As Erin approached the center of town and Sigrid’s temporary residence, Hax swept down from above. The small dragon circled her a few times as she walked, and then landed lightly on her shoulder. Erin had already had some of her clothing adjusted. Thick leather patches sewn into the fabric so that he could take a grip on her without drawing blood. Kiran, still rushing to keep up, eyed the small dragon uneasily. Erin had never been afraid of the small dragon, or even uncomfortable with his presence. She reached up as they walked and gently scratched his chest.

The magic of the familiar bond ran deeper than she had realized when she’d created it. In part because of how far away Hax had been when he’d decided to become her partner, but also because the flow of emotions and thoughts between them was something that seemed to happen indirectly. She found she knew things without having to be told, like his name or where he liked to be scratched.

Erin and Kiran moved up onto the porch and stepped into the home. When Erin had first heard the mayor had a home at the town’s center, she had imagined something lavish in a rural kind of way and had been surprised to find it was just rural. A simple two story building. The first floor was where the mayor had conducted business, and Erin suspected his old office was where they’d find Sigrid.

Sigrid indeed sat behind the old mayor’s desk as Erin entered the room, but she wasn’t alone. Across from her, in a plain brown robe. Head shaved smooth, her skin the bright orange that Erin associated with spray-tans was Serra.

Both women turned their attention to Erin as she entered the room, Kiran directly behind her.

“Erin,” Serra said, rising from her seat, “we were just discussing you. Allow me to offer my apologies,” Serra said, bowing at the waist, her hands pressed together as if in prayer. “I don’t know what came over them.”

“I… what?” Erin asked, confused. Her gaze jumped between Serra and Sigrid.

“Serra, please sit.” Sigrid said, sounding tired. “There’s no need for all of that.” The amber colored mage tipped her head up, bright blue eyes meeting Erin’s with the ghost of a smile on her face. Then she straightened and turned, facing Sigrid.

“I respectfully disagree. They are my people and I’m responsible for their actions. If I’d known, I would’ve forbidden it.”

“What’s going on?” Kiran asked, stepping into the conversation. Sigrid heaved a sigh and sat back in her chair.

“Serra’s people have a certain mission, which you all know, and at my request, Serra agreed to suspend pursuing it here in Dangole while we work on rebuilding. Erin, you were the person who originally brought the situation to my attention, and I, of course, agreed there was a better time for such things. I explained my thoughts to Serra, and she agreed.”

“I explained as much to my people,” Serra stepped in, “but it seems they had a different take away than I expected. After we took a step back from our personal missions to help you rebuild, some of the villagers we’d already spoken with began to ask questions. My people very indelicately told the villagers you had convinced Sigrid to forbid us from discussing the matter further. Leaving some citizens of the village to believe… Well, that you didn’t want them to become Mages.”

Erin’s stomach turned as her mind raced. So that was why the old woman had spit at her? Why she was sensing hostility in the eyes of people on the street. What’s worse is that she did want Serra’s people to leave the citizens of Dangole alone. She didn’t trust the woman, nor did she believe her claims.

[She’s a clever one.]

What do you mean?

[You’ve been outmaneuvered. It will no longer be possible for you to speak against her group without appearing to be a Mage trying to control the distribution of magic.]

Erin’s stomach sank as she realized what it all meant. Serra had just beaten Erin at a game she didn’t realize they were playing.

[She achieved a victory here, but that doesn’t mean she’s won. Accept the defeat and be gracious about it, otherwise she can make you seem unreasonable.]

The anger that simmered in Erin’s chest threatened to erupt as she looked into Serra’s eyes. She wanted to call up her powers and tear the woman apart. Erin grappled with the madness and pressed it back down. A twinkle in Serra’s eye made Erin think she had some idea what was going on inside. Heeding Lisa’s advice, Erin smiled and nodded, as if understanding.

“I see, so that’s what that was about. Well, feel free to have your people pass the word along. It was not my intent to take away their choice in the matter. I only meant to share my opinion on what I thought was best for the near future with Sigrid.”

“An opinion with which I agreed.” Sigrid added. Serra stepped back, away from Erin, and turned herself so that she could see both of them at once.

“Of course, of course. I will do my best to see Erin’s reputation repaired from this unfortunate misunderstanding. That she has no intention of working against the people.”

Erin felt like there was a lemon in her throat, but she smiled and nodded.

“Of course.”

“Well, I’m glad we’ve cleared that up,” Serra said with a smile. “Rest assured, my people will be reprimanded for speaking out of turn. It really is embarrassing.” She turned and gave Sigrid the same bow she’d shown Erin when she was apologizing. “Excuse me, miss mayor, but I’d best be getting back.”

With one last fake smile thrown Erin’s way, the bald Mage departed. Erin turned and closed the door and then leaned her forehead against the wood, eyes closed.

Why is she pushing so hard against me? Erin wondered.

[Because she knows you’re suspicious, and so you should be. I’ve got a bad feeling about all of this. What she claims to be able to do, it’s unnatural. It’s dangerous.]

Nothing I can do about it now without looking like some kind of tyrant, which is exactly what people expect from Mages according to Arthur.

Before Lisa could respond. Sigrid cleared her throat and Erin pushed herself away from the door and turned around to look at her.

“It can’t have been that bad already?” Sigrid asked, eyebrow raised.

“Some old woman spat at her in the street.” Kiran supplied, “Otherwise I didn’t notice nothin’.”

“There were some looks,” Erin said, but she shook her head. “So that’s it then. At some point we are going to have to let them promise to turn these people into Mages?” Sigrid drummed her fingers on the top of her desk, looking at Erin contemplatively.

“I see,” Sigrid said after a moment. “So you think this was on purpose? It makes sense. Arthur says that the people who live this far north are trying to get as far away from Academy City as they can.”

“With respect to the Prince. Mages ain’t the only ones we want to get away from.” Kiran interjected. Sigrid shuffled some papers in front of her and then sighed.

“I don’t see what we can do, Erin. I’m going to organize an election soon. According to Arthur, it turns out that I can’t even be mayor. Even temporarily it could be considered a crime by Academy City.” Drawn from her own ruminations, Erin raised an eyebrow.

“What? A crime?”

“Yeah,” Kiran nodded. “Academy City law. It’s illegal for Mages to hold positions of authority in First Tier settlements. Queens, Mayors. You lot aren’t even supposed to be working as the law.”

“And Academy City gets to impose laws outside their own territory?”

“They claim jurisdiction over every Mage in the world.” Sigrid said, folding her hands together.

“Never made sense to me,” Kiran said with a shrug. “You’d think they’d want more of their kind in charge.”

“No,” Erin disagreed, disheartened. “No, it makes sense. A kingdom led by a Mage could become a threat to them. Even Mages aligning with an already existing power could change the status quo.”

“Which explains Arthur and his dad.” Sigrid said. Erin caught the scowl on Kiran’s face, but the Monster Hunter said nothing. “Maybe his offer is worth considering, but now is not the time. As I was saying, I’m going to be organizing an election as soon as possible and passing this nonsense on to someone else.” Sigrid gestured to indicate the desk in front of her, which was indeed overcrowded with stacks of paper. “You wouldn’t think a place this far removed would have so much bureaucracy, but I guess everyone likes to have things in writing.”

“And what then?” Kiran asked, still scowling. “You going to join up with the Mage Slayer?”

“I don’t know. We’ll work that out. A lot of options are on the table.”

“What about staying here?” Kiran asked. Sigrid didn’t respond immediately, glancing between Kiran and Erin.

“A lot of options are on the table.” She repeated, “but now isn’t the time.”

Just then, a light tapping came on the door. Kiran stepped away as Erin pulled it open. Arthur and Liam entered.

“Just saw Serra,” Liam told them. “She looked happy. What did you do, Sigrid? Make it legal to kick puppies?” Erin snorted and Sigrid sighed.

“Well, Erin got kicked around a little, from what I understand.” Kiran said.

“Hey.” Erin said.

“What?” Liam and Arthur asked together. Sigrid gave a brief rundown of what they suspect of Serra’s agenda and then directed the conversation toward the actual purpose of them meeting here.

“The qek?” Sigrid asked.

“We’ve wiped out some small groups.” Kiran said, standing straighter. “The larger body of qek forces was moving northeast, towards the mountains.” Sigrid nodded and fished a paper out of one stack, setting it before her.

“The scouts have reported as much. We need to know what they’re doing. I don’t want them to come barreling down on us again. We need to know if we’re finished with them or if they’re regrouping for another attack. I want to send you three,” she said, pointing at Erin, Liam and Kiran, “to follow their trail and report back. Arthur, if you wanted to help, I’d appreciate it.”

“Of course, I’ll take a few men to fill out our number. If Commander Kiran brings a few of his own, we should be more than prepared to handle anything we might encounter. I’ll leave the rest in your charge till I return.”

Erin saw Kiran’s face flush, and part of her groaned. No doubt he would see the suggestion as the prince trying to give him orders. She reached up and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. He turned to look at her, and the color faded from his cheeks. He turned back to Sigrid with a nod.

“Yeah, that’s… a good idea.”

“Alright, that’s settled. You have one week, that’s seven days. If you aren’t back by then; I’ll be coming to find you.” Sigrid leaned back in her chair and stared at the piles of papers. “I wonder if I could hold the election in enough time to go with you.”

“I doubt it.” Erin said with a smile. “Let’s go get ready.”

“I’ll meet you all at the gate in half an hour. I’ve got some things to take care of.” Kiran said before heading toward the door. Liam popped it open and turned to look at the rest of them.

“Well, I’m ready,” the big man said. “These inventory things are handy.” He said, touching the inventory medallion stuck to his waist.

“Did you fill out your spells?” Erin asked.

“I still need a special,” He said with a grimace.

“That reminds me,” Erin said. “Before we head off, I have some augments I should use, and I wanted to get your thoughts on them.”

“Alright,” Liam said. “Lets hear ‘em.”

“Yes,” Sigrid agreed. “Lets.”