I pushed both hands against the large wooden doors, the rusty hinges creaking in protest.

This part of the Castle was not visited often.

Moonlight spilled through the widening gap between the doors, and the stars above shone bright in the midnight sky.

With one last heave, the doors swung open, and I walked out onto the top of the Castle's keep.

It was like a wide balcony that could fit three or four people lying down. It wrapped around a tall, square tower that narrowed to a spire. Smaller spires protruded from the corners of the rooftop. They were like fangs between rows of square crenellations.

It was just like her letter said.

I reached into my pocket and crumpled the paper.

How?

How did Sin know which room I was sleeping in? How did she get past the guards to plant the letter? How did she know the secret passages that led to the top of the Castle's keep?

So many questions.

I would get my answers soon enough.

I walked to the edge of the roof, resting an arm on each chest-high merlon and leaning over the crenel. You could see all of the capital from here. I smiled despite my anxious mood.

Candle lights illuminated the windows of thousands of homes—hundreds of thousands of people. You could spend your life counting them. Some areas were darker, like the Lower District, where they used the shadows to conceal the crime. A dark patch in the Upper district drew my eyes, and my stomach sank. It was the ruins of Sin's mansion—my home. I looked away, and my eyes were drawn to another patch of darkness, a black line that ran parallel to the canal: Maker's Row.

Why did she have to use fire?

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

My breath caught. I stood straighter, my left hand wrapping around my cane.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

I knew that sound: leather soles smacking against stone. My grip on the cane tightened. Sweat beaded and dripped down my face.

I didn't turn around. I didn't have to. It was her. She was here.

A light breeze brushed my skin, and every hair on my body rose.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

A smudge of red appeared out of the corner of my eye, and every muscle in my body tensed. My breathing was heavy, but not louder than the sound of-

Clack.

Clack.

…

"Ten years ago, you were a shoeless orphan in the Lower District. Now, you're a guest of royalty, standing at the top of Luskaine Castle."

Slowly, I turned my head to the woman speaking.

She looked off into the distance, eyes hidden behind a mask of red stocking. Her red jacket was closely cropped, with a hood drawn over her head. The jacket's sleeves were tucked into long black gloves that went halfway up her forearms. They matched black boots that peeked underneath a long, pleated skirt.

Sin turned to me and laughed, low and sinister.

"You've done well, Jacob. I'm impressed."

I wanted to run.

I wanted to fall to my knees.

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I wanted to hug her.

I wanted to kill her.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to throw myself off the roof and make her watch.

Why is she everything to me?!

There were too many emotions pulling me in too many directions.

I stood there frozen, my body coiled tight like a snake about to strike.

Sin didn't notice… or didn't care. She turned back to the roof's edge, examining the capital from below.

"You also made mistakes."

She crossed her arms.

"Like the Sanctifiers... You shouldn't have gotten involved with them, and you should never have become Landbound."

"You killed them..."

The words spilled out of my mouth, somewhere between a whisper and a croak.

"I kill a lot of people, Jacob. You need to be specific."

"You had them killed..."

Sin uncrossed her arms, tapping a finger against her chin.

"Oooh! That…"

She turned to look at me, at the sweat dripping down my face and the white-knuckle grip on my cane.

"And what? You want revenge?"

She threw her head back and laughed until her shoulders shook.

Images of Cynthia, Gren, Mrs. Dulldrey and Mr. Reeves flashed in my mind. Their screams of pain flooded my ears. I felt the fire melting their skin, and the water in their eyes heating up until it boiled. My nose filled with the smell of charcoal, and their smoking corpses surrounded me.

"You... KILLED THEM!!!"

I twisted my short sword free, slashed it to the side to cut off her head!

Sin was still laughing when her right hand snapped up and grabbed my wrist, blocking my attack mid-swing.

She yanked me into her, switching grips with her left hand like she was pulling a length of rope.

Sin stepped to the side, cocked back her right arm and threw a hook to my body with the force of a battering ram.

My legs turned to jelly. I dropped to my knees, gasping for air. I tried to speak. It came out in a low moan, spit dribbling on the stone floor.

Sin plucked the short sword out of my hand, examining it under the moonlight as she spoke.

"Do you feel that, Jacob? Your blood vessels expanding. Your heartbeat slowing... There's not enough blood going to your brain, so your body will force you to lie down."

She let out a satisfied sigh.

"I love anatomy…"

As if on cue, I fell over to my side, my muscles seizing from the pain shooting through my nerves.

A kidney shot.

It didn't matter how strong you were. A punch to the right organs could take down anyone, no matter their size.

Sin dipped into a crouch, looming over me with my short sword resting on her shoulder.

"An ordinary man would stay down for twenty, maybe ten seconds. You will be up in three."

I tried to argue—tried to say something clever. All that came out was a gurgle from the back of my throat.

"One..."

I clenched my teeth and rolled onto my belly.

"Two..."

I got onto my hands and knees and reached the crenellation.

"Three..."

My fingertips found the rough stone surface, and, with all my will, I pulled. Spit bubbled and fizzed between my clenched teeth. Veins bulged in my neck. With a final gasp, I stood, leaning against the merlon, my face soaked with sweat.

Sin stood up and walked to my side.

"Well done."

She handed me my short sword pommel first with her left hand.

I took it, my chest filling with pride and then disgust.

What's wrong with me?!

She had my family murdered!

Because I asked her to...

I gave my head a quick shake, hoping the guilt would fall out of one ear.

Sin ignored me, turning back to look over the capital.

"Revenge is a fool's game, Jacob. I've come for business. Now-"

I whipped my short sword to the side to slash a bloody line across her face.

CLANG!

I blinked.

In her right hand was her oddly-bent knife. In the second, it took me to swing; she drew her weapon and blocked my attack.

Or was she already holding her knife?

With Sin, you could never tell.

The notch, just above the knife's handle, caught the short sword's blade.

Sin slapped the intertwined weapons on the top of the merlon. With her back swing, she chopped the blunt edge of her knife against my throat in a quick, painful motion.

I let out a startled gurgle.

If she turned her hand palm down during that swing, I would be dead.

She rested her blade under my chin, raising it so I could meet her veiled eyes.

"The first time was cute. The second time..."

She sighed.

"I didn't come here to fight you, Jacob..."

That much was obvious.

"But I never turn down a challenge."

"What?!" I asked, my voice still hoarse.

She turned away from me and walked to the left side of the rooftop.

"If you want revenge, then take it."

She raised her arms to the side, her back still turned to me.

It was an invitation… and a trap.

She spun around to face me, the bottom of her skirt flaring out from the movement.

"You'll never get a better chance than this.... And I'm curious.... I want to see how much stronger you've gotten."

I stared at her, dumbstruck.

A duel with Sin…

There was no way I could defeat her. The last few seconds had shown me that.

And that was the point.

She wanted to beat me until the very idea of revenge left my body. It was her favourite teaching method.

Sin let out a frustrated sigh.

"The longer you make me wait, the more pieces I cut off. Get up!"

She wasn't joking.

I pushed myself off the merlon, taking shaky steps like a newborn.

"That's more like it! I was getting bored, and you know what happens when I get bored."

A chill ran up my spine.

"I know..."

I walked to the other side of the rooftop, gaining more strength with each step.

I moved as slowly as possible, a small rebellion against her demands. It gave me time to recover. Time to think.

No matter what happened, she wouldn't kill me. I provoked her twice, and I was still breathing.

This was sparring.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Another day in the Red Room.

My best chance would be to surprise her. Catch her off guard with something she'd never seen before.

I smiled to myself.

Sin would regret not teaching me magic.

I turned to face her from across the rooftop. Sin stood with a relaxed posture, her left foot forward, the crooked knife loose in her left hand and next to her thigh.

Another trap—her variation of the Fool's guard.

Sin wanted me to attack.

A smart man wouldn't, but I wasn't smart, I was clever… and I had a plan.

I took a deep breath and charged.

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