Cold wrapped around Wen as she trekked north with Kali. Though both had coats salvaged from the ship, the biting cold was still oppressive. She didn''t know how the undisturbed area around the keep worked, but it defied everything she learned from her required secondary school and university science courses.


    However, even as she was contemplating it, the storm disappeared. The sun''s radiating heat peeked through, dispersing clouds and opening up a bright day. Wen paused, looking up at the sky, and Kali stopped beside her. Kali held up her camera toward the aetherstorm as it dissipated.


    Click.


    Kali snapped a photo of the sky, turning a crank on her camera again as she kept walking. Something Wen had noticed about Kali in their short time together was that she was constantly looking for things to take pictures of. If she had been born on Earth, she would have the beginnings of a great photographer. Wen wished she had a digital camera to show off to Kali, but those didn''t exist on Erth yet.


    "Wait up," Wen said, running forward to catch up with Kali.


    Kali slowed down. "Do you think we''ll make it out of this alive?"


    "I''m uncertain that Bibi can be trusted to keep to his word," Wen said. "He''s made a lot of threats, and he''s hurt people. He seems to break every promise he makes."


    "What if he just shoots me and dumps my body out here?" Kali''s eyes were wide.


    "I won''t let him get away with that," Wen said.


    "And then he just shoots you too or has one of the men do it." Kali shook her head. "We''re all alone out here, and he''s a noble. He has a family back home backing him up. All I have is a cat to feed."


    Wen clicked her tongue. That was the rub. She couldn''t fight off all the other bounty hunters at once, regardless of what she wanted to do. If Bibi ordered them to kill her and hide the body, they would do it to keep their status intact.


    Even she ignored the death of the ship''s captain. People''s integrity had a cost, even her own. The line she was drawing at Kali was just arbitrary in the end. Kali stopped walking and stared at her, and Wen locked eyes with the young woman. Why was she willing to fight back for a reporter? Was it the situation, or did she just want to feel like she hadn''t lost her integrity?


    She pushed that feeling down.


    "Let''s just focus on getting through this in one piece for now," Wen said. "You can''t worry about what''s right when you''re dead. Maybe we''ll find an opportunity to break away."


    "Which just leads to my life changing forever." Kali shook her head but followed Wen as they trekked further north.


    Wen didn''t have the heart to argue. Their problems had been made the moment they had both signed onto the expedition.


    The aetherstorm was gone around them, and Wen heard the change in her surroundings as they walked. Snow cracked and crunched as little drips and drops of water made a song in the ground around them. The area''s temperature was rising quickly, and she pulled down her hood and scarf so she wouldn''t start sweating.


    "What''s that?" Kali pulled up her camera and pointed in the distance.


    Click.


    Wen squinted, her googles doing a lot to block out the light shining off the snow. In the distance, she saw three figures out in the snow. She didn''t have to guess. It would be Mister Foley after he found one of the intruders. However, it was the third figure that caught her attention. A furry four-legged animal stood off to the side of the two figures. It was larger than any bear had any right to be, but Wen immediately recognized the body of a bear. A long tail and a feline face also marked it as a cat. Her search for Bibi''s quarry was over because it was definitely a bearcat.


    The question was whether the creature was the matriarch, the largest of the bearcats, as Bibi had requested. For all she knew, a larger one was hiding in the distant forest. Wen pulled her rifle off her shoulder, unslung it, and looked down the slope. The animal was at least the height of a three-story building. It had to be the matriarch. However, as Wen looked at it, she was less certain she could take one down alone. If it resisted the freezing effect of her rounds, she would have to use regular bullets, and she didn''t think regular bullets would do much to take it down.


    Click. Crunch. Crunch.


    Kali snapped a photo before walking forward toward the fight. Wen changed her scope over to Mister Foley. His coat was halfway torn off, and the trespasser he faced against was equally uncovered. Wen had to pause when her scope rested on the trespasser. She recognized him.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    It was Alex, also known as ''Tin Man'' Ortega.


    "What in the hell," she whispered, adjusting her scope to make sure.


    Wen had met Alex on Tombstone after years of being a slave under the thumb of an outlaw. Alex had fought Goldfist and his deputy, and he had inadvertently set her free. He hadn''t come to save her or any of the other slaves. Instead, he had come to the island to gain access to the island core. After he ran away, she started looking for him but couldn''t track him down.


    Yet, here he was. The famous outlaw who had burned down August was in her sights. If she pulled the trigger, she could take him down and start asking questions. Snow exploded between the two fighters with a flick of Foley''s wrist as she lined up the shot. No. If she took down Alex, Foley would kill him.


    Wen took a deep breath. She faced a serious choice for the second time in the last two days. She wanted to take Alex in and ask him questions, but she also wanted to survive and make it back to the Twelve Kingdoms with her reputation intact. In the end, she couldn''t have both. She also had the bearcat to worry about. If it was the matriarch, it was what Bibi wanted. There were too many decisions to make and too many variables to worry about. What was more important to her?


    Steeling herself inside, she lined up her shot and made her choice.


    <hr>


    Captain Grayson stepped away from his ship''s broken hull. There was nothing left, nothing salvageable. His ship was broken and dead on an abandoned island on the Fringes. He should have been angry. He should have been ready to tear down the world to get revenge for his ship. However, Grayson was tired.


    He sat down on the docks, looking at his ship as it lay on its side in the ice. A black line of smoke still billowed out from the hole. Grayson sat there awhile, embracing the numb sensation prickling his body. It wasn''t until Cade, his lieutenant, sat beside him that he noticed someone else was there.


    "What''re we going to do, Captain?"


    "I don''t know." Grayson sighed, reaching up one arm to pat Cade on the shoulder.


    Cade wasn''t the best officer in the Military Police, far from it. He was in his position because he was too dumb to work any other job, but he had still managed to learn the Path of Grit. However, Cade was Grayson''s Lieutenant. They had been together on the Robin for the last decade. Like it or not, they had lived in the same home for a long time, and it hurt to see that home gone.


    "I think you''ll still be able to salvage your commission," Grayson said. "They''ll put the blame for this squarely on my shoulders. I''ll see to it. None of our men need to suffer for this. I''ll just take my discharge, and this will all be over."


    "But captain." Cade frowned. "What about your retirement?"


    "Nothing for it, but it''s gone," Grayson said. "That''s just how it will have to be."


    Grayson thought about the letters burning in the cargo hold. There was nothing left of them but ash now. Those letters would never get to the people they were intended for. A few weeks ago, he wouldn''t have cared, but what if there was a final letter from a dead son to a mother in that crate? He had taken his job for granted, and now he realized how much it mattered.


    Thump.


    "There''s no one on the other ship." Captain Drake stepped off the other ship onto the docks. "If we''re going to find them, we''ll have to search the entire island."


    "Yeah," Grayson whispered, standing up and patting Cade on the shoulder as he turned to face the lizard. "We might as well get a move on then. There''s nothing to be saved here."


    Several soldiers in black and red coats, led by Captain Drake''s lieutenant, hopped down from the ship. Together, they were a strong force, and searching for Ortega would be easier if they all worked together. Drake looked down the docks before returning his gaze to Grayson.


    "I''m sorry for your loss," Drake said, his tongue flicking from his maw.


    "I''ll feel better when Ortega''s behind bars." Grayson shrugged. "Let''s get on with this. I don''t want to see her like this anymore."


    "Alright!" Captain Drake yelled so all his soldiers could hear. "Spread out, search the town! We''ll have to find a way up to the keep if they aren''t here. Lieutenant Brunhilde will guard the port with two men while we search. Move out!"


    With a salute, they spread out through the village. As Grayson walked, he opened his mind to the world around him. With the Path of Will, he could see things that no normal man could. Walking past ruined buildings, he knew their search would be for nothing. There hadn''t been anyone in the area for hours. It was too cold to feel where they went, but he knew the area was empty.


    He went to tell Captain Drake when he noticed the sunlight break through the clouds above.


    Before his eyes, the clouds dispersed, clearing the way for sunlight to stream down on the port town. Grayson knew that the island was under the effect of an aetherstorm. While it was weakening, it still had years left before it would fully be cleared away. Yet, he could see the sunlight shining down on him from above. He could feel the warmth on his nose.


    "Drake!" he yelled, pulling down his scarf and releasing a burst of white mist.


    Drake ran toward him, his serpentine head switching between the sky and Grayson. Grayson could tell that he didn''t believe what he was seeing either. It gave Grayson a cold feeling in his stomach. What they knew about the island was wrong.


    "Did you see what caused it?"


    "I have no idea." Grayson shook his head. "I don''t sense anyone in this area, though. I don''t think they''re going to be here."


    Drake looked up the side of the mountain, and Grayson followed his gaze. At the top was a massive round stone keep. It was just as likely a place as any Ortega to be. However, the real problem was how they would get up there.


    "Get back to the ship," Drake said, returning toward the docks. "Everyone, get back to the ship!"


    "Step." Grayson disappeared in a flurry of movement, reappearing next to Drake as he ran. "What are you thinking?"


    "We can take the ship up to the keep," Drake said. "That will make it easier to find them. We can still leave people behind if they decide to double back."


    Grayson nodded. It made sense. If they didn''t have a direct path and didn''t know exactly where Ortega was, an eye in the sky would be the best way to get an idea of what was happening. They could outmaneuver him as long as Ortega didn''t come back and take the ship.


    "We''ve got him," Grayson said. "He''s got nowhere to go, and we have the only ships on the island. All we need to do is close the rope, and he won''t be able to escape."


    "Exactly." Drake smiled back at him in his own serpentine way.