The wagon crunched along the ancient road at a snail's pace. The afternoon sun beat down on my head and the heads of the riders behind it. I swayed in the driver's bench, turning to take occasional glances at the bars of gold stacked high in the back of the covered wagon.

"It's not going anywhere."

I turned to the woman beside me. Not a bead of sweat dripped down her pale, beautiful face. Her ruby lips curled in a sly smile, one gloved black hand cupping her chin.

"For now... What happens when we get into town?" I asked.

"It'll be safe. It's a Sanctifier town, and they know not to cross an Inquisitor."

Reed smiled wider, and a chill ran up my spine.

My gaze moved from her to the long, spiked club between us. Her guard had polished it to a dull sheen, removing the blood and chunks of flesh from Reginald's ruined legs.

After watching that violent display, I knew she was right. No one would touch the gold. They were afraid of an Inquisitor's justice, and they should be.

"And outside of town?"

She raised her eyebrows.

"You're fair game. Of course, that would change if you decided to join the Sanctifiers."

"The answer is still no. Get over it, Reed."

Her eyes narrowed. A golden thread wrapped around my neck, the lead connecting to the end of her right index finger. Reed pulled the string taut. I grunted at the gentle pressure against my windpipe.

"So stubborn… I doubt it will change the outcome."

I stared at her, fighting to keep my neutral mask from cracking.

"Are you done?"

"For now… Let's pick this up later."

The thread dissolved into golden particles that winked out of existence.

"There won't be a later, Reed."

"You say that, but..."

She trailed off, looking into the distance.

I followed her gaze. On the horizon, the ruins of ancient Del warped in the sun's heat haze and in front of it, a cloud of reddish-brown dust bloomed. One of Reed's scouts was galloping towards us at full speed.

Reed squinted and leaned forward on the bench.

"What now?"

I pulled on the lines of the wagon, grinding it to a stop. Castille and Dugan brought up their horses to my side of the slow-moving vehicle.

"Jacob, something wrong?"

I pointed to the rider in the distance.

"I think we have company."

# # #

The scout drew up his horse in front of Reed.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Dust covered his black uniform and the coat of his horse.

"Special Inquisitor!"

Reed motioned the man to continue.

"Sixty riders are coming from the West."

Coming from Steeltown?

'Who are they?"

"Lagos cartel. Van Lagos is riding at the head of them."

Reed glanced at me before turning back to address the rider.

"Bring in the scouts. We'll make a wedge formation and wait for them here."

"Yes, Special Inquisitor!"

The scout galloped off, leaving me covering my mouth with my sleeve from the kicked-up dust.

Reed sighed.

"At least you make my job interesting, Jacob."

Van Lagos was coming.

A spike of panic ran through me. My grip on the lines became slippery with sweat.

I exchanged a glance with Castille, and she caught the worry in my eyes.

"What's the plan?" She asked.

Reed wrapped her arm around the neck of her club.

"We'll talk."

"And if that doesn't work?" I asked.

Reed gave me a sidelong glance.

"Pray it does..."

I let out a deep breath. We were exposed on the open field, outnumbered, and weighed down by a wagon full of gold. Riding with an Inquisitor, we should have been safe, but this was Van Lagos, and I killed his brother.

# # #

Trails of dust drifted into the otherwise cloudless sky. The outline of men and horses came into focus as they drew close.

Van Lagos pulled up his horse into a trot, Lira on his right side, a motley horde of leather-clad warriors at his back. Dark circles rimmed his feline eyes from yesterday's battle at his estate.

"Jacob! Special Inquisitor! What a surprise to see you."

Reed stayed in her reclined position, plastering a tight-lipped smile on her face.

"A pleasure as always, Van Lagos. What brings you so far West? Are you visiting the Vangraves?"

Van slouched forward in his saddle like a cat ready to pounce. He bared his teeth, showing off his long canines.

"No, but it looks like you have. I'm looking for someone else—my brother. He's so small and compact. So easy to misplace."

He made a show of turning his head to the left and right before settling his gaze on me.

"Jacob! Word in the town is that he was with you last. Where is he?"

I took a long, deep breath in a futile attempt to calm my nerves. Sweat trickled down my armpits, soaking into my white shirt.

"I… I-"

"You're brother died honourably in the defence of Steeltown," Reed said.

Van Lagos shut his eyes, wincing from a pain that was all too familiar to me.

Lira leaned over her saddle to place her hand over his clenched fist. She glanced at Reed while consoling her grieving leader.

"I told him it wasn't our fight, but he went anyways."

"As is his right," Reed said.

Van Lagos snapped his eyes open, his face twisting from despair to rage.

Reed shrugged.

"You said it yourself. The Lagos brothers are not weapons. Your brother chose to fight, and unfortunately, he died."

"How?! How did he die?!"

"Jacob, you were there. What were Finnick's last moments?"

Spirits below! She wanted me to answer?!

I licked my lips.

"Um... We blew up the sinkhole the stone men were using to invade Steeltown... He was hit by the shrapnel and fell into a mud pit he used for cover."

"And left him to die?!"

"I barely made it out myself. There was no time."

"Van, your brother's sacrifice will not be in vain. I will personally ensure the Lagos cartel gets preferential terms in the next Steeltown Compact."

"Sacrifice..."

He shook his head, brushing off Lira's hand.

"What do you know about sacrifice? Our lives mean nothing to you. We are tools to be used and discarded in exchange for bits of gold. But why wait?"

He unsheathed his scimitar. His guards behind him followed suit. A chorus of steel swords sang as they were freed from their leather sheaths.

"Why wait when the gold is in front of us now? 100,000 gold pieces!"

The men behind him cheered.

Next to me on her horse, Castille unsheathed her new black blade.

Reed... did nothing. She blinked at Van Lagos from her relaxed position, elbows resting on top of the wooden driver's bench.

"That would be a mistake."

"Why?!"

"Because you would have to go through me."

He let out a wheezing laugh, resting his scimitar across his saddle.

"You're outnumbered, and you've been fighting since yesterday. We can take you, and then we'll take the gold."

Van Lagos was right. While he showed signs of fatigue, his guards were fresh and outnumbered us. And then there was Lira. Who knew what she could do? If it came to a fight, they had an edge. I wiped my sweaty palms against my pants.

Reed crossed her legs, letting her lips curl into a slight smile.

"Even if you could take me, and that's a big if, what then? The Sanctifiers will send another Inquisitor, and the full weight of the Guild will come down on your heads."

Behind him, leather-clad warriors shifted in their saddles. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of Inquisitor justice.

Lira paled.

"Van, we shouldn't cross the Sanctifiers..."

The cartel leader rolled his eyes.

"Then how about this? You and your guards go free-"

His eyes flicked to me.

"But Jacob and the gold stays."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.