Of all the places Riven had expected to end up with a bunch of rebels, a merchant’s mansion was near the bottom of the list.

A very rich mansion to boot. The golden colonnades were gleaming, and the tiles lining the walkways outside were polished enough to reflect the sky, such that it was like walking on clouds. Within the main building, the walls were painted in vivid shades of deep olive green and burnt gold, the furniture made of wood so dark it looked like darkness itself had been crafted into artful sofas and divans, while the carpet was lush and thick, giving the impression Riven had sunk his feet into soft moss.

“What are we doing here?” Riven asked the man standing opposite him.

He had been brought here by Mirren then stuffed in this black uniform of the local guards, a helm plonked on his head to keep his identity hidden from prying eyes. Guard duty to some rich merchant. He had known the day was going to be wild, but this was pushing it.

“Guarding,” the man said. “As I said the last time you asked. And the time before that. And before that too.”

Riven hadn’t bothered asking the man’s name. This couldn’t be lasting too long. He was a vaunted Essentier, and it behove them to provide him some rest and respite, a safe place for him to recuperate his strength and energy before he went out and resumed work. The Chasm was he doing here, standing in front of a staircase and guarding it against dust bunnies?

“I know this is strange, but have a little patience.” The other guard was trying to mollify him, but he was terrible at it. His face screamed out that Riven was acting too arrogant for his own good. “Won’t be long now before the Master comes down and we can get going.”

 Maybe Riven was being arrogant, acting all entitled about how he ought to have been treated so far, but he deserved a little better treatment after the trouble he was going through for their benefit. And he hadn’t even said anything either. Yes, his face was set and he had no intention of plastering on a fake smile just to make them feel better, and they should be thankful he hadn’t walked out on them.

Really, the only reason he hadn’t left already was that they assured him they were helping Viriya too. He had been desperate to find her once he’d learned the battle at the top of the wall was over, but they were already on it.

“There!” the guard exclaimed. “What’d I say? The Master is coming down right now.”

They both turned to see a portly man waddling down the steps. He was richly dressed in his shining shoes and his silk shirt, though the suit he had on was several sizes too big to accommodate the girth of his rotundness, and the tails of his coat trailed along the floor. Mirren was following behind, and another man was doing his best to keep up with their hurried pace.

“Are you Riven Morell?” the Master asked when he reached the foot of the stairs.

He was shorter than Riven, who had to look down a little to stare back at those beady black eyes. “I am. Are you… financing this little uprising?” Mirren coughed a little into her closed fist and gave him a warning look. “Sir,” Riven added belatedly.

The Master gave no indication he noticed Riven’s gaff. He turned on his heels and began to walk towards the main doors. “Follow me. Your companion can stay. We have much to discuss.”

They went out to a small marble table in the centre of the courtyard. There was a circular bench all around it but the Master was the only one who took a seat. He threw his long coattails behind him then placed his elbows on the table as he sat down.

Riven and the others remained standing.

“Well, you have started quite the ruckus,” the Master said, staring at Riven.

Riven nodded his head. “I have. And I intend to go on with it until most of the warehouses are taken care of and the Ascension soldiers and Essentiers run out of supplies. It’s a mission given by the Invigilator, sir.”

“So I assumed. Who else would think of using Essentiers to sabotage her own depots. She’s the one who knows exactly where they all are after all. However, you can’t do it alone.”

“I had a partner with me but we had to separate.”

“Ah yes, the incomparable Viriya Rorink. You two have caused an uproar in the entirety Severance Frontier, did you know?”

Riven recalled the Lacelle’s words at the top of the wall. She had something quite similar, though it certainly hadn’t felt like he had done anything of particular note. “I’ve been told so recently, sir.”

“Well, colour me impressed with it all. All I’ve heard is impressive enough. It’s enough that you have succeeded against Essentiers far more powerful than you, but the fact that you’ve also won over the Invigilator enough for her to trust you with such an important assignment speaks volumes.”

It did, though Riven got the feeling the Master wasn’t aware of the true reasoning. Aross wanted him and Viriya to lead the charge and beat back Orbray to show that Rosbel had the real power in terms of Essentiers at the very least. There were other Essentiers here too, from other Demesnes, and Aross had no wish to strain her relationship with them further. That Essentier with the insane purple Essence had a uniform he hadn’t recognized. A Thirdmarked from a different Demesne.

Thus, Riven and Viriya were the most likely choices. It made too much sense politically.

“You give me too much credit, sir,” was all Riven said.

“Nevertheless.” The master considered him carefully for a moment. “I am Vorellick and I own most of the rail-carriage manufacturing plants in Rennervation Demesne. As you can tell, I’m supporting the loyalists who want the Invigilator Aross back in her rightful place in charge of Rennervation Demesne. Orbray needs to be kicked out. My businesses are being run into the ground due to his malpractices and I will not stand for it. So I have provided the loyalists a base from which to work on bringing them all down.”

Mirren cleared her throat. “If I may, sir?”

Master Vorellick nodded for her to go on.

She stepped forward. “I think it’s time we begin the operation. Morell tells me that the Invigilator will be coming to strike in a few hours and that he was preparing for her assault. We need to continue with the destabilization and make sure they are too preoccupied with us before the actual assault begins. I’ve already been preparing the others, and I think we will need you to step in finally.”

“Ah, that operation.”

“What are you talking about?” Riven asked.

Mirren turned to him. “For all that we can and can’t do, our numbers are still too small to deal the Ascension loyalists any major blow head-on. The best we can do is guerrilla fighting and taking out their posts and supplies. We don’t have the manpower to get them all. But we have enough to take the Invigilator’s office with a fast, concerted and concentrated effort. Knowing the Invigilator, that’s what she’d want us to focus on and we can give her that.” She turned to Master Vorellick. “The Master can secure us an opening that we can take advantage of.”

“Oh! A surprise assault? I’m all in.”

Mirren smiled at him. “We’ll need all the help we can get. They’re all riled up, and we need to strike while the iron is hot, giving them no time to guess our true intentions.”

The other man, an Essentier if Riven was judging his gait right, didn’t look like he ever smiled.

“Sir, there might be more people coming to check in on us,” he said. “If we’re too busy, we might be exposed, even though we still look like your guards.”

Mirren glared at the man, but held her tongue.

“When are they coming?” Vorellick asked.

“In an hour or so. Our man at the Invigilator’s office has confirmed.”

“Shit,” Mirren muttered. “That’s going to cut into our preparation time. We’ll have to push back the operation by another two hours at least.”

“Best not to get caught, yes?”

“I can take care of them,” Vorellick said. “But I want you to go on with preparations.”

Mirren nodded.

“If I may interrupt,” Riven said. They all stared at him, and he tried not to cower before their regard. He belonged here. Riven was leading the charge after all, the main instigator of all that was going on. “We don’t want to take up too much time. Invigilator Aross said one day, but I think she’s going to rush here as quickly as she can.” He told them about the return attack on Lintellant by Orbray’s people. “Instead of sitting back and licking her wounds, being all careful and everything, I think she’s going to charge forward and use their expectations against them.”

Mirren nodded. “There’s definitely a mess. We’ve been trying to find your friend without much success, but I’ve already sent out some of the others to scout out potential warehouse and depot targets. What we need to do now is move out as quickly as we can.”

Riven nodded. He hadn’t expected Viriya to magically pop into the merchant’s estate now that he was here as well. But he hoped she was alright. They made it sound like Lacelle was fine, which meant that either one of them had escaped from the other, or Lacelle had killed off Viriya.

No, this was Viriya he was thinking of. She’d be fine, no matter what.

The other man nodded. “All right. We’ll go out and try to gather up the others. I’ll prepare the charges,” he added morosely. Then he walked away.

Vorellick stood up as well. “I must prepare as well. We will be ready to set off in two hours approximately then.”

The Master walked off too, leaving Mirren and Riven alone. She waited until Vorellick was gone before taking a seat at the marble table, inviting Riven over to join her. “Tell me all your fantastic war stories.”

Riven joined her. “Don’t you have preparations to take care off?”

She waved it off. “Ellis, the other man you saw, can take care of it.” There was a dangerous glint in her eye in her ochre eyes. “If your stories are insane enough, maybe I’ll tell you some of mine.”

#

The Invigilator’s Office of Rennervation Demesne as a far fancier affair than the one back at Providence Demesne. It was a wide building, standing several storeys high, built in the same curved sandstone style that many of the older buildings in the city were. There was a part at the front that looked like an enormous globe made of glass had been placed as the roof of the main hall. Riven had to wonder if they had repurposed an older building into the office.

The Ascension soldiers guarding it didn’t stop them. Vorellick apparently had enough power to get himself a meeting with the acting Invigilator of the Demesne, and he wasn’t going to be denied his personal guards.

Thus it was that Riven, Mirren, Ellis, and half a dozen soldiers found themselves inside the Invigilator’s office without having to spill a single drop of blood. Amazing, where a few uniforms of regular guards could take one.

“Welcome, welcome!” the acting Invigilator said as soon as he saw Vorellick. He was a tall, fit man, a wide moustache framing his face and his neat, dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

Riven grimaced. The uniform was that of an Essentier, a diamond glinting on his shoulder. Orbray had installed a Firstmarked as the acting Invigilator.

“It is good to be here, Invigilator Wenster,” Vorellick said, shaking hands with the Essentier. “Aross used to shun me every time I wanted to meet with her. Me, who makes all the rail-carriages in the city.” Vorellick shook his head, his outrage evident from every little movement of his body. “I hope we can come to a better understanding. Change is needed, and my business needs to flourish again as it used to.”

“Of course.” Wenster turned and led the way to a small room in the large hall Riven had spied from outside., the glass in the dome overhead glimmering as the sunlight danced all over it. “Please, I’ve prepared refreshments. We can discuss business over food and drink, like civilized men.”

Vorellick nodded, allowing himself to be ushered into the parlour. Riven and the other guards were told to stay outside. The door closed, and Mirren directed them to their guarding positions, which was carefully calibrated to make sure they were within sight of each other.

It was dangerous, Riven had to admit. Not just for them, the Essentiers and soldiers loyal to Aross so deep within enemy territory. Master Vorellick was pacing his life in great jeopardy as well. A moment’s suspicion from Wenster and the Ascension Essentier would have no trouble turning on Vorellick and killing him outright. Power or no power, the man was physically defenceless.

Another sacrifice, just like Raynard. This time though, Riven had no intention of letting it go to waste.

Riven’s legs were twitching again. How long were they going to have to wait? It was still a little wonky to be here, in the Invigilator’s office without having fought all the way. Mirren said the signal would be coming as soon as the meeting was underway, though how they were supposed to know if Vorellick had started the meeting with Wenster was anyone’s guess. Scions, he could hardly take it. The sword hidden in his trouser leg was like a living parasite that was trying to cut its way out of his pants. Not long now. Riven had to keep telling himself that over and over again like a mantra. He needed to attack and he needed to win. He needed it fast.

Smoke drifted lazily across the canvas of the sky, visible for the glass dome.

The signal. That was the signal. Damn Riven was slow. The other Aross loyalists had started the attack, and Riven was a fraction too slow to join in. But he was an Essentier so he got some leeway.

There was a man standing a couple yards away from him, back to the wall. With a  moment’s focus, Riven pulled out his Essence and created a golden shield around the man’s head, even as he started at the sudden violence erupting all over. There was another on Riven’s other side, and he gave no mercy, pulling out his sword from its sheath against skin and fabric and cutting the blade across the man’s neck. Blood sprayed from the man’s neck and he fell, Riven jumping back to avoid being splattered with gore.

With both his assigned soldiers down, Riven had some time to check how Mirren and the others were doing. The fight was raging all over but the element of surprise had worked. Mirren and her fake guards had subdued Orbray’s soldiers quickly and silently.

Mirren waved Riven over. “Now we need to take out the others in the building,” she whispered.

Ellis was busy directing the loyalists as they removed the dead or unconscious soldiers out of the hall. It was huge and there were no hiding spots under the glass dome but they had found a corridor to the side that served the purpose well enough.

“Can we draw them to one spot and take them all out?” Riven asked.

“We can try, but I don’t know how to do that.”

“Fire?”

She shook her head. “We’d alert Wenster with that.”

“But if he gets caught in the same trap, all the better.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“My Essence.” Riven did his best to quickly explain how he had taken out half the soldiers guarding Tollisett when they had attacked it to rescue the Invigilator from her convoy. “All I need is all of them in one place. Then they’re as good as dead.”

Mirren took a moment to think. Riven didn’t want to push her but there was also very little time. Surprise never lasted very long.

“All right, I agree,” she finally said. “I know just the place, and I’ll send one of the men to guide you there. Meanwhile, we’ll draw as many of them as we can.”

“While I stay back and stop the meeting from getting interrupted by any stray messengers.” Ellis joined them. Riven had to ask Mirren what in the Chasm his deal was. He was still morose, trying to avoid looking at the blood coating his hands, appearing for all the world that he had just finished killing his beloved. “How long do you expect me to hold this spot?”

Riven had no idea, but Mirren spared him the need for an awkward pause. “We’ll try to get it done by twenty minutes.” She placed a hand on Ellis’s shoulder. “Remember, if it’s anyone from outside, feel free to do what you want, but do not take on Wenster on your own. Understand?”

“Is he that bad?” Riven asked.

“Best not to dwell on that.”

Ellis gave a tight nod. “I’ll keep an eye out and you won’t have to worry about the meeting disbanding before it’s time.”

“Good. Morell, let’s go.”

Mirren led Riven and the other Rennervation loyalists away from the scene of carnage that no longer looked like a scene of carnage. Apart from a few suspicious spots that still held the faint hints of liquid crimson, there was no sign a fight had occurred in the hall. The soldiers had done a good job of removing most of the blood.

They entered a small hallway, and Riven did his best to keep up with their pace. It was hard now. They were moving as fast as they could without making too much noise, and Riven had returned his sword to its hiding spot. He’d try to move faster but every step sent a tiny spike of fear that his whole legs would be sliced in two by his own Coral blade. Good thing they didn’t encounter any more of Orbray’s soldiers. Or Scions forbid, more Essentiers.

“We separate here,” Mirren said as she reached an intersection where the hallway parted in two, one side going up and another going to the left and down. “Noll.”

A soldier came up and saluted. “Secondmarked.”

“Take Morell to the basement and help him start a fire. We’re going to draw the rest of the bastards infecting this place down there and get all of them together. Follow Riven Morell’s orders, he’s in charge.”

The soldier nodded and saluted again.

Mirren nodded then quickly left. Riven and Noll didn’t wait to see her whole company disappearing up the other hallway. He rushed down the hallway, one hand on the hilt of his sword under his shirt. At the first sight of an enemy, he’d be ready to draw.

“Do you know the way, sir?” Noll asked.

Riven looked over, not pausing in his stride. The man was quite young. If he didn’t have that wispy growth on his face, Riven would have assumed he wasn’t much older. Which was both good and bad, but there was no time to dwell on such matters. “I don’t. I’m hoping you do though.”

“I do. If I can lead…?”

“Of course.” Riven hadn’t realized his eagerness had taken him ahead of his guide. “Please go ahead.”

The soldier led him towards a set of stairs. These too were abandoned. When they went down, Riven looked through the closed doors that led to more hallways beyond at every landing, trying to spot if there were any Ascension soldiers. Nothing. The whole place seemed abandoned. Again, both good and bad. They had little to fear if the rest of the journey to the basement held this kind of resistance, but then, wouldn’t Mirren have great trouble drawing the ones she was luring down here?

“We’re here,” Noll said, pushing through thick doors at the bottom of the staircase.

The basement was deserted too. It was filled with lots of boxes, all storing the many things needed to keep the Invigilator’s office functioning. Riven glimpsed some Sept here and there, but most had dried food, fabrics of different styles, and old construction material like lumber, iron rods, dusty bricks, and so on.

“Where’s the heat regulated from?” Riven asked.

Noll clearly had no idea, going by the way he scratched his head and looked around. He didn’t seem like he was one of those people who could freely admit if they were ignorant of something. He led Riven past several boxes until they ended up in a little nook near the end. Walls surrounded them close in the area, vents opening up above and several pipes leading away from a strange machine in the centre.

Riven peered close. It was a bit dark, but he saw enough to tell the dials on the machine were reading off temperature. There were several buttons and switches, and a few levers too, but Riven didn’t need to know what any of those did. He was here only to sabotage this thing.

“Get wood, and anything else that can be burned,” Riven ordered Noll. “Hurry.”

Noll bent to his task with the speed and alacrity of a worker ant. Riven helped too, wondering all the while how they were going to set it alight. In minutes, they had gathered a pile of old wood and fabrics they had deemed flammable, setting it right in front of the machine.

“Now how to set it alight?” Riven asked.

“One moment.” Noll bent down and pulled out his gun. He tinkered around before upending it over the pile, the powder within dropping out and settling to form a grey film. A little more tinkering and there was a small spark. The pile caught fire. Noll jumped back, face lit up in flickering orange. “There!”

Riven stared at the flames rowing from an ember to a blaze. “I had no idea you could use guns as a lighter.”

Noll grinned. “What now, sir?”

“Now we head back and wait for people to enter.” Riven paused, thinking. If everything outside was as empty as he had seen, then it stood to good chance they’d be waiting here a while. No, they needed to draw them here quicker. Aross would be attacking soon so there wasn’t a moment to waste. Not a single second when he could sit back passively, waiting for something to happen. “On second thought, we need to find them and bring them here. Lure them here, if you will.” Riven nodded at Noll. “Let’s go.”

They rushed away. Riven took the stairs again, this time not bothering to keep quiet as he took two stairs at a time. There was no one here after all. At every landing, Riven had to pause to take a breath, but he didn’t wait too long. Time was running out. Scions, they had not better be too late.

At the top of the staircase where they had entered, Riven found his first victims. Two sets of footsteps charged in and stopped all of a sudden. Riven paused. Of course, they had heard him and Noll. He bade Noll slow and wait, then himself charged into the hallway as he brought up his Essence shield.

There were two soldiers in the hallway and they both fired their guns. The bullets had no effect on Riven thanks to his shield and he charged forward, drawing his blade and tearing his trousers in the process. At least he hadn’t cut himself too. The soldiers were too slow. They never got the chance to draw their own blades, resorting to using their rifles like clubs to repel him. Didn’t work. Riven’s blade sliced through both guns, sending Sept bullets scattering over the ground and broken halves clattering.

Then his sword met flesh, rending through them with too much ease. It was almost as though the contact with the bodies was sucking the Coral blade in, pulling on his arms. With no trouble at all, Riven opened fatal wounds on one soldier’s chest and on the other’s neck. They both crumpled, their shouts going silent as abruptly as they had started.

Riven took a deep breath. Long as the sword was, he had still come too close. Blood covered his guard uniform but that was fine. He would discard it soon enough.

“Sir…” Noll said, the gun he had raised now lowering as he approached Riven with care. He looked as though he was coming close to a wounded panther. “Weren’t we supposed to draw them to the fire?”

Riven’s eyes twitched. “Ah, you’re right.” He pressed a hand to his temple. It came away slick and warm. Blood. “I…”

What had happened? He’d heard the footsteps of potential enemies and had charged in straight for the kill, all thought about anything beyond the need to fight evaporating as though they had never existed in the first place. Had he just lost himself to the bloodlust? It seemed insane. Crazy. Riven was rational, always careful, thoughtful, measured. Always in control.

The Chasm was happening to him?

He looked up at Noll, who was begging to look troubled. “It’s fine,” Riven reassured. We’ll just drag the bodies and throw them downstairs. If anything, the blood trail should draw more of them in right?” Noll didn’t look convinced. Riven was rambling. Shit. He needed to make sense. “Look, we just need them all dead right? What does it matter if it happens here in the corridor or down there in the basement?”

Noll opened his mouth to answer when the wall broke on their right. There was a thump and cracks appeared all over. Riven shouted in warning but too late. Another, and it shattered and exploded, debris blasting out everywhere as a cloud of dust smothered everything.

His golden Essence protected him, but Riven wasn’t worried about himself. He charged into the dust, waving it away with his hands as he tripped over bricks, rods, and broken chunks of the wall. Riven called out Noll’s name but there was no response Shit. It wasn’t looking good. Wasn’t looking like anything at all given the dust turned everything hazy. But it didn’t take long before he found Noll.

The soldier was dead.

Riven stood, frozen in spot. One of the chunks had caved into Noll’s skull, the entire left side of his head missing, the rock sitting in its place covered with blood and oozing grey gore.

Chasm, he had failed.

Follow Riven’s orders, Mirren had said. Noll was Riven’s subordinate, the first soldier who was under Riven’s official command. Both as an Essentier and as his superior, he was responsible for the man’s safety and wellbeing.

Yet Noll was dead. Killed, right under Riven’s eye.

Killed.

Yes, there was someone here who had killed poor, innocent Noll. Someone who needed to pay.

Riven turned, only to be greeted by the sight of Wenster wading through the murk. What in the Chasm was he doing here? Wasn’t Ellis supposed to have—but no, Mirren had told Ellis to run when Wenster appeared. But then, what had happened to Vorellick?

No time to ponder. Riven needed Wenster to pay.

“Well, I see I’ve found a strange one here,” Wenster said, observing the chaos as the dust cleared. He noted the blood on Riven, the Coral sword in his hands, and frowned. “I know that blade. It’s Weathering’s. Or was, rather. You must be Riven Morell then.”

Riven stepped forward, swinging his sword hard to one side to rid it of the blood. “My brother said it was a child’s toy so I took it. Apparently, he doesn’t need a sword to kill the likes of you.”

“Don’t play dumb with me. We all know your brother is dead, Morell. Just as your sister is going to be soon enough.”

If there was one thing Wenster could have said to make Riven even angrier, it had to be his flippant mention of his sister. Oh, he was going to kill the bastard all right. But first, he was going to make Wenster spill everything.

“It’s time you died, bastard,” Riven said, approaching slowly.

“Do you even know who I am? You might have gotten lucky with Weathering, and Daynom might have taken a little too much pity on you because of the girl, but you’re all alone against me. I am Wenster, one of the Fabled Five of Ascension Demesne.”

“Fabled Fucking Four,” Riven said.

Wenster’s face hardened, his wide moustache bristling. “You want to die that bad? Fine by me.”

Riven took a deep breath and charged, ready to deal out death no matter what.