Crossing the river with a captive took some time and planning. The sun was low in the sky by the time they all crossed and made camp. But the roaring blaze across the river shone like a beacon on a dark, smoky night.

  No one spoke much. Silver’s death hung over them like an ill omen. Calvin spent most of the day muttering an Exiled prayer to ward off evil spirits. Marty was still angry over losing his familiar. Janus showed uncommon consideration; he didn’t insult Calvin or Marty. Esbern went to bed early.

  Darragh was restless. Plumes of smoke darkened the sky, hiding the moon and stars. Safe on the blackened banks of the Ojibwe River, Darragh watched as a crown fire burned his homeland. On the other side, the fire had already spread far and wide up the hillside.

  Darragh’s mind was a mess of ideas and emotions. He kept thinking about the smell of those two smoldering bodies from earlier. It made him hungry and sick to his stomach.

  If he and his Brothers hadn’t captured Easy, the young man would surely have burned to death by now. Would that be the third death Darragh was involved in? Were there more bodies out there they haven’t found yet? How many people would suffer in the coming years because of their actions today?

  Was it Darragh’s fault? Was there anything he could have done to stop this?

  No. He was chosen for this mission because Church Elders thought it would look better if a Safoan helped burn Safo, but it didn’t really matter. Godfather Adam wanted the woods to burn; that’s what mattered. If Darragh had protested, he would have been punished and marginalized within the Church, and the woods would still burn. At least this way, Darragh would likely be rewarded.

  He hoped to finally get a familiar. Almost all Good Brothers and Keepers were assigned one. But when Darragh asked when he would be assigned a familiar, Elder Brother Aldean said that he hadn’t earned one yet. It wasn’t because Darragh was Safoan. Godfather Adam didn’t show preferential treatment among His children, no matter what Darragh’s cousin said. What does she know about Church affairs, anyway? Ungrateful wench ought to mind a woman’s business.

  Besides, Darragh didn’t become a Brother’s Keeper so he could have a familiar. He didn’t do it for the elegant robes or to make his father proud. Darragh became a Brother’s Keeper because he wanted to be on the safely blackened side of the river.

  Darragh was just a boy when Crescent vanished. He grew up on ghost stories of the heretics and unholy who dared insult Godfather Adam, wiped from existence like dust under a broom. What sense was there in resisting such power? Better to worship and live than to fight and be erased.

  Of course, it wasn’t only about survival. Darragh was attracted to power. He used to dream of worshipping Godfather Adam’s feet with his mouth. Now, he was afraid to sleep for fear of nightmares of screaming young captives, vengeful spirits, and the smell of sweet roast pork.

  So lost in thought, Darragh didn’t notice a large dark fox moving stealthily toward camp. It wasn’t until after the screaming began that Darragh noticed the tents were engulfed in blue flames. Instinctively, Darragh activated his ability, dilating his perception of time so everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

  Marty and Janus were screaming and struggling to escape their tents and burning clothes. Janus dropped to the ground and rolled until the flames were put out. Marty panicked and ran, dooming himself.

  Esbern was uninjured. His abilities protected him from heat or cold, but he looked frail, struggling to shake off his burning tatters. His ugly snake familiar writhed in flames.

  Calvin wasn’t on fire but was perhaps in the worst shape. He woke from tormented nightmares to a living nightmare. Unable to separate dream from reality, consumed by horror, despair, regret, and insanity, he ran screaming into the blackened woods. His beagle familiar Constance ran after him, barking loyally, disappearing in the darkness.

  Darragh heard a yelp, a cry, and then silence. He ran toward camp and threw dirt on their burning supplies, trying to put out the fire.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  At some point in the chaos, Easy had vanished without a trace.

  Janus was crying on the ground, too in shock to do anything but rock himself in the fetal position.

  Esbern was wheezing, naked, and looking very pale. He covered himself in a singed towel and tried to get a grip on the situation.

  “Janus, if you would have Leo communicate our situation to Safoan Church Elders?” Esbern softly asked.

  “Leo is dead!” Janus sobbed. “I crushed him when I dropped to the ground!” He threw his head in his hands and shook miserably.

  Esbern took the news like a punch to the gut. “Then we have no familiars among us,” breathlessly stating the obvious. “We have no way of contacting Church from here. We’ve lost two of our Brothers, our captive, and our evidence. Darragh preserved some supplies, so we have food enough for perhaps three days.”

  “Church will send a rescue party, right?” Darragh asked. “Wasn’t anyone following your familiars’ memories? Surely someone saw what happened!”

  Esbern shook his head sadly. “Our mission was not for public eyes. Our familiars were forbidden to upload memories before we left Waterbreak. No one knows where we are or what’s happened. No one is coming.”

  “How did this happen!?” Evidently, Janus had collected his wits enough to assign blame. He was looking daggers at Darragh. “Which one of you was on watch? Where is your Brother, Keeper?”

  “Enough,” Esbern pleaded. “We have an impossible decision to make, and fighting amongst ourselves will only make a difficult situation harder.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Darragh.

  Esbern said, “Whether to turn back now and report our losses, or to stay and finish the task we were assigned.”

  The dilemma hung in the air for a heavy moment.

  “We have to finish,” declared Janus. “My family already thinks I’m a loser. I’m the worst illusionist my line has seen in a generation. That’s why I was sent to this insignificant speck of rock. They’re embarrassed by me. I need to prove myself here and earn reassignment. If I go back now, a failure, I will never leave this wretched place.”

  Esbern nodded. He turned to Darragh.

  Quietly, Darragh wanted to go home. But this mission was supposed to be his big break, too. Returning now would make him both a traitor to his people and a failure to his Brothers. He was in too deep to turn back now.

  “I agree with Janus,” Darragh said. “We finish this.”

  At first light, they went searching for Calvin and Marty. They found Marty face down on the muddy banks. It looked like he threw himself into the river and drowned from the shock.

  They found Calvin unconscious with a bloody gash on his forehead. He seemed to have run into a tree branch and blacked out. Constance was nowhere to be seen, but from the puddle of blood on the ground, a wolf may have eaten her.

  Janus shook Calvin until his eyes blinked open and he sat up.

  Janus was visibly relieved. “It’s good you’re alive so I can kill you myself!” He back-handed Calvin. “What were you thinking?! You’re supposed to be my Keeper! You panicked! Now we’re stranded without any familiars, and it’s entirely your fault!”

  Esbern put a hand on Janus’ shoulder. “Peace, young brother. Let the man collect his bearings.”

  Disgusted, Janus stormed a short way off.

  Calvin stood up slowly, cradling his head.

  “What happened last night, Calvin?” Esbern asked wearily.

  Calvin made a confused expression. He spoke slowly. His voice sounded strange and unfamiliar. “I dreamed I was on fire. I kept waking up, and the flames overtook me, again and again. Then I woke up, at last for the first time, and I wasn’t burning yet. I heard a voice whisper, ‘Run.’ So I ran.”

  Calvin’s eyes were wide in abject horror. “But then I woke up again. And the forest spirit said it was going to kill us all. And then I woke up. Again and again. Am I… is this a dream? Is any of this real?” Calvin was shaking.

  Esbern and Darragh exchanged worried glances. Even Janus looked unsettled.

  “Get your shit together,” ordered Janus. “We have work to do and little food left, no thanks to you.”

  “You’re still going to burn the forest?” Calvin asked, sounding surprised.

  “No, we are going to burn the forest,” Janus corrected. “Now, let’s go.”

  They piled stones over Marty’s body and said a prayer to Godmother Eve to take her son home to live forever in Adam’s Crown.

  Then they continued their mission in the canoe. They paddled along for hours with the sun beating overhead. The fire from yesterday still burned wildly on one side. No one spoke. Eventually, they reached a fork in the stream and an untouched patch of green forest.

  They paddled to shore. The forest was unnaturally quiet as if all the birds and beasts had already fled. Even the leaves were still, as if in mourning.

  Esbern asked everyone to gather kindling for him to ignite.

  Darragh ignored his feelings of dread and guilt as he gathered branches for the pyre. He had no choice. Once the pile was high and ready, Janus gave Esbern the final branch to ignite. Esbern looked pale and weary as he tossed the flame on the pile.

  The flames spread, and the Brothers returned to the canoe and the safely blackened side of the river. They set up camp and ate provisions of pickled roots over bread. All the tents were burned, so they slept on the ashy forest floor under a smoky sky.

  Calvin took first watch while Darragh, Janus, and Esbern slept.