This was the second day Leyla hadn’t heard or seen her parents. She’d questioned some of the priests and scribes, but they had only told her they had left on an urgent errand and hadn’t disclosed the details.

She fidgeted nervously as she overlooked the proceedings of the worship hall and the offerings. She forced herself to stop for the umpteenth time and checked herself, to make sure her worry wasn’t showing on her face.

She almost sighed in relief as she nodded and smiled to the priestess who came to relieve her. Instead of lingering and slowly making her way out as she talked with those she met, she made a beeline to the temple’s back rooms. She burst through the door and almost ran into Juman.

“Ah, pardon me.” Juman inclined his grayed head and made a move to retreat from her.

Leyla shut the door behind her and grabbed his robe.

“No, you’ll be telling me where Mom and Dad are.”

Juman glanced at the door behind her, and she pushed him further into the room so their voices wouldn’t carry out into the worship hall. The room was little more than a closet for cleaning supplies and storage for things like incense. It was conveniently located near the center of the temple, but it mainly served the main worship hall.

Juman let himself be pushed into another room that stored many of the prayer rugs and priestly garments that weren’t used often. The changing rooms for the men and women were on either side of this storage space, but it would be unlikely for anyone to be in them at this time of day.

Sunlight came into the room from stained-glass windows depicting a sunrise rich in colors.

Juman turned, and the look on his face was of someone who felt like they’d been caught.

“My lady—”

“I want to hear as much as you know. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you keeping your eye on me and lurking about.”

Juman sighed. “I keep forgetting how grown you are. You’re still so very young in my eyes.”

Leyla started poking his chest in annoyance. He waved her hand away and smiled a little. He took in a breath and looked at her.

“If you promise that you’ll stay in Edge, I’ll tell you.”

Leyla looked at the floor, then up at him. “Okay.”

He gave her a hard stare. “Promise like you did when you promised not to snitch anymore of my pastry puddings.”

Annoyed, Leyla looked him in the eye and, not without a little sassiness, said, “I will not leave Edge on penalty of the king’s wrath.”

He gave her an equally annoyed glare that communicated that he felt she hadn’t been sincere.

“Just tell me, already!” she burst out. She swallowed, and her face scrunched up trying to keep back her tears. Juman’s eyes softened.

“Please, just trust in us. Your parents are safe. Someone just came and twisted their arms is all.”

“Who?” She couldn’t keep a tear from sliding down her cheek, but she brushed it away defiantly.

The calm demeanor Juman had been upholding crumpled to sheepish humility.

“A…ahem, a Kamwa leader.”

Confusion crossed Leyla’s face. “What do you mean a Kamwa leader?”

The degree to which Juman wanted to shut his mouth was obvious by how tightly he pressed his lips together. Leyla gave him a flinty look, and as if pained, he started speaking slowly.

“It isn’t that simple. I’m sure you’re aware just how differently your parents run this temple from others. Well, they also don’t let rogue Kamwa operate inside of Edge, unlike everywhere else. So, among the Kamwa they come across as city leaders because they’re pulling their weight.” He shrugged. “They’ve tried to pull it off as a retirement option for old Kamwa like myself, but honestly it’s viewed as an asylum.”

A look of confusion had come over Leyla’s face. “They…they didn’t tell me any of that. I mean, I knew there were fewer Kamwa I had to worry about in Edge than elsewhere, but…”

He laid a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him.

“They probably should have told you, but I’m sure they didn’t want you to worry. They only wanted you to live happily.”

“They told me one of Mom’s relatives was sick. Why would they lie to me like that?”

Juman shook his head. He gripped her shoulder a little and pulled her attention back to him. “You need to be careful. I can’t imagine things will get better from here on out. Once a Kamwa, you never leave. They don’t let you. Your parents might get dragged back against their will. I’m sure you’ll be dragged along with them. Especially since they’ve taught you many things.”

Leyla felt like crying with worry, but her confusion was jumbling everything up inside her. She simply wrapped her arms around the old man and hugged him.

“Stay strong. Being a Kamwa isn’t horrible. They’ll treat you well too, since you’re a priestess. Now, just go about your business as usual. Your parents are gone on a job for the Kamwa right now, but they’ll return.”

Leyla hugged him tighter, and then they parted ways.

Juman went his way through several rooms. He stopped at the kitchen to grab a bite to eat and something to drink, then he went to the front gates where he knew Leyla would go for her afternoon errands. He let himself return to his old ways then, that state of mind of near-paranoia, suspicious of everything and everyone. He let distrust cloud his heart and let his body sink into even the smallest of shadows. His eyes squinted and clouded any light that would leak into his soul. Even in the light of a gray-shrouded sky, he wasn’t much more than the passing of a sparrow’s shadow or a squirrel upon the ground.

When Leyla left the temple grounds with gifts to be delivered and her retinue in tow, he became her secret guard.

***

“Hey! You!”

Rylen didn’t turn around. There were others on the road besides himself, but he couldn’t imagine who would want to talk with him.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

Rylen resisted turning all the way around and just peeked. The person trying to talk to him was wearing robes like priests in Edge wore. He recognized the man as one of those who worked at the temple. He believed the man was a scribe.

His worries had proved correct. He’d been wondering if Hyrestl would involve Leyla’s family in this. Of anyone, they had the best connections and could afford to send people out to look for him.

“What do you want?”

The man chuckled. “I’m quite sure you know. There are people who would love to see you return.”

Rylen continued to limp along the road. The man kept up with him easily enough, walking just behind his shoulder and to the side. Travelers going the opposite way made sure to move and give the man room. Rylen didn’t like the attention the man was bringing. He gathered his hood closer about his face. His stomach rumbled. Had it really been three days since he’d had anything to eat? How was he supposed to survive if no one would sell food to him? Rylen felt anger curl inside of him.

“Then you should also know the much larger amount of people who would like to never see me again. Wait.” Rylen held up a finger. “Forget I said that. There’s a lot of people who would like to kick me and then never see me again.”

The man was silent at that.

Rylen half turned to him. “The people who you say want to see me back? They can’t do anything. Flames, even the—” Rylen glanced around him and lowered his voice. “Not a single asylum was set up to protect Erans. They…they don’t want me to belong here.” He gingerly hitched his pack on his back and did his best to distance himself from the man.

The scribe let him walk away, then turned and walked quickly back up the road toward Edge. He only walked for ten minutes before he veered off the road and into the trees. He untied a horse from a bush and mounted it. He rode through the trees until he met with the road again and turned back to the north. Soon, the clopping of hooves faded into the distance.

***

The day had almost come to noon when Rylen heard the sound of many hooves beating upon the stones of the road. He stepped off to the right just like the rest of the travelers in front of him and kept walking on the slope of the ditch. Carts and horses were driven as close to the edge of the road as possible and slowed to a stop.

The sound grew until it thundered in his ears as they passed. There were a number of people in priestly gowns riding. He recognized one of them to be a priestess. Their hoods were all pulled about their faces. It wasn’t that odd. The days held a chill to the air, and he imagined riding that quickly would make that chill more evident. However, he wondered why they were riding so fast. A part of him considered that the priest he’d talked to earlier had sent them after him. But that wouldn’t make sense. Why would they want to do that?

He shrugged it off and turned his mind to how he was going to get food. He was warming up to the idea of stealing some, but he’d seen Pahanna try on a number of occasions, and half the time he got caught. He decided he didn’t have an answer to that, either. He’d have to eventually or he’d starve, but he’d never tried to steal food from a merchant before. He turned his eyes to what was around him.

The colors of fall faded in and out as he walked. Sometimes he would come across beautiful birches growing up out of a patch of grass beneath their branches. Their leaves would be varying colors of green, yellow, orange, and red. At other times, it was like even the sky grew darker when the road was surrounded by the deep greens of firs. Occasionally, red-speckled berry bushes would break up the undergrowth. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen these kinds of things before, but now he was seeing them in a totally different place! And he remembered the view of the lake he’d walked along when he’d been run out of the bakery shop. The valley was steeped in darkness, but the lake reflected the light that was still in the sky. Ducks still paddled about its surface and a few flocks lifted off to find a place to rest for the night.

Something about it brought a wry smile to his face. Half of him wanted to go back and look at it again. Perhaps, he’d even swim in it! Only, he didn’t know how to swim. But he could at least splash around! That hadn’t been allowed in the old temple’s pond.

He stopped walking. What was he doing? He could do whatever he wanted, couldn’t he? A grin came across his face, and he turned and headed back the way he’d come. He might as well take the opportunity, right?

***

Kassim and Adilah had seen the priest riding in the opposite direction to them. He’d glanced their way, but after seeing who was with them, he’d continued on as if he hadn’t noticed.

There was something in his countenance, though. A look in his eyes that told them all they needed to know.

He’d seen Rylen.

That meant it was very likely he was on the road ahead of them. Their hearts beat a little faster, and though they tried to act normal, they couldn’t help but take closer notice of those they passed.

The fact Harbiya was trying to find the King’s Desire with the Third Eye meant he didn’t know its true nature. That comforted them only a little. As they followed the convoy, it would get closer and closer to Edge. Harbiya would have to be a fool not to figure everything out eventually. But he’d made one mistake. He’d left Leyla back in Edge and had underestimated the retired Kamwa.

There was a reason Kamwa stayed and chose to serve Kassim and Adilah as if they were a king and queen. The couple offered them something no one ever had before and was worth far more than anything that could be stolen: peace and freedom.

***

The day had come to a close.

Hyrestl rubbed his tired eyes. This time, he wasn’t worried about not getting rest due to sleepwalking. Now there was a different reason he wouldn’t rest and another reason to be worried.

Bardullah had sent a guardsman and three servants to his inn. Hyrestl had spent the day cleaning up from the party the night before and trying his best to train them.

Not the guard, that is. He just stood around. It was obvious he was there to keep an eye on Hyrestl. No, the problem was they were all to sleep there. In his rooms, together. So, as he lay down and listened to the breathing and snores of strangers, he didn’t sleep. Even though his body was exhausted, he didn’t shut his eyes.

It wasn’t easy, but he’d had enough experience as a soldier on night watch to keep himself in control. Then again, who was he fooling? He’d been practicing staying awake for years now.

He waited until the breathing around him settled into regular rhythms, then he carefully pulled back his covers and stole down the stairs.

He stopped at the corner by the kitchen and peered around it. The guard hadn’t slept with them and had stayed downstairs. The kitchen was clear.

Hyrestl crept carefully down and checked the front dining area. The guard was there in a chair, his head resting on his chest. But Hyrestl didn’t underestimate the man. Even the slightest noise might jar him awake. Fortunately, he knew his way around like the back of his hand.

He stepped quietly to the side door, slid the deadbolt aside slowly, then lifted the door handle so the door wouldn’t creak as he swung it open. He’d made it that way on purpose. He entered the darkness of the street. Sporadic lanterns at corners were lit.

He started walking. Something about it felt good. Usually, whatever possessed him would be lurking about in whatever way it wanted at this time. But tonight, Hyrestl went where he wanted to.

He walked down the deserted streets. Farther off toward the cliff of Edge, he could hear the faint sound of people laughing. He kept walking, and didn’t stop, even when he left the edge of town.

He walked into the forest and started hiking into the mountains. His deeply sore limbs resisted him, but he forced them to submission. He felt the chill of the night more acutely as he started sweating with the light exertion. Small animals scampered away in the darkness with his passing. The larger predators warily watched.

He didn’t follow any path. At times he had to skirt around boulders and impassable terrain. Other times he found the underbrush too thick. But he kept going. He felt soft earth and snapping sticks under his shoes.

In the dead of night, he crested the mountain’s low ridge and started down the other side. The moon gave little light; there was just enough for him to save himself from smacking his head into branches or falling over a cliff. He walked on, following the valley he’d found himself in on the other side of the ridge. He walked until the sun started lighting the sky and crested the tops of the mountains. He came to a rise on the side of the valley that was bare of trees. Only grasses grew there. In the light of dawn he stopped and looked down the long stretch of a straight valley ahead of him.

Although it was straight, the valley didn’t become any easier to traverse. It was tight. The mountains on either side crowded each other. The bottom of the valley was little more than slopes leading into a small canyon, at the bottom of which ran a stream.

Far off in the haze he could see it. The place where his strength would fail him and he would fall back into a slumber. Then it would take control of him. It would lead him back and take him far away from what he wanted most.

A massive, invisible cage stretched from that point of haze far into the sky. Somewhere else behind him, it came down again, inescapable in every direction.

He fell to his knees, and tears came to his eyes.

He clenched his fists and screamed.