Ayela yawned and tried to stretch as best as she could in the passenger seat. Kamille, on the other hand, was busy typing her civilian ID into the dash’s computer screen so the gatekeepers would open up. Sanctuary towns needed the added layer of security in case the crimes that the person committed were too heinous, even for towns like this one.

  “What’s your ID, love?”

  Ayela yawned once more. “Two-seven-eight-v-l-twenty-two-thirty-nine,” she answered sleepily.

  A few seconds after she entered the codes, the gates creaked loudly and shifted open. Inside, the street lamps were nearing their last moments before they shut off for the day. Black roads lined with bleach-white sidewalks on either side stretched on into the town like a dark river. Cars casually drove by, crossing the road onto other streets while pedestrians stuck to the walkways. There were plenty of pauper citizens, dressed in the poverty they came from. They looked as one would imagine those fleeing from their pasts would look.

  Every so often, they would see someone who looked like they came from a wealthier background, but most people looked like average, working-class citizens. Ayela always had a soft spot for the people of Shamol. Many of them were broken like her; orphans, outcasts, the wrongly accused. Many were victims of unfortunate circumstances. A lot of them lost loved ones, and even more were ostracized for beliefs and lifestyles. They were the ones that religious fundamentalists in positions of power disagreed with.

  It didn’t take long for Kamille to find the inn that the boys were staying in. It was a humble wooden building, smaller than any of the other apartments that filled their vision and obscured the horizon in the distance. It was well kept, cozy and contrite. Ayela had grown familiar with it over the last year with how often they would visit.

  When she pulled the car over to the curb, Thillan quickly rushed out of the entrance with open arms. Kamille squealed with an excited, ear-piercing tone and practically jumped out of the driver’s seat as she ran over to him. She jumped into his arms and kissed him with an intensity that one would expect from new lovers. It made Ayela smile…

  …They weren’t new lovers.

  No, in fact, they’d been together since long before she met Kamille. The dark elf often went on to describe every facet of her man’s character and physical description – even against Ayela’s protest of more explicit details. It warmed her heart to see someone so in love after such a long time. There were plenty of stories and statistics that show just how easily couples fall apart in all countries. Her heart throbbed as she listened to their affectionate whispering and giggling, and she felt a twinge of pain as her mind drifted to Rhaja.

  I miss you so much, she thought to herself. She wished she could hold her hand once more, kiss her lips, run her hand through her hair with the fiery romance they once indulged themselves in… She was confident that R?k kept her memory safe in the jar on his throne.

  She took a deep breath and then got out of the car, and quickly made her way over to them. “Ayela, our crimson-haired princess!” Thillan exclaimed, pulling her in for a hug.

  “Hey, Thillan,” she said softly, returning his embrace. “How fares business in Shamol?”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ve assumed the usual; debauchery, crime, spilled secrets and plenty of drank ale… I’m sorry about what you two had to go through during congregation. I can imagine it was more than traumatizing,” Thillan consoled.

  She forced a thankful smile. “They’ll be avenged… Their deaths won’t be meaningless… Where’s Asher?”

  “Inside, up in our meeting room.”

  “Well let’s not keep him waiting, babe. We can go off on our own after business is settled.”

  Thillan smirked and planted a kiss on Kamille once more. “Let’s get to it, then.”

  The pub was crowded and felt older than time itself, planked with bright wooden walls and lights fashioned in scones for an ancient, Nordic aesthetic. The floors were covered by massive rugs under the seats and tables, while the bar was built on the far wall. On the side were the stairs that led to rooms only certain people had access to – among whom were the darklings. Patrons filled its massive hall with laughter, clanging of forks against plates, and plenty of delicious smells to accompany the tasty food and strong drink.

  They made their way through, nodding at the barkeep as they passed by, and ascended the stairway. There was a hall atop the stairs that led to three small bedrooms and the meeting room where Asher was waiting for them. Much to Ayela’s surprise, the noise was muffled until it was almost inaudible in the upper rooms. It led for peaceful business to be conducted among anyone who had need of those spaces. For them, it was quite often, and they paid generously for the inn’s services.

  “Friends,” Asher said as Thillan opened the door. He was smooth and silver-tongued, just as Kamille described him. It was Ayela’s first time meeting the legendary leader of the darklings – or, at least, the only one who remained in contact with their leader. “Welcome. I know you’ve had a long journey.”

  “I’ll say. Congregation went nuts, long journey after escaping a lockdown in a major hold – I can’t imagine what you girls have been through.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Thanks, Thillan,” Ayela said. “It’s been long indeed, but the day’s still young, and we have a lot to go over and catch up on.”

  “She’s not joking. We saw the whole fiasco with our own eyes, watched the emperor devolve on screen while he banned her religion – which could be more permanent than anyone would like, religious or not. He’s displaying power that anyone would fear from a dictator.”

  “Then let’s take a seat and get to work, everyone. We’ll catch a couple drinks later tonight. The pub’s left us the bar and the upstairs for as long as we need it after hours,” Asher offered as he sat down at the large round table in the middle of the room. There were plenty of snacks, drinks, and coffee piled in the center for them to munch on and make drinks with while they discussed their plans – something that Ayela was accustomed to when any darkling cells met with each other. Historically, it was treated as a party to avoid suspicion by rather invasive law-enforcement, and eventually became a long-standing tradition.

  They all took their seats, and Thillan piled his plate with plenty of cheeses and crackers to sate his appetite. She made herself some coffee while Kamille leaned against her lover. “I’ll start,” Asher began. “We interrogated an imperial official yesterday morning with information about one of the most highly secured data vaults in the empire.”

  Kamille’s eyes widened with excitement. “You mean the vaults of D’Vnora are real?! It’s no longer rumor and heresay?!”

  “That’s exactly what I mean,” Asher responded. As smooth as his voice was, he maintained his lack of emotion when he spoke, perpetually sounding irritated with reality. “Our guest in Shamol was seen leaving from a very particular location in the slums of the city, and our eyes followed him here. No one really knows why, though.”

  “Did he perhaps have things he wanted to leak to the public?” Ayela proposed. Everyone was silent at her suggestion. “Or did we think about that? What exactly did you do to him?”

  Kamille immediately looked at Thillan’s knuckles and noted the scratches and scabs. “You beat him?!”

  “He had info, and there was-”

  “I assure you he had no intention of leaking data to anyone,” Asher reassured. “His final words before we knocked him out were a threat that we wouldn’t make it inside the vaults. Regardless, we have an idea now of what we’re going to do, and it’ll take all of us.”

  “Hold on, now; we have our own errands to run, boys. Ayela’s congregation and the ban of Korism. We need to find out what’s going on there… We need to find out what the empire’s up to.”

  “I understand that, which is why I have a plan that benefits everyone. If the empire is behind whatever happened, I promise the information is stored on a server in this vault. We need to get in there. So, here’s the plan,” Asher began. “We need to get to D’Vnora, break into the vault, steal as much data as we can, and broadcast it from the central national news center in the capital. If everyone does as I say, we’ll make it out with a treasure trove of information and leaks, and we’ll weaken the imperial grip on this country so significantly, the nation won’t have a choice but to elect new leaders and new imperial procedures. We will change this nation for the better.”

  “Okay… How?”

  “It’s not going to be easy, Ayela, but you’re a very central part of this plan,” Asher began.

  Thillan smirked. “You’re a dancer, right? So you can use your divine logic to get us into the vaults undetected.”

  “No! Absolutely not!” Kamille barked, standing up from her chair with such force, she nearly knocked it over.

  “And why, oh leader of the darklings, should she not?” Asher spat in a condescending tone.

  “Divine logic is detectable. We don’t know the layout of the vaults. The empire is actively hunting divine logicians to execute. Not to mention the things that will happen to us if we’re caught. This plan is already not going to work.”

  “Babe, you don’t know any of that,” Thillan complained.

  “Asher, what happened when Ayela went ballistic in Sümol? What were the reports Karinth fed you?” Kamille demanded.

  “Total lockdown of the facility and hold, and that the presence of an aethril-like entity was detected from satellite scans; divine logician is likely. Civilian evacuation of target sector imminent.”

  Kamille placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight while she glared at her boyfriend. Ayela sipped her coffee, savoring its sweet, sugar-influenced flavor before clearing her throat. “Using my abilities to make us invisible to cameras and people doesn’t take a lot of effort. It was one of the first things I experimented with when I was a little girl. Teleportation would trigger orbital scans, but not making someone invisible. I can cloak myself and anyone else as it’s needed. I’ve done it plenty of times before without having the empire send their interrogators to come find me. And if this promises to reveal why those bastards in the Kult attacked so many congregations, I want to take that risk.”

  “You don’t think that maybe – just maybe – this place would have ever greater measures in place to catch someone who can use divine logic?” Kamille pointed out.

  Asher chuckled. “Divine logicians are so rare now, I doubt they’d plan for it. They nearly exterminated all of them. Ayela’s among the last of her kind. So no, I don’t think they have greater measures against people like her. Even if they do, she has no reason to hide herself at that point; she can break herself out with her abilities.”

  Kamille sighed in frustration, but before she had the chance to speak, Ayela reached over and grabbed her hand. “It’s okay, Kamille. I can handle it. I’m a big girl.”

  “I know, but… You’re one of my only friends-”

  “Hey-”

  “And I don’t want to lose you like I’ve lost so many others… The empire’s taken a lot from us all.”

  Ayela remembered her pain. Kamille shared how the empire targeted her city block one time because they thought there was an escaped convict in the area, and they opened fire on unsuspecting civilians. Her parents were among those killed. Her sister was ravaged and slaughtered by the very convict they were looking for days later, and nearly did the same to her before officers rescued her. Even younger than that, when she was a child, the empire arrested her uncle and executed his wife under suspicion of harboring Songrivan fugitives. They confiscated their belongings and seized their earnings at the bank. Thillan had it even worse than that.

  “The empire won’t take me. I promise,” Ayela reassured. Kamille let out a long exhale and resumed her seat.

  “You better keep that promise, love. I’ll bring you back to life and beat you myself if I have to,” Kamille threatened. Ayela snickered and sipped her coffee again.

  “Alright, friends, let’s start working out the details of this plan…” Asher began. Ayela’s thoughts drifted to the future, attempting to predict what their desperate measures might yield for their success. So much has happened to all of them, she wondered how they were still able to go on fighting. Her heart still ached for Rhaja, but she was sure she would see her again in another life. She imagined how Kamille must have felt when her family was killed, or Thillan when he was tortured by the empire. She fantasized about Asher’s childhood, how he wasn’t even considered for an orphanage. He was left to wander the streets by himself and survive on his own.

  How similar their stories were…

  How alike they were to her…

  Without friends or home, in an uncaring empire…