"It could be that racket golem made forced the Governor to send some of her poens to investigate," Cassandra answered doubtfully.

"You don't sound convinced," Todor said unholstering Jolt special with his right hand and dagger with his left.

"I am not. Whatever spell they are casting almost reached its peak. And they are heading right our way. Be ready for a fight," she said and then she opened her palms in front of her. Two double-edged axes materialized there in second.

"Cool axes," Todor said wide-eyed.

"They are almost useless, real steal weapon beats this if you are not a master in hawr-makan art. I am definitely not, I am just a beginner," she said then she grinned. "So that is why I developed a technique where I throw them and resummon them."

"I am sorry I dragged you into this," Todor said finally.

"You told me someone was after you. Well, you told me vampires are after you which is far less dangerous for me. But hey, you didn't know someone else out there wants your ass."

Todor nodded and turned in the direction armed men on the left were coming. He heard Cassandra whispering: "Other than me."

"You think you can handle those mages?" he asked flatly.

"Sure. They don't feel very powerful," she said cheerfully.

The flash of the fire revealed everything around them for a split second. Todor swang to see what is happening when one of Cassandra's axes turned into a shield in a blink of the eye. A moment later small explosion destroyed the shield but leaving Cassandra unharmed.

"What was that?" Todor asked her, a tinge of fear in his voice.

"Someone tried to snipe us with a fireball. I blocked it," she replied in a deadpan voice.

Todor looked at her then smiled.

"If I haven't agreed to this date, those golems would have come to my house and trashed it, probably killing me in the process," he said slowly, his attention not wavering from the data in front of him that represented people coming to kill him. "So, no matter how much I feel bad for dragging you into this, I am glad you are here. Otherwise, I would be a goner, for sure."

"You still might be, we aren't in a clear yet. Do you know anyone you could call for help?" Cassandra asked, her eyes darting to far off location where some spellcasters were gathering mana.

"I guess, don't know how much would that help," Todor said thinking of texting Irry and Mab. Those two maybe know someone who can come quickly to save our asses.

"Do it. I would have called my roommate but she has been gone for a week. She is quite handy with a gun, for a mute human girl," she said letting go of her axe which vanished.

Todor started typing text with blinks and sent it to his two friends.

"Before cavalry arrives, you think we would have an easier time trying to fight through the group with guns or group slinging fireballs at us?" Todor asked grabbing one of the potion packets from his pocket.

"That guy was very accurate with that fireball he threw. And he probably aimed blindly just sensing where he felt mana being channeled when I summoned my axes," Cassandra said, her voice almost a whisper. "I think this are ex-military mages. Let's hope people with mundane weapons are just higher thugs and not some kind of commandos."

Todor shook the potion, waited for a second for it to start alchemical reaction. When it started to bubble he slammed it into his mouth and bit into plastic. Brackish water spilled over his tongue and for a second nothing happened. Then the world stopped and Todor felt like he was pushed underwater. Turning his head to look at Cassandra took entire two seconds. Cassandra's eye widened in slow motion at his action. Then he realized he didn't slow down, his mind sped up. His movement started to catch up with his mind and he felt one with his body.

"What was that?" Cassandra asked, her words dragged on as if she was speaking slowly to a child.

"Some alchemical help with performance," Todor said, then he made a face realizing that could have been understood differently.

Cassandra didn't notice the opportunity for a verbal jab, or did and thought it too immature or not the right place for it.

"They don't know if we spotted people with guns. You said they are there so I believe you. Fireball guy probably attacked us to drag our attention to them and not notice seven other people coming from our left," Cassandra whispered, "So let's try to sneak up past them and if now we fight through them."

Todor nodded spinning the dagger into icepick grip. Somehow potion made his motor functions much more fluid and faster. He turned on aim assist to help him with his Jolt special as well. Slight tugging of smart cloth was far more noticeable now than when he used it with railgun. Guess it has all the data for this pistol, so it's far more refined.

They walked slightly crouched, trying to put bushes and overgrowths between them and the people they suspected wanted them dead. Well, they wanted me dead for some reason, not her, thought snapped into Todor's head. He swallowed the feeling of guilt welling up inside of him and locked his jaw.

After four minutes of uncomfortable sneaking, they spotted one of the men walking along the path. To Todor's sped up brain and movements he looked sluggish. Cassandra next to him made a wrong move stepping on the fallen branch. The following crack sounded like a gunshot to him. Before he knew what he was doing he charged at the man who slowly started to raise his rifle. Todor was upon him in an eyeblink, batting aside the barrel with his pistol and making a stabbing motion with dagger towards strangers throat. He stopped when the tip touched the man's Adam's apple.

"Drop the weapon and don't move," Todor said, scared out of his mind. His body reacted before his mind could catch up. He sparred a lot during his HEMA years, but he thought he would be rusty by now. I guess adrenalin and magical potions bring back trained moves, he decided, not wanting to believe anything else.

The person in front of him clearly got caught by surprise, Todor's speed was surprising even to himself. Todor saw Cassandra coming behind the person and then slamming with the blunt end of her axe into strangers head. Todor moved his dagger away a second before, scared the blow would impale the men. The force of her strike made the man drop his rifle and roll the eyes in his head. He fell to the ground a moment later. Todor crouched down to check the enemies pulse.

"He is still alive," Todor whispered.

"Good, I don't want to kill anyone without a good reason," Cassandra said. Todor looked at her and was surprised to see genuine fear there. His heart was thumping in his chest, fingers slightly trembling. He was missing that crippling tightness in his chest, he usually associated with fear. Am I enjoying this? He pondered motioning Cassandra to grab the man by his feet.

They dragged the unconscious man into the brush, disarmed him and used the cut pieces of the suit he was wearing to gag him and bind him. Only then did Todor took time to examine the man. He wore a black suit with a red shirt and white tie. His face was hidden behind the white mask which Todor removed. He was human, that was clear.

"Are this suits uniform of any gang you heard about?" Todor asked in a whisper. Cassandra shook her head.

"None I have seen, so far," she said breathlessly.

They left the man there and continued on through an opening in their pursuers field of view. Knowing where someone is while their enemies blindly stumbled in infective search pattern was quite a boon. They slowly inched to the exit of the park when new data started streaming to his HUD. An SUV filled with people screeched to a stop some forty meters to their right. Seven more people spilled out into the darkness, armed to the teeth.

"That car we just heard brought seven more people," Todor whispered to Cassandra pulling her into a nearby bush.

"You know, wrestling in foliage is not first date activity," she said laying flat on the ground. "But you must tell me how you see in this darkness with your puny apeling eyes and might forgive you," she grinned to soften up her words.

"Sure, if we survive this night," he whispered back as the fresh people burst into view. They all wore black suits, red shirts, and white ties and masks. Todor recoiled when he saw there were Anadori, Morg, Human and vampires among them. What the hell is going on? When they stomped out of their view Todor turned to Cassandra.

"Is there any group that has all the races working together?" he asked her, wide-eyed.

"That is unheard of in recent history," Cassandra said after a short pause. "And when I say recent I mean even before the Sundering."

They waited a few more minutes before rushing out from the park, back into the street. The lights there were working which Todor thought was a good sign. But a moment later he realized there was no traffic here either.

"Something is wrong," Cassandra said summing shield and sword.

Both Ezezu and something else started poking at his awareness and Todor on instinct jumped on Cassandra knocking her to the ground. Shield and sword puffed out of existence as she hit the ground with him on top her.

"What are you ...," she started to ask but the spot, where she was standing a second ago, cracked from the impact of the bullet.

They got up on their feet fast and charged behind the nearby newspaper stand. They sat there panting from the short sprint and excitement.

"Sniper," Todor said between large gulps of air.

"You mean long-range sharpshooter?" Cassandra asked, "I heard humans used them to take down powerful Anadori wizards and Morg shamans during the war."

Why does she explain everything in detail? Is that her way to cope with fear? Todor mused, his chest wanting to explode.

"Yes, yes, give me a second," he said looking at the data. His radar recorded trajectory and mass of the bullet, the force of its impact and all other data. The system started calculation from where the shoot came when it was fired. Soon the map appeared and the possible location of the sniper was marked as seven hundred meters away. If we go right along this street we would be covered by buildings and out of snipers field of view.

"Let's go this way," Todor said getting on his feet. He checked his weapons, making sure none were unsafe. Taking huge care with a depleted railgun that now was just dead weight, slowing him down. For a second he thought to leave it but decided against it. There is a bus stop here which has free electricity to charge your electronics. Maybe we can get to it and charge it enough for one more shot.

They went into a sprint down the street, not looking back. Heavy railgun kept hitting Todor's back, swinging on its strap. There must be a way this thing was supposed to be carried, damn it, he thought, now regretting he didn't get more interested in first person shooters and war games as most of his peers were.

Once they took few turns it became evident that there was no traffic there either. The shiver went down Todor's spines. How did they manage to clear up streets of everyone? Who are this guys? They burst out into wide boulevard that went along the river Minox. One of the bars there had hidden garden where they jumped over the railing and hid behind climbing vines.

"Where is everyone? I haven't seen a single soul since that golem showed up," Cassandra said after a minute of rest.

"I was thinking the same thing," he agreed when the text pinged.

Todor blinked and opened the message on his glasses. It was agent Hillard.

"It's a new friend I met when I was kidnapped by the vampires," Todor said slowly, foreboding and realization coming over him.

Todor blinked and opened Hillard's text. He said that Sunhawk scion called Governor directly and that she sent a sizeable force to help them. Hmmm, that is good.

"Seems we are in luck. Governer is sending help. We should just hide here until they arrive."

Todor's eyes caught something in his peripheral vision. There, next to the closed door of the bar stood power outlet. Todor guessed it is used when this secluded garden is filled with customers. But now I will try to charge my cracking railgun, he thought with a smile, pushing away agent Hillard and Governer from his mind by force. The railgun had hidden cable that was pulled out of it's back which Todor slammed into the power socket. The indication lights turned on and charging started.

"You think we would need that thing now when the governor is sending her troops?" Cassandra asked.

"Better have it and don't need it, then needed and don't have it," he said with a smile.

"Alright, I think we know each other long enough for you to tell me something about Mundane Era, eh?" Cassandra asked with a huge goofy grin. Todor grinned back.

"Sure. Since I got here I wanted to bring back the Internet," Todor said sitting next to the charging railgun. Cassandra sat in a pose she was going to mediate and looked at him with her mystical magenta eyes.

"Oh, I know this. It was a highly sophisticated network of computers which allowed instantaneous transfer of information all over the globe," Cassandra said like a nerdy kid in class who wanted to show off to a new teacher.

"It was that, but more. It was freedom. All the information of humanity at our fingertips," he said wistfully.

"So, what makes it impossible to recreate it now?"

"Nations don't even speak with each other and create this bubbles of tightly controlled information. Most of it is propaganda that supports the regime, dogma or religion that is ruling that land. Information is tailored to benefit the rulering class of those territories. It's like a bunch of North Koreas mixed with Somalia's with the added benefit of Nazi Germany," he said frustrated. "And don't let me start about infrastructure and technologies that purposefully built not to be compatible with each other."

"The human friend I had. The one that my ex-chief killed. She used to say: 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' So, try that?" Cassandra said.

"Sure, all I need to do that is to become a warlord, conquer a city or two. Make rules based on freedom of speech and sharing of information. And hope nations around copy me," Todor said with a grin.

"Easy, eh?" Cassandra agreed with a chuckle.

Todor opened his mouth to say something but deep rumble stopped him. The floor started to vibrate in the rhythm.

"What is that?" he asked coming up on his feet. He peeked outside on the boulevard. From both sides came the sound of walking. He enhanced his vision and froze. Turning to the other side his heart skipped a beat. Oh, we are so toast. From both sides of the wide street, an army of small golems was coming. Not giant, two-story high, car smashing bronze golems like they had the pleasure of meeting later that night. But still, twenty or so stoneman marching in unison down the boulevard made his blood run cold. Cassandra joined him and gasped when she saw them.

Then a sound of the helicopter came from somewhere behind them.