Author's Preface
Blue sat in the second-floor office with the team around him. "There's one thing I want to talk to you all about." He looked around the room. "With Eve as guildmaster and me handling other things, I want you all to be Eclipse's executives."
"I hope that doesn't mean breaking up the team." Darrien leaned back. "We just got rank one."
"We'll still clear gates when we can. But right now, I need you to train the recruits. Teach them our tactics. Help them understand the culture we're building here... Aaron taught us a lot at Buckeye. Most of it we should carry over, with minor tweaks."
"Works for me." Chris nodded.
Cynthia leaned forward. "You're not going to go looking for that pendant alone, are you, Blue?"
"No. I'll always have people with me. I'm not stupid." He looked at Eve. "But you all need to be here. Especially with Midnight active."
Eve folded her hands on the desk. "We have a lot on our plate. You're going to be the busiest executives of any guild in the country." She looked at Samantha and Cynthia. "You two handle applications. There are hundreds." She turned to Chris and Darrien. "You two handle the new recruits."
Blue was heading downstairs when Aaron walked in through the front door. He stopped and looked around the building. The garden had taken shape outside. The floors finished. The gate visible through the glass at the center.
"Who's your interior decorator, Blue? Send them my way when they're done."
Blue laughed. "Very funny."
He looked outside. One hundred people stood waiting on the street.
Aaron smacked him on the back. "Told you. Civilians are always looking for work. Be gentle with them." He was already heading toward the stairs. "I need to go see your guildmaster. Have fun."
Blue stepped outside. "Can everyone gather around, please? I'd rather not yell."
They formed a loose circle. A hundred people of varying ages. Some nervous. Some curious. Some just tired.
"Take a seat."
They sat.
"Aaron tells me you're all looking for work. As you can see..." Blue gestured at the building behind him, the garden, and the gate at the center. "...there's plenty of it here." He looked at them one by one. "I have one offer for each of you. It's your choice whether you accept."
Blue took a deep breath. "Raise your hand if you're okay being a civilian. Powerless against what's outside these walls."
No hands went up. Blue nodded slowly.
"Then let me offer you something else."
He released a fraction of his qi. Just enough. The air shifted slightly around him, something different from the awakener energy everyone in the city had learned to recognize.
"I can teach you to use this. Qi. Like me." He looked across the circle. "It will take time. It will be hard. But it gives you the opportunity to travel through the golden gate, gain power, and awaken on your own terms."
The people looked at each other. Quietly at first. Then one stood. Then another. Men and women continued rising until the count settled. Sixty-five people on their feet.
Blue looked at the remaining thirty-five still seated. "To those who don't wish to follow that path, you're still welcome here. Eclipse needs cooks, cleaners, office staff. Head inside to the front desk and fill out an application with what positions interest you. We'll be in touch."
He turned to the sixty-five standing. "Follow me."
He led them into the makeshift training area at the back of the building. Scrolls were distributed and physical assessments were done quietly as Blue watched how each person moved, what their limitations were, and where their starting points were. It was going to be a long road for most of them.
Aaron appeared in the doorway. Blue looked up. "Everyone is dismissed. Be here tomorrow at 0800. Do not lose those scrolls."
The sixty-five filed out.
Blue crossed to Aaron. "What's up?"
"I just asked your guildmaster if I could borrow you for the evening." Aaron smiled.
"That doesn't sound fun for me."
"We have another lead on Midnight. Titus asked me, Olivia, and Arthur to check it out. Abandoned building just inside the south wall." He looked at Blue. "I wanted you to tag along."
"Right now?"
"Tonight. Ten p.m. Meet at my guild around nine."
Blue looked at him. "Do I have a choice?"
"Nope." Aaron turned and headed for the door. "Your guildmaster already approved it. See you then."
That night, Blue approached the Buckeye Guild. Arthur was waiting outside.
"Good to see you, Blue. How's the guild coming along?"
"Slowly but surely."
"Wonderful to hear." He gestured toward the entrance. "Come on in. We're just about to start."
They entered Aaron's office. Aaron stood behind his desk, and Olivia was already there.
"Glad you made it." Aaron looked at the door. "We're waiting on one more."
Titus walked in. He placed a map on the desk without preamble. "This is where we believe they're operating." He pointed to a section of the south side. "Based on where the most recent bodies were found, this building is the most likely location."
Olivia studied the map. "If they're inside the walls, then why haven't we detected them?"
Blue looked at the map. "What if they're not inside the walls? Not really." He traced the area with his finger. "What if they only use it as a temporary base? Operate from outside but move in when they need to. That's what I'd do."
Titus looked at him. "Is it now?"
"He could be right." Arthur crossed his arms. "Operating inside Association territory with guilds and awakeners around constantly isn't advantageous. Too much exposure."
"We'll find out when we check it." Aaron looked around the room. "Either way, we go in and see what's there."
Titus straightened. "Be careful. We don't know their numbers or strength. If you encounter anyone...do try to keep some of them alive. For interrogation." Titus smiled with one corner of his mouth. "Only some."
Olivia smiled. The The others nodded.
"Good luck." Titus picked up his jacket. At the door, he stopped. "Aaron, when you're done, report to my office with whatever you find." He left.
Olivia spread her hands across the map. "My team scouted the area this afternoon." She pointed to three spots around the building's perimeter. "Here. Here. And here. Best entry points without detection. No movement outside in the last twenty-four hours."
"Doesn't mean there's no one inside waiting," Arthur said plainly.
Blue looked at the map one more time. "Then we stay sharp." He smiled slightly. "Let's go find out what they've been up to."
Aaron and the team approached the building from the south.
"Two teams." Aaron kept his voice low. "Blue, you're with me. Arthur, take Olivia. Start at the basement. Blue and I will work up from the second floor."
Arthur and Olivia slipped inside and disappeared into the darkness below. Blue and Aaron moved through the second floor methodically, checking each room before moving to the next. Nothing but dust and old furniture.
"What do you think Midnight actually is?" Blue kept his voice low as they moved.
"Black guilds consolidated under one group. That's all anyone knows for certain." Aaron checked a doorway and moved past it. "Nobody knows who's at the top or what they actually want. But they're organized. And they're dangerous."
They reached the staircase to the third floor. The explosion hit from below. Aaron and Blue looked at each other. The basement. They both said simultaneously. Without another word they both sprinted to the stairs and down to the basement. When they arrived, there were thirty men on Arthur and twenty on Olivia. Both were still fighting. Blue took a step forward, but Aaron's arm came across his chest. Blue looked at him and froze as a chill went down his spine.
Aaron's eyes had turned red. A dozen massive, dark greatswords materialized in the air around him. Aaron extended both arms slowly and walked forward. The swords flew. They moved through the room in seconds, cutting through everything in their path without hesitation or wasted motion. The enemy's numbers collapsed. Arthur and Olivia found space and regained their footing as the last of the attackers went down.
Arthur flicked a pebble off his thumb directly at Aaron's head. "Enough, boy. You got them."
Blue looked around. Over forty bodies covered the basement floor. Three men huddled in the far corner, shaking.
"Please... don't kill us. We were just told to keep you busy. That's it."
Aaron stepped toward them. "By who? And for what reason?"
"We don't know. We swear. We're just... we needed the money."
Arthur stepped forward. "By working with the black guilds."
Blue moved past him and crouched down in front of the three men, putting himself at eye level.
"I get it. You're scared." His voice came down. "But there are other ways. Working with people who hurt civilians... that's not surviving. That's choosing."
"We didn't have a choice." One of them wouldn't meet his eyes.
"You have one now. Tell us what you know. Let us help you."
One of the men moved. The dagger came up fast and swung before anyone could react. The blade opened a long cut across Blue's face. Blue grabbed at it and fell back, blood spreading across his hands and dripping onto the floor. Aaron's sword was already moving. It pinned the man to the ground in one motion. Olivia looked at the other two without expression. They were both smiling. She stabbed them both in the throat. Aaron watched them fall. Something slid out from inside one of their shirts as they hit the ground. He crouched and picked it up. A dark red crystal, cracked down the middle.
Olivia and Arthur already had Blue between them. "We're taking him back to guild!" Olivia looked at Aaron once.
Arthur glanced at Blue's face. "That's going to leave a gnarly scar, boy."
They disappeared up the stairs. Aaron stood alone in the basement with the crystal in his hand, bodies around him and the silence of a room that had just seen too much happen too fast. Then...
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Aaron turned slowly. In the far corner of the room, a hooded figure stood in the dark. Only the whites of his eyes and his teeth were visible. He was grinning like he'd been watching the whole thing and enjoyed every second of it.
Aaron flung a sword directly at him.
Black smoke. Gone.
Aaron stood in the empty basement, holding a broken red crystal and staring at the space where something had been.