Erin couldn''t keep her eyes off the bag with the mask as she and Alex waited for Sayed to return. Part of her wasn''t sure that the pieces were truly dead inside the bag. After it had attacked her, she wasn''t sure what she could trust anymore.


    She had been able to keep herself calm by focusing on her breathing. That was all that kept her from screaming again just to let out the stress. Never would she have imagined that a simple job to recover a book would have led her to the nightmare that Cragg Hollow was.


    Alex leaned against the wall, occasionally looking back and forth as he fiddled with a coin.


    Skrt. Skrt.


    At the end of the alley, Erin heard something move. She turned, opening her gate and allowing the power of growth to fill her. She wasn''t taking any more chances tonight. However, she soon realized she didn''t need to worry. Sayed skidded to a stop at the end of the alley, catching sight of them before turning and rushing over.


    "My brothers!" he yelled. "Much has happened since we parted ways. This town is very strange."


    "Yeah," Alex said, nodding at the bag. "Something is majorly off about the townspeople. Those masks are serious."


    "And we''re not closer to getting the logbook." Erin sighed.


    "That is where you are wrong, brother," Sayed said with a wide grin. "I have good news."


    Sayed held out what he had been holding in his arms. It was a rectangular metal box with a large button on the lower right side. Erin wasn''t sure what to make of it until she saw what was written on the outside.


    ''Roald''s Log of a Journey to the New World.''


    Her breath caught in her chest. That was exactly what they were looking for. It looked nothing like a logbook, but she was no stranger to strange things out on the nightsea. Her hand shook as she reached out to touch it, and Sayed let her take it.


    "This is it," Erin said. "This is what we came for."


    She pressed the button with her thumb.


    Beep. Beep. Beep. Unauthorized user. Access denied.


    Erin dropped the book as she jumped away from it. It floated in the air, and in her peripheral vision, Alex held a hand out. He had used his curse to keep the book from falling. She reached out and took hold of it again.


    Beep. Beep. Beep.


    "That box is... weird," Alex said. "It''s like the inside of an island core. I can''t sense anything inside of it."


    "What do you mean?" Erin asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "I mean, there should be metal parts inside, right? It looks like a computer, but it just feels like a black void inside."


    "What''s a computer?" Erin asked.


    "Don''t worry about it." Alex sighed, stepping closer. "That''s not something that we have to worry about right now. We got the book, but there''s still a problem."


    Erin grimaced. She didn''t like where this was going already. The mission was over, and they could get out of Crag Hollow before they ran into more masked people. She didn''t have to think hard to guess what Alex would say.


    "The only problem we have is that we''re still here," Erin said, raising her hand. "Don''t even start, Alex. We can let the Military Police handle whatever in sha-om is happening here."


    "What is happening?" Sayed asked. "When I found the book, the man who had it pushed someone into a big vat of water. The man was a swordsman who bested me on the rooftops earlier tonight, and I wanted to repay the favor."


    "What were you doing all night?" Alex shook his head as he looked at Sayed. "I thought you were just going to be on watch."


    "Ah," Sayed said, raising one finger. "That is a fine tale! It begins as I lay low on the rooftop on my watch. None of the soldiers at the ship dared to make a move, knowing I had my eyes upon them. Many days passed, and I held onto my post despite the hunger in my belly. I maintained my discipline until I was besieged by a wolf molded from shadow and ink. We began a chase, and though I could not catch the wolf, I kept him within sight until two people noticed our game from the street below."


    He paused, raising his other hand as he grinned wide.


    "One was a renowned swordsman, Tanis, and the other was merely called Doc. To protect his comrade, Tanis came for me, and we crossed blades. By fluke, I slipped on the roof. Tanis was able to best me and send me flying out into the bay. He knew it was only by that fluke he won, so he ran from me. That is where my new friend, the wolf, assisted me. Together, we tracked down the swordsman and Doc to their lair."


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Erin looked at Alex, and he was shaking his head with his eyes closed as Sayed kept going. From what Erin could tell, this was common, and knowing Sayed herself, she couldn''t say she was surprised. Sayed always wanted everything to be a grand story.


    "In their lair, Tanis was betrayed by Doc and pushed into a vat of dark water. I broke through the window, but upon seeing the logbook, I knew it was the greater treasure, and I should take it and make my escape!"


    "And you ran all the way over here with it," Alex said. "I don''t know if I should be happy or sad that this lines up with what Klaus told me."


    "Klaus?" Erin asked.


    "A kid I questioned, who didn''t have a mask. He told me that people who go to see the doctor near the docks come back with masks on their faces. The masks change people. He also seems to either be controlling that wolf we kept running into or something else, but they are connected."


    "Does any of that matter?" Erin asked. "We have the book. All we need to do is get out of here. The Military Police can handle their own mess."


    "I do not agree," Sayed said, crossing his arms. "It would not be a grand tale if we were to run away. I feel the villain of this tale has yet to be revealed."


    "This isn''t a story," Erin said, rubbing her eyes with her finger and thumb. "Sayed. You have to understand that what''s more important is the mission. This book can change everything for people. A whole new world for people to go to. New allies to find. We need to get it out of here. If we stay, we might end up like the townspeople."


    "Then we would go out as heroes in a grand tale," Sayed said. "People would tell our stories for decades."


    "Who would tell the story, Sayed?" Erin frowned, holding onto the book with one hand as she waved toward the buildings around them. "Look around you. This town is completely taken over. If we die, if we get those taken, then who will be left to say anything? I saw what happens to them. The masks drain them into husks."


    Sayed didn''t have a response for that. His mouth was open like he would say something, but Erin had stumped him with that. If she had been arguing with one of the Mothers back at the Coven, she would have smiled at that. However, she couldn''t enjoy the victory the way things were at the moment.


    "When you''re on a mission, the mission is all that matters," Erin said. "If someone falls behind, you don''t go back for them. If someone dies, you don''t bother dragging them with you. They knew what they signed up for when they took the mission. We need to leave. Now."


    The words hurt to say, but she knew they were right. One of the revolution''s agents, faceless due to the mask as well as their protocols, lay dead in his house. There would have been others as well. If she mourned for every one of them, she wouldn''t be able to finish her mission.


    However, it felt hollow at the same time. She had helped the agent up onto his bed instead of leaving him dead on the floor. She had stayed with Abed on Glory Plateau because of her training as a healer. She had fought together with Alex and Sayed against Maki ''the Beast,'' even when she could have run away. She had even fought the ex-Apostle Lucien in an impossible fight to buy a little bit of time for Alex.


    She buried that pit deep inside of her. She wouldn''t acknowledge it because the mission was more important. It didn''t matter if it was wrong; she would do it anyway.


    "What if it''s you that gets left behind?"


    Erin turned as Alex spoke for the first time in a while. He had his hands in his pockets as he looked at her and was completely serious. Erin stared him back in the eyes and steeled herself. She wouldn''t falter.


    "Then I would be left for dead," Erin said. "I would be tortured if I was alive. I wouldn''t give up anything. I wouldn''t hate someone for leaving me behind to finish the mission."


    "I don''t know if I can agree," Alex said as he walked over to stand by Sayed. "This isn''t a story, that''s true. We''re not riding into town to save the day and reap the rewards. We were here for that book, and we got it. In any other situation, we should get out."


    He reached up and patted Sayed on the shoulder. Sayed nodded down at him. Alex then approached her and took the book out of her hand. She let him because he sounded like he was agreeing with her.


    "This book''s important. You''re not wrong about that, Erin," Alex said. "For Sayed and me, it''s money to live on. For your organization, whatever it is, it''s a key to greater things."


    "Which is why we need to leave."


    "I would be on board with that, but there''s just one problem," Alex said. "Tonight, I met a kid who has lived here for years. He''s lived on the streets surrounded by his family''s murderers. That isn''t right, and this doctor seems to be the problem. I''m not saying we shouldn''t run if things go south on us, but I am saying that kid didn''t sign up for any mission. He doesn''t deserve to live in fear. We can do something about it, and we should."


    Erin immediately regretted letting him take the book from her. She didn''t like that there was suffering, and no child deserved to live like that. However, that was a problem that was bigger than she was. She couldn''t fix the world by herself. That was why she joined the revolution to begin with.


    "How many lives are worth one child?" Erin asked, clenching her fist tight. "That book could save so many, and you''re risking it for one person."


    "Yeah," Alex said. "If I don''t risk it for that kid, then nothing will ever get better for him."


    "What about the millions of people who live out there suffering? Are you going to save all of them? The people who live in the Twelve Kingdoms who suffer under tyrants? The people who are killed by outlaws and warlords every day? What about their suffering? Why does one person matter so much when so many people are suffering out there?"


    "Because there''s something I can do about it. Because I''m here right now, and I can see it."


    "That''s selfish. You''re only helping him because he''s beside you. You wouldn''t do anything if he were at the heart of the Scion''s power."


    "Yeah." Alex nodded, tucking the book into his duster. "You''re right. It is selfish. I will help Klaus out because I''m right here, and I can. If I don''t, things won''t ever get better. I''m not some cog in a machine with a grand goal. I''m an outlaw. I do what I want. If you don''t want to, you can run. If we die, you can pull the book from my dead body and leave us behind."


    He smiled back at her as he started walking down the alley.


    "I won''t hate you for that, Erin. Only you have to live your life."


    As he and Sayed walked away, a shadow flitted across the entrance to the valley. A man and a child, running hand in hand, stopped in front of Alex and Sayed. They were soaking wet, and water dripped off both of them as the man caught himself on his knees and the child fell to the ground. They had been running, and they didn''t have anything left inside of them to keep going.


    "Help," the man whispered before he fell to the ground.