Ash stared forward, her mind desperately trying to process the information she'd been given.

“Why me? I can’t do this.” Ash said.

"Myles told me that she knows you're ready for this," Esther said.

"She...she did?" Ash said. She hadn't heard from her sister in a bit.

"And that she's sorry."

"For what?" Ash asked.

"Maybe for getting captured, or maybe she would rather you stay safe and out of danger," Esther said.

"That sounds like her," Ash said. "And now she's in the Colony's hands, huh..."

"She'll be alright," Esther repeated from before.

Ash wondered if she could be of any use helping Myles escape from whatever she'd gotten herself into with the Verdant Colony. But knowing her, she'd get mad that Ash went against her wishes.

"She really wants me to help find Ihli?" Ash said to herself. Esther didn't respond, starting to search through the tabs of the glowing map again.

“Is there something in there that says where he went?” Ash said. A map that could lead them to Ihli Azariah. It was unthinkable.

“I can’t see any marking directly for him, but this is a better clue than anything else. It could be the key to finding him. I think it’s telling us where to go.” Esther said.

A bell tolled in the city square, faintly ringing all the way into the temple.

"Ah, damn," Ash said.

"What is it?" Esther asked.

"Oh, uh," Ash said. "I'm scheduled to work today..."

Esther thought about it for a moment. "You can go, it's fine. I'll be alright here."

"Really?" Ash asked.

"You could just not go too, but I imagine that could get Colony attention on you," Esther said.

"Which could get them on your trail," Ash said.

"Exactly," Esther said.

Still, Ash had a pang of guilt about leaving this girl who'd crashed into her life behind, even for a little bit.

"I'll be fine here, I promise," Esther said, reading Ash's expression. "And I remember the way back to your apartment, too."

"And you can avoid getting caught by the Colony?" Ash asked. "Because there's a piece of burning wreckage on the beach that's giving me pause."

"Of course!"

Ash gave Esther a spare key to her room.

"If you need food or anything, feel free to grab whatever from the pantry." Ash said.

"I'll be fine here," Esther said.

She reached into her handbag and pulled out a few round, blue fruits that almost fit into the palm of her hand. "Want one?"

Ash took one of the fruits. She bit into it, unprepared for how sweet it tasted.

“It’s a tasuil fruit. They’re mostly juice but they should get you feeling up and ready for the day.” Esther said.

"It's delicious, thank you," Ash said.

Ash felt bad about leaving Esther there, but things would be worse for them if she missed work abruptly. This would at least hopefully allow Esther to stay hidden a bit longer without suspicion that Ash was keeping her there.

***

Myles sneered as she waited in a cold chamber, chains still on her wrists. After a night in a holding cell, Raytris and her Obsidian Hunter goons brought Myles to a meeting room, a mostly empty room with a single podium ahead of them. A middle aged woman, wearing the badges of a Verdant Colony Captain, approached looking bored. Her lips pursed and her hair tied tightly into a bun

This was Raytris' idea of true fear? I'm really going to face an abyss staring at some Colony bat?

"Captain Wren," Raytris said, bowing slightly.

"Raytris," The woman named Wren stared intently at the commander. "Have you any words for your failure?"

"I have already submitted my report," Raytris said. "The failure lies entirely with this snake and the Obsidian Hunters you assigned."

"And you thought I would want to see this snake?" Wren asked. "You didn't just kill her?"

"In spite of everything, she is the only one we've been able to find that is knowledgeable about the artifacts we seek."

Captain Wren sighed, leaving her podium. She approached Myles, looking at her like she was raw sewage. Wren's head tilted as she noticed something under Myles' jacket. She pulled a bandolier off of Myles, each pocket containing a vial of a teal liquid.

"You let your guest keep this?" Wren asked.

"We agreed that her medication would keep her at her best abilities," Raytris said.

Wren threw the bandolier across the room, face contorting in rage as she got closer to Myles.

"You are an aberration," Wren said. "And the Verdant Colony will eliminate any aberration like you."

Myles did her best to not strike back, not give this monster the pleasure of any reaction. The Colony loved that word, aberration. Raytris described her like that, too. It was a small compromise that Raytris let her keep her medication, but this woman didn't even allow that for her.

"I'm taking over this operation," Wren said. "This creature may have information, but you need someone who truly understands the ancient ones and their legacy if we wish to find the Xionis."

The Obsidian Hunters obeyed Wren immediately, following her out of the room. Before Raytris joined them, she grabbed the bandolier, surprising Myles. The commander shoved Myles along, the duo following behind the hunters and their new team leader now.

"Was this supposed to scare me?" Myles whispered. "She pretty much just said the same stuff you did."

Raytris glared. "Just wait."

***

Sai was at work like usual when Ash joined them, somehow looking even more disheveled and stressed than usual.

"Hey, Sai," Ash said. "Everything...good?"

"Oh, you know..." Sai said.

"You want to talk about it?" Ash asked.

"Not really," Sai said, so Ash left the conversation there.

Unsurprisingly, Ash wasn't in the mood to work. Sorting through envelopes gave her time to think, though. She didn't know if she had the nerve to go on some adventure trying to find the lost Ihli Azariah, but...the option was available to her now.

"If you had a chance to leave, would you?" Ash asked.

Sai blinked. "Where is this coming from?"

"I'm just...thinking." Ash said.

"Who wouldn't want to leave?" Sai said. "Our folder days are coming up though, so we don't have much longer."

"But if you could leave right now, would you?" Ash asked.

Sai looked around. They were alone in their corner of their office at the moment, but that could end immediately with Colony higher ups always walking around.

"We shouldn't talk about this here," Sai said. "And if this is a joke with you trying to get me into trouble, it's not funny."

"It's not a joke," Ash said.

Rather than risk getting found out, Ash asked Sai to meet up after work. It was potentially dangerous to tell anyone else about Ash's guest, but Sai was trustworthy. They found a private place to chat outside of the office, and Ash blabbed pretty much everything. Sai squinted as they mulled it over.

"This is a joke, right? You're joking," Sai said.

"I'm not!" Ash said.

"Then why are you telling me this?" Sai said.

"Why wouldn't I tell you?" Ash said. She sighed. "Well, thanks," Sai said. "Still..."

"If you want me to prove it right now, we can go see her," Ash said. "I'll ask her if it's alright when we get there."

Sai seemed torn between not wanting to go with at all, and curiosity if Ash was telling the truth. Ash checked her apartment first, but Esther wasn't there. Fortunately, Esther hadn't been captured, and was still looking over the map. It took some convincing, but Ash managed to explain Sai in a way that highlighted their trustworthiness, before Ash was able to bring them into the map room.

Sai stared in amazement. Seeing the remains of the ancient ones was one thing, but seeing their technology in action was something else entirely.

"I really thought you were kidding," Sai said.

"I wasn't," Ash said.

"You're going, aren't you?" Sai asked.

"I don't know..." Ash said. It seemed like it should be obvious, but she still felt foggy about her next steps.

"Are you serious?" Sai said. "You have to do this."

Ash didn't expect Sai to take that stance on it.

"You think so?" Ash said.

"This is like. All your dreams dropped into your lap," Sai said. "Well, except for Myles getting captured. But we could break her out!"

"We?" Ash asked. "You'd want to come with? Would that be alright?"

Esther smiled. "We do need all the help we can get. But we may be stuck here for a while figuring out how to leave without the Colony noticing. I don't think my plane will be an option."

"I mean," Sai said, scratching the back of their head. "I know a way we can get out of here."

Enjoying this series? Check out some of the other awesome entries in the action fantasy contest! Links are in the description.