"We need to get out of here," I said to Felix.

Never before had I seen a look of such disbelief on his face. He looked back and forth between me and the site of Barrow's impact. "You killed the Archon's son."

If only we had the time to think, I would have considered the situation more. Perhaps reversing the North Wind's death was the best action. What I had done to another human was horrible. Killing the Magister and his guards felt like justice to me. There was no remorse with them. Something about the way I had killed Barrow seemed different.

How much pity could I have for someone who intended to kill me? Barrow had essentially revealed he was involved with the tesseracts. I was a loose end that Jokul wanted dead from the beginning. Leaving him alive kept an enemy at my back who knew far more about me than I wanted. There was no evidence I was the one to kill Barrow. Jokul may suspect my involvement but who would believe some teenage acolyte killed a half-divine being?

No, it was best if Barrow stayed dead. If I reversed time and regretted it, there was no guarantee I would get another lucky shot on him. He was just one more addition to all the corpses dropping around me. The thought made me feel nauseated.

"Yes," I said. "I killed him."

My friend remained silent. Keeping the porcelain sword in my off-hand, I passed my Bakkel to Felix. He used it as a crutch and we set off as fast as we could together. No use in trying to mask the site of Barrow's death. Traces of gore had spread far. Our priority was the leave the area.

After a minute of limping, Felix spoke up. "I'm glad you killed Barrow. We were nothing but an inconvenience to him. No one would have noticed if we disappeared."

I grunted in agreement.

"Where are we going?" he said.

"My safe house," I said. "We'll get some funds and travel supplies. I've found some people who can get me out of the city in a pinch. We'll visit them and go as far as possible."

"You're well prepared for this sort of situation. I bet my people are better. I'll give you their names."

I quit walking, forcing him to stop with me if he wanted my support. "Why would you not just take me to them?"

Felix took a deep breath. "I'm not going with you. I can't leave Odena. Not now. It's not because of you killing Barrow. Astaroth still has plans for this city, and my life is in his hands. You can maybe escape Archon Vasely and his people. But if I come with you, Astaroth will be your enemy as well. At the very least, you should make it out of this alive. After all, you're strong enough to kill Barrow."

"I was lucky," I said. "I doubt he was using much of his power to control his flying. That would just be fine control of the wind around him instead of brute force. If it came down to his full might against me I wouldn't have had a chance. I only disrupted his landing attempt and caught him by surprise."

"Something being lucky doesn't invalidate it." Felix looked so weary I was surprised he stayed on his feet. "I'm just slowing you down. I chose my fate here so don't feel obligated to protect me. Lyra knew the risks as well. You don't have to be some heroic crusader on our behalf."

"You know why she died?" I said.

"Not the specifics." With a great sigh, Felix started limping away, forcing me to follow so he wouldn't collapse. "The demons used her paintings to do something. I'm not sure what the specifics are, but she painted that mural in Amelie in Yellow. I don't think that's a coincidence. Many rich and influential people purchased her art. It's displayed all over the city. Whatever is happening here, the tesseracts are only the beginning. Get out, Leones. Go."

I shook my head. One more thing to meditate on when I had the chance. "At least let me make sure you get to a healer."

Felix agreed begrudgingly. He knew of someone within a mile, though that distance seemed like forever at our current pace. Signs of the guards mobilizing became obvious around us. Pressed against an alley wall, we waited for several armored soldiers to rush past before we slipped back onto the road. We stayed to the shadows and backways as much as we could. Anyone whose gaze lingered on us would realize something was off about us immediately. I had to use my time magic three different times after guards or perceptive civilians noticed us. My magical awareness proved unhelpful but I maintained it as wide as I could just in case. Hopefully it could at least detect the female Wind if she caught our trail.

Mostly we moved in silence so Felix could save his breath. What was there left to say? Right before we arrived at the healer's, we reached the point of no return. An hour had passed since I killed Barrow. I could never reverse my decision again. I tried not to think about it---the choice had been made. The whole walk I tried to parse through all the information I had learned, but it was impossible to focus with all the distractions around us.

The activity throughout the city had picked up to a near frenzy. Barrow's remains would have been discovered and word had begun to spread. No one knew exactly what was going on, though Felix and I probably had the best knowledge out of living humans. Jokul might be the only person with a greater grasp of what was going on, unless Vasely himself was the perpetrator.

The healer turned out to be a pleasant older woman who looked completely unsurprised at two blood-stained teenagers panting at her entranceway. She helped me carry Felix to a bed close to the door. By then my friend could barely keep his eyes open, and though most of his wounds had stopped bleeding, the overall loss concerned me. How much blood did a human body have overall? My mind taunted me by remembering the scene of Barrow's body disintegrating on impact. A lot, it seemed.

When the healer went to grab some supplies, Felix and I said our farewells.

His voice was weak. "You should go."

I grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Find your way out of here, brother. We will see each other again. If we don't meet back up within two years, find me in Khalan two years from now. We'll meet in the most expensive gambling den in the city."

"Bring a fortune. I'll take it from you at the tables." He offered me a smile. Blood stained his teeth. "I hope you ended up with the better master. None of what happened here is your fault, Leones."

The healer returned, her arms full with equipment. Herbs, poultices, a mortar and pestle, bandages, and assortment of other tools. In exchange for a couple silvers she had also brought me some clothes and a strip of cloth to tie the porcelain sword to my waist. The quality was rough and the fit terrible but I could pass for one of the commonfolk anywhere across the Civilized Lands. Feeling awkward, I stripped to my underclothes and changed into the new shirt and trousers.

The healer selected a pair of shears and without a word began to cut off Felix's clothes. Should I have said something else? The chances we would meet up again seemed miniscule.

I tied the porcelain sword to my waist with the cloth and slid the Bakkel back in its place at my side. The arrangement looked awkward but it would have to do for now. I paused at the door before leaving.

We would both have to go forward. Were there no better final words to say? Despite only knowing each other for less than a year, we understood on a level deeper than words. Everything that had happened spoke for itself.

I left the healer's home.

Despite my fatigue I ran a mile and a half to my safehouse. Since I did not have my keys on me, I broke a window and forced my way in. I grabbed a pack, slung it over my shoulder, and hurried to the closest smuggler I was aware of.

Getting out of the city would be a service in high demand after the events of the Amphitheater. Given the escaped prisoners and word of Barrow's death, the exodus from the city would clog the roads for miles. Hopefully I would not have to hunt down too many people before I found one able to take me from the city.

As long as I had a few coppers and my time magic, I would be able to financially recover anywhere. Worst case scenario my training had strengthened me enough that there would always be some physical labor work available.

I almost made it to the smuggler's place by the time the Narahven woman found me.

She appeared on the street directly in front of me, some twenty paces away, loose clothes flapping about her wildly. The currents of wind heralding her arrival almost threw me off my feet.

She strode forward. The ground rippled as she walked. "I should have never let Barrow chase after you alone. You will pay for what you've done, boy."

"What's your name?" I said.

"Zephyr, the West Wind." She unsheathed her sword as she closed in. The look on her face promised death. "The sister of the man you murdered. Your justice. Submit to me peacefully and you will face a trial for your crimes."

Zephyr. Good to know. I wanted to figure out her abilities but that curiosity could mean my death.

"No, thanks." I reversed time a few minutes.

This time I took a different route towards the smuggler's house that wasted an additional fifteen minutes.

Were they detecting me through sensing my magical ability? I was keeping both powers at the forefront of my mind, ready to use them at a moment's notice. Perhaps it would be better to relax and give others less of a beacon to follow. I forced myself into as normal of a state of mind as I could manage.

The reality of the situation was beginning to weigh on me. The time had passed for me to reverse time with Barrow. This woman knew who I was. She would tell her father, the Archon. I had made an enemy of at least two gods in quick succession. Perhaps using my power frivolously in the past had distorted my sense of danger. Being able to reverse time for an hour did not stop me from making the wrong decision. Like Felix had said, we have to live with the consequences of our actions.

Part of me wanted to visit the philosophers one last time. Maybe Brother Augur would even be in the city. But it would be a pointless goodbye and the Gardens were too far away. If it ended up being a waste of my power, that reckless indulgence could be what killed me.

I made it to my destination without encountering Zephyr again. The smuggler answered my knocking promptly. He was a short man named Callos, a bit of a suspicious figure between his greasy hair and small eyes.

Despite his appearance, he had a jolly voice. "Nice to make your acquaintance, young man! Come in, come in."

He ushered me into his home. A quaint and cheap place, poorly maintained, with a strange musk to the air I couldn't identify. Callos' reputation held him up as one of the best smugglers in the city, honest and humble. Also one of the richest, though he put on appearances to fend off the constant robberies most smugglers dealt with. I half-expected to see a private guard in his place, but if there was one, he stayed out of sight during business.

"I need out of the city immediately," I said.

"Understandable, understandable," said Callos. "Very bizarre times we are living in. I am thinking of leaving myself but the business right now is just excellent."

After his spiel he watched me with expectant eyes. I handed him two sols from my coinpurse. Faske had paid the same amount to get me transport from Velassa to Odena. I didn't even want passage to anywhere far. Just immediate escape from the city.

Like any good smuggler, Callos knew not to be too greedy. "I have some horses hitched outside of the city as a getaway. I have an arrangement with one of the guards stationed at a side gate a few miles away. Another silver for his bribe, if you don't mind---yes, thank you, good man. I have a carriage ready to go. You'll climb under the blanket in the back. Not a peep until I get you out. Have you ever ridden a horse?"

I followed him out of a side door towards where the carriage awaited. "Once, when I was a child."

"Well, I assume that was a pony. This will be different. You'll chafe something else. But horse is the fastest way to do unless you can fly." Callos winked.

The nausea returned at his mention of flying. The smuggler went about preparing his carriage for departure. To my annoyance he kept up the conversation as he worked. He was doing me a massive favor so I could not ignore him.

"Don't see a lot of young men with a sword," he said. "Let alone two."

"Good time to keep a sword on you."

He laughed. "True words, friend! I won't ask you too many questions, don't worry. I just like to tease. Now come on, get back there."

I bundled myself and my pack under the scratchy woolen blanket in the back of his carriage. Awkwardly splayed out, I tried my best to resemble an inhuman shape, which I imagined was entirely unsuccessful. When the carriage set off I realized I had been holding my breath for far too long. I inhaled the musty air under the blanket and had to hold back a coughing fit. Not exactly leaving in style, but it looked like I was on the right track. I still had over half of my reserves for time magic. The headache was barely even noticeable at this point.

I was going to escape. A bloody, messy escape, but I would survive for another day. Relief washed over me like a wave. Even smothered under the blanket I was able to slip into a meditative trance and try to order my thoughts.

Merry voices started up as the smuggler talked with one of the guards. The flap to the back of the carriage rustled open and I continued my best random-pile-of-objects impersonation. A snort, then the flap rustled again.

"Try to be less obvious next time, Callos," said the guard.

My heart pounded in my chest but the carriage started along.

We made it out.

I pushed the blanket off of my face and sucked in a huge lungful of relatively fresh air. After a few more minutes the carriage rattled to a stop.

"Come on out, boy," said Callos.

I was all too happy to burst out into the sunlight. Outside, three mercenaries stood around a cluster of horses tied to a post. We were off some random branch of the main road heading east of the city. Quite the operation being funded here, though the smuggler would still rake in a massive profit even after paying a few random cutthroats to protect the horses.

Callos chatted with the mercenaries. They prepared a horse for me, a fine enough looking breed, mostly black except for its white feet. I clambered up onto the saddle awkwardly while they briefed me on the basics of riding.

After the impromptu lesson, Callos loaded my pack onto the horse. True to his excellent reputation, he even handed me a map. "Some rations in there that should last you a couple days. Closest village is Journey, about ten miles eastward. Remember to recommend me---"

The smugglers' voice was cut off as a titanic boom rang through the air. A sound I had heard before, only comparable to thunder but more of a sustained whooshing sound. A figure shot overhead like a meteor, a warped explosion of air distorting his trail. Faster even than Barrow. Much faster. That sound must have been caused from his sheer ridiculous speed.

Only one person was capable of such a thing. The figure disappeared out of sight after it entered the city. But I could still hear the Archon when he spoke, a calm, mature voice that sounded like he was speaking right next to my ear. I suspected everyone within a considerable distance heard the message.

"The city of Odena is under lockdown," said Vasely. "No one is to enter or leave. Report all suspicious activity directly to the nearest authority. I repeat..."

I gulped. Before the smuggler or the mercenaries could react I pulled the reins. The horse started forward at a trot. I leaned back into the saddle and stirrups and encouraged it with my legs. The horse picked up speed and though it did not seem like nearly enough, I started to put distance between me and the city. The entire time I expected the Archon to appear out of nowhere and apprehend me. But now that he had returned to the city from an unannounced leave, he would be updated on several concerns within the city. He may not even know Barrow was dead quite yet. And that gave me time to make my escape.

Hopefully never to see the god-cursed place again.