Kazmere's rest was interrupted by the sound of a dozen armored footsteps above him. He jumped up out of the covers and scanned around for Sera. She had just awoken as well and was staring at the ceiling.

"Sera, it's the Crimson Guard. We have to go see what's happening."

Sera sleepily looked over at him, nodded, and stood up. "This is really bad. You think they're here for you?"

"What else would they bring a dozen guards for? Come help me with this."

A large wooden dresser was to the right of the fireplace. The dark chestnut dresser stood tall, passed down from generation to generation in Kazmere's family. He motioned for Sera to help him push. They both shoved the dresser a few steps forwards. She whispered, "By the Divines."

Behind the dresser was a carved nook. A large wooden chest was set in the area.

Sera shoved him playfully. "Always with the secrets, Kaz. I guess that's part of the reason I always liked you. It was never boring."

He chuckled. "I can't have everyone knowing where my stuff is Sera. Don't take it personally." He reached underneath the wooden dresser and pressed the small wooden slot that held the key.

He inserted the key, unlocking the chest. He reached in and grabbed his favorite weapons, his twelve blood daggers. The twelve daggers contained vials of his blood, set into the hilts. They allowed him to use Viberium powers without cutting himself. They were why the common people called him The Orange Blade.

He set the blood daggers to the side and grabbed his familiar black cloak. Equipped with a hood, the cloak had other tricks. Twelve spots were lined along the inside, allowing him to easily use the daggers without revealing much.

He put on the black cloak and slid the twelve blood daggers into their spots. He put his Relic into the cloak pocket. All it took was my weapons and a bath to feel like myself again.

He pulled the black hood up to cover his face in shadow. "Let's find out what's going on upstairs. Better wear a cloak yourself. We can't show our tattoos around here or risk people turning us in. They raised the price on my head to five thousand crimson marks."

She equipped her dark green cloak and slid two plain iron daggers into her pockets. She turned her head. They locked eyes. " Don't cause a commotion. We have to keep this place secret or we're done for."

He gave a mocking bow with a sly smile. "You're right as always. I'll follow your lead."

She rolled her eyes and moved for the entrance. He followed.

They both walked out of the cellar door. Kazmere scanned left to right and listened to get his bearings. It was still night, sometime before dawn. A cold wind blew against him, hitting his warm cloak. Sounds of armored footsteps and screams broke the silence of the night. The commotion came from within the Drunken Hound Inn.

He whispered, "Follow me. I know a spot where we can listen."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a dark alleyway adjacent to them. He scanned around to check if anyone could see them. No one could. He pulled out his Relic and flared his Viberium powers. His orange pulsating aura lit the dark alley. Sera looked at him and smiled.

Her eyes reflected his orange glow. "I missed seeing you like this."

He grinned at her. "Me too."

He spread open his cloak and flared his Viberium powers. The twelve blood daggers lifted out of his cloak, into the night. He shoved through his blood to insert the daggers into the wall of the inn. Each hilt was sticking out of the inn in a vertical line to the roof.

Sera nodded and headed over to climb up, using the daggers. Kazmere followed closely behind. In no time, they found themselves on the second floor of the inn, peering in from the back window down into the main area.

Chaos filled the inn. Kazmere tightened his fists; his blood began to boil. Crimson Guards had all the guests pushed up against the walls with longswords aimed at them. Elspeth Wingert, the innkeeper, was on her knees while a captain stood with his longsword pointed at her. The captain had four suns pinned to his cloak and wore no helmet. His black hair was slicked back.

Kazmere barely held back the white-hot fury. Elspeth had been kind to him since he was a young man. After the incident many years ago, he'd been living off the streets of Reven, which meant getting beat by Crimson Guards almost daily. Elspeth had shown him the cellar and had always kept his secret, no matter how many times people tried to find his hideout. He couldn't leave her to be beaten. The captain wouldn't rest until the inn burned down. He clenched his jaw.

The captain kicked Elspeth and yelled, "The Orange Blade has been here, I know it. People claim you know where he is. That you're a Foundling sympathizer. I'll ask you one more time. WHERE IS HE?" He sprayed spit into her face with the last few words.

Elspeth replied between sobs. "I... don't... know... please... stop." The captain raised his foot to kick her again.

I will kill that man. Kazmere turned to Sera to explain his plan, but she was already two steps ahead.

Sera cupped her hands around her mouth to echo her words farther away. "The Orange Blade is running that way. guards, over there."

Kazmere smiled at her before jumping off the inn's balcony to another slanted rooftop. He pulled through his blood and floated the twelve blood blades around his head like they were a swarm.

Ten Crimson Guards including the captain ran out of the Drunken Hound into the street. Kazmere flared his Viberium powers to the limit. His orange aura grew, marking him brightly in the night.

Five of the Crimson Guards whipped out crossbows and released bolts aimed at Kazmere's head. He jerked the blood daggers to collide with the bolts, knocking them off course.

Kazmere yelled, "You will pay for hurting those people." More crossbow bolts flew past him.

He turned and sent the blood daggers into the wall and climbed down to the other side of the building. He pocketed the daggers. The sound of armored footsteps were not far off. They would be chasing him. What am I going to do? I can't have them going back there again.

He sprinted into a side street. One of the many canals that ran down into the Eighth Division was not far off. He ran down cobblestone streets lined with slanted buildings. The sound of the armored footsteps not far behind him filled him with nostalgia. He'd been in this situation many times before. He lived for these moments. His adrenaline pumping and his heart racing with excitement.

"Get him." yelled the captain. He turned his head while he ran. More guards amassed with each block.

He rounded the corner into a wide dead-end alley with a rushing canal at the end. He ran close to the water and turned around. The captain and the other Crimson Guards were just arriving. He spread his cloak and flared his Viberium powers, lifting the blood daggers into the air around him. Twenty guards all halted in front of him. Ten with longswords unsheathed and ten with crossbows aimed at him.

The captain pointed at him and sneered. "You have nowhere to run Foundling scu–" He gurgled, blood dripping from his lips. His hands went to his throat. A blood dagger pierced it. His eyes grew wide with horror.

The Crimson Guards nearby gave a gasp, then focused back on Kazmere. "ATTACK!"

Instantly ten bolts flew at Kazmere. He pulled the blood daggers to collide with the bolts while also pushing two daggers toward the crossbowmen's faces, killing two of them.

A shadowy figure with a dark green cloak ran along a roof behind the Crimson Guards. With their backs turned, they had no idea Sera was upon them. She pulled two daggers out and jumped onto a Crimson Guard equipped with a crossbow.

With four Crimson Guards dead, sixteen were left. Two ran at Kazmere swinging at him from both sides. He ducked under their swings and jumped backward. He pulled six blood daggers into each of their backs before they could swing at him again. The force of the six daggers dragged their lifeless bodies toward him. Three bolts flew his way. He waited patiently while the bodies thudded from the impact of shielding the bolts. He lifted them and threw the corpses at two other guards with intense force.

Sera finished two more guards, stabbing one in the throat and the other in the back of the leg and then the head. He almost forgot how good she was.

He focused back on his own fight. Eight Crimson Guards were all making their way toward him. Many of them donned helmets, making it impossible to headshot them with the blood daggers. Kazmere bent down and scooped up a longsword and cut his left hand. Just enough to get the lifeblood flowing for the next fight. He would need it.

Three of the guards charged him screaming a war cry. Kazmere kept his left hand free to use his blood while holding the longsword in the right. He blocked the overhead attack from the right guard and shoved him away while he dodged the middle guard's forward thrust. Kazmere swung with all his might and met the left guard's attack, rotating him so his back was to his comrades. The guard's eyes widened with horror.

He put his bloody hand to the guard's chest and pushed through his blood with all his might. The guard launched sideways into the other two, sending them crashing into the rushing canal. Three more down, five to go.

He turned back to check on Sera. A blow caught him in the chest and shoved him backward. Another guard kicked him in the chest, he sprawled on his back. Kazmere's Relic flew out of his cloak pocket, landing a few feet away, just out of reach. A guard walked up and put his foot down on Kazmere's left hand, pinning him to the ground.

He struggled with all his might but without his Relic, he couldn't flare his Viberium powers. He tried to awkwardly swing the longsword with his right arm but another guard walked up and pinned his other arm down too.

A third guard stood in the middle of them, his face red with anger. "The captain was my brother. I will make you pay for this." Spit flew from the young man's mouth. His eyes alight with fury. He raised his sword up high, ready to end Kazmere right where he lay. He struggled but the guards held him down with unbreakable force.

Two daggers stabbed through the front of the middle and the left guard's throats, their eyes wide with surprise. The right guard, white with shock, fell backward. His arm free, Kazmere slid along his stomach until he had his Relic once again. The surge of power that came with connecting with his Relic filled him. He burst alight with the orange pulsating aura.

Sera walked forward with a longsword and stabbed down into the guard with effective movement before he could cry out. Her right sleeve was ripped off showing her spiraling black tattoo running the length of her arm. He admired her from afar, thankful she was on his side.

He winced from the pain. His left shoulder was bruised badly."Thank you, Sera. Is that the... the fifth time you've saved my life since I've met you?"

She gave a weary smile. "Sixth at least. You always seem to lose your Relic in a fight."

Armored footsteps and yelling came from a neighboring street. He shoved his blood daggers into the wall. They climbed up onto a nearby roof. "We've got to get out of here before more guards come. We got them away from the Drunken Hound for now. Let's head back."

Sera chimed, "For now."

Kazmere grunted in reply while he climbed after her. The Fourth Division would be in chaos when all of the guards' bodies were found. Hopefully, none of the guards were alive to say who massacred them. A few moments later, Kazmere looked back. A mass of guards reached the pile of dead bodies left behind. He gripped his sister's doll and ran after Sera, into the night.

I just have to stay alive until I've cleared the Foundling's name. No matter what happened, he would make sure at least Sera lived after all this was through. He owed her that much.