Nearly three days later a messenger hurried into Kahnay. It was early morning with only a few people about.

Quiet.

The natural world was quiet. The normal person going about quiet morning chores. But the underworld was roiling and boiling like a pot ready to burn.

This messenger entered a private study shortly after dawn and he bowed to each man inside. One of the two men bowed back and rolled his eyes at the other man, who didn’t bother looking at either of them.

The second man had his lips pressed together in a thin line as he looked out the window at the city. Kahnay was a much smaller city than the Capital. Smaller than Sherim as well. Still, from his vantage point there was plenty of movement.

Most of the people down there had already been woven into his society. Just waiting for orders.

This was the third messenger in three days. They’d all been exhausted by the time they’d made their most of the day journies but their messages couldn’t wait.

And he’d been forced to make decisions that could rattle the entire structure of his organization if he wasn’t careful.

“What’s been going on?”

“It’s been confirmed, Chief. The enforcers we had planted in the Palace were captured three days ago.” The messenger grimaced before continuing. “They were interrogated then executed as spies. Along with many others in this particular ring.”

Before he could continue the second man abruptly turned around.

With a bad tempered fling of his hand across his desk, parchments flew at the messenger. The Chief leaned on his desk, gritting his teeth as he clenched his fists.

“Does anyone know what happened and how? How are they finding my people so easily and quickly? What stirred the pot?”

Frightened, the messenger took a step back. That caused the Chief’s aide to send the Chief a nasty look before sidling up beside the messenger. With an encouraging smile he took over the questioning.

“Forgive him. Our people are dying while we’re wrestling with the same questions and too little information. It’s heartbreaking and frustrating.”

The tired messenger relaxed and nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Will you please continue?”

The man took a deep breath.

“Your orders have been carried out. Emergency messages were sent to every ring and ring master. Everyone who can be identified has pulled out and moved. With promises to their contacts that they’ll be in touch.”

“Good.” The Chief managed a sigh, trying to relax. It was hard with his secret empire falling apart around him. “Do we know any more about what caused the problem?”

The messenger grinned, eyes beginning to shine. Alerting the Chief and his aide that something big had happened. And that it wasn’t all bad news.

“We did. Before our enforcers were captured one of them got us a message.”

This one likes a bit of drama, thought the Chief dryly. “And?”

“He was there when the problem was discovered. They found a body.”

“Bodies aren’t a problem to demons.”

The messenger grinned. “It is when it's a demon body.”

For a moment neither the Chief nor the aide reacted. Then the Chief pushed himself off the desk and stared at the messenger. Looking for any reason to believe the man might be lying.

He wasn’t.

There was too much glee, too much hope in his eyes.

If there was a lie it wasn’t in this man.

“Someone killed a demon?”

“Not just someone. One of our own. A spy we had working for us in the Palace. We don’t know how she did it. We just know that, whatever it is, it was something stolen from Aridon.”

“Where is she now?”

The man’s face fell.

“We don’t know. The demons don’t have her yet but we don’t know if she’s in the city or out of it.”

“That’s what the posters are all about. And why there are demons everywhere.”

“What posters?”

The aide winced and bowed apologetically to the Chief. “I should have brought one for you to see. If I’d known the significance…”

The Chief waved aside his apology impatiently and turned to the messenger. “Do you have a name? We need to give her aid as soon as possible.”

“Her name is Lita.” The messenger didn’t notice the look the two other men exchanged as he gave a general description. “The spy master she contacted was arrested the first day.”

“All the more reason to find her first. She won’t know how to contact us.”

“Some way to kill demons.” The Chief wasn’t paying attention anymore. In his mind he’d already found the girl and she, with adoration in her eyes, was giving him the secret to ultimate power within the Separation.

He smiled.

The aide was watching him. “What do you want us to do now?”

With a deep breath, the Chief shook off his day dreams and casually leaned against his desk again. Relaxed and happy. What now indeed?

“We’ve cut off the demons from discovering the rest of our networks. Did they find any of our storerooms?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Very well. Get this man some rest,” he winked at the messenger. “Send out new messages. Continue to dismantle our most vulnerable networks but I want everyone to prepare themselves.”

The Chief smiled.

The aide had seen that smile before and it sent a shiver of excitement down his spine.

“When the networks are secure and we’ve found the girl, we’ll begin our next move.”

***

The meadow had been inhabited sometime recently. At first she didn’t notice, almost stumbling into it without even looking. Her head pounded and her face burned.

Fever. She had a void cursed fever.

Her first hiding place choice had been discovered. Human enforcers, with their demon handlers, had tracked her there and she’d been forced to run.

Fortunately she hadn’t been forced to leave anything behind.

She’d watched the discovery of her hiding place from the brambles. Bushes that had torn at her hair and skin. Only the rain that had begun to pound against her skin had truly kept her safe.

Both from the noses of demons and the human trackers.

It was there that another group had joined them and she had witnessed the bewildering scene of one of the enforcers being tied up and taken away.

By the time they’d left and it was safe for her to move on, the fever had started. And now her supplies were getting low. She’d been counting on being able to stay here. To recover. To eat and sleep for a day or two.

She wiped a cold hand across her eyes and leaned on one of the few trees that grew this high up the mountain. That was when she noticed the churned up earth, grass and other plants thrown about in the middle of the meadow.

She realized her danger.

Voids!

With a groan she shot a longing look at the little cave on the other side of the meadow. She knew it was there, the entrance hidden by huge bushes she’d planted herself several years ago.

It had been… days. Four days? Maybe five? All she wanted to do was curl up somewhere and sleep.

It was getting ready to rain again. Thunder rolled across the lake like a crowd’s roar.

Images of the past few days was a never ending nightmare on her mind. Humans and demons looking for her. Not knowing who to trust. Not daring to.

Everywhere she had turned they’d eventually been there. Their trackers were good and it was taking everything she had just to stay ahead.

Nowhere had she been able to stop long enough for a decent meal. And her food had run out the day before.

Sorrel, early spring garlic, dandelion leaves… That was about all she’d been able to snatch as she went that day.

Now, with the signs of wild boar in the area and maybe even staying in her hideout, she couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t rest. Not if she didn’t want to be torn apart before the demons could find her.

A hysterical laugh rose up her throat.

Abruptly she sat down, dropping the dork in the young spring grass beside her, and covered her head with her arms.

Sleep had been nearly impossible.

Too much rain the last couple days.

And she’d had to just curl up wherever she was at. The howls and growls of demons threatened to crush the other sounds in this lonely place. Even at night.

And those stupid vultures!

They weren’t around all the time but… She glanced up, looking for the bearded birds in the darkening sky.

They weren’t in sight. Maybe they didn’t think she was going to be a meal anymore.

For now.

More likely they were hiding from the storm.

Any longer in this nightmare and the possibility of not being their next meal would disappear.

Maybe being torn apart by wild boars wouldn’t be so bad.

Somewhere she heard a series of squeaks and whistles as marmots called a warning to their colonies. She listened to them, biting her lips and tears began to well up and slide down her cheeks.

She couldn’t stay here.

She didn’t want to die. Not really. But she had to leave. Now. Before she didn’t have the strength to. If she ran into boars she wouldn’t make it.

Slowly she got back up, taking the dork with her. Then turning her back on the hideout and her hope.

Every step was heavy.

Her stomach cramped, reacting to too much sorrel. And her head felt dull and light headed.

Absently she looked around for something, anything, to eat. It was too early in the year for berries. What few there were were green and bitter. She’d tried some nettles but, unable to prepare them properly, they stung her tongue and swelled her lips.

Abruptly she tripped on something. Unable to catch herself she staggered and fell to her hands and knees. Surrounded by bushes she actually had better cover that way. But she still felt exposed.

Tears formed and fell in big drops down her face and onto the weapon that lay between her hands.

“I’m so tired. I have to-”

Had to what?

Days of running. Days of practically starving.

Cold. Now wet as the rain began again to drip down her neck and soak her clothes.

She’d bathed herself in no-smell but, still, she was exposed.

She was starting to hallucinate. Beginning to have trouble telling the difference between real demons and ones made from her fevered dreams and imagination.

Her hands trembled as she pulled out the no-smell. It was almost gone. She had to make more. She had no where-

Another big tear fell and clung to the black dork with the rain water.

Nothing seemed able to clean the thing. Not her tears. Not water. Hysterically she wondered how Diana had managed to clean it after killing Eric with it. Nothing she did got the brown of dried blood off its gleaming black surface.

“I can’t get you to the Chief.” She laughed at herself. She was talking to it now. “I need to… I don’t know how I’m going to…”

She tried wiping the tears away but they kept coming. Just kept coming.

They wouldn't stop.

It took everything she had, every bit of her self preservation and the constant fear, to keep her tears from turning into wails and sobs.

“It’s all your fault!”

Anger. Anger was easier than fear. Easier than despair. She reached for it, embraced it.

She gritted her teeth and fumbled to clench the weapon in one hand. Hard enough for her hand to turn white and to tremble.

“I hate you! I hate you, Taiken Vaughn! If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have even been there at all. I wouldn’t have been working for the Chief, I wouldn’t have… It’s your fault. I hate you!”