“Clever guess, girl,” the largest of them men said, his voice muted from behind the mask. “And you’ll be cleverer still if you hand over one Vei each.”

“One Vei?” Angel exclaimed. “What do you think we are, local lords? Churning Sands has never had such an exorbitant toll.”

“Well, it does now,” the large man said with a stupid laugh. The other three mirrored him.

“We’ll give you five Vex each,” Cowl said. “And that’s being generous. The toll to pass through Churning Sands is barely worth that much.”

“You got a lot more than that on you, rag man,” the large bandit said. “That flying artifact of yours ought to run at least three Vei.”

“You’re an idiot,” Cowl said. “The Magistrate is going to rip you a new breathing hole if he finds out you’re trying to charge people this much.”

“Well, he isn’t here. We are. Fork the cash over, rag man.”

Cowl glanced back at Angel, then turned to the bandits and shrugged carelessly. “Fine, fine. I’m not trying to get killed over some cash.”

He walked towards the men, lowering his sword and reaching into his clothes. Cowl pulled a large bag of money free and held it out in front of him. Angel could see the greed flash in the bandits’ eyes as their leader stepped forward to claim his prize.

The bandit blinked. The tube connecting his mask to the breathing tank severed and flopped down limply as Cowl pulled his sword free of the man’s neck and flicked the blood off it. The Hunter had moved so fast that none of them had even seen him attack.

Angel raised his hand and pointed it at one of the gaping bandits. A bolt of lightning tore free of his palm, crackling across the desert and slamming into one of the men. The electricity slammed into the man’s body with a violent crackle, dancing down his torso and down into the sand beneath his feet.

Angel grabbed another canister from his shoulder and slammed it into place just as the spent one ejected itself. The bandit swayed once and then fell forward, hitting the ground at the same time as the canister.

The two remaining bandits abruptly realized that they’d picked the wrong fight. They paled and backed up, but their own fences proved to be their undoing. Cowl’s wings whirred to life and he shot forward, slicing one of the men clean in half.

He grabbed the other one by the front of his shirt and shoved him back into the electric fence. The man screamed as electricity arced across him. Angel leapt forward to pull Cowl back before the man fried himself as well, but the Hunter didn’t seem phased in the slightest.

Cowl held the bandit in the fence until the screams stopped. He dropped the smoking corpse and drove his sword into the base of the fence, twisting it. A puff of steam rose up from the circular disk atop the fence and the lightning between it and the nearest pole flickered out.

“Come,” Cowl said, wiping his sword off in the sand and returning it to his side. “We don’t have time to waste on these fools.”

Vanessa stared at the corpses of the bandits for a moment, her expression unreadable. Her hands clenched at her sides.

“Gods above,” Vanessa said. “You slaughtered them!”

Angel grimaced, bracing himself for her inevitable complaints about the Hunter’s cruel actions.

“Can’t you do that to the other bandit crew? What are we even scared of?” Vanessa asked. “You smoked those assholes!”

Angel blinked. That hadn’t been what he’d been expecting, but it was certainly better than someone trying to push morals on a man that killed for a living.

“These were amateurs,” Cowl replied. “They were stupid and weak. The other crew had several dangerous fighters and more than a few artifacts, not to mention a flying vehicle. I might have been able to escape, but not while protecting you and Angel.”

“I can hold my own, thank you very much,” Angel said. He thought for a moment. “Well, probably not against the whole crew. But I could take a few of them.”

“What do you want me to do, congratulate you?” Cowl asked. He knelt beside one of the corpses, digging around the man’s belt and pulling out a small purse. He tucked it into a pocket. His wings whirred to life and lifted him off the ground.

Angel rolled his eyes. Cowl took off and the other two followed close behind him. Vanessa seemed to be lost in thought throughout the rest of the trip there. Luckily, no further bandits bothered them. Whether that was due to luck or the corpses they’d left in their wake, Angel wasn’t sure.

Churning Sands had large, silver walls that had probably aided in the creation of its name. They stood three men tall, with several lightly armored guards sitting atop them. There were about a dozen iron gates scattered around the wall that gave entrance to the city.

Several small pillars of smoke rose up from within it, and the faint, clink-chug of machinery filled the air. Surprisingly, the air smelled rather fresh. It wasn’t as clean as the middle of the desert, but it was a far cry from Bronze City.

The three of them slowed down as they reached the nearest gate. Angel hopped off his board and slung it over his shoulder, wrapping his arm as they grew closer. When they stood before the gate, a guard peered down at them.

“Scuffle with the bandits?” the man asked, scratching the side of his scruffy face.

“They were trying to overcharge us. We didn’t take kindly to that,” Cowl said. “We’ll be happy to pay the proper entrance fee.”

The guard started to nod, but another man on the wall started towards them. With a sigh, the guard shook his head and ducked away for a moment. The iron grate blocking the city rumbled upwards and the man popped back out.

“No need,” he said with a disappointed frown. “There’s no official tax to enter the city. Just try not to anger too many bandits. It won’t be good for your health.”

“Noted,” Cowl said, sweeping forward as soon as the bars had raised. Angel and Vanessa followed after him and it slammed shut behind them.

The inside of Churning Sands looked like a massive marketplace. Dozens of merchants lined the streets, their wares laid out before them on carpets and blankets. They outnumbered the shoppers by at least three to one.

Most of the buildings were really just elaborate tents – some of which were multiple stories. A tall, spindly building held up by supports sat in the center of the town, surrounded by the market.

“Well, at least it won’t be hard for us to find a map,” Angel said as Cowl led them down the streets. Merchants called out to them, going as far as to reach out and tug on the hems of their pants.

A merchant leaned forward, grabbing Cowl’s right pant leg. “A map, sirs? I have one!”

Cowl kicked her hands away without even looking in her direction. “On the contrary. It is going to be dreadfully difficult.”

“Why?” Vanessa asked, skirting around the merchant as they passed her.

“Most of these merchants are scam artists. Their maps would be worthless,” Cowl replied. “We need to locate a real cartographer, and anything of value costs either time or money.”

“Well, how much metal did our dead friends have?” Angel asked as Cowl turned down a side street, stepping in between merchants as he led them towards a multicolored tent with three stories near the east edge of the town.

“Enough to help,” Cowl said. They reached the front of the tent and he pushed the flap open, gesturing for Angel and Vanessa to go in first.

Angel ducked under the Hunter’s arm. He let out a small sigh as cool air prickled against his skin. He moved out of the way to let Cowl and Vanessa enter behind him. The faint smell of honeydew hung low in the air around them.