¯d be able to check in on Max and Byler if he got there fast enough.


    ¡°When do I leave?¡± He looked around the room.


    ¡°Their runner will be rested within the hour.¡± The Councilwoman sighed, ¡°Try not to spread this rumor.¡± She glared at him. ¡°Until we have found proof, there is no cure.¡±


    He¡¯d have to see about that once he talked to their scientist, but this conversation filled him with hope for the first time in way too many decades.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back with my report.¡± He gave the room a small bow and walked out. There might not be a cure right now, but maybe, just maybe, there would be.

 Book 2 - Chapter 1

    I could feel her loss.


    We hadn¡¯t been gone from her hometown long enough for it to be out of sight, and she had looked back at it more times that I could remember.


    ¡°You know you can¡¯t stay there.¡± A hometown was something I never had. Master Bran had traveled all over the province, helping the walled towns combat their zombie problems. There were so few Masters that they couldn¡¯t afford to even keep one in a town, instead, they roamed from city to city.


    I could have considered the Island a hometown. It was the place that we always went back to, but it wasn¡¯t a place of comfort or security. It was the place that was simply a stopover before we went out on the next mission.


    ¡°¡±I know.¡± Val grumbled as she scratched at her marks. The dull purple lines crisscrossed all over her body, marking her as one of the Bokor. Someone could fake our leather that we wore and they might even be able to steal one of our swords with the polished purple heartstones in the hilt. But they couldn¡¯t fake those lines. Contact with the raw purple magic was enough to infect a regular person and there wasn¡¯t anyone who wanted to take the chance to become a zombie.


    ¡°Are these supposed to itch?¡± The red haired woman looked at me.


    ¡°Master Bran never complained about them.¡± I saw that wasn¡¯t the answer she was looking for, ¡°But he didn¡¯t talk much.¡± I shrugged as I started walking again.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Val caught up to me


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    I took out a map of the peninsula and pointed at the town we¡¯d just left. ¡°We were here.¡± I traced my finger over the handful of towns, ¡°I¡¯m supposed to follow this route to get back to the island to show¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say it. I was supposed to be on this mission with Max, one of the other Potentials to show that we were ready for our Marks. Except he had been killed in the last town and I couldn¡¯t receive the Marks.


    The Bokor fought the Zombies, but there was a type of sentient Zombie. They acted like humans, except they had magic. The other difference was that they had purple eyes instead of purple marks, like the Bokor did.


    While it may have seemed like an amazing upgrade, all the Touched that I¡¯d ever been around had been crazy. They lived outside of society and almost every zombie attack that required the Hunter¡¯s attention had a Touched directing the Zombies.


    Which meant that if I went back to the Island, I¡¯d be killed. If not for being a Touched, then for showing Val how to become a Bokor. I had less than a month to find a way to show that I was in control and could work with the Bokor instead of the zombies.


    I wasn¡¯t worried about getting in trouble for converting Val. Women rarely survived the transformation, instead becoming Touched to the point that there weren¡¯t any female apprentices at the Island. So not only was she a rarity, but Val had been a wrangler as a human. It had been her job to go outside the safety of the walled cities, capture zombies that were roaming, and bring them back to the pen by the city wall, where they¡¯d stay until a Bokor came through and harvested them.


    I thought about the Heartstones in the leather pouch on my hip. Each Zombie had a crystal that grew on their heart. The older the zombie, the larger the crystal. It was the job of the apprentices to harvest those crystals so that the Bokor could use them to power the magical devices back on the Island.


    I realized that Val was already heading in the direction I¡¯d mapped out. It irritated me a little that she was just going off on her own. This was supposed to be my mission to lead, but she was older and used to being in charge. There was no reason to fight while we were going the same way, but I wondered what would happen as soon as we had a difference of opinion.

 Book 2 - Chapter 2

    Val was trying to figure out magic.


    There wasn¡¯t a lot else to do while walking, except talk about ourselves and that wasn¡¯t something either of us seemed comfortable with doing.


    ¡°Do you know how it works?¡± The older woman was looking at the marks on the back of her right hand.


    ¡°Magic training is something that we were supposed to undergo before we received our marks.¡± I looked down at my own hands. I¡¯d seen the Touched use magic, but I had no idea how they did that either.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t help.¡± She traced one of her lines with her finger, ¡°I can feel something¡­¡± She grumbled as she clenched her fists, ¡°But I don¡¯t know how to make it come out!¡±


    ¡°Shh!¡± I knew I didn¡¯t need to remind her that screaming would only attract roaming Zombies.


    Val eyed me, ¡°Are you really worried that we¡¯ll run into some Zombies?¡± She unsheathed Max¡¯s sword, ¡°I¡¯d kind of like something to hit right now.¡±


    ¡°You might be a Bokor, but you can still die.¡± I shook my head, ¡°We don¡¯t need to recklessly fight every Zombie we come across.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?¡± She sheathed the sword, ¡° You expect me not to kill any Zombie I see and just let it run away?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say let it go.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We have to kill it. I said recklessly. We have to be smart about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been Wrangling Zombies¡­¡± She stopped as she eyed me.


    ¡°Since you were five?¡± I shook my head, ¡°I¡¯ve been working with Master Bran for most of my life. How long have you been Wrangling?¡±


    The look on her face told me that she¡¯d realized that she wasn¡¯t going to win an argument about who was more experienced.


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    ¡°Whatever.¡± She looked behind us at the sun, ¡°We only have a few more hours until night. Are we going to make it to Gher before then?¡±


    I looked at the map again, ¡°There¡¯s a ghost town we can stop at over there.¡± I pointed to the northeast.


    ¡°Let me see that.¡± She grabbed the map away from me, ¡°You¡¯re taking us way off course. The fastest way to Gher is through the valley right here. If we walk all night, we could make it by tomorrow.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°The Bokor don¡¯t go through the valleys. It cuts off escape routes and allows for Zombies to attack from overhead.¡±


    Val touched the sword on her hip. ¡°How often does that happen? A Zombie jumping from overhead?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°In a valley? I don¡¯t know. Master Bran never took us through one. But we went to many places where there was a ledge or something that the Zombies could climb on and then try to jump on top of us. Especially if¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t say it. Yesterday, I could have said it, but right now, knowing what I was, it felt wrong.


    ¡°Especially if what?¡± Val looked up from the map.


    I had to psyche myself up. It was just information. It wasn¡¯t like I was the one doing it.


    ¡°Especially if there is a Touched directing them.¡±


    ¡°Like you.¡± She folded the map in half.


    ¡°Yeah, like me.¡± I hung my head.


    ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be able to do that?¡±


    ¡°Do what? Make Zombies attack people?¡± It irritated me that she¡¯d consider something like that.


    ¡°No. I mean, if you can control them, then sure, you could do that.¡± There was something hungry in her eyes. ¡°But I was thinking more like bringing them to us, then¡­¡± She slid her finger across her throat. ¡°It¡¯d be pretty easy to decapitate them if you could make them stand still.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t thought about it like that. Maybe if I could demonstrate my ability to make Hunting easier, the Council might let me not only live, but also join the Bokor.


    ¡°It''s something we should check out.¡± Val pointed at the map. So since you¡¯re the expert. Where would be the best place to find a zombie?¡±


    I ignored the mocking tone in her voice. Instead of looking at the map, I looked around. We were headed toward a city that was on the east coast. There were two smallish mountains in between us, though considering the terrain south of us was almost completely flat, even small mountains looked huge. There were sparse trees lining the base and part way up the rocky mounds. She had been correct in saying that the fastest way would be to go through that way. And not only that. It was also the most likely place for us to run into a wandering Zombie.


    I pointed in the direction that she¡¯d wanted to go. ¡°That way.¡±


    Val smiled and handed me the map, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 3

    We walked until it started getting dark.


    One thing I hadn''t realized the night before, probably because of all of the lights, was that I was able to still see fairly well in the dark. It was a very weird sensation because the colors faded into shades of gray and purple.


    We reached the foot of the mountains when it was what I considered too dangerous to continue. Years of training about when to stop were giving me orders, while Val seemed perfectly content to keep going.


    ¡°We should look for a place to bed down.¡± I started looking around at trees. I had a feeling I was going to have to show her how to tie herself into a tree so she wouldn¡¯t fall out while she was asleep.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    I could see the confused expression on her face. ¡°Because it¡¯s dangerous to travel and we should rest.¡±


    ¡°Are you tired?¡± She stopped and leaned her back against a tree.


    I realized that I wasn¡¯t. A little weary, but I should have been tired and a little sore. We¡¯d been walking all day and even though I was used to it, I should still at least be sleepy. But I felt rested.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then why should we stop?¡± Val looked around, ¡°Where would we camp anyway?¡±


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    I pointed to a tree with two branches close enough that I could help her tie herself off, ¡°That one would hold both of us.¡±


    ¡°Hold?¡± She eyed me, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d tie ourselves in the tree so the Zombies couldn¡¯t get to us.¡±


    Val shook her head. ¡°Not happening. No way I¡¯m letting you tie me up in a tree.¡± She pushed herself off the tree, ¡°Especially not while I¡¯m still feeling fine.¡±


    I started to argue with her, but there really wasn¡¯t much of a point. Neither of us were tired. There was only one thing I was concerned about.


    ¡°Can you still see?¡± I motioned around, ¡°What if a Zombie rushes us?¡±


    ¡°Ha! A Zombie?¡± She laughed again, ¡°You think even if it surprised us one Zombie would be a threat?¡±


    I mean. They had teeth. A single Zombe could crush our throats or¡­ I pushed the dozens of ways a Zombie could kill us out of my head.


    ¡°Just because you¡¯re Bokor doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯re invincible.¡±


    ¡°But it does mean that I¡¯m harder to kill.¡± She turned a half circle with the arms out. ¡°And we haven¡¯t seen a single sign of a Zombie so far.¡± She stopped turning once she faced me, ¡°Is it usually like this?¡±


    With Master Bran, we rarely ran into Zombies, except outside towns that had requested our help. Traveling with Max had been a different story.


    I shrugged, ¡°Zombies tend to avoid the Bokor, so unless we come across a nest or¡­¡±


    ¡°See, so we¡¯re good.¡± She started walking into the valley.


    I thought about trying to argue with her, but there really wasn¡¯t a point. We could keep going and I was pretty sure I''d be able to see a Zombie unless it attacked us from a ledge.


    I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I was being watched though. I didn¡¯t see anyone or anything, but that didn¡¯t mean that it wasn¡¯t there. I shook away the feeling as I followed after Val. Hopefully it was just nerves.

 Book 2 - Chapter 4

    I had a problem.


    I had a lot actually, but there was a very pressing one that I hadn¡¯t realized until Val just pointed it out.


    ¡°What are you going to do about your eyes?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I could see in the dark, I wasn¡¯t sure what she wanted me to do about it.


    ¡°Everyone is going to know that you¡¯re a Touched the minute we walk into town and they see you with those purple eyes.¡± She shook her head, ¡°Do you really think me being Bokor will be enough to protect you?¡±


    The short answer to that was yes. People obeyed the Bokor because if they didn¡¯t then whenever a Zombie Horde tried to take down their walls, they would be on their own.


    Most towns were on the coast, so that they would have boat access in case they were besieged by Zombies. For the towns that weren¡¯t it was because they had some other resource that was too far away. Like Val¡¯s hometown with its farmland or Gher with its ore.


    I stopped and thought for a moment. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better think of something.¡± She pointed at my face, ¡°Because those things show up better than these.¡± She tapped her markings.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I could always stay outside the town, but that would have its own set of dangers. I reached down and took a bandage out of my bag and began wrapping it around my face. I left little slits for me to see through, but after a few passes, I¡¯d covered most of my eyes. ¡°What about this?¡±


    ¡°I can still see the glow through the slit¡­¡± She walked over and looked at me, ¡°But we can tell them it¡¯s just your marks.¡± She looked over my body, ¡°Where are your marks?¡¯


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    I swallowed, ¡°Touched don¡¯t have them.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± She shrugged, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to find some way to explain it.¡±


    ¡°The really old Bokor can condense their marks down to where you can barely see the lines.¡± I gestured with my hands, ¡°We could go with that.¡±


    ¡°Bokor might sometimes look young, but an old Bokor doesn¡¯t look that young.¡± Val shook her head, ¡°And you don¡¯t come across as an old Bokor either.¡± She shrugged, ¡°But I think that will work for now. Just don¡¯t take those off in public.¡±


    I rubbed my face. Having the bandages on felt very restrictive. But I¡¯d learn how to deal.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much longer until we reach a scout.¡± Val was looking around. There should be a torch or something we can see soon.¡¯


    ¡°Unless the town is under attack.¡± I had a bad feeling. She was right about seeing some sign of life soon. We were almost through the valley and there was no sign of anything.


    ¡°There!¡± Val ran over to a platform and jumped up on it. ¡°There¡¯s blood up here!¡±


    The lip on the platform was a good ten feet from the ground. If Val hadn¡¯t been a Bokor, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to jump over it. I didn¡¯t see any ladder or any way to climb up the posts that were holding the platform up.


    ¡°Do you see anything else?¡± I was looking at the bite marks on the wood, but they were all old.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Val jumped down beside me, ¡°There¡¯s not even a signal or bow. Whatever attacked this place took them.¡±


    She was right. For an alert station like this, there should have been at least a week''s worth of rations as well as a bow and a signal arrow. The signal arrow would be lit, then shot up in the air. The explosion would signal the town that there were Zombies coming. Since there was nothing up there, then it was either other humans or a Touched. Either of them would have to be dealt with.


    Humans killing each other to steal resources was a death sentence as far as the Bokor were concerned. There were too few humans as it was, humanity couldn¡¯t afford such needless acts.


    Which meant that there was a good chance there was a Touched involved. I motioned at the mouth of the valley, ¡°We should hurry.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 5

    I felt them before we could see them.


    There were over a dozen Zombies clawing at the stone walls of Gher. I knew they didn¡¯t stand a chance of getting in, but that didn¡¯t make it any less concerning. Plus there was the issue of a Touched, which I didn¡¯t see anywhere, but that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t hiding. I could feel a strange presence in addition to the Zombies, but I couldn¡¯t tell where it was coming from.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Val had her sword out.


    I hadn¡¯t expected her to ask permission to attack. I assumed she would have taken the lead. She wasn¡¯t looking at the city, but out at the woods to the north. That was when  I realized that it wasn¡¯t permission she was asking about. It was the Touched out there somewhere that she wanted to know if she should look for.


    ¡°We should protect the city first.¡± I pointed at the Zombies. ¡°If the Touched show themselves¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t sure which one of us should fight them. I¡¯d been taught swordsmanship by Master Bran, so I had no doubt I could handle myself there. But magic was a different story.But of the two of us, I probably had the better chance of winning against a Touched.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep them busy until you can finish off the Zombies, then we¡¯ll take them out together.¡± I knew if I told her that she wouldn¡¯t get to fight the Touched, that she¡¯d probably ignore the Zombies. But this way, She would feel like she was doing the most.


    For a moment I thought she was going to argue, but she gripped her sword and ran towards the city.


    I followed after her and turned left after she went right. As soon as we got within fifty feet of the walls, the Zombies stopped their attacks and turned around to face us. That served to verify that there was a Touched pulling the strings.


    Only five Zombies came at me, with at least double that going after Val.I hoped she would be able to handle herself, but for now, I couldn¡¯t afford to watch her. I had to focus on my own fight.


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    The Zombies were trying to overwhelm me, which meant I couldn¡¯t let them get too close.I hacked at the first one and took off its wrist. My sword felt lighter in my hands and it was cutting better. The purple blade felt like it was humming as I twisted and took off the Zombie¡¯s head.


    Severe head trauma or decapitation was the only way to stop them. Whatever magic it was that animated them, used their basic brain functions. While a Zombie didn¡¯t need any other part of its body to operate, it had to have its head.


    The two Zombies behind it were too close for me to decapitate, so I twisted to the left and dodged under a dead arm. One of the Zombies beside that one tried to tackle me, but I switched my sword to my left hand and grabbed it¡¯s upper arm and shoved it into the one I¡¯d just dodged.


    The first two and the one that lunged wound up in a pile. I had a moment before they would be able to get to their feet. I locked on to the last one and grabbed my sword with both hands as I cut through its left knee. As it fell, I brought my sword down and took off its head.


    I began backing away towards the city wall, but the other three didn¡¯t come after me. Istead, they were running away towards the woods.


    In a way, I was thankful that there was a Touched here. Normally a Zombie would have kept coming until one of you was dead. A Touched could have the Zombies retreat, to conserve their power for later.


    I looked over at Val, who was chasing down the zombies that were running away from her. She¡¯d already decapitated three and I watched her take down a fourth. It looked like she was about to chase the rest of them into the woods.


    ¡°Val!¡± I waved for her to come back. ¡°Let them go!¡±


    She looked at the Zombies disappearing into the trees, but she let them leave.


    The Wrangler stormed over to me, ¡°Why did we let them go?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± I pointed at the walls, ¡°The city is safe and we don¡¯t know the situation. Master Bran would go talk to whoever is in charge while I dispose of the dead Zombies.¡±


    She looked reluctant.


    I motioned at the undead, ¡°Unless you want to harvest the hearts and burn them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± She turned and walked towards the gates, ¡°Find me when you¡¯re done!¡±


    I looked at the first rays of sunrise peeking over the forest, then adjusted my bandages. Val could deal with the people. This was what I was better at.

 Book 2 - Chapter 6

    I laid all the Zombies out.


    Once I started cutting them open, I didn¡¯t want to have to do a lot of walking.


    I¡¯d also piled up the heads and as soon as I¡¯d cut out the heart of each Zombie, I rolled it closer to the pile. Zombie blood was highly flammable and burning them up was the most reliable way of making sure that some entrepreneurial person didn¡¯t try to salvage some Zombie parts and accidentally turn themselves into a Zombie.


    Once I¡¯d finished with the extraction, I put the six hearts in a bigger leather sack to hold them until tonight when I¡¯d go about the tedious task of actually cutting the heartstones out of the hearts.


    I began to wonder if I was going to need to be as careful as I had been trained to be. Part of the process was to keep yourself from nicking your fingers white you cut and minimizing how much of the purple blood you got everywhere. Since I was now immune to turning, neither was a concern. I¡¯d experiment a little on speeding up the process, but I still wanted to make as small of a mess as possible.


    The pile went up in flames from a single spark. And as soon as I was sure that it was going to keep burning, I turned to the town.


    There was a gray-haired woman covered from head to heel in full metal armor standing in the middle of the partially open gate watching me. There was a black hammer emblem on her chest and she had a longsword in her hand.


    It was strange to see someone in armor like that. It was true that the zombies would have trouble breaking into it or biting them, and it was very easy to clean the zombie blood off. But it made a person so slow, that there wasn¡¯t much practicality when fighting more than a couple Zombies.


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    I walked up to her, making sure that my eyes were covered.


    ¡°Here.¡± She grabbed a pail of water from inside the gate and held it out for me to take. ¡°We don¡¯t need any of that in here.¡± She motioned at the blood I¡¯d gotten on my armor. Her hand stopped on the bag with the hearts in it, ¡°What are ya going to do with those?¡±


    I¡¯d been warned against saying too much, lest a human try to harvest a stone on their own. I gave her the response I¡¯d been conditioned to say to questions I didn¡¯t want to give the answer to.


    ¡°Bokor Business.¡±


    She sighed and shook her head, ¡°Fine, but if I catch you doing anything weird with um, it¡¯ll be business for ya.¡± She bounced her blade in her free hand.


    I felt the urge to remind her how much trouble she could get into by threatening a Bokor, but the look in her eyes told me that she was willing to fight if I tried to strong arm her. Instead I just nodded and began washing the blood off of me.


    Not that I was particularly worried if she did attack me. Master Bran had trained me often in sword techniques and with my enhanced body due to becoming a Touched, I doubted there were a handful of humans that could take me on in a fair fight.


    I finished washing myself off and the woman gestured for me to come inside.


    ¡°I¡¯m Byler¡­¡±


    ¡°The Bokor told us about you.¡± The old woman cut me off, ¡°Told us you hurt your eyes and might need help getting around.¡± She leaned in to look at the bandages, ¡®You don¡¯t look like you need much help.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re almost healed, but the light.¡± I jerked my thumb to the morning sun. ¡°Hurts them.¡±


    She nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer.


    ¡°The name is Gili.¡± She called over her shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m captain of the guard around here and I¡¯ll take ya to yer Bokor.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 7

    The city was built around a huge mine.


    I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what their export was, but judging by the amount of metal and stone buildings, I had a good guess.


    ¡°Lots of mining going on here.¡± Gili nodded at the mine. ¡°Everyone¡¯s been in a tizzy since we found that weird crystal. Probably what your Bokor friend is messen with.¡±


    I wanted to rush her instead of the leisurely pace we were taking. While Val might be better at interacting with people, she knew almost nothing about the Bokor or our traditions.


    ¡°We sent word a couple days ago. Didn¡¯t expect to see ya so soon.¡± The gray-haired woman wove me between buildings. I could see little handholds in the stone walls. What we were walking through was a maze in case the city was ever invaded. I had a feeling that some of the metal walls I¡¯d seen were actually gates for getting wagons through. I could hear people above me and wondered if it wouldn¡¯t be faster to just climb up to the second layer and run across the tops of the buildings.


    Except I doubted the woman leading me would be able to climb in her armor. So instead, I just followed her through the maze.


    After what seemed like way too long we reached an open gate. Once through, the town looked a lot more normal, with people moving around, kids playing, and the heat from the furnaces where they were forging metal.


    ¡°This way.¡± Gili motioned towards two large wooden doors on what looked like a natural stone wall.


    She threw the doors open and I saw Nine people inside excluding Val.


    ¡°Byler.¡± Val¡¯s voice was stern, ¡°Come here and see this.¡±


    A Middle-aged, brown-haired, green-eyed woman in a clean work uniform smiled broadly as I started walking around a table that could seat twenty.


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    ¡°We can¡¯t welcome another guest without introductions, especially since we already know his name.¡± She pointed at herself, ¡°I¡¯m Helru.¡± She pointed at the woman behind me, ¡°You¡¯ve already net Gili, which leaves¡­¡± She began pointing at people.


    The middle aged blonde woman with blue eyes was first, ¡°This is Wreda, our local doctor. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be happy to take a look at your eyes.¡± The doctor nodded her head towards me.


    Next was a pair wearing leather armor. The older one had brown hair and brown eyes. She looked tired even though she was clean. The younger one that was about my age had blonde hair and green eyes behind copper rimmed glasses. ¡°Berthre is the leader of our Wranglers and Eveth is her daughter.¡± The older woman gave me the slightest nod, while Eveth smiled at me.


    The short man with thinning gray hair and brown eyes stood up and gave me a little bow, ¡°I¡¯m Felge. I handle logistics, so if your bosses ever need anything, let them know that I¡¯ve always been a loyal ally.¡±


    Helru shook her head, ¡°That¡¯s Felge.¡± She pointed at the next man.


    He had gray hair and light blue eyes. He was wearing a miner¡¯s uniform and his clothes were quite dirty like he¡¯d been in the mines already and recalled when we showed up. ¡°This is Lewiu. He¡¯s in charge of the miners and the one who brought this wonder to our attention.¡± He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and gave me a quick smile.


    ¡°Last are our scientists. Winey owns the Leaky Mug and brews our drinks for us.¡± She smiled at the older man with gray hair and brown eyes that was next to Val.


    ¡°And these are his two assistants, Narder and Fyga.¡±


    The young blonde man didn¡¯t look up. He was wearing an old ratty brown jacket and was fiddling with what looked like a small distillery, except it had a crystal inside the glass jar with the flame under it.


    The young woman with her black hair pulled back and goggles covering her light blue eyes on the other hand, met me and shook my hand, ¡°You¡¯re going to love this!¡±


    Val looked at me and I couldn¡¯t tell what the emotion she was trying to convey was.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here. All I need is my material¡­¡± Winey looked at Narder, ¡°Did you leave the Zombie flesh at the Mug?¡±


    My heart started beating faster. They were experimenting on Zombies. This would not be good.


    ¡°I apologize for my assistant.¡± Winey glared at Narder as the man started heading for the door, ¡°We can begin as soon as he returns.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is this?¡± I gestured at the device.


    ¡°I found a cure for The Infection!¡± Winey puffed out his chest. ¡°I can cure Zombies!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 8

    I could be fixed!


    If whatever they were doing could cure Zombies, then surely it could cure the Touched as well.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Gili Stopped Narder as he moved past her. ¡°I think the Bokor might have something we can use.¡± She nodded at the bag over my shoulder with the hearts in it.


    ¡°You carry around Zombie flesh?!¡± Winey seemed very interested as he pushed past Fyga to get to me. ¡°What do you use it for?¡±


    I was not going to get into it with a researcher. He would definitely try to experiment on them.


    ¡°Bokor business.¡± I tried the usual answer.


    ¡°Yes, yes. But for what?¡± There was a yearning on his face and I could tell he wasn¡¯t going to drop it.


    ¡°We. uh¡­¡± I tried thinking of something.


    ¡°It¡¯s how we get paid.¡± Val finished my sentence. ¡°But we don¡¯t like to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a shame¡­¡± Winey sighed, ¡°I hate to ask you to surrender your receipt¡­¡± He looked at Narder. ¡°We can wait until my forgetful assistant gets back.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Val nodded at me, ¡°We can afford to lose one.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like it didn¡¯t still have heartstones in the pouch on my hip. Losing one heart was nothing, especially since I wasn¡¯t even the one who was going to use them. Though I began to wonder if I might not be able to use the raw heartstones to charge the ones in our weapons. It was something I¡¯d have to try out later.


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    I set the bag on the table, opened it up, and grabbed a heart. Almost the entire room gasped. I turned to Winey and saw that he was holding a pair of metal tongs. ¡°Where do you want this?¡±


    ¡°Ju-jus-just put it in that.¡± He pointed to the jar that the distilled crystal water was dripping into.


    I reached over the table and dropped the purple heart into the glass jar. There was a clear mist that came off of the heart as soon as it touched the liquid.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never used a sample this big before!¡± Winey backed away from the table. I realized that Fyga was hiding behind me, using me as a shield. The other people were also backing away from the table. Acting like they were ready to dive behind whatever they could if something happened.


    ¡°Is it going to blow up?¡± Val had her hand on the hilt of her sword, though I doubted that smashing it would help.


    ¡°It never blew up before!¡± Winey was holding a stack of papers in front of his face. ¡°But it¡¯s never done this before either!¡±


    The sizzling started to subside, then it stopped fizzing altogether. Winey slowly put down the papers and picked up the tongs.


    The heart was shriveled and brown. Not a hint of purple anywhere but on the table. I was going to have to clean it up before I left the building.


    ¡°You see¡­¡± Winey pulled the heart out of the solution and set it on the table, ¡°The outer flesh is no longer infected.


    I pulled out my knife and moved towards the heart. The look Val gave me told me I should probably ask permission even though no one here was going to stop me.


    ¡°May I?¡± I pointed at the heart with my knife.


    ¡°Are you going to eat it? I-I-I mean, it¡¯s fine if that¡¯s what you want to do.¡± Winey nodded but remained right over my shoulder.


    I had to squint to see better through the bindings around my eyes, but I¡¯d done this so many times, it was muscle memory. I slipped the knife in and split the heart open.


    My heart raced with excitement as I saw what I¡¯d been hoping to see. There was no heartstone.


    They¡¯d found a cure for Zombification.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 9

    There was a cure!


    I tried to keep the excitement off of my face as I nodded to Val. ¡°It¡¯s cured.¡±


    There were gasps and whispers in the meeting room as the people there began to talk to each other. Winey started doing a victory dance, which mainly seemed to embarrass Fyga and Narder.


    I moved over to Val. ¡°Do you know what this means?!¡± I lowered my voice.


    ¡°Not here.¡± Val smiled broadly, ¡°Winey, I¡¯m sure you know that this process will be of great interest to the Bokor. If you would be willing to share the process with us..?¡±


    ¡°It would be my honor, see a few months ago we found these strange crystals in the mine.¡± He tapped on the glass then licked the tip of his newly burnt finger. ¡°Anyway. I started doing some experiments¡­¡± He smiles, ¡°The rocks around here give a little kick to my brew, and I was trying to see what effect this new one would have.¡± He nodded at Helru, ¡°Anyway a little over a week ago Elger got bit while they were Wrangling.¡± He shook his head, ¡°They needed something to clean the wound with and used the potion made from my brew!¡± He puffed out his chest. ¡°He didn¡¯t turn. Didn¡¯t have the sweats or anything. Well, he still had a bite mark, but until two days ago, you¡¯d never known he¡¯d been bit.¡±


    ¡°What happened two days ago?¡± Val looked over at the young Wrangler that had started to cry.


    ¡°Elger was on watch.¡± Helru took a deep breath. ¡°We found him dead in the tower. Someone had slit his throat.¡±


    That must have been the blood we found.


    ¡°Dodged death only for it to visit him in a different form.¡± Winey shook his head.


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    I waited the silence out for a few minutes before it had to be broken.


    ¡°Who knew about his¡­¡± I searched for the right word, ¡°Condition?¡±


    ¡°The whole town.¡± Winey shrugged, ¡°We celebrated and sent a runner to the Island to let the Bokor know about our discovery. That is why you¡¯re here, right?¡± He eyed us.


    I was about to tell the truth when Val cut in. ¡°Of course! Our orders were simply to investigate what you found, so we weren¡¯t sure what we were walking into.¡±


    I looked over at the redhead. She couldn¡¯t see my glare under the bandages, but it was there.


    ¡°Have you tried it on a living sample?¡± Val looked at Winey.


    ¡°We¡¯ve talked about it, but it¡¯d be too risky for us to tie one up and throw it in a barrel of the stuff¡­¡± Winey looked at the shriveled heart, ¡°And I don¡¯t think we should do it in town.¡±


    ¡°Do you have enough of the solution?¡±


    Winey¡¯s face beamed, ¡°I¡¯ve got three barrels of this stuff. Started brewing it almost exclusively. The Wranglers have been drinking it before they go out, just in case¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Val looked at me, ¡°If you¡¯ll bring¡­¡± She seemed like she was trying to gauge how much they¡¯d need. ¡°Half a barrel of that to the gate, then my partner and I will bring you a live Zombie to throw in it.¡± She looked at the container that had held the heart, ¡°Probably should bring the lid too.¡±


    Winey was bouncing as he ran for the door with Narder and Fyga on his tail. ¡°It¡¯ll be there!¡±


    Val turned to the rest of the people there. ¡°If this is alright with all of you?¡±


    They looked at each other for a moment. Helru cleared her throat, ¡°We appreciate the Bokor considering us in this. We are happy to help in whatever way we can.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll see you in a few hours.¡± Val slapped me on the shoulder, ¡°Pack it up.¡±


    I grabbed the cured heart and threw it back in the bag, then took out my fire stick and lit a few places as well as my hand. I let the fire burn on my hand until it started to hurt, then wiped it off on my pants.


    I hadn¡¯t realized that I still had everyone¡¯s attention until I slung the bag over my shoulder.


    ¡°Eveth can show you out.¡± Helru nodded to her daughter.


    The blonde woman gave a small bow, then headed out of the meeting hall.

 Book 2 - Chapter 10

    We went over the roofs.


    It wasn¡¯t too difficult for us to run over the roofs. There were people milling about, but they moved out of the way for the tree of us. Once we reached the gate, Eveth pulled a rope ladder out from behind a barrel and threw it over the side.


    ¡°You could wait for Gili to get back and have them unbar the gate, or¡­¡± The blonde was interrupted by Val grabbing the rope and vaulting over the side of the wall.


    ¡°Do you need..?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I can see pretty well, it¡¯s just¡­¡± The truth actually worked well in this case. ¡°Embarrassing. I messed up and don¡¯t like people seeing me like this.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay.¡± Eveth backed away from the edge.


    I grabbed the rope ladder and began to climb down.


    ¡°Good Luck!¡± Eveth waved as I hit the ground.


    Val waved back, then lowered her voice. ¡°Do the Bokor know about that?¡± She nodded back to the town.


    ¡°The cure?¡± I shook my head, ¡°I¡¯m sure the council would have said something if the report had come in before I left.¡±


    ¡°Which means we don¡¯t have long before a Bokor shows up here.¡± Val looked around. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was looking for a place to run or for a Zombie.


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    While there was a part of me that was excited about the possibility of seeing Master Bran, there was a larger part of me that knew he¡¯d kill me on the spot. In Master Bran¡¯s eyes, the only thing you did with a Zombie or a Touched, was kill them as fast as possible and move on to the next mission.


    ¡°Should we go back?¡± I looked at the Gher. ¡°Their research seems important, but¡­¡± I swallowed. ¡°If we get caught by a Master¡­¡±


    I¡¯d already told Val the future that awaited us if we didn¡¯t do something to prove to the council that we were useful to the Bokor.


    ¡°A cure could be the thing that we need.¡± Val gestures at me, ¡°And it could fix you.¡±


    It was a risk, but if I was cured, there was a very good chance that the Council would let Val live. The best play here was to hope that the experiments were finished before the Master got here.


    ¡°I think we should stay.¡± I nodded as we entered the woods. ¡°I think this is big enough to prove we can be useful.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Val took out her sword and chopped a tree as big around as my wrist with one slice. She got out her knife and began cutting a groove a couple inches from the end.Once she was finished, she took a rope out of her bag and made a loop, with part of the knot tied around the groove. ¡°It¡¯ll keep it from sliding.¡±


    It was an impressive Zombie catcher once she cut off all of the branches.


    ¡°We¡¯d have to make these sometimes if ours broke.¡± Val sheathed her sword and picked up the stick. ¡°Which way do you think the Zombies went?¡±


    I closed my eyes. There was a small pressure in my head. So small that I had to focus on it to really tell it was there. But once I focused on it, it felt like a beacon pulling me in one direction.


    I pointed in the direction that the feeling was pulling me. ¡°I think they¡¯re that way.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s the way we should go that way.¡± Val bounced the stick on her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ve got a Zombie to find and a cure to make!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 11

    There was more than one Zombie.


    The feeling led us to a big hole in the ground. Judging by the skeleton in front of it, probably the home to some bear before the zombies made a meal of it. While Zombies didn¡¯t need to eat much, they did still eat. Usually only if they couldn¡¯t find some magic to feed on. The strange thing was that humans were the only thing that got infected by the plague. And humans were the thing that they wouldn¡¯t eat. When a zombie bit you, it almost felt like they were sucking your life out. I¡¯d had it happen once, and didn¡¯t want to go through that again.


    Val pointed at the Zombie that almost looked like they were napping in the little dugout. ¡°Capture one and kill the rest?¡±


    My Bokor training told me that was the best course of action, but something was very off. The Zombies should be moving around, not sitting there like they were waiting for an order.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± I tried to feel around, but nothing felt off. It was just that feeling that this was what I was looking for. ¡°There¡¯s probably a Touched in there.¡±


    ¡°One Touched versus the two of us.¡± Val put down the stick and pulled out her sword. ¡°I like our odds.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± I shook my head, ¡°Who knows how skilled that Touched is. But they have to be pretty good if they can control this many Zombies.¡±


    ¡°Can you do it?¡± Val pointed her sword at the Horde.


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    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°Control one of those Zombies and bring it over here.¡± Her face lit up, ¡°And then you could just walk it back to Gher though we¡¯d still need to tie it up so it looked like we had wrangled it, but¡­¡± She looked at me, ¡°You could be useful!¡±


    ¡°Great¡­¡± I looked at the Zombies about fifty feet away, ¡°I can try.¡±


    I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the Zombies. The magnetic pull turned into too many different buzzings. It was deafening, but I wasn¡¯t hearing it with my ears. I wanted to let go, but I didn¡¯t want to hear Val talk about how I¡¯d failed.


    I tried to separate out the buzzing noises and focus on just one at a time. It was like staring at flies that had swarmed rotten meat. They were moving so fast that it was almost impossible to focus on just one of them. My head was starting to throb, but I kept trying to grab one.


    I lost count of how many times it was before I grabbed it, but once I had it stopped, I had no idea what to do with it. I tried to pull it closer to me, which took a little bit, but soon I had it where I could hold the little black light in my hand. As soon as it touched my finger I felt a shock, then My eyes shot open and I was looking at Val.


    My partner was waving her hand in front of my face. ¡°This is so weird.¡±


    I started to ask her what was weird, then realized that I didn¡¯t have the bandages blocking my view.


    ¡°Why did you take the bandages off?!¡± I looked straight at her.


    ¡°WHOA!¡± Val backed up and pulled out her sword.


    ¡°Wait! I held up my hands, except those weren¡¯t my hands. These were covered in dirt and had purple streaks running down them.


    I looked to the left just a little and saw my body, sitting on the ground.


    I was inside a Zombie.

 Book 2 - Chapter 12

    I was inside a Zombie.


    On a scale of one to ten, I was at Apocalyptic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± I tried to shake my hands. My arms felt heavier, but I was able to make the motion.


    ¡°Byler?¡± Val looked from me down to, well, the real me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how I did it, but I¡¯m in here, so please don¡¯t kill me!¡±


    ¡°This is so weird¡­¡± She picked up her catching pole and poked me with it.


    ¡°Ow!¡± Okay, now I knew that Zombies could still feel pain. Or maybe it was just because I was inside it. ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I could kill you¡­¡± She looked at my neck, ¡°I mean, I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°You are not decapitating this thing while I''m in here!¡± I tried to think. I¡¯d heard that the Touched could control Zombies, but I thought it had just been that they could give them orders, not that they could possess them.


    ¡°How do we get you out of there?¡± Val sat down in front of me, ¡°Because I don¡¯t think you want to be in there when it goes into the solution.¡±


    ¡°No, I do not.¡± I tried to think. This was bad. Really bad. ¡°We need to get away from here.¡± I tried to motion at the other Zombies. ¡°Unless you want to fight all of them while protecting my body.¡±


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    ¡°You¡¯d just stand there Zombyler?¡± Her eyes twinkled at the nickname.


    ¡°We are not using that.¡± I tried to glare at her, but I was pretty sure nothing moved, ¡°And it¡¯s not like I can hold a weapon.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Val walked over and picked up my real body. ¡°Can this you walk?¡±


    I tried moving. It felt like I was wearing ankle weights, but I could move.


    ¡°Good.¡± Val slipped the noose over my neck, ¡°Now to complete the look.¡±


    I felt the noose tighten against my neck and prepared to have trouble breathing, then realized I wasn¡¯t. I did when I spoke, but I wasn¡¯t breathing otherwise. It was a very weird sensation.


    ¡°Try to find a way out of there before we reach Gher.¡± Val was having to walk slower to accommodate my speed.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of hard to move and focus at the same time.¡± I was trying to focus like I had, but it wasn¡¯t working, because I¡¯d stop moving the moment I did.


    Val stopped walking. ¡°What if you stop?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I was standing still. I couldn¡¯t stop any more than I was.


    ¡°Stop focusing on that¡­¡± She gestured at me, ¡°Thing.¡±


    I tried to go back into that ethereal feeling. It took me a moment, but once I did, I looked down at the little black speck in my hand. I opened my hand, but it didn¡¯t fly away. I opened my eyes and was still looking at Val.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t work, give me a moment.¡±


    I went back and this time I tossed the black light into the air.


    I snapped back into my own body and the sense of vertigo plus the sensation of being facedown over Val¡¯s shoulder twisted in my stomach. I was able to keep from making a mess as I slid off her onto the ground.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re back.¡± Val was trying to control the Zombie that was fighting her. ¡°Maybe we should have waited until we got closer to have you check out.¡±


    That would have been easier. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not going back into that thing.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 13

    It was noon before we got back to Gher.


    It had taken a lot longer to get back than it had to find the Zombie simply because we had to wrestle with it most of the way back.


    But once we got back, there was a barrel sitting just outside the gate, as promised.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Fyga was standing on the stone walkway over the gate, ¡°Helru said to tell you to move the barrel further out! And wait for them to get here!¡± She blew a horn over the gate and there was the noise of people swarming. Soon the paraphets were full of people crowding around to see if the cure worked.


    ¡°You¡¯re moving that.¡± Val nodded to the barrel, ¡°Because I¡¯m holding this.¡±


    It was more than a fair trade. I went over and tipped the half full barrel on its edge and rolled it that way until I was over fifty feet away from the gate.


    ¡°How about this!¡± I cupped my hands so they could hear better.


    Helru gave me a thumbs up.


    ¡°Should we start it?¡± Val started bringing the zombie over to me.


    Helru gave another thumbs up.


    ¡°Alright, now for the hard part¡­¡± Val led the Zombie a little closer. ¡°You pin its arms and I¡¯ll hoist its feet.¡±


    I got behind it and wrapped my arms around it, pinning the Zombies arms to its side.


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    Val loosened the noose and took it off, then came over and grabbed its feet. Together we lifted the zombie up and as soon as its feet touched the solution we both realized our mistake.


    Hot vapor shot up at us. I let go of the Zombie and took a step back while Val tripped and fell backwards.


    The Zombie on the other hand was standing up, completely surrounded by the hot vapor and trying to get out. The barrel started to tip and I wrapped my arms around it to steady it.


    ¡°Val! Get the lid on this thing!¡±


    Val grabbed the lid and hit the Zombie in the head with it. Not enough to kill it, but enough to push it down. Except it was barely moving.


    ¡°Byler! A little help? This is HOT!¡±


    I stood up and pulled the Zombies hands off of the edge of the barrel and helped Val push it down and get the lid on it.


    There was cheering behind us as we both held onto the barrel.


    ¡°Byler¡­¡± Val was sweating profusely, ¡°We have a problem¡­¡±


    I could feel it. The air inside the barrel was expanding and it was going to explode.


    ¡°Let go!¡± I rolled away, jumped to my feet and started running. I looked back and saw the lid blow off the barrel.


    Val had gotten clear enough as well. The people on the city wall were cheering, it seemed like a grand display, then the barrel tipped over and the Zombie fell out. Except it wasn¡¯t a Zombie anymore. The dead body of a person was spread out in between myself and Val.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it worked.¡± Val stood up.


    I walked over to the corpse and began to examine it. There wasn¡¯t a hint of Zombification on the corpse, but she was definitely dead.


    I shook my head, ¡°It looks like what we¡¯ve found is a highly effective way to clean up the Zombie mess.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we could find another use for it.¡± Val got her sword out and started to dip it in the fluid.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that¡­¡±


    I hadn¡¯t noticed someone walking towards us. I turned around and saw a man with purple markings all over him. It wasn¡¯t just any man either, but a Bokor. And Max¡¯s master.


    Master Junk had arrived.

 Book 2 - Chapter 14

    His hand was on his sword.


    At least he hadn¡¯t taken it out. I knew there were other Bokor bases than the island, which meant that as soon as he recognized that Val was a Bokor, he wasn¡¯t going to attack us, but the moment he recognized me, he had a lot of questions.


    ¡°Byler? What happened to you? Where¡¯s Max? Who..? Why does she have Max¡¯s sword?¡± Each one of his questions rolled into another.


    ¡°Master Ju¡­ James.¡± I had to remember what Max¡¯s Master¡¯s real name was. The other Masters at the Island joked about how Master James only created ¡®junk¡¯ Potentials who couldn¡¯t handle themselves. No one seemed to know if any of Master James¡¯ Apprentices had ever been approved to become Bokor, which had earned him the nickname behind his back. After the little bit of time that I¡¯d spent with Max, I had to admit the man hadn¡¯t been ready for the life that Master Bran had been training me for, but in reality, in some ways, Max had been better equipped to deal with this mission than I had. I had been upset before we¡¯d set out that I was getting paired with someone Master James had taught, but now I wasn¡¯t so certain that he hadn¡¯t been teaching something that I needed.


    ¡°Can we talk..?¡± I looked back at the city, then at the young, brown haired man that was with the Bokor. He was too old to be an apprentice, which meant he must be the runner from Gher. ¡°Privately?¡±


    If it had been any other Master, there was a good chance that we¡¯d have already been dead. Instead, the gray haired, green eyed man nodded slowly. ¡°Go on in, Toby. I need to talk to my colleagues about this.¡±


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    The young man took the horse he had been riding and headed for the town. Fyga met him at the gate, but he must have told her that we wanted privacy because she didn¡¯t get any closer.


    The runes on Master Jame¡¯s arms pulsed, ¡°We can speak now. Byler please. What happened?¡±


    ¡°The first town¡­¡± I looked at Val. ¡°The mayor was farming Zombies to help one of the Bokor pad their numbers. They were sacrificing people to become Zombies¡­¡±


    That was all of the explanation that he needed to hear apparently. He held up his hand. ¡°I knew there were towns doing that, but the Council¡­¡± He shook his head and looked at Val, then back at me. ¡°The only way for you to survive being sacrificed was to make the change.¡± He looked at Val. ¡°Max didn¡¯t make it.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m trying to finish my mission, to see if there is a cure¡­¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡± Master James looked in between us at the corpse half out of the barrel. ¡°Well, maybe there is something here we could use.¡± He walked over and knelt down next to the failed experiment. ¡°I¡¯m Master James.¡± He looked up at Val,¡±Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Val¡­¡± She was keeping out of the other Bokor¡¯s reach, though I knew she was still too close to have enough time to react if he decided to attack.


    ¡°Wrangler?¡± Master James turned back to the cured Zombie.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Val didn¡¯t seem very happy at being so easy to read.


    ¡°The researcher?¡± Master James nodded at Fyga, who was still waiting by the wall.


    ¡°Assistant.¡± I looked around, but I couldn¡¯t see Narder or Winey. ¡°I don¡¯t see the brewer.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ odd.¡± The older man looked over at her and motioned for her to come over. ¡°I would have thought we¡¯d have to restrain the person who discovered this from coming out here to check.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s see what she can tell us.¡±


    Fyga got there and she looked like she had been crying. She ran over to Val. ¡°It¡¯s terrible! Winey¡¯s been murdered!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 15

    We¡¯d barely been gone for a few hours.


    For a murder to happen in that amount of time and there be no witnesses or leads, it seemed very unlikely.


    Master James looked at me. ¡°Winey was the researcher?¡±


    I nodded.


    That was all the information that he needed to know. ¡°Val. Byler.¡± Master James¡¯ runes pulsed again and he used magic to scoop most of the mud and the body into the barrel. ¡°Grab that and bring it with us.¡± He looked at Fyga. ¡°Show us where it happened.¡±


    Val looked like she was about to argue, but she saw that Fyga was looking at her for permission. ¡°He¡¯s the senior.¡± She sighed as she grabbed one side of the barrel.


    Most of the liquid had spilled out, but since it was replaced by mud and there was a corpse in it, the whole thing was almost two hundred pounds heavier. Between Val and myself, this wasn¡¯t a lot, but it did make things awkward once we reached the gates.


    Fyga started to head through the maze, but Master James stopped in front of the big metal doors and crossed his arms. There were a lot of whispers coming from above, but no one spoke as the doors slowly began to open.


    ¡°When did it happen?¡± Master James looked at the young woman as he waited for the inner gate to open.


    ¡°Sometime between when he sent me and Narder down here with the solution and when you got back with the Zombie.¡± She wiped a tear from her face. ¡°Maybe in the last hour? Narder went to go get him, then came running back yelling that Winey was dead.¡± She sniffled. ¡°Gili took him back to the Mug to investigate.¡±


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    The gate was finally open enough for him to squeeze through.


    Val and I picked the barrel up and carried it between us as we walked through town. People moved out of the way for two Bokor, so there was enough room to ensure that there wasn''t a soul between us and the bar.


    Gili was out front with Helru and Eveth. The crowd of people outside in the street vanished as we approached.


    ¡°Gili! It¡¯s been far too long and Helru! How¡¯s the shoulder? Eveth, you grew up so fast!¡± The old Bokor had a smile on his face.


    It was the complete opposite of how Master Bran would have handled the situation. Master Bran would have lined the people up and started giving orders.


    ¡°Master James, we¡­¡± Hello looked at us, then at him, ¡°Weren¡¯t expecting you.¡±


    ¡°I simply needed to come this way.¡± Master James nodded at us. ¡°They were bringing me up to speed.¡±


    The old Guard grumbled something about Bokor and trouble, but I couldn¡¯t make out any other words than that. If Master James heard what Gili said, it didn¡¯t take the smile off his face.


    ¡°May I?¡± Master James nodded towards the open door of the Bar.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Helru motioned for him to go in.


    Val and I watched him walk into the bar, but he stopped just past the doorway. Master James turned around and motioned for us to follow him.


    ¡°Bring the sample.¡± The older Bokor went inside.


    I picked up my side of the barrel, but Val didn¡¯t lift hers. It¡¯d only been a few days since her sister had been murdered in their bar. I could see why she wouldn¡¯t want to go inside.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay out here with the experiment?¡± I nodded at Helru, ¡°Maybe see what they know?¡±


    The redhead nodded, ¡°I can do that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let Master James know.¡± I touched my bandages to make sure they were still securely hiding my eyes, then jogged into the bar.

 Book 2 - Chapter 16

    Winey had been killed fast.


    I had been expecting a lot of blood like there had been with Val¡¯s sister, but if you hadn¡¯t told me that he was dead, I might have thought that the old man was just sleeping, draped over the bar.


    Narder was sitting in a chair at one of the tables with Fyga while Gili was hovering behind Master James. The old Bokor was poking the body and looking around the room.


    For a bar, it wasn¡¯t much. There were three tables to the left. A wall length bar across the back wall and a door on the right that was either a closet of stairs to a room downstairs.


    ¡°Was there anyone with a grudge against him?¡± Master James looked over at the assistants.


    Narder had blood on his hands and it looked like he had wiped some of it on his clothes. The blonde man shook his head. ¡°Winey had found a way to cure Zombies. Everyone thought he was a hero.¡±


    ¡°Even the Wranglers?¡± The Bokor walked around the bar and pulled Winey¡¯s shirt up to reveal a slit  a little above the researcher¡¯s right hip. I leaned on the bar so I could look at it better. The cut was about as wide as two of my fingers, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d be able to slip a finger into the stab wound. Someone had used a very thin blade and knew exactly where they were stabbing.


    ¡°Wrangler¡¯s be glad to stop risking their lives.¡± Gili spit on the floor, ¡°Guards too.¡±


    Master James looked up at me. ¡°What do you see, Byler?¡±


    I looked over at the two assistants, Gili, and at Helru, who had just walked in. ¡°Now?¡±


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    ¡°If one of them was the killer, then I¡¯m sure they¡¯d love to hear what we know.¡± He smiled


    ¡°I would never..!¡± Narder slammed his fist on the table


    ¡°Don¡¯t ya¡­¡± Gili puffed up her chest.


    Master James just had to clear his throat to silence both of them. He was the law here now, which was something that Val and I had forgotten to emphasize earlier.


    ¡°Master Byler¡­¡± Tingles ran up my arms and down my spine hearing him call me Master. ¡°...Has done many investigations.¡± Master James looked at me. ¡°I¡¯d like to know what he sees.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have as wide of a range of vision with the bandages on, but I could see what I was looking at just fine. I thought about telling him about the wound, but he didn¡¯t want to know that. That was easy to talk about.


    ¡°The bar is clean.¡± I looked at the two assistants, ¡°Where was he brewing the solution?¡±


    ¡°There''s a lab downstairs.¡± Fyga nodded at the door. ¡°It¡¯s where he brewed everything.¡±


    ¡°Can we see?¡±I nodded at the door.


    ¡°Lightstones only!¡± Gili reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the green stones. Its soft glow was barely visible with the natural light coming in through the front windows. ¡°I don¡¯t care who ya are. I won¡¯t have ya blow up this place cause ya brought a torch down there.¡±


    ¡°I can handle the light.¡± Master James ¡® hand began to shine. The light was much brighter and more focused than the glowing green stone.


    ¡°Fine, but no fire.¡± The old guard shoved the stone back in her pocket.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Val?¡± Master James came around the bar and opened the door to the downstairs.


    ¡°She is waiting outside with the experiment.¡± I thought about elaborating, but didn¡¯t want to say more in front of the people. The Bokor were supposed to show strength to the people. Pointing out that Val was still grieving her sister wouldn¡¯t be a good look.


    Master James looked at me for a moment and I thought he might order me to bring her in. That¡¯s what Master Bran would have done. But he must have seen something in my face that told him it wasn¡¯t defiance keeping her out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s down there.¡± Master James turned and walked down the stairs.

 Book 2 - Chapter 17

    All of the solution was in a puddle on the floor.


    Someone had broken all the barrels. Not just the solution, but all of them. The whole room smelled like alcohol and I understood why Gili didn¡¯t want fire down here. All it would take was one spark and the whole building would go up.


    The room itself was rather cool. It was underground in what appeared to be a natural cave based on the walls. I had a feeling that there were a lot of caves like this in the town that were being utilized for rooms.


    There were a few books on the floor and it looked like someone had taken a hammer to everything, not just the barrels of liquor.


    ¡°What do you make of this?¡± Master James looked up at me.


    I¡¯d stopped halfway down the steps and was looking around from there. I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted to step into the glass and other mess that was down there.


    ¡°Someone was trying to destroy all of his research.¡± I decided I had to go into the puddle because there was something I wanted to see.


    ¡°Winey said he was basically only making drinks with the crystals, but¡­¡± I began picking through the wreckage, ¡°I don¡¯t see any crystals here.¡±


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Master James picked up one of the books and tried to thumb through it, but the pages were destroyed, the alcohol had removed too much of the ink. ¡°What does that tell you?¡±


    ¡°He was killed so quickly that he couldn¡¯t put up a fight.¡± I looked around. ¡°Whoever killed him wanted to destroy the research.¡±


    ¡°Easy answers.¡± Master James leaned against one of the walls. ¡°Tell me, why kill Winey, destroy all the solution, and take the crystals,  but¡­¡± He motioned around, ¡°Not set it on fire when it would be so easy to burn all the evidence?¡±


    I shrugged.


    Master James shook his head, ¡°You really should learn more about people. Think about it this way, if you just killed Winey, then came down here to destroy all the research, and grab all the crystals, how long would that take you?¡±


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    I started playing out the events in my head. ¡°Ten minutes?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t keep the crystal, so you have to dispose of them, which takes¡­¡± He shrugged, ¡°Let¡¯s say five minutes, probably more. But now you¡¯re free to get to the wall where everyone can see you for that display you put on earlier.¡± He eyed me. ¡°Who is going to remember everyone who showed up a little late?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a few, but who would remember someone running away from a fire or showing up to the fire late?¡± Master James tapped the wall twice.


    ¡°Which means whoever killed Winey thought about that, so..?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant.


    ¡°It means that we aren¡¯t dealing with someone who panicked and killed Winey on impulse. This was someone who could think clearly after they did it. Which means we¡¯re dealing with someone who very likely has killed before.¡± He pushed off of the wall and headed towards me.


    I swallowed. I¡¯d just dealt with killers in the last town. ¡°Are all humans like this?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± Master James stopped right in front of me.


    I stood up, ¡°Killing each other.¡±


    Master James sighed, ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s very common.¡± He nodded at the stairs. ¡°Let¡¯s head back up and see what Gili thinks.¡±


    ¡°Did ya find anything?¡± Gili tapped her foot.


    ¡°Nothing illuminating.¡± Master James extinguished the lights coming out of his hands. He turned to Helru, ¡°Whoever killed Winey had to be close to him. Someone he trusted. Was he close to people?¡±


    The town leader swallowed, ¡°Winey was kind of a recluse, obsessed with his research. He rarely tended the bar, that¡¯s why he had assistants.¡± She looked at the pair sitting at the table.


    ¡°So how many people were that close to him?¡± Master James surveyed the room.


    ¡°Probably just the Council at the moment.¡± Helru nodded at the pair, ¡°And his assistants.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to speak with the leaders of the town.¡± He nodded at the two assistants. ¡°Those two as well.¡±


    ¡°We can use the Meeting Hall.¡± Helru began wringing her hands together. ¡°It won¡¯t take long to get everyone together¡­ Gili?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m goin¡­¡± The old Guard headed out the door.


    ¡°Splendid.¡± Master James nodded at the door. ¡°Once everyone leaves, I¡¯ll seal this place in case I need to come back during my investigation.¡±


    It looked like Helru was about to say something, but Master James shook his head.


    ¡°A cure for Zombies is a matter that the Bokor take very seriously. I¡¯m afraid that We¡¯ll be staying until we find who did this and why.¡±


    The old woman nodded somberly, then looked at the two Assistants. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 18

    We moved to the meeting room.


    I helped Val carry the barrel, which we put in the corner as we sat down on either side of Master James, who took his seat at the head of the table. Val was on his right and I was on his left.


    The original group who was here this morning was back, except for Winey, who was dead and Eveth, who was doing something else.


    ¡°This is preposterous!¡± Lewiu was covered in dirt. How am I supposed to get any work done if I keep getting called in here?¡±


    Master James smiled at the miner, ¡°If you truly believe that this is such an inconvenience, then I will bring you back to the Island with me once this is all over and you can personally complain to the Council.¡±


    The gray haired man lost the color in his face. ¡°I¡­um¡­ I¡¯m not put out that much. I just don¡¯t like this back and forth game.¡±


    ¡°I assure you, this investigation won¡¯t take long.¡± Master James looked at Helru, ¡°I¡¯d like you to get me a list of people who weren¡¯t at the wall.¡±


    ¡°It was none of my people.¡± Lewiu crossed his arms. ¡°There¡¯s only one way in and out of the mine and I was standing in it until a few minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Everyone who wasn¡¯t working for that slavedriver was at the wall.¡± Gili crossed her arms in front of her as she leaned back in her seat, ¡°We shut down almost the whole town.¡± His eyes narrowed, ¡°Except for ya,, Narder.¡± She leaned forward. ¡°Ya went to go see why Winey hadn¡¯t shown up.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him. Honest!¡± Narder looked around the room for an ally.


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    Fyga scooted her chair away from him. She touched something on her goggles, but I couldn¡¯t see that it did anything.


    ¡°¡±Seriously! I found him like that and went to get help!¡± Narder pointed at Felge, ¡°What about you?¡± You were still with him when I left with the barrel and your men!¡±


    Felge¡¯s face got red, ¡°Why would I want him dead?¡± He slammed his fist on the table. ¡°We had just signed a deal that stated that I would be the sole person to transport his cure around the continent!¡± He fished his hand into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. He threw it on the table. ¡°Winey and I were about to be the richest people in the world!¡±


    ¡°What happened when you left?¡± Master James reached over and began reading the contract.


    ¡°Winey said he had some things he wanted to show the Bokor and he¡¯d be along.¡± Felge sat back down in his chair. ¡°He was alive when I left him.¡±


    ¡°What about the rest of you?¡± Master James offered the contract back to the balding man.


    ¡°I was at the wall with my people getting ready for the show.¡± Gili pointed her thumb at the barrel in the corner.


    ¡°Since the Bokor went north¡­¡± Berthre nodded at me, ¡°The Wranglers did a loop to the south. We got back just before the Bokor did.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here all morning dealing with administrative things.¡± Helru shook her head, ¡°There are multiple assistants who can vouch that I didn¡¯t move until the Bokor came back.¡±


    Master James looked at the blonde doctor. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I was with patients.¡± Wreda swallowed and adjusted her glasses. She looked nervous, but I felt nervous and I hadn¡¯t killed Winey. This was a little too intense for my liking.


    ¡°How long was it between when you saw Winey?¡± Master James looked at Narder.


    ¡°A little over an hour.¡± the young man replied.


    Master James nodded. ¡°Does anyone have any of the crystals, or¡­¡± He looked at Lewiu, ¡°Can you find me one?¡±


    The mining boss shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t have one on me, but I¡¯m sure one will turn up soon. They aren¡¯t common, but the next one I find is yours.¡±


    ¡°Splendid!¡± Master James stood up. ¡°Now, if you would kindly direct us to our lodging, my companions and I have a lot to discuss.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 19

    Master James was still looking at the corpse.


    As soon as we¡¯d gotten to our room, which looked like a house that someone had gotten kicked out of, he¡¯d opened the lid and begun examining it.


    I assumed that he would start asking questions as soon as he was ready to talk, so I cleared off the kitchen table and got the seven hearts out of my bag.


    Val was sitting at the table with a heartstone knife and was cutting into a heart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it like that.¡± I held up the heart I was working on.¡±You have to make a shallow cut, otherwise you can damage the heartstone.¡± I demonstrated for her.


    ¡°Why are we doing this?¡± She set down her knife and heart.


    ¡°Because you need the heartstones to live.¡± Master James got up and walked over to the table. He picked up one of the heartstones that I¡¯d already harvested and clenched it in his hand. The lines on his arms pulsed once and when he opened up his hand the hearthstone was nothing but a black rock. He dropped it on the table and looked at Val. ¡°As a Bokor, these stones can give you a way to quickly restore your magic, which can be the difference between life and death in a long fight.¡±


    ¡°What if I can¡¯t use magic?¡± Val crossed her arms in front of her. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying and nothing¡¯s happened.¡±


    The older Bokor looked at me. ¡°What about you?¡±


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    I shook my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to do anything either.¡±


    ¡°You did the Zombie thing.¡± Val corrected me.


    I¡¯d been trying not to think about that and apparently it¡¯d worked


    ¡°What Zombie thing?¡± Master James turned to me.


    ¡°I went into a Zombie and got a little stuck.¡± I grimaced. ¡°Not something I¡¯d like to do again.¡±


    ¡°Understandable.¡± The older Bokor got up and went to his pack and began digging around.


    ¡°Is there a way to¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know the right word. ¡°Fix me?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a rumor of a Touched becoming a Bokor, but I¡¯ve never seen that myself.¡± He looked up at me, then over at the barrel. ¡°Unfortunately, this solution looks like it was made with a purifying crystal.¡± He shook his head, ¡°Very powerful and very rare. I¡¯ve only ever seen them as weapons, but they won¡¯t cure you. I mean it will but you won¡¯t survive it.¡± He nodded at the barrel. ¡°It¡¯s genius really, to disperse it like that. But the ramifications are very¡­¡± He shook his head.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I looked at Val to see if she had any ideas.


    ¡°You could pour this one on the Zombies from above the wall. Or flood a trap that would purify them until it filled it up.¡± He found whatever he was looking for and came back to the table. ¡°Did either of you drink any?¡±


    We both shook our heads.


    ¡°Good. Don¡¯t.¡± The older Bokor sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know what the liquid will do, but a knife made out of the crystal will ground out a Bokor¡¯s magic if they''re stabbed with it and the blade is left in. And¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s on the collars they put on the Touched!¡± I closed my lips as soon as I realized that I¡¯d just interrupted him.


    ¡°That is correct.¡± He looked at the two of us, ¡°Since neither of you has been using magic, it¡¯s not like you would miss that, but you¡¯d probably also get very sick.¡± The Older Bokor held out a gray stone that fit in the palm of his hand. Let''s see what kind of magic you have.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 20

    I was going to learn magic!


    I had to grab the seat of my chair to contain my excitement. I could see apprehension on Val¡¯s face. While becoming a Bokor had been my life goal, it was her nightmare. As long as she didn¡¯t have magic, she could act like it wasn¡¯t real. But as soon as we learned how to use our magic, it would become real.


    Master James must have seen that because he held out his hand towards her. He nodded at the stone. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay. Just take the stone.¡±


    Val slowly reached for the stone and took it out of his hand.


    ¡°Good, now I need you to focus your magic in it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do that.¡± Val glared at the other Bokor.


    ¡°Here.¡± Master James got up and walked around behind her. He touched the mark on her right arm and started tracing it towards her hand.


    Val pulled away quickly. ¡°That was weird.¡±


    ¡°That was just magnetism between our marks.¡± Master James offered her his hand again, ¡°I can run magic through it now so you can feel how it¡¯s done.¡±


    She was still leaning away from him, but she slowly straightened back up and offered him her arm.


    There was a small spark as he ran his finger down her mark. The purple ribbon pulsed as his magic poured into it. The stone in her hand began to shine, then turned blue.


    Master James pulled his hand away and the stone still glowed. He smiled as he looked down at the new Bokor. ¡°Do you think you can do it yourself now?¡¯


    The glow on the stone dimmed, then vanished. It looked like a gray stone again.


    ¡°I can try.¡± Val¡¯s eyes focused on the stone. Her marks began to brighten and the stone began to glow blue again. She looked up at the older man, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


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    ¡°You have an affinity for water magic.¡± Master James plucked the stone out of her hand and tossed it to me. ¡°You¡¯re going to be a little more difficult.¡±


    I caught the stone and looked at the gray object in my hand. It looked like smooth rock, but I could feel a buzzing coming from it.


    ¡°Why?¡± I looked across the table at the Master.


    He tapped the purple lines on his arms as he walked over to me. ¡°You don¡¯t have marks.¡±


    I looked down at my arms as if looking at them might cause the marks to appear. He was right. There were no marks for him to jumpstart, nothing for him to focus his magic into.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± I looked back up at him. I had to adjust my bandages again. It was getting aggravating and I thought about taking them off, but there was a chance that someone could walk in and I wouldn¡¯t have time to get the bandages back on. Sure, I could close my eyes, but as soon as the person saw that there was nothing wrong with my face, I was going to have to find another reason to cover my eyes.


    ¡°Here.¡± Master James took my hands. ¡°I¡¯m going to try running magic through you and see if you can feel anything.¡±


    There was a buzzing in my hands and the hair on my arms stood up.


    ¡°Did you feel anything?¡± He searched my face for a reaction.


    ¡°There was something.¡± I flexed my fingers in his hands and tried to replicate the sensation.


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°Can you do it again?¡± I looked up at him


    He nodded and that same buzzing sensation tickled my hands.


    ¡°Can you do more?¡± I didn¡¯t want to just feel the magic in my hands, I wanted to try to spread it throughout my whole body. I reached for the buzz and pulled. It shot up my arm and into my core.


    It was like something exploded inside me. Like a campfire that had been trying to catch fire, but had just been smoldering until it blossomed.


    I touched the sensation and willed it into the stone. It felt like my hands were on fire as the magic hit the stone. I looked down at my hand and realized the reason why my hands felt like they were on fire was because they were.


    ¡°STOP!


    I knew exactly why Master James was worried. I was sitting at a table in front of seven zombie hearts. They would be enough accelerant to light up the house nicely. Granted, it was a stone house, so it wasn¡¯t going to burn down, but still. There were lots of things inside that could burn.


    I got drenched as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water at me. I looked across the table, expecting to see Val with an empty bucket, but instead she was holding out her hands towards me.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s convenient.¡± Master James started laughing.

 Book 2 - Chapter 21

    I had magic!


    I didn¡¯t care at that moment if I was a Touched or not. I had magic and not just any magic, but FIRE magic. I could feel it inside me as if there was now a flame burning in my very soul.


    ¡°Well.¡± Master James plucked the stone out of my hand and put it in his pocket. ¡°We can work on spells later, but for now¡­¡± He looked at me, ¡°Don¡¯t practice your magic indoors.¡±


    Years of conditioning kick in. ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°Don¡¯t be so sad. You¡¯ll be outside for most of your life.¡±


    I smiled and for a moment realized that I couldn¡¯t get the smile off of my face.


    ¡°We have magic now¡­¡± Val brought me into the present. ¡°Now what? ¡° She gestured at me. ¡°Can you fix his eyes?¡± She pointed at herself. ¡°Or make your Council not want to kill me?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about his eyes, short of blinding him.¡± Master James shook his head. ¡°And I don''t want to do that..¡± He sat down in the empty chair between us. ¡°What I can do is give you time. Finish your route, Byler,¡± He turned towards Val, ¡°You should stay with him. Learn what you can about the Bokor and when you¡¯re done with this route¡­¡± He shook his head, ¡°Give me that long to figure out how to present you to the Council.¡±


    ¡°What if we run?¡± Val leaned forward. ¡°There are places out west with caves for miles. We could hide out there. Besides, the Bokor don¡¯t know we exist yet.¡± Her eyes narrowed, ¡°Unless you are going to tell them.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Master James paused. ¡°I do not approve of their method for handling most things. I could not lie if asked directly, but I would not voluntarily offer that information.¡±


    That was a relief. Part of me had been worried that he was going to bring us back with him. At least I didn¡¯t have to worry about him sending the Hunters after us.


    ¡°I would not recommend running.¡± I realized he had gone back to answer her earlier question. ¡°The Bokor are very protective of their secrets. Once Byler does not show up, they will send a Hunter to retrace their steps. As soon as they get here they will know that the two of you are rogues and that I assisted you. I would be executed and every Hunter on the Island and maybe more would hunt you both down until they killed you.¡±


    ¡°What if a Zombie got us?¡± Sarcasm dripped off of her question.


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    ¡°They would look for something to prove that. They have ways I¡¯m not even privy to.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I do not recommend running.¡±


    ¡°So do we leave tomorrow?¡± Val nodded at the door.


    Master James thought for a moment. ¡°No. This situation is complicated and I could use the help.¡± He looked at both of us,, ¡°And you both could use some training. When I go back to the Island with this report, I will tell them that this delayed your trip and I may be able to buy you a month¡¯s extension.¡±


    That would almost double our time. While it probably wouldn¡¯t make us any more prepared, it would give Master James time to figure out something.


    ¡°So what are we doing here?¡± Val put her elbows on the table and leaned forward.


    ¡°We need to find those missing crystals.¡± Master James shook his head, ¡°With that many, they could make so many weapons. I fear that if those are not found, more Bokor will be sent here to retrieve them. Ones who are not as nice as I am.¡±


    There were Bokor that made Master Bran seem like a sweet old man. I could only imagine what they¡¯d do to the town in the name of ¡®protecting¡¯ people. I realized that until a few days ago, I would never have had those kinds of negative feelings about the Bokor. I wondered if learning that there were Bokor who aided in murdering human rivals had tainted my view of them as much or more than I was by the plague.


    ¡°First we¡¯ll do some poking around.¡± Master James stood up. ¡°I have a bad feeling that this might be about the Zombie killer. And with us here, the killers might get desperate to cover this up.¡±


    ¡°Why would someone want to hide something that kills Zombies..?¡± I realized that I was asking a Bokor why they wouldn¡¯t like it if every time a person offered him a drink it could be laced with purifying crystal, which would poison him. Both the Bokor and the Touched wouldn¡¯t like this being in human hands. Because, As Master James had pointed out, the applications for anti-Zombie weapons were huge.I suddenly realized something.


    ¡°The Zombies that were attacking the City when we got here and then were docile in the forest. Eger getting killed by a Living. And now with Winey being killed.¡± I swallowed. ¡°The Touched are planning on destroying anyone in the town who knows about the purifying stone and they¡¯re already here.¡± I looked at the Master, ¡°Can you sense them? Can you sense me?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Yes I can sense you because you haven¡¯t learned how to contain your magic, so you stand out like a lighthouse. But for someone more skilled? No, I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell if they¡¯re here until they used magic. They¡¯d have to cover their eyes with something like you are, but I didn¡¯t see anyone with head wrappings like yours.¡±


    I nodded. This was serious. ¡°Are you going to call the Bokor to come help out because the city is going to be attacked?¡±


    Master James didn¡¯t even need to think. ¡°No, because that outs the two of you. And I¡¯d like to think that as long as a Bokor is holding that sword, my apprentice died for something.¡±


    Val reached behind her and touched the hilt of the sword.


    ¡°So!¡± He clapped his hands. ¡°Get some rest. You might not feel like you need it, but it¡¯ll keep you sharp, even if you only get a little sleep.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 22

    I didn¡¯t sleep well.


    There were too many things running through my mind, but I tried not to think about those things . We didn¡¯t have much time to figure this out. I didn¡¯t know when the Touched would attack, but I wanted to be ready if they did.


    The problem was that all those things floating around in my head were demanding to be sorted. I resisted for a little bit, but eventually I decided that I was going to have to sort through everything or it wasn¡¯t going to let me sleep.


    First, I tried to think about who would want Winey dead. Master James thought it was someone in the Council room. Narder and Fyga both had alibis, though I guessed they could have slipped away.


    Gili supposedly was at the wall the whole time as well, but I guessed we¡¯d have to talk to the guards and townspeople to confirm that. I dreaded that part, I¡¯d much rather fight Zombies all day. I might pitch that to Master James. I knew where a nest was, so I could at least thin out some of them before they could attack.


    Wreda was another one that we¡¯d have to confirm with the townspeople to make sure she was in her office the entire time.


    Lewiu should be an easy one to confirm since he was supposedly where miners could always see him.


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    Eveth and Berthre were out Wrangling, so they were easy to take off the list. They hadn¡¯t been back long enough to get to the other end of town, kill Winey, and get back to the front gate.


    Master James had confirmed that Helru had been in the meeting house all day, so she was off the list of suspects.


    The one without an alibi was Felge, but he had a strong reason for not killing Winey. With Winey dead, he was now losing a lot of money.


    I¡¯d have to wait until the morning to do any more investigating, but I really hoped I¡¯d go Zombie hunting.


    I tried to find the buzzing in my mind. It was distant, but I could feel them out where they had been left by the Touched. They were too far away for me to do anything more than feel, but it was kind of comforting knowing that they hadn¡¯t moved.


    The thing that would be the most helpful was if I could find the Touched. I started looking for magic, but the only thing I could feel was the Zombies.


    I tried to see if I could feel Master James or Val. I guess I should start referring to her as Master Val to keep up appearances. I tried to focus on the two beds that they were sleeping in. I knew where they were, so I should be able to sense them, but there was nothing that I could feel coming off of either of them.


    I thought about working on my magic, but fire that I wasn¡¯t confident in my ability to control in a closed room was definitely not a good idea.


    I closed my eyes again and tried to sleep. It didn''t really come more than just a little here and a little there. I honestly felt like if I would have stayed up and went looking for Zombies, I would have felt better, but Master James had been a Bokor for a long time. I would defer to his wisdom.


    But I had never been more happy to see a sunrise than I was that morning.

 Book 2 - Chapter 23

    We had to decide what to do.


    ¡°I was thinking¡­¡± It probably wasn¡¯t the best way to greet a Bokor, but Master James didn¡¯t seem to be too big on proper etiquette. ¡°...That I would be more useful in exterminating the Zombies that the Touched have gathered than I would talking to people.¡±


    Master James yawned and waved me off. ¡°It¡¯s too early to think of such things. We need food.¡±


    ¡°Food?¡± Val stretched as she walked in.


    ¡°Give me a few minutes.¡± Master James began looking through the cupboards and pulled out random ingredients.


    ¡°Should you be doing that?¡± Val sat down at the table.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be reimbursed.¡± Master James gestured at the ingredients. ¡°This is a pittance compared to what they would pay for our services.¡± He conjured a little bit of fire and began cooking.


    ¡°Are you really going to charge them for all of this?¡± Val glared at the Bokor.


    ¡°No.¡± The answer came faster than she expected by the look on her face.


    ¡°This is a mission that could have helped the betterment of the Bokor. In my opinion that means we should be paying them, not the other way around.¡± He turned around and began putting food on plates.


    ¡°Why?¡± She looked at me, then back at him. ¡°That¡¯s not how the Bokor are.¡±


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    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here under the pretext of Hunting, charging them now would be dishonest, even if most of the Bokor believe it is their right.¡± He shook his head. ¡°But I can only do what I can.¡± He looked at us, ¡°And right now, that is feeding us so we can figure out how to keep this town safe.¡±


    Master James pushed a plate towards Val, ¡°Then we¡¯re going to go talk to people until we learn who killed Winey and is trying to get this city destroyed.¡±


    Val took the food but kept eyeing the other Bokor. ¡°You¡¯re not what I expected.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± He started eating and nodded at the third plate.


    I sat down and started eating. I¡¯d heard the other Masters talk about how shortsighted and fanciful Master James was, but what he was saying was supposed to be the core belief of the Bokor. If he was so crazy then what really happened behind the doors that I never got to see,


    ¡°Any other Bokor would have killed both of you on the spot, burned your bodies and marked down that they killed two traitors when they returned to the island.¡± He nodded at the door. ¡°And I don¡¯t know of another Bokor on the Island that would stick around here to uproot a Touched takeover once they learned that the ¡®cure¡¯ we were told about is nothing but a good cleaner.¡±


    ¡°Master Bran isn¡¯t like that he would..!¡± I caught myself. It wasn¡¯t because I was being disrespectful. It was because he was right. I could think of dozens of times that we¡¯d left a place that still had ¡®rumors of Zombies¡¯, but Master Bran would state that he was ¡®sent to kill Zombies, not rumors;.


    I sighed, ¡°You¡¯re right. Even Master Bran would have already left.¡±


    ¡°This compassion you feel is good, but you have to learn how to guard it. Otherwise you might¡­¡±


    There was a sharp knock on the door.


    ¡°Masters! Are you awake!¡±


    I got up and walked over to the door. When I opened it Eveth was standing just outside the door. She was normally pale, but she looked almost translucent


    ¡°Miss Wreda has been murdered!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 24

    The doctor¡¯s office was cold.


    It shouldn¡¯t have been the first thing that I thought of as we walked into the building, but that¡¯s what stood out to me the most.


    Wreda¡¯s body was in the back, with a single wound the size of two of my fingers above where her heart was. It looked like whoever the killer was, they favored using a specific weapon and were brutally efficient.


    The scene inside the office looked like there had been at least a few fights and given that the doctor was still wearing a nightgown, I could only guess that the killer had either attacked them in bed or that they¡¯d got them out of bed early this morning.


    ¡°Who has been here?¡± Master James looked at Gili.


    The gray-haired guard shrugged. ¡°I sent Eveth to go get ya as soon as we heard.¡± She nodded at the town leader. ¡°Helru was supposed to see the doctor this morning, but says she found her like this.¡±


    I could tell that the scene was getting to Val. I touched her arm, ¡°Let¡¯s step out for a moment.¡±


    The redhead nodded and walked back out the door.


    I touched Master James¡¯ shoulder and leaned in, ¡°Master Val and I are going to look around the house.¡±


    The Bokor looked at me quizzically, but simply nodded as he turned back to his conversation with the captain of the guard.


    ¡°Are you doing okay?¡± I pulled Val around to the side of the building.


    She nodded, but not in a way that could convince me that was the case.


    ¡°I was going to ask Master James if he thought it¡¯d be a good idea for me to try to track down the Zombies in the woods.¡± I nodded to the north. ¡°Any that we take out will be ones we don¡¯t have to fight later if they are trying to take the town.¡±


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    Val looked back at the building, ¡°I-I-I think I should stay.¡± She turned back to me. ¡°He can¡¯t do an investigation like this on his own and of the two of us, I¡¯d be more useful here, but¡­¡± She took a deep breath, ¡°No one should be going out there alone even if it is you.¡±


    I shrugged, trying not to let my nerves show. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine on my own. I doubt the Zombies would even really try to hurt me, which means that I¡¯m probably the best positioned to go out there alone.¡± I tried to read her. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡±


    She smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± She must have seen that I wasn¡¯t buying it. ¡°I will be and I¡¯m not going to fall apart on him. There''s too much at stake here and I know how to bottle things up so that I can focus on the mission. ¡°


    ¡°So you¡¯re not okay.¡±


    ¡°Can we save this for when we¡¯re on the road again and need something to talk about?¡± She started to leave, ¡°I¡¯m going back in there, do you want me to say something about you going hunting?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I can do it.¡± I swallowed. It felt so strange to think about talking to someone like an equal when just a few days before, they had been a teacher and I had been a student. But if I was being honest, of all of the Masters at the Island, Master James was probably the one I would have the easiest time talking with like that.


    Before I went back, I realized that there was some frost on the windowsill. It was the middle of the year, but even if it wasn¡¯t. Frost was rare at the Island, let alone a little further south.


    The closer I looked at it the more it looked like a handprint, but it was quickly melting in the morning warmth.


    ¡°Val. look at this.¡± I pointed at the shrinking patch of frost.


    ¡°Ice?¡± She knelt down in front of the window.


    ¡°It''s almost like a handprint. But to do that¡­¡± I lifted up on the window and it slid open, with Master James, Helru, and Gili on the other side.


    ¡°I think we know how the killer got away.¡± Master James¡¯ eyes followed mine down to the almost gone handprint.


    It explained why the room was so cold. Whoever had killed the doctor had been using Ice magic during the struggle and if they used Ice magic, then they were either a Bokor or a Touched. And since I couldn¡¯t imagine the Bokor assassinating people, especially without Master James knowing, which could only mean one thing.


    The look on Master James'' face told me that somehow he had figured this out as he shook his head.

 Book 2 - Chapter 25

    There was a Touched in the city.


    I wanted to scream the warning at the top of my lungs, but for some reason Master James was signaling for me to stay quiet.


    ¡°This looks like this is the way the killer got out.¡± Master James nodded at me.


    ¡°That window is always locked.¡± Helru started wringing her hands together.


    I looked down at the frosty clue and saw that it was now gone.


    ¡°Masters, would you see if you can find out where the killer may have gone?¡± Master James turned back to the two humans in the office. ¡°I have a few things that I would like to finish asking these poor women, then I will join you back at the house to go over what we¡¯ve found.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master James.¡± I looked at Val, ¡°Come on Master Val, let¡¯s go down the alley.¡±


    ¡°Do not disturb the people..!¡± Gili started, but her rant was cut short as Master James shut the window.


    ¡°Why did he do that?¡± Val looked confused as we walked down the alley.


    It went for a single extra house before it opened up into the main road. We were close to the mouth of the mine, which was one of the safer places if the city gate was breached, but it was also closer to the mine which meant more noise. The miners had already started working, and the people were setting up their various workshops and such for the day. With all the people milling about, of which there were probably only a few hundred in the whole town, it was still going to be impossible to find anything frosty that the sun or a person hadn¡¯t destroyed.


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    ¡°I have no idea.¡± I shrugged, ¡°But this is the way that Masters are.¡± I looked around at the people, then back down the side alley. ¡°Do you want to go back and see if we can find something else?¡±


    Val looked up the alley at the building and shook her head. ¡°There wasn¡¯t anything in the alley.¡± She shook her head, ¡°And I can bet what the captain will do if we start randomly asking people if they saw anything.¡±


    I was about to tell her that was one of the perks of being a Bokor, you could just ignore the guard captain, but realized something.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t told anyone.¡±


    Val looked shocked, ¡°Seriously?¡¯


    I motioned for her to follow me and led her around the side of the building. When we reached the front, there were a few people who were walking up to the doctor¡¯s office, but Meler, Helru¡¯s main assistant, was turning them away telling them that the doctor wasn¡¯t feeling well and would have to reschedule them later.


    I looked at Val. ¡°When we first got here, people were coming to see what we were doing. At the Bar, there was a crowd of people, but here¡­¡± I nodded at the empty space, ¡°No one.¡±


    Val clenched her fists. ¡°They¡¯re covering it up.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Or Master James wants some space to work. One of my jobs as an apprentice was to chase people away while Master Bran was working.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Though Master Bran tended to do that all by himself.¡±


    Val was trying to stabilize her breathing. I could tell that she was upset, but she must have been going through things in her head.


    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else out here and we can¡¯t ask anything that might tip off the people¡­¡± She looked around. ¡°We might as well go back to the house and wait for Master James.¡±


    She didn¡¯t wait for my response and started walking.


    I hurried after her. Hopefully Master James had some answers.

 Book 2 - Chapter 26

    We didn¡¯t have to wait long.


    We¡¯d barely gotten back before Master James walked in, shaking his head.


    ¡°Why?¡± Val pointed at the door. ¡°Another person is dead and you are helping them keep it quiet? What happened to¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a Touched in the city walls.¡± His statement silenced her rant.


    ¡°What..?¡¯ Val looked at me, ¡°Did you know?¡±


    I started to nod, then changed it to a shrug midway.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Val turned back to the Bokor.


    ¡°There was a significant amount of magic used in the struggle.¡± Master James looked at me, then to Val, ¡°I need to teach you how to sense Magic, but that is an exercise for later.¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Val turned to me.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know for sure, but¡­.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°There was still frost on the windowsill.¡±


    ¡°That could have been from¡­¡±


    ¡°In the shape of a handprint.¡± Master James interrupted her again, ¡°Plus there was a significant amount of magic condensed around the wound along with a lot of water.¡± He waited for us to piece it together, but I had no clue what that meant.


    When neither of us answered him, he finished. ¡°The Touched created a blade out of ice and used it to stab the doctor.¡± He shook his head, ¡°The bad news is that they seem to be wanting to stay hidden because they must have left the blade inside the body for it to melt when Helru showed up.¡± He shook his head, ¡°Since the Mayor was blocking the front door, it looked like the Touched decided to go out the window rather than take a chance that Helru had any guards with her.¡±


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    ¡°Was this a hit or accident?¡± I was curious what he thought.


    ¡°I believe it was an accident. With Winey it looked like there had been some thought put into it. Likely, the Touched knew they were going to have to kill Winey to destroy his research and had already planned how to do it. With the Doctor, I¡¯m not sure why she was killed. Perhaps she stumbled on something.¡± Master James shrugged, ¡°But the wounds are almost identical, so I think it¡¯s safe to say that we¡¯re dealing with a Touched in the town.¡±


    He waited for the weight of what he¡¯d just said to sink in.


    ¡°But how are we not noticing a Touched in the city?¡± I was running through possibilities in my head.


    He nodded at me, ¡°We have one right there.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill them!¡± I held up my hands as my heart sped up, ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°I know you didn¡¯t do it, Byler.¡± Master James cut me off. ¡°You were out of town with Val when Winey died and you were here last night.¡±


    I slowly started to nod, but realized that he had probably done something to alert him if the house was breached.


    ¡°What are we going to do about the other Touched?¡± Val¡¯s voice seemed to waver.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that Winey developed a serum that wasn¡¯t so toxic to Touched and could be used as eye drops to mask their eyes.¡± Master James offered. ¡°If that is the case, then this becomes an even worse situation.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°If I can¡¯t wrap this up soon, then I¡¯m going to have to call in a Hunting Party.¡±


    Val and I looked at each other. When the Bokor came in with a Hunting Party, they weren¡¯t gentle.They¡¯d work their way through a town lockdown, house by house until they found what they were looking for.


    ¡°Why?¡± Val demanded, ¡°You know the amount of collateral damage that could cause!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it¡­¡± Master James took a deep breath, ¡°But imagine the amount of damage that a Touched could cause if they could walk into any town unnoticed.¡± He shook his head, ¡°We are lucky that they haven¡¯t decided to infect their victims, but what are you going to do if they decide that just dropping bodies isn¡¯t enough? That they are going to make a Zombie in the middle of town?¡±


    He let the ramifications of what he¡¯d described sink in.


    ¡°Which is why we have to find this Touched soon.¡± Master James shook his head, ¡°Or I will have to bring in a Hunting Party to protect every other town.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 27

    I felt a little numb.


    I could hear Val and Master James talking, but I wasn¡¯t registering what they were saying. My mind was going over the ramifications of what had been said.


    The Hunting Party concerned me, but I had no doubt that if Master James called one in, he would send Val and myself away first. It was the potential that there was at least a mask out there that would allow the Touched to blend in.


    If I could find it, I wouldn¡¯t have to wear the bandages over my face any more. It would be a huge win for me, with the other side of that being either the Hunting Party showed up or the Touched got away with the secret and they could start infecting towns at will.


    It basically boiled down to a huge win for me or a devastating loss for humanity and the Bokor if we failed.


    ¡°Byler.¡± Master James snapped his fingers in my face.


    ¡°Yes, Master?¡± I blinked to try to help me focus on the present.


    ¡°I was telling you about today.¡± Master James crossed his arms, ¡°Were you listening?¡±


    There was no point in lying, ¡°No.¡± I hung my head, ¡°I started thinking about being able to walk around without these¡­¡± I motioned at my head, ¡°And got distracted.¡±


    Master James shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ll recap.¡± He nodded at Val, ¡°We are going to be talking to the town leaders. I don¡¯t think there''s a reason for them to submit to a blood test. If this solution can mask their eyes, then there is no reason to believe that it can¡¯t mask their blood as well.¡±


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    I nodded. Now was the time to talk to him about my idea. ¡°Do you need me here today?¡± I tilted my head towards the north. ¡°If there is a Touched here and they might attack the city to destroy the crystal, then wouldn¡¯t it be helpful for us if I went out and thinned a few of the Zombies?¡± I looked at Val, then back at the other Bokor, ¡°I¡¯m not going to be of any extra help while you¡¯re talking to people.¡±


    Master James thought for a moment. ¡°If the Touched have found a way to mask themselves, then the reason that Winey was killed probably wasn¡¯t to stop his research, but to keep it from getting to us. I have a feeling that the Touched is going to try to leave the city, but I told Gili not to let anyone out of the Gates.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s not one of them? Or working with them?¡± Val folded her arms in front of her.


    ¡°That¡¯s where you come in.¡± He looked at Val. ¡°I want you to stay near the gate and make sure someone doesn¡¯t try to escape.¡± He turned to me, ¡°I was going to have Byler do that, but if we lock them in and this Touched doesn¡¯t think they can get out¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll need a distraction?¡¯ I offered.


    Master James nodded. ¡°They don¡¯t know that we know the killer isn¡¯t human, which is probably why they haven¡¯t started turning people to get out.¡± He nodded at Val. ¡°We need to keep up the appearance that we still think this is a human and that we¡¯re locking this place down, which is why you''ll be on the gate.¡± He looked at me, ¡°If there wasn¡¯t a killer in the city, the two of you would be out tracking down the Zombies outside the city. Since Val has to watch the gate, that means sending you out there with¡­¡± He nodded at my hands, ¡°Remember that you have fire. Work on that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sending him out alone?¡± Val crossed her arms.


    ¡°Byler is capable, but he won¡¯t be alone.¡± Master James sighed. ¡°Helru was insistent that her Wranglers go check out the Zombie nest that you found in the north. I already agreed to let her send her five Wranglers with Byler.¡±


    I shook my head, Master James had already calculated where it would be best for us to be.


    I looked at the Master. ¡°When am I leaving?¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 28

    The Wranglers were getting ready.


    Usually, Wranglers would use nets or ropes to bind the Zombies and trap them for a Bokor to handle. It was inevitable that there would be blood spilt if there was a fight, and since it didn¡¯t take much in a cut or to get some in the mouth, nose, or eyes to infect someone, most Wranglers tried to keep their distance. They were still trained to fight in case they had to, but Wranglers were always encouraged to stay alive over standing and fighting.


    These Wrangles were getting ready for a fight. I saw that all of them were carrying bows and I saw a torch stake. I¡¯d only seen it used once. Master Bran hated the humans trying to help, so he usually banned them from bringing one, but when I¡¯d seen it used, I had to admit that it was very effective.


    The torch would be planted into the ground, then lit. The archers would then light the tops of their arrows on fire and shoot at any Zombies that came their way. The Zombies would catch fire and eventually die, but it still took a few minutes. Which was why there was at least one person with a sword or shepherd''s pole to keep the Zombies away from the archers until the monsters burned up. It destroyed the Hearthstone inside, which was probably another one of the reasons that Master Bran didn¡¯t like humans to use it.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready to leave when you are, Master Byler.¡± Berthre motioned for her Wranglers to form up behind her. She pointed to introduce them.


    She skipped over Eveth. I had already been introduced to her the day before.


    ¡°Prude.¡± The other woman nodded. She had gray hair, green eyes, and her hard stare told me that she was trying to assess just how helpful I would be.


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    ¡°Eli.¡± She pointed at the older of the two men. He was also gray and by his number of scars, I would say that he¡¯d been someone who had seen a lot of fighting. Zombies couldn¡¯t have made those wounds and he still be alive, but there were plenty of other ways to get hurt out in the forest.


    ¡°Jaz.¡± The final man was probably in his early thirties with black hair and a full beard. He was also wearing mining goggles and the one carrying the torch stake.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t bringing your horses?¡¯ I looked at the five people on foot.


    ¡°Easier to move around on foot in the woods, plus the fire can spook the horses.¡± Berthre nodded at the gate, ¡°We¡¯re ready when you are.¡±


    I could see some excitement on Jaz¡¯s face, but the other four had more determined looks. Eveth even looked like she might have some fear mixed in. I wondered how long she¡¯d been doing this.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I looked over the humans. ¡°This is how it¡¯s going to go. Once we reach the Zombies, I will begin to purge the nest. You are there as support and to make sure that one does not slip away. We need to get all of these¡­¡± I wondered how much they¡¯d been told, but decided I didn''t want them to be surprised if the Touched showed up. I had learned how to start my magic, but I hadn¡¯t tested it in combat yet, and I had no idea how well I¡¯d be able to fight against a Touched.


    ¡°It is likely that there is a Touched out there controlling the Zombies.¡± The look on their faces told me they¡¯d either already figured that out, or Master James had told them.


    ¡°If the Touched show up, eliminating them will be my top priority.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure which was worse. A Touched in the city that could pass as human that was so powerful that they could control a dozen Zombies from that far away, or there being two Touched.


    ¡°If that happens, then the Zombies will be all yours to manage until I finish.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready.¡± Eli tapped the sword on his back.


    The rest of the Wranglers nodded their agreement, so I turned around and started walking towards the rope ladder, ¡°Let¡¯s go hunting.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 29

    There was a problem.


    The Zombies were moving.


    I should have expected that the Zombies wouldn¡¯t be standing still. Since we stole one of them away so easily yesterday. There were also a lot more of them, well over a dozen. There was a large part of me that wanted to go back to Gher and get both of the Bokor, but the Wranglers had already planted the torch stake and knew they wouldn¡¯t leave even if I ordered them to.


    ¡°This is going to get dangerous.¡± I looked at them, ¡°Please run if it gets out of hand.¡±


    ¡°And leave those things to get to the city?¡± The old man to a swig of something in a canteen. I noticed that all of them were mimicking the action.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I pointed at his container.


    ¡°This is the last of the cleaner.¡± Eli screwed the lid back on, ¡°You don¡¯t need any.¡± He nodded at the Zombies, ¡°Nothing¡¯ll happen to you if you get bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± I shook my head, ¡°But just because you have that doesn¡¯t make you invincible. The Zombies can still kill you even if they don¡¯t turn you.¡±


    ¡°Better to die on my feet, then in my bed.¡± The old man puffed out his check. ¡°Now, you gonna start this or should I?¡¯ He dipped the arrow in this bow into the fire that Jaz had started.


    I thought about stopping him, but decided he''d probably do it anyway if I told him not to. ¡°You can have the first strike.¡±


    It was something I¡¯d heard Master Bran say in the past. He¡¯d warn the Humans that he wouldn¡¯t protect them if they took the ¡®first strike¡¯. I¡¯m not sure why he did that, but I¡¯d seen him stand by and watch as some poor man charged too early and got swarmed by Zombies.


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    Eli looked a little surprised. I could tell that he thought that I¡¯d tell him not to. He hesitated for a moment, then stepped up and shot the closet Zombie in the chest.


    The Zombie lit on fire and screamed as it turned towards us and charged. The rest of the Zombies followed after it, running with a speed that I hadn¡¯t seen in Zombies before.


    ¡°Keep shooting!¡± I looked at Berthre, ¡°There¡¯s no way I can hold this many back. You¡¯re going to need at least two people on swords.¡± I didn¡¯t bother to see who she screamed at to get out their swords. I had a job to do.


    I ran towards the Zombie horde and my blade shone purple as I sliced through the Zombies like they were made out of water. It was still too many for me to stop and I only managed to take down three as they parted and ran around me. Someone was directing the Zombies, which meant if they started fighting back instead of trying to get to the Wranglers, I was in big trouble.


    I turned around to help take down the zombies that had gotten around me. There were still over ten and Eveth and Berthre weren¡¯t able to hold them all back. The Zombies fell on them and I saw a burning one on top of Prude.


    The thing about Zombies was that they didn¡¯t eat humans. They would bite them and latch on, sometimes even tear out a chunk of flesh, but something about their bite drained someone of their life. I¡¯d been bitten before and it had felt like my soul was being sucked out.


    I couldn¡¯t cut off its head without hurting her, so instead, I ran over and grabbed it by the back of the neck. It had latched on to her with its hands as well and was using its whole body to hold her down. I managed to pull its head up enough to get my sword under it, then I let go and pulled my sword up. The Zombie tried to latch back on, but that only helped me cut off its head easier.


    Without a head, the body was much easier to pull off. I offered her a hand. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Prude touched her shoulder. I could tell by the look in her eyes that the bite had taken a lot out of her. ¡°I¡­¡±


    She never got to finish. A spear pinned her through the chest onto the tree behind her.


    I turned around and saw a man with purple eyes. His hand was pointed at her and there was another stone spear above his right arm.


    The Touched had shown himself.

 Book 2 - Chapter 30

    ¡°TOUCHED!¡±


    I moved to intercept the spear and was able to deflect it away from Eveth. She stared at the pointed stone on the ground with horror on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle him, you worry about THEM!¡± I didn¡¯t wait to see what she did. I couldn¡¯t afford not to focus on the Touched.


    I had to deflect another spear before I got to him, and once I got close enough to slice him, I was blocked by another stone spear, but this one he was holding in his hands.


    The weight of the stone was slowing down his reflexes. Add that in on how clumsy he was swinging his weapon around and I knew this was not only a fight I could win, but it was one that I could win fast.


    I pressed my advantage, driving him back. I was able to twist the spear to the side, grab the tip with my left hand so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to block and lean in with my sword and stab him. I knew I¡¯d gotten him in the heart, but it only looked like it hurt him. He said something under his breath and I jumped back as soon as I realized that there were spikes coming out of the ground.


    He held his hand over the wound on his chest and started motioning at the ground and the air.


    Stone started appearing everywhere he pointed, I knew I was going to be their target and I couldn¡¯t stop moving, so I did my best to weave around and not run into a corner where I could get trapped.


    He was littering the forest with rocks to try to keep me away from him, but I was content to keep up this chase. He¡¯d run out of magic eventually and when he did. It¡¯d be over. And as long as he was focused on me, there was a good chance that he wouldn¡¯t be directing the zombies as well against the Wrangles.


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    I wanted to check on them and see how they were doing, but it wouldn¡¯t matter. They had their job and I had mine. Even if they were getting overwhelmed, I couldn¡¯t turn my back on this Touched. That would mean death for everyone.


    I deflected another rock only to run straight into another. The fist sized projectile hit me in the chest with almost enough force to knock the wind out of me. It would have if I¡¯d still been human.


    I called up fire in my left hand. Things would have gone better if I could throw it like Master Bran, but when I¡¯d tried, the best I could do was it just kind of just dribbled in the direction I tried to throw it. Until I found time to practice more, the best thing that I had was fire in the palm of my hand. The thing was that the Touched didn¡¯t know that.


    I pointed my left hand at him as I twisted away from another rock. I was close enough that when I mimicked throwing fire, he dodged to the left, which put him two very quick steps away from me.


    With a sword it was only one and I lunged.


    A pointed rock grew out of the ground and I had to dodge around it, but before he was able to cast again, I was able to slash his right arm. He backed up with wide eyes as he realized that he couldn¡¯t stop me.


    ¡°WAIT!¡± He held his hands up. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me!¡±


    I grabbed his wounded arm with my fiery hand and tried to increase the heat, which either worked or it was the shallow cut leaking accelerant, because his arm started burning.


    I pushed him up against the tree and pushed my sword against his throat.


    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I kill you?¡± I spared a glance at the Wranglers. Only Berthre, Eveth, and Jaz were still alive and Berthre didn¡¯t look good. They were trying to hold the Zombies back, while the Zombies were circling them like a pack of wolves.


    ¡°Because.¡± He knew he had my attention, ¡°I¡¯ll spare the Killers and¡­¡± The Touched smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to my Master.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 31

    The Touched had Masters.


    In a way it made sense. If the Bokor had Masters and the Touched were the opposite of the Bokor, then the Touched might have a similar structure. I was hesitant to release him, but I could beat him again. I could tell he was tired and this little exercise was enough to get me warmed up.


    ¡°Why would you take me to your Master?¡±


    ¡°She wants to speak to you.¡± The Touched looked confused as it looked at me. ¡°She doesn¡¯t understand why you work with the Corrupted.¡±


    ¡°The Corrupted?¡± I¡¯d never heard that term before,


    The Touched just nodded, but didn¡¯t elaborate.


    I stared at it for a long moment. ¡°Recall the Zombies and I¡¯ll let you go.¡±


    The Touched tried to nod, but the motion cut its throat just a little. It ceased the motion, but I saw the Zombies start moving away from the remaining Wranglers.


    They kept their guard up and Berthre collapsed once they were a little ways away. Eveth tried to help her mother stand, but the lead Wrangler was spent.


    I let the Touched go. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± I pointed my sword at him before I hurried over to the dying woman.


    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Eveth had her mom¡¯s head in her lap. There were over ten Zombies dead on the ground around them and they were all smoldering. The Wranglers had done an amazing job against the numbers. It was tragic that over half of them died, but at least they took out most of the Zombies.


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    I looked over at the Touched to make sure he hadn¡¯t moved and realized that there were still over ten Zombies behind him. All that work and no progress, but that wasn''t the only thing that bothered me. If the Touched still had that many Zombies, then he probably had even more. I really hoped that the Master was the Touched in the city, because if it wasn¡¯t, then there were three Touched in this area with an army of Zombies. There was no way that the three of us would be able to stand against that kind of attack.


    I wanted to say something that would help her pain, but I had no Idea what to say, instead I let the other man do the talking while I marched back over to the Touched.


    ¡°Where is your Master?¡¯


    The Touched tilted his head towards the mountain to our west.


    ¡°You let them go and I¡¯ll come with you.¡± I put my sword away, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to the offer if your Master is going to let me leave to think about it.¡±


    The Touched thought for a moment. ¡°I can not speak for the Master, but the Master wishes to understand you. You and your¡­¡± It looked over at the two mourning Wranglers, ¡°... Pets. should be fine.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to take them into a Zombie stronghold. That was too much to have to protect them from if something went wrong.


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking them with us.¡± I glared at him, but the emotion didn¡¯t convey well with my eyes wrapped.


    ¡°They will come so you will behave.¡± The Touched unfolded his arms, ¡°It is not easy to trust one who works with the Corrupts.¡±


    ¡°What is tha..!¡±


    The Touched reached up and ripped off my bandages. I tried to shut my eyes in time, but I heard Eveth scream.


    ¡°Now they know your secret.¡± The Touched taunted me as I slowly opened my eyes. ¡°Do you want me to kill them? Or should we send them back to tell the other who you are?¡±


    I looked over at Eveth and Jaz.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Bring them with us.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 32

    Their base was in an abandoned mine.


    There were lots of abandoned towns from before the Zombies started spreading across the world.  It usually gave the Bokor a place to stay while they walked from walled city to walled city. There were also times when a walled city would fall and the people would move to other cities, which provided another place for the Bokor to use on their travels.


    One time Master Bran had found some outlaws living in one of the abandoned cities. I wasn¡¯t sure what he did to them, if anything, but we didn¡¯t stay there that night. There were a few people like that. People who preferred to take their chances outside the city rather than live under a society¡¯s rules.


    I¡¯d never understood why someone would leave a safe city to travel from place to place and hope to outrun any Zombies that found you. It had seemed crazy to me, but the longer I was in cities, the more I understood just how much of a headache humans could be.


    I could tell that the other two humans were very upset with me as we entered the abandoned city. I didn¡¯t know what I could say that would make it seem better, so I just said nothing. I hoped I¡¯d have a chance to try to explain myself later. There was also a chance that they¡¯d see that I was on their side during my talk with the Master, who I desperately hoped wasn¡¯t a rogue Bokor.


    The mine itself was fairly impressive. The mouth of the cave had been walled over, but something had smashed a hole in the wall and now the only way I knew the whole cave mouth had been walled over was that there were still some stones stuck to the upper lip.


    Inside. There were Zombies milling about, moving rocks out of the cave and there were some using mining tools to completely tear down the broken houses.


    That part scared me a little. If Zombies could be taught to use simple weapons, then they¡¯d become so much more dangerous.


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    ¡°How long have they been able to do that?¡± I pointed at a Zombie that was swinging a pickaxe.


    ¡°Master taught them how to do that last week!¡± Despite me stabbing the Touched through the heart and almost cutting off his head, he was being very friendly. I think I found that to be even more concerning than if he had been being combative. I was also starting to get concerned about his Master. To coordinate this many Zombies, have them perform tasks, and to use tools was frightening. I¡¯d never heard about a Touched who could coordinate this many Zombies let alone the rest of what they were doing.


    Neither of the Wranglers had their swords taken away. They didn¡¯t have them out, but they both had their hands on their hilts.


    ¡°How much longer?¡± I looked around the mine. It wasn¡¯t the brightest, using flames for light around Zombies was just asking for an explosion. I wasn¡¯t having too much trouble seeing, since I could still see in almost no light, but I was sure that the humans were feeling very exposed as we went deep in the mine.


    ¡°Not long.¡± The Touched pointed towards what looked like a door in the west side of the tunnel. It walked over and opened the door and motioned for us to go inside. Both Wranglers backed up, so I cut in front of them and looked in. There was a woman seated behind a desk and a cloaked figure in the corner behind her. She was doing something with papers and didn¡¯t bother to look up. There were two chairs on our side of the desk, but nothing else in the room. I looked over at the Toughed and raised my eyebrow.


    ¡°This is Master.¡± He motioned for us to go in.


    I looked at the two Wranglers. I could tell they were afraid, but I wasn¡¯t going to leave them in the mine with a Touched and all those Zombies.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably safer in there than it is out here.¡± I walked inside and motioned for them to follow.


    Neither of them moved until a mob of Zombies began to form around them, that was sufficient enough motivation for them to come inside.


    Once we were all inside, I took the right chair and Eveth took the left. Jaz leaned against the doorframe as the Touched closed the door behind us.


    ¡°Good.¡± There was a melody to the Master¡¯s voice. ¡°Now that you¡¯re here we can begin talking.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 33

    The Master radiated power.


    I¡¯d thought I¡¯d felt power when I stood in front of the Bokor Council and received my first mission, but this was¡­ intense. Maybe it was because of proximity, but this Touched was strong.


    I swallowed, ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡±


    She looked at Eveth, ¡°Your people recently learned something very dangerous.¡± Her voice was almost hypnotizing. ¡°They cannot be allowed to keep it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about the purifying crystals?¡± I drew her attention away from Eveth. Maybe if it had been Berthre or Helru or even Felge that had been doing the talking, they would have said something, but Eveth¡¯s face was almost translucent, there was so little blood in it.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The Master turned back to me.


    With my vision overlaying everything in purple, I couldn¡¯t tell colors, but I did know that this woman had her hair pulled back and looked every bit as fit as Berthre had been. The thing that was really unsettling me was that now that I was closer, I could tell that her eyes weren¡¯t glowing purple, but instead were red. Or maybe it was the combination of colors from the blue glowstone on the middle of her desk that made her eyes look that way. I wasn¡¯t sure.


    The thing that it didn¡¯t help was for me to be able to see any details about the person in the corner. I knew they weren¡¯t a Zombie, because they didn¡¯t feel like one. I could sense some magic coming off of them, but it felt cold and completely unlike the Touched or Bokor. I realized that the Master was watching me eye the person in the corner and turned my attention solely on her.


    ¡°Is that why your agent has been murdering people in town?¡± I decided to try to pull whatever answers I could and hope one of us could make it back to report.


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    ¡°They must destroy everything¡­¡± Her eyes went back to Eveth, ¡°Some may even have been tainted by it already¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± The guy pushed off of the doorframe and stopped dead in his tracks with one glare from the Master.


    ¡°Even you.¡± The Master clicked her tongue. ¡°The Corrupted will not stand for another, especially not one that is so¡­ Toxic.¡±


    ¡°The Corrupted¡­ You mean the Bokor?¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± She slammed both fists on the table. ¡°THEY ARE NOT THE BOKOR! THEY ARE CORRUPTED WARPED SOULS DRIVEN BY THEIR ADDICTION!¡±


    We all flinched at her outburst.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I thought she might tear into me, but I was very confused. ¡°Can you explain it to me?¡±


    The Master steadied her breathing. ¡°Yes¡­¡± She eyed the two Wranglers, then reached into her desk and pulled out a heartstone the size of an orange.


    I choked on nothing. I¡¯d never seen a heartstone half¡­ no¡­ a quarter that size. It was also deformed, with places jutting out in all directions. It honestly looked like it had been mined from a place like this, not grown in a Zombie.


    Do you know what this is?¡± She pushed it towards me. I pulled it from Eveth. The last thing I needed was for her to become a Zombie.


    ¡°It¡¯s a heartstone.¡± I looked the crystal over, ¡°But there is no way that it was taken out of a Zombie.¡±


    ¡°It was not.¡± The Master¡¯s hiss was even more intimidating than the look she gave me as she crossed her arms.


    ¡°It was mined..?¡± I looked around. ¡°Here?¡±


    The Master laughed and it was that kind of laugh that sent chills down my spine.¡±No.¡± She tilted her head towards the two Wranglers. ¡°Here they have the Spiritstone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one that Winey made his cure out of.¡± I tried a guess.


    The laugh came a second time and it was just as terrifying as the first.


    ¡°There is no cure!¡± Her laugh continued. It was pure torture on my nerves to endure. ¡°What the brewer found was the start of a way to prevent infection, which is something the Corrupted cannot allow to exist.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 34

    My mind was trying to process what she¡¯d just said without exploding.


    ¡°There¡¯s a way to prevent people from getting infected?¡± I leaned forward.


    ¡°It was a start.¡± She shook her head, ¡°They could have done more, but once the Corrupted learned¡­¡± Her words melted into a growl. She must have been able to see the confusion on my face because she shifted the topic. ¡°What have you been told about the start of this?¡±


    ¡°The zombie outbreak?¡±


    The Master nodded slowly.


    It was a very commonly recited story. ¡°No one knows how it happened, just that one day a Zombie appeared and started making more. Some people didn¡¯t get infected and became Bokor¡­¡±


    She hissed at my use of the word. But didn¡¯t interrupt me further.


    ¡°And began fighting back. Now they patrol the world, keeping everyone safe from Zombies.¡± I swallowed the last part. There was no way I was going to add ¡®and Touched¡¯ at the end of that.


    ¡°The Corrupted did not protect humans from the plague, they started it!¡± She reached into her drawer and pulled out a Soulstone and a blue crystal that looked like the other two.


    "There were humans who learned that they could draw on the power of these stones to do great things. It was a wonderful time¡­¡± Her voice trailed off like she had been there, but there''s no way that she could have, that was too long ago. I didn¡¯t know how long Touched lived, but I didn¡¯t see how she could have gone that long without going crazy.


    ¡°But, the power of the raw stones was not enough for them, so¡­¡± Her voice was full of regret. ¡°They decided to make them. But these stones must be grown.¡± She held up the raw heartstone. ¡°The fastest way to grow them was inside a human, but to harvest the heartstone¡­¡± She looked at me and I knew exactly what it entailed. You had to cut inside a person¡¯s heart. A living person couldn¡¯t survive that.


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    She nodded when she realized that I¡¯d put it together. ¡°There were some who just wanted the power, but most were too repulsed by the idea of killing a human. But¡­?¡± Her voice trailed off as she stood up and came around to sit on the front of the desk right in front of Eveth.


    I could tell that the blonde woman was very uncomfortable, but she was also terrified to move.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying the Bo¡­¡± I caught myself. ¡°Corrupted made the Zombies just so they wouldn¡¯t feel bad about having to kill a person to get their high?¡±


    The Master eyed me and nodded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± I remembered Master James¡¯ lesson from last night. The Bokor did in fact, absorb the magic from the crystals to power themselves up.


    ¡°Why do the Corrupted care about a different stone then?¡± Jaz seemed a little less scared.


    ¡°How do you think the Corrupted began?¡± She reached into her shirt and pulled out a necklace. I could tell without even seeing it, that there was a raw heartstone that matched her eyes at the end of the chain. I could feel its power and how old it was. ¡°Continued close exposure to the stone will eventually turn one.¡± She shook her head.


    I looked at the other stone on the table. ¡°Are you saying that there are zombies that bleed blue out there somewhere?¡± I was having trouble processing that.


    ¡°Seven continents, seven colors.¡± The Master looked at the two crystals on her desk, then put the purple stone down next to them.¡±There is no room for an eighth.¡± She gestured, ¡°I have only found two.¡±


    ¡°So why are you here?¡± I motioned at the clear crystal. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want the Humans to learn about the purifying stones?¡±


    ¡°Because the Corrupted only care about those who may eventually become hosts.¡± She shook her head. The whole city will be purged so there is not a chance that someone develops an immunity and begins to spread it. So, before they are all purged¡­¡± The Master sighed like it was a chore that she had to do. ¡°I must convert them all into my army.

 Book 2 - Chapter 35

    They were going to kill everyone.


    It didn¡¯t matter who the ¡®they¡¯ were. Both the Bokor, if I believed her, and the Touched wanted the entire city of Gher dead and I could tell from the look on the Master¡¯s face, she was completely serious.


    ¡°What about them?¡± I pointed at the two Wranglers, ¡°Are you going to kill them right now?¡± I knew that if she wanted to kill any of us, there was nothing that we could do to stop her, and that didn¡¯t take into account what the cloaked figure could do.


    The Master got off the table and caressed Eveth¡¯s cheek. The blonde woman tried to pull back, but the Master grabbed her chin.


    ¡°Worthless.¡± She hissed as she let her go. ¡°This one is too far gone. She cannot be turned.¡± The Master got up and backed Jaz up against the wall. ¡°But you¡­¡± She made a growl that sounded bottomless, ¡°There is still hope for you.¡± She patted his check, then started walking back to her deck.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you turn me!¡± Jaz pulled out his sword and before I could stop him, started to swing. His sword fell to the ground before it could finish.


    Part of the raw heartstone the size of my finger was rammed inside his chest. I hadn¡¯t seen her break it off or anything.


    The other Wrangler started to bring his hands up, but dropped face first to the floor.


    The Master turned back around and knelt over the body, then pulled the piece of heartstone out of his body. ¡°A pity. He should have waited until the other was all out of his system before offering to be converted.¡± She clicked her tongue as she shrugged. ¡°Not all can be turned.¡±


    The Touched from before came in and dragged the body out of the room, then closed the door, leaving just myself and Eveth in the room with the Master and her cloaked henchman.


    ¡°Do you wish to try to convert?¡± The Master held the piece of heartstone in front of Eveth¡¯s face.


    Eveth shook her head vigorously.


    ¡°A pity.¡± The Master put the raw heartstone on the desk and walked back around and sat in her chair.


    ¡°Will Eveth change?¡± I swallowed. I was a little less shaken up by what the Master had just done than Eveth was, ¡°Into whatever that stone¡¯s version of us is.¡±


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    The Master looked at me for a moment, then over at Eveth. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± She eyed the young woman, ¡°To become the only of your kind?¡±


    Eveth was too stunned to speak. She just sat there and stared at the Master.


    ¡°Do you know what she would become?¡± The Bokor and the Touched both had magic, so I wondered what this stone might do.


    ¡°She would be a weapon that the Corrupted could not let exist.¡± There was a hint of pride in the Master¡¯s voice, ¡°She would be a threat to them and all of the zombies.¡±


    I was curious why she was talking about the zombies like she wasn¡¯t a part of them. I wanted to ask her about it, but her companion finally spoke.


    ¡°That is all the time we have.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± The Master smiled at us as she got up.


    ¡°What would she have to do?¡± I needed more information. ¡°If she wanted to go through the change?¡±


    The Master eyed us both for a moment, then took a finger knuckle piece of the raw clear crystal and tossed it to me. ¡°How did you change?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same way?¡± I put it in my pocket. I had a feeling it would be, but wanted to confirm.


    ¡°The change will take a few hours.¡± The Master turned back to Eveth. ¡°And you will find nowhere safe in the entire world from the Corrupted.¡± She smiled and gestured at her room, ¡°There are some safe places, like this, but they do not stay safe for long.¡± She looked at me. ¡°Knowing what you know now, do you wish to join me?¡± She turned to Eveth, ¡°I would take either of you if you wish.¡±


    I winced, ¡°Do you kill us if we say no?¡± I eyed the other person in the room


    ¡°Unlike the Corrupted, I can tolerate those who do not follow my plans, but¡­¡± She pointed at the floor where the man had been killed, ¡°I don¡¯t tolerate those who attack me. And if you stand in my way, you may be marched over.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Then I would like to think about it.¡± I got up, ¡°May we leave?¡±


    ¡°Of course, though I am leaving tonight.¡± The Master shook her head. ¡°Someone must hold off the Corrupted so that the city may be converted.¡±


    ¡°When are you going to convert the city?¡± I hoped she might answer and give me a timeframe.


    ¡°In the morning, but¡­¡± The Master wagged her finger, ¡°If you try to stop it, You will be swept under.¡± She shrugged, ¡°Or maybe you find a way to spirit them away from both of us.¡± She shrugged. ¡°My goal is to use the city that the Corrupted seek to destroy. If you can find another way to keep them from being destroyed, then maybe our plans aren¡¯t different.¡±


    I nodded slowly. I took that as she was telling me that if I wanted to try to save the city, it wouldn¡¯t make us enemies.


    ¡°Good to know¡­¡± I tapped Eveth on the shoulder. ¡°Eveth, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°I will only delay them until noon. Then they will come through this forest to destroy the mine.¡±


    Eveth got up and I started to guide her out of the room, but I had one more thought.


    ¡°Can a Corrupted be saved?¡±


    ¡°Not once they have awakened the craving.¡± She shrugged, ¡°Only one has tried before that.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I walked Eveth through the door. I had a lot to talk to Master James and Val about.

 Book 2 - Chapter 36

    Eveth hit me halfway back.


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE A TOUCHED!¡±


    I eyed her sword, which was staying in its sheath. ¡°And you haven¡¯t attacked me yet.¡±


    Eveth touched her sword, but didn¡¯t grab it. ¡°You were trying to help, but¡­ What she said¡­ Mom¡­ Jaz.¡± She wiped a tear away from her face. ¡°The Bokor know what you are don¡¯t they?¡± Confusion was all over her face, ¡°Why haven¡¯t they killed you?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, Val isn¡¯t exactly a ¡®legal¡¯ Bokor and Master James is¡­ Different.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We¡¯re just trying to figure out how to survive.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± It appeared her shock was starting to wear off.


    ¡°I was a Potential and Val was a Wrangler one town over.: I nodded towards the west. ¡°Long story short, the mayor was sacrificing rivals to be made into Zombies. Val got crossways with him, so he tried to sacrifice her. My partner and I investigated and got too close. He was turned then Val and I were bitten.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Attempting to change was the only way to live.¡± I hung my head, ¡°I broke so many rules, then became this. If we go back to the Island, then I¡¯ll be killed for being a Touched and the Bokor aren¡¯t Val¡¯s favorite thing, so¡­¡± I shook my head, ¡°I would bet that she¡¯d be killed for being illegally made.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you still working for them?¡± Eveth sounded very confused.


    ¡°Because¡­¡± My answer now seemed ridiculous. ¡°This morning, I would have said that I was with them because they are the only thing that is really effective against the Zombies, but now¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°Now I¡¯m with people that I trust who are genuinely trying to save people.¡± I sighed. ¡°People still need help and I was supposed to be doing a Route. If I cut and run, it¡¯ll be another month at least before they send someone. I can¡¯t just abandon people like that even if they do want to kill me for what I am.¡±


    We walked in silence for a little bit, ¡°Are you going to out me?¡± I had the bandages in my pocket and wanted to know what to do with them.


    She thought for a little while longer. ¡°You¡¯re trying to help the town.¡± Eveth shook her head, ¡°Plus it would cause way too much of a distraction from the real problem.¡±


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    ¡°Thanks.¡± I started putting the bandages back on.


    ¡°Do you trust them?¡± Eveth watched me work.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The Bokor.¡± She swallowed, ¡°In town.¡±


    I was glad she qualified her statement. ¡°Yes.¡± I looked over at her through the bandage slits. ¡°Master James is always getting in trouble for caring too much and Val¡­¡± I chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ve only known her for a few days, but we¡¯ve saved each other¡¯s lives more times than either of us can remember.¡± I nodded, ¡°So yeah, I trust those two. All the Bokor..?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe what I was about to say. ¡°No.¡±


    She just watched me as we walked. There was no follow up question, no request for an explanation. Just acceptance.


    Eveth nodded at my pocket. ¡°Do you think that will really make me like you?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea.¡± I really didn¡¯t. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much we should trust ¡®The Master¡¯, but I think she was serious about attacking in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She closed her eyes, ¡°How long does it take?¡±


    ¡°It was a couple hours for me and Val.¡± I looked at her, but this is a completely different crystal, I have no idea what it will do.¡±


    ¡°But it could help us out a lot.¡± She took a nervous breath, ¡°And if it killed me¡­¡± She gestured at herself. ¡°I¡¯m kind of spent right now.¡±


    I looked up at the sky. It was the middle of the afternoon. There was a chance that Val and Master James had come out to look for  us. If they found all of the bodies, they¡¯d think the worst. I needed to get back fast so that I could report to them.


    ¡®I¡¯m going to take the crystal.¡± Eveth held out her hand.


    I fished the crystal out of my pocket and handed it over to her.


    ¡°What do I do with this?¡±


    With raw heartstones you smashed them into dust, but I had a feeling that it was going to be difficult to do. I spied a rock and pointed at it, ¡°You have to smash it into powder.¡±


    She gave me a quizzical look, but walked over to the rock and took out a piece of cloth and wrapped the crystal in it. She beat it with the back of her sword until she was certain that she¡¯d powdered it.


    ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°You eat it.¡± I nodded at her canteen, ¡°You could probably mix it with that.¡±


    She took out the canteen and poured the dust in. Shook it up , then drank it all.


    ¡°Now wha¡­¡±


    I caught her as she fell. We probably should have waited until we got into town, but this way at least she transitioned faster.


    I threw her over my shoulder and kept walking. My list of topics had just increased by one.

 Book 2 - Chapter 37

    They wouldn¡¯t open up the gate.


    ¡°This is not a joke!¡± I yelled up at the guard. ¡°I need you to throw down that rope ladder now!¡±


    ¡°I have orders not to let anyone in except the Wranglers!¡± He pointed a crossbow at me. He was lucky I couldn''t throw my flames yet, or I would have burned that to charcoal. ¡°You have one member of the Wranglers after the Bokor declared that all are dead! I¡¯m not letting you bring a Zombie into the city!¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t a Zombie, she''s passed out from exhaustion and if you don¡¯t drop that ladder so help me..!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Val poked her head over the wall, ¡°Master Byler! You¡¯re alive!¡± She turned to the guard, ¡°If you don¡¯t throw that ladder over before I get there, you¡¯re going over with it.¡±


    Val was apparently much scarier than I was because it was over the edge of the wall before her head moved.


    I sighed and did my best to climb up the ladder with one hand holding onto Eveth. It took me longer to get up, but once I got to the top, Val grabbed Eveth and the last few rungs were easy.


    ¡°We will have to inspect her for a wound¡­¡± The guard reached out to grab her.


    ¡°Master Val will do the inspection. She has worked closely with Wranglers for the last twenty years and is quite familiar with the process. And if there is a problem, the Bokor are the best equipped to deal with it.¡± I tried to emphasize Val¡¯s time around Wranglers. She hadn¡¯t Wrangled that long, but she had been around them that long.


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    ¡°Yes, but protocol.¡±


    I grabbed him by the collar and held his shoulders off the wall. ¡°I have had a really bad day and lost a lot of good people. You can stow your protocols and be happy about my orders¡­¡± I lit my fist on fire, ¡°Or I can keep dropping you off this wall until I feel better.¡± I pulled him back up and so close to his face that our noses were touching. ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    He tried to nod and hit my forehead, I let him go. And he fell on his rear and scooted backwards.


    ¡°Now get back to your job and stay out of Bokor business.¡± I nodded for him to get to the other side of the game.


    The guard nodded and took off, finally glad to not be bothering me.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed.¡± Val watched the guard run, ¡°Though I would have enjoyed reminding him of the chain of command.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ve had a bad day and you might have killed him.¡± I stretched my shoulders, ¡°And it¡¯s only going to get worse.¡±


    ¡°Something to do with this one?¡¯ Val patted her cargo on the back.


    ¡°That¡¯s just one piece of it.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Where is Master James?¡±


    ¡°Still talking to witnesses.¡± Val guided me over the roofs towards the house we were staying in. ¡°We got a little behind going out to look for you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± I shook my head, ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I nodded towards the meeting hall. ¡°Can you get Master James and bring him back to the house? We¡¯ve got a lot to discuss and a little time to do it.¡±


    ¡°Sure..?¡±


    ¡°I need a minute to just process everything before I relive it.¡± I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s a lot.¡±


    ¡°I can do that.¡± Val reached the house and put Eveth down on the couch. ¡°Do I need to check her for marks?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any of those types of marks.¡± I shook my head and waved for her to go. ¡°I¡¯ll explain it all once Master James gets here so I don¡¯t have to say it twice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Val ran out the door.


    I sat down in a chair across from the couch. I did need that moment to process things.

 Book 2 - Chapter 38

    The Bokor hadn¡¯t said a word.


    I told them everything. I tried to recap what had happened verbatim. And they hadn¡¯t said a single thing.


    Now I was finished and I was looking at Master James for answers. ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure that the Touched called her ¡®The Master¡¯?¡± Master James looked at me.


    ¡°Yes, many times.¡±


    ¡°And she had a raw heartstone.¡±


    ¡°And a blue one and one of the ones from here.¡± He knew something and was holding back. ¡°What do you know?¡±


    Master James sighed, ¡°There was a rumor when I was younger about a Bokor who became a Touched. Apparently she had been one of the first Bokor, but she ran afoul of the Grand Council over something and left. Hunters were sent after her, but the ones who came back alive reported that she had become one of the Touched.¡± He shook his head, ¡°If she¡¯s here¡­¡± He let his voice drift off.


    ¡°Do you think she¡¯s telling the truth?¡± I looked over at Val. The redhead was still stunned.


    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard rumors about her, so I have no idea.¡± Master James shook his head, ¡°I do know that you¡¯re right about the Council wiping out whole cities. When I was a Potential there was what the Council decreed was a mutated outbreak and because they couldn¡¯t tell who was infected, they wiped out the whole city. The gossip that I heard was these Zombies bled red just like us, and the Potentials that survived were given immediate promotions.¡± He looked at me, ¡°I believe Master Bran was the one who scored the most kills.¡± He shook his head and looked over at Eveth, ¡°As far as what she¡¯s done, I don¡¯t know. For safety reasons, I¡¯d love to evacuate everyone, but I don¡¯t think the council will do that without a mass zombie horde that they can see,


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    I groaned. So many people were going to die. I knew that I could take the Touched that was outside, which meant that Master James would have to take the one inside and Val would have to be backup in case there was a third one. With all of the Wranglers either dead or out, it would fall to the city guards to pick up the slack and my faith in them was almost nonexistent.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to talk to the leadership again.¡± Master James looked at Val, ¡°Master Val, are you going to be okay here by yourself, or do I need to leave Byler?¡±


    I didn¡¯t realize leaving me would be an option. After bringing back only one Wrangler, I would think that they would be lined up outside the house demanding answers. For Master James to only go it would look like we were hiding something.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay.¡± She looked at Master James, ¡°Am I going to become a monster?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t put too much stock in that.¡± Master James shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve been absorbing stones for decades and it hasn¡¯t done anything to me.¡± He spread his arms out. ¡°Besides, you haven¡¯t absorbed a crystal yet, so even if it did, you have nothing to worry about.¡±


    That seemed to perk her up a little. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay.¡± Val forced a smile.


    ¡°Alright Byler, let¡¯s go.¡± Master James headed towards the door.


    I nodded and followed him, except he stopped at the door.


    ¡°There is a lot of sensitive information that you disclosed tonight.¡± Master James lowered his voice, ¡°Do not answer any questions from the Council. I will redirect the question so that you know EXACTLY what to say. While I may not like many of the Bokor¡¯s practices, they are the only defense we have against the Zombies. So please do NOT say anything derogatory about the Bokor in there regardless of how you feel.¡± He shook his head, ¡°I know you probably feel betrayed, but remember, we have a job to do and people will die if we don¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± I felt like a brand new apprentice.


    ¡°Hey.¡± He held up my chin, ¡°You¡¯re a Master now. So look up.¡± He looked into my eyes, ¡°You¡¯re just new at this, which is why you¡¯re following my lead.¡±


    I felt a little better as I followed him out of the house even though I knew that this next meeting would be very difficult.

 Book 2 - Chapter 39

    The Council wanted blood.


    I could see it on their faces.


    Helru was sweating and trying to keep herself calm. She was sitting by herself, which I guess was understandable since the people who usually sat with her were all dead. Well, not everyone. Gili was now the one sitting next to her. The guard captain must have put on every bit of armor she had because it looked like she couldn¡¯t move in it.


    Lewiu was mad and covered in even more dirt than I¡¯d seen on him so far. It almost looked like he was just a walking ball of mud. Wearing the biggest frown of all of them.


    Felge looked concerned and had taken a seat nearest to the door. He wasn¡¯t wearing his usual fancy clothes . If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d say he was getting ready for a trip.


    Fyga was the only one of the assistants here. And unlike the others she appeared to be surprisingly calm.


    ¡°I need answers from ya!¡± Gili slammed her hands on the table. ¡°The blind one got the whole Wranglers killed, then kidnapped poor little Eveth and threatened to throw one of my guards off the wall. How am I supposed to keep the peace around here when¡­¡±


    Master James cleared his throat and her rant stopped.


    ¡°I have very distressing news.¡± The Bokor looked at all of them. ¡°Master Byler has discovered that there are two Touched in a mine just North of here with almost a hundred Zombies that plan to attack here at daybreak.¡±


    I studied their reactions, but they all looked shocked. Felge slid off of his seat. I was able to beat him to the door.


    ¡°Mister Felge, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Master James kept his voice very level, but I could hear the irritation in it.


    The gray haired merchant slowly turned around, ¡°If this place is about to be overrun by Zombies then I¡¯m getting out while the getting¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°How do we even know if the kid is telling the truth.¡± Lewiu pointed at me, ¡°He goes out this morning with all our Wranglers and comes back with only one of them nearly dead!¡± He looked at the rest of the people inside. ¡°Then he tells us a story about a bunch of Zombies coming, except we can''t verify it because he went and got all the Wranglers killed!¡± He pointed at Master Bran, ¡°How do we know that YOU aren¡¯t trying to steal our mine!¡±


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    All of the dirt on Felge got blown away as a sharp gust of wind hit the Miner. Master James¡¯s marks flared and the dirt packed around the man¡¯s feet, locking him in place. Gili let out a squeak as the joints in her armor fused. Lewiu got yanked back into his chair by some invisible force.


    Master James dispelled the magic and his runes dulled.


    ¡°I assure you.¡± The Bokor made sure to have eye contact with each of them, ¡°If I wanted to take this place, I wouldn¡¯t need any help and even all your Wranglers wouldn¡¯t budge the odds in your favor, so please, don¡¯t insult my colleague again.¡±


    He called me a colleague. I smiled a little.


    ¡°Now. These zombies are real and they are coming and that¡¯s not even the worst part. I have just received word that the Bokor are sending an extermination squad here. With that many Zombies the Council believes it to be impossible for us to not be instantly overrun and doesn¡¯t want the Zombie population to rise by that much, so when they get here, they are going to incinerate every living thing in Gher.¡±


    Thankfully, that got all of their attention. I saw genuine shock on all of their faces. Either the Touched was a very good actor or they hadn¡¯t been told this part.


    ¡°So we are going to move everyone out of here tonight. All we have are the town guards to protect the caravan, so I will be going with them. Master Byler and Master Val are going to stay behind and guard our rear.¡± He looked over the room. ¡°I know one of you is a Touched and that your goal is to destroy the mine because the crystal inoculates humans against turning into Zombies. If enough humans take the solution, then Zombies will eventually cease to be simply because you¡¯ll have no way to reproduce, so¡­¡± He focused on Lewui, ¡°Get your men out of the mine and we will start heading out.¡±


    He looked at Fyga, who had recovered surprisingly fast from all the news, ¡°Fyga, where is Narder?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s sick.¡± Her voice was flat.


    ¡°Would you take us to him?¡± Master James got up.


    ¡°Wait!.¡± Gili pulled the face shield on her helmet back, ¡°We have questions!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask one first.¡± Master James looked at the room, ¡°Would you like to ask your questions now and get turned into Zombies or sit on them until we get to a new town and ask them then when you¡¯re safe?¡±


    Looks were exchanged, but no one said a word.


    ¡°Great!¡± The Bokor clapped his hands, ¡°Fyga, if you would.¡±


    I fell into step behind the two of them. That had been surprisingly easy. Now if the rest of the evening could be just as smooth we¡¯d be good.

 Book 2 - Chapter 40

    Narder wasn¡¯t home.


    We walked through his very small one room apartment  with Master James and looked through the sparse belongings. I stood in the doorway, not really feeling like I would add anything to the search.


    Fyga was standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips. ¡°I swear, he was here just a little while ago.¡±


    ¡°And you have no idea where he could have gone?¡± Master James looked at her. The pause was too long and it became obvious that she was trying to come up with something.


    Fyga started to open her mouth and Master James just waved at her, ¡°Don¡¯t bother with whatever lie you just concocted. I need to know the truth.¡±


    The young woman crossed her arms in front of her. ¡°I don¡¯t know where he is.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I believe that.¡± Master James shook his head and turned to face the young assistant. ¡°You don¡¯t know exactly where he is, but you do have an idea of where he would go, so please, enlighten me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± She sighed, ¡°Winey needed a lab rat so he got Narder to inject himself with some Zombie blood.¡± She shook her head, ¡°He was trying to see if a human that was directly infected could be cured. And for a few days it worked. Wreda monitored his vitals daily and Winey kept administering the dose. The problem was a few days after he stopped...¡± She shook her head, ¡°His injection point became infected, and it started to spread. We cleaned it down with the solution and that drove it back into remission, but Narder can only go a day or so without a treatment and it¡¯s been over a day since his last treatment.¡±


    ¡°And he doesn¡¯t have any here?¡± Master James looked around. ¡°There isn¡¯t much in the apartment¡­¡±


    He doesn¡¯t have much, neither of us do.¡± She looked around, ¡°Winey gave us a purpose and now that he¡¯s gone¡­ I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find something.¡± I smiled as warmly as I could.


    ¡°You¡¯re still not telling me everything you know.¡± He eyed her, ¡°Wait, you¡¯re stalling.¡±


    Fyga looked scared. ¡°He told me to do it.¡± She sniffled and I was pretty sure it was fake crying.


    ¡°Who told you?¡± Master James started moving towards her.


    ¡°It was Lewiu!¡± She put her arms up defensively like she was panicking, but the way she was holding herself was like she was ready to fight.


    Master James must have seen that as well, because he rushed her. As soon she realized that we weren¡¯t buying her act, she went on the offensive, but Master James was too close. She had an ice blade in her hand, but he grabbed her wrist before she could swing and took her to the floor. I didn¡¯t think he threw her that hard, but she wasn¡¯t moving.


    ¡°I had a feeling¡­¡± Master James stood over the unconscious woman. He bent down and took her goggles off. When he opened her eyelid, there was a shining blue orb behind it.


    ¡°What is she?¡± I caught the goggles as he threw them at me.


    ¡°You said that the Master had a mindstone with her?¡± Master James saw the confusion on my face, ¡°A raw blue crystal?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes..? Wait! Does that mean that she¡¯s a blue Touched?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­¡± Master James shook his head, ¡°We don¡¯t have time to investigate that now.¡± He nodded at the goggles in my hands, ¡°Those will be helpful later, but I wouldn¡¯t wear them around here. People will either think you take trophies from the people you kill or that you stole them from her.¡± Master James finished restraining her. ¡°That should do it.¡± He looked up, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to see what she knows until later and we have a potential Zombie on the loose, plus I wouldn¡¯t doubt if that blurb about Lewiu is true. I¡¯ll go check out the gate, you get her to the house and have Val watch her too, then head to the mine and try to find Narder before he does anything rash or turns. Right now he¡¯s probably in the mine looking for one of those crystals.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think that he¡¯d try to eat one of them?¡± I watched him pick up the Touched woman.


    ¡°He¡¯s desperate, so probably.¡± Master James held her out for me to take. ¡°We need to hurry. Once I get the thing with Lewiu settled, then I¡¯ll bring the leaders the proof they wanted so we can start evacuating people.¡±


    I took the Touched and threw her over my shoulder. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think luck will be enough, but I¡¯ll take what I can get.¡± Master James nodded at me, then took off towards the city gate.

 Book 2 - Chapter 41

    Eveth still hadn¡¯t woken up.


    Val had been pacing when I came into the house. ¡°What happened?!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s Touched.¡± I laid her down on the floor, ¡°Winey experimented on his assistants. He infected them and then tried to cure them.¡± I shook my head, ¡°She must have turned and used her magic to create icicle knives to kill Winey and Wrega¡­¡± I stopped when Val¡¯s face was covered with horror instead of shock. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°How could she have learned how to use her magic that well in that short of time?¡± The redhead looked over at the woman I¡¯d just put down.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question.¡± Fyga sat up and pulled her hands out from behind her back. There was something both off putting and natural about her shining blue eyes looking at us.


    ¡°You were faking.¡± I reached for my sword.


    ¡°Wait!¡± The black-haired woman held up one hand. ¡°Fighting a Bokor Master isn¡¯t a way I¡¯d like to die¡­¡± She stood up, ¡°But! I think the two of you might be a little more reasonable.¡±


    ¡°¡±I¡¯m a Bokor Master.¡± Val started pulling out her sword.


    ¡°And I¡¯m really a Human.¡± She shook her head as she held up her hands. ¡°Do you really want to fight me, or are you going to listen to what I have to say?¡±


    ¡°¡°What could you possibly say that would be worth¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave if you let me go.¡± She interrupted. ¡°This place is going to get leveled and I¡¯d rather not be here when it is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Touched, why should¡­¡± Val began.


    ¡°So is he.¡± Fyga pointed at me, ¡°A you¡¯re letting him stand behind you.¡±


    Val looked over her shoulder at me, then turned back to the Touched. ¡°He¡¯s proved I can trust him there.¡± Her eyes narrowed, ¡°You haven¡¯t.¡±


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    ¡°How about this?¡± Fyga spread her hand, ¡°How about I tell you who is working with the Master here in town?¡±


    Val and I looked at each other but before we could answer, she continued.


    ¡°What if I told you that there is a team of miners that are digging a tunnel to connect to the cave that the Master is staying in?¡± Fyga crossed her arms.


    That changed things. It was one thing if the Zombies were going to be attacking from the gate, but no one was expecting them to pour out of the mine.


    ¡°We can¡¯t promise that Master James will let you go.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Sure you can.¡± She smiled sweetly, ¡°Once the Bokor is in the mine, I¡¯ll be able to slip over the gate and you¡¯ll never see me again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too risky.¡± I shook my head, ¡°We¡¯re going to be fighting an uphill battle as it is. Plus if what you¡¯re saying is true, then I¡¯d imagine that Felge is involved.¡± I saw her try to keep surprise off of her face, ¡°So why else would we risk having to fight you in a few hours?¡±


    ¡°Because you need those few hours.¡± Her eyes got brighter, ¡°You could fight me now and maybe win, or¡­¡± Fyga looked over at Eveth before looking back at us, ¡°You can let me go and use that time to get more of these Humans out of here.¡±


    I looked at Val. My Bokor training was screaming at me to attack, but what she said made sense. We had a limited amount of time and while Val and I should be able to take her, there was no telling how many other people she would kill and Eveth would probably be first on that list.


    I could also see Val struggling with the decision as well. Master James wasn¡¯t going to like it, but that was a problem for another day.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need more than what you¡¯ve already said.¡± I shook my head, ¡°Telling us that the Zombies are going to be coming through the mine and that Lewiu is involved isn¡¯t enough.¡±


    ¡°How many Chosen has the Master brought?¡± Fyga held up one finger, ¡°A map showing where the tunnels are.¡± She held up a second finger, then looked at Eveth, ¡°And where the crystals I took from Winey are hidden.¡± She held up a third finger. ¡°I think that should be enough to buy my freedom.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I looked at Val and she nodded, ¡°Fine, but you take me to the crystals first.¡±


    I had a feeling that there was some way that we could weaponize the crystals to help the humans fight back, though that was exactly what the Touched didn¡¯t want. I was also accutely aware that as soon as we got outside, it would be very difficult for me to keep her contained if she decided to run. But it felt like a risk worth taking.


    Fyga held out her hand, ¡°Shake on it.¡±


    I grabbed her hand and shook it.


    ¡°Good.¡± She pointed at her goggles on my belt. ¡°I¡¯m going to need those.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 42

    She took me to her place.


    I had been expecting some sort of villain''s lab, with body parts and experiments in every corner. Something with unique weapons and poisons, maybe even some Zombie blood.


    It was nothing like that. The room looked a lot like Narder¡¯s with a single bed, dresser, and nightstand. There was no clutter anywhere, in fact, if I hadn¡¯t been brought in here, I might have thought that this was an empty room.


    It crossed my mind that she might have brought me here to try to kill me, but again, that was a risk that I was going to have to take.


    Fyga walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a pair of goggles and threw them at me.


    ¡°Put those on.¡± She kept rooting around in her drawer, pulling out clothes and various other items that I didn¡¯t recognize and throwing them in a bag.


    I looked at the goggles in my hand. They looked a lot like the ones that she was wearing, except these were a little bulkier.


    ¡°Prototype.¡± She nodded at the goggles, ¡°But they still work.¡±


    I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to take something from her.


    ¡°Do you want to keep walking around like that?¡± The Touched pointed at my bindings.


    I pulled my bandages off and slipped on the goggles. It was like everything was crisper, sharpener, and clearer. I looked over at her. ¡°How do I know if it worked?¡±


    Fyga looked at me, ¡°It worked.¡± She sighed , ¡°You don¡¯t believe me, ¡°Fine. You have green eyes.¡±


    That¡¯s the color they had been before I changed, but that could have been a guess. ¡°That could have been a guess.¡±


    ¡°UGH!¡± She rooted around in her bag and pulled out a small mirror and stomped over to me. ¡°Look!¡±


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    I looked at my reflection and there were actually green eyes looking back at me. I lifted up the goggles and my current purple orbs were back. ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I felt so ungrateful, but didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    She stormed back over to her bag and finished packing it, then threw the strap over her shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She nodded at the door I was standing in front of.


    ¡°Where are the crystals?¡¯ I eyed her, ¡°And the map?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯d keep evidence like that in my room?¡± She shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to them¡­¡± She hesitated, ¡°Well, I can take you to the map.¡±


    ¡°You promised to take me to the CRYSTALS.¡± I waved my hand around the room, ¡°This is not crystals.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the crystals any more, but I know who does.¡±  She held up her hands, ¡°I sold them to Felge!¡±


    Great. Well, at least I could be fairly certain that he still had them. The problem was finding them, but I was pretty sure that he¡¯d hand them over if the other option was him being taken out of the caravan until we searched through his wagons and found them.


    ¡°Fine. Then where is the map?¡±


    ¡°Lewiu has it.¡± She shrugged, ¡°But I know where it is and will take you there.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not stalling for time?¡¯ I put my hands on my hips and set my feet as I blocked the door.


    ¡°Look!¡± She pulled her goggles back to reveal her shining blue eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not from around here. The Master brought me in to work on a way to make eyewear for the Chosen.¡± She pulled her goggles back down and reached into her bag, pulling out a pair of goggles, but these had very dark lenses.


    ¡°This is what I came here wearing.¡± She shook them in my face. ¡°We can see in almost no light, but through these things? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get around with these on?¡±


    I shook my head. She kept going before I could answer.


    ¡°I¡¯m not one of those Reborn or whatever the Master wants to call them. I haven¡¯t died yet and I¡¯d like to keep it that way.¡± Fyga pointed at the door, ¡°Can we get out of here, so I can make sure that I¡¯m far away when this place becomes a warzone?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I stepped out of the way.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She stormed out.


    I followed after her. I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted to still be here when everyone arrived, but I wasn¡¯t going to leave the people to be massacred. I¡¯d have to find the map and figure out a way to collapse the tunnel. I could deal with getting everyone out once I bought us some more time. I just hoped that Master James was having an easier time with the evacuation than I was with this Touched.

 Book 2 - Chapter 43

    People were hurrying towards the gate.


    I got a few confused looks as I walked behind Fyga toward the mine but that didn¡¯t seem to worry anyone enough to ask what we were doing.


    There was a little shack next to the mouth of the cave. She walked up to it like she owned it and threw open the door.


    ¡°HEY!¡± Lewiu crouched behind a desk with lots of papers scattered all over it. On top of the papers were a few handfuls of coins. It looked like he was gathering money. ¡°You¡­¡± He saw me walk in behind her. ¡°YOU!¡±


    ¡°What are you still doing here?¡¯ I was a little confused. I knew he was helping the Master, but I wouldn¡¯t think he¡¯d want to be here when the Zombies broke in.


    ¡°I was just getting a few¡­¡± His voice shook as he looked down at the rocks that he had in his hands.


    ¡°He was promised to be made into one of the Chosen for his services.¡± Fyga walked over to the map on the wall and pointed at it. ¡°These places that are marked as Crystal veins are the places where the Zombies will breach.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?! What about our deal?¡± His eyes went wide as he registered that she was working with me and not the other way around. ¡°You double crossing¡­ You¡¯re here to kill me like you did the doctor? ¡± He dropped the ore on his desk and grabbed a pickaxe.


    I pulled out my sword. This was a really small place to fight and I really didn¡¯t want to kill him. He might know more about the breach plans.


    ¡°She knew too much and wasn¡¯t going to stop working on a cure..¡± A knife appeared in Fyga¡¯s hand. ¡°She was a risk that couldn¡¯t be taken.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s what I am now?¡± The stout man gripped the pickaxe with both hands, ¡°A risk?¡±


    Fyga reached into her bag and pulled out a purple vial. She put it on the desk. ¡°You want to be made a Chosen? Drink that.¡±


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    He looked at me, then back at the vial. ¡°Why? So the Bokor here can kill me?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve conspired with the Zombies. He¡¯s going to kill you either way.¡± She stepped to the side so he had a clear path to me.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I started to elaborate on what she¡¯d misquoted.


    ¡°DIE!¡± He swung his pickaxe, but when I blocked it, he wasn¡¯t behind it.


    Fyga had slid in between us and grabbed his right hand with her left, to keep him from swinging the weapon down. When he struggled against her superior strength, She slit his throat with one slash from the knife in her right hand. She moved to the side and pushed him behind the desk, dropping the pickaxe against my blade, which I parried to the floor. I didn¡¯t bother to check on him. I knew that he was already dead.


    ¡°You killed him.¡± I looked at the blade of ice in her hand.


    The weapon crumbled into snow that fell, but never reached the ground. She shrugged, ¡°His deal was with the Master, not me.¡± She walked over to the wall and grabbed a pencil and scribbled on the map, then pulled the map off the wall, rolled it up and handed it to me.


    ¡°I wrote the number of Chosen that I know are with the Master as well as what type of magic they prefer and about how strong they are.¡± Fyga started walking towards the door. ¡°I¡¯ll be gone as soon as you get that Bokor away from the gate.¡±


    I touched her shoulder as she walked past me. ¡°We¡¯re going to run into each other again, won¡¯t we.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question, it was a fact. She was going to keep doing jobs for the Master and for some reason the Master was very interested in me.


    ¡°And?¡± She stopped even though it was just a touch.


    ¡°Will we be enemies?¡¯


    She eyed me for a moment. ¡°Are you asking if I¡¯ll try to kill you the next time we cross paths?¡±


    She was working for the other side, but I wasn¡¯t sure that I was working for the Bokor anymore. I still believed in protecting the humans, so I couldn¡¯t join her side either, but it would be nice to know if an assassin was going to try to kill me on sight.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know if I need to watch my back.¡±


    She motioned behind the desk. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    I looked over at the dead miner. ¡°I think¡­¡± I looked back at where she had been standing, except she wasn¡¯t there. I shook my head. It wasn¡¯t a firm answer, but I had a feeling she¡¯d at least warn me before she came to kill me whenever we crossed paths again.


    I tucked the map under my arm. I had other things to deal with though. I needed to get to Master James. Before I left, I stuck the vial of Zombie blood in my pocket and scooped the ore and the money into a bag. I had an idea about how I was going to get Felge to hand over the crystals.

 Book 2 - Chapter 44

    I ran across the roofs.


    It had gotten dark outside, and I noticed that since I had the glasses on, the colors of everything looked the same. They weren¡¯t overlaid with purple. I began to be very thankful for the exchange that I had made with Fyga.


    There was almost no one up here. Probably because people were trying to leave through the gate, which was closed at the moment. When I got close to the wall arch over the gate where Master James and Gili were standing, I could see that Felge was right in front of the gate with his wagons packed tight. He knew that the Zombies were coming and had probably been about to leave when I got back.


    ¡°Master James!¡± I waved the folded map. ¡°Master James, I have it!¡±


    ¡°Master Byler, what¡¯s that?¡± Master James took the map from me. He looked at the goggles I was wearing and shook his head. He thought I¡¯d shunned his advice. I couldn''t tell him the truth. Not right now anyway.


    ¡°I got¡­¡± I looked at Gili.


    ¡°She¡¯s been told that Fyga was working with the Touched and that we¡¯ve detained her.¡± Master James unrolled the map and moved it closer to a torch. ¡°What am I looking at?¡±


    He must not want other people to know that Fyga was a Touched. Not that I blamed him. It was easier to keep her in our custody if she was just a human waiting to be questioned rather than a Touched that was a threat to the whole city.


    I pointed at the three Touched listed in the corner. It read


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    Electric - mid


    Earth - low


    Fire - low


    ¡°Those are the Touched that are going to be leading the Zombies.¡± I pointed at the circled places on the map. ¡°This is a map of the mine. Lewiu was having his men dig towards the places that the¡­¡± I glanced at Gili. I didn¡¯t feel right saying the Master, ¡°Zombies are also digging.¡± I pointed back at the other end of the town. ¡°The attack is going to come from over there!¡± I pointed at the woods, ¡°Not over there!¡±


    Master James looked back at the mine, then at me. I could see that he was torn about verifying it or staying here.


    ¡°Go.¡± I nodded at him, ¡°Gili can raise the alarm if she sees any Zombies.¡±


    ¡°What about Lewiu?¡± Gili grabbed my arm, ¡°Do I need to send some boys to pick him up?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Sorry, he became combative and I had to put him down.¡± I saw the shock on her face and felt that I needed to elaborate. ¡°He was promised to be turned into a Touched and had already started the process.¡± I shook my head, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped¡±


    The guard captain nodded her head, ¡°I see.¡± She pointed at my face, ¡°Your eyes must be doing better.¡±


    I touched the goggles, ¡°I took a pair from Lewiu. I assumed they were going to be destroyed anyway. ¡± I tried to smile, ¡°The light still hurts, but they help. At least I can see better until I¡¯m fully healed.¡±


    Gili nodded. I wasn¡¯t sure if she was going to be upset about my theft, but she apparently decided that it wasn¡¯t worth making a fuss about.


    I looked at Master James, ¡°We need to hurry. I have no idea when they¡¯re going to breach.¡± I hesitated, but decided to add it and hope Gili didn¡¯t want to send soldiers with him, ¡°I also haven¡¯t found Narder.¡±


    Master James shook his head, ¡°Come on.¡± He motioned towards the mine.


    ¡°I have something I need to verify with Felge.¡± I nodded at the merchant below us, ¡°It¡¯ll only take a minute.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take too long.¡± Master James took off.


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± I mumbled under my breath. I hoped  that Lewiu was going to be very cooperative.

 Book 2 - Chapter 45

    I landed in front of Felge.


    Part of that was to get his attention, the other part was to make an impression.


    ¡°Felge, I need to talk to you.¡±


    The Merchant''s guards shifted as I stepped close enough to touch the older man.


    I glared at them and they looked at Felge for direction. I hoped he''d do the right thing and call them off. I held their gaze until their employer waved for them to back up. I was enjoying people being able to see my eyes again.


    ¡°What can I do for you Bokor Byler?¡± Felge¡¯s voice was musical as he smiled wide.


    ¡°I had an interesting discussion with Fyga.¡± I lowered my voice. ¡°I don''t care what other contraband you might have, but I have to confiscate purifying crystals that she sold you.¡±


    Felge touched my arm and guided me away from the waiting caravan. ¡°I''m not sure what you''re talking about, but saying such things can hurt a law-abiding citizen¡¯s reputation.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to argue with you.¡± I leveled my gaze at him. ¡°This caravan is going to leave soon, but the Hunters are coming specifically for those crystals to destroy them and anyone who has come into contact with them.¡± I looked over at the rest of the people. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is more than you gave Fyga for the crystals, but I¡¯d imagine that this is a lot more than you¡¯d get from the Hunters when they show up to destroy the contraband.¡±


    He bristled, but looked into the bag, then glared at me. I could see the wheels turning as he was thinking. I really didn¡¯t care what he was thinking, I just needed him to hurry.


    ¡°Look.¡± I closed the bag, ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, then I can have you pulled out of the line and kept here until I have time to search your wagons for any contraband I can find. And because I¡¯m kind of new at this, I might find a lot of stuff that I don¡¯t recognize.¡± I decided to play into the fact that I was young. Based on what Fyga had said, I had a feeling that they all could tell. ¡°So¡­¡± I looked up at Gili.


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    Felge snatched the bag away from me, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± He searched my face, ¡°This is a bounty for the crystals I found?¡±


    ¡°Works for me.¡± I nodded at his wagons, ¡°But I need you to hurry, the Zombies could be here soon and if I don¡¯t have the crystal by¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re right over here.¡± Felge walked over to his lead wagon and disappeared inside. I heard some noises and assumed that he was opening a secret compartment somewhere. He came back out with the same bag and handed it to me. He looked over at the rest of the crowd, then back at me, ¡°Always a pleasure to help the Bokor.¡±


    I looked in the bag and saw three crystals, each about the size of an apple. I tied off the bag and threw it over my shoulder. ¡°This is all of them?¡±


    ¡°That''s all that I found.¡± He spread his hands and I wondered if that was the truth. There had been three barrels that had been brewing, but I didn¡¯t know if that meant that there had only been one crystal in each barrel or if there had been more. I should have thought to ask Fyga how many she¡¯d sold him, but I doubted I¡¯d see her again for a while.


    I just nodded, then headed back up on the roof. I had already wasted too much time and Master James was going to be inside the mines already and was probably wondering where I was.


    I stopped at the house we were staying in and opened the door. Val pulled out her sword and took a defensive stance in front of Eveth.


    ¡°I got the crystals.¡± I threw the bag at her, ¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡±


    Val caught the bag and looked over at the young blonde. ¡°She¡¯s still unconscious.¡± The former Wrangler had concern on her face. ¡°How long is the transition supposed to take?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°We were out for a few hours, for her, I don¡¯t know.¡± I nodded at the small pile that Val had made on the floor, ¡°Packing?¡±


    ¡°Master James told me that he was inspecting the mine, then he would be back to load her up in a wagon.¡±The redhead looked at the door, ¡°Has there been any Zombies?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°There hasn¡¯t been an alarm, but since they¡¯re probably coming from the mine, I doubt that they¡¯re going to raise the alarm.¡± I nodded at the unconscious woman, ¡°Just keep an eye on her and be ready if Master James and I can¡¯t find a way to seal them off.¡±


    ¡°Good luck.¡± Val walked over to the door as I walked out.


    I turned and nodded at her, but she stayed in the door as I ran towards the mine. At least I knew that there was going to be someone else between the Zombies and the people. I just hoped that I¡¯d be able to find a way to keep the Zombies from coming out this way at all.

 Book 2 - Chapter 46

    Narder was dead.


    I didn¡¯t have to go very far into the mine before I found both the Bokor and the dead Zombie. The infection had taken over and he had transitioned into a Zombie, which was why Master James had removed his head. The older man was looking deeper into the mine where it split in three different paths.


    I looked down at the Zombie and shook my head, ¡°I was hoping he hadn¡¯t changed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I got to him before he got out.¡± The Bokor was looking at the map. ¡°If we can hold the Zombies here, then we should be able to keep them out of the city.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that they¡¯re really going to come from this way?¡± I looked at the tunnels, ¡°What if this is all a way to throw us off?¡±


    ¡°Come here¡­¡± Master James started down the tunnel on our right. We ran for a few minutes before we came to the end. ¡°Shh.¡±


    Neither of us made a sound, but there was still noise in the tunnel. The sound of digging was coming through the walls.


    ¡°This is the one that is the strongest, but it¡¯s coming from all three of them.¡± He shook his head and started running back.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we collapse the tunnel?¡± I nodded at the support beams.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know enough about how to do that to be sure that I wouldn¡¯t bring the whole thing down on top of me.¡± He shook his head, ¡°But one thing I do know is that they are coming through this way.¡±


    He kept going until he was out of the mine. ¡°We need to stay here and buy as much time as we can for everyone to get out.¡±


    I heard a door slam and saw that there was still a light on in one of the houses. ¡°Are there still people staying?¡±


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    Master James shook his head, ¡°Some of the miners and others are insisting that they aren¡¯t leaving. I think it¡¯s close to around a third of the population thinks that this is just an elaborate ruse to steal their homes from them. Or they¡¯re working with the Touched.¡±


    I heard a loud noise from inside the mine. ¡°You should go.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Master James had his sword out and looked at me.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t hold this horde back, then the caravan isn¡¯t going to stand a chance. And just giving them a head start isn¡¯t going to be enough. They need someone who can cover ground quickly to defend the whole caravan, which means you have to go with them.¡± I forced a smile, ¡°besides, it would mean going backwards for me and Val.¡± I nodded towards the gate, ¡°Go, I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    I stopped as Val and Eveth started running towards us.


    ¡°She woke up and insisted on coming to help.¡± Val nodded at the younger woman, ¡°Are they coming this way?¡±


    ¡°I think they just broke through.¡± I nodded at the mine, then looked at Eveth, ¡°Are you feeling okay?¡±


    Eveth blinked and I noticed that her green eyes were now white, but otherwise she didn¡¯t look any different.


    ¡°I feel¡­¡± The blonde let out a deep breath, ¡°I feel different, but I don¡¯t know how.¡±


    Master James looked her over and shook his head. ¡°You should come with me, so that I can examine you. We don¡¯t know what that crystal may have done¡­¡± His voice trailed off as he touched her face so he could look at her eyes.


    She pulled back and moved behind Val, ¡°I¡¯m a Wrangler. ¡° She pulled out a sword, ¡°My job is to keep the Zombies away from the city. And that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do.¡±


    Master James looked like he was going to argue, but instead he looked at Val, ¡°Byler knows a lot about the Bokor and our traditions. Let him teach you how to act because the people are going to assume you¡¯re the leader.¡± He looked at me, ¡°Keep going on your route. I will try to meet you at Port Town in a month. If I don¡¯t show up, assume that the Council is not going to accept you. You should be able to get on a ship and head to the western side of the continent from there. That should give you at least a head start from the Hunters.¡± He looked at Eveth, ¡°I hope to see you¡­¡± He nodded, ¡°All of you again soon.¡±


    I watched him run towards the front of the city. Once he was gone I turned back to the mine.


    ¡°We don¡¯t let anything get past us.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 47

    It was like a river of Zombies.


    I had been expecting just a few to run at a time, but this was like a whole city had been turned and was descending on us. And at the front of the charge were three Touched.


    My initial plan had been to try to catch a few of them on fire, then hold them back until they burned up. I still had the vial of Zombie blood and I popped the top off of it and lit it on fire, then threw it into the mine.


    It splashed against a wall of stone that appeared between it and the Touched. The wall fell forward, snuffing out the fire. My big plan to buy us time had lasted a few seconds.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t work¡­¡± I looked over at Val, ¡°How much water can you make?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you shoot fire at them?¡± I could feel the anxiety in her voice.


    ¡°Because I can¡¯t shoot fire.¡± I lit my left hand on fire, ¡°This is the best I can do.¡±


    The redheaded woman pointed her left hand into the mine and about five gallons of water shot in front of her. It went about twenty feet, which wasn¡¯t enough to do much.


    ¡°Right, swords it it.¡± I pointed my sword at the Touched that I¡¯d fought earlier. ¡°He can throw stone javelins, be careful!¡±


    ¡°How are we going to keep the Zombies out and fight the Touched?¡± Eveth looked over at me from the other side of Val.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I swallowed and turned to the mine. ¡°HEY! YOUR MASTER SAID WE HAD UNTIL MORNING!¡±


    The Touched stopped, their purple eyes fixed on me. The only female in the group stepped forward, ¡°It is past midnight.¡± There was a hunger in her smile, ¡°It is morning.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    She shot a blast of electricity that drove me to my knees. I planted my sword in the ground, which was enough to ground out the shock.


    ¡°The other one has fire!¡±  I was able to get my sword up in time to block the second blast. The blade of my sword turned purple as it began absorbing the electricity.


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    The Touched I¡¯d fought earlier made two stone swords and handed them to the other two, then crafted a stone spear.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got him.¡± Eveth pointed at him.


    I didn¡¯t have time to acknowledge her because the female Touched was on me. She was a lot larger than I¡¯d initially thought and her brown hair was flowing wildly as she swung the sword at me. I parried the blade to the side instead of blocking it, but I still felt the vibrations  in my arms. Whatever the other Touched had made, these weapons were heavy, which gave me an idea of just how strong the Touched were.


    As she drove me back I also realized that until we got rid of the Touched, Zombies were going to be able to slip out of the mine. I needed to finish this fight as fast as I could, which meant that I couldn¡¯t afford to get distracted by what the others were doing.


    I paried her sword again, then dodged right into a kick from her right leg. I crashed into the door of the house behind me. A woman inside screamed as landed on top of the door. The houses were all made of stone, but the doors were made out of wood. I rolled off the door as the female Touched slammed her sword down on the place where I¡¯d landed. I kicked at the blade, knocking it away from me, then grabbed her right wrist with my left hand as she leaned forward without the blade to brace on.


    Electricity gathered in her left hand, but before she could discharge it, I slashed parallel with the floor with my sword. I cut into her left ankle, which broke her focus on the magic. She twisted to her right to get away from me and I let my left hand be dragged up to the hilt of her sword and tucked the blade under my left arm and rotated away from her.


    The result was that she landed on her back and I stood up with both swords. She stretched out both hands as she tried to blast me, but I slashed with the stone sword in a backhanded grip as I dropped to a crouch and rotated on my right heel.I swung with my right arm to complete a full rotation, following it up with a second slash. I wasn¡¯t sure which sword did which, but I saw that  both of her hands were removed as I stood up.


    I didn¡¯t have time to think about a way to restrain her. With magic, she was too dangerous, especially as I saw electricity arcing over her arms even as she screamed on the floor while cradling them against her chest. I dropped the stone sword and grabbed mine with both hands and took off her head.


    I looked at the family that was hiding against the wall. It was a mother, father, and a boy that was about seven. They should have left with the caravan, but it didn¡¯t look like they had anything packed.


    ¡°What are you still doing here?¡± I couldn¡¯t keep my irritation out of my voice. I noticed the pickaxe by the wall. This family were miners, probably part of the ones that had been promised to be turned in exchange for helping the Zombies break into the city.


    ¡°Lewiu and the Touched...¡± I pointed at the dead Touched on the floor in front of me. ¡°Are dead. You aren¡¯t getting turned into a Touched. You never were. The Zombies are in the city now, so get to the gate NOW!¡± I turned towards the door and ran back out. There was still plenty of stuff to fight.

 Book 2 - Chapter 48

    The city was lost.


    Even if we managed to kill all the Zombies that had gotten loose, the amount of cleanup that would be required was going to burn most of the city.


    I kicked a Zombie that tried to get inside the house and cut off its head as it tried to get up. The Zombies were attacking the doors to the houses, trying to knock them in, while most were running towards the front, probably to chase after the caravan.


    I thought about going after the caravan, but first I needed to help take out the other two Touched. Those were the most dangerous things at the moment.


    Val and the Touched she was fighting were up on the roofs, while Eveth had been surrounded by a ring of Zombies to keep her from running away. Not that she was trying, but it was pretty obvious that the Touched was toying with her.


    I decided that Val could handle herself for now and ran over to the blonde Wrangler and cut down two of the Zombies that were part of the circle. I caught her as the Touched knocked her back and pulled her out of the ring.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± She struggled out of my grasp.


    I pulled back and cut off the arm of the Zombie on my right before taking off its head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got you!¡± I moved to her right as she hacked into one of the Zombies. Her sword was probably one of the best one that the humans could make here, but nothing compared to the heartstone infused Bokor blades.


    She kicked the Zombie off of her sword and parried the Touched as he tried to stab her. She took a few steps back and cut in front of her and finished off the Zombie.


    ¡°Hey!¡± She grabbed my shoulder as I moved towards the Touched.


    I backed up while Eveth tried to get around me. ¡°What are you doing? He¡¯s¡­¡±


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    ¡°He¡¯s mine.¡± She cut me off.


    There was an edge to her voice that told me that I wasn¡¯t going to change her mind. She¡¯d watched this Touched kill her friends and probably blamed him for her parent¡¯s deaths. She wanted justice to be dealt by her hand.


    ¡°Here.¡± I flipped my sword around and offered it to her hilt first. If she was going to beat him, then she was going to need something that could clear away the Zombies easier than the sword she was using.


    She switched the sword she was holding to her left hand and took the Bokor blade with her right. I¡¯d forgotten about the two stones not mixing until I looked into her white eyes. I expected it to start burning her, but nothing happened as she hoisted the sword.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She smiled at me.


    ¡°Are you two done?¡± The Touched had been watching us while leaning on a stone spear. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get bored.¡±


    I held out my hand for her to give me her sword, but instead, she turned to the Touched with a sword in each hand.


    ¡°This could be fun¡­¡± He kicked the tip of the spear off the ground and spun it around in his hands. The Touched looked at me, ¡°I¡¯ll let you get your sword back after I kill¡­¡±


    Eveth didn¡¯t let him finish. She began slashing and swiping at her enemy with calm fury.


    A Zombie ran at me and I punched it in the face, driving it back. I really needed a weapon and the knife on my belt that I used to cut open hearts and harvest the heartstones wasn¡¯t strong enough to take off a Zombie¡¯s head.


    I dodged under the grasp of a second Zombie, then tripped a third. I scanned the area for a weapon, then saw the open door of the house where I¡¯d killed the Touched. I grabbed the arm of the next Zombie that got close to me and twirled it into another. The pair went down, leaving me an open path to run back into the house.


    The family that had been inside wasn¡¯t there anymore. I hoped they¡¯d made it to the caravan in time, but I didn¡¯t have time to worry about them right now. Right now I needed to get to the gate and hope that the Zombies hadn¡¯t gotten that far. I picked up the stone sword in my hand only for it to crumble to dust as I started out the door.


    ¡°Come on!¡± I kicked the door. I scanned the room, but there wasn¡¯t anything I could easily break or convert into a weapon. Their furniture was all stone and there wasn¡¯t anything solid and long enough to use in the kitchen.


    I ran back outside, but both of the women were gone and the Touched they¡¯d been fighting were decapitated on the ground. There were still Zombies pouring out of the mine, so I took off towards the gate and hoped that I¡¯d find something that I could use as a weapon along the way.

 Book 2 - Chapter 49

    I found the family instead.


    They had managed to dodge the Zombies by running in between the houses, but their luck ran out about halfway through the city.


    I saw the mother being dragged away while the father fought another Zombie off with the pickaxe. The sun was just starting to come up and I knew that we didn¡¯t have long to get out before the Hunters showed up. I ran over to the miner and lit my hands on fire, then began punching the Zombie he was fighting in the back. The Zombie went up in flames and I pulled it back and threw it down the alley.


    ¡°Jire!¡± The man took off the other direction in the way his wife had been dragged.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I looked down at the kid, ¡°What are you..?¡± I grabbed the kid and twisted him to face the other direction as his father was buried at the bottom of a Zombie dogpile.


    I picked up the kid and started running towards the burning Zombie that was starting to get back up. I kicked it in the face to knock it back down as I came back to the main street.


    While I had been running by myself, most of the Zombies had ignored me, but now that I had a screaming little boy in my arms, the Zombies were stopping to take notice. Instead of flocking towards the front, they began coming back from the gate. With the ones still coming out of the mine. I was getting surrounded quickly. Probably the only reason I hadn¡¯t been jumped so far was because I was  Touched, but that wasn¡¯t going to protect me for long. Plus I had a feeling that as soon as I put the kid down, he was going to get snatched.


    ¡°Come on!¡± My left hand was on fire as I turned in a circle trying to ward the Zombies back. I shifted the kid so I could hold him better in my right. ¡°VAL! EVETH! I COULD USE SOME HELP HERE! SOMEBODY HEY ME!¡±


    A Zombie finally got brave enough to reach for the kid. I caught its hand, which set the whole thing on fire. I twisted it into the other Zombies as I tried to pivot around so I could defend against the next one.


    The Zombies were close enough that the fire spread through them in seconds, igniting over twenty Zombies that had circled me. It was getting hot in the center, but there was nowhere for me to break free. I began sweating as I focused on deflecting and pushing back the burning hands.


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    ¡°VAL I COULD USE SOME WATER!¡± I was hoping that the kids screaming would bring them, but I had no idea where they were.


    I saw a Zombie lunging from my right and left and knew that I couldn¡¯t dodge both of them. I¡¯d been helping that the Zombies were only going for kill shots on me, otherwise the ones I kept knocking on the ground would be biting my ankles.


    I wrapped the boy up in both my arms as much as I could and pressed him against my chest. I hoped that I¡¯d be able to shield him enough to prevent him from getting infected as a charged forward and tried to force my way through, but I never hit a Zombie.


    I opened my eyes and was standing on the roof of the closest house staring at a man with black hair and golden skin in plain, dirty clothes. Except it wasn¡¯t a man at all, because as I looked closer I saw that he had pointed ears and black eyes. He was also taller than me, which put him at over six feet tall. I could feel magic all around him.


    I slowly put the boy down as the strange man turned to walk away without saying a word.


    ¡°Wait!¡± The kid must have gotten too wiped because he was out. There aren''t any Zombies close, so I put him down as  I ran over and grabbed the other man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°How did you do that?¡±


    He half turned and looked at me, ¡°I¡¯m only supposed to observe, not meddle.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you?¡± I looked down at the Zombies who were having trouble figuring out where their prey went.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to see the child get hurt and¡­¡± He turned all the way around. I saw a sword in his hand and jumped back. The only weapon I had was the knife, but I pulled it out and prepared to block as he reversed the grip on the sword and stabbed it in the ground in front of me.


    ¡°I found this, so leaving it here wouldn¡¯t be meddling.¡± His black eyes bored into me, almost like a void that was going to swallow me whole. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about me.¡± He put his finger up to his lips. ¡°Maybe I can find more ways to not meddle in the future.¡±


    ¡°Thank¡­¡± I lost my words as he vanished.


    I looked around, but didn¡¯t see him and I couldn¡¯t feel his magic anymore. I wasn¡¯t sure who he was, but he¡¯d left me a very precious gift.


    ¡°Where..?¡± The boy had woken up.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I picked up the Bokor sword and couldn¡¯t believe what I was holding. This wasn¡¯t like any other Bokor blade that I¡¯d ever seen, because all of the ones that I knew of had heartstones in the hilt. This one had a purifying crystal there and the blade was almost translucent instead of purple. ¡°It¡¯s all going to be okay now.¡±


    What he¡¯d just left behind was a sword for Eveth.

 Book 2 - Chapter 50

    The Zombies avoided us.


    Now that I had a Bokor blade again, the Zombies that had made it to the roof folded as I held the boy in my left arm and cut the Zombies down with the sword in my right.


    I made it to the gate in no time and saw that the gate had been overrun and the Zombies were heading towards the valley to the west.


    I jumped down in a semi clear place and started cutting my way through the Zombies. The kid had stopped screaming, which helped not draw as much of the Zombie¡¯s attention to us. I was also only killing the ones in my way or the ones coming at us. I would have loved to have killed as many as I could, but I had a limited amount of stamina and swinging a sword wasted it when I might need it later to protect the kid.


    I made it to the valley where Eveth and Val were doing their best to keep the Zombies from getting into the valley.


    ¡°Byler!¡± Val waved as she decapitated another Zombie.


    I ran over to her and dropped the boy down beside her. I turned to Eveth and held out the blade for her to take. ¡°Trade me.¡±


    The blonde woman walked over and offered me her old sword.


    ¡°No, I want mine back and you get this one.¡± I pointed at my sword in her other hand.


    Her face fell, ¡°Okay¡­¡± She handed me my sword and her eyes lit up as soon as she touched it.


    ¡°Where did you get this?¡± Eveth began dancing with it, slicing zombies apart like they were made of nothing but water.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I thought of the warning that the man had given me. ¡°I found it in the city.¡± I nodded at the boy. ¡°He was with me when I picked it up.¡±


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    Both women turned to the kid who just nodded.


    I looked down the valley, but I couldn¡¯t see the caravan. The Zombies were also thinning behind me, especially with Eveth having way too much fun cutting them down. It was like the sword had been made specifically for her.


    ¡°Should we get him to the caravan?¡± Val looked at me.


    I thought about it for a minute. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± The Hunters are going to be here in a few hours. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be safe to come back this way.¡±


    ¡°What do we do with him then?¡± The Red-haired woman looked down at the kid.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to take him with us to the next town.¡± I looked over at the other woman, ¡°Eveth! We¡¯re leaving!¡±


    The blonde jogged back over. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    I looked at Val, then back at the newest member of our team. ¡°We¡¯ve got a route to finish, and something tells me that there are going to be a lot more people that need our help. Plus, Master James is expecting us in Port Town in a month.¡±


    ¡°You mean I get to come with you?¡± She smiled and looked at Val for confirmation.


    ¡°You can¡¯t go back.¡± The older woman confirmed, ¡°And I¡¯d like to see more of what you can do.¡±


    Eveth walked over to me and put her hand on the boy¡¯s shoulder, ¡°What about Zig?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to take him with us.¡± It wasn¡¯t the best plan, but it was the one I had. I stepped closer so I could whisper. ¡°I watched his parents get killed. Does he have any other family?¡±


    She looked at him then back at me, ¡°His mom was my cousin, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone else?¡±


    The blonde shook her head, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess he stays with us.¡± I looked at Val. ¡°As soon as the Bokor figure what she is, we¡¯ll have Hunters on our trail. It¡¯s not ideal to take a kid with us, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a kid!¡± Zig spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m seven!¡±


    I chuckled. It was older than some Masters took apprentices. Except I wouldn¡¯t be teaching his kid how to harvest the heartstones. If what the Master said was true, then I probably needed to throw out the ones I had. Though I knew that our swords were going to need to be recharged at some point. I¡¯d have to figure out how to do that or we¡¯d lose a very potent weapon. We also needed to figure out how to use our magic better, but that would come with time. We were also going to have to walk slower until we could get a horse for Zig, so we¡¯d have the time to work on it.


    Val clapped her hand on my shoulder. ¡°You promised me an adventure.¡± She smiled, ¡°This looks like a pretty good start.¡±

 Book 2 - Epilogue

    The Master watched everything from the crystal ball.


    Then she watched the Hunters descend on the town and burn everything to the ground. What didn¡¯t burn, they destroyed, then they collapsed the mine. They didn¡¯t want anyone to have any reason to open it back up.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± The Elf standing beside her shook his head. ¡°You just threw away a whole army, for what?¡±


    ¡°For time.¡± She shook her head, ¡°Stilas, you still have a lot to learn for one who has seen so much.¡±


    ¡°You mean for someone who had to come to this primitive planet to hide¡­¡± He crossed his arms, ¡°You didn¡¯t have people think you¡¯re dead and¡­¡± He stopped and shook his head, ¡°Whatever. So you were buying time. For what? You just threw away an army, three Touched, and a mine full of something that can seriously hurt your enemies. Why throw all of that away?¡±


    ¡°The Zombies are not an army, but a plague and those Touched, as you call them, were all power hungry and driven to destroy humanity.¡± She nodded at where the City had been. ¡°And I didn¡¯t have the resources to hold that city.¡± She shook her head, ¡°You can¡¯t overreach. You have to bide your time with what you have. So you could say that I made a very good trade.¡±


    Stilas walked over to one of the chairs by her scrying crystal and sat down. For an Elf that had grown up with luxuries she could only remember from far too long ago, her house must have seemed quite primitive, but compared to how she had lived at times in the past, it was quite comfortable.


    She motioned at the crystal ball ¡°The Hunters believe that they have destroyed the threat, because they do not think that I would use an army that large to take the town. So they will not look for the villagers until they have been scattered among every town on the peninsula. By then the immunity will have already started spreading. It may take a few generations, but..!¡± She held up a finger, ¡°It¡¯s a start.¡±


    ¡°What about those Touched? You didn¡¯t have to send three of them in there.¡± The dark mage crossed his arms. ¡°And I know you have a lot more just like them scattered all over the planet.¡±


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    ¡°I can¡¯t control the Zombies from here and if I had just sent in Zombies, then those three might have been able to hold them back. Not nearly as many would have fled and they would have been killed by the Hunters.¡± If it had been most other people, she might have been irritated by the questions, but there was something kindred that she saw in the young Elf. Something she hoped to cultivate.


    Stilas shook his head, ¡°All of this just to save a few humans.¡±


    She raised her eyebrows, ¡°This coming from the person who risked the Elders learning that you are still alive just to save a child?¡±


    ¡°You asked me to find a way to get them the sword.¡± the Dark Mage shrugged, ¡°It seemed like a good way to do it.¡±


    The Master hid her smile. ¡°You did a good job.¡± She nodded at the crystal, ¡°But I want you to stay close to them. They should be okay for a while, but if they get into trouble¡­¡±


    ¡°Report to you before I do anything. I know, you want to keep my magic a secret from them.¡± Stilas pointed at the ceiling. ¡°So you can keep going on your little trips without them realizing you¡¯ve left.¡±


    The Master smiled. She had been acting in secret for so long, it had been a blessing when one of her agents had stumbled upon the hiding Elf. Now she was able to leave her prison almost any time she wanted.


    Stilas walked over and took another Bokor blade off of her weapon display. ¡°And I suppose you want me to find a way to give this to her too?¡±


    ¡°Hold on to that one.¡± She looked at the dozens of those swords that she had collected over the years. She had at least one of every color of stone even if she only had three different colors of the raw ore. If her captors paid attention to her collection, then they might have noticed the missing blade, but she could always pretend that she had scrapped it during one of her experiments. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure which way she will fall.¡±


    The dark mage took one long look at the door to her laboratory, then projected away.


    The Master stretched as she got up. One day she was certain that she¡¯d find a way to create Chosen without the side effect of creating Zombies or the Corrupted. Maybe soon she¡¯d be able to find another type of raw ore. She had never thought to use the stones to enhance liquid. There were a lot of experiments that she wanted to try with this. She paused by the door to her lab. Maybe after a few days she would bring the Elf back to work with her for a while. She missed not having a team to work with, but remembered all too well how that had ended. She chased away the emotions that tried to follow those memories. She didn¡¯t have time to dwell on the past. She had work to do for the future.

 Book 3 - Chapter 1

    The Zombies were attacking again.


    It helped that as one of the Touched, a Human who had been infected by the Zombie plague and assimilated the magic within it as my own, I was able to feel them coming long before the undead could see one of my other three companions.


    If it had just been me and Val, then this group of hungry monsters wouldn¡¯t have been worth concerning anyone. The former Zombie Wrangler had plenty of experience handling Zombies. It didn¡¯t hurt that she¡¯d made the complete change into a Bokor, sporting the purple swirls on her face and arms that let anyone who saw her know that she not only had the authority to wield the sword that was resting close to her bedroll, she had access to the magic that it provided.


    I¡¯d lived my entire life as an apprentice, learning how to fight Zombies and how to harvest the purple stones in their hearts that powered the magic that protected us back on the island. The Bokor stronghold had been built there not only because Zombies avoided water, but also to protect us from the Humans who converted our power.


    At least that¡¯s what I had been told for most of my life.


    I¡¯d been given the mission to check in on the walled cities on the peninsula with Max, another potential. Things had gone seriously wrong in the first town we¡¯d visited, which ended with Max and Val¡¯s sister dying while Val and I had been forced to attempt ascending in order to survive. Despite very few women surviving, Val had fully completed the ascension and become a Bokor, while I had only partially changed into a Touched.


    I adjusted the goggles that I was wearing as I stood up. They¡¯d been a gift from another Touched at the last town when been to. The purestone that made the lenses filtered out the purple glow that my eyes gave off, which marked me as a Touched. It helped me pretend to be a Bokor, since a real Bokor and most Humans would kill me on sight.


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    The other three members of my group were sleeping by the fire and I wanted to let them stay that way. After ascending, I¡¯d needed very little sleep, though it seemed to have an impact on how fast we recovered our magic energy. Val and Eveth, a blonde woman from the last town that had been turned into a Touched with raw powerstone, were laying next to each other to the right of the fire. Ziggy, Eveth¡¯s seven year-old cousin and probably the reason why the Zombies kept coming for the camp, had refused to sleep next to the two women and was under the blankets I¡¯d given him on the left side of the fire. For only being seven, the boy seemed to think that he was a full grown man and as such, he didn¡¯t need to share warmth while he slept.


    I took out my sword as quietly as I could as I walked through the thin forest towards the Zombies. Despite it being the middle of the night, I could still see almost as good as if it was day thanks to the physical enhancements becoming a Touched had afforded me.


    There were only five of them, so I could let the others sleep. Plus, I didn¡¯t mind the exercise. I was still coming down from fighting the army of Zombies earlier yesterday morning, so having something to hit would be a welcome change to watching three people sleep by a fire.


    I thought about how if I had still been Human, we would have tied ourselves into the trees before going to sleep and we wouldn¡¯t have made a fire. As an apprentice, Master Bran would either have made me keep walking through the night or he would have put me on a tree. Usually when he went with the tree option, there were fresh Zombies for me to harvest their hearts in the morning.


    For a moment I thought about showing Ziggy how to harvest the hearts and then the heartstones from the Zombies I was about to kill. If it had been a week ago, I might have, but after learning that the Bokor could get addicted to consuming the magic from the heartstones, the luster of having orphaned boys like I had been join the Bokor had lost a lot of its appeal. While we were the ones looking after him since the town had been destroyed yesterday, I seriously doubted that him staying with us would be good for him. Especially since Val, Eveth, and myself would be hunted down by the Bokor if we couldn¡¯t prove our usefulness.


    I put the thoughts about the future out of my mind. For now, I had a group of Zombies to kill.

 Book 3 - Chapter 2

    The way I dealt with Zombies had changed.


    As an apprentice, I¡¯d focused on one at a time and only from the safety of my Master¡¯s gaze.


    As a Potential, I¡¯d stalked them, killing them from the back and taking down as many as I could before they noticed me.


    Now as a Touched, I walked out to meet them.


    The Zombies paused as soon as they saw me. Their purple eyes let me know that they were from around here. The ones that had attacked the town the day before had sported blue eyes. I wasn¡¯t sure what the exact difference was, but I knew that it meant the blue ones weren¡¯t from around here.


    I could feel the feral minds of the Zombies as the five of them lined up. They were still mostly clothed in what they¡¯d been wearing when they died. Judging by their uniforms, it looked like they¡¯d been farmers, probably out in the walled fields when one of the walls had failed and a swarm had gotten in. I shook my head. That was part of what I was supposed to be doing on this mission. While Humans could fight against Zombies, it was much safer for someone like me who had been trained their entire life to reclaim any walled fields that had been lost to a Zombie horde.


    There wasn¡¯t much travel between cities unless you were going by horse or wagon. There had been a precious few times that Master Bran had accompanied a caravan between cities. There were just some things that you couldn¡¯t get in certain areas, though most of the larger towns tended to be on the coast. It was much safer for Humans to sail from one place to another. If they did come ashore, all they would have to do if they saw a Zombie was get back on their ship and they¡¯d be safe. My Master hadn¡¯t liked ships, so I¡¯d never been on one, instead we¡¯d mostly walked all over the continent.


    I thought about giving the Zombies a chance to run away, but then they¡¯d be a threat for someone else. There wasn¡¯t a cure, despite the breakthrough in finding a way to purify the plague. Though that discovery had resulted in the entire town getting destroyed, so I had my doubts there was much, if any, of that left.


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this.¡± I motioned with my sword for the Zombies to attack me.


    Feral snarls filled the night air as they charged in a V formation. Their purple, glowing eyes fixated on me and their open mouths hungry for the magic that was inside me.


    The polished heartstone in the hilt of my sword started to shine and the purple blade emitted a soft glow. I only had to move just a little magic into the sword to turn it into a weapon that could cut into Zombies as easily as if they were butter and I was holding a hot knife.


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    I took off the lead one¡¯s head as I backpedaled. While they weren¡¯t much of a threat to me, that was because of how easily I could kill them. I¡¯d still die if they managed to overwhelm me even if I couldn¡¯t get infected.


    The one to the left of the Zombie I¡¯d beheaded tripped over its headless companion, spreading it flat on the ground. I stepped to my right and without a good angle to the one in front of me¡¯s neck, I cut through its left knee, as I dashed past it.


    The Zombie fell over the other prone one, making a stack of three Zombies in between me and the two that were still on their feet.


    The two standing Zombies split around the pile, so I moved to my left, swinging my sword up and taking off the head of the Zombie that I¡¯d kneecapped. The lone prone Zombie was now in the middle of a sandwich of two dead Zombies and was struggling to get out.


    I reversed the swing and took off the other Zombie¡¯s left arm, then rotated on my left foot. I kicked with my right leg in a sweep that knocked that Zombie on its back on top of the pile that I was making.


    The last standing Zombie was slower than me and after a few steps around the pile, I had it on the exact opposite side. I took the opportunity to decapitate the Zombie on top of the pile, then rotated a little more until I was back to where the clumsy Zombie was facing.


    The trapped Zombie snarled at me as it swiped with its hands. I took off both at the elbows, then finished it off, kicking its rolling head back to the pile before it could get away.


    That was one of the rules when dealing with Zombies. You had to make sure you accounted for all of the parts. There wasn''t a lot of wildlife left, but a foraging wolf might try to eat a forgotten appendage. While it wouldn¡¯t turn the animal into a Zombie, eating the turned flesh would turn it rabid and a bite from one of those hungry creatures could infect people.


    I stepped away from the pile of dead Zombies so that the last one would come at me. I sheathed my sword, which gave the monster pause. It regarded me like I was offering myself up to it. It hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do when its target wasn¡¯t fighting back or running.


    Since it was unsure of what it wanted to do, I stretched out my hand and pulled on my magic. A small stream of fire shot out of my hand and washed over the last Zombie. It stumbled backwards into the pile and the whole thing went up instantly in flames. Zombie blood was very flammable, which was something that we took advantage of when cleaning up.


    The Zombie tried to get out of the stack, so I punched it between the eyes, knocking it out and back on the pyre. While the magic within the Zombies would heal them of most wounds eventually, the fire would burn it away much faster than it could heal.


    I reached out my senses, but there weren¡¯t any other Zombies close. Content that the threat had been dealt with, I leaned against a tree to watch the fire burn and hoped that would be all the excitement for the evening.

 Book 3 - Chapter 3

    I¡¯d fought three groups.


    The other two had been smaller, only three and a pair. The fights had gone much faster and they¡¯d never gotten anywhere close to the camp, though I was starting to have a little bit of concern about how many fires I¡¯d made in the woods. There wasn¡¯t a lot of underbrush and I was able to keep it from getting out of hand, but the trees were dry enough this late in the year that it wouldn¡¯t be hard for one of the pyres that hadn¡¯t gone all the way out to spread with a little wind.


    I¡¯d tried to cover the ashes with dirt, but there was only so much I could do without water or a shovel. And I wasn¡¯t going to waste our water for simple peace of mind.


    Val was awake and packing up what she could without waking up the other two.


    ¡°How many?¡± The redhead glanced at me as she folded her blanket.


    ¡°Only ten.¡±


    Val turned to look at me. ¡°And you didn¡¯t wake us up?¡±


    I held out my hand and coaxed a small flame to grow in the center of my palm. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a problem with that few.¡±


    Val shook her head as she returned to her task. ¡°One wrong move and you could¡¯ve died. What would have happened to us then?¡± She shoved the filled blanket into her pack. ¡°Or what if some Zombies came from the other direction? You wouldn¡¯t know if we¡¯d been killed in our sleep while you were off playing the hero.¡±


    ¡°I can feel them.¡± It was a relatively new development, so I didn¡¯t mind having to remind her of that fact. ¡°I would have known if Zombies were coming from anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°You would have ran back here with the Zombies chasing you to fight the other ones.¡± Her voice was full of disdain. ¡°That sounds like a good way to get us all killed.¡±


    ¡°Not if you would have got in the trees like I told you!¡± I glared at her. She was older than me, somewhere in her mid-twenties.


    Since she¡¯d been a Wrangler, she acted like she was the one in charge most of the time. When we were in cities, I was fine with that. She was the Bokor and had a lot more experience dealing with people. But I¡¯d grown up out in the wild. I knew more about the dangers out here.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sleeping in a tree.¡± Val glanced over at the two newcomers that we¡¯d picked up. ¡°And I¡¯m not sticking them in one either.¡±


    ¡°Even if a horde comes after us?¡±


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    Val glared at me. ¡°They¡¯d need a Touched to gather that many and didn¡¯t The Master say that she wanted you and¡­¡± She motioned at the early-twenties blonde that had been sleeping next to her. ¡°Eveth alive?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what The Master is doing.¡± I shook my head. The Master of the Touched had sent an army of Zombies to destroy the town we¡¯d just been in. She¡¯d claimed that it was so that the Bokor wouldn¡¯t kill everyone for developing a resistance to becoming a Zombie. I knew that the Bokor had made hard choices in the past, but I couldn¡¯t imagine the group that had been dedicated to protecting Humanity since the beginning of the outbreak would resort to such destructive methods when there was finally hope.


    ¡°Hopefully she stays out of our way.¡± Val knelt down and touched Eveth on the shoulder. ¡°Time to get up.¡±


    The young woman rolled over and opened her clear eyes. It was like there were a pair of diamonds where her eyes used to be green. There was a glow to them that made the whites of her eyes stand out, so if you didn¡¯t look too closely, you¡¯d think that she was blind because of how white her eyes looked.


    ¡°Zombies?!¡± Eveth blinked as she quickly stood up and pulled her sword out of its sheath. Her grip on it tightened as she looked around for an enemy.


    Her sword looked like it had been made out of glass. You wouldn¡¯t expect such a thing to be strong, but I¡¯d personally used it. Even without the resonance that Eveth had, I¡¯d been able to kill Zombies as easily as if I had infused magic into my own Bokor sword. In her hands, the sword became even more lethal, because it neutralized the Zombie infection, turning the corrupted flesh back to normal. On a Zombie, that usually meant dead, but with her sword, she could stab a Zombie in the heart and kill them. That made the young Wrangler a very valuable member of our team, even if the concept of Humans wrangling Zombies was a foolish life choice.


    ¡°Put that thing away.¡± Val¡¯s voice got softer, more gentle, almost like she was trying to soothe the other woman. ¡°Byler killed them all.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was disappointment or relief on her face, but the emotion disappeared as she put her sword away.


    ¡°I guess we need to get going.¡± Eveth yawned as she looked over at her younger cousin. ¡°Zig! Wake up! Time to go!¡±


    The young boy pulled his blanket over his head.


    ¡°We¡¯re not doing that!¡± The blonde stomped over and grabbed the blanket, hauling the whole mound waist high with one hand. Her feat of strength must have startled her, because she dropped Ziggy back on the ground.


    ¡°Okay! Okay! I¡¯ll get up!¡± The seven-year-old boy grumbled as he crawled out of the blankets.


    Eveth just stared at her hands as the boy gathered up his things. Val went over and talked to her in a low voice, so I couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying. The conversation ended with Eveth looking more normal and giving Val a hug.


    ¡°Everybody good?¡± I picked up my pack and threw it over my shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s try to make it to Port Reggo before nightfall.¡± I glanced at the boy and tried not to sound too upset. If it had just been the three of us, we would have been there last night, but Ziggy walked so much slower than we did and he needed a lot more breaks. There was a part of me that hoped that someone in the port would be willing to take him in. Moving around with us would be dangerous and if the Bokor found out about us, then he would become a huge liability.


    No one said anything, so I started walking east. We¡¯d barely been walking for five minutes when the young voice piped up.


    ¡°When¡¯s breakfast?¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 4

    We ate while we walked.


    Dried fruit was the best option. There wasn¡¯t much meat anywhere, mostly because animals took up more space and that space had to be walled off and maintained. All it took was a single Zombie to break into the pen and every animal inside would have to be treated as if they were infected. It just wasn¡¯t worth the effort or risk when fruit trees and root vegetables were certain to yield returns even if the Zombies broke into the pen.


    There were places that cultivated grain, but there was the risk with plants like that. Zombies didn¡¯t walk down rows, so they¡¯d mindlessly trample any plant that they could walk on.


    There was one meat that we did have. Fish. While I didn¡¯t care for the taste or the texture, it was protein. Fish jerky wasn¡¯t great and I didn¡¯t carry it on principle. The smell lingered in the whole pack and I didn¡¯t want all my stuff to smell like fish.


    We would be able to eat a lot of fish while we were at the port though. My stomach growled as I chewed on a slice of dried peach. I might not care for it, but it would be food and something different for a while.


    Zig ran up to me, leaving the two women in the back of our group.


    ¡°So when are you going to teach me how to fight Zombies?¡± His eyes were full of excitement as he looked up at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± I knew it wasn''t the answer he wanted to hear, but he didn¡¯t need to be dragged into this.


    ¡°Why not?!¡± He ran in front of me and walked backwards as we hiked.


    I could tell him that he was too young or that this life was too dangerous, but he¡¯d just argue against both of those points.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not.¡± I tried to sound as much like Master Bran as I could.


    ¡°I¡¯m strong!¡± The brown-haired boy looked around. Once he spied what he was looking for, he ran over and grabbed a stick that was about three feet long.


    ¡°See?!¡± Ziggy came back swinging the stick wildly. ¡°I can use a sword!¡±


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    That wasn¡¯t how to swing a sword. That was how you tired yourself out before you died.


    ¡°Don¡¯t swing it around like that.¡± I sighed. Maybe he would learn something to help defend himself when he grew up. ¡°Aim for what you want to hit, then swing one time.¡± I pulled my sword out of the sheath on my back and in a single fluid motion, I sliced a line on one of the pine trees about five feet off the ground.


    ¡°Zombies don¡¯t have weapons, so aim for the neck. If you can¡¯t hit the neck¡­¡± I sliced the tree about two feet off the ground. ¡°Take out a leg. When they fall¡­¡± I brought my sword down on the grass. ¡°Then you cut off their head.¡±


    ¡°You mean I get a sword!?¡± His eyes looked like they were sparkling as a smile spread over his face.


    ¡°When you¡¯re old enough to buy one.¡± I put my weapon away and kept walking.


    ¡°Where do I get a sword like yours?¡± He was so close to me that he bumped into my arm.


    ¡°You don¡¯t get a sword like this.¡± I shook my head as I stopped and gently grabbed his shoulders. I knelt down so that we were on eye level. ¡°Do you know how many apprentices die every year because they mess up and turn into Zombies?¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So you know what to do to become just like you!¡± Ziggy beamed.


    This child¡¯s faith in me was starting to scare me. I knew exactly how fallible I was and how dangerous the life he was asking to be a part of was. I¡¯d been helpless to save my first partner and I didn¡¯t want another failure on my hands. Max¡¯s screams before he died while he was pleading for my help haunted my dreams. It was one of the reasons I was thankful that I didn¡¯t need to sleep much.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to be like me.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Do something safer like a clothier or brewer.¡± I saw the disappointment growing on his face. I continued before he exploded. ¡°People like me don¡¯t live long and we don¡¯t die fast, peaceful deaths. I want you to live a long and safe life. That''s why I don¡¯t want you to do this stuff.¡± I tapped my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve already Ascended, I don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    ¡°But we have that Elf keeping us safe!¡± His smile started coming back. ¡°So we¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    The golden Elf had given us Eveth¡¯s sword, which had really helped our fight, but there was something about those black eyes that felt wrong. It was like looking into a bottomless void. He might have been helpful back then, but I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d be an ally in the future.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± I let go of him and stood up. ¡°Just, go easy on the Zombie stuff.¡±


    He looked disappointed, but he started running between the trees, swinging that stick of his at neck-high points on each tree, like the forest was a horde and he was cutting through them one at a time.


    I shook my head. At least someone was enthusiastic.

 Book 3 - Chapter 5

    We reached the city just after nightfall.


    Master Bran had usually dealt with the inland cities, so this was a place that I didn¡¯t remember coming to, though in my thirteen years as an apprentice, I¡¯d been to lots of places, most of which Master Bran never told me the name of.


    Ziggy was so tired that he couldn¡¯t walk anymore, so we were taking turns carrying him. It was my turn as we approached the wall. I looked at the imposing walls and noticed something very peculiar. There wasn¡¯t a gate.


    ¡°How do we get in?¡± I looked at my female companions.


    Val shrugged and looked as confused as I was.


    ¡°There should be a raft that will take you around the wall.¡± Eveth pointed towards the south side of the wall. ¡°That¡¯s what mom¡­¡± Her voice caught as she thought about her mother. The leader of the Wranglers had been one of the first casualties when we fought against the horde.


    The blonde cleared her throat. ¡°That¡¯s how mom and I did it a few years ago when we came to trade.¡± A smile pulled the edges of her lips up a little. ¡°Our wagon was so heavy, they had to get an actual boat.¡±


    I closed my eyes and expanded my senses. I¡¯d been doing that every so often while we walked, but there hadn¡¯t been any Zombies close enough for me to feel them. This time was no different. I nodded to Val to let her know we were safe.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Val straightened her shoulders, then paused to look at the two of us. ¡°Remember, we¡¯re Bokor. You need to act like one.¡±


    ¡°I get to be an entitled condescending jerk?¡± Eveth grinned. ¡°I think I can do that.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°That¡¯s not how the Bokor act. We just want to get rid of the problem as quickly as we can so that we can move on to the next city.¡± I looked between the two. ¡°It¡¯s not condescending to let the people know that they can¡¯t fight the Zombies.¡±


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    Val put her hands on her hips.¡±We can¡¯t fight Zombies?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Bokor and she¡¯s Touched.¡± I motioned to Eveth. ¡°You don¡¯t count as Humans.¡±


    I expected Val to bring up that she had been killing Zombies as a Human, but then I would have to point out that her Zombie wrangling had been what got her sister killed. Eveth looked insulted, but she¡¯d lost more friends and family than I knew about while wranging Zombies. Both of them could argue the point, but I didn¡¯t see how they could win.


    I cleared my throat. There was no need for me to rub their loss in their faces. ¡°Master James was pleasant.¡±


    ¡°And the Bokor sent him to a city that was about to be destroyed.¡± Val eyed me. ¡°Face it, Byler. Bokor are self-centered jerks.¡±


    Taking care of ourselves since we were the only thing that stood between the Humans and the Zombies didn¡¯t feel self-centered to me. The mere fact that Bokor put themselves between the Humans and Zombies felt selfless, but I was smart enough that I could read on their faces that they weren¡¯t going to back down from this.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡± I shifted Ziggy. ¡°He¡¯s getting heavy.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t. With my increased strength, I could carry him through the night and still wouldn¡¯t get tired. But I needed a way to end the conversation and that seemed like a good excuse.


    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go see if there are any guards on duty.¡± Val started walking.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t there be any guards on duty?¡± I hurried after her.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know much about people do you?¡± Val looked over her shoulder. ¡°First rule. People are lazy.¡± She motioned to the wall. ¡°Zombies can¡¯t climb and they can¡¯t swim. Why spend your night standing on a cold wall looking at nothing when you could find a warm bed or cold drink?¡± She chuckled softly. ¡°Things would look the same in the morning either way.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s...!¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°People only care who¡¯s to blame when something breaks. As long as it keeps working and they don¡¯t have to do anything else, the bosses don¡¯t care how it got done.¡± The redhead stopped at the riverbank and motioned to the dock a good fifty feet into the water. ¡°See? nobody¡¯s there.¡±


    I sighed. I really didn¡¯t understand people.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Eveth looked up at the wall.


    ¡°Wrong question.¡± Val smiled. ¡°What would a Bokor do?¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 6

    Val was having too much fun with her new role.


    She stretched out her hand and focused. I could feel the magic gathering inside her, but I had no clue what she planned on doing. She had an affinity for water magic, and dousing the dock wouldn¡¯t help us.


    The magic blasted out and the air felt much colder.


    Val hadn¡¯t used a water spell. She¡¯d used an ice one.


    The redhead looked very proud of herself as she walked out onto the ice.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe!¡± She motioned for us to follow her as she walked on the ice over to the dock.


    The dock consisted of a single chair and a raft. I shook my head as we walked around the wall. There wasn¡¯t a single guard anywhere to be seen. If we had been Zombies, the whole town would have been turned by tomorrow evening.


    ¡°Wait.¡± I motioned at the sheet of ice leading back to shore. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to do something about that? What if some Zombies come before it melts?¡±


    Val turned around to look at me and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the fire mage?¡±


    I grumbled as I shifted Ziggy¡¯s weight so my right hand would be free. I pointed it at the sheet of ice and let out a few pulses of magic. It wasn¡¯t enough to do much damage to a Zombie, but it was hot enough to partially melt the places that got hit. After three more salvos, the sheet started to break up. I fired two more, just to be sure the larger pieces couldn¡¯t make a walkable path after we left.


    ¡°What would a Bokor do now?¡± Eveth looked between myself and Val.


    ¡°Chew out the guard captain.¡±


    ¡°Chew out the mayor.¡±


    Val and I spoke at the same time.


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    ¡°Master Bran would chew out the mayor after the guard captain.¡± I tried to justify my answer. ¡°Because if he chewed out the mayor first, it would take longer to get guards over here.¡±


    Val nodded. ¡°We¡¯re going to the guard house.¡±


    It saddened me that we were able to walk along the dock on the inside of the wall and there was no one around to stop us. Once we were back on land, Val turned to Eveth.


    ¡°Eve. Where is the guard station?¡±


    The blonde shrugged. ¡°When I came here with the shipment, the furthest we went into the city was the warehouse.¡± She nodded at a big building a couple blocks away from us near the waterfront.


    ¡°Any merchant would have a guard to watch their stuff and the guard should know where the captain is.¡± Val started walking towards the warehouse.


    Once we got to it, the redhead marched up to the door and banged on it. There were noises inside, but no one came to answer the door.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re in there!¡± Val raised her voice. ¡°If I have to start counting, I¡¯m going to light something on fire for every number you make me use!¡±


    ¡°WAIT!¡± The voice was panicked and slightly muffled, but it was loud enough for us to hear through the door. ¡°I¡¯M COMING!¡±


    There were crashes and thudding of feet as someone ran to the door and threw it open. The man saw Val wasn¡¯t the only Bokor at the door and paled. His shirt was on inside out and his pants weren¡¯t buttoned. He wasn¡¯t wearing any shoes and didn¡¯t have a sword or any other weapon on.


    ¡°Ma-Mah-Master Bokor!¡± The smell of ammonia washed over me as he bent down on one knee and bowed his head. ¡°How may I serve?¡±


    ¡°Where is your captain?¡± Val glared at the frightened guard¡¯s head.


    The man didn¡¯t lift his head, instead he focused on her boots. ¡°The captain¡¯s house is on the corner of Ninth and Gamma.¡±


    Those numbers and letters didn¡¯t mean anything to me, but Val seemed to understand.


    ¡°Get yourself cleaned up.¡± Val started to walk away, but paused. I saw a grin grow across her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, soldier?¡±


    ¡°Brold Piersym, Master.¡± The dark-haired man¡¯s teeth were chattering.


    ¡°Thank you for being punctual.¡± Val tried to force the smile off of her face, but wasn¡¯t doing a good job. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure the captain knows that you were very respectful and helpful when we got to the city without an escort waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Master.¡± Brold still wasn¡¯t looking up and I had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t until we were out of sight.


    ¡°Did you really have to scare him like that?¡± I whispered as soon as I was sure we were out of earshot.


    Val looked at Eveth and grinned. ¡°What would a Bokor do?¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 7

    Val enjoyed pretending to be a Bokor way too much.


    The captain¡¯s house was dark. Most people had probably gone to bed an hour ago, but that didn¡¯t stop Val from marching up to the door of the lavish two-story house and kicking it in.


    I sighed as I followed her inside.


    ¡°WHERE''S THE CAPTAIN?!¡± Val roared as she stomped around the large room.


    I heard the release of a spring and a whoosh.


    ¡°VAL!¡± Eveth screamed as the sound of metal scraping glass assaulted our ears.


    That was enough to wake Ziggy up. The boy wiggled until I put him down, which I was glad to have both of my hands free even if I still had someone that I needed to stay in front of.


    ¡°GUARDS! THERE ARE INTRUDERS IN MY HOME!¡±


    I called fire into both of my palms to light up the room. The pudgy face of the shirtless man on the stairs drained of blood couldn¡¯t get any more words out as he took in the people in his home. The empty crossbow in his hands explained the noise I¡¯d heard as well as the broken crossbow bolt on the floor.


    There was shuffling outside, which seemed to snap the overweight man out of his stupor.


    ¡°DON¡¯T COME IN HERE!¡± The older man screamed as he dropped his weapon.


    That only encouraged the men outside to move faster.


    I half turned, moving Ziggy away from the Humans while pointing both of my palms at the two groups. I could see the guards eyes widen as they realized that they had just run into Bokor.


    Val pulled out her sword and the blade shone purple light over the illumination of my flames. She pointed the tip of it at the guards.


    ¡°Leave.¡±


    The authority in her voice dared them to disobey. Thankfully the two of them were smart enough not to question her. She was in full Bokor mode, which was more forceful than I¡¯d ever seen Master Bran be. I¡¯d have to talk to her about how far she was taking things later, but stopping her right now would only undermine her authority.


    ¡°You.¡± The redhead swung her sword around to point it at the man who was sitting on the stairs with his back against the wall. ¡°Shot. Me.¡±


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    Val emphasized each word with enough fury that I was a little afraid that she might outright kill him.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Eveth looked over the other woman, but there wasn¡¯t a scratch on her.


    ¡°Dreg, is everything okay down there?¡± A female voice called from the second floor.


    ¡°Stay in our room!¡± The guard captain squeaked as he yelled up the stairs, though his voice was much weaker. ¡°Don¡¯t come down here!¡±


    ¡°As if a Human weapon could hurt a Bokor.¡± Val bent down and picked up the bolt. She handed it to Eveth like she was giving her a piece of trash. Once the blonde took the ammunition, Val took two steps forward and rested the tip of her sword on Dreg¡¯s left shoulder. ¡°Is this how you treat the Bokor?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were coming!¡± Captain Dreg held up his hands.


    ¡°So you¡¯re rude and inhospitable?¡± Val glared at him as she leaned closer. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you know we were coming?¡±


    ¡°My men should have alerted me! If they had, we would have thrown you a grand welcoming, even if it¡¯s¡­¡± His eyes darted around, looking for some clue as to what time it was. ¡°In the middle of the night!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure¡­¡± Val stepped back and put away her sword. ¡°Which brings me to my first question before I decide your punishment¡­¡± She motioned out the door. ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any guards on duty?¡±


    ¡°There..?¡± His eyes widened as he looked at the open door. ¡°Clive! Ferry! Make sure there are men at the docks and on the walls NOW!¡± He wrung his hands together. ¡°I truly apologize for this oversight¡­¡±


    ¡°You can apologize by taking us to the mayor.¡± Val cut him off as she glanced over at me. I saw her smirk before she looked back at the sitting man. ¡°I need to talk to him about the lack of security around here.¡±


    ¡°Let me get my coat¡­¡± Dreg started to go up the stairs as he stood up.


    ¡°You can take us now.¡± Val growled. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t ignored our arrival, then maybe you¡¯d be dressed in something more appropriate.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Bokor.¡± He gave her a little bow before hurrying out of the house in nothing but a pair of shorts.


    ¡°Master Val.¡± I let the flames in my palms die as I stepped closer and lowered my voice. ¡°I thought you wanted to show that the Bokor aren¡¯t monsters.¡±


    ¡°They need a reason to stay vigilant.¡± She grinned as she walked to the door.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Ziggy ran over to Eveth as soon as it was clear.


    ¡°The guards weren¡¯t paying attention and Master Val had to remind them not to slack off.¡± I hoped my explanation would suffice. I could hear someone breathing heavily at the top of the stairs, so I needed to keep an official spin on it.


    I nodded at Eveth. ¡°We should move. Are you good taking over?¡± I nodded at the boy.


    ¡°Sure.¡± The blonde took Ziggy¡¯s hand and led him to the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    I shook my head as I followed after them. Hopefully Val wouldn¡¯t kick in any more doors while we were here. While the Humans needed to have respect for us, I didn¡¯t think it was right to make them fear us. But they had been slacking on their guard duties. I could see her reasoning that a little fear might make them stay vigilant for a while, which could save lives if a Zombie horde attacked.


    I tried to hold on to that reasoning while I hurried after the others. Maybe we wouldn¡¯t have any more problems tonight.

 Book 3 - Chapter 8

    The mayor was waiting for us.


    One of the guards must have ran over and alerted the mayor, because he was outside a walled estate. Not that we had far that we had to walk. We¡¯d actually passed the mayor¡¯s home on our way to the guard captain¡¯s. All the lights had been out then, but that wasn¡¯t the case now. The magic lamp over the gate was shining brightly and the entire house was lit up.


    ¡°Masters!¡± The older man had a huge smile on his clean-shaven face. His gray hair was just starting to bald, though his skin didn¡¯t show any signs of scars or calluses. My appraisal of the man hadn¡¯t been very high and this display of very fake happiness wasn¡¯t helping that.


    ¡°We¡¯re so glad that you have graced us!¡± He motioned down the street. ¡°We have a house that was waiting for your arrival! I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tired! If you¡¯ll follow me, I¡¯ll take you¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a bigger problem.¡± Val cut him off as she waved at us. ¡°Naturally, if we had wanted to sneak in, you wouldn¡¯t have seen us, but that wasn¡¯t the case. We did not hide and weren¡¯t quiet as we walked right into town.¡± She put her hands on her hips. ¡°What if we¡¯d been Zombies?¡±


    ¡°I-I-I assure you.¡± He swallowed. ¡°We¡¯ve never had a Zombie make it into the city that way.¡±


    ¡°Just because it hasn¡¯t happened, doesn¡¯t mean it won¡¯t.¡± She looked from the mayor to the guard captain. ¡°Gher has been destroyed.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± The guard captain had a much more animated response than the mayor.


    ¡°How did Zombies make it through their walls?¡± The mayor was starting to look pale.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t go through the walls.¡± Val points her hand at the ground. A short blast of frost shot out of her palm leaving little ice crystals on the ground. She turned back to look at the men. ¡°There were three Touched...¡± She paused, her eyes daring them to speak before she was finished. ¡°That used magic to dig a tunnel into the mine.¡±


    ¡°Are they coming this way?¡± The guard captain had calmed just a little, but he was breathing fast.


    Val rolled her eyes. ¡°Do you think we¡¯d leave three Touched and a horde of Zombies alive to run here?¡± Val shook her head. ¡°You really like insulting us.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯M SORRY! I¡¯M SORRY!¡± Dreg bowed until his forehead touched the road.


    She wasn¡¯t wrong, but she wasn¡¯t being completely honest either. Yes, we¡¯d killed three of the Touched, but we¡¯d let one get away. While we¡¯d killed a lot of Zombies, we¡¯d left a lot more alive in the burning city when we headed this way. While we hadn¡¯t seen any blue Zombies, that didn¡¯t mean that a few couldn¡¯t make their way here.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Val turned to the mayor. ¡°The war against the Touched is ramping up. They are getting bolder and there are too many places that we are needed.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Lapses in security like what happened tonight¡­¡± The redhead clicked her tongue. ¡°If we¡¯d been Touched¡­¡± She let the implications hang in the air.


    ¡°I promise you miss Master that it will never happen again!¡± The mayor looked over at Dreg, who was still face down on the ground. ¡°Captain, get up! I want to know who was supposed to be on duty and as soon as their shifts end, I want every one of them in my office!¡±


    The guard captain slowly turned his head up, but it wasn¡¯t the mayor he looked at. It was Val.


    ¡°Go.¡± She waved her hand as she barely looked at him.


    That was all the blessing that he needed. I¡¯d never seen such a large man move so fast as he fled down the street.


    ¡°Now.¡± Val smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show us to this house that you had waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The mayor turned and started walking.


    ¡°Is she always scary like that?¡± Ziggy was holding onto Eveth¡¯s side.


    ¡°Only when she¡¯s mad.¡± I didn¡¯t know who might be listening, so I left out the part where she was having fun with her role. ¡°She¡¯s just worried that a lot of people could have gotten hurt if we weren¡¯t the ones who came here tonight.¡± I did agree with her that something needed to be done. While it was the Bokor who should fight the Zombies, the city guards would have to step up and try to hold them away from the people until we arrived. Considering that the only way to send messages was with magic, which Humans didn¡¯t have, or by horse or ship. Which is why missions like mine were so important. Without constantly cycling through cities and towns, it could be months before word of an outbreak reached the Bokor. By then, all we could do is burn the Zombies that had stayed behind.


    I sighed. A long time ago, before I was even born, there had been a Bokor in every city. But some of the Humans had led a rebellion in an attempt to take our powers. It hadn¡¯t worked, since without conditioning, you can¡¯t ascend. The Humans had eventually all died either by Bokor hands or when they failed to ascend. Unfortunately, the Bokor lived a lot longer than Humans. While they still protected the Humans, the Bokor stayed in cities that were populated only by them or apprentices.


    I pulled away from that train of thought before I started remembering my time as an apprentice. That was the past and we were in the present. I needed to know if there had been any Zombie sightings and if there was anything they needed our help with before we took a ship to Port Town.


    I was glad that I didn¡¯t need sleep, because I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

 Book 3 - Chapter 9

    The house looked like someone had been living in it.


    Either that meant that there was a caretaker for the ¡®Bokor House¡¯ or this was really someone else¡¯s house and they had been evicted ahead of us. As much as I assumed it was the second, I hoped it was the first. I usually had been too busy to notice the looks that the Humans had given Master Bran, or maybe it was because people were smart enough not to give those looks around him. For most of my life, I¡¯d been under the impression that most Humans were happy to give the Bokor what they needed. It was just a few of the jealous ones who resented us.


    Unfortunately, the more I dealt with people, the more it seemed like Humans resented having to work with us, doing so only because of how much stronger than them we were. There were some that tried to curry favor, though I was curious if the pleasant reception we¡¯d received at Gher had been because they were hoping that they¡¯d receive a reward or because we had been Bokor and not potentials.


    All it took was a look from Eveth and Ziggy quietly followed his older cousin down the hall while the Mayor busied himself with lighting the lamps.


    ¡°Is it, um¡­ adequate?¡± The balding man looked over at Val.


    The redheaded ran her fingers over the back of the wooden furniture. ¡°It¡¯ll do.¡± She dropped her pack in one of the large chairs, then turned to look at the mayor.


    ¡°Is there anything else you need?¡± The older man was wringing his hands together.


    ¡°Have you seen any Zombies?¡± I cut in before Val could get any more into character.


    ¡°We, um¡­¡± The mayor wiped sweat from his brow as he looked at me.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t.¡± Val folded her arms in front of her. ¡°Because you haven¡¯t been paying attention.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s not been any activity of note.¡± He tried to keep his eyes focused on me.


    His gaze was piercing, which made me very uncomfortable looking at him. I tried looking in his general direction and that helped a little.


    ¡°An entire horde of Zombies wiped out Gher and you don¡¯t ¡®think¡¯ that anything of note came by?¡± Val sounded even more irritated. ¡°That horde had to be gathering for close to a week. If they passed by here¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°Think of how many people are dead because your guards didn¡¯t want to lounge on the walls.¡±


    To be fair, the horde had most likely come from inland rather than the peninsula, so I doubted that the guards would have seen anything, but if a horde swept down the peninsula for one of the larger towns, then one of their ships could have sent a warning to the cities further south. That reminded me.


    ¡°Are your ships out?¡± I motioned towards the east where the docks were. ¡°I only saw a couple little boats in the harbor.¡±


    The mayor looked more uncomfortable. ¡°We um¡­ haven¡¯t heard from our ships.¡±


    ¡°As in you lost them?¡± Val sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that Zombies have taken those too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± The mayor winced at the volume of his voice and dialed it down before quickly continuing. ¡°We usually have our two main fishing boats along with three ships that run supplies back and forth between here, Port Town, Opel, and Carthage.¡± He slowly moved to the dining room table and sat down when he saw that Val wasn¡¯t going to go off on him.


    Eveth walked down the hall before he could continue. She looked from the older man to Val. ¡°He¡¯s asleep.¡±


    The mayor looked confused. I could see a question forming and tried to head it off.


    ¡°The apprentice is new.¡± I glanced between my two female companions before looking back at the mayor. ¡°He hasn¡¯t adjusted to our schedule yet.¡±


    The balding man looked like he was chewing on his cheek as he thought, then he turned to me. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a Bokor with glasses before.¡±


    There was something in his tone that felt like he was having doubts about our validity as Bokor. I tried to think of a good explanation for why I was wearing goggles, but Eveth saved me while I was thinking.


    ¡°What were we talking about?¡± The blonde sat on the arm of a wooden rocking chair in the common room as she ignored the man.


    ¡°Missing ships.¡± Val tapped her fingers on her arms.


    ¡°Oh, that¡­¡± The mayor swallowed.


    ¡°Yes that.¡± Val unlinked her arms. ¡°I¡¯m waiting.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 10

    The older man seemed to forget his remark.


    Which was fine by me. I was still trying to think of a reason why I¡¯d need to wear the goggles. Bokor healed really well, which meant that you didn¡¯t see one with wounds for very long. Even with an eye injury, bandaging it would allow natural recovery to take over and they¡¯d be healed within a week or two. I¡¯d never seen a Bokor with glasses, so I wasn¡¯t sure what the right answer to that question would be, though I had a feeling that it would come up again at some point.


    ¡°After a month of no supplies from our shipping partners, we sent the larger fishing ships to Carthage to try to get some supplies.¡± The mayor put his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands. After a few moments, he looked up. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard from them.¡±


    ¡°You had five ships and they disappeared?¡± Val looked over at Eveth, who shrugged. She glanced at me, but I had to shake my head.


    I knew precious little about ships. Other than that they were supposed to be the safest method of travel and Master Bran didn¡¯t like them.


    ¡°We were already low on supplies, but now we¡¯re down to only what we can catch in the little boats!¡± The mayor got down on his knees so fast that he knocked over the chair he¡¯d been sitting in and almost knocked over the table. ¡°I know the island said that this was a Human problem, but please! Will you look into it for us?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± Val pushed the old man away from her after he crawled across the floor to try to beg at her feet. She looked over at me and raised her eyebrows.


    We had a month to get to Port Town. Going by ship would significantly lower our travel time, though we¡¯d be skipping all the towns along the way. Though if the city felt indebted to us, we might be able to get the ship to stop along the way and wait for us while we checked on those towns.


    I shrugged and motioned at her. While I may think that she was overplaying the whole Bokor thing, I was thankful that she was taking charge. Like he said, this might just be a Human problem. The ships could have decided there were more profitable routes and changed where they were going, or the ships coils have been stolen. I honestly doubted that this was Zombie related, but now that I knew that there was an organization of Touched, I didn¡¯t know how far their reach went.


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    ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk to the other Masters and see if there is enough time to delay our travels.¡± Val motioned at the door. ¡°You can go if there¡¯s nothing else to report.¡±


    The mayor got up and hurried to the door. Just before he reached it, Val stopped him by clearing her throat.


    ¡°It should go without saying, but considering how lazy this town is, I should probably remind you. If I discover that you knew something that I needed to know and didn¡¯t tell us before you walked out that door¡­¡± The redhead let the threat hang in the air.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a very stress-, I mean busy, night.¡± The mayor swallowed as he looked over at me.


    I was leaning against the wall near the door. I made sure to avoid eye contact. I didn¡¯t want him to think that I¡¯d save him or give him a reason to ask about my goggles again.


    He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, then turned back to Val. ¡°Nothing comes to mind right now, but if I remember something, I will be sure to come here right away.¡±


    ¡°See that you do.¡± Val stood up and pulled her scabbard off of her back, laying the sword and sheath on the table.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± The mayor bowed. ¡°If I may ask so that I can prepare food for you. How long are you planning on staying here?¡¯


    ¡°That depends on if we have enough time to look into your lost ships.¡± Val waved her hand for the older man to leave. ¡°I need to talk to the other Masters and you¡­¡± She glared at him. ¡°Need to talk to your guards.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Bokor.¡± The mayor bowed again, then hurried through the door.


    I closed the door. ¡°Well, that was¡­¡±


    ¡°So cool!¡± Eveth giggled. ¡°Did you see that? He thought I was a real Bokor!¡±


    The blonde woman moved over and sat at the table with Val. Since that seemed like where we were going to talk, I walked over and sat down as well.


    ¡°You are a real Bokor.¡± Val playfully pushed on the younger woman¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that.¡± She tapped on her sword in front of her. ¡°You have a sword and magic. You are everything that the Bokor are and more.¡±


    Eveth blushed and looked down at her hands in her lap. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I was starting to feel awkward and we had things that we needed to discuss. I cleared my throat before I started speaking.


    ¡°Do you really want to look for the ships?¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 11

    Both women looked at me.


    Val spoke first. ¡°They could use our help.¡±


    ¡°Everyone could use our help.¡± I motioned at the door. ¡°We are stronger, can work longer without needing rest and don¡¯t have to worry much about the Zombies. There are plenty of things that we could do for them that would help, but time spent here on Human matters, means that we aren¡¯t somewhere else dealing with Zombies.¡±


    Eveth raised her hand.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Val shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to raise your hand. You¡¯re a Bokor Master. You can speak up if you have something to add.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Eveth put her arms on the table and tapped her index fingers together. ¡°This is all so new to me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll help you learn the ropes.¡± I cut off my companion. I had a feeling she was about to admit that we were also new to this, which was not the type of message that I wanted to send to the blonde. I glanced at Val before I looked at Eveth¡¯s glowing white eyes. ¡°Your transition might have been very unconventional and we can¡¯t repeat it, but we are committed to helping you regardless of what the other Bokor might think.¡±


    I could see the confusion on her face. All of the Bokor that she¡¯d seen had glowing purple lines on their faces and arms to mark them as Bokor. Since Bokor rarely traveled together, except when there was a large Zombie threat, she¡¯d probably never seen but a handful or two. For her to learn that the Bokor were fragmented on certain issues was probably something that she¡¯d never considered possible.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Val took one of the younger woman¡¯s hands. ¡°Now, what were you going to say?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Right.¡± Eveth blinked before pulling her hands back. ¡°What I wawa going to say was that we should be looking to save lives, right?¡±


    Val glanced at me.


    I had a feeling where her question was going. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Then it shouldn¡¯t matter if people are going to die from Zombies or from hunger. We should still try to stop them from dying.¡± Eveth leaned back to sit up straight.


    ¡°She has a point.¡± I shook my head. ¡°But the problem is that we have no idea where to look for the boats.¡± I looked from Val to Eveth. ¡°And while we might be able to save some people here from dying of hunger, you have to weigh that against the number of people that could be dying because of Zombies further along in our route.¡± I held up my hand before either of them could speak. ¡°That being said, I think Eveth has a point. We should look into this, even if it¡¯s just to gather information to give to Master Ju- James when we see him in Port Town.¡±


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    The common joke among the Bokor Masters on the island was to call Master James Master Junk. They said it was because he¡¯d never produced an apprentice that had become a Master because he turned them all into junk. I¡¯d been worried when I¡¯d paired with one of his apprentices. Even though Max had died in the first city we¡¯d stopped at, I didn¡¯t think Master James¡¯ teaching was what led to the death of my companion.


    I was glad that I¡¯d been able to meet back up with Master James and that he¡¯d shown Val and myself how to use magic. If it had been any other Bokor, they would have tried to kill us and I¡¯m not sure that I would have survived a fight with a Bokor Master.


    Neither of the women seemed to catch my small slip up, though neither of them had ever heard him called that since they hadn¡¯t grown up with the Bokor. Eveth seemed a lot more pleased with my logic than Val did.


    ¡°Does this mean we¡¯ll get to ride a boat?¡± The blonde was bubbling.


    That had been the plan if we couldn¡¯t make it there in time. While we didn¡¯t have much money on us, I had a feeling that the ships wouldn¡¯t mind having a few Bokor around for protection, but that was only if we could find out what happened.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I looked at Val. ¡°The three trading ships might have just found a more profitable route.¡±


    Most of the Human governments were centered around the individual cities. Without a safe mode of transportation to relay messages, there wasn¡¯t really a good way for the Humans to enforce law. Since the Bokor were relied upon to deal with the Zombie threat, there wasn¡¯t much reason for the individual cities to ally other than trade.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t explain the fishing boats.¡± Val leaned back and looked up at the ceiling before looking back at me. ¡°Fishing is the most important job here, so most of the people on those boats had to still have family here. I can¡¯t see them all just leaving their family back here, especially if they were the main providers.¡±


    ¡°So what do you want to do?¡± I glanced down the hall. The only reason we couldn¡¯t start tonight was that one of us was going to have to stay here and watch the kid.


    ¡°Not many people are going to be out right now.¡± Val nodded at the door. ¡°Why don¡¯t the two of you go down to the dooks and see if you can find anything weird. The locals might tell you things they wouldn¡¯t tell me.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Plus, I have a feeling as soon as the two of you start poking around, the mayor is going to remember something.¡±


    ¡°Try not to be too rough on him.¡± I stood up, then pushed my chair back in. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be protecting these people, not bullying them.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Val sighed. ¡°I was just upset that they were being so lazy. Maybe that scare will keep them vigilant for a few weeks.¡±


    I hoped it would be longer than that, but I knew that as soon as we were gone, they¡¯d start cutting corners again.


    ¡°Eveth, you ready to go?¡± I slid the sling on my sword sheath over my head. I¡¯d moved my sword to my hip while I¡¯d been carrying Ziggy, but now I could keep it on my back so I could move faster.


    ¡°I guess, Byler.¡± The blonde stood up and fixed her sword similarly.


    I headed for the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go look for some lost ships.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 12

    The docks were quiet.


    I¡¯m not sure why I had been expecting movement. Maybe because the moon was out, so I could see even better than normal. Thanks to my Touched transformation, my eyesight in the dark was almost as good as it was during the day. The only difference was that everything had a purple hue to it at night. That took some getting used to and I still hadn¡¯t completely adjusted to it.


    There were guards at the previously empty post, and I assumed there were guards at the other end as well, but the north side of the city was around the bend and a ways away. I wasn¡¯t sure just how big the city was, but whoever built the walls had carved out a very large area in order to take advantage of one side of the city not needing a wall. That meant that the city was much longer than it was wide, which unfortunately gave us a lot of waterfront to cover.


    ¡°Master Eveth.¡± I looked over at the blonde woman beside me. ¡°What do you think we should look at first?¡±


    ¡°Master¡­¡± Eveth giggled. ¡°That sounds so weird.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your title and we need to use them in public.¡± I didn¡¯t know who might be eavesdropping, but a little caution never hurt.


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s just¡­¡± The blonde Wrangler bit her lip. ¡°Not something I ever dreamed of having.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Becoming a Bokor was what my entire life had been preparing me for. The only other option for me was death along the way. I wasn¡¯t sure what the future prospect for a Human Zombie Wrangler was other than death, like the rest of her group had suffered. It made no sense to me why Humans would want to risk their lives to do something that the Bokor were sworn to do for them, but that was probably something I¡¯d never be able to understand.


    ¡°I mean, mom was trying to set me up with that Ethan Mordrow. She wanted me to take time away and have some kids.¡± Eveth wrinkled her nose, then flexed her fingers. ¡°I¡¯m glad I got this power. I never wanted to settle down¡­¡± She paused and turned to me. ¡°Can Bokor even have kids?¡±


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    ¡°Not that I know of.¡± Even with all the orphans who came to the island, I¡¯d never seen or heard of any of them coming from Bokor parents. Though that may have just been because there were so few female Bokor and a male Bokor being with a Human female was a good way for the infection to spread to her. I shuddered as I thought about the implications.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Eveth shrugged. ¡°One less thing I have to worry about.¡±


    ¡°What about Ziggy?¡± I didn¡¯t know who any of my blood family was, though I felt like if I did, I would want to make sure they were taken care of.


    Eveth stepped onto the dock and started walking towards the end. ¡°I mean, he can¡¯t stay with us.¡± She looked around to see if anyone was going to stop her. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±


    She had a point there, but I¡¯d been younger than that when I¡¯d been made an apprentice. Though to be fair, I¡¯d spent most of my early years with the Bokor on the island, learning how to do the various chores that the Bokor needed done.


    ¡°So you want to find somewhere to leave him?¡± I watched her step into one of the rowboats that was tied to the side of the dock. There was one other small boat tied on the other side. Every dock that I could see had the place at the end open, even though there was rigging to tie a boat off on them.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I walked over and stood on the dock beside her.


    ¡°Seeing how hard it would be to steal a boat.¡± She looked around as she stared slowly drifting away from the dock. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look that hard.¡±


    ¡°Or it could be that after the reprimand that they got, the guards are all too scared of crossing us to think about stopping you.¡±


    ¡°Good point, Byler. Catch!¡± She threw a rope that was attached to the boat at me.


    I caught the rope and pulled her in.


    ¡°You¡¯ve established that security is still bad.¡± I helped her step back onto the dock after I tied the boat back off.


    She held onto my hand for only as long as she needed to steady herself.


    ¡°Right.¡± Eveth dusted off her hands as she looked around. ¡°Maybe if we knew what the ships were carrying, we¡¯d have an idea of where to look?¡±


    ¡°Yer lookin¡¯ fer the ghost ship.¡± A gravelly voice behind me made me jump a little.

 Book 3 - Chapter 13

    The old man looked almost dead.


    He had a wooden right leg and a patch over his left eye. His hair was all gone, either because it fell out or he shaved it, I couldn¡¯t tell. Though the rough patches of white hair on his face made me think it was probably because it fell out. He looked like he was covered in leather instead of skin. His clothes had seen better days and were full of holes.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I looked down at the five-foot-tall old man.


    ¡°Captain Jace Malvern Perrous.¡± He held his hand out as he gave a sweeping bow that was directed at Eveth. ¡°At yer service.¡±


    The blonde looked at me for direction.


    ¡°If you¡¯re a captain, where¡¯s your ship?¡± I moved to my left so I could position myself between the two. There was something creepy about the old man and not just because he had been able to sneak up on me.


    ¡°Retired.¡± Jace straightened, putting his right hand on his lower back as the bones cracked and popped. He pointed at the empty space at the end of the dock with his left. ¡°The Ice Runner berthed there fer ferty years until this cursed back made me hand her over to the next gen.¡± He looked me over with his one good eye. ¡°Why¡¯s the Backer care about ships? They always say that¡¯s a Human thing.¡±


    ¡°Because without ships, your city will have to go over land to get supplies, which will cause loss of life.¡± I shrugged, trying to seem indifferent. ¡°We have a little extra time, so we thought we¡¯d look around.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t find anythin¡¯ here.¡± The old man nodded at the water. ¡°The cursed ghost ship steals the ships and takes them with her to the island.¡± He looked back at me, then over at Eveth. ¡°Aren¡¯t the two of you a little young to be Backers?¡±


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    ¡°The Master in charge is back at the house.¡± I needed to get him away from that train of thought. ¡°We¡¯re out here while she¡¯s dealing with the mayor.¡±


    ¡°Mayor Brambly needs a lot of attention, doesn¡¯t he?¡¯ The former captain slapped his leg at his own joke. ¡°That¡¯s all there is, just the three of you?¡±


    ¡°And an apprentice.¡± I folded my arms in front of me. ¡°Enough about us. What do you mean the cursed ship takes the other ships back to the island? What island?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too hard to try to explain¡­¡± He turned around and motioned for us to follow him. ¡°I¡¯ve got some maps back at the shack that you can look at that explain it better than I can.¡±


    I glanced at Eveth. There was something off about this old man, but I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was. My blonde companion looked a little concerned, but also curious. For a moment, I thought about just ignoring him, but the other option was to continue to poke around on the dock until we found something interesting. We could alway come back and do that later if he was just spouting nonsense.


    ¡°I know I move fast fer an old man, but try to keep up!¡± The one-legged man cackled as he sped up.


    ¡°Should we tell Val?¡± Eveth tried to whisper as the two of us hurried after him.


    ¡°I think we see what he has to say. If he¡¯s got good information, then we can take him to go talk to Val.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Her voice sounded disappointed, with a hint of fear.


    I tried to think of why she might be uneasy about following a mysterious stranger, then I remembered what had happened a few days ago. We¡¯d followed a Touched who claimed to have answers, which had resulted in her being turned into the type of Touched she was now. While I didn¡¯t think she was too upset about it, the experience had been jarring for me and I hadn¡¯t been the one who had been changed. My own transformation had been less than two weeks ago, yet it seemed like I¡¯d been this way for years. I¡¯d gone straight from one crisis to another without much time to really process everything. Maybe I¡¯d have that time after we talked with Master James in a month.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine.¡± I tapped the handle of the sword on my back. ¡°We can always fight our way out if things go south.¡±


    The look she gave me told me that she hadn¡¯t been comforted by my logic.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 14

    The house was dirty.


    If you could even call it that. It was built into the side of stairs that led up to the city proper. The entire dock was more than a whole level below the rest of the city, but the old man had to go down a few steps to get to his door. The ground under my feet was moist and there were a few puddles from whenever it had rained last and water had run down the stairs instead of flowing off the docks that we were across from.


    I¡¯d seen crazed Touched that were housing Zombies like they were children, and some of those places were cleaner than the shack that the captain called a home. Eveth gagged at the blend of the smells of too many different types of different containers that should have been emptied at least daily. It looked like instead of carrying them out of the cave, the old man would just stack them up in the corner. There was a hint of decomposition that told me that a lot of gardeners would love to have some of the fermenting fertilizer that he was brewing underground.


    The rest of the house was full of broken wooden items, torn cloth, scraps of pottery, and a few weapons that were way past the point of usability for even an emergency. It was like this had been the place where dockworkers had thrown their trash instead of burning it or tossing it into the water. The old man used his wooden leg as a rake to push the piles aside as he trudged through the sea of mess to the wall opposite the door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there.¡± He looked over at us as he lit a lantern and hung it on a hook hanging from the ceiling. ¡°You can¡¯t see nothin¡¯ from out there.¡± He squinted as he looked the two of us over. ¡°Unless you two Backers got really good eyesight!¡± He laughed like he had just made a joke.


    ¡°I¡¯d hate to mess up your organization.¡± Eveth looked at me, then took a step back. ¡°I think I¡¯ll wait out here and let Byler explain it to me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy!¡± The bald man playfully kicked a pile, which made the offensive smell worse. ¡°Sometimes you got to stir things up a bit to get them movin¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just bring the map out here?¡± I didn¡¯t want to go into the dump either. In fact, I was a little curious how the place wasn¡¯t catching on fire with all the gas that was coming out the door.


    ¡°Never known Backers to be afraid of nothin¡¯!¡± The old captain yanked a four foot wide piece of faded paper off of the wall and began wading back out to us. ¡°But I guess everyone afraid of somethin¡¯.¡± His eye twinkled like he¡¯d just found treasure.


    I didn¡¯t care if he thought we were afraid of the mess. I¡¯d cleaned far worse things off of myself more times than I could count, but just because I had and could didn¡¯t mean that I wanted to again if I didn¡¯t have to.


    ¡°Nothin¡¯ to put this on¡­¡± The former captain grumbled as he looked around.


    Eveth backed up the steps, so he could put the map down at the top of them. He set the lantern down on one corner, then smoothed it with his right hand.


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    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± He pointed at the castle icon that was labeled Port Reggo. He dragged his finger over to the crescent island that was just to the east. ¡°We¡¯ve seen the ghost ship on the backside of this cursed island.¡±


    I looked at the map, then across the water. I couldn¡¯t see anything, but there was barely any light out, which I doubted would help me see much more than what I could see with my enhanced vision. I turned back to the paper on the ground. It went as far north as Carthage and went as far south as Port Town, though it didn¡¯t have anything below that. Which was fine because I knew Port Town was at the very southern tip of the peninsula. It also went far enough west to include the entire peninsula, though it didn¡¯t have much of the geography from inland, just the shore filled in. Whoever drew the map had probably never left a ship, or if they had, they¡¯d not gone far from the shore.


    ¡°That looks like a pretty big island.¡± I looked at the old captain. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t the city moved there?¡±


    Islands were invaluable. Zombies couldn¡¯t swim and while they didn¡¯t need to breathe, for some reason, they would crawl out of water as quickly as they could. Which meant that any island could be considered fairly safe, unless the water iced over. As far as that island was from the shore, I doubted winters would ever get cold enough that enough ice would form that the Zombies could get across.


    ¡°Cause it¡¯s cursed!¡± Jace sighed. ¡°Weren¡¯t you listenin¡¯?¡±


    ¡°How is it cursed?¡± I glanced over at Eveth. I¡¯d heard of curses, but that was something that required magic to fix, which had been way outside of my experience as an apprentice.


    The blonde had moved away from the map, though I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because of something she knew or just because of the odor that was leaking out of the open door behind the old man.


    ¡°If I knew that, then it wouldn¡¯t be a curse!¡± The former captain laughed, then his voice got serious and his tone lower. ¡°But anyone who tries to set foot on it, never comes back.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure that¡¯s where the ships are?¡±


    The bald man put his right hand over his chest. ¡°As sure as the sea is deep.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I stood up straight and nodded to Eveth. ¡°We¡¯re going to keep looking around, but we¡¯ll let the Master know what you found.¡±


    ¡°If you want me to take you out there¡­¡± Captain Perrous roughly rolled up the map. ¡°You know where to find me. Cause ain¡¯t no one else here brave enough to do it.¡± His face beamed as he stuck out his chest.


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t have a boat anymore.¡± I tried not to sound like I was accusing him of lying.


    ¡°I still have a boat.¡± He pointed at the dock. ¡°It¡¯s just a small one, but it¡¯ll get you there!¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I started walking away.


    Once we were out of earshot, Eveth leaned closer to me and whispered. ¡°Are we really going to go to a cursed island?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± I glazed back at where the old man had been before looking at her. ¡°It won¡¯t take us too long to look into it and if we can figure out what this curse is, then maybe we can fix it so that all of these people can move over there.¡±


    She nodded, but didn¡¯t say anything.


    I left her to her thoughts as I looked around. In a few hours people should start waking up. Maybe then, some other people would have better information for us, though I had a feeling that regardless of whatever else we¡¯d learned, Val would want to check out the island before we left.

 Book 3 - Chapter 15

    We didn¡¯t find anything else useful.


    Maybe if we¡¯d hidden our swords, Eveth didn¡¯t have such weird eyes, or it may have been my goggles, but as soon as people started waking up, they moved away from us as fast as they could.


    We watched the sun rise over the port. As soon as the rays began to peek over the horizon, I could see a little bit of land out towards the east. I¡¯d known of people who could swim that far, but I wasn¡¯t willing to try it. I¡¯d never seen a Bokor in the water for long and I¡¯d never learned how to swim, despite living on an island. But the land did look close enough that we could take one of the smaller boats.


    I sighed as Eveth trudged back over towards me while we were headed back to the house.


    ¡°They won¡¯t talk to me.¡± Disappointment filled her voice.


    ¡°You¡¯re Bokor now.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Humans don¡¯t like to talk to Bokor.¡± I smirked. ¡°But they love to ask us for favors.¡±


    ¡°People would talk to the Wranglers.¡± Eveth watched a mother protectively herd her children away from us. ¡°What¡¯s so different about what we do now?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not Human.¡± I was pretty sure that was true. Apprentices were taught that after the ascension, you became something else. Something that no longer needed to care about things that the Humans prized. Since we had magic and durability that allowed us to survive in most environments, there wasn¡¯t much that the Humans prized that would be able to pass for a luxury for us.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    There was a crash a few blocks over. I heard screaming and cheering. A few people that I could see were hurrying in that direction, so I doubted that it was something dangerous.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I motioned to Eveth and headed down the side street.


    The man in the middle of the street was one of the biggest men I¡¯d ever seen. I was tall compared to most people, but this guy had to be almost seven feet tall. He was wearing loose clothes like most of the fisherman and his left arm sported a tattoo of a fish that I didn¡¯t recognize. His long black hair resonated with his tanned skin and brown eyes.


    I recognized the look on his face. He wanted blood, but not from anyone in the crowd. His attention was focused on whoever was in the building.


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    A second man rolled out, this one as round as he was tall, which didn¡¯t take much. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was even five feet tall. He had blonde hair and green eyes. His skin was fair, like he didn¡¯t get out in the sun much. His clothes were also much nicer, a shade of purple that I¡¯d never seen before. He scrambled on his hands and knees on the dirt road until he found a gold chain, which he picked up and threw at the larger man.


    ¡°Hugh! Hold that!¡± He rolled up the sleeves to his extravagant jacket. ¡°I¡¯m going to teach this strumpet a lesson!¡±


    That got my attention. I wasn¡¯t sure who he was referring to, but if they¡¯d been able to toss both of the men out on the street, there weren¡¯t many women that would be able to outmuscle a man that large. Not unless they were a Bokor or a Touched.


    If they were a Bokor, I needed to get ahead of it and try to endear them to me. If they were a Touched, then there was a chance that the city was in danger.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡± I raised my voice over the yelling and cheers as I pushed my way through the crowd.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The short man turned to glare at me. ¡°One of this harlet¡¯s little playthings that she¡¯s going to try to hide behind?¡± He nodded at the larger man. ¡°Get out of here goggles, before I have my man throw you over the wall.¡±


    I smirked and looked over my shoulder at Eveth. ¡°I think he just threatened me.¡±


    I heard some gasps as the crowd realized that Eveth wasn¡¯t normal. Our swords were pretty distinguishable, so it shouldn¡¯t have been hard to tell what we were, but there were instances where a Bokor died and one of the locals stole their sword instead of handing it over. While the Bokor tried to hunt down any lost weapons, there were still a handful that hadn¡¯t been found. I had a feeling he thought I was just a scavenger, but Eveth was a lot harder to dismiss with her glowing white eyes.


    ¡°What are you?¡± His eyes narrowed as he focused on my blonde companion. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like you before.¡±


    Before she could answer a burly man rolled out of the doorway and bowled over the short man.


    The hairy addition to the mix was around six feet tall, but his arms were thicker than my legs. He was wearing similar clothes to the other tall man and judging by the look on the dirty man¡¯s face, they both worked for him.


    I could see a curse on his tongue, but before he could speak it, the woman who had been roughing up the men appeared in the doorway.


    ¡°Is that how your mamas taught you to speak to a lady?¡±


    I felt a chill run down my spine as I took in the short, just over five-foot-tall black haired woman. Her hair was much shorter than it had been the last time I¡¯d seen her. Instead of shoulder-length, it was only down to the base of her ears. Her eyes were just as blue as I¡¯d remembered, behind her goggles. I knew they were still blue when she took those off, but if she did, people would be able to tell that they glowed.


    The woman who was standing across the street from me was the Touched who¡¯d given me my goggles.

 Book 3 - Chapter 16

    I didn¡¯t know if she was an enemy.


    At Gher, she¡¯d killed the researcher who had been working on a cure for Zombies, then she¡¯d killed the town doctor for trying to blackmail her. She¡¯d been helpful with exposing the Human traitors who had been helping the Zombies, but I couldn¡¯t imagine that made up for the fact that she had some connection to the Touched Master.


    I reached back and touched the handle of my sword. Fyga wasn¡¯t armed that I could see, but I knew she had magic, which I¡¯d be hard pressed to defend against if she started throwing around spells.


    Hugh must have taken that to mean that I was about to help the short woman. He drew a dagger with a blade the length of his hand, let out a deep bellow, and charged at me.


    I took out my sword and for a moment thought about not charging it with magic. I shouldn¡¯t need it to win the fight against the large Human, but I didn¡¯t need to waste my time fighting him and anyone who came to aid him.


    The blade flashed purple as I ran magic into it. I sidestepped his charge and danced away from the blade that moved so fast it whistled through the air as it moved.


    ¡°You just attacked a Bokor.¡± I pointed my sword at him, holding it with only my right hand. I called a fireball into my left and pointed it at the tangle of men in the middle of the street that were trying to get up. ¡°I suggest you run and let me never see your faces again and maybe I¡¯ll forget about it.¡±


    The big man looked confused for a moment and started to slowly back up to the edge of the crowd.


    ¡°He¡¯s a fake, you moron!¡± The large man finally made it to his feet. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the marks! He¡¯s just some amateur performer.¡± His eyes were full of hate. ¡°Kill him and you can have his sword!¡± He slapped the shorter man on the rear. ¡°Shill! Quit faffing around and bring me that woman!¡±


    ¡°Want some help, Byler?¡± Fyga walked out of the doorway and spun out of the reach of the muscular man.


    The tall one swung his short blade at me again. This time I parried and stepped around him as he charged. As I sidestepped the off-balanced man, I thought about cutting him, but I turned my blade so that my swing hit the back of his leg with the flat of the blade.


    He stumbled, then looked down at his leg in confusion.


    ¡°Last chance.¡± I glared at the tall man. ¡°Next time will be the edge.¡±


    Hugh was smart enough to realize that I could back that up. He held up his hands and backed up into the crowd.


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    As soon as I was sure that he was really leaving, I turned back to Fyga.


    The Touched woman wasn¡¯t being as nice to her opponent. He was on his stomach with her on his back, holding his right arm at a very weird angle. He was trying to scream in pain, but her left knee was on the back of his neck, pushing his face into the dirt.


    ¡°You.¡± I pointed my sword at the round man. ¡°Call off your man.¡±


    The short man looked like he didn¡¯t like being given orders. His face got very red and veins began to bulge. ¡°It¡¯s not my man who needs to be stopped! That who-!¡±


    I punched him in the nose.


    ¡°You need to watch your mouth.¡± I looked over at Fyga who had a huge smile on her face. She was giggling as she continued to twist the big man¡¯s arm. ¡°Fyga, let him go.¡±


    ¡°You going to arrest me?¡± The blue-eyed woman tousled her prisoner¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Depends on if you¡¯re going to try to run.¡± I nodded at Eveth who pulled out her sword and began to circle around to the doorway of the building they¡¯d all come out of.


    ¡°YOU BROKE MY NOSE!¡± The insulted man pointed at me. ¡°MY FATHER IS GOING TO HAVE THE GUARDS HANG YOU FROM THE WALL BY YOUR TOES SO THE ZOMBIES CAN EAT YOUR EYES!¡±


    I¡¯d been around a lot of Zombies and I¡¯d never known any of them to eat eyes. Mostly, they latched on and started sucking. They only really tore flesh off of Humans because the Human was trying to get away. Eventually they¡¯d inject enough infestation into their prey that the Human would start to turn, at which point, the Zombies would leave them alone. He¡¯d obviously not been around a lot of Zombies, though I was curious if the town was using that particularly gruesome version of punishment. It was something I¡¯d have to talk to the mayor and Val about.


    ¡°You know what?¡± I walked over and hit the screaming man on the forehead with the butt of my sword. He crumpled like a stone. I looked at Fyga. ¡°Let the man go.¡± I tapped my foot when she didn¡¯t comply immediately. ¡°Or you¡¯re the one who¡¯s going to carry him to his dad.¡±


    That got her attention. She released her hold on the burly man and jumped off of him.


    ¡°If that¡¯s all, then¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going with us.¡± I moved in front of her. ¡°Don¡¯t make me chase you.¡±


    ¡°Think you can catch me?¡± She smirked. ¡°Didn¡¯t work so well last time.¡±


    ¡°Last time, there was only one of us and I had a town full of Zombies to fight.¡± I put my sword away. ¡°You can come peacefully, or I¡¯ll find something to tie you up with.¡±


    ¡°You know all the things to say to go straight to a woman¡¯s heart.¡± She glanced at Eveth. ¡°But won¡¯t your girlfriend get jealous with you flirting with another woman in front of her?¡±


    ¡°Not my girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Not his girlfriend.¡±


    Eveth and I said almost the exact same thing at the same time.


    The black-haired woman grinned. ¡°What about the Bokor?¡±


    ¡°Master James left.¡± I took a step forward and grabbed her arm.


    ¡°Then it sounds like we¡¯re going to have some fun.¡± Fyga laughed, but she didn¡¯t try to get out of my hand.


    I tried to ignore her antics as I looked at the man she¡¯d wrestled. ¡°You know where his father lives?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Bokor.¡±


    I nodded at the unconscious man. ¡°Carry him there.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 17

    I wasn¡¯t surprised we ended up at the mayor''s house.


    I¡¯d been following behind them and there was something about the unconscious man¡¯s face that looked familiar. Coupling that with how much authority he¡¯d bragged about his father having and I was guessing that it was either the Mayor or the guard captain. Since we¡¯d broken into the guard captain¡¯s house, I¡¯d leaned more towards the mayor. Though the big man was older than I was, so he probably had a place of his own.


    Hugh ran out into the yard with the mayor behind him.


    ¡°Theo!¡± The mayor looked around the big man with anger in his eyes until he saw who was behind them.


    The mayor¡¯s face went from anger to fear in the time it took him to blink.


    ¡°So he¡¯s your son¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°I should have known.¡±


    ¡°Master Bokor, I am so sorry for any slight my son might have caused you.¡± The balding man swallowed. ¡°I ask that you accept my apology on his behalf...¡± He glanced at the unconscious brat. ¡°Due to his state.¡±


    ¡°Master Bokor?¡± Fyga giggled.


    I squeezed her arm. I thought about giving him my name, but if the Bokor came through, it might be better if they only knew us as Bokor and not our identities. At least until Master James was able to get the whole thing sorted.


    ¡°Your son is lucky that I had my fill of violence defending Gher, or else his disrespect would have earned him the other end of my sword.¡± I pulled the short woman in front of me. ¡°He was harassing¡­¡± I tried to think about what to call her.


    With her goggles, Fyga could pass as either a Human or a Bokor. But since we didn¡¯t have a sword for her, it would be difficult to get them to believe she was actually a Bokor. It wouldn¡¯t matter that she could use magic and that might actually clue them in that she was a Touched instead of a Bokor. The problem with introducing her as a Human would be trying to explain why I was keeping her with us without casting her as a criminal. There was also the problem of Fyga being a woman. I only knew of two women on the Island, and I¡¯d seen most of the Bokor that lived there at one point during my life. Women rarely survived the transition to becoming a Bokor, yet I was already traveling with one and a second that was pretending to be one. I doubted most Humans even knew that female Bokor were a thing as rare as they were.


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    ¡°Master Val¡¯s apprentice.¡± Fyga pulled against my grip as she gave a very exaggerated bow.


    I could feel Eveth¡¯s eyes roll behind me.


    As far as lies went it would sort of work, though I had my doubts about Val wanting to continue to work with the assassin.


    ¡°You might want to let your town know that we will be here for a few days.¡± I pulled Fyga back. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want anyone else to think that they can attack one of our apprentices and live.¡± I hated myself for it, but I leaned into the image that Val had crafted last night. ¡°We won¡¯t be so forgiving next time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to have the announcement made at once!¡± The old man¡¯s head bobbed. ¡°I¡¯m so thankful that you showed mercy¡­¡±


    ¡°No need to ramble.¡± Something told me that he was going to keep talking until I silenced him and I didn¡¯t want to have to stand in front of his house and listen to him lie over and over again. I started to leave, but remembered a question that I had and the Mayor was the best person to ask.


    ¡°About the ghost island.¡± I watched Hugh carry Theo inside with the burly man right behind them. ¡°Is it really haunted? Is that why you haven¡¯t moved the city over there?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± The mayor swallowed. ¡°We could never find any evidence that it¡¯s haunted, but every time a mayor has tried to build over there, the construction team has vanished or the buildings have burned down.¡± He glanced over the three of us. ¡°I think it¡¯s far more likely that there is a group that is sabotaging any efforts in order to keep us here over there being a ghost. Bokor have looked into it in the past and they never found anything.¡± He winced as he looked at Eveth. ¡°But if you want to check it out again, I can arrange for a boat to take you.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk to Master Val and let you know what she decides.¡± I turned Fyga towards the gate. We had a lot to tell our older companion.

 Book 3 - Chapter 18

    Ziggy was bored.


    I could tell by the look on Val¡¯s face that he also hadn¡¯t been behaving himself. One thing I¡¯d learned by being around so many orphan kids when I was an apprentice was that kids could tell when someone wasn¡¯t going to hurt them. They also loved to push the line of how much they could get away with. Sometimes they got carried away or misjudged, but it never failed that as soon as an adult that would let them run wild was put in charge, every kid would run loose.


    As soon as we¡¯d walked in the door, Ziggy had leapt into one of the chairs and pretended like he¡¯d been sitting like that the whole time. I had a feeling that he knew Eveth would crack down on him and he didn¡¯t want to get in trouble.


    The irritated look on Val¡¯s face got worse when she saw who I had with us.


    ¡°Where did you find her?¡± Val walked over to the table where her sword was laying and pulled it out.


    ¡°Picking a fight with the mayor''s son and two bodyguards.¡± Eveth walked past me towards her cousin.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the best part...¡± I looked at the three bowls of cold oatmeal on the table. One of them had a single bite taken out of it. There was a green and a red apple in the middle of the table along with two glasses of water. The mayor must have sent over the food, because all we had in our packs was dried fruit and a few dried carrots. I looked back at the older woman. ¡°She told them that she was your apprentice.¡±


    ¡°You what?¡± Val touched the tip of her sword to the woman¡¯s neck. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I cut you down right here?¡±


    ¡°I thought we worked together quite nicely in Gher.¡± Fyga touched the sword with her finger and tried to move it, but Val didn¡¯t let it budge. ¡°Oh, come on! I gave Byler a pair of my old goggles so he can see! I even helped you take down a few crooked Humans on my way out..¡± She glanced over at me, but made no move to pull her arm out of my grip. ¡°Everybody won.¡±


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    ¡°A lot of innocent people died because of your Master.¡± Val sneered.


    ¡°Not my Master.¡± Fyga held up her free hand. ¡°I¡¯m just a hired knife. The old hag had a job that she wanted me to check out and that was it. I¡¯m not one of those fanatics that kisses the ground she walks on or collects Zombies like they¡¯re the latest doll.¡±


    I had a rather unpleasant image of Touched kissing the ground while following The Master around.


    ¡°So what are you?¡± I moved over to the table and motioned at the food.


    Val nodded, then looked back at the other woman. ¡°Well?¡±


    Fyga eyed the table as I sat down and began peeling the apples. ¡°You could offer a guest some food.¡±


    ¡°Not a guest.¡± Val growled. ¡°Maybe not even a prisoner.¡±


    ¡°Oh, stop with the tough act.¡± Fyga stepped to her side, with the tip of the sword following her. ¡°You won¡¯t kill me in front of the kid.¡±


    Val scowled, but didn¡¯t say anything as Fyga sat down at the table across from me and pulled the other bowl of oatmeal to her.


    ¡°That¡¯s for Eve.¡± Val pushed the bowl towards the seat to my left.


    ¡°The little one doesn¡¯t like oatmeal?¡± She looked over her shoulder at Ziggy. ¡°You going to finish your breakfast?¡±


    Ziggy shook his head with wide eyes.


    ¡°Better for me to eat it than for you to throw it out?¡± Fyga slowly reached for the bowl.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Val sighed and closed her eyes. I heard her teeth grinding.


    ¡°Ziggy, go back to your room.¡± Eveth tried to shepard her cousin towards the hall.


    ¡°But I wanna watch!¡± The seven-year-old resisted being pushed out of his wooden chair.


    Eveth pinched his neck.


    ¡°Ow! I¡¯m going! I¡¯m going!¡± Ziggy jumped up and ran out of the open room into the hallway. The sound of the door slamming announced that he¡¯d gone into one of the rooms.


    ¡°You know he¡¯s going to try to sneak back out here.¡± Fyga smirked as Eveth walked over and sat down in between us.


    Val opened her eyes and moved to where she could see down the hallway. ¡°Give me a good reason why we shouldn¡¯t put you down.¡±


    Fyga scooped the last bite of oatmeal into her mouth as Eveth added cubed apple chunks into her untouched bowl. The black-haired woman adjusted her goggles, then looked over at Val.


    ¡°Because I know where the ships are.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 19

    The food never made it into Eveth¡¯s mouth.


    The blonde woman slowly lowered her spoon back into the bowl.


    ¡°Where?¡±


    Fyga wagged her finger. ¡°Nope, not until I get some guarantees.¡±


    ¡°I guarantee that I¡¯ll separate your head from your body if you don¡¯t tell us.¡± Val pointed her sword back at the Touched woman.


    ¡°Threats need to be believable.¡± Fuga turned to me. ¡°Ginger needs to work on her tactics. She¡¯s too pure to kill a Human.¡±


    I smirked as I watched the rage build in Val¡¯s eyes. ¡°She¡¯s killed plenty of Humans.¡± I thought back to what she¡¯d done to the men that had killed her sister. They¡¯d been ordered to kill her and at night, it was hard to tell the two of them apart. Sera had been sleeping in Val¡¯s bed, so the assassins hadn¡¯t thought twice about possibly having the wrong woman. They¡¯d painfully paid for that mistake.


    The look on Fyga¡¯s face was priceless.


    ¡°Oh.¡± The blue-eyed Touched turned in her chair and slowly raised her hands. ¡°All I want is protection.¡±


    ¡°Protection?¡± Val gritted her teeth.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Fyga swallowed. ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous world out there for a girl without an army.¡± She made a disgusted face. ¡°Never could get used to the brain-dead things.¡±


    ¡°You could have run anywhere.¡± My mind was spinning. ¡°You¡¯d only need protection if something was chasing you.¡± I held up my hand as she turned to me. ¡°Besides us. Because we weren¡¯t looking for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve made a few enemies along the way¡­¡± Fyga sighed. ¡°Some people from back home caught wind of the cure and came down to get rid of it themselves.¡± She paused. ¡°They got there after the attack started and watched everything go down. When I ran, one of them chased me south.¡± A smile crossed her face. ¡°The crocs ate good.¡±


    She just reaffirmed why eating carnivores was a very bad idea.


    Seeing the shy researcher that I¡¯d been introduced to a few days ago acting so flippant and talking about murder was quite a dramatic change. It was taking a little bit of getting used to, but I filed that away for later. Right now, we had more important things to sort.


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    ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that there is a completely different set of Touched out there that want you dead?¡± I tried to summarize what she¡¯d admitted. ¡°And you want us to fight them for you?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you do?¡± Fyga batted her eyes at me.


    ¡°We have a kid with us.¡± Val growled. ¡°I¡¯m not painting a target on our backs that could get him killed.¡±


    ¡°Roughness.¡± The black-haired woman sang the word as she turned in her seat. ¡°The moment they saw me talk with you, a fight was inevitable.¡± She grinned. ¡°They really don¡¯t want the Bokor to know about them.¡±


    ¡°Why you...!¡± Val grabbed the shorter woman by the throat and yanked her out of the chair. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re here? To sic them on us?¡±


    ¡°They saw you¡­¡± Fyga wheezed. ¡°In Gher!¡±


    Val released the goggled woman, who fell to the floor on her hands and knees, coughing as she tried to breathe.


    ¡°They were in Gher?¡± I tried to think back. The only strange person I¡¯d seen had been the man with pointed ears. ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t paying attention.¡± Fyga dropped her right leg so that she could slide into a sitting position.


    She could be right. As chaotic as the fight had been, I¡¯d really only been focused on the fight in front of me.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± I stood up and walked around the table so I could see the woman on the floor. I looked at Val. I knew Zombies, but I was learning that there was a lot more about the world around them that I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°What about Master James?¡± Val put her sword away.


    ¡°The other Bokor?¡± The short woman shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s probably why they haven¡¯t attacked you yet. You¡¯re going the other way.¡±


    There was a group of Touched that didn¡¯t want the Bokor to know they existed that thought that Master James was on his way to the island to report about them. I felt the urge to leave right away, but even if I ran, we¡¯d walked for two days in the opposite direction. By the time I could catch up to him, he should have been to the island. There was no way to get to him in time. I just had to hope that he would be able to handle himself.


    ¡°Do we warn him?¡± Eveth¡¯s spoon clanked as she dropped it into the empty bowl in front of her.


    ¡°We¡¯d never make it.¡± I shook my head.


    Val nodded in agreement. ¡°We need to prepare for them.¡± She grabbed the front of Fyga¡¯s shirt and lifted her to her feet. ¡°And you¡¯re going to help.¡±


    ¡°Does this mean I get a sword?¡± The short woman grinned.


    ¡°NO!¡± Val and Eveth shouted together.


    ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t be much of an apprentice without a weapon.¡± The assassin pouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you have plenty of weapons hidden on you.¡± She¡¯d used blades of ice to kill people in Gher, so even if we took all of her weapons, she¡¯d still be able to make more with her magic.


    ¡°A girl had to ask.¡± Fyga shrugged.


    ¡°If we¡¯re going to be protecting you.¡± I glared at her. ¡°Tell us what you know about the missing ships.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 20

    The slender assassin looked pleased.


    ¡°It¡¯s Humans.¡± She was too smug as she gave the vague answer.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to be more specific than that.¡± Val¡¯s voice was full of irritation.


    ¡°Each of the cities claims independence, but really, there are the seven main Bokor Keeps that rule over the entire world.¡± Fyga smirked at my expression. ¡°Didn¡¯t know that did you?¡±


    I knew that there was a High Council, but I¡¯d never been there. I¡¯d assumed that there were other places like the island that watched over areas, but I didn¡¯t know anything specific.


    ¡°I know about the High Council.¡± I tried to not look like I had been blindsided.


    ¡°Oh, you sweet innocent boy.¡± Fyga clicked her tongue. ¡°The High Council you know about oversees all of the Melior area, but they aren¡¯t the only one. There are seven High Councils and one Grand Council that rules over all of them.¡± She clicked her tongue.


    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± I folded my arms in front of me. I wasn¡¯t sure how accurate her information was, but there was a part of me that didn¡¯t like not being the one who knew the most about the inner workings of the Bokor.


    ¡°Most of the Humans don¡¯t care for the Bokor, though as long as the walls stay up, they¡¯re more than happy to keep with the status quo.¡± She looked over at Val. ¡°You have some fanatics who worship the ground the Bokor walk on, while there is also the faction that want to unseat them.¡±


    ¡°You mean the Humans who work for the Touched?¡± I tried to remember what I¡¯d heard about them, but it hadn¡¯t been much.


    ¡°The Touched aren¡¯t that organized.¡± Fyga laughed. ¡°No one else ever gets strong enough to be able to challenge the Bokor, so no organization can ever span enough cities.¡± She began twisting her finger in the air. ¡°But there¡¯s one thing that every Bokor almost universally hates¡­¡±


    I thought I saw where she was going.


    ¡°Water.¡± It wasn¡¯t that big of a secret that the Bokor hated sailing, but that didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t still do it. ¡°But how does finding some island to sail to help them build up their strength?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t.¡± Fyga shook her head. ¡°The Humans have tried that and the Bokor showed up and burned the place down once it got too big.¡±


    ¡°How old are you?¡± Val eyed the shorter woman. ¡°My father talked about the Genrift massacre, but that supposedly happened when he was a little boy.¡±


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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re still the hag here.¡± Fyga scooted back as Val balled her fist. ¡°Sorry, sorry!¡± She held her hands up. ¡°I¡¯ve only been turned for a few years.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you so sure about Genrift?¡± Eveth scooted her chair so that she could see everyone else better. ¡°Mom said that was just a myth.¡±


    ¡°I know someone who survived.¡± The short woman smirked. ¡°Kind of like how you can tell everyone you survived the massacre at Gher.¡±


    We hadn¡¯t stuck around to see if the Bokor had really sent a team to purify the city, but if they had, I could imagine the rumors that would start about it.


    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± It seemed like the blue-eyed woman was just stalling.


    ¡°Because being able to move WHILE being in the one place the Bokor would hate to search would be the perfect place to hide.¡± Fyga grinned. ¡°Oh come on, one of you has to be smart enough to figure this out.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re gathering the rebels out at sea?¡± I tried to summarize what she¡¯d said. ¡°To prepare an attack?¡±


    ¡°Eventually.¡± Fyga beamed. ¡°But first they need more boats and since there aren¡¯t a lot just lying around¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re stealing them.¡± Val shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t they realize that they¡¯re hurting people?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they care.¡± Fyga shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve got to remember, these are fanatics who want to fight the Bokor, so they¡¯re already idiots.¡±


    ¡°Alright, so say we believe you.¡±


    Fyga rolled her eyes as she looked at me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any proof.¡± I glared at her. ¡°Would you trust a Touched?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I?¡± She looked from me to Eveth. ¡°Very pretty eyes by the way.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Eveth blinked.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing it again.¡± I cut in before the conversation derailed again.


    ¡°Doing what?¡± Fyga wore feigned innocence.


    ¡°Stalling.¡± I nodded at Val. ¡°Just tell us what you know and quit beating around the bush.¡±


    ¡°This rebel ¡®army¡¯.¡± The charcoal-haired woman made air quotes. ¡°Has more ships than they do men to crew them.¡± She pointed to the east. ¡°So they need places that are close to civilization, but that people don¡¯t want to go to. The cursed island is a perfect place for them to put a hidden base.¡±


    ¡°And you know where this base is?¡± Val eyed her.


    ¡°Well, no.¡± Fgya held up her hands. ¡°But I know for sure it¡¯s there! I¡­ uh¡­ heard it from one of the Humans who used to drop supplies off on the shore.¡± She looked away for a moment. ¡°He didn¡¯t know where the base was, just that he had to go ashore and leave the barrels of food and other supplies there every few months.¡±


    ¡°And where is this ¡®source¡¯ of yours now?¡± Val grumbled.


    ¡°He got himself turned into a Zombie.¡± Fyga¡¯s cheeks flushed.


    ¡°Great! So all we have is the word of an assassin that someone there will know something about the ships, but taking her along on this snipe hunt means that a group of Touched assassins will try to kill us.¡± Val sighed. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just kill her and throw her over the wall?¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Fyga held up her hands and covered her face with them, but the weakness that she was displaying was way too fake. I¡¯d seen how fast she could make one of her ice blades. ¡°They¡¯re going to attack you eventually! Wouldn¡¯t it be safer to have me with you when that happens?¡±


    Val glared at the other woman for a minute before her shoulders sagged. ¡°Fine.¡± She looked at Eveth. ¡°But what are we going to do about the kid while we check it out?¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 21

    Ziggy was with us as we walked up to the captain¡¯s ¡®home¡¯.


    While there was danger taking him with us, leaving him with someone in the city felt like asking for trouble, especially since we¡¯d broken into the guard captain¡¯s house and knocked out the mayor¡¯s son in the middle of the street.


    Splitting our party also felt like a bad idea since that would either mean leaving one person to watch Ziggy or one person to go with Fyga. Neither of which felt right.


    The energetic boy was bouncing as I knocked on the captain¡¯s door, with the others waiting further away from the stench that seemed to have gotten worse since that morning.


    ¡°It smells like he died in there.¡± Fyga wrinkled her nose.


    ¡°You¡¯re free to check.¡± I gestured at the door.


    ¡°Nope. That¡¯s a you thing.¡± She looked at Eveth. ¡°Are you sure this is who you want to use?¡±


    ¡°You heard what the other fishermen said.¡± Val cut in. ¡°They¡¯re more afraid of that island than they are of refusing a Bokor.¡±


    The shorter woman sighed. ¡°I bet I could convince one of them to take us. Just cover the kid¡¯s eyes for a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I walked back up the steps to the walkway. ¡°Maybe he already went out.¡±


    ¡°Well, what do you want to do now?¡± Fyga put her hands on her hips. ¡°I say we go north while the Hunters are west of us. We could make it to Carthage in a week.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that take you back towards the Touched you¡¯re trying to get away from?¡± I eyed her as I looked around. There were lots of fishermen, but most of the boats I saw could barely hold four people.


    The boats were all too small to load the nets into. Instead, the people were trying to tow the nets back to the docks, then pull them up onto the dock while the boat went out with a new net. The nets looked way too big for the boats that they were being used in and they had only a bucket of fish in them. They would need to go out further than the tiny boats could go, but it didn¡¯t look like anyone was brave enough to get that far away from land.


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    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t attack us without going and getting back-up, and we can get a ship from Carthage to anywhere. Maybe head to one of the other kingdoms? Lots of places we could disappear.¡± The blue-eyed Touched looked at each of us, before ending at Ziggy. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that sound like fun to you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to her.¡± Eveth cut the boy off.


    ¡°We¡¯re meeting Master James in Port Town in a month.¡± I glared at Fyga. ¡°End of discussion.¡±


    ¡°Eww. Why would you want to go there¡­¡± She held up her hands. ¡°Fine. You¡¯re the boss.¡± Fyga looked at Val. ¡°Or are you the boss?¡±


    ¡°Byler is right, so stop trying to cause problems.¡± Val shook her head as she looked at me. ¡°What do you think we should do now?¡± She motioned at the harbor. ¡°There isn¡¯t a Zombie problem here, but if they don¡¯t get one of their fishing ships back, people are going to start starving soon.¡± Anger crept into the redheaded woman¡¯s voice. ¡°And when there is a food shortage, they¡¯ll start using a lottery.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way for us to know that there will be a ship on the other side of the island.¡± I held up my hand as Fyga started to speak. ¡°Even if what you say is true, that only means that there is a bunker over there that might have supplies waiting to be sent somewhere else. If this rebel movement is using it as a base, that only means that a ship will eventually stop there and I don¡¯t know if we have time to wait.¡±


    I put my hand on Ziggy¡¯s left shoulder as I guided him out of my way so I could look around the harbor. There was one boat that was larger. It looked like it might have been a longboat for a ship that had been left here.


    I turned back to Val. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t want to check out the island. If we can find the hideout, then maybe we can find enough supplies to supplement the food here until we can get help sent from Port Town.¡±


    Fyga nodded at the boat I was looking at. ¡°Can¡¯t the Bokor just commandeer stuff?¡± She looked at Val. ¡°Wave that sword of yours around.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the one in charge.¡± Val glared at the younger woman. ¡°Stop trying to give people orders.¡±


    ¡°Yes boss.¡± Fyga held up her hands.


    ¡°Sir.¡± Eveth moved in front of one of the fishermen as they rolled a barrel past us. ¡°Do you know why that boat isn¡¯t being taken out?¡±She motioned at the longboat.


    ¡°That¡¯s the mayor¡¯s boat, Master Bokor.¡± The muscular man lowered his head and circled around her before hurrying off with the barrel of fish he was rolling.


    ¡°Well.¡± I looked back towards the center of town. ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to see a man about a boat.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 22

    No one answered the door.


    I was getting a little frustrated with knocking on doors that didn¡¯t get answered. There was no way that the mayor would have such a big house and there not be some type of caretaker on the premises almost all the time.


    ¡°You should kick it down.¡± A slight smirk and the fact that she looked at Val when she said it told me that she knew what we¡¯d done the night before.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that we should make a habit of kicking in doors.¡± I looked around. ¡°Maybe one of the guards will know where he is.¡±


    There was a moment of silence as we thought about what to do next.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Ziggy sat down on the ground. ¡°Do we have to keep walking?¡±


    I doubted that he could be tired from the walking we¡¯d done. We had walked from one end of the city to the other, but that had only taken around an hour and we hadn¡¯t been moving fast. There was no way that he should be running out of energy.


    ¡°I guess you need to go back to the house and take a nap.¡± Eveth made a show of giving an exaggerated sigh. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to take you back¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not tired!¡± Ziggy jumped up. ¡°I was seeing if anyone else was tired! Really! That¡¯s what I meant!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I dismissed the boy. ¡°I guess we could look for a town meeting house or something.¡± I looked at the women. ¡°Unless one of you can think of something.¡±


    ¡°I bet the Guard Captain knows where he is.¡± Eveth pointed at the wall to the west. ¡°And He¡¯d probably be very willing to help us find him if he didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡± Val looked at me. ¡°Should we go find the Guard Captain?¡±


    ¡°I thought you were in charge.¡± Fyga cut in before I could answer. She looked from Val to me. ¡°So you¡¯re the boss?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± I really didn¡¯t want to get into how freshly ascended the two of us were. I knew that she knew that Eveth had only been a Touched for a couple days, but there was no reason to tell her that Val and I had only ascended a week ago. ¡°We each have our strengths.¡±


    ¡°R-i-i-ight¡­¡± Fyga shook her head. ¡°Sounds like nobody wants to be on the hook for a bad call.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just trying to make sure we¡¯re doing the job the Council gave us to the best of our abilities!¡± I pointed at the black-haired woman when she tried to respond. ¡°Stop trying to cause problems. If you don¡¯t have something helpful to say, then stop talking.¡±


    Fyga closed her mouth and mimicked sealing her lips with her fingers. I didn¡¯t like how glib she was being. It didn¡¯t help that her antics drew a little laugh out of Ziggy. Even Eveth had turned so that those two couldn¡¯t see the smirk on her face.


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    ¡°If we¡¯re going to the island to look into this bunker, then we need a boat. To do that we need to find the mayor. Let¡¯s go find the Guard Captain and see if he knows where to find him.¡± I turned around and saw that at some point the man that we were looking for had come up behind us.


    There was a small look of shock on his face as he studied us. I wasn¡¯t sure how much he¡¯d heard, but It had at least been the last part.


    He had the two goons that had been with his son earlier. I was pretty sure that I¡¯d heard their names, but I couldn¡¯t remember them off the top of my head. One of them was tall and toned, while the other one was shorter, very hairy and husky. Both of the other men took a step back as the mayor moved towards us. I couldn¡¯t help but notice the look that the shorter man gave Fyga before looking away. There was definitely some anger there. I was just glad it was their boss that we were dealing with and not them.


    ¡°You think there¡¯s a bunker on Cursed Island?¡± The old man sounded shocked. ¡°There¡¯s no way that anything could live out there. The ghosts would get them!¡±


    ¡°My companion is a little too free with his tongue.¡± Val eyed me as she stepped forward to put herself between us and the mayor. ¡°What we think doesn¡¯t matter, only where we want to go.¡± She nodded to the east. ¡°I¡¯m told you¡¯re the owner of the large boat in the harbor?¡±


    ¡°I am¡­¡± The mayor swallowed. ¡°But if you¡¯re asking to use it, that won¡¯t be possible.¡±


    ¡°You would refuse the Bokor?¡± Val growled as she folded her arms in front of her.


    ¡°No! Of course not!¡± The nervous man looked around her at each of us like he was looking for a sympathetic face. His gaze moved back to Val. ¡°But that boat has a leak. I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t look too closely at it?¡±


    We hadn¡¯t walked up to it, so I guessed it was possible for what he was saying to be true.


    Val sighed ¡°Do you have any other boats?¡±


    ¡°We have the fishing boats, but they only hold three people at a time.¡± He looked at Ziggy. ¡°Maybe four because of how small the boy is.¡±


    ¡°H-!¡±


    Eveth clamped her hand over her cousin¡¯s mouth before the boy could protest.


    ¡°Can you arrange the boats?¡± Val snapped her fingers to draw the mayor¡¯s attention to her.


    ¡°Please understand¡­¡± The mayor started to wring his hands together. ¡°As poor as the hauls are, if we pull two boats from fishing, then the already dire food shortage of Port Reggo is going to become worse. But¡­¡± He took a nervous breath. ¡°With the extra Zombie activity lately, we haven¡¯t dared to send anyone outside the walls. If you¡¯d be willing to escort some of our hunters and lumberjacks, then the meat would make up for the loss of fish and we could get some wood that we need to make repairs.¡± There was shame on his face as he looked towards the village. ¡°We¡¯ve been having to scrounge wood from old houses. It won¡¯t be long before we¡¯ll have a housing crisis on our hands.¡±


    Val glanced at me.


    Going out with Humans was going to attract every Zombie in the area. Especially if they were making noise from cutting down trees. It was asking for a fight and that was a risk with the Touched potentially in the area looking for Fyga. We could just demand the boats, but that would be depriving the city of some of their already meager rations.


    ¡°We can protect a group of loggers, but hunting is off the table.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Anything you didn¡¯t raise behind walls could be contaminated and we can¡¯t condone bringing in meat that could infect the town.¡±


    The mayor frowned and his shoulders sagged, but he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have a group ready by the southern dock in an hour.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be there.¡± Val nodded for us to leave. The two henchmen moved out of our way so that we could get through the gate.


    It was a detour and didn¡¯t have much to do with the immediate safety of the Humans, but maybe it would help with their food shortage in the future.


    Eveth hurried to catch up to us. ¡°What are we doing now?¡±


    ¡°Now?¡± I looked over at Val. ¡°We get ready to fight Zombies.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 23

    There wasn¡¯t much to prepare.


    Val, Eveth, and I all had our Bokor swords, which we¡¯d mainly use. Fyga didn¡¯t have a visible sword, but she could make ice blades that were just as deadly. Leaving our gear behind would be safer for us, but I had a feeling that someone would go through it even if we tried to put the fear of the Bokor in them.


    So while the four of us had our gear on us and were ready to fight, there was one person in our group that wasn¡¯t.


    Ziggy.


    I¡¯d been around Zombies since I was that age. I¡¯d even killed my first Zombie by myself when I¡¯d been eight. That didn¡¯t mean that Ziggy could kill a Zombie or should be exposed to them. While I wasn¡¯t too concerned about the Humans hurting him or trying to hold him hostage or something, I was worried about what he might say. The boy was still getting used to the fact that his cousin was a Bokor, even though she was really Touched. All he had to do was tell one wrong person and the whole town might try to force us to tell them how to change. I was a lot stronger than I¡¯d been when the Pline guards had attacked us, but that didn¡¯t mean that I wanted to get into another situation where I had to fight Humans.


    ¡°What are we going to do with Ziggy?¡± I looked over at the boy that was sitting at the table back at the house. I didn¡¯t have a taste for fish but Eveth and Fuga were happily eating the soup that the villagers had brought us.


    Val sighed and kept her voice low. ¡°I was thinking about the same thing. I think we should bring him with us.¡±


    We were on the other end of the house, but the common room, eating room, and kitchen were all basically one large, open room. There wasn¡¯t much inside other than some furniture, so sound carried very well with all the hard surfaces.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking, but it¡¯ll be a lot harder to keep an eye out for Zombies if we clump up.¡± I forced myself not to look over at the others. ¡°And I don¡¯t think we should let Fyga go far.¡±


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    ¡°That means Zig and Fyga are in separate groups. Eve can handle Zig the best, which leaves the two of us to each take a group.¡± Val nodded at the people at the table. ¡°I think you should go with Fyga.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± That was the conclusion that I¡¯d ended on, but I was curious what her reason was.


    ¡°You¡¯ve dealt with her before and she follows your lead.¡± Val grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that I wouldn¡¯t stab her if she smarted off while we were alone.¡±


    ¡°I was going to say that we needed Eveth and me to be in separate groups since the two of us can sense Zombies, but that works too.¡± I smirked at the thought of Val stabbing Fyga. The Touched woman would quickly heal as long as it wasn¡¯t lethal, which only seemed to minimize the severity of such an action.


    ¡°Fyga should be able to sense Zombies too, shouldn¡¯t she?¡± Val pointed out the small hole in my theory.


    ¡°You¡¯re willing to trust her to tell you that there are Zombies headed your way?¡± I shook my head. ¡°At least with me, if the Touched that are after her show up, maybe I can talk to them. If she was with you, it¡¯d be attack first, talk later.¡±


    ¡°Those are good points.¡± The redheaded woman touched her cheek and the purple swirl glowed brighter under her fingers. ¡°Are these going to get bigger?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no.¡± I chewed on my lip as I thought. ¡°As you get stronger, the marks will get wider until you learn how to condense the magic in them. When that happens, you¡¯ll be able to shrink them back down. The Grand Councilwoman has marks that you can barely see. Master Bran said that she keeps a little so people will know she¡¯s a Bokor, but she could make them vanish altogether.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Val closed her eyes and took a deep breath.


    ¡°What?¡± She seemed unsatisfied with my answer and I wasn¡¯t sure why.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Val waved her hand at me as she turned towards the others. ¡°Fig you¡¯re with Byler. Eve and Zig, you¡¯re sticking with me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want me all to yourself?¡± Fyga winked at the older woman.


    Val scowled for her answer.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I motioned to Fyga before the two of them could start fighting. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see if the lumberjacks are ready to start moving.¡±


    I was glad that the blue-eyed woman didn¡¯t try to argue. She¡¯d only been with us for a few hours and already she was clashing with Val. I was going to have to talk to her about that because if she planned on staying with us, then we couldn¡¯t have friction like that. Until we could figure out how to get the Bokor to accept us, we couldn¡¯t afford to do anything that might clue anyone in on the fact that most of us were Touched.

 Book 3 - Chapter 24

    They were starting to gather.


    I¡¯d been expecting four or five Humans, but there were already more than twenty people gathered at the northern end of the city wall. They were stacking axes, giant saws with grips on either end, and coils of ropes on the dock.


    Hugh walked down the dock toward us as we got to the wall. The tall man looked worried as he glanced between Fyga and myself.


    ¡°Are you the only ones coming?¡± He moved to the side of the dock to let a group of men with armloads of tools walk past.


    ¡°The others are finishing lunch.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought it was just going to be a few people.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He looked up the dock at the gathering crowd. ¡°Mayor Huddiner didn¡¯t know when we¡¯d get another chance since our Wranglers were on the ships.¡± Hugh squeezed his hands together. ¡°Will this be okay?¡± He motioned at a group that was coming up the road towards us. ¡°I can turn the rest back if we need to.¡±


    ¡°It should be fine.¡± I looked at Fyga, then back to the big man. ¡°We should be able to tell if Zombies are coming long before they get close.¡± I started estimating. ¡°How are you going to get everyone out without having the boats on standby?¡±


    ¡°Everyone here can swim.¡± Hugh looked down at the cold water below us. ¡°It¡¯s not ideal, but if you can give us enough of a head start, the Zombies won¡¯t chase us into the water.¡± He motioned at the dock. ¡°And not everyone will be going with us. We will keep teams here at the shore and dock to get the wood into the city.¡±


    I was wondering how they¡¯d planned on getting the trees back inside without a gate, though that explanation didn¡¯t really answer anything. There was a part of me that was interested in watching them, but as far as I needed to be away from them, I probably wasn¡¯t going to get much of a chance to.


    ¡°Master Val is planning on patrolling the southwest side.¡± I nodded at the boat that was coming over to the dock. ¡°Fyga and I will be watching the northwest. Could you have someone show us where you plan on working so we can start setting up a perimeter?¡± The way his eyes lit up made me uncomfortable. ¡°People don¡¯t need to head out until after Master Val has had a chance to clear her area.¡±


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    ¡°Oh.¡± Hugh¡¯s face darkened a little. He looked around, then headed back to the end of the dock. ¡°Jesson!¡±


    Fyga and I followed after him. An average sized middle-aged blonde man with bright green eyes looked away from where he¡¯d been telling the others how to stack stuff.


    ¡°Jesson.¡± Hugh motioned at me. ¡°Master Byler needs me to take him to the logging site so he can clear it.¡± He twirled his finger in front of him. ¡°Get the boys ready to go, but don¡¯t leave until Master Val gives the all clear.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± The blonde man grunted as he looked behind us. ¡°Gary! What have I told you about running with blades?!¡± He shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll have to excuse me. I have to go stop Gary from killing himself.¡±


    I watched him go down the dock and begin to chew out a teen that was carrying an armload of axes. Instead of the heads all facing one way, it looked like he had thrown them all into a pile, then scooped them up in his arms.


    ¡°He¡¯s a good kid, but he¡¯s got more energy than he does brains.¡± Hugh shook his head as he motioned for one of the fishing boats to come get us. ¡°Kid¡¯ll be lucky if he lives long enough to get married.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Or unlucky enough.¡± The tall man¡¯s face straightened when he realized I wasn¡¯t laughing.


    Fyga smirked, but I didn¡¯t understand what about it that was supposed to be funny.


    ¡°You¡¯re taking us out there?¡± I chose to ignore his comment. ¡°I thought you were a bodyguard, not a manual labor kind of guy.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be one or the other.¡± Hugh climbed in the boat as soon as it touched the dock. ¡°We¡¯re one of the larger cities around, but we¡¯re still small enough that it¡¯s a good thing to do more than one thing.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense.¡± Even back at the island, while there were apprentices that like to specialize in things like cooking or tending the gardens, the Masters made sure that we could do any of the various chores if needed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head out.¡± Hugh sat down in the boat, so we could get in. ¡°Huddiner wants us to work until nightfall if we can.¡±


    It was already past noon, so we didn¡¯t have many hours to go. That might have been why they were trying to send so many people out. While it might help them a lot if they were able to work for a few days with us protecting them, there was no end to things that could be done with us watching over the Humans while they were outside the safety of the walls. If we stayed until they finished all their projects, we¡¯d never leave.


    I just hoped what they got done today would be helpful enough to last them until the next Bokor group came through that had time to spare.

 Book 3 - Chapter 25

    We stopped at a clearing a twenty minute walk from the city.


    Most of the trees that were close had already been cut down. I had a feeling that they¡¯d worked as far away from the safety of the water and walls as they thought possible without being unable to get to safety.


    I¡¯d seen a lot of different methods the Humans used to try to keep themselves safe while outside their walls. But the one thing that every one of those systems that I¡¯d seen had in common was that inevitably Zombies got through or around their system and people died. I understood that many of them were frustrated with having to stay inside the walled cities when the open land outside the walls seemed to be so safe. The fact remained, even the trained Wranglers were no match if Touched showed up.


    There was a little nagging in the back of my mind that was a little concerned about what would happen if the Touched looking for Fyga decided to make a move, but I had to trust that we¡¯d be able to handle a few Touched. I¡¯d never seen Master Bran struggle to take down a Touched, so between Val, myself, and Eveth¡¯s sword, we should be okay. I just hoped all the Humans that were putting their trust in us would make it clear of the fighting before anyone died.


    ¡°This is where we¡¯ll set up our tools.¡± Hugh dropped the ax that he¡¯d carried with him. ¡°We¡¯ll fell the trees there and there.¡± He pointed to the north and west. ¡°Once we top them¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I held up my hand. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could learn a lot about how you plan on harvesting the trees, but my job right now is to make sure no Zombies get to where you¡¯re working.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Bokor.¡± The tall man gave me a slight bow.


    I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to feel if there were any Zombies nearby. Usually, there was a slight draw at the edges of my senses even if there weren¡¯t any close, but this time, I didn¡¯t feel anything. I found that nothing felt more concerning than something.


    I opened my eyes and looked at the older man. ¡°You are safe for now. We¡¯ll stay near the clearing until Master Val and Master Eveth get here, then we¡¯ll take up our patrols.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°If we yell for you to run, drop all your tools and get to the water as fast as you can.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Bokor.¡± Hugh nodded again, then started walking back towards the shore.


    Once he was well outside of earshot, I turned to Fyga. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    The short woman stopped slashing at a tree with a three-foot-long stick she¡¯d found. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming you can feel Zombies?¡± I tried pushing my senses further, but there was still nothing.


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    Fyga rolled her eyes.


    ¡°A yes would have been fine.¡± I shook my head.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The black-haired woman resumed her mock swordplay.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it strange that there aren¡¯t any Zombies within a thirty minute walk from here?¡±


    Fyga stopped midswing. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I can feel Zombies at least two miles away.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Fyga dropped her stick and rushed over to me. She grabbed my hands and started looking them over, then began pawing all over me.


    I could feel a warm sensation in her fingers and assumed she was using some type of magic to examine me. It made me feel very naked despite being fully clothed.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I pulled away when one of her touches started tickling me.


    Fyga flashed a grin that made me think her examination might not be completely scientific. ¡°How did you turn?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you that.¡± I took another step back. I didn¡¯t know if she knew about powdering the heartstone to attempt to ascend to a Bokor, but I wasn¡¯t going to offer that information.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot of Touched since I turned.¡± Fyga folded her arms in front of her. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anyone being able to sense a Zombie past a mile away. Sure, there are a few who can get a general feeling that there is something far in that direction.¡± She waved to the north. ¡°But that¡¯s not what you¡¯re talking about, is it?¡±


    I was starting to get the feeling that I wasn¡¯t a normal Touched. Maybe there was still a chance that I could finish the ascension and become a Bokor.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m supposed to be a Bokor.¡± I leaned against one of the large pine trees.


    ¡°Oh come on!¡± Fyga sighed. ¡°Why would you want to be one of those pompous jerks!¡±


    ¡°Protecting Humans from the Zombies¡­¡±


    ¡°Is the least of their concern!¡± Fyga pointed to the north in the direction of the island. ¡°Those power hungry tyrants treat Humans like cattle and despite everything you¡¯ve seen, you still want to be one of them!¡±


    ¡°And treating Humans like food is any better?¡± I glared at her. ¡°Just more bodies to feed to your army while you get ready to stick it to us!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t eat Humans!¡± Fyga clamped her mouth when she realized that she¡¯d screamed.


    ¡°You know what I mean.¡± She lowered her voice to a better volume for conversation. ¡°We¡¯re not all monsters. Most of us didn¡¯t choose to be this way. We¡¯re just trying to make the best out of a bad situation while the Bokor breath down our necks, waiting for us to come out into the light so they can kill us.¡± Fyga shook her head. ¡°You know something about that.¡±


    She walked off before I could respond.


    I watched her disappear into the woods. I knew that I should go after her, it wasn¡¯t safe to be alone in the woods with the threat of Touched, but it seemed like she wanted some space to cool down. There weren¡¯t any Zombies around for miles and I was confident that she¡¯d be able to scream and hold out until I found her if she got attacked by the Touched.


    Now that I had some time alone, it gave me a chance to sit and think about what she¡¯d just said. It was a lot to think about.

 Book 3 - Chapter 26

    It didn¡¯t take long for Val to show up.


    Eveth and Ziggy were right behind her along with a dozen lumberjacks. The biggest thing that stood out to me was that Ziggy was carrying an ax.


    The seven-year-old was holding it close to the head with both hands and it was obvious that he was struggling to carry it, but he was jealously guarding it whenever Eveth tried to take it from him.


    ¡°What do you have?¡± I didn¡¯t need to phrase it like a question. There was no hiding the the huge took in his arms.


    ¡°Eveth said I could!¡± Ziggy curled his arms around the tool, making it harder to take away from him if someone tried.


    ¡°That¡¯s Master Eveth.¡± I glared at the blonde as I guided the three of them away from the Humans. ¡°That just proves why he can¡¯t stay here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the one who has to listen to him whining about how tired he is.¡± Eveth looked around the clearing. ¡°Where¡¯s your plus one?¡±


    ¡°Cooling off.¡± I looked over at the Humans as they set the saw against the first tree. ¡°Look, we need to get out of their way.¡± I looked over at Val. ¡°Master Val?¡±


    ¡°Ax.¡± Val held out her hand.


    Ziggy looked over at Eveth who just shook her head. The boy looked like he was about to cry as he handed the tool over.


    ¡°When we come back, I bet they¡¯ll let you chop some limbs off, but right now you have to come with us.¡± Val leaned the ax against the nearest tree. She nodded at it and I saw Hugh give her a thumbs up as he kept shouting orders at the men.


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    ¡°There¡¯s not any Zombies around for miles.¡± I looked at Val. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means, but keep your eyes peeled for Touched.¡±


    ¡°Was it smart to bring him with us?¡± Eveth swallowed. ¡°The last time we fought Touched¡­¡±


    I knew what she was talking about even though it hadn¡¯t really been the last time we fought Touched. It had been the time before that and she was the only one of the Wranglers that had returned.


    ¡°Who knows what would happen to him in there.¡± I shook my head. ¡°If fighting starts, use your bubble thingy on him.¡±


    I could tell by the look on their faces that none of them liked the arrangement.


    ¡°I need to get to my side and find Fyga.¡± I shifted my gaze over each of them. ¡°Once we¡¯re done here, then we can check out that island, then be on our way to Port Town.¡± I knelt down to look at Ziggy. ¡°If you¡¯re good, then we¡¯ll get you an ax that you can actually use.¡±


    The boy¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Really?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they have a place that makes them.¡± I patted his shoulder, then messed up his hair as I stood up. ¡°If you see something, yell. Last thing I want is for us to get into a fight, but if it happens, we need to end if fast.¡± I eyed the women. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not the ones you need to worry about.¡± Val raised an eyebrow and nodded to the north. ¡°Good luck with your child.¡±


    I thought about pointing out that Fyga might actually be older than she was, but that wasn¡¯t something I wanted to solidify. If Fyga knew she was the oldest as well as the longest ascended, then she might try to usurp command and that was a headache that I didn¡¯t want to deal with.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I waved at them as I walked off. ¡°See you at sundown!¡±


    They waved back, then headed into the woods.


    I made a broad arc around the lumberjacks. The first tree fell before I got clear of them. I was surprised how fast they were working. They would tire out and slow down eventually, but for now, they were making great time. I headed into the forest to look for my partner. They were trusting us to keep them safe so they could give it their all. I planned on giving their safety mine as well.

 Book 3 - Chapter 27

    Fyga was sitting on a rock.


    It¡¯d taken me almost an hour to track her down. I did a diagonal zig-zag pattern as I headed towards the coast. It would have been faster if I¡¯d just headed straight that way, but I hadn¡¯t known that was where she¡¯d be, so I¡¯d made sure to sweep the area so I didn¡¯t have to double back.


    The short woman was staring out at the sea. She looked oblivious to what was happening around her, but she spoke as I approached without turning to face me.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± I didn¡¯t understand what was pretty about it. The sky was slightly overcast, so while it was light, there wasn¡¯t a lot getting through. The air was just starting to get cold and the dark waves were choppy at the moment. If anything, it looked like a very unpleasant barrier, but I felt like if I said that, we¡¯d get into another fight.


    ¡°We really should keep moving.¡± I walked up beside her. ¡°I know we can feel the Zombies, but if the Touched come through on their own¡­¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t mess with the lumberjacks.¡± Fyga rocked back and forth before standing up. ¡°If they were going to make a move, they would come after me.¡± She sighed. ¡°To see if I know the recipe to the Bokor killing solution.¡±


    ¡°You mean the cure?¡± I knew it would be unpleasant fo the Bokor or Touched if they got hit with it, but I didn¡¯t think it would be a good weapon.


    ¡°Anything can be turned into a weapon.¡± The blue-eyed woman flicked her wrist towards the ocean. ¡°You need water to survive, but all it takes is a few inches and you can drown someone.¡± She waved her hand up at the sky. ¡°You need air to breathe, but get the wind moving fast enough and you¡¯ll suffocate.¡± Fyga shook her head. ¡°If someone wants to use it, they¡¯ll find a way to weaponize it.¡±


    I nodded though I couldn¡¯t understand why anyone would want to take something that had been created to try to help people and instead use it to cause pain.


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    ¡°We really need to head back.¡± I nodded towards the woods. ¡°I know you don¡¯t think they won¡¯t mess with the Humans, but I¡¯d still like to make sure.¡±


    The short woman sighed as she stood us. ¡°There are only two of them and four of us.¡± Her eyes narrowed. ¡°Where did the blonde one get that sword of hers? I¡¯ve never seen a Bokor blade that color.¡±


    ¡°The Master gave it to her.¡± I couldn¡¯t tell her I found it in Gher or that the strange, black-eyed man had given it to me. I hoped that explanation would suffice.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Fyga shrugged. ¡°Anyway, with the way that sword cuts through Zombies, the Touched aren¡¯t going to risk coming at us without a horde of their own.¡± She yawned as she stretched. ¡°We can wear ourselves out walking through the woods, if that¡¯s how you want to spend your afternoons.¡± She winked at me. ¡°I¡¯ve been on worse dates.¡±


    ¡°I-I-I um¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. ¡°This isn¡¯t a date! Why would you think that!¡±


    ¡°Boy, girl.¡± She motioned between the two of us. ¡°Alone in the woods together.¡± She smirked. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that what you were thinking when you asked the angry one to pair up with me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I was thinking when I said¡­¡± The look in her eyes told me that she¡¯d been fishing for information and I¡¯d just given it to her. ¡°Look, we needed someone in each group who could sense Zombies and we don¡¯t trust you to tell Master Val if a group was coming towards her.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t trust me?¡± Fyga batted her eyes as she rubbed her shoulder up against me. Her eyes looked so big and round as she stared up at me.


    ¡°No.¡± That was an easy question. ¡°You¡¯re a hired killer that ran when Zombies were killing people.¡± I pushed her away from me. ¡°Why should I trust you with Human lives when you¡¯ve already proven you¡¯ll run?¡±


    ¡°How rude.¡± Her gasp was delayed from what I would have expected for it to be shock.


    ¡°The only reason you¡¯re here now is because you know that being with us is the best chance you have of surviving the Touched.¡± I glared at her. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they attacked and you ran while we were fighting them.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what she¡¯ll do.¡± A deep voice behind me cut her off.


    I turned around, pulling my sword out as I did. A dark-haired man with shining blue eyes was leaning against a tree. There was a Bokor sword on his hip, though it had a yellow stone in the hilt instead of a purple one.


    The Touched had shown himself.

 Book 3 - Chapter 28

    He wasn¡¯t attacking.


    Even with a sword in my hand, he looked bored rather than concerned or threatened.


    ¡°You¡¯re the Touched hunting Fyga.¡± I glanced at the woman beside me. She had a pair of daggers in her hands that were made completely out of ice.


    ¡°And you¡¯re the Chosen that¡¯s pretending to be a Corrupted.¡± His deep voice held no emotion. ¡°Are you done stating the obvious?¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I gripped my sword. I¡¯d never seen a yellow stone. If that was a real Bokor blade, then he had to have gotten it from one of the other kingdoms.


    ¡°Figgy in chains would be a good start.¡± He cocked his eyebrow. ¡°But you don¡¯t look like you¡¯d agree to that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not handing her over.¡± I started taking in the environment. There was a cliff behind us. We could jump in the ocean, but I wasn¡¯t sure that he wouldn¡¯t jump in after us. Fyga might be able to make an ice bridge like Val had, but that would be difficult to run on.


    There were rocks around us at the top of the cliff, with pine trees behind the Touched. There wasn¡¯t a lot of underbrush, but there was a decent layer of brown pine needles on the ground. I could light it on fire, but I wasn¡¯t sure how fast the fire would spread to the Humans. Though that might be a good way for me to alert Val that there was a problem.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think so.¡± He sighed. ¡°What if we promised not to burn that city to the ground if you hand her over?¡±


    The Bokor in me knew that would be an easy trade. The lives of almost ten thousand Humans against a Touched? The Bokor would have handed a Touched over for nothing. Part of me felt ashamed that I was going against what I¡¯d been taught my whole life, but I couldn¡¯t step aside and let someone I knew die, even if I didn¡¯t fully trust her. Fyga had helped during the invasion for a little while, so I didn¡¯t think she was all bad.


    ¡°Just making that threat makes me think that you¡¯ll do it anyway.¡± I glanced at Fyga, then looked back at the other Touched. ¡°It¡¯s two against one. I think we have the upper hand.¡±


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    ¡°You might.¡± The blue-eyed Touched man shrugged. ¡°But then how will you save the city?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I glanced to the south. It¡¯d take me five minutes running as fast as I could to reach the wall. I didn¡¯t know what he was planning, but that distance started to feel like miles as my mind tried to imagine what he could be planning. There weren¡¯t any Zombies that I could feel within two miles, which should be further away than Van and Eveth were.


    ¡°Right now my colleague is inside that place they call Reggo with a very interesting contraption.¡± The first emotion the five-foot-four man showed was a smile that sent a shiver all the way to my toes. ¡°We haven¡¯t had a chance to test it on a group that large, but what do you think happens when you crush a mindstone and spread the dust in the air?¡±


    I¡¯d worked around heartstones enough that I knew crushing one and getting the dust on your skin wasn¡¯t a guaranteed change into a Zombie. As long as you didn¡¯t have any open wounds, you could just burn it off and the worst you¡¯d have was a burn or a rash. Maybe an upset stomach for a day or three. Ingesting the concentrated plague was how Eveth and I became Touched and Val ascended to a Bokor, but that was only because we¡¯d been around the plague enough that our bodies had started to build up a tolerance to the plague. For the average Human that never saw a Zombie, let alone touched one, their bodies would die from exposure before the magic could take root. While I doubted getting hit with dust would trigger an outbreak, there would be some that turned into Zombies, while the others got sick.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡± My heart felt like it was starting to freeze even though it was speeding up.


    ¡°It¡¯s a win for us.¡± His smile got even wider. ¡°With a horde that large, we could cleanse that island of Corrupted. Who knows how far it could go?¡± His blue eyes locked on to Fyga. ¡°What will it be? One prodigal Chosen for the lives of ten thousand?¡±


    The amount of heartstones it would take to infect the whole town was astronomical. Most heartstones were the size of a grape. Just throwing the dust in the air would take four or five heartstone per person. There was no way that they could have collected that many stones. He had to be bluffing.


    ¡°Byler¡­¡± Fyga started to rotate further right, putting some distance between us. ¡°You can¡¯t believe him!¡±


    She must have taken my silence as an indication that I was considering taking the deal. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can do that.¡± I adjusted my grip on my sword.


    ¡°It¡¯s tiring always being right.¡± He reached for his sword.


    I had a chance to end the fight before it started.


    I just hoped I could reach him in time.

 Book 3 - Chapter 29

    I cut his arm.


    It wasn¡¯t a deep cut, but I was able to slash him from his wrist to elbow as he pulled out his blade. The yellow blade began to glow as he brought it up to stop me from stabbing him in the chest.


    His sword was parallel to the ground and he blocked wide, raising his arm to his neck as he pushed my sword up.


    I pushed magic into the blade, giving it a purple glow as I backed up.


    I had thought about trying to twist my blade under his, but distance proved to be the proper answer because he pointed his left hand at me and electricity shot out of his hand.


    My muscles spasmed as the electricity ran through me. I was able to keep a grip on my sword, but the magic drove me to my knees.


    Fyga threw one of her ice daggers into the outside of his left thigh.


    ¡°AHHH!!!¡± The Touched reached down and grabbed the icicle with his free hand, while he deflected the next projectile she threw.


    My whole body tingled as I sprang back to my feet, I slid under his slash and cut the back of his right leg as I sprang up behind him.


    The Touched turned around to block my sword, but that exposed his back to Fyga. The short woman sank an icicle into his back behind his heart.


    ¡°YOU LITTLE...!!!¡± Electricity crackled along the yellow blade as he twisted to his left so he could face both of us. He had to grab his sword with both hands as he held it defensively in front of him. He deflected another pair of thrown daggers as he backed up.


    I thought about lighting the pine needles below him on fire, but while spreading fire might help me wear him down, it would make Fyga¡¯s ice less potent. I started circling around him, while Fyga stood her ground and continued her barrage of ice.


    The Touched used his free hand to shoot a burst of electricity at her, but she was having an easier time evading his projectiles than he was able to deflect hers. That was partially due to him having to rotate to keep me from flanking him, but that allowed the two of us to pivot him out of the trees and towards the cliff.


    His eyes widened once he left the treeline, which was when I assumed he realized what we were doing even though the two of us hadn¡¯t spoken. It felt weirdly reassuring to know that we were able to work so well together as a team.


    ¡°You think you¡¯ve won!?!¡± He roared as a wave of electricity rolled off of him.


    I let the energy wash over me, tickling my skin as it raced across my body. It made me stutter, but I shrugged it off and forced him to block my slash. With his sword occupied, Fyga was able to land one, two, then a third ice dagger lodged in the Touched¡¯s chest.


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    I scored a deep cut on his left thigh, his next attempt to block was too low and I sliced his shoulder. He dropped the yellow sword and grabbed the wound with his good hand. His wounded arm tried to point at me, but a blast of frosty air hit him in the face.


    I grabbed the yellow sword and threw it towards Fyga. While I was half turned, he tackled me at the waist, knocking me on my back. I dropped my sword as I fell. I pounded my elbow on his back, drawing a scream of pain out of him.


    He straddled me, smearing blood over both of us. ¡°You should have handed the...!¡±


    I punched him in the face, silencing his rant.


    Fyga charged, swinging a block of ice like a club. It connected with the side of his head, knocking him off of me. I rolled away from him, grabbing my sword as I moved and came up in a crouch.


    The Touched was laughing as Fyga lifted him off of his feet by his shirt collar.


    ¡°You think you won.¡± The Touched¡¯s right arm was hanging by his side. He wasn¡¯t even trying to struggle as he dangled in her grip.


    ¡°You should have left me alone.¡± An ice dagger appeared in Fyga¡¯s left hand.


    The Touched grunted and released a burst of electricity, launching himself backwards.


    Right off the cliff.


    Into the ocean.


    I ran over to the edge and watched him disappear under the waves. I shook my head as a small flame sprang to life in my left palm and started weaving between my fingers.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t dead until you cremate the body.¡± I glanced over at Fyga. ¡°I have a feeling it¡¯s not over.¡±


    ¡°Not until I¡¯m dead.¡± The black-haired woman walked over to where the yellow blade had been thrown. She picked it up and slashed it through the air a few times. ¡°If it¡¯s not him, it¡¯ll be someone else.¡± She inspected the blade. ¡°Have you ever seen one like this?¡¯


    ¡°Until Eveth, I¡¯d thought purple was the only color.¡± I remembered something Master James had said back in Gher. ¡°There are blue, red, and I guess yellow colored stones too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s wild.¡± The shorter woman tucked the sword under her arm. ¡°Does this mean I get to pretend to be a Bokor too?¡±


    ¡°Even I had a Bokor blade as an apprentice.¡± I looked at the yellow stone at the base of the handle. ¡°But they didn¡¯t put stones in them.¡±


    ¡°See?¡± She puffed out her chest. ¡°I can totally pass as one of those snobs!¡±


    I shook my head as I checked my wounds. As an apprentice, an open wound was almost a death sentence, so making sure to clean and cover any cuts or scrapes first was something that had been drilled into me.


    ¡°We should probably go warn the others.¡± I nodded to the south west. ¡°You said there were two of them?¡±


    ¡°That I saw.¡± Fyga shrugged. ¡°No telling if they sent more or if the other one followed after that senior Bokor.¡±


    ¡°Are you good?¡± I looked her over, checking her for wounds. She¡¯d fought at range for most of the fight, so I wasn¡¯t expecting anything, but that didn¡¯t mean we shouldn¡¯t take a moment while we had one..


    ¡°Why Byler!¡± Fyga covered herself in exaggerated embarrassment. ¡°Buy a girl dinner first.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I didn¡¯t understand what eating had to do with being able to move.


    ¡°You are hopeless.¡± Fyga patted my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m good. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± There was something that started nagging at the edge of my senses. ¡°Do you feel that?¡±


    ¡°Feel what?¡± Fyga had a huge grin on her face as she bumped her shoulder into mine.


    I looked south and shivered as the feeling got stronger.


    ¡°Zombies.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 30

    There were Zombies in Port Reggo.


    I took off as fast as I could. To be exact, I could sense Zombies in the direction of the city, but judging by how far away they were and where the city was, my estimate said that they were in the middle of the city and spreading.


    ¡°There are Zombies?¡± Fyga wasn¡¯t as fast as I was, so she was having to yell her questions from behind me.


    ¡°In the CITY!¡± I began rolling fire in my palms until I had a ball the size of an orange, then I threw it straight up into the sky. The fireball shot up about fifty feet, then exploded announcing itself far further than I¡¯d be able to yell. It wasn¡¯t the greatest warning, but hopefully Val and Eveth would understand what it meant.


    I thought about the lumberjacks. For a moment, I considered leaving them. A few dozen people could die from a Zombie outbreak inside the walls in the time it took me to detour to warn them. I wasn¡¯t sure which was the right call, but I diverted a little to head to the clearing. I didn¡¯t plan on stopping, but those people were trusting me to warn them of danger and I felt responsible for telling them I was moving to a different crisis.


    I pointed at the dock. It was about three-quarters of a mile away so we could see it even though it was going to take us a few minutes to reach it even running as fast as we were.


    ¡°Get over there and make an ice platform so I can run across it!¡± I kept moving towards the clearing.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Fyga kept running towards the end of the wall, so at least she was trusting me that far.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to warn the men!¡±


    I felt her eye-roll, but she didn¡¯t say anything as she kept running.


    There was a group of men coming out of the clearing. Each pair of men had split wood over twelve feet long on their shoulders as the carried lumber away from the woods.


    I pointed at the clearing, then motioned at the walls as I ran up to them, but didn¡¯t stop. ¡°ZOMBIES INSIDE! I¡¯M GOING TO DEAL WITH THEM! GET EVERYONE TO SAFETY!¡±


    The men dropped their load and one guy ran back towards the clearing while the others tried to keep up with me.


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    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I glanced over my shoulder.


    ¡°Our families are in there!¡± The red-haired man with an impressive beard was almost as fast as I was. ¡°We¡¯re not waiting out here while they¡¯re in there!¡±


    I thought about arguing. There was a chance that they¡¯d get themselves killed and turned, which would just be another Zombie I¡¯d have to kill later. But I could use help getting people away from the growing horde. I could feel the numbers inside increasing, which was happening way too fast. It took a few hours after a person died for them to turn into a Zombie and that was if there wasn¡¯t a lot of damage that the magic inside them had to fix. This outbreak was happening almost like people were being turned in minutes.


    ¡°Fine! But don¡¯t try to fight the Zombies. We need to figure out where is safe and get the people there.¡± I glared at the men, but I was sure something was lost as the look traveled through my goggles.


    ¡°Yes, Master Bokor.¡± The husky man stopped beside me as we reached the water.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you done?¡± I pointed at the span of water that was only partially frozen over.


    ¡°You try freezing an ocean thick enough for these giants to walk on.¡± Fyga glared at the muscular men. ¡°Plus salt water is a lot harder to freeze than regular water.¡±


    Val hadn¡¯t seemed to have much of a problem, but it had also been at night and some of the men weighed an easy three hundred pounds while I was probably the heaviest out of our group at one-sixty.


    ¡°Just make it thick enough for me to get across.¡± I leaned closer to the short woman and bent a little so I could whisper in her ear. ¡°People are dying in there.¡±


    Fyga sighed and dropped to her knees. The blue-eyed woman put both hands on the water and the entire length froze over.


    One of the men tried to charge over it as soon as it iced over.


    And promptly fell through.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING!¡± The barely over five-foot tall woman stood up and towered over the submerged man. ¡°DID I TELL YOU THAT YOU COULD GO ACROSS?!?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s sorry, Master Bokor.¡± The redheaded man went to the edge and grabbed the wet man¡¯s hand, pulling him out of the water. ¡°He¡¯s just worried.¡±


    ¡°He can worry and wait until I¡¯m done!¡± Fyga glared at the two of them, then shifted her gaze to the others. Somehow her glare made all of them shrink back. ¡°No one else better make me start over.¡±


    Satisfied that she¡¯d scared them, she knelt back down, sending her magic over the ice in pulses, slowly making the ice thicker.


    After a few minutes, she nodded at me. ¡°It should hold you.¡± She half-turned, stopping the men in their tracks. ¡°ONLY Master Byler.¡±


    ¡°Find me when you¡¯re done!¡± I took off across the ice. She had textured it so that it was rough enough that I didn¡¯t slip as I ran across it. That was a nice extra touch and something I¡¯d have to praise her for later.


    Right now I had Zombies to find.

 Book 3 - Chapter 31

    People were panicking.


    I knew exactly where the Zombies were, so I knew which way to run. The sad part was that there were just as many people running towards the outbreak as there were people running away from it.


    ¡°GET BACK!¡± I waved my hands at the people chasing behind me. ¡°GO THE OTHER WAY!¡±


    Unfortunately, people were too panicked to hear me over the chaos of everyone mindlessly fleeing. I¡¯d seen Master Bran handle crowds, but most of the time it was just to get people out of his way. If someone wanted to run headlong into the Zombies, he¡¯d stand back and let them, then cremate their body after he¡¯d taken care of the Zombies.


    I didn¡¯t want to be like that.


    I began rolling fire in my palms, condensing it as I moved. I had to focus as I shouldered my way through the crowd. For their being around ten thousand people here, it felt like they were all on this side. Though that kind of made sense. The water would be the ¡®safest¡¯ place, so there was bound to be more people on this half of the city.


    I threw the fireball in the air, releasing a loud BOOM as it exploded and rained little embers. People stopped running and bent down as they tried to dodge the danger that they¡¯d been too busy to see.


    ¡°I AM BOKOR BYLER!!!¡± I was the only person still standing tall, so that helped me get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°THE ZOMBIES ARE NEAR THE CENTER OF TOWN! GET TO THE DOCKS! THE OTHER MASTERS ARE EVACUATING PEOPLE AND YOU¡¯LL ONLY GET IN OUR WAY IF YOU DON¡¯T GO. TO. THE. DOCKS!!!¡±


    The crowd split as I started moving again, but it seemed like everyone was too shocked to see me to do much more than move out of my way.


    I pointed to the east. ¡°NOW!!!¡±


    Like a switch had been flipped, the crowd found their feet and almost all of them started moving in the direction that I¡¯d pointed.


    If the street would have been empty, I could have ran the mile to get to the Zombies in under four minutes. I was halfway there in five minutes and my strategy had to change.


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    I saw my first Zombie. It was chasing after a teenage boy. While Zombies were a little slower than they were when they¡¯d been alive, they also didn¡¯t tire. Which meant the kid was running a race that he couldn¡¯t win.


    I pulled out my sword and ran towards him. He tripped as he sidestepped around me. Probably to try to dodge my blade, which would have never hit him. I took the Zombie¡¯s head off in a single swing, then kicked the head back towards the body, finally throwing some fire on it to light it. Zombie blood was an accelerant, so the corpse erupted in flames with only that small bit. The next nearest Zombie was a block away, which meant I didn¡¯t have much time to check on the teen.


    ¡°You good?¡± I looked him over. It looked like he might have scraped elbows, but otherwise he didn¡¯t look injured.


    The teen nodded as he got back on his feet.


    ¡°Good. Get to the docks. The other Bokor are setting up there.¡± A scream tore my focus away from him. I turned and saw the Zombie that I¡¯d felt had tackled a woman.


    ¡°GO!¡± I yelled before running over to help.


    The Zombie had already latched on to her, but she was still alive, even if she did have a few bite-sized chunks torn out of her. Which wasn¡¯t good. One of the chunks was out of the inside of her right arm. She was going to bleed out soon if I didn¡¯t stop the bleeding, though letting her die now might be more of a mercy than letting her go through the sickness that would probably kill her and turn her into a Zombie herself.


    I grabbed the Zombie by the back of the head and forced its jaws open to get it off of her. As soon as its bite was free, I threw it on its back and pulled out my sword. I had its head off before it could stand up.


    The woman managed to get into a sitting position as I piled up the body and lit it on fire. With all the fires that I was starting, there was a chance that the city might catch on fire, but honestly at that point, it would be a way of mass-cleansing the area.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel so good.¡± The brunette slumped over. She was barely keeping her eyes open, but she tried to focus those slits on me. ¡°Don¡¯t let me turn¡­¡± She reached out with her left hand, which threw her off balance and she face planted into the dirt street.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I rolled her over and checked for a pulse, but her heart wasn¡¯t beating. I hadn¡¯t gotten to her in time. I sighed as I lifted her up and put the corpse on top of the burning Zombie. Hopefully it¡¯d burn away enough of her body that she wouldn¡¯t turn. A Human body required a lot more heat than a Zombie to burn up and I didn¡¯t have time to sit here and keep throwing fire at the corpses.


    I felt for the largest concentration of Zombies. That was probably where I could do the most good, so that¡¯s where I was going to go.


    I tried not to keep score, but my mind was too aware that I¡¯d lost one. Really it was three, since the other two Zombies had been living here this morning. I just hoped I wouldn¡¯t lose too many more.

 Book 3 - Chapter 32

    I wasn¡¯t prepared for the epicenter.


    I was two blocks away from where the concentration of Zombies was the largest, but I wasn¡¯t brave enough to walk into that.


    A two block wide purple cloud was slowly moving to the east. The cloud looked like it was a concentrated misty field of the plague and eight feet high was enough to envelop anyone who it crawled over.


    Theoretically, the plague wouldn¡¯t hurt me. I already had it running through my veins and things like Zombie blood or getting bitten wouldn¡¯t be more than an irritant. But I¡¯d never seen anything like what was in front of me.


    I was a block away from the edge of it and while I was trying to figure out how to deal with it, a group of five Zombies ran out towards me.


    Zombies wouldn¡¯t target an unthreatening Touched unless they were being driven, which told me that there was a Touched inside or around the cloud.


    One Zombie wasn¡¯t a threat. Two or three Zombies couldn¡¯t hurt me. But after that, my odds of winning got worse.


    They rushed me as one, forcing me to retreat. I held my sword in my right hand as I blasted the lead Zombie with fire. It took two blasts, but my flames chewed a hole through the Zombie¡¯s chest and started burning it up.


    The other four could chase me faster than I could run backwards and they were on me before I could switch targets. I pivoted to my right, since that would move me more away from the cloud if I had to keep retreating.


    A diagonal slash cut into the lead one, but that wasn¡¯t deep enough to do any lasting damage. Unless you cut off their head, the magic inside the Zombies would eventually heal any wound. They could even regrow lost limbs, which was kind of creepy.


    My followup swing got my sword impaled through the Zombie on its right. The second Zombie slid down the blade toward me with its arms out and mouth open. I called fire into my left hand and punched it in the face. I was rewarded with the satisfying crunch of breaking nose. My flames ignited the blood that spewed out of the wound, engulfing the Zombie¡¯s face in fire.


    Before I could celebrate, I was bowled over as the first Zombie recovered from being driven back and lunged.  My sword was ripped out of my hand as it stayed inside the second Zombie while the Zombie on its left fell on top of me and both Zombies started trying to pin me.


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    My left leg felt like ice had been injected into my blood. I looked down while still struggling against the Zombies on top of me. The fourth Zombie was trying to bite through the leather pants that I was wearing. It hadn¡¯t yet, but I really didn¡¯t want to feel what it would be like to have those teeth directly on my skin.


    As if to answer my desire, the fifth Zombie appeared behind the Zombie on top of me and bit into my hand. The needles that pierced my skin chased gooseflesh around my body.


    While it was a very unpleasant feeling, it provided me with a unique position.


    I poured fire down the Zombie¡¯s throat.


    Eventually I would be able to summon flames that didn¡¯t start from my hands, but I was a lot of practice away from achieving that. Still, it was serving me well at the moment.


    The sound of metal being dragged against glass assaulted my ears as the Zombie tried to scream, releasing my hand and spewing liquid flames all over the pile. As the last one to jump on, it was covering all of us in fire. As an apprentice, I had gotten used to flames washing over me, so this brought back memories of when I¡¯d had to trust Master Bran to not let me get incinerated. I wasn¡¯t the weak apprentice anymore. I was the one creating the fire.


    The flames were licking at all four of the Zombies, so I called more fire into both hands and used that to spread the flames even more as I pushed the Zombies off of me.


    Regular Zombies would have given up once they were lit on fire, but these seemed determined to try to kill me until they were ash. I managed to buck enough with my hips that I was able to tip the Zombie on top of me off. I raised my right leg high enough to kick the Zombie latched on to my left thigh in the face. It took a few kicks, but I got it off. That left only the one on my right that I had by the throat. The fire that I was creating in my palm had almost burned away enough of its neck that there was a good chance if I left it alone, its head would fall off on its own before the magic in it could heal it.


    I let go of the Zombie and rolled to my left, yanking my sword out of the Zombie pawing at it. I twisted around behind it, decapitating it as I stood up straight.


    The other four Zombies were a mess.The only one that was really a threat anymore was the one that had been on my left thigh. My leg ached as I thought about the injury that my body was trying to ignore. It might not have broken the leather, but I¡¯d have a bite mark there when I checked after this was over.


    The Zombie tried to scramble to its feet, but I poured magic into my sword. The blade shone purple as I cut off its right arm at the elbow. The Zombie sprawled on the ground, giving me a perfect angle to cut through the back of its neck. With the only ¡®whole¡¯ Zombie gone, dispatching the other three was as simple as walking up to them and cutting off their heads.


    I was breathing hard and my head was starting to buzz. I¡¯d used too much magic. I needed to build up the amount that I could use, but now wasn¡¯t the time to try to focus on that exercise. Right now I needed to find the next group of Zombies.

 Book 3 - Chapter 33

    I still wasn¡¯t brave enough to go into the cloud.


    I was going to have to find some way to deal with it. If I hadn¡¯t been running low on magic, I might have tried more fireballs, but my head was throbbing and I could feel exhaustion in my muscles that shouldn¡¯t have started. I needed to save as much magic as I could for an emergency, which meant finding a non-magical solution.


    It also meant running from the next group of Zombies that stumbled out of the cloud. I thought about hiding in one of the houses, but with the approaching cloud, that seemed like a very bad idea.


    Until I heard a child scream behind one of the windows.


    I froze in front of the modest house. It had wood walls, but they weren¡¯t wealthy enough for metal bars with glass inside for windows. Instead, there were two wooden boards that made  a cross with a curtain stopping people from looking in. The problem with that setup was that a Zombie would be able to push their way through the fabric and get inside.


    Which was a shame because the door was a sturdy wooden one made up of boards that had been nailed together. There wasn¡¯t a doorknob, making it a little more secure than the wealthier houses that relied on a single metal bolt to hold it shut. Instead, there was a hole in the door that a rope could be pushed through. The rope was attached to a thick board on the other side of the door, which would keep the door barred from the inside. It was a great way to keep Zombies out if they hadn¡¯t made their window so large and waist high.


    I glanced behind me and stopped counting at seven. The group of Zombies was too big for me to fight in the open street. I could outrun them, but whoever was hiding inside the house to my right would die as soon as the cloud washed over their house.


    I grabbed the gray curtain and yanked it down. Houses rarely had only one door and even if this one did, there was bound to be windows on the other side that we could get people out.


    ¡°DON¡¯T COME IN HERE!¡± Terror accented her words as an unseen woman screamed at me. ¡°I¡¯VE GOT A SWORD!¡±


    I glanced up the street, I didn¡¯t have long before the Zombies would reach me. There was just the small problem of not wanting my legs cut off when I climbed inside.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°I¡¯m Bokor Byler.¡± I pulled out my Bokor sword and put the tip inside the window. I pushed a little of my remaining magic into the blade, making it glow purple. ¡°I¡¯m coming in to get you out.¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait for a response. I didn¡¯t have time. I put my sword back in the sheath on my back, grabbed the top of the window and jumped, sliding feet first between the crosspieces in the window.


    At least two people gasped and one screamed. It was getting dark and there was barely enough light for them to see me. I, on the other hand, could see them outlined in purple thanks to my vision. There were two adult women, a teenage girl, and four kids. One of the women was holding a baby against her chest, while the other one had the promised sword in her hands. The only problem with that was the weapon was still in the sheath, which was what she was holding onto. Pointing the handle at me.


    ¡°What do y-y-you want?¡± The woman with the sword¡¯s teeth clacked as she pointed her weapon at me.


    ¡°You have to get out of here.¡± A Zombie stuck its arms through the opening that I¡¯d just come through. I pulled out my sword and sliced down, taking off the arm, then swung back up as it stuck its head in. I pinned the rolling body part to the floor with my foot. I didn¡¯t need one of the kids to think it was a toy or one of the women to try to throw it out to keep their kids from touching it.


    ¡°There¡¯re ZOMBIES in the city!¡± The woman with the baby pulled the child closer to her chest. ¡°We can¡¯t go out there!¡±


    Another Zombie tried to climb in and I took off the growling head. I kicked the pair of heads against the wall. Ideally, I would have lit them on fire, but the wall under the window was covered with Zombie blood. If I lit a fire in here, the whole house would go up.


    ¡°They can get in...!¡± I felt another Zombie at the back of the house. This one wasn¡¯t growling as it crawled across the floor, meaning it was being controlled.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I grabbed the other sword and pulled it out, skewering the Zombie to the floor only a few feet away from the teen.


    ¡°Wha¡­!?!¡± The woman with the empty scabbard dropped it. I heard the clink of metal meeting rock and my heart jumped into my throat.


    ¡°NO!¡± I dropped my sword to grab her hands before she could light the torch that she¡¯d grabbed. ¡°No light! Do you want this whole place to go up in flames?¡±


    I pulled the flint out of her hands and threw it at the window behind me, striking the Zombie crawling through it between the eyes. The Zombie¡¯s head snapped back and it slid out of the window. That one wasn¡¯t dead, but it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for a little bit. Right now, I had bigger problems. There were two more Zombies that had gotten into the house. They were coming out of the bedroom and I had no idea how many more there were.


    I was running out of time to save them.

 Book 3 - Chapter 34

    I decapitated the one on the floor.


    I needed more than one weapon and having a Zombie slowly cutting itself in half as it clawed across the floor was only going to become a worse problem. I kicked the head to the other side of the house to get it away from the Humans, then pulled out the sword. If I could hold it with two hands, I could have put enough force behind the swings to cut off Zombie limbs, but that wasn¡¯t what I wanted it for. Having a second sword increased my reach and gave me something to move limbs out of the way and guide the Zombies into the path of my Bokor blade.


    I pushed more magic into the sword, illuminating the room with purple light as I faced the next Zombie. I sliced up with the metal sword, knocking its arms into the air. Instead of trying to cut through an arm and a neck, I spun on my left heel and kicked it in the chest with my right leg.


    The Zombie was knocked backwards into the Zombie behind it. I stabbed the metal sword through their chests, pinning them to the wall, then gripped my sword with both hands and swung at their necks. It took four swings, but the threat was taken care of.


    I could tell there were more Zombies in the room, so I switched my grip to hold my sword in only my right hand and grabbed their eating table with my left. The heavy wooden piece of furniture flipped on its side, then I grabbed a leg and heaved it at the window that I¡¯d entered the house from. The frame of the window broke as the table went through it and so did one of the legs, but the Zombies would have to push it out of the way to get through.


    An idea hit me as a Zombie came out of the bedroom. I shoved it back inside, then grabbed the metal sword out of the wall, letting the two Zombie bodies fall to the floor. I dropped my Bokor sword and gripped the metal one with both hands and stabbed it through the table and into the wall. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about defending two places for a little while.


    I snatched up my sword and sliced off the right arm of the Zombie I¡¯d shoved, with an upward swing, then sliced horizontally to take off its head. There were two more Zombies in the bedroom, so I grabbed the unlit torch from the woman and charged into the room. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Using the torch as a club in my left hand I brained the closest Zombie, then lowered my right shoulder and charged into the other one. I forced the Zombie to the window, where I knocked a third Zombie that was trying to get in back into the street. The Zombie I¡¯d shouldered snapping its jaws at me and I felt teeth bite into the top of my right ear.


    ¡°OWWW!!!¡± I pulled back, but swung my elbow up, connecting under its jaw and snapping its head back. I threw the torch at the other Zombie that was trying to get out of the room, then grabbed the Zombie in front of me by the right arm and pulled it in front of me and threw it at the bed. The Zombie hit the side diagonally and part of its upper half hung off the foot. Before it could get up, I took off its head with my sword.


    The last Zombie in the house had been knocked down by the thrown torch and it was almost back on its feet. I gripped my sword with both hands, swung up to take off its left arm at the elbow, then brought the blade back down to take off its head.


    I took a second to catch my breath, but that was all I got as another Zombie started to climb through the window.


    I kicked that one in the head, knocking it back into the street. I dropped my sword and yanked the lumpy mattress off of the bed frame. The mattress was basically just a large sack of rags that was the size of a bed. I shoved each of the corners through each of the empty panes as much as I could, then grabbed the bed frame, which was just a low table, flipped it over and leaned it against the mattress filled window. It wouldn¡¯t hold for long, but it would give me time to catch my breath and think about my next move.


    I tried to think about how fast the cloud had been moving and how far away it had been. We didn¡¯t have much time before it wouldn¡¯t matter if the Zombies were able to get in or not. The cloud would definitely kill all the Humans that were inside with me.


    I walked back into the main room and looked at the Humans. One of the younger kids started crying as I stopped. The brave woman had a small wooden stick in her hands and was pointing it at me, but the glow of my sword was bright enough for her to at least tell that I wasn¡¯t a Zombie.


    ¡°¡±Th-th-th-thank y-y-you Ma-ma-Master Bokor!¡± She dropped the stick and fell to her knees.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet.¡± I glanced over at the door. I could hear Zombies clawing at it on the other side. With both of the windows barricaded, it was our only way out.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to run.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 35

    Everyone was crying, screaming, or yelling.


    The unharmonic noise mixed with the growls from outside made my magic depletion headache even worse.


    ¡°QUIET!!!¡± I glared at the Humans, then pointed west. ¡°There is a plague cloud that is coming this way! If you stay here, you¡¯ll be turned into Zombies in minutes!¡±


    That didn¡¯t help to calm them.


    ¡°Whatdoyoumeanaplaguecloud!?!¡± The woman holding the baby was speaking too fast for me to catch every word, but I got the gist.


    The other woman got in between myself and the rest of the Humans and held out one arm towards each of us. ¡°Wait. Just wait.¡± She turned to me. ¡°What do you mean, there¡¯s a plague cloud?¡±


    I looked her over. I couldn¡¯t see color as everything was a shade of black or purple thanks to my sword and my vision, but I could see certain features. Like the woman in the middle of us was older. Probably in her fifties, while the other woman was in her late twenties, maybe early thirties. They had dark hair, which could have been pretty much anything except blonde or white, though I didn¡¯t think they were old enough for white hair. They were wearing simple dresses, and despite the overlay that I was seeing everything through, I could tell there were also a lot of patches covering their clothes.


    ¡°I have no idea what it is. The Bokor have never seen anything like it as far as I know.¡± I pointed my sword at the door where the Zombies were scratching and pounding. ¡°But I do know that it is turning people into Zombies in minutes, not hours.¡± I tried not to focus on the tears that I could see running down the children¡¯s faces or the fear that was plastered there.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± The woman shook her head. ¡°We can¡¯t go out there.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    She had a point. Even if I was covering them, there was no way that they could move that many children fast enough to stay ahead of the horde. Especially since the Zombies had gotten past the house. I would need to be in front of and behind the group at the same time and honestly, we¡¯d need a third person to stay in the middle to deal with whatever got past us.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking.¡± I looked around the room. There were a couple wooden chairs in the common room, but nothing I could use. The eating room had only the chairs since I¡¯d nailed the table to the wall. The kitchen was almost bare, with basically just a stove and washbasin and I wasn¡¯t about to risk lighting the stove.


    Unfortunately, the rush from fighting was starting to subside and I began to feel my wounds. My left hand was swollen, but not so bad that I couldn¡¯t use it. I had bruises all over and my left leg felt like it was on fire.


    I looked down at the headless Zombies on the floor. There was another power source that I could use, but I had no idea how to draw the magic out of the heartstone other than to help them power my blade. Plus, using the heartstones for their magic was supposed to be very addictive, though at the moment that didn¡¯t matter to me. All I wanted right now was to get the people behind me to safety.


    I heard a scuffle outside. It sounded like people fighting, which they really shouldn¡¯t be doing. Most Humans were able to kill a single Zombie by themselves, which meant that by fighting, they were just increasing the Zombie population.


    I looked through the rope hole in the door to see what was happening.


    ¡°GRAWW!!¡± The side of a Zombie¡¯s face slammed into the door from the other side.


    I jumped back and gripped my sword with both hands, but the only other sound was a thud.


    ¡°BYLER! WHERE ARE YOU!?¡±


    I grinned and looked at the women. ¡°Stay here until I tell you it¡¯s safe.¡± I pulled the latch up. I wouldn¡¯t be able to get back in once I shut the door, but for now they¡¯d be safe.


    I pushed the door open. There was a small pile of bodies in front of the door that had to be moved. If the door had opened inward, I wouldn¡¯t have had that problem, but an inward facing door was easier to break down.


    I looked up the street and decided that leaving the Humans in the house was a bad idea.


    The plague cloud was two houses away.

 Book 3 - Chapter 36

    We needed to leave.


    ¡°Change of plans.¡± I motioned for the Humans to follow me. ¡°We need to go. NOW!¡±


    I shoved the door open and had the headless body of a Zombie fall onto me. I shoved it to the side as its slayer smiled at me.


    ¡°That¡¯s where you were hiding!¡± Val glared at me before turning back towards the cloud and cutting a Zombie in half as it rushed her.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t hiding!¡± I turned to the left to look around the door. A Zombie barreled into me, pinning me against the side of the house.


    It opened its mouth wide and went for my throat. I shoved my left thumb up its nose to keep its teeth away from me as I wrestled my right arm free.


    ¡°Eat this.¡± I slid the blade against its throat and grabbed the end with my left hand and pushed.


    The Zombie was pushing forward to try to bite me, which resulted in it doing most of the work to decapitate itself.


    ¡°What is that thing?¡± Val pointed her purple sword at the looking cloud that was crawling through the streets toward us.


    ¡°No clue.¡± I pushed the headless body off of me. ¡°I¡¯ve got Humans in there.¡± I pointed inside the house with my thumb. ¡°We need to get them out of here.¡± I looked around, but all I saw were Zombies. I couldn¡¯t tell if there were more still alive than dead. Val had cut a very destructive path towards me.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡± I ran across the street to the nearest Zombie. It tried to grab me, but I ducked under its arms, sliced its ankles and as it fell, I stood up and sliced through its neck. It wasn¡¯t the cleaned cut and the head didn¡¯t come all the way off the body, but it got the job done.


    But I could tell that I was slowing down.


    Physical conditioning was a big part of an apprentice¡¯s training. I could walk for miles without ever getting tired, but this had been a lot of physical activity in a very short time. The adrenaline was starting to flow through my system again, dulling the pain and the aches, but my body was feeling heavy. I wasn¡¯t going to be able to keep up this pace for long.


    ¡°They¡¯re at the docks, trying to get people out of the city.¡± Val glanced at me as she killed another Zombie on her way to the house I¡¯d just left. ¡°I¡¯d still be with them if I hadn¡¯t seen your sign.¡± She kicked the headless body out of her way.


    ¡°What sign?¡± I was confused, but we¡¯d thinned the Zombies down to where it might be manageable. It didn¡¯t matter if it was manageable or not. The cloud was beginning to consume the house next door. We were out of time.


    ¡°IF YOU DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE, GET OUT HERE!!!¡± Val threw the door all the way open and pointed at the street with her sword. I saw her face soften as she watched the kids run out, trying to avoid the mess that we were making.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    I thought about picking one of them up so we could move faster, but I was covered in purple Zombie blood. There was no way that I wouldn¡¯t infect a kid if I held them.


    ¡°The beacon.¡± Val waved her hand up at the dark sky.


    ¡°The what?¡± I scrunched my brow.


    ¡°That purple light that you shot up into the sky.¡± Val raised an eyebrow. ¡°That was you, right? Trying to tell us that you needed help?¡±


    ¡°That?¡± I had no clue what she was talking about, but I had an idea of what had happened. My mysterious pointed eared man that was watching me. I knew he had magic, so it must have been him. He¡¯d said he didn¡¯t want to be seen, so I adjusted the story. ¡°With everything that¡¯s happened, I honestly didn¡¯t think anyone saw it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea.¡± She cut off a Zombie that ran out of the mist. Her sword slid against its chest and the tip went right up its body and lodged under its throat, piercing up inside. She held him prone like that for a moment, then yanked her sword out. As the Zombie fell forward, she met it with her blade and cleanly took off its head.


    ¡°Speaking of good ideas.¡± She pointed at the growing horde that we could see just inside the standing mist. ¡°Can you light that up?¡±


    I looked down at my hand. I was covered in Zombie blood, which meant that if I tried to make fire right now, I¡¯d set myself on fire.


    There were also enough dead Zombies scattered on the street that I¡¯d be lighting the whole city on fire. I was kind of impressed that no one had tried using fire on them, but maybe everyone was too focused on learning that they weren¡¯t fighting.


    The cloud had already consumed the Human¡¯s house that I¡¯d fought in. We needed to do something and the Zombies had pulled back, but their numbers were growing, almost like they were waiting to swarm us.


    ¡°Switch with me!¡± I moved behind the Humans while Val came around in front. If the cloud was made of the same stuff as Zombie blood, then maybe it would be flammable and we could take the whole thing out.


    I pointed at an alley between houses. ¡°Let¡¯s go in there!¡±


    Val scrunched her brows. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°That thing could go up like a hundred more Zombies.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We need cover and that¡¯s the closest place.¡±


    Val nodded and ran into the alley. I could already feel that there weren¡¯t any Zombies in the alley, though there were ones on the other side of the alley.


    As soon as she moved, the Zombies surged on both ends. There was no way that I could hold back that many even with Val¡¯s help.


    ¡°GET IN!!!¡± I almost shoved one of the kids, but remembered what I was covered in. I hunched behind him to take the blow of the first Zombie that got to us. Before I could swing my sword, I got hit again. Then another one jumped on top of me.


    I was pushed face down into the muddy street. The Zombies were going to be able to run over me and there was no way I could push them off of me. The way I was, it was only a question of how long before I was killed. How long until one of those sets of teeth found a place to bite that I couldn¡¯t heal from.


    I called fire into my hand and as soon as it lit, my entire body was covered in flames. The Zombies on top of me shrieked and tried to get up, but we were in a dogpile. No one was going anywhere and in a second the whole pile was on fire.


    I managed to lift my head just enough to look into the alley. The kid that I¡¯d shielded was twenty feet away from me and staring right at me, tears streaming over the horror on his young face. I tried to smile as I pointed my finger of my left hand down the street at the mist.


    ¡°Watch this.¡± I doubted he could hear me. Before I could see his reaction, my face was shoved into the mud.


    I let the fireball go.


    I couldn¡¯t hear the explosion, but I remembered flying before everything went black.

 Book 3 - Chapter 37

    I was laying in the dirt.


    My ears were ringing and my head was throbbing. It felt like I still had the dogpile on my chest. I could taste ash in my mouth as I tried to move my tongue around to wet my very dry mouth.


    When I opened my eyes, I wasn¡¯t lying in the street. I was in some sort of makeshift tent and in between two rows of something green.


    I blinked a few times as I rolled over and dusted the dirt off the top of the purple root.


    Carrots.


    Of course it¡¯d be the purple variety. Those were bitter, but it was better than nothing. The orange ones were the best, but the purple ones could grow almost anywhere, so that¡¯s what most places devoted time into.


    ¡°He lives!¡± The sing-song voice assaulted my ears and begged me to make it stop.


    ¡°Fyga...¡± I turned and ran my hand over my face to rub my eyes. That¡¯s when I realized that I was rubbing my eyes.


    My goggles were gone.


    I quickly shut my eyes as I tried to hone in on where her voice had come from.


    ¡°How''re you feeling?¡± The loud woman slapped me on the back, sending a wave of needles rolling over my skin.


    I winced and pulled away as I sat up.


    ¡°Where are my goggles?¡± I held out my hand.


    What was put in my hand was way too heavy to be the pair of goggles that she¡¯d given me in Gher. The rims were huge and clunky, not to mention impossibly thick.


    I still put them on.


    The world was darker, almost dark enough that my night vision kicked in. Honestly, I was wishing it would because I was pretty sure I could see better with it.


    ¡°You got busted up pretty good.¡± Fyga opened a container of water and offered it to me.


    I took the water and that got me to look down at myself.


    There were holes all over my pants and I wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt. My skin was so numb that I hadn¡¯t noticed until now that there was a breeze that was able to directly touch it. I pulled the blanket that I¡¯d been lying on up and draped it over my shoulders to partially cover myself.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°What...?¡± My mouth was too dry to finish the question. I put the water up to my lips and it felt like I hadn¡¯t drank anything in a week as I guzzled the whole thing and still felt dry.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Fyga gestured at the flap of our makeshift tent. ¡°You blew yourself up. Broke your goggles, destroyed half the city, and shook up Master Val pretty good.¡± She began looking me over. ¡°Gave us quite a scare for a few days.


    ¡°Days?¡± I swallowed and it felt like my throat was sticking together.


    ¡°Days.¡± Fyga nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve been out for four days. Val was out for one. Eveth and I had to dig the two of you out of the wreckage of those houses. No clue how either of you survived. Especially all the Humans that were with you.¡±


    ¡°They lived?¡± I croaked as I talked. ¡°Water.¡± I held out the container.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait until Val gets back.¡± She shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s been having a time trying to take back the city.¡±


    I nodded. It felt like sandpaper moved through my throat when I tried to talk. I had a horde of questions, but it was draining to try to speak at the moment. I found myself wishing that I was as numb as I¡¯d been when I¡¯d first woken up.


    ¡°Alright, give me a second¡­¡± Fyga put her hand over the mouth of the container and I felt a chill blow through the tent.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold and it¡¯ll have to melt.¡± She offered me the metal container. ¡°Never was good at making only water.¡± She grumbled almost under her breath.


    ¡°Thank¡­¡± I took the container back and it was definitely ice cold, but there was a little water around the massive ice cube inside. What little water there was was very cold, but also refreshing. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Fyga blushed a little, then waved her hand away. ¡°It¡¯s just to tide you over until Master Bokor gets back.¡± Her voice deepened as she mocked Val¡¯s title.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± The words weren¡¯t hurting as much if I sipped on a little water before I talked.


    ¡°Vegetable garden.¡± Fyga patted a carrot beside her. ¡°A couple sections of the city weren¡¯t breached, so we¡¯ve set up the Humans in them. Unfortunately, whatever that thing was got most of the warehouses, so the food we¡¯ve got is whatever is in the ground. Eveth is trying to take back the docks so people can try fishing again, but that¡¯s been difficult even with her weird abilities.¡±


    I tapped the clunky things on my head. ¡°Can you fix¡­ my goggles?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± The blue-eyed woman shrugged. ¡°It depends on the setup they have in the crafting sector and how much survived.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. When you blew that thing up it took out almost half the city.¡±


    I felt guilty. I knew she¡¯d said that the Humans that had been with Val had all survived, but she hadn¡¯t said anything about the rest of the people. I had a feeling that she was exaggerating, but I wanted to see for myself.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± She put her hand on my chest and pushed me back into a sitting position.


    ¡°I need to help.¡± I nodded at the tent door.


    ¡°How are you going to help anyone when one of these kids running around here could knock you over?¡± She glared at me through her goggles. ¡°What you¡¯re going to do is rest. You¡¯ll have plenty of time to kill Zombies tomorrow. Trust me, those two aren¡¯t going to clean them all out today.¡±


    I tried to resist her, but she grabbed my shoulder and pushed me down as she slid on top of my chest.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to be a bad patient, I can just sit here so you can¡¯t go anywhere.¡± She smirked. ¡°Actually, I could get used to this.¡± She puffed out her chest. ¡°Bokor Fyga and her team.¡± The small woman chuckled.


    Despite her barely weighing over a hundred pounds, I couldn¡¯t move her. I quit straining and relaxed.


    ¡°Good.¡± Fyga patted my cheek. ¡°But I¡¯m not getting up until Master Val gets here.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 38

    It was the most uncomfortable three hours of my life.


    Fyga decided that since she had a captive audience she would tell me about all of the amazing things she¡¯d done. I tuned her out after she talked about the time she found a secret lab underwater in the Argus Council¡¯s frozen island.


    Unfortunately, that meant that I was that much more aware of the heat that was building up between my chest and her legs. She was wearing pants, so it wasn¡¯t as bad as if it had been skin on skin and she probably didn¡¯t notice it, but it was making my chest hurt in a weird way that was very uncomfortable.


    The moment Val and Eveth walked through the flap, Fyga rolled off of me.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± Val smiled, saw my bare, sweaty chest, then glared at Fyga. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°He wanted to run out into the city and try to find the two of you.¡± Fyga shrugged. ¡°Since he was being a bad patient I sat on him.¡±


    Val tsked. ¡°If you¡¯d been a good patient, then it sounds like she wouldn¡¯t have sat on you.¡± The redhead smirked. ¡°Unless that was what you wanted.¡±


    ¡°Why would I want that?¡± I sat up on my elbows and quickly decided that it was much more comfortable laying down.


    ¡°Men¡­¡± Val sighed, then turned back to Fyga. ¡°Anything else happen?¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in here with him most of the afternoon.¡± The black-haired woman shrugged. ¡°But Theo was doing his entitled bit earlier when I went out to get something to eat.¡±


    A loud growl rumbled out of my belly. The subject of food seemed to be justification for my stomach to announce that it was empty.


    ¡°Here.¡± Eveth reached into her pocket and pulled out a little pouch. ¡°There¡¯s not much left, but maybe it¡¯ll help.¡± She held it out for me to take.


    The woman wasn¡¯t wearing her Wrangler outfit, instead it looked like she was wearing something that one of the regular Humans would have worn. A short sleeved shirt didn¡¯t provide any protection for her arms or neck. The pants that she had on looked way too thin to stop a Zombie from biting through them. My left thigh began to ache a little as I remembered the Zombie that had tried to take a bite out of me.


    I had to lean forward, but when I got close, I noticed the blood smeared on her arm was much darker than the stuff on Val. Neither woman had cleaned themselves up before walking into the tent, which was something I was going to have to get onto them for. I slipped the clunky goggles up on my forehead so I could look at the color better.


    It was red.


    My heart sped up, something that my body was not ready for. I had to grab her arm to keep from falling over. I¡¯d never felt so weak in my entire life. I didn¡¯t know how badly I¡¯d been hurt, but for me to be this shaken days later, I had to have been close to death. A Zombie could regenerate limbs in six weeks and a Touched had better regenerative abilities than that. At least I was on the mend, I just hoped I¡¯d get stronger fast.


    ¡°Did you kill someone?¡± I tried to hang on to the blonde, but she jerked her arm back, yanking me forward. My collar squeezed against my neck as Fyga grabbed the back of my shirt to keep me from falling over.


    Both of the blood-covered women looked at me like they¡¯d been caught.

 Book 3 - Chapter 39

    The mood of the room soured.


    ¡°NO! Why would you think..?¡± Eveth looked down at her exposed arms. ¡°Oh, right, you¡¯ve been out.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s like a walking purifier.¡± Fyga yanked me back to a sitting position, then braced me against herself so I wouldn¡¯t fall over. ¡°Anything she touches¡­¡± The blue-eyed woman floated her hand up then mimicked an explosion with her fingers. ¡°Poof.¡±


    ¡°You what?¡± I struggled to undo the knot on the pouch drawstring.


    ¡°You are as helpless as a newborn cat.¡± Fyga slipped both of her arms over my shoulders and undid the knot, then put the pouch back in my hand.


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Her proximity was weirding me out, but I was glad for her help even if the fact that I needed it was infuriating. ¡°What do you mean a purifier?¡± I¡¯d wondered why she wasn¡¯t wearing gloves or a jacket.


    ¡°We figured it out on the first day when I was cleaning up.¡± Eveth looked away.


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t start a fire, so she pulled off her gloves to work the flint.¡± Fyga chuckled as she leaned her chin on my right shoulder. ¡°Should have seen the look on her face when the Zombie blood started hissing, then turned red.¡± She let out an exaggerated laugh. ¡°Little miss jumped up and started dancing cause she thought she was on fire!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t..!¡± Eveth turned to glare at the other woman.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Val put her hand on Eveth¡¯s arm and there was a hissing noise as the purple blood came in contact with the blonde Touched¡¯s skin.


    ¡°Eveth gave me her jacket and gloves since she doesn¡¯t need them and mine were destroyed.¡± She nodded at my bare chest. ¡°Like yours.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to get you some clothes.¡± Fyga tsked. ¡°Can¡¯t have these Human women turning into Zombies because they can¡¯t resist such a fine specimen on display.¡±


    ¡°Fig.¡± Val shook her head. ¡°Would you stop teasing him?¡±


    ¡°What? He doesn¡¯t mind.¡± Fyga leaned around me so she could look at my face. ¡°You don¡¯t mind do you?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I¡­¡± A piece of dried fruit got shoved in my mouth.


    ¡°See? He doesn¡¯t mind.¡± Fyga patted my cheek as I tried not to choke on the food that she¡¯d forced on me.


    Val just shook her head. I heard Eveth try to hide a soft laugh behind her hand.


    I swallowed the fruit as I turned to glare at the woman behind me.


    Fyga batted her eyes at me, which looked weird through a pair of goggles.


    ¡°Anyway.¡± Val pulled off her gloves, then her jacket. ¡°When do you think you¡¯ll be ready to go out there?¡± She nodded at Eveth. ¡°The Zombies are running from me, which makes it harder to hunt them down, so I¡¯ve been trying to rescue anyone that¡¯s still outside the barrier while Eve is trying to clear the docks. Byler, since you¡¯re up, we can start using you and Fig to clear the docks with Eve and as soon as we can get that sector sealed off, the three of you can move to the next one.¡±


    So many thoughts were swirling around in my head. The main one centered around our timetable. I¡¯d been out for four days, which meant we¡¯d lost a week. It would take us over two weeks of walking to get to Port Town since we had Ziggy. We could probably make it there in three days if we went by ship. But we needed a ship for that. I knew the people in Port Reggo wouldn¡¯t be able to clear the city without a lot more people dying, but there wasn¡¯t a ship and it was going to take us days to purge the city. If we got delayed anywhere along the way, he¡¯d be looking for us and we wouldn¡¯t be there.


    That reminded me. Ziggy wasn¡¯t here.


    ¡°What happened to Ziggy?¡± My heart started beating faster as I waited for them to respond.


    ¡°He¡¯s in the other tent.¡± Eveth nodded to her right. ¡°We didn¡¯t want him to stay in here with all the blood, but figured he¡¯d be close enough that Fyga could get to him fast enough if something went wrong.¡±


    ¡°So what are we going to do with him while the four of us go out?¡± I found myself leaning back into Fyga. My eyes were also getting heavy, which was strange because it was the first time since I¡¯d ascended that I¡¯d really felt sleepy.


    ¡°We can leave him with Miss Charlandene.¡± Val said the name with more ease than I¡¯d be able to repeat it.


    ¡°Who?¡± I glanced at Eveth who had grabbed clothes from the bag she¡¯d been looking through and moved to the tent flaps.


    ¡°She¡¯s the school teacher the two of you saved.¡± Eveth motioned for Val to follow her. ¡°Let¡¯s get cleaned up.¡±


    ¡°You should still use fire.¡± I looked at Val. ¡°You don¡¯t want to infect any of the Humans.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve been doing this for the last two days. We know what we¡¯re doing.¡± The redheaded woman patted my leg, then stood up and followed the younger woman out of the tent.


    I wanted to point out that two days of experience paled to the decade plus that I had accumulated, but I was too tired. I needed to sleep, then maybe in the morning I¡¯d be strong enough to chastise them about how reckless they were being.


    Right now I was going to get some sleep.

 Book 3 - Chapter 40

    I felt rested.


    My body still ached, but it wasn¡¯t as tired as I¡¯d been the day before. Val had also left another filled water container behind, which I drained as soon as I got up.


    Fyga had spent the night watching me. Which was very creepy in my opinion, but also comforting since I knew that she was also guarding me, so I didn¡¯t have to sleep lightly. I shivered as I realized that I was feeling comforted that a Touched had guarded me while I was asleep.


    The field was full of tents, with the two of ours being the farthest away from everyone else. We were in the northwest corner of the sector and there was plenty of room for at least a dozen tents around us. As I walked towards the gate, I realized that the people in the tents closest to ours were the sick or wounded. The blast that happened after I threw a fireball into the plague cloud had hurt a lot of people. It seemed like most of the Humans had tried to hide in their homes, which unfortunately didn¡¯t shield them from the mist that could seep in through the cracks, in the doors, or the chimneys.


    I tried not to think about how many people had died when it blew up. Most of them would have died anyway if I had done nothing, but it was still gut wrenching to see how many people had been hurt by a choice I made.


    The black-haired Touched was following behind me and must have seen the agony on my face because when I stopped to look at the medical tent she leaned over my shoulder and whispered in my ear.


    ¡°Focus on the ones you saved.¡± The blue-eyed woman patted my shoulder. ¡°They¡¯re all alive because of you.¡±


    Being alive was a tricky thing because some fates are worse than the finality of death. I was more okay with what I was now, but there were still sometimes that I wondered if I shouldn¡¯t have just let myself die in the Zombie pen in Pline. Technically I was alive, but I would have much rather stayed a Human so I could become a Bokor, than turn into a Touched. But the way I was now, I could help more people. I just hated that I had become an abomination with no hope of ever becoming a Bokor like I¡¯d dreamed of for the last fourteen years.   Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    I kept walking and it was hard not to think that I was being blamed for the explosion by the way people moved away from me.


    ¡°Eveth is already at the docks.¡± Fyga moved around in front of me and started walking backwards so she could look at me. ¡°We¡¯ll have to clear out anything at the gate, then once we get out into the dead zone, it¡¯s a straight shot to the east.¡± She tapped her pocket. ¡°I¡¯m going to head over to the crafting sector once I drop you off to try to fix your goggles.¡±


    ¡°I can get there on my own.¡± I tried not to sound like I was grumbling, but did a very poor job.


    I was wearing regular clothes like the other Humans. My options had been Human casual clothes or the metal armor that the guards had. Metal was fine for protection, but it was too heavy to move around as fast as I wanted. While I¡¯d get hurt more with just plant-fiber clothing, at least I¡¯d be able to move.


    ¡°I know you can.¡± Fyga turned around, then glanced back over her shoulder. ¡°Just want to make sure you don¡¯t get sidetracked and blow up the other half of the city.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have a comeback for that, so I followed her to the gate in silence. When we got there, one of the men in metal suits slid open his visor to look at us. I recognized him as the guard captain we¡¯d met on our first night in the city. He looked at me with less dread than what I¡¯d expected, so Val must have at least partially patched up the fear that she¡¯d instilled in him on our first meeting.


    ¡°Master Bokor! So nice to see you back on your feet!¡± Even I was able to tell that his smile was forced and I didn¡¯t have a lot of success with reading Humans.


    ¡°Captain.¡± I nodded at him. ¡°What¡¯s it like out there?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only one outside the gate at the moment.¡± He looked nervous. ¡°Me and the boys were thinking about taking care of it, but we stayed at our posts like Master Val instructed.¡±


    I sighed louder than I¡¯d planned. Killing even a single Zombie would require them to open the gate, which was nothing but metal bars on hinges that they¡¯d used two six-foot long four-inch square boards to bar it closed. I couldn¡¯t see the Zombie, but I could feel it. As well as the four other ones that were hiding. If the Zombies weren¡¯t at the gate, that meant that someone was holding them back.


    There was still a Touched in the city.

 Book 3 - Chapter 41

    A Touched that didn¡¯t belong.


    Counting Eveth, Fyga, and myself there were at least three, plus the other one. I wasn¡¯t sure how many of them there were, but Fyga knew of at least two besides the one she¡¯d killed. I doubted that the one we fought on the cliff was dead. Considering how long I¡¯d been healing, there was a good chance he was back to full strength, though he¡¯d be less of a threat with his Bokor blade in Fyga¡¯s hands.


    I let my mind wander out farther and recoiled at what I felt. Eveth and Val had been working for days and there were still well over a thousand Zombies wandering the city. We could spend a month here and not get them all out.


    I pulled my senses back and looked over at Fyga, who nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you didn¡¯t.¡± I walked towards the gate.


    A pair of guards grabbed one of the square logs and started to pick it up.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I held out my right hand and summoned a flame that I started kneading.


    Both guards dove out of the way, which was impressive to see them do while covered in metal armor.


    I sighed and turned back to the captain as the lone Zombie jumped out into view and stuck both arms through the gate, reaching for the prone guard on my right.


    ¡°That one is just a decoy.¡± I threw the fireball, which hit a bar and splashed the flames over the Zombie. The monster got stuck trying to pull its arms out and quickly burned down to a pile of ash on both sides of the gate.


    ¡°There are four more over there.¡± Fyga pointed at the building that looked like a warehouse.


    The door to the building was missing, so If the guards had opened the gate, the three guards that were here would have gotten swarmed and Zombies would have gotten into the sector.


    I looked around. I wasn¡¯t sure how far away the Touched could control Zombies. My experience had been very disorienting and I hadn¡¯t tried to do it again. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Nothing seemed to be abnormal from what I would expect. There were people milling around the tents further into the sector, with very few people active around the tents that were within a hundred feet of the gate.


    ¡°Thank you so much Master Bokor.¡± The Guard Captain moved in front of me and reached for my hand, then pulled back. ¡°Just so you know, we weren¡¯t going to open the gates, we just wanted to be helpful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. The Touched had gone to very expensive lengths to infect the city. I wasn¡¯t sure what it took to create a cloud of the plague like they had, but considering that I¡¯d never heard of it before, it couldn¡¯t be something that was deployed often.


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Fyga nodded at the building the Zombies were in. ¡°Take out the Zombies before we meet up with Master Eveth?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± I looked at the blue-eyed woman. Not that I could see color well in the shaded goggles that I was wearing, but it was better than the panic that would happen if the Humans saw my glowing purple eyes. ¡°The Touched is close. I don¡¯t think we should leave.¡± I nodded at the six-foot high wall. ¡°That¡¯s too easy to jump. They could have slipped in here and we¡¯d never know it.¡±


    ¡°Surely not!¡± The Guard Captain straightened as his face contorted in a scowl. ¡°We would have noticed someone with purple eyes walking around!¡± He shook his head. ¡°There aren¡¯t any Touched in here!¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± A familiar voice behind me was full of arrogance. ¡°There are two standing right in front of you.¡±


    I turned around to look at the big man. The mayor¡¯s son looked a little taller than the barely five-feet that he¡¯d been. He was also more toned, so much so that he was no longer rotund. He looked solid and very thick.


    There was only one thing that I knew of that could make that big of a change in that period of time.


    His face was hidden by the visor of his metal helmet, which was the only part of armor he was wearing. The silky shirt and pants that he had on looked so out of place, but he didn¡¯t have the privilege of owning a pair of goggles like we had. It was probably the only way that he could hide that his eyes were no longer green.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± I reached up to grab the hilt of the sword on my back.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Theo wagged his finger as the flaps of the two tents on either side of him opened up and four large men in armor walked out with their swords already drawn. He pointed his finger at us. ¡°Their eyewear.¡±


    I took a step back and pulled out my sword. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    The Mayor¡¯s son started laughing, which sounded really weird because of how the helmet sort of muffled the sound. Or maybe the thick man just sounded like that. ¡°What was it you said? I suggest you run and let me never see your faces again?¡± I could feel the anger in his voice as stones started to form in his hands, confirming my fear. ¡°But trust me, I¡¯ll never forget about it.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 42

    Theo was a Touched.


    I didn¡¯t know what kind of deal he¡¯d made or how he¡¯d done it, but what mattered was that he was very dangerous.


    ¡°Theo¡­¡± My warning was cut off as my goggles were yanked off. I closed my eyes to try to stop them from being seen.


    ¡°You saw that! Everyone saw that! He¡¯s no Bokor! He¡¯s a Touched!¡± The thick man¡¯s screams were going to alert the entire sector. ¡°KILL THEM!¡±


    ¡°Byler! Time to go!¡± Fyga¡¯s voice was barely louder than the sound of metal on metal behind me.


    I opened my eyes and heard gasps from the crowd that had gathered. I didn¡¯t have time to think about that because the guards were too close.


    The guard on my right swung first, so that¡¯s the direction I moved. I guided his sword away from me as I moved around him. We were in the middle of the guards and there was no way we could hold them all off.


    The guard captain grunted and I watched him hit the ground. Fyga stood over him, red dripping off the yellow blade in her hands.


    ¡°WHO¡¯S NEXT!¡± The short woman flourished her sword.


    Seeing their captain die seemed to enrage the guards and all four of them rushed us. I heard more things being shouted from the crowd, but I didn¡¯t have the luxury of being able to focus on them.


    I threw fire in the face of the guard on my left as I tried to get closer to the gate. I needed to find a way to force them to only come at me one at a time, but all I could do was back up towards the wall behind me.


    Our swords could pierce their armor, as Fyga had just demonstrated, but only if we stabbed them. Slashes and swipes weren¡¯t going to do anything, which limited our ability to deal with them. I wanted to kill as few Humans as possible, especially since the guards were just following orders.


    My murder-happy companion thrust out her free hand and a gust of frosty air blasted the guards in the face. I watched as the frost thickened into ice, blocking their view. Which was helpful because the rocks that Theo had been creating flew wide as he shot them at us. One shattered against the wall behind us, while the other flew over the wall.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Damn you, you crazy strumpet!¡± Theo yanked off his helmet. His glowing purple eyes were full of hate as he focused on Fyga. ¡°Try that now!¡±


    There was a gasp as the two guards that had been hiding with Theo took off their helmets to reveal purple eyes as well. The gasps had come from the two guards who had been guarding the gate.


    The two Human guards dropped their weapons as they backed up. Once they were far enough away, they turned and ran through the tents. I wondered if they were going for reinforcements or just to get away.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a big man.¡± Fyga mocked him. ¡°You had to go corrupt yourself to cower before me a second time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you cowering!¡± Rocks began forming in his hands again.


    I swallowed before charging the one on his left. We might get thrown out of the city, but I couldn¡¯t leave these Touched alive. I had no idea why or how they¡¯d ascended, but I had a feeling they¡¯d had help.


    The guard tried an overhead chop, which I easily side stepped. He tried to reverse the swing of his sword, but I slapped it down with the blade of mine, tearing it out of his hand.


    The guard¡¯s jaw dropped as he stared at his empty hands. Before he could come to grips about not being able to hold onto his weapon, I punched him in the face.


    He staggered back as purple began leaking out of his nose. I shook my head as he did what you weren¡¯t supposed to do with a bloody nose. He covered it with his hands and leaned his head back. With his throat exposed, I hit him as hard as I could under the jaw. He fell backwards, landing on his back between two rows of carrots. I¡¯d thought about killing the now unconscious man, but we needed information and I had a feeling he¡¯d talk when Val got back.


    I turned my attention back to Fyga. She¡¯d taken out the guard on her side and had Theo on his back with her yellow-bladed sword pressed against his throat.


    ¡°Good job.¡± I gave her a thumbs up.


    She eyed me. ¡°Good job? I got three of them. All you got was one.¡±


    ¡°Which is why you did a good job.¡± I smirked. ¡°Did you expect me to do all the fighting the day after I woke up from almost dying to save the city?¡±


    ¡°You saved nothing!¡± Theo raised his left hand. Before a rock the size of a marble had formed, Fyga stabbed her sword through the back of his hand, pinning it to the ground.


    ¡°OWWW!!!¡± The thick Touched tried to roll over to grab his pinned hand with his right, but Fyga kicked his right shoulder, then sat on his chest. She pulled her sword out of his hand, then laid it across his throat.


    ¡°You¡¯re about to tell us everything we want to know.¡± Fyga glared at him. ¡°Starting with who told you we were Touched.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯LL TELL YOU NOTHING! JUST WAIT UNTIL LORD DOSWAN UNLEASHES HIS HORDE AND DESTROYS THE ISLAND! YOU¡¯LL BE NOTHING!¡± The entitled brat spit in her face.


    ¡°Um, Fyga?¡± I picked up the goggles that had been yanked off as the rest of the guards showed up. I¡¯d hoped to get them on before anyone else showed up, but now over twenty guards, some with crossbows, lined up in a half circle around us. ¡°I think we¡¯re in trouble.¡±

 Book 3 - Chapter 43

    They¡¯d gone for reinforcements.


    The two guards that had run off were there, swords drawn and looking very afraid. Half of the soldiers that were lined up looked like they would have gone anywhere else if they¡¯d been given the chance. I¡¯d seen a lot of Humans that thought fighting Zombies was a glorious job, but most of them wore the same look that was on the faces of the men without helmets. I had a feeling that most of the ones with helmets had a similar expression.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t stop pointing those weapons at me, I¡¯m going to take them and shove them in whatever hole I can find.¡± Fyga locked eyes with one of the crossbowmen. ¡°Even if I have to make one so it¡¯ll fit.¡±


    The young man swallowed and let his weapon point at the ground.


    ¡°Good boy.¡± Fyga looked around. I was amazed at how many of them were lowering their weapons.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? KILL...!!!¡± Theo lost the ability to speak when Fyga clasped her hand over his mouth. When she removed it, there was a chunk of ice sealing his mouth closed.


    ¡°You had Touched in your city.¡± I shook my head as I tried to figure out which guard was most likely to attack us.


    ¡°I see that.¡± The mayor guided two guards apart to make room for him to walk up to Fyga, who was still sitting on his son. ¡°Oh Theo, what have you done?¡±


    ¡°We need to speak with you.¡± I reversed the grip on my sword so that it looked less threatening. The tension had died down, but I still wasn¡¯t comfortable enough to sheathe it.


    ¡°Forgive me if I can¡¯t take the word of an abomination into consideration.¡± The mayor spat out the word as he glared at me. ¡°How do I know you weren¡¯t the ones that did this and staged this whole thing to try to cover up your mess?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± He had a point. It was possible from his perspective. I thought about pulling out the papers that stated I was a Potential that was checking in on cities as part of my trial, but even if he believed they weren¡¯t faked, there was no way for me to prove that I was Byler. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Surely they told you that I was the one who stopped the plague cloud that was turning people almost instantly.¡± It was the only way I could think of that he might trust me. If he could admit that I wasn¡¯t part of the group that attacked the city, then maybe he would trust me a little.


    ¡°Maybe destroying the city was part of your plan.¡± The mayor didn¡¯t sound convinced.


    ¡°Your son turned into a Touched and you¡¯re questioning our loyalty?¡± Fyga stood up.


    Theo strained to get up as soon as the smaller person was off of him, but he was locked to the ground with ice shackles around his upper arms.


    ¡°Mhmph!¡± The big man tensed against the restraints.


    ¡°If we¡¯re looking for traitors then why don¡¯t we start with the traitor¡¯s son!¡± Fyga scanned the guards.


    None of them looked like they were willing to believe her over their leader. Which meant that we needed to prove ourselves fast.


    ¡°My companions have been going out every day and working to take back this city. They¡¯ve been bringing in survivors and killing Zombies so you don¡¯t have to risk your lives.¡± I eyed the mayor as I motioned at Theo. ¡°And this is the thanks we get?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°And another thing.¡± I cut off the mayor. ¡°Are you Lord Doswan?¡±


    The older man bristled. ¡°Where did you hear that name?¡±


    ¡°I take that as a no.¡±


    ¡°No, I am not Lord Doswan.¡± The mayor straightened. ¡°I would never deal with that pig. I am Theodore Brimly the second.¡±


    I looked down at what I assumed was Theo the third. There was nothing but hate on the younger Brimly¡¯s face.


    ¡°That¡¯s who your son claimed to be working for.¡± It felt good to see the reaction on the mayor¡¯s face. It looked like he was finally starting to believe us.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, we can¡¯t have Touched in the city.¡± The mayor nodded at his guards. ¡°Escort them to the edge.¡±


    The amount of Zombies hiding in the buildings just outside the gate was starting to grow to levels where they¡¯d be able to push the gate down just out of sheer force. I looked over at Fyga. If we left now, I had no doubt that the whole sector would be overrun before Eveth and Val got back.


    ¡°No. We¡¯re not leaving.¡± I glared at the mayor, then did the only thing I could think to do.


    I threw my hand in the air and shot pure magic into the air, shining a purple beacon over us.

 Book 3 - Chapter 44

    The guards raised their weapons.


    That was the first mistake they made.


    The second was that they all pointed them at me.


    Fyga rushed the mayor, grabbing his shoulder and slipping behind him, pressing one of her Ice blades against his neck.


    Only one archer had been able to get off a shot, but that bolt missed and lodged in the gut of one of the swordsmen across from him.


    I lowered my hand as the guards tried to decide who to aim at.


    ¡°Lower your weapons!¡± Fyga¡¯s scream in the mayor¡¯s ear made the old man wince.


    Some of the soldiers dropped their weapons, while others just lowered theirs. Only one guard with his helmet still on had his sword still pointed at me.


    ¡°I said lower your weapons, not drop them, you buckets of fish guts!¡± Fyga growled. ¡°There is a horde of Zombies gathering on the other side of that gate. Every one of you needs to be ready to fight!¡±


    No one moved.


    ¡°NOW!¡± I clapped my hands. ¡°You heard Master Fyga! Get your weapons!¡± I pointed at the injured guard that was moaning on the ground. ¡°And someone get this man to a healer!¡±


    ¡°WAIT!¡± Fyga glanced behind her, then turned back. ¡°Helmets off.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± The mayor winced as Fyga dug her ice weapon into his neck.


    ¡°We can¡¯t tell who is Human and who is Touched unless we can see their eyes, same as the rest of you.¡± The short woman let go of the mayor with her other hand just long enough to gesture at the guards who had helmets. ¡°Come on! Off with um!¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    The guards started pulling off their helmets until it was only the guard who had been slowly moving towards me who still had on his helmet. There weren¡¯t any more people with glowing eyes, but I had a feeling there was still one more.


    I turned to face him. ¡°Take it off.¡±


    His answer was to slice at me.


    I was able to back up in time for the sword to miss me. I had to dodge twice more before I was able to get my own sword out. I didn¡¯t have to bother. A guard stepped in on either side of me and disarmed him while a third guard came up behind him and tackled him.


    All three guards wrestled the man on the ground, but it was taking all of them to hold him. I knelt down and pulled off his helmet revealing glowing blue eyes, except this wasn¡¯t the man Fyga and I had fought on the bluff. This man had a narrow face and dark hair.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± One of the guards holding him down sounded shocked. ¡°You¡¯re not Benson.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re all dead!¡± The Touched grunted as he strained against the other men.


    I turned to the mayor. ¡°Do you realize you have a problem now and it¡¯s not us?¡±


    The older man started to nod, but that pressed his neck against the edge of the ice, which caused a little blood to flow down the blade.


    ¡°I think you can let him go.¡± I knelt down in front of the Touched. ¡°Are you the one controlling those Zombies?¡± I pointed at the building where the most Zombies were.


    ¡°Burn fast, Traitor.¡± The Touched tried to spit, but the gesture lost something when the side of his face was being held into the dirt.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make him talk.¡± Fyga stomped over and slammed the blade she¡¯d been using to threaten the mayor into the ground right in front of the Touched¡¯s eyes. ¡°Did you know that Touched can regrow ears?¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± I grabbed her shoulder.


    ¡°Lord Doswan will ascend whoever helps me!¡± The Touched tried to look at the other guards as he screamed his plea.


    ¡°No one is going to take you up on that.¡± I had to look at the guards to make sure. There were four standing around, which still put the odds heavily against a single person trying to take him up on his offer.


    ¡°Not even with a horde at the gate?¡± The way a wicked smile crossed his face sent a shiver down to my toes.


    ¡°Byler¡­¡± Fyga didn¡¯t have to point for me to know what was happening.


    There were more Zombies headed this way than I could count. It was feeling like a single large mass that was covering the fifty foot wide square buildings outside. Four of them had reached headache inducing quantities and two more were half full.


    The Touched started cackling as I realized just how dead we were about to be.