Chapter 9

The Renegades

The stone underneath Meredith’s hand was cool to the touch, just like in the hallway behind. It was foreign in such a heated place. Most of the paint that was splashed upon the fresco showed no signs of decay or age, other than some fading in a few spots, perfectly intact from however they must have been ages ago.

Meredith ran her hand down the mural, tracing the picture of the goddess that she had seen in the church. This one looked less angelic and more…downtrodden. The stark comparison to what the church had depicted her as surprised Meredith, making her step back in order to take in the full scope of the mural. As she did so, more sun peaked through the vines and cracks in the stone, illuminating the whole wall like a tapestry, unobstructed by the shifting sands just outside.

With the changing position of the sun, the stones began to creak and crack, reacting to the different angle of heat, and Meredith snapped her head back, swearing she could hear movement in the many halls beyond. When nothing but tumbling pebbles followed, she looked back towards the painting in front of her, now revealed in its full glory.

It was equal parts beautiful and haunting. The artistry was clearly peerless, yet there was something exultant and sad about the direction that the artist had chosen to take. From the middle there was the depiction of the goddess, Crea, though she wasn’t the shining, radiant figure that Meredith had expected. Instead, there was coldness, as if a great duty had been thrust upon her. Or that was the impression Meredith got, like it was whispered in her ear through a muddled tube.

Bleeding from Crea’s outstretched hands appeared six lights, all in different colors, that flowed downward, giving life to the land and all around it. Yet it did not stop there, soon erupting into images of people fighting one another, before a schism that split the mural in two on both sides. Whether symbolic, or through old age, Meredith wasn’t sure, but she let her eyes follow the path as it transformed into a tapestry of legend that was so fantastical, it was beautiful.

There was a clash depicted, of brave warriors against mighty beasts, and a battle…no, a war that looked to sunder the heavens before finally being won. In the forefront of all those figures, as if it had truly been painted in honor of this one individual, was a man with a sword, the earth shown as trembling around him. Meredith inched closer to the edge of the faded mural, trying to glean the last inch of the story that was being told, only to find that it had tapered off into nothing at the end, obscured by age.

“Well, that’s a disappointment…” Meredith finally said, her voice louder than expected in the open room, echoing down the hall she’d come from. It wasn’t loud enough to cover the steps coming down the hall after her, though. She whipped around as someone came blasting through the door, aiming a punch straight for her face. Meredith sidestepped the blow and snapped a kick into her attacker’s back.

“Agh!” he cried out, tumbling to the ground. Meredith wasted no time in pressing her advantage, pressing her foot on the man’s leg and reaching down to grab his arm, pinning it behind his back. He gave another cry, which satisfied Meredith insofar as helping her realize she was, at least a little, skilled at fighting.

“All right you, why are you following me?” she demanded. Her grip wrenched at his arm, pulling at him, and his head was forced to turn. The look surprised Meredith, and she nearly let go.

It wasn’t a man, but a boy, maybe just a year older than her. The one thing that truly set him apart from her, however, was the sheer hatred that he was shooting out from his eyes, his lips set into a pained snarl. He struggled under her hold, his tanned skin from time in the desert contrasting with her olive complexion. She leaned in, and he spat at her.

“Get out!” he said. Meredith shook her head, hoping to remove the spit from her eyes, when the sound of more footsteps invaded the room.

“Wha…?” The sudden intrusion caused Meredith to let go of the boy, and he ran to the group of people that were now lining the walls. Suddenly the abandoned items made a lot more sense, and Meredith’s hairs stood on edge in worry. She hadn’t even noticed them inside the ruins, much less when they’d stepped foot in this place, though it was obvious that her attacker belonged with them.

What really struck her was that each of them was not dressed in the clothes of a standard traveler, or even a tourist on a visit. Their clothes were tattered and worn from long use in the desert, hanging off their figures. Some of them were clinging to one another, scared of the intruder to their home. The whole thing baffled Meredith, while at the same time, made her gaze at them with just a bit of pity. Except for one.

Standing in front of the door was a man with no look of exhaustion or fear in his eyes. The only thing that made him similar to those in question was the same burning hatred that Meredith could sense. Out of all the people in that room, he was the one she could understand the most, as if a silent communication channel had opened without either of them knowing. He also walked forward, the sun illuminating his darker skin as he approached her.

“My apologies for the actions of my people,” the man spoke. It was even, calm and soothing. With a flick of her eyes, Meredith could see the others looking at him with rapt fascination. He was like a messiah to them, it seemed, and Meredith knew her words needed to be very careful. “We try to make but a humble life here, and intrusions this deep in the ruins are unheard of.”

“I got lost,” Meredith said, biting back her tongue. Remembering the fleeing visitors from earlier, she had a feeling they’d been scared off by this group, but she didn’t want to say anything to get herself in trouble. “I didn’t mean to disturb you and your…”

“Family,” the man said, walking ever closer. He was now close enough that Meredith could see the thin mustache on his face, his squinted eyes attempting to give the impression of a kindly leader. Meredith swallowed, wary of the man before her, who outstretched his hand. “Rico.”

“Excuse me?”

“My name.” Meredith looked to the hand at his introduction, but something told her to not take it. Rico eventually figured that out and retracted it. “A trial candidate, are we? Not many of you are willing to explore the ruins at the slightest hint of danger. You are a rare breed.”

“I suppose…” Meredith said. Rico was now circling, his eyes locked on to her. No part of him was smiling despite his jovial demeanor, and Meredith tried to keep her mouth shut to anything that could set him off. “And you are…? Judging from such a gathering and the mural here, I want to say…the World Restoration Order?”

“Ha!” Rico’s laugh sparked a similar reaction from the crowd of people around him. It was so influential that Rico began to laugh again and couldn’t stop, even while his people did. Not all of them remained standing around the walls, some of them taking positions near the gaps by climbing the vines acting as lookouts. “We’re nothing so vile.

“The Order is a group of murderers and thieves who pay homage to their goddess as if it gives them meaning. None of us wish to be associated with that sort of filth. Our ideals are far too different to even be compared. No, we are just some of the forgotten ones, trial girl.”

“Renegades,” she spoke without thinking. Rico stopped pacing around her, and Meredith realized how tall he was in comparison to her. The height disparity didn’t last for long. Rico walked over to an abandoned chair and grabbed it before spinning it around to sit on it. Even here, he nearly reached up to her chin.

“A good guess,” he said. Meredith’s face tightened. She wasn’t scared, but even in a sitting position, the message that Rico was delivering was very loud and clear. “I suppose that’s what they’re calling us these days. Corps doesn’t want any unpredictable elements floating around.”

“I…don’t understand,” Meredith voiced. Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd and Rico considered her statement. With a clearer view, Meredith could see that many of the people there looked young, her age or just slightly older. Even Rico, on a secondary glance, seemed to be within ten years of her despite coming off as the leader.

“Never seen someone fail a trial, girl? Never seen a town burn down thanks to the Order’s more zealous fanatics and the survivors have nowhere else to go?” Rico finally said. Meredith furrowed her brow. He wasn’t making too much sense, but she felt like she was getting the drift of it. “Consider us the dregs.”

Meredith had nothing to say. Rico and the others were watching her, waiting for her reaction, but she had none to give. In part, she felt like he was goading her into saying something wrong, or even just tempting her. Masters’s words from back in Lumarina came to her, instead: how the Renegades had become a problem as they searched for information, especially those with magic. The memory made her take a closer look at those there. It was near impossible to tell, but their bedraggled state certainly seemed to suggest a lack of magical protection, even with the weapons some of them carried. She almost wondered if that was their reason for failing, and she found a sudden sense of camaraderie with these people.

Rico soon cleared his throat. “Ah, I need to ask forgiveness, again. Our life story is unimportant. What news can you share from the outside world, trial girl? We rarely get information but for the times our man at the oasis proper sneaks us food and drink, and even then, most candidates like yourself are unaware of the state of the world. Not much news to be had from them. Isn’t that right, James?”

“As always, Rico,” the man named James, one of the lookouts, said.

“What was the last news we got?”

“A capture of a fellow comrade in Lumarina, and sightings of that wicked Beastmaster in towns local to the desert. No further details.”

“See? Not very much to go on,” Rico said. His face was still smiling, and while the general hatred was dimming behind his eyes, Meredith kept her guard up. Rico was simply more focused. “Have you heard of anything different? The Beastmaster in particular? It was only recently that he burned a village to the ground with a Fire Wyvern he created. Lovelia here was left destitute; crawled all the way to the desert until we took her in. Poor girl…”

“I saw him,” Meredith said before she could stop herself. Rico’s head turned, looking away from the young woman named Lovelia, to Meredith. His eyes glimmered, eyebrow quirked, and the black-haired teen had to wonder if Rico had known this already and was merely waiting for confirmation. “He was…erm…heading for the Metropolis. Not sure if he had any other stops planned.”

“The Metropolis?” James called out, looking away towards their little gathering. “Rico, that’s-”

“Hmph…magic-users…think they can do anything. What is the Corps doing these days, letting cretins like that roam free? It’s unsightly.” Rico breathed in. “Did the Beastmaster say what he was looking for, trial girl?” Meredith opened her mouth, but then closed it. She had her guess to the answer, but was afraid of spilling it to the wrong people. As a result, she shook her head.

“I’m not sure,” she said. Rico found the response good enough, though his thousand-yard stare revealed more than he wished to say out loud. That stare was broken by the sound of new, echoing footsteps from the corridor beyond. Rico stood from his chair as James looked back out again and all of those lining the walls attempted to press themselves into the shadows. Meredith turned in the direction of their guest, striding out of the darkness of the hall and into the light.

“Meredith…? This is a surprise.” Emil walked forward, hands in his pockets and feet firmly on the ground. Rico said nothing, observing the boy who had just stepped in. Without showing it on her face, Meredith breathed out in relief. With two non-Renegades there, her chances of getting out safely had increased. “Friends of yours?”

“Hardly,” she drawled. Emil offered her a cheeky grin as his hands withdrew from his pockets and were placed behind his blond head of hair. “What are you doing here? I thought you would have been at the trial site by now.”

“Told you I had some stuff I wanted to do, right? Visiting these ruins was one of those things,” Emil said in answer. He soon drew level with her, observing the room just as she had before glancing up and down Rico’s silent figure. “Plus, you were only, what, a day behind me?”

“Just didn’t think you’d be so slow.” Emil laughed at that, but no one else did. Rico’s expressionless face said it all for the rest of the crowd present.

“Two trial candidates in one day…to what did our family owe this pleasure?” he said after some time. Neither Emil nor Meredith had an answer for him. “Well, that’s a conundrum. Guess we might have to move shop and join up with some of the others.”

“Are we going hunting again, brother?” asked a girl close to the wall. From Rico’s earlier movements, Meredith guessed her to be Lovelia. Rico affixed a grin to his face.

“I’m getting the feeling so,” he said. The newfound mutterings and murmurs were half-excited, half-fearful. It sounded to Meredith as though they were planning to leave the home they had all made, and yet the scare was overridden with a promise between them and this striking leader of the Renegades. Once Rico had smiled at each of them in turn, he turned his attention to Meredith and Emil, both. “Thank you for your information. We have an idea of where to move towards now, I believe. I think it’ll be a fulfilling hunt.”

“What do you mean by ‘hunt’?” Emil said, not moving his hands from their position. Rico wiggled a finger at them; they were getting nothing. She was fine with that. Getting involved further with the ambiguous meaning of that word was not on her agenda.

“It’s nothing to worry about. We’re all on the same side, right? Helping the people in our own ways,” Rico concluded, confirming Meredith’s thoughts. Breathing easier, she was at least glad that she didn’t have to worry about her information having fallen into dangerous hands. Rico grabbed hold of the chair and spun it around. “Now, don’t trial-goers like yourselves have somewhere to be getting to?”

“Yes,” Meredith said pointedly. Sparing no further thought, she grabbed ahold of the scarf around Emil’s neck and began dragging him toward the hallway out of there, not leaving things to chance. Emil let her.

“Good luck, trial girl. Rooting for you,” Rico said, a chuckle lacing every word. The well-wish made Meredith pause at the edge to look back at the darker-skinned man, now scratching at his mustache. “If you flunk out, you can always come to us, though.”

“And spend time in a dusty room full of murals? I’m pretty sure she’d pass,” Emil said. Meredith yanked harder on his scarf to shut him up, which he answered with a gag. She did give another look to the mural on the walls, though, hearing their whispers of history one more time. They resonated louder, like she wasn’t the only one listening to them.

“Let’s go, Emil.” She chose to not spare Rico even one more glance as she pulled her blond companion into the hall beyond, just out of the restless Renegades’ earshot. “Next time, don’t talk for me.”

“Sorry!” Emil said. He was apologetic but he still reached up and wrenched her hand away from him. This pulled the both of them to a stop and Meredith rounded her green eyes on to Emil. As always, he was grinning at her with that cocky expression, though at least his feet remained on the ground. “So, what’re you doing here, Meredith?”

“Er…” Emil’s inquisitive look was rather innocent, but Meredith couldn’t bring herself to admit what had occurred in the oasis. In the end, she settled for, “Got lost. What about you?”

“Ruins interest me. Never know what you’ll find,” came his answer. “I’m looking forward to the trial site at the Sandshift Ruins. Gotta be something interesting there. I don’t even care if I get a low rank so long as I get to explore!”

“You’re unbelievable,” Meredith said with a roll of her eyes. He laughed. After a moment of that, she couldn’t help a snort to join in with him. She was about to ask him more about this previously unknown interest of his, when a sudden shout interrupted them, emanating from the room they had just left.

“Incoming, Rico!” The cry caused both Meredith and Emil to look in the direction of the room, and without thinking, they ran towards it without entering. The one called James had turned away from his lookout post as Rico approached. “Monsters inbound. Looks like quite the amount: griffins, wyverns, and a herald of bats.”

“Is it the Beastmaster?” Rico asked, the earlier jovial tone gone. Her heart jumped, the worry and memory from Frostfall Cavern settling in. Even Emil looked concerned.

“I doubt he’s actually here, but there’s no way this many monsters could come from somewhere else…”

“Why now…?” Rico asked. None of his people seemed able to answer, but Meredith noted a very particular change in each of their demeanors. The oppressed, ragged feel was dropping away, replaced with hardened and sturdy warriors, drawing weapons from underneath their clothes. Those actions made a marked change in Rico. “Lovelia, did you sense any magical signatures at the oasis?”

“There was one, I believe, but there are always so many gathered there, it is hard to tell, brother.” Lovelia’s answer caused Rico to whip his desert cloak out, a gleaming weapon at his side. He was no mere man in the desert, but a man ready for war. Emil twitched next to her, and soon after, Meredith could hear the screeches of monsters.

“He’s detoured…Is it a test of his abilities? Or is he looking for the weapons that caused him to raze so many villages already…? Was it the extra concentration of magic power? I thought we’d…hmm…Another, then?” Rico questioned. The leader of the Renegades looked lost in thought, every stray musing causing him to frown further. Meredith scraped her foot, though the sound was ignored in the flurry of activity taking place just beyond the door.

Weapons. Monsters. Sensing magic. There was no doubt to her that the Beastmaster was involved…and it just increased the need to get to the Sandshift Ruins. Getting the Guardian Corps moving on a larger threat than she could ever imagine had been upgraded to an absolute necessity.

“It’s the same as the mantis in the Cavern?” Emil whispered. Meredith shrugged, but nodded all the same, and her companion received the message. “So, some guy made that? Explains a lot. He must be striking the oasis to get this weapon they’re talking about, then…?”

“Or he’s preparing for his next job,” Meredith said. Emil’s eyebrows arched, surprised by the information. Rico was shouting orders to the Renegades in the room, and while Meredith was about to listen in, the overpowering screech she heard overhead reminded her of what she had left alone. “Oh no…Eddie.”

The Renegades faded from importance in Meredith’s mind. She spun on her heel and began dashing down the hall, trying to vaguely remember the route she’d taken. The ruins shook, and another screech emanated outward. Meredith’s breath hitched. Damn it, I never should have left him alone…

“Yo, Mera, calm down!” Emil’s voice interrupted her, and she looked up to see him floating in midair. More importantly, his hand was outstretched. “Need a way out?”

“If you can get me there fast.” His grin told her he could. She slapped her hand outward, clasping his, and she felt herself lift off the ground with ease. Emil sped off through the hall, altering the force of their gravity to make every twist and turn while they fell sideways. He knew them by heart, with Meredith not even clipping the edge of a single hallway.

The ruins shook again, and when Meredith looked through one of the holes in the walls, she could see what looked like a breath of fire breaking apart the sand, sending it filtering through. The closer they got to the exit for the oasis, the more Meredith could hear the screams. Emil picked up his speed as the area grew lighter until, finally, they were out of the ruins. He let go of her and she tumbled across the sands into a kneeling position.

“That’s a lot of monsters. More than the one we fought back in the cavern,” Emil said, touching back down to the sand, himself.

Meredith looked up, trying to ignore the screams and panic that surrounded her. The flying monsters that James had mentioned were in route with their destination, some already overhead and sending breath attacks that were scorching the oasis. Water flew up into the air from impacts with the pool, and the whole area was shaking from each collision. Drawing to her feet, Meredith snapped her gaze to the fleeing trial candidates. Some were fighting back, aiming fireballs or other types of magic in the direction of the monsters, but most of them were running away with all the speed they could muster.

And they want to be Guardians…? Meredith thought, unable to keep the derision out of her thoughts. It reminded her of Vivian, who despite her callous defeat and treatment of her had made quite a point: those who couldn’t handle the danger and conflict along the journey shouldn’t have been on it in the first place. Yet at the same time…

“Thanks for the ride, Emil,” she said, clapping the boy on the back. He looked surprised while she ran past, but decided to follow her right away. The two dashed through the sands, flinching as a clot of it was flung into the air by a lightning-induced strike from a wyvern’s wings. Emil’s blades slid out, but Meredith found no time for that, continuing to run forward into the oasis proper, where the extent of the devastation was far more visible. “Eddie! Eddie!”

“Damn…I don’t think they’ve found what they’re looking for,” Emil said upon catching sight of the oasis’ state. Meredith couldn’t care, running further in, her sights locked on the well where she’d left her stuff. Eddie wasn’t there, and a blast of fire soon struck the water-gathering device. Meredith covered her face before looking around once more. “Where’s your friend?”

“I don’t-”

“...era! Mera!” The faded voice of Eddie’s cries finally pricked Meredith’s ears and she turned, just in time to see Eddie come running out from under the shade of the now broken shack. Clasped in his hands were her things, including the still extended sword that he began to hurl with all the strength that he could. “Here!”

“Thanks!” The sword spun through the air. Meredith grabbed for it, the hilt soon meeting her hand. The blade rattled a bit, still shaken from the duel with Vivian, but there was little choice left to her as a combat option. Eddie slid in to flank her, alongside Emil.

“Oh, Emil…didn’t know you were here.”

“What’s up?” Emil asked. Meredith rolled her eyes at the boys’ exchange; this was not the time for it. She brandished her blade in front of her while Emil crossed his. Eddie, for all the fear present, turned his body in a defensive stance. A wyvern gave off a screech and turned for them, opening its maw and letting loose a burst of wind. Emil shot upwards, outside of the range. Meredith held her ground, but Eddie stepped forward.

“Flame Wall!” he shouted, gripping his wrist with the palm extended forward. Flames burgeoned at the palm of his hand and then shot out, becoming a shield in front of them, more powerful than Meredith could have imagined. The wind made impact with it and the two magic bursts strained before disappearing. “This area’s rich in fire magic. I’ve got us covered.”

“Nice! Mera!” Emil floated down once more, offering his hand. Meredith once more clasped it, floating right up with him. “Hey, Eddie, right? Keep it distracted however you can!”

“On it!” As the floating duo ascended, Eddie turned towards the attacking wyvern. From Meredith’s once-over, it didn’t look nearly as strong as the mantis they’d fought, but she was still happy to see Eddie standing his ground. Holding two fingers aloft, he summoned a blade of wind and then slashed downwards, the crescent of compressed wind aiming right for the wyvern. It flapped up, the blade barely cutting at its underside. Its gaze focused upon Eddie, who was preparing another shield for himself. Emil, meanwhile, managed to get above the creature.

“Special delivery, Mera. I’ll take out the wings!”

“Who made you leader?” she said, before ignoring his grin. Emil let go of Meredith, and she angled her blade for the creature’s main body, the force of gravity increasing on her. Emil floated to the side, zipping down as he aimed his blades for the wings and fired. They sailed through the air with force, cutting apart the wings before embedding themselves in the sand.

Meredith landed, and plunged her blade through the tough skin. The wyvern spewed black particles from its wound, just as the mantis had. They plummeted, and Meredith could feel her blade breaking just a bit more from the excess pressure. They hit the sand and she rolled off, swinging her sword to the side. It took mere seconds for the wyvern to vanish in a haze of smoke.

Emil landed, his blades coming to float in the air before he collected them. “Hey, we make a pretty good team.”

“If you call giving orders without discussion being a team, sure,” Meredith said. Emil shrugged while Eddie laughed. “And who gave you permission to-”

Another screech of the monsters interrupted her, a good three or four of the summoned creatures sending breath attacks crashing into the oasis. One exploded right in front of them, and the trio flew back, sprawled on the sands. The wooden shack that had been the inn and shop was ripped apart, the person running it barely making it out.

“They don’t stop coming…” Eddie said, pushing himself to his feet. Meredith’s face twitched a little as she stood. Even Emil groaned while he put in the effort to stand.

“They’ve gotta end at some point,” the blond boy said. “I mean, the guy can’t keep creating an army forever, can he?”

“Guy?” Meredith stepped forward again, only to hear an all-too-unwelcome shattering noise. She looked down, seeing her blade barely hanging together on its wires. There was no way she could fight with this as she was. Eddie saw it as well, grimacing. The shadows of the monsters rose before them, threatening to consume them. Both boys drew closer, placing their backs up against one another. Eddie spoke first. “We gotta get out of here.”

“What about the oasis?” Emil asked.

“Maybe if there’s no one left, they’ll stop attacking,” Meredith said. “They’re after a weapon, right? So, if everyone’s gone, that means there’s no weapon here, which means they’ll go away. Not that I want to leave, but…”

“If you say so…” Emil’s wariness was justified, but with her blade broken, Meredith knew there was no other path left. With the few candidates that had stayed to fight already fleeing, the choice was inevitable. Her hand clenched around the hilt of her broken blade, knowing she could battle no more, even with the monsters bearing down on them. “Well, whatever we do, incoming!”

Grrrrooooooaaaaar! The roar interrupted thoughts, spewing with fire that added to the already extreme heat of the desert. It was powered up, too, just like Eddie’s magic had been. Emil grabbed on to both of them right before it hit and floated upward, straining with the weight of two people. They barely avoided the blast as the wyvern turned its gaze, and a companion griffin sailed in with wings like steel. Emil’s hold slipped.

“Rico!” the innkeeper yelled. Meredith twisted under Emil’s hold and saw the strolling form of the Renegades’ leader, the weapon she’d seen earlier now in his hand. He snapped it out, and like Vivian’s bow, it extended into a spear. Rico stepped back, spear in hand, and sent it hurling forth. Sand clouded up, obscuring Meredith’s vision of what happened next. Combined with Emil losing control over his gravity and falling down, she saw nothing of what had occurred but for the disintegrating bodies of the monsters.

“Get up, friend. This is no place to fall,” Rico’s voice called out. He was striding through the sand now, spear back in hand. The monsters were in even more of a frenzy than before. “I have a better task for you, potentially in a far more populated location.”

“Is our home…?” Rico didn’t answer, turning his gaze to the trio that was collapsed on the sand.

“We have more important things to concern ourselves with; there’s no staying here with our target on the move,” Rico stated. “I’ve sent James and Lovelia ahead to the Metropolis. I’ll need you to join them. See what you can along the way. These monsters will depart once I’ve sent them on their way. And you three should leave. I won’t be responsible for your safety. Go to your Guardian Corps.”

“What’re you-?” Eddie’s question was cut off by Emil grabbing both him and Meredith. She reached up, wanting to break free of Emil’s hold, but when she heard more screeches, a sign that the rage of the monsters had peaked, she stopped.

“We’ll leave it to him. This is his home to protect, and neither of you look like you’ll be able to fight much longer. Even I think I’m running low against that many,” Emil stated. Meredith watched him, the dark expression on his face telling her not to argue. Not that she was in a state to do so to begin with. “Right now, we have a meeting with the Corps at the Sandshift Ruins.”

Pulled along, Meredith looked at Emil. He wasn’t fleeing because he wanted to, but because there was no other choice. A choice that would lead them to the Corps, who were better equipped to handle these kinds of situations. The course she’d already made for herself became further solidified, and she nodded. Emil let go of them and ran away from the site of battle, Meredith and Eddie right behind him as they grabbed their bags.

When they’d emerged onto the hotter desert plain, the trio turned around, watching the plume of sand and dust swirling within the oasis, a light contained within it. There was no sign as to who was the victor, but Meredith knew she couldn’t concern herself with that. It was out of their control.

Instead, she turned to Emil, who kept staring at the sight until he noticed her. Then she offered her hand, which he clasped, and said, “Looks like we’re travel partners.”