"I doubt the church will just forget that it sent two of their agents to meet us, and they disappeared," Kai murmured.
As he spoke, the two freshly risen corpses, remade into sleek, whisper-thin reavers, dissolved into tendrils of darkness and slithered into his shadow space. Their faces no longer resembled their former lives, and their souls were bound to Kai's will.
Vepice shifted beside him, her voice quiet but sure. "So, what do we do?"
Kai didn't respond immediately. His eyes lingered on the violet curve of Ylthara's barrier above them, glinting faintly in the late-day light. The dome was beautiful in its way, protective, ancient, but ultimately fragile.
"We have three choices," he said, turning to her. "We can run, hide, or fight."
"And…?"
"Running means we'd have to tear the city's barrier apart. That would take hours, maybe days. By then, they'll have caught us. Hiding? That would only delay the inevitable. Our names are marked now." He paused. "That leaves fighting."
