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As Kash's eyes slid open, it took him a few moments to remember anything about who or where he was. All around him he could hear hushed voices, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. The whole world was a whirlwind, filled with smudges of foggy colour dancing to and fro. He could tell that he was moving, but he could not feel his arms and legs.

'I...I'm flying!' Kash smiled in his delirium. 'This...this must be... the afterlife... I knew it... I knew Shee was right..."

Even in his delirious state, part of Kash's mind knew that was a lie. When Shee had told him the stories passed down secretly from the ancient homeland, about the wonderful land that awaited them after death, Kash hadn't believed a word of it. Of course he had listened to her, it had made Shee happy to tell the stories, but it all seemed so foolish. The legends about the scales upon which their lives would be judged, the council of ancestors that would guide them through the great journey to Kadaji, the land of light and joy that awaited them, it was all nonsense.

Shee had spoken with such earnestness, such fervent belief. In truth, Kash had wanted to believe it, who wouldn't? Kadaji, the great green plane, a place where he could see his mother again, where there was no pain, no whips, no humans. But how could a place like that be real? How could such joy exist in the same hellish reality as Halcyon? It was just a story, a tale meant to give fleeting hope to those who would otherwise have none.

But as he floated along, the world slowly spinning around him, a sense of immense relief flooded Kash's body.

"Kadaji... I'm actually there..." Kash's eyes slid closed. "Finally... I can see Shee again..."

"Would you shut him up?" The tiny lapine youth carrying Kash's legs hissed as he looked about.

The young feline holding Kash's shoulders nodded. "Yeah yeah, I got it."

Kash groaned again, louder this time. "You have to shut him up," the lapine whispered, glancing around quickly. "He's gonna get us caught!"

Fighting to keep her voice calm, the feline leaned down and whispered in Kash's ear. "Kash, Kash please, you need to be quiet. Please, just keep quiet, we're almost free..."

Recognizing the feline's voice, Kash's eyes slid open again. The haze in his mind cleared a little, and he was able to make out the face looking down at him. "T-Teff? Is that you?" Kash blinked a few times, struggling to make sense of what he was seeing and feeling. "Teff... d-did you die too?"

"No, and I'd rather not, so please, please be quiet!" Teff groaned a little as she shifted her grip. "Dammit, you are a lot heavier than you look!"

Kash's eyes stung as he looked around. He recognized the lapine carrying his legs as Trip, a feisty youth that Kash has a soft spot for. There were two others, a pair of canine twins, Three and Five. Kash would never be able to tell them apart, were it not for the fact that Three had a blue left eye and a brown right, where Five had a brown left and a blue right. Even with this difference, the two were damn near impossible to tell apart.

From the swamp all around, Kash could hear the sounds of shouting and crying, as well as the joyous whooping calls of humans. Cold fear gripped his heart as he remembered his flight through the tunnel and his battle with the cats.

"I... I made it to the cave... W-what happened after that? W-Where is Raid?"

"He ordered us to make a run for it while he and the others hold the cave," Teff whispered. "But there are humans everywhere!"

"I can't believe we left them," Five mumbled, looking over her shoulder.

Three's voice was barely above a whine as she shook her head. "Y-you heard Raid, they're not going to survive."

"Better to die fighting side by side with Raid, than out in this swamp." Trip gritted his teeth, his voice a low, snarling, growl. "I'd rather-"

A nearby gunshot rang out, followed by a chorus of yelling and screaming. Moments later more shots rang out, and the screaming abruptly ceased.

Five's eyes widened in terror "Th-that was Miri's voice! Th-they k-killed her!"

"Shut up," Trip hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "If they find us we-"

The group froze at the sound of water sloshing nearby. It took less than a second for them to realise that the sounds were footsteps, moving through the swamp towards them.

"No... No no no..." Three whimpered, wringing her hands together. "Please no..."

"This way," Trip whispered, breaking the paralysing panic and gesturing towards a particularly large mangrove. As quickly as they dared, the group shifted to hide amongst the twisting roots.

Kash hissed and moaned in agony as Trip and Teff shifted and ducked to squeeze their way into the hollow beneath the tree. The water was like fire against the wound in his arm as his shoulder slipped below the surface. Despite his best efforts, he opened his mouth to let out a cry. The instant before the sound left his mouth, Teff grabbed his muzzle and held it shut, her thumb clamped over his nose.

Kash started to struggle, but Teff leaned close and put her forehead against his.

"Please.... Please be quiet," She whispered, the terror in her voice breaking through Kash's panic.

"Please..."

It took every scrap of willpower he possessed, but Kash managed to stop himself from struggling and nodded his head. Just as Kash thought his lungs were about to explode, Teff released her hold on his nose. Though she still held his muzzle shut, Kash took a deep breath through his nose, greedily sucking down as much air as he could.

'She was willing to kill me!' Kash's mind howled as he gasped for air,his lungs burning and his heart pounding.

But as he stared up at Teff, strange thoughts drifted across Kash's mind. Despite knowing he should be afraid, or even angry, as he looked up at Teff, Kash couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. White spots danced in his eyes, droplets of water shining like jewels that drifted around her face. For a few moments, it wasn't Teff that he saw, but Shee.

'Shee...' Kash's mind spun as his eyes rolled back and the world went dark.

Teff's eyes widened as Kash lapsed into unconsciousness again. "Kash?" Teff gently shook his shoulders. "Kash?"

"Shhh..." Trip breathed, peering out from behind the roots of the mangrove.

"See anything?" Five whispered, keeping a hand over her mouth.

Trip's eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air. His ears twitched to follow each sound as he stayed as close to the mangrove roots as he could.

"I think we'r-" Trip's voice froze in his throat as he caught sight of five humans making their way through the swamp towards them. All five were armed with pistols, and were led by a young man in a red vest. Though his name escaped him, Trip recognized the youth as Lillyvale's newest Order Chief. Even in the few short days that he had been in charge, the young man had earned a brutal reputation.

Fighting back the urge to whimper, Trip turned to his compatriots. "Stay still... stay quiet."

As the humans approached, each step they took seemed to get louder and louder. Soon all Trip, Teff and the others could hear were the sloshing footsteps, as well as the blood rushing in their ears.

Trip's hand shook violently as he reached to his waist and gripped his weapon, the bottom half of a fire poker that had been filed down to a reasonably sharp point. Even after the crates of guns and knives had been secreted into the cave, it was the only weapon he had been allowed to carry until someone had had a chance to train him. He carried it with him everywhere, gripping it proudly as if it were some mighty sword of legend from one of the human stories.

With each step the humans drew closer, Trip tried to quiet his breathing, tensing his muscles and preparing to strike. If he was going to get killed, he would make certain to take at least one of the humans with him.

'Go for the chief... Go for the chief and maybe...' Trip gulped hard as he tightened his grip on the poker. 'Kill him, and Teff and the others might get away...'

"Chief Duke!"

Trip froze as another human, an order agent, approached.

"What is it Langdon?"

"Sir, we found their lil hideaway! Agents Baskerville and Alyard are hittin' it from the tunnels, they want us to stay out 'ere and catch any that try an' run!"

"Ah dammit, I wanted a piece of the action!" one of the men protested.

Trip flinched at the sound of the chief's voice.

"No, we follow the captains' orders. Spread out and form a perimeter. No prisoners neither, so no need to hold back."

"Understood. Flint and Geller managed to bag a few already, just kids though."

"Just keep yer eye's open, and don't-"

At that moment the sound of a flurry of rifle shots rang out across the swamp from the direction of the cave.

"Shit, it's starting! Double time lads!"

"Right!"

"Let's get 'em!"

"Hoooooooyeah! It's pelt skinnin' time!"

As the humans took off, Trip realised that he had been too frightened to breathe for some time. Shakily he took a deep breath, making certain to keep his mouth covered with his hand.

As Teff breathed an immense sigh of relief, she shifted to try and get a better footing on the slimy swamp bottom. As she did, a sharp piece of twig, or perhaps a piece of the mangrove root, pierced the flesh between her footpads. She slapped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from yelping, but as she did, Kash slipped from her grasp.

Kash's head was only under the water for a moment before Teff was able to grab hold of him again. But as she pulled him against her, Kash coughed.

The hearts of every Shiyan hiding beneath the tree stopped. For a moment they stayed completely still, hoping, even desperately praying to the human lord for mercy. And then came the sound they dreaded most.

"Hold up lads, think I heard something."

Trip shivered violently as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the tree. Tears streamed down Teff's face as she pulled Kash against her, every instinct telling her to run, but to where? Three and Five simply stared, frozen in open mouthed horror as the footsteps drew near.

Screwing up his courage, Trip drew his weapon and held it in both hands like a sword. "G-get b-behind m-me."

"Y-you c-can't f-fight-"

"J-just s-stay behind me!"

Trip shivered as, moments later, the human came into view. She was middle aged, with a dusty straw hat and shoulder length blonde hair that fell over her dark eyes. She carried a long rifle, meant for hunting, and had a revolver at her hip, hidden beneath a long, sopping wet duster coat.

"Mel, you got something?"

"Maybe, just hold on!"

As Mel drew closer to the large mangrove tree, she could hear sounds, quiet whimpering and shallow breathing.

Mel's heart pounded as she raised her rifle to her eye, stepping around to get a better view of the hollow beneath the mangrove tree. "Alright you pelt scum you-"

The sight that greeted Mel as she peered beneath the tree made her freeze. A handful of Shiyan, young ones, more children than adults, stared back at her in utter terror. One, a lapine with a sharpened piece of metal held in his trembling hands, stood in front of the others, shielding them with his body. It wouldn't matter, her rifle could probably kill half of them in one shot anyways.

The blood in Mel's veins ran cold. Never, in her entire life, had anyone looked at her with such fear, such horror in their eyes. Of course they were just pelts, just animals, scared animals caught breaking the law. And yet-

"S-stay b-b-back!" The lapine whimpered, the point of his improvised weapon quivering violently.

As more distant rifle shots rang out, one of Mel's companions called out to her. "Mel, we're missing the fight! What's going on?!"

Mel looked over her shoulder, keeping her rifle aimed at the trapped pelts. "I... I just..."

As Mel looked away, out of the corner of her eye she noticed the lapine shift, as if preparing to attack.

Turning back in a flash, Mel aimed her rifle directly at the boy's chest, her finger wrapping around the trigger. "You stay right the fuck where you are, you hear!"

"P-please..." The lapine's voice shuddered pathetically as he spoke, his gaze locked on the barrel of Mel's gun. "Please d-don't..."

"Now don't you dare start begging me! You're the rebels here, not me!"

"Please..." the lapine whispered again, tears streaming down his filthy cheeks. "Please... I beg you..."

"I said don't!"

The sharp edge in Mel's voice made the lapine cringe, but still he held his ground between her and the other pelts.

"Why didn't you just... do what you were told!" Mel snapped, keeping her voice low, though she was uncertain why. "Why didn't you just... know your place! Why do this at all, you gotta know you can't win!"

"We just want to be free." a young feline whispered, clutching the unconscious body of another rebel against her chest.

"All you had t' do was just do as you was told. This whole... bloody mess, this is yer fault, not mine! So don't you look at me like that!"

Despite the hard edge to her voice, Mel felt a cold shaft of doubt plant itself in her chest. The pelts before her were filthy, up to their necks in foetid swamp water, they stank, and they were clearly terrified. It was natural, of course, for the pelts to fear her, to fear all humans, it was what kept them in their place. Even Alya, the slave she had at home, kept his eyes down whenever she was around, that was just basic respect and all. And yet... never in her life had someone looked at her as if she were a monster.

"T-take me, n-not them."

Mel's eyes widened as the lapine dropped the sharpened piece of metal into the water and raised his hands.

"Please... just let them go."

"Wha- you think I'm just gonna let y'all go?"

"Th-they c-can't f-fight... P-please..."

"Mel!"

"Oh for the Lord's sake.. Alright... Alright, you-" she gestured at the lapine, "-get out here, the rest of you, git!"

The feline stared with wide eyes, "B-but, Trip-"

"Just go!" Trip whimpered as he stepped out from under the mangrove tree, keeping his hands raised.

"B-but-"

"He said go," Mel snapped, drawing her revolver and keeping it aimed at Trip as she gestured with her rifle. "Go on! Get outta here, 'fore I change my mind."

Mel kept her rifle trained on the feline and the other two pelts as they slowly backed away. Before long they were out of sight, vanishing into the thick tangle of mangrove roots.

'Waste of bullets anyways...'

"Thank you."

Mel looked back at Trip with a raised eyebrow. "Thank you? What for?"

"F-for letting them go."

"They ain't gonna survive out in the swamps, woulda been kinder to kill them."

Trip swallowed hard as he shook his head. "No... they'll survive... They have to..."

"I... Well maybe they will at that..." But even as Mel spoke, she knew she was lying. If her comrades didn't get them, the beasts in the swamp almost certainly would.

"But either way, that's equally bad news for you." Mel raised her rifle. "Someone's gotta pay for this mess after all."

"I..." Slowly Trip lowered his hands, eyes sliding closed.

Mel's breath caught. "Don't you do it!"

Trip's chest quivering as he took a deep, shuddering breath, bending his legs.

"I said don't!" Mel brought her rifle up to her eye. "Get your hands up! I'll kill you, I swear!"

Trip lunged.

===

With each step she took, Teff felt as if there was a weight growing in her chest.

'Trip...'

"I can't believe it," Five breathed. "W-we're free."

"Keep it down," Three whispered, clutching her sister's arm. "There could still be humans out there!"

Both paused as, suddenly, Teff stopped. Immediately they began looking around.

"What's wrong?" Five's gaze frantically swept the mangrove around them. "Humans?"

"We have to go back."

"Go back?"

Teff turned, "We can't leave Trip!"

"But he told us to go!"

"I... I know..." Teff took a shuddering breath as she bunched up her fists. "But I'm not leaving him!"

Shoving Kash's unconscious body into Five's arms, Teff started back in the direction they had come.

"Wait! Just-"

Before the canine could finish speaking, a loud rifle shot rang out close by.

Teff's heart skipped a beat. 'Trip!'

"Sh-she killed him..." Three whispered, her eyes wide. "Trip..."

Teff's arms hung limply at her sides as she stared blankly ahead. "Trip... no..."

Shifting Kash's body in her grip, Five managed to speak. "W-we need to go. C-come on."

"I ran..." Teff stared down at her own reflection. "I... I ran away... I ran away again..."

"Teff, please, we need to go!" Three, reached out to grab hold of Teff's wrist. She paused as Teff jerked her arm away at the touch.

"I- I'm fine." Teff turned and reached out to take Kash's body. "Let's get out of here."

"I can carry him if-"

"I've got him," Teff growled, seizing hold of Kash and holding him against her. "Leave him alone!" Teff's teeth flashed as her eyes filled with tears as a storm of fear, guilt and shame raged within her.

Three and Five looked at one another for a moment, before turning to follow Teff deeper into the swamps. Behind them, the sounds of rifle fire continued to ring.

===

"What in the name of damnation is happening here?" Jace demanded as he looked at the carnage around him.

The sewer tunnel was filled with wounded and moaning people, members of the posse that Jace and Dallet had spent the last two days setting up.

Strolling through the panicked crowd, Jace shook his head at the sorry state of affairs. Most of the injured were suffering from bullet wounds, though some were clearly nursing bites and scratches. The group that had seemed so confident, so eager for battle not an hour before, now looked confused and defeated.

"Looks like they didn't wait till we got here to charge in." Dallet shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Well, can't say you didn't try to warn them."

Jace's eyes narrowed in rage as he came upon a man lying half in, half out of the filthy water, his head split open by a bullet. If he was being honest, Jace cared little for the mob, they were just armed townsfolk, an angry and armed mod eager to get into a fight. Losses were of course to be expected, and in fact could even be beneficial in riling up the community even further in righteous anger, but this sort of waste was inexcusable.

"Who is in charge here?" Jace he spun round, glaring at the assembled rabble. "Anderson, where in the Lord's name is Anderson?!"

Before anyone could answer, a loud scream rang out from the tunnel entrance, followed by a high pitched keening sound. Jace took a step back and pressed himself against the wall as a beam of red light shot out of the passage and spattered against the far wall of the tunnel. A man who had been too close to the passage stumbled backwards, staring in shock at the smoking remains of his left hand, three of his fingers sliced clean off.

Almost impressed, Dallet raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Runic weapons, powerful ones too from the look of it."

"Th-that thing got Anderson," one of the wounded men groaned. "Soon as we got into the cave, damn pelts opened up."

"Opened up?" Jace's eyes narrowed. "Opened up with what?"

"Rifles... They got rifles... lots of them... We had shields... but that beam cut right through 'em. Cut Anderson in half 'fore he knew what was 'appening... him and four others."

"And then?" Dallet asked.

"We tried t' get through... but they're organised! Even when we got close... they fought like rabid beasts..." The man raised his arm, the flesh torn and bleeding from countless gashes caused by sharp teeth.

A dark frown drifted across Jace's face. "Rifles... how in damnation did the bloody pelts get their hands on rifles."

"Runic weapons, rifles, defensible positions..." Dallet whistled through his teeth."No wonder this lot got their arses handed to them."

Jace rounded on Dallet, fury in his eyes. "These men and women are under our command! This disaster ain't gonna do any favours fer us, or the Illuminant Chain!"

"Seems to me they were under the command of Edmund Duke." Dallet shrugged. "Either way, it seems it's up to us to clean this up."

"On that at least we agree." Throwing back his shoulders, Jace called out across the crowd. "Alright, listen up! Dallet an' I are gonna go take care of this! Y'all stay here and get the wounded back to town. The rest of y'all form a firing line 'bout thirty feet back! Anything comes out this tunnel that ain't got the Lord's gift in their veins, you gun 'em down!"

Slowly, the assembled rabble moved to follow Jace's order.

"Shall we go and spread the Lord's light?" Dallet asked with a grin as he drew his pistols.

"Thinkin' that ain't such a bad idea," Jace replied, drawing his own weapons.

Both agents paused for a moment as they reached down to their belts and pressed a rune carved into their buckles. Almost immediately, a shimmering green sheen covered their bodies, the energy field shuddering and waving as the agents moved.

"Ready?" Jace asked, making certain his gun was loaded.

"Of course." Dallet grinned, licking his lips in poorly concealed anticipation. "Let's get to it."

===

Raid took a long, deep breath as he looked at the entrance of the tunnel. The walls of the cave were traced with the signs of battle, bullet holes, burn marks, and blood everywhere. Several of the ramshackle huts behind him were on fire, their smoke filling the cave with a hazy gloom.

Steam rose from the rifle in Raid's hand, the barrel still glowing a low orange. The fine oaken butt was singed around the edges, and the silver filigree was tarnished and starting to twist and bend in places.

'Still...' Raid looked out at the devastation before him, 'not a bad start.'

The training the Raid had received, and then put his own followers through, had paid off. When the mob of townsfolk had first rushed in, whooping and hoolering, they'd found not a gaggle of disorganized and terrified slaves, but an organized, if crude, battle line. In one shot from his runic rifle, Raid had sliced the human's shields to pieces, and then the concentrated fire from the rifles had done the rest. Just over twenty humans were scattered and dead around the tunnel exit, another three or four still moaning where they lay.

But the battle hadn't come without casualties. A full half of Raid's fighters lay dead or dying. Pell lay a short distance away, a look of surprise still frozen on his face and a hole in his chest. Raid's canine lieutenant, Tevar, was slumped over a makeshift barricade, his rifle still clutched in his lifeless fingers.

"Raid! Raid!" called a voice from the cave entrance. A lutrine that Raid recognized as Half, one of his oldest comrades, approached.

Slowly climbing to his feet, ignoring a powerful, throbbing pain in his side, Raid turned towards Half. "What's wrong?"

Half looked exhausted, dark circles beneath her eyes, and a gaunt, hollowness to her face. "The Order... they have people all around the swamp, watching the entrance. If we try to get out that way..."

"So we're trapped."

Half nodded.

"Right, then we should-"

The sound of a shot ringing out, followed by a strangle cry cut off Raid's thought. One of the Shiyan standing guard at the tunnel entrance stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, gasping and writhing. The second guard fired wildly down the tunnel, until a second shot tore out of the darkness and struck her in the forehead, killing her instantly.

"Here they come!" Raid howled. "Fire!"

"Well well, this is quite the mess," Dallet chuckled as he stepped out of the tunnel and into the cave. Geysers of sparks and white hot metal flew in all directions as bullets splattered harmlessly against his shield.

"Just get it done," Jace replied, emerging from the shadows just behind Dallet. With an almost casual motion he aimed his pistol at the wounded guard and fired.

Dallet's smile widened into a grin as a bullet bounced off of his cheek, the only trace of its impact a tiny ripple of energy. "Come on now boss, what's the harm in having a little fun?"

Jace didn't reply, and instead started walking forwards, ignoring the hail of gunfire pouring into his shield as he raised his pistol. His shots were precise, calm, calculated and deadly, striking down pelt after pelt

Raid cursed as he emptied his revolver into Jace's shield, the bullets seemingly having no impact. A quick glance down at his runic rifle told him that he would need at least another minute before it was ready to fire again.

"Look out!" Half howled, bodily slamming into Raid just as Jace turned towards him. Raid tumbled backwards, behind one of the still standing huts, just as Jace fired twice in quick succession. Jace's first shot struck Half's shoulder, while the second shot struck her in the chest. She fell hard and lay still.

"Damn, almost had him." With a flick of his wrist, Jace snapped open the back of his gun and slid a fresh series of bullets into the cylinder.

"Damn you!"

Jace looked up just as a canine pelt lunged at him, a woodsman's axe raised high. The axe slammed against Jace's shield with considerably more force than he had been expecting. The shield sputtered and sizzled beneath the blade of the axe as the canine pressed hard.

"Die smoothskin!" The Canine snarled, his face inches from Jace's, his breath hot and his muscles bulging. "Just die!"

"Brute force won't do it." Jace glared at the canine, only the slightest hint of concern in his voice as the shield crackled, the head of the axe turning from glowing red to orange. But just as he started to raise his gun to deal with his attacker, the lutrine he had shot moments before lunged up from the ground.

Howling in either rage or agony, or perhaps both, the bleeding lutrine wrapped not just her arms but her whole body around Jace's wrist, holding his arm still. Despite the sound of her flesh sizzling, and the acrid smoke curling around her as the shield burned her fur and flesh, the lutrine refused to let go.

"Kill him," the lutrine groaned. "Naye, kill him!"

Jace felt a twinge of real fear as he felt his shield rune start to grow hot, the heat passing through both his leather belt and his trousers. Again Jace tried to move his arm, but the lutrine held on, a fiery spark in her eyes as she glared up at him. She knew she was dying, and she wasn't going to let go.

'Well shit...'

On the other side of the cave, Dallet was thoroughly enjoying his invulnerability. His guns roared, cutting down pelt after pelt. One of his targets tried to rush him as he paused to reload, aiming at his chest with a bayonet.

Almost impressed by the animal's bravery, Dallet merely caught the blade in his hand. His shield crackled as the metal swiftly began bubbling and melting in his grip.

As the pelt took a step back, Dallet carelessly tossed the remains of the bayonet at him. Droplet of of red hot metal struck the beast from head to toe, and within moments he was almost engulfed in flames.

A nearby female pelt let out a cry as the flaming wretch dropped to the ground, thrashing about and screaming.

"Kudal!"

The pelt fired her rifle twice, but the bullets merely disintegrated against Dallet's shield. She pulled the trigger again, but froze when there was naught but the sound of the spark rune fizzling pointlessly. She looked down at her rifle, then back up Dallet, her eyes widening in terror.

"Go on," Dallet gestured with his gun as the pelt stared at him. "Reload. We'll go shot for shot."

Her hands shaking, the pelt reloaded as fast as she could, sliding round after round into the long tube that ran beneath the barrel of the rifle.

Another pelt, off to Dallet's left, fired twice more at him. In response, Dallet slid one of his pistols back into its holster. With a flick of his fingers, he activated a rune embedded on a bracelet he wore on his wrist. A beam of bright light, like sunlight focused through a lens, shot out. The light swept across the roof of the cave as Dallet turned and aimed the rune at the pelt's eyes.

The pelt cried out, staggering backwards before dropping his rifle and trying to cover his seared eyes. Three shots rang out in rapid succession, and the pelt collapsed and lay still.

As his opponent fell, Dallet glanced around the cave. Most of the pelts had been done away with, and those that remained were in flight, trying to escape through the front of the cave or the path leading into the tunnels.

Dallet turned back to the female pelt, who by now had finished reloading. "My apologies, where were we?" There was a sickly sweetness to his voice, as if he were speaking to some belle he was attempting to woo.

The pelt gave no answer and instead fired twice, both bullets disintegrating uselessly against Dallet's shield.

"I don't suppose you know what pattern recognition is, do you?" Dallet sighed, shrugging as the pelt fired uselessly again. "No, I didn't think so."

Dallet's hand was a blur as he raised his pistol, pulling the trigger three times in rapid succession. The pelt howled as Dallet's first two shots struck her legs, first her left, then her right. The third shot buried itself in her left shoulder.

"See, when a human comes up against a problem, we consider it foolish to try the same solution again and again and again. You pelts, on the other hand, seem quite incapable of absorbing this concept." Dallet smiled to himself as the pelt tried to raise her rifle, but was unable to.

"Here, I'll show you what I mean." Reaching to his belt, Dallet withdrew a fresh pistol. After checking to make sure the pistol was loaded, he tossed it, the weapon clattering into a rapidly growing pool of blood around the pelt's feet.

"Go on." He gestured, with his gun. "Pick it up if you want."

The pelt moaned in agony as she dropped her rifle and picked up the pistol, her arm shaking.

"Now, you see? This is what-"

Dallet's voice was cut off as the pelt fired. Two of her shots struck Dallet's shield, while the other five went wide thanks to her wildly shaking arm.

With her gun empty, the pelt let out a desperate cry, blood and spittle flying from her jaws as she lunged at Dallet, bearing her claws.

"And this is what I meant."

Dallet's first two shots sent the pelt crashing to the floor, howling in fresh agony. Again and again he fired, making certain not to hit anything too vital as he stepped forwards.

"Why in the Lord's name would you assume that was going to work?" With his foot Dallet rolled the gasping, whimpering pelt over onto her back. "I suppose I understand, fight or flight and all that, but you and the rest of the rabble here sent shot after shot into my shield, with no effect. Why would you assume you were different?"

Casually, Dallet snapped open the back of his gun and reloaded. His smile widened as he basked in the fear in the pelt's petrified stare.

"I suppose it's brave," he commented, spinning the chamber with a flick of his thumb before snapping the pistol back together. "But, bravery really doesn't matter, not when your enemy is your better in every conceivable way."

"You're g-going to d-die," the pelt snarled as Dallet lowered his gun and took aim at her. "Y-you, and the O-or-"

"No no, shhhhh." Dallet knelt down and placed the barrel of his gun in the pelt's mouth. "You've had your shots; and I have one more."

A muffled shot rang out, and moments later the pelt lay still.

Climbing back to his feet, brushing off his jacket, Dallet glanced around. The few pelts that remained were turning tail and fleeing.

"Well, at least they can manage that," Dallet muttered to himself as a chorus of gunshots rang out from the front of the cave and the tunnel.

"Seems like this is just about wrapped up."

As his gaze swept the cave, Dallet noticed Jace's predicament. His eyes widened in excitement as he observed the lutine holding his arm as the canine pressed against his shield with the glowing remains of an axe. Judging by the frantic crackling of Jace's shield, and the stream rising from his belt, his defences weren't going to last much longer.

A grin spread across Dallet's face as Jace's shield began to flicker and sputter. 'Come on... Fail damn you, fail!' The leather of Jace's belt burst into flames as the last traces of green in the energy field faded.

Dallet's heart soared. 'Yes! Just a bit more, and-'

Dallet was so excited that he didn't hear the loud keening ring of Raid's runic rifle until the moment before the beam struck him.

A powerful flash of light exploded through the cave as the red beam struck Dallet's shield. Dallet let out a howl of pain as the light temporarily blinded him, and the force of the beam sent him tumbling to the floor.

Fragments of red light, scattered by the impact against Dallet's shield, sliced through the air, tearing into the floor and roof of the cave.

One of the thin strands of energy sliced across the entrance of the cave just as Edumd Duke and two of his men finished pushing their way through the tangled mesh of mangrove branches and roots. As one of the chaotic beams of energy swept towards him, Duke just barely managed to throw himself to the ground. The wildy dancing ribbon of energy slicing through the air a hair's breadth above his head. Duke's comrades weren't so lucky, the beam slicing through them effortlessly. The two men fell to the ground, cut neatly in two, just above the waist.

Another bolt of energy swept across the floor, leaving a trail of molten rock as it raced towards Jace. The moment the beam touched Jace's shield, there was a thunderous crack. Jace was thrown backwards as his shield exploded, tiny wisps of energy vanishing like licks of flame as he tumbled to the ground. The force of the blast sent the lutrine flying, her body crashing against the wall of the cavern before she rolled to the ground and lay still.

The canine stumbled back, dropping the glowing ruins of his axe as his own fur smouldered. Despite being blinded and lethally burned, the canine rounded on Jace, baring his teeth. But before he could take a step, three shots rang out in rapid succession and the canine fell heavily to the floor.

Jace tossed away his smoking gun. Frantically wrapping his hand in his coat, Jace wrenched the smouldering shield rune from his belt and tossed it away.

Raid's mouth twisted into a snarling howl as he staggered forwards, his weapon shrieking in his hands. His flesh hissed and sizzled as the metal grew white hot, his fur in flames, his eyes boiling away, his nose filled with the scent of burning fur and flesh. But he refused to give up, focussing only on keeping the beam locked on Dallet.

Through the haze of pain, noise and heat, Raid gritted his teeth. His mouth opened in a silent scream. 'Though the skies fall, the rivers boil and the forests burn, please, just let me kill this order bastard!'

With a sputtering hiss, the weapon fizzled out, the barrel dropping to the floor in a puddle of molten metal. The beam faded, leaving a swathe of glowing orange rock between him and Dallet.

Raid's legs quivered and then gave out. He dropped to the floor, still holding his weapon in his smoking hand. His chest rose and fell, but the heat had seared his lungs.

Climbing to his feet with a low groan, Jace looked across the cave. "Dallet! Are you alright?"

Dallet's shield flickered and spat as he sat up, the stone around him singed and smouldering. His hair was in disarray, a murderous rage in his burning eyes as he pushed himself to his feet.

Tossing his guns aside, Dallet reached down to his belt and withdrew a long, curved knife. "Don't you dare be dead yet, you filthy little rabbit! I'll have your ears for this!"

As he stared up at the ceiling with sightless eyes, a strange scent drifted across Raid's nose. Lilacs... Amber lilacs... Something he hadn't smelled since...

'Elizabeth...'

As Dallet drew near, Raid's cheek twitched.

'You're right... It's time for me... to come home...'

Jace's eyes widened as he noticed Raid's hand quiver.

"Dallet, get back!" At the same time, Jace threw himself down behind a nearby barricade, covering his head with his arms.

With the last ounce of strength he possessed, Raid pulled his weapon's trigger one final time.

The rifle exploded with a single, violent snap. Dallet was flung backwards like a rag doll, slamming hard against the wall of the cave. Jace felt a powerful blast of searing hot air and droplets of white hot metal passing inches above him as the barricade was blown to smithereens. For a moment, he was no longer in a cave in the middle of nowhere, but back on the battlefields of Lichti and Galveron. The sound of cannon fire, the roar of battle, filled his ears as he let out a soundless scream.

Even after the hurricane of heath and debris had passed, Jace remained on the floor, covering his head. He wasn't certain how long he stayed there, each second seemed to last an eternity.

But after what felt like an immeasurable amount of time the sound of a voice calling out to him broke him from his trance.

"Agent Alyard? Agent Alyard are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Jace called back as he pushed himself to his feet, shoving aside the memories clawing at his mind.

Half a dozen of the men brought from Lillyvale had entered the cave and were poking about. A large black smear on the cave floor was all that remained of the rebel leader and his weapon. The blast of the runic rifle's detonation had shredded the huts, barricades and even bodies, reducing everything to a ring of pulverised debris around the perimeter of the cave.

Brushing off his trousers and coat, Jace looked around. "What about Agent Baskerville?"

"He's fine sir." One of the other men called out as he knelt over Dallet's unconscious body. "Looks like he got tossed, but ain't no sign of any permanent damage."

"And Chief Duke?"

"Here sir," A singed and soot covered Edmund replied, limping forwards with the help of one of his deputies.

"Right..." Jace's eyes narrowed as he glanced around. "Someone take agent Baskerville back to town and get 'im seen to. Everyone else... start picking through this mess. I want to know where these pelts got their weapons."

As the townsfolk and deputies moved to follow his orders, Dallet paused to glance at the still smouldering remains of his shield rune.

"One thing is for bloody certain," he muttered. "Ain't no way they did this alone..."

As he looked about, Jace couldn't help but feel that this was only the start.