The Sinner's Banquet

The Nightshade Token

The blade bit into my skin, drawing a thin line of warm blood.

"I will not ask you a second time," the woman said from behind me. Her voice was steady and completely cold. "Where did you get that token?"

My right hand twitched. The purple shadow claws wanted to come out, but Kaelen’s voice cut through my thoughts.

"Do not fight her," Kaelen warned. "She knows how to use that blade. If you use your magic right now, she will open your throat before your shadow can even form."

I took a slow breath, keeping my hands where she could see them. My shoulder still ached from the fight with the hunter, but I forced myself to stay calm. "It was given to me," I told her. "By someone inside the palace who wants me to survive."

The iron blade did not move an inch. "People inside the palace do not own Nightshade tokens. Malakai killed every single person who carried one twenty years ago. He kept their heads on the city walls for a month to show what happens to rebels."

Through the gap between the wooden crates, I saw the Blood Hawk guards by the main gate. They were checking a large wagon filled with iron ore from the mines. If they looked toward this dark alley, both of us would be caught.

"If you kill me, you will never find out the truth," I said. "And the palace guards are already looking for me. A high hunter is dead a few streets away."

The pressure on my neck eased just a little bit. The woman grabbed my shoulder and shoved me forward into the deep shadows of an abandoned warehouse. I stumbled but kept my balance, turning around quickly to face her.

She was young, around my age, with dark hair tied back tightly. She wore light leather armor covered in grey dust from the outer slums. Her eyes were sharp, scanning me from head to toe. She held a curved dagger that caught the faint light from the high palace towers.

"You do not look like a palace guard," she said, looking at my torn clothes and the red marks left by the iron collar. "You look like a slave from the lower mines."

"I was," I replied, holding up the black metal token. "My name is Ethan. Lily gave me this. She is Malakai's new apprentice."

The woman stiffened when she heard the name. Her hand gripped the dagger tighter. "Lily? The girl who betrayed the mine workers to take a seat at the high priest's table? You are her brother?"

"She did what she had to do to stay alive," I noted, my voice hardening. "Just like you are doing out here in the dirt."

The female warrior lowered her blade slightly, but her eyes remained fierce. "My name is Lyra. My family fought in the old rebellion before Malakai destroyed our faction and took control of the city's magic core. He uses that core to power the upper district while draining the life from the slums. If Lily has this token, it means she stole it from Malakai’s private vault."

Lyra stepped closer, her eyes fixing on my right hand. Even though the purple glow was gone, the dark veins on my skin were still visible.

"You carry the void magic," she stated. "I felt the dark energy when I came near you. That is why the high hunter was tracking you. Normal people cannot handle that kind of power."

"I need to get out of the city," I said, pointing toward the heavy stone gate. "Malakai wants to turn me into a mindless weapon. Lily gave me a map to the drainage system, but the outer wall is blocked by the Blood Hawks."

Lyra let out a short, dry laugh. "The Blood Hawks work for anyone who pays them. Right now, Malakai is paying them a fortune to close the borders. They have orders to kill anyone who tries to cross without a royal seal. You will never pass them on your own."

She walked to a small wooden table in the corner of the room, her movements completely silent. She picked up a dark cloth and wiped the spot of my blood off her dagger.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked. "Or are you going to hand me over to the Blood Hawks for a reward?"

"The Nightshade Faction needs someone with void magic," Lyra said, turning back to face me. "The city's main power core is protected by a holy barrier. Normal weapons and regular magic cannot touch it. But void energy can dissolve that barrier completely. We want to destroy his power."

She walked back to me, her face deadly serious. "I can get you past the Blood Hawks. I know a smuggling path that goes under the stone wall. But it will cost you."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Your help," Lyra answered. "The wild lands outside are dangerous, filled with monsters and royal scouts. You will not survive three days out there alone. But if you help my faction destroy Malakai's power source, we will give you a safe place to hide and all the resources you need to get stronger."

A system message flashed in front of my eyes.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

New Main Quest: The Rebel's Alliance.

Objective: Agree to Lyra's terms and escape the outer border.

Reward: 500 Experience Points, 1 skill point, and unlock faction reputation.

"Take the deal, Ethan," Kaelen said. "The Nightshade Faction knows the layout of the entire valley. If you go out into the wild lands without a guide, the high hunters will spot you from the air within an hour. You need allies."

I looked at Lyra. She was dangerous, and she clearly wanted to use my power for her own revenge. But I did not have a choice. I needed to grow stronger before I could ever return to the palace to save Lily.

"Fine," I said, extending my hand. "Get me past the wall, and I will help your faction."

Lyra did not shake my hand. She just nodded once and slipped her dagger back into her belt. "Follow me. Keep your head down and do not use your magic unless I tell you to."

She led me out through a back door of the warehouse, moving into a narrow trench that ran alongside the giant stone wall. The air was thick with the smell of old iron and wet earth.

We walked for five minutes until we reached a small iron hatch hidden under a pile of rusted metal plates. Lyra reached down and pulled the hatch open, revealing a dark stone tunnel that sloped downward.

"This path leads straight to the outer woods," Lyra said, stepping onto the first rung of the ladder.

But before I could follow her, a bright light exploded from the top of the stone wall above us.

A net made of golden light dropped from the sky, pinning Lyra to the ground instantly. She gasped in pain as the holy magic burned against her leather armor, sparks flying off the metal buckles.

Three men in heavy red armor stepped out from the shadows of the trench. They carried large iron maces, and their shields bore the symbol of a blood-red hawk.

"Well, well," the leader of the guards said, stepping forward with a cruel smile. "The captain said someone would try to use this old tunnel tonight."

Behind the guards, another figure walked out of the darkness. My blood turned completely cold when I saw his face. It was the head guard from the palace mines, the man who had watched my parents die. He held a glowing tracker stone in his hand.

"I told you the boy would come this way," the mine guard said to the Blood Hawk captain. Then, he looked at me, his teeth flashing in the dark. "Your sister gave you up the moment you left the cell, Ethan. She traded your location for her permanent seat in the High Council."