The shock kept her compliant.

Normally, Kappsi would have run fast and far from any wolfkin enforcer the first chance she got, but now she didn't know what to do. Seeing Brickle's screaming face down in that crowd of robed, painted fanatics had cracked her world.

So they followed the wolves. Under the watchful eye of the big one – Gensher, if she'd heard right – they slouched along with the enforcers, all three of them trying to get to grips with what they'd uncovered. Part of her wished only she had seen it – at least then there would at least be some measure of doubt – but Haarm had seen the same thing; corroborated the same impossible reality. With two siblings along for the ride, Skoppa was in no position to fight the point. He slunk along at the rear of the column with a face like fury.

What kind of lies, threats and torture could have warped the mind of someone like Brickle so thoroughly that she would actually join that group of maniacs?

She had a lot of questions. Too many to choose from. Despite her instinctive fear in the presence of the wolfkin, she also realised that this was her best chance to get some answers. If Kendris had Wildhearth's enforcers riled up, then this was even worse than she'd realised.

Leaving the madness of Helsfur far behind, the enforcers led them to a neighbouring district not remarkable enough to commit to memory, before plunging them all into a region of dim-dark tunnels that made the underdocks look like a big, welcoming hug. With no idea where they were going, Kappsi had no choice but to follow along in Illando's wake, until they emerged into the first vestiges of morning light.

She still had no idea where they were. Kappsi squinted at the dawn, taking in a vista of low, boxy buildings constructed of hardened ceramic brickwork. Her nose twitched with the stink of burning fuel, and a few rows back she could see a cluster of smokestacks jutting up out of the district.

"Follow me," grated the enforcer leader, turning to the right out of the tunnel and leading the group into the narrow alley between two of the buildings. Shadows swallowed them and Kappsi hunched her shoulders, feeling Skoppa and Haarm edge closer to her.

Illando led them to a door – a barely visible square of dark metal lodged in one of the walls. A scent key appeared in his paw and he passed it over the lock, extracting a bleep and a clunk before the thick panel swung inward. He ducked through first, followed by the female, Noelle

"Inside," Gensher grunted, motioning to the door with a dip of his head.

Kappsi gulped down the lump in her throat, sparing a second to give her brothers a reassuring nod. Then she gathered her nerves and stepped through the doorway, emerging into a metal-walled room maybe ten meters square. She straightened up as she entered, noting several cabinets that spilled around the wall to her left. A small desk had been bolted into place to her right, together with maps and a rack of fearsome looking weapons, ranging from clubs and armbows, to bladed gauntlets, long daggers and axes.

An enforcer safe house, from the looks of things.

She hunched her shoulders as the rest of the enforcer squad clustered in behind her. The door sank shut behind them with a morbid finality. Kappsi dug her claws into the fabric of her kilt, trying not to think the worst. If the enforcers wanted them dead, they could have done it by now. They wouldn't have dragged them all the way out here.

"Farler, get on the howlwire," Illando grunted. "Pull Jaris's pack and get them onto the Helsfur transport yards. I want eyes on where those bastards go next."
"Sir." The wolf in question loped over to the howlwire set embedded above the desk.

As his subordinate set to work, Illando turned back to face them, beckoning. "C'mon in. And for Peace sake, relax. We're not going to hurt you."

Glancing at Skoppa and Haarm, Kappsi shrugged nervously and shuffled further forward into the chamber. She tried to will the tension out of her body, but it wouldn't happen. With everything that had just happened her instincts wouldn't let her drop her guard.

"I think some proper introductions might help." The enforcer smiled, doing absolutely nothing to help Kappsi's nervous state. "My name is Commander Illando, and I run Wildhearth's enforcers. We have been tracking that cult that you stumbled onto for some time now. They're responsible killings in the outer districts."

His voice was calm, a little too calm. Too used to dealing with all this death.

"I'm – erm – I'm Kappsi," she stuttered out. She licked her lips before continuing. "Barge-herder, 1st class out of Whaveloda docks. These are my brothers, Skoppa and Haarm."

"You said that those cultists kidnapped your friend – Brickle, was it?"

"Aye." Kappsi clasped her paws together as she spoke. "More than a week past, dragged her right off the docks. I was with her when they attacked us, but I fell into the canal and..." She gulped, the memories surging horribly in her mind's eye. "By the time I got out she was gone. We've been trying to find her ever since."

"Well, you've managed that, at least."

"Not exactly how we hoped," grunted Haarm.

Illando nodded. "Sorry about your friend. We didn't know they were recruiting so... violently."

"Aye, well we didn't know the wolves were on their trail." Kappsi could stop her eyes from flitting around with nervous energy, constantly checking that the wolfkin were still keeping their distance. "So... what exactly do you want with us?"

"I think you've proved to be a bit sharper than most kin out there," Illando said. "You found that cult without any outside help. That takes some brains, and I reckon, a bit of backbone too." He glanced at the female wolfkin named Noelle, who was lounging against one of the cabinets. "What do you think?"

The enforcer grinned. "I'd say they might've missed their callin', spending their days shunting barges about. Your call, though, boss."

"That's all real nice," Skoppa interjected, moving up protectively alongside Kappsi. "But that don't answer the question. What do ya want with us?"

"We found one meeting, but this cult is more widely spread in the districts than you know. I think you could be an asset."

A look of horror flashed across Kappsi's face. "You want us to work for you?"

"Why not?" He spread his paws amicably. "We all want the same thing."

"I ain't so sure that's true," Haarm rumbled. "I know how you folks like to work; killin' everythin' in your way. We just want our friend. We want Brickle out of that place, not cut to bits while you and yours are on a rampage."

"Peace, planktail, we're not all a bunch of mindless rippers," Noelle exclaimed, sounding genuinely affronted.

"I've got no plans to hurt your friend," Illando assured them, but his vicious expression didn't do much to convince her of that. "You saw the same thing I did down there. If we want to put a stop to this, there's only one person we have to kill."

"Kendris," Farler said. "You think if we kill him the cult will stop?"

"Not overnight, but you cut the head off a snake, the body'll die eventually." Illando's gaze shifted back to the three otterkin. "You've all the worked the docks for a long time I'll wager?"

"Long enough," Skoppa confirmed uneasily.

Haarm shot his brother a warning glance. "Just out with it, mate. What is it you want us to do, eh?"

"You know the canals and underdocks better than we do," the wolfkin leader explained. "And it's clear this cult has been using them to get around undetected. There are a lot of places that have dropped off the maps – abandoned, derelict, left to rot. Good places for these mongrels to hide, wouldn't you say?"

Kappsi gave a slow nod. "Aye, that all tracks."

"Glad you agree." His smile broadened unnervingly. "All I need from you is to work with my people to identify these places. Help us figure out where to go, and we'll do the rest."

"Oh, nonono." She bristled, paws clenching as she edged closer to Illando. Her heart hammered inside her chest as, in that instant, she delivered an ultimatum to one of the most dangerous kin in the city. "You ain't cuttin' us out of the loop. If you want our help findin' these creeps, I'm coming with you when you do. That ain't negotiable."

"Sis, you sure about this?" Haarm murmured. "I didn't sign up to get tail-wound with the bloody enforcers."

"Neither did I," she shot back. "Buy y'saw the crowds down there. We can't do it on our own."

"Terms sound fine to me," Illando cut in. He extended a paw to her. "Help us track down Kendris, and I'll help you get your friend back."

Kappsi could feel her blood thumping in her ears. Everything had spiralled out of control so quickly, but through all the madness and the mayhem, she kept Brickle's face in her thoughts. If they wanted to save her, they would need allies. Right now, having Wildhearth's enforcers on side seemed like the best they could ask for. She looked at her brothers; they both looked uneasy at the prospect, but they kept their silence. It would be up to her.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out and clasped Illando's paw with hers. And shook.

"Alright, we're aboard."

***

The world could be very strange, sometimes.

That thought ricocheted around Illando's mind as he emerged from the enforcer tunnel network on the outskirts of Carlikane District. Pretty much slap-bang in middle of Wildhearth's eighth spiral, it was closer to the Silk than most of the places he'd had to visit recently. So far presence of the Savage Fire cult had been largely confined to the underdocks and the outskirts, and he saw no evidence of them in any of the reports of the patrols in Carlikane.

All of which let him to wonder why in the Fire Bronco would have dragged them out here when he should have been hunting down Kendris. The call had come in from the enforcer headquarters a few hours after they'd enlisted the otterkin dockers' help, just when Illando had been hoping he might catch a nap.

Instead he'd had to leave Farler and Ferrow to organise a thorough surveillance of the Helsfur salt-packing district, along with the transport docks and tram carriers. All because Bronco had some friends to make introductions to. The vulkin made it clear these people could help, but he'd been tight-muzzled over the howlwire. Old acquaintances with a set of skills that couple be particularly helpful – that was all he'd let slip.

Cryptic bloody dog, Illando thought to himself.

He emerged from the tunnel with Noelle close behind, along with Morta and an escort of four enforcers from his old pack. After the incident at Bonequill, Illando's old second-in-command clearly felt like he had something to prove, leaving nothing to chance, even in a secure district like this.

Carlikane thronged with citykin, the noonday sun climbing high, cheerfully oblivious to the chaos fermenting beneath it. The smell of the bodies swelled as he made his way into the heavy heat of the bowl-like district, buildings rising a range of rolling hills all around. They all spiralled inwards, staring down into the massive clearing of Carlikane's market district.

Brawl-pits thundered with noise as violent kin wrestled, while their less violent cohorts drew wagers of increasingly obscene sums of barkstamps. Bars were beginning to fill, and Illando had to stamp out the urge to avail himself of a strong glass of lasher. He needed to sleep – his nerves and his body were on edge – but Bronco had made it clear that he didn't want to wait around.

Easy to say, for someone who hadn't spent the night staking out a warehouse in the middle of a damned thunderstorm.

Following the directions they'd been given, he skirted around the edge of the main basin, avoiding the brawl pits and passing several restaurants and food stalls that gushed with the scent of cooking meat. His stomach growled. As soon as this meeting was over with he needed a solid meal and a drink.

Around a third of the way around the bowl of the market, they reached their destination. It was a barrel of a building, with a fresh coat of warm, brassy paint lathered over an ageing exterior. The store windows glittered with bars of lighting and fluorescent painted text on the exterior, promising the best deals and the greatest gear. A sign over the front door read: J's Tech Solutions: If it Ain't Broke, One Day it Might Be.

"Is this it?" Morta asked, casting a dubious eye over the place.

"Apparently." Illando scratched his nose with an idle claw.

"What d'you think we'll find here that's worth a stamp?"

"I don't know, but we're here now." He made a vague gesture to their surroundings. "Get a perimeter assigned do a sweep for anyone who might be keeping an eye on this place. You find anything, you know what to do."

"Aye, sir." Morta still looked uncomfortable. "You sure you want to go in with just Noelle? After Bonequill..."

"Just Noelle?" The tech-breaker shot him a mocking glance. "What's the matter, Mort? Don't think a little lady like me is enough?"

"I – no, I didn't mean that, I just-,"

"We'll be fine," Illando assured him, sparing Morta further embarrassment and thumping a clenched paw on the enforcer's shoulder guard. "Now go."

Clearing his throat, Morta nodded, then barked out a short, sharp command to the other guards. The wolfkin dispersed like shadows, suddenly vanishing into the clustered alleyways where the sun could not betray them. A few seconds later he stood alone with Noelle.

"Shall we?" she asked.

In response Illando stepped forward and planted a paw against the front door to shove it open. It swung with a hiss of well-oiled hinges and he entered the tech shop, immediately wrinkling his nose as the hot smell of solder, scorching circuits and new metal casings assaulted his senses. Somewhere he could smell meat cooking and some stale muskbrew that someone had forgotten about. Shelves all around them were jammed with computing rigs and their accessories, but none of it meant much to him.

Bronco stood in the cramped space, the vulkin's bulk looking like it had been crammed unwillingly in here, but there were two figures with him that Illando had never seen before. Wordlessly he and Noelle moved to stand opposite them, sizing each other up.

One was a foxkin female, slim and light-framed, with long straight locks of white headfur sweeping down across her shoulders. She wore a sleeveless grey bodywrap and a short black kilt, with a longclaw dagger thrust through her belt. Bright, turquoise eyes regarded him distrustfully. A male wolfkin stood beside her, his body formed of wiry, hard sinews beneath his is coat of white and grey. A ridge of ink-black headfur speared between his ears, and he wore a set of thick canvas overalls, rolled down to the waist to reveal a loose-fit brown bodywrap. All of his clothes were littered with tiny scorch marks.

All in all, they looked pretty normal. He assumed they ran the tech-den, but that didn't explain why Bronco had dragged him all the way out here. His eyes shifted back to the foxkin, something twanging in the back of his mind. She looked familiar, but he wasn't sure why. He'd never been to this shop before.

"Thanks for coming," the vulkin said. "I'm sorry I couldn't explain more over the howlwire – too dangerous."

"This better be good," Illando grunted. "You said these two can help us somehow?"

"They can."

"Then make it quick."

"Somebody is working against you on the inside," Bronco explained. "If someone is giving away your movements to Kendris and his followers, you might never catch up to him. We need to figure out who it is, and if there is a trail to be found, these two will find it. You won't find better hackers in the city."

"I take exception to that, watchguard," Noelle cut in, looking the pair over dismissively. "What makes these two so qualified?"

"I'd tell you to ask Hera," the foxkin snapped. "But we killed her."

The bluntness of it hit Illando like a punch in the gut when he realised where he recognised her from. This couldn't be her, could it? Before the full extent of Hera's treachery had been revealed, he and his fellow enforcers had been put on the lookout for a foxkin fugitive. The pictures they'd been given had been poor quality, but seeing her standing in front of him, he could see they'd been good enough.

There had been many rumours about the people involved who'd exposed the twisted experiments at the Belforra facility. The only kin who'd actually put their names to it, however, had been Bronco, and the designate, Anvaal, who'd brought the accusations to the Conclave chamber.

Everybody else disappeared. Ghosts given refuge against possible retribution.

"Bronco..." he breathed. "Who in the Fire are these people?"

"They are friends of mine." Bronco took a step forward, placing himself between Illando and the newcomers. "And yes, they are the ones who uncovered Hera's plans. This is Jett-," he gestured to the wolfkin, "and Karno. They agreed to meet you because they owe me a favour, and because whatever is going on out in the districts is a damn sight more important than any old grudges. You understand?"

"Peace and bloody Fire," Noelle murmured. "You're seriously tellin' me that these two upended Hera's boat?"

"We had help," Karno replied. He looked a lot more at ease than Jett, folding his arms and leaning an elbow on the shop counter. "But yeah, it was us."

"And who exactly are you?" Illando asked, still not quite believing what he was hearing.

"I worked as a Conclave security tech for a good long while. Til your old boss booted me out for not getting with the programme." A grim smile crossed the other wolfkin's features. "Guess I got the last laugh though, didn't I?"

He shifted his gaze to Jett. "And you?"

"Me?" She regarded him contemptuously. "I was tech-breaker in Palharr, and all I wanted to do was mind my own damned business. Maybe I would have, if Hera hadn't made it real, real personal."

"Peace, Illando, you remember?" Noelle breathed as the realisation crept over her. "The family that got killed out there? Never did figure out who did it, did they?"

"Your friends killed my family," Jett growled. "So let's get something straight. I don't care about you, or the enforcers. As far as I'm concerned the lot of you can go to the Fire, but I owe Bronco. I'm here for him, not you. And if you don't want my help, you can get out of my shop and never come back."

A crackling silence filled the space between them, Jett's words resonating in his ears like a hammer striking an anvil. He could feel the hate. He could see it in the fire of her eyes and prickle of her fur. She meant every syllable.

"Fangs," Illando muttered, clenching and unclenching one paw as he tried to process all this. He had no love for Hera but this... this was a lot to take in. Whatever the circumstances, if he was to believe Bronco, these two had been instrumental in the deaths of many enforcers.

But could they truly be blamed for that? Would he have done differently when faced with their choices?

Could he fault anyone for fighting to survive?

"Illando," Bronco said quietly. "I know how you must feel about this, but they can help us, if you let them. I'll take full responsibility for them."

"Thanks, Bronc," Karno chirped.

"If they can walk the walk, boss, maybe it's worth lookin' into," Noelle said, her eyes fixed on the other wolfkin. Her expression had morphed into one of mild interest. "Long as we keep them clear of Lykas and his pals."

This was certainly turning into a day of strange alliances. He inhaled deep; breathed out through his nose; pushed his emotions to one side and let pragmatism come to the fore. He knew who the real enemy was, and they weren't standing in this room.

"Alright, Bronco," Illando said. "Let's talk."