“Let the ritual begin!” A voice called out. Young, male, strong and powerful, but with a strange quality to it that I couldn’t quite place.

Death-Bringer’s gaze became hard, “I don’t think we have any more time left.”

“Shit...” Piercing Gale pressed his back against a wall and looked out a window through the rotten boards across it, “I can’t see anything. We are too far.”

“We can’t let them...”

“I know... I’m going... You two stay here.” Piercing Gale quickly moved to the door.

Death-Bringer’s eyebrows scrunched together in concern, “but there’s probably no chance of getting Night Lover out without being seen now.”

“I have to try!” Piercing Gale snapped.

I braced myself against a shelf and stood, “I’ll help, maybe a distraction.”

Piercing Gale shook his head, “not a chance. You’ll die before we get anywhere near the Demon Lord, we can’t have that.”

“You’re really arrogant, aren’t you?” I scowled, limping forward a step, “you can’t do it without help.”

Piercing Gale’s eye twitched, “fine.”

The three of us left the store, Piercing Gale in the front. We didn’t have to go far before we could see the whole village, dozens, maybe even a few hundred, crowded in the main street, their quiet festival completely silent now. All listening as the voice continued, “I thank you all for your cooperation up to this point!”

Piercing Gale stopped and turned back to face Death-Bringer and I. He raised his hands up, his two index fingers together and pointed up, then slowly separated his hands, a sign meaning to split up, before he continued along the back street parallel to the crowds, moving towards the voice and where the people were facing, Death-Bringer ducked into an alleyway, getting closer to the crowds. Once they were both out of view, I turned to a low-roofed home with some crates stacked up against a wall, the perfect way up.

Ves’hil’n was always quite adept at climbing. But whether it was my shorter limbs or the still throbbing pain in my calf, I struggled in the short climb. But, breathing hard, I eventually made it on the roof. I crawled across the roof on my belly until I could see everything.

The crowd was much larger than I expected and I wondered how they were all so quiet while we were walking through the town. I followed their line of sight to a stage where a man stood arms outstretched, making a speech. He was a handsome young man with sun-kissed skin and a solid, laborer’s body. In front of him was a half disrobed Night Lover, kneeling and tied up, his head down and long black hair unbound and hiding his face from view. From this distance I couldn’t tell if he was conscious, injured, still drugged or not.

I focused back in on the speech the man was making the entire time, “... And so I must apologize, friends, for once the ritual is complete, I must leave you!”