The knocking repeated, only louder. Harper went to the door and opened it. “Yes, what can I do for you?”

  An uptight-sounding voice replied from out of sight, “I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am, but I have an urgent summons from King Daffin. He requires General Venegas and his companions at once. I am to escort you all immediately to the palace. Without delay, ma’am.”

  The summons requiring our immediate attendance turned out to be immediate only for us, not the king. One hundred men, forming an honor guard, escorted us to the palace. I thought it was excessive, but Juan and Harper acted like it was just another Tuesday. There were signs of tension in the guards, which worried me.

  The palace itself was intimidating in size, but the walls were sheathed in polished marble. Awed as I was with it, the fragile opulence was kind of offensive. How often did it have to be repaired and polished? There wasn’t even much in the way of defense, other than the short outer wall. Less of a defense, more of an accessory.

  Once in the palace, we were escorted to a pleasant room where we were to wait under the eye of four guards, two stationed at each door. It was pleasant, in the way a visit to a nice old lady who loved flowers and antique furniture was pleasant. The room, mostly green with blue trimmings, had two double doors facing each other and was stuffy in an overdone fashion and smelled weird. Despite those things, it was comfortable.

  With the guards in front of the doors, I got the distinct feeling that we could not leave. Which sucked, since we were made to wait. And wait.. It was an hour before the king arrived with some of his advisors and several crossbowmen.

  The room was big enough that they were able to spread out and aim at their target. Which turned out to be me. It was not an enjoyable feeling, having all of those crossbows trained on my heart. King Daffin stopped about eight feet away from us after he’d walked into the room. “General Venegas. We had a very... interesting visitor this morning. A mercenary commander by the name of Xander. He had several interesting things to say to Us, such as having his entire company within Our walls. In Our city! Do you know what else he told Us?” the king said, raising his voice with each pronouncement.

  My jaw dropped. I doubted that there was more than one Xander in the mercenary company, though I wasn’t sure how common a name it was. If this was the same one that had interrupted my tutorial, then my unintended actions against him had made me his enemy. I didn’t blame him for wanting vengeance for what I had done to him. I had violated his mind, after all. Remembering it made me feel sick, and I still hated myself for what I had done to the man. I decided in that moment that I would have to face him. Make amends if I could. Harper elbowed me sharply in the ribs, and I closed my mouth.

  Juan bowed slightly. “King Daffin, I—” he began.

  “He told Our royal person that you had brought something into Our city worse than a company of Nallothian mercenaries,” interrupted the incensed monarch. “A fucking Mage. Tell Us, General. What have We done to you that you would bring such a gods-forsaken monster into Our home, let alone Our kingdom?”

  Juan stiffened. “Your majesty, if I could be so bold…” the bowman replied, and the king motioned harshly for him to continue. “This Mage has not, and likely will not, become the monster other Mages have. He is under my tutelage, and I will see his training through. If, and this is a big if, he turns, I will kill him myself,” he finished, a deadly seriousness in his voice.

  I blinked at Juan’s assertion. He really meant that.

  The king stood there, glaring at Juan. Then at me. When he looked back at Juan, he must have seen something in the other man's eyes that made him reconsider. “We believe you would, General. We believe you would. Very well,” he said. The king motioned for the crossbowmen to lower their weapons. He suddenly looked very tired. “But that does not change the mass of Nallothian mercenaries now holding Our people and city hostage. Nor their commander, who is lounging in a guest suite at this moment.”

  I was about to speak, but Juan put a hand in front of me while he continued, “And this Commander Xander. I assume he wanted something in return for leaving your fair city?” the old bowman asked.

  “He wants this Mage,” the king said, pointing at me. “And We are not necessarily opposed to handing him over.” He moved over to an overstuffed armchair and plopped down into it. There, he pressed his fingers to his temple, rubbing in small circles. “This is not how things are supposed to go, Juan.”

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  Juan sat down in a matching chair across from the king, sensing that the formality was over. “Daffin, I don’t think we can trust Commander Xander. But he and his Steel Falcons are the problem. They must have been following us from the backwoods of Marea, which is where I found young Finn.” He paused for a moment. “We cannot just hand him over to mercenaries in the employ of the Empire of Guanathas, which threatens the Twelve Kingdoms. Capitulating to the enemy in such a fashion is only useful if we can gain something greater in return. We need a better plan.”

  The king nodded. “I know. Which is why I hope you will think of something. I’ll aid you in this however I can, but my hands are tied, Juan. You were there for my father when he needed you. I need to give the commander an answer before the end of the day.” King Daffin stood up and then headed toward the door. “You have until then, General. My men will give you what aid they can.” He left along with the rest of the guards except for the two who remained at their posts. A nervous man with a weird, segmented bandolier across his chest stayed behind, wringing his hands.

  The man stepped forward as the crossbowmen filed out. “Uh, General Venegas? I—I’m Nelson. The Chamberlain? I can provide you with assistance?” Nelson’s face was so pale he looked like he might bolt at any minute, or faint.

  “Your name is Nelson?” I asked incredulously. “That seems so… normal.”

  “Yes, your maginess. It was my grandfather’s name. He was an Earthborn, like you," he replied.

  “Maginess?” I asked disbelievingly. Juan hushed me with a gesture.

  “I knew your grandfather, Chamberlain. A good man,” Juan said with a smile. “I think we will need your help in figuring out how to get around these mercenaries without being seen until we’re out of the city.”

  The chamberlain seemed to relax at Juan’s kind tone. “I might have an idea for that, General. But you won’t… you won’t like it.”

  Harper paced angrily in the room. “Why the fuck does it have to be the sewers? It’s horrible down there! The rats, the smell, the big fucking rats, and the stuff that won’t come off my boots no matter how much I wash them!” she growled.

  The nervous chamberlain had returned fifteen minutes prior, carrying old plans of the palace. He swore there was access to the sewers somewhere within the massive building’s lower levels. He had left again for maps of the sewers, which annoyed Harper even more, as she had wandered lost down there by herself for weeks several years prior. She claimed there had been a quest she was following, but didn't say whether or not it was completed.

  Juan sipped some tea Nelson had brought, and stayed calm, watching her. “Settle down, mija. I’m sure that we’ll be fine. There is a distinct possibility that the sewers are in better shape now than they were then,” he said neutrally.

  Harper stopped. “You really think so?”

  Juan sipped some more tea. “No, but we’ll be fine. It can’t be worse than facing an entire company of battle-tested mercenaries or handing Finn over to them,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “I’m not so sure about that. I mean, they won’t hurt him. Right? If all else fails, we can die gloriously in battle! That would be better than the sewers for sure. Yes. Finn, you’d do that for me, right?” Harper pleaded while giving me puppy-dog eyes.

  It was astounding how badly she was taking the idea, and it made me wonder myself. “Harper, how bad can it be in there? It’s just the sewers. Once we’re used to the smell, all we have to do is follow the map and leave by a drainage pipe or something. Then off to the caverns!” I replied, trying and failing to calm her.

  She shook her finger at me, her eyes wide. “No. No, Finn. Don’t ‘it’s just the sewers’ me! These sewers are an old, falling-apart hellhole of darkness and squeaking that never ends! And you don’t get used to the smell! I was down there forever. Please don’t make me go back down there. You’re my friend. You’ll sacrifice yourself. Because you are so noble,” she continued, nodding at the end, a manic look in her eyes.

  Harper sat down in a chair and smiled at her former mentor. “See, Juan? He’s okay with going along with the Steel Falcon Company. We can stay here, where it’s safe!” she said.

  Juan looked sadly at his tea, setting it down before speaking. “Harper. You found your way out before. Nothing down there was able to stop you. Not the darkness, nor the rats,” he reiterated calmly.

  “It wasn’t just rats down there, old man; there were other things. Scratching, biting things I had to fight in the dark, alone!” Harper replied, a ragged edge in her voice hinting at madness.

  “Harper,” he said softly.

  “What!” she screamed. Her whole body shook.

  “Did they kill you? Are you still stuck down there?” Juan asked evenly.

  “No, no, they didn’t. Yet,” she replied. “And no, I’m not.” She put her face in her hands and screamed into them. That was the moment that Nelson came through the door with his arms full of rolled-up parchment and some books. He cried out in shock at her scream, sending the parchment and books flying everywhere. This shocked Harper out of her fit of panic, causing her to turn around in time to get a parchment slap to the face.

  Juan, who had been the picture of patience and calmness up until that moment, burst into laughter. I joined him in the ridiculousness of it. I mean, it was perfect slapstick humor. How could we not? The guards in the room also laughed, and eventually so did Harper. Nelson just looked at us all, aghast.

  “You’re all mad,” he said.