Devin managed not to leap out of the tree in the second it took him to remember Milo’s comments about being a cat.

  It wasn’t easy. Milo stretched and extended dagger-like claws that gleamed in the sunlight. It was terrifying.

  “I see what you meant about your dog form attracting less attention,” Devin said. “I was picturing something like a big housecat. And holy crap, I’ve never seen such a big bobcat.”

  “And you still haven’t,” Milo said. He held up a clawed paw and licked it. “I’m not a bobcat.”

  “Well, what are you?” Devin looked at Milo warily.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” Milo said. “How do you feel?

  “Terrible,” Devin said. He could sense the disease inside him, like a dark creature slowly extending its tendrils from his torso into his chest.

  “When the Rot reaches your heart, that’ll be it for both of us,” Milo said. “It’s moving faster than I thought. You’ll most likely be in a coma by dawn.”

  Devin sighed. “Thanks for the encouragement, buddy.”

  He opened his interface. He’d earned points in his ‘Deftness’ Attribute from climbing the tree and had gained an achievement. He groaned when he saw what it was.

  Achievement Unlocked! Cuddle Puddle – You and your Guide took a nap together. How sweet.

  Reward: 1 Universal Knowledge shard.

  “Can we talk about these shards now?” Devin said.

  Milo’s voice was more serious than normal. “It’s not important right now. Trust me on this. Let’s stick with things you’ll need to get through the next few hours.”

  Devin blinked, then shrugged. It was good advice even if it was a little pedantic. He moved further out on the limb to get a better view of the town.

  Horgoff wasn’t a big city by any means, but it was still larger than Devin expected. At least a dozen small houses and several markets formed its center. Farms encircled the town. An impressive series of irrigation ditches crisscrossed the fields. The streets were filled with people hurrying from place to place. He saw farmers going in and out of stores, women visiting several wells around town for water, and pairs of armed guards patrolling the streets.

  All the buildings looked shoddy except for the huge stone cathedral in the center of town. The towers and spires reminded Devin of a much smaller and cruder Notre Dame. He saw what he thought were statues of gargoyles on the walls, but on a second look, he realized they were vultures.

  A flag waved from the front of the building – a red vulture on a field of green.

  “What’s with all the birds?” Devin said.

  “That’s Patriarch Lukas Felle’s banner,” Milo said. “He’s the ruler of Teth. You can think of him as a king. His standard is the vulture because that’s the symbol of his god, Wermer. Nobles in Teth are technically priests of Wermer.”

  “Oh, boy. A theocracy.”

  “A theocratic dictatorship masquerading as a feudal kingdom, to be precise,” Milo said. “The nobles are impotent figureheads. They don’t even get their own heraldic symbols to fly over their manors. The priests are the only one with actual power, and the Patriarch controls the priesthood.”

  “Great,” Devin said. “So is that a castle, a church or a city hall?”

  “It’s all three,” Milo said. “It’s the seat of government and the town church. The Prelate of Horgoff lives and works there.”

  Devin squeezed his eyes. “Let me guess, the healer’s in there, too.”

  “Indeed.”

  "Am I going to get smited for breaking into a temple?” Devin said. “And how brutal are the gods on a scale of ‘convert-or-die' to ‘live-and-let-live?’”

  “Gods won’t act directly against you, but their worshippers can be very unforgiving. That temple is dedicated to Wermer, a deity of war. Patriarch Felle follows Wermer. He’s the only deity in Teth that citizens are allowed to worship.”

  “When you say ‘guiding power,’ you mean a god?” Devin said.

  “Yes and no,” Milo said. “Guiding powers are almost always gods, but there are exceptions. Some extremely powerful and unique beings can act as guiding powers. And almost all gods are guiding powers. Think of ‘god’ as a race and ‘guiding power’ as a class. Or a subclass, really.”

  “What does a guiding power do?”

  “They provide their followers with access to spells and the like,” Milo said. “You don’t have to worry about fighting gods, but their worshippers and followers are something else. If you break into that temple, you’ll certainly anger Wermer’s followers, including Patriarch Felle.”

  “I hope there’s a ‘but’ there,” Devin said.

  “There is. Your very existence makes you the Patriarch’s mortal enemy. He’s not going to stop until you’re dead. So, annoying Wermer’s worshippers isn’t going to appreciably increase your danger.”

  “Why would his healer help me, then?” Devin said.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “The healer does not worship Wermer,” Milo said. “Wermer does not grant his followers healing powers. The healer is a member of the Order of the Caduceus.”

  “This is too complicated,” Devin said. “Maybe I should find another healer.”

  “The only healer within 1,000 km powerful enough to cure your disease is in that temple,” Milo said. “You have only one other choice. You could die.”

  “Won’t I die when the mob tears me apart for defiling their temple?”

  “It’s only technically their temple,” Milo said. “The vast majority of people in Teth are peasants who don’t worship Wermer. Under the Patriarch’s law, everyone must attend worship services to Wermer at least once a week, but that’s just on the surface. There are probably less peasants in Teth who worship Wermer than your hometown had Rastafari.”

  Devin’s head whipped around. “What do you know about my hometown?”

  “A great deal. Please, Devin. Stay on topic. People in Teth follow the Dragonfly Pantheon. That was the religion before the Patriarch took over. It’s been 1,000 years, but people still remember. If they’re quiet about it and show up in church, the priests won’t bother to do anything about it.”

  “Did you say 1,000 years?” Devin said. “How old is this guy?”

  “I’m not sure,” Milo said. “Enhanced live a long time.”

  “What level is he?”

  “I don’t know that, either. I suspect he’s Gold.”

  “A level above me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why doesn’t this Felle guy force people to convert?” Devin said. “Wait! I know this one. He’s smart enough to know it wouldn’t be worth it to him to start a religious war by cracking down. Better to let people do what they want, as long as it doesn’t give them any ideas about rebellion. That’s what the Ottomans did for centuries.”

  “Very good,” Milo said. “I suspect you raised one of your Attributes with that.”

  Devin’s head buzzed while Milo was speaking. He flipped through a few windows and found the increase.

  Devin’s Ability ‘Strategist’ increased his Creativity +1.

  “Are you peeking at my character sheet?” Devin said. It came out louder than he intended.

  Milo peered around and lowered his voice. “Don’t ever mention anything to do with being an enhanced where anyone can hear it. And no, it was pure deductive reasoning.”

  “How am I supposed to learn if I can’t ...” Devin sighed. “Talking to you is like fighting a badger.”

  “Badgers.” Milo sniffed. “The most overrated Mustelids in history. Ferrets are much more pleasant company and, pound for pound, much stronger.”

  “That’s not … wait. That can’t be right. Badgers are the toughest things …”

  “Devin. Why are you so obsessed with badgers?”

  Devin opened his mouth, then closed it. Even he knew that sometimes discretion was the better part of valor.

  “Those farmers called me a Warlock,” he said. “Is that a religious thing?”

  He halfway expected Milo to shush him or refuse to answer. But Milo considered the question, then flicked his ear back.

  “That’s the name for any enhanced people who aren’t under the control of a church, a government, or an organization,” Milo said. “In Teth, they’re hunted down and killed.”

  “That’s rude. Not everyone on Senarci is enhanced, then? I was wondering about that.”

  “Only a tiny percentage of people are, especially here. Teth is a backwater when it comes to magical powers.”

  “In that case, should I keep my enhanced status a secret?”

  “As if your life depends on it. There won’t be anything you can do to hide it in a fight, but otherwise, keep a low profile. Even if someone finds out you’re enhanced, they won’t know what level you are, or what your Skills are. That can be a huge advantage.”

  “When you say ‘skills,’ are you talking about some specific thing?” Devin said.

  “A Skill can be a spell, an ability or a Boost,” Milo said. “An ability is … well, an ability. A spell is a type of magical ability, and a Boost is more like a magical trait. Using ‘Skill’ is less confusing when I’m talking to people who can’t be bothered to know the difference.”

  “Which of my …” Devin remembered Milo’s warning about eavesdropping and decided to drop the subject. For all he knew, this Felle guy had magic ears on every tree in the country, listening for any sign of rebellion.

  It was sort of like being on the Internet. Even if you thought you were in some private group, everything you said could be screenshotted and used out of context against you. Except Felle wouldn’t cancel Devin if he said the wrong thing. He’d kill him.

  Devin scanned the town again. It was getting darker, and there were fewer people on the streets.

  “I don’t suppose there’s any chance I can talk my way in there?” Devin said.

  “No. You need to be prepared to kill anyone you come across.”

  “What? Like, anyone? Everyone? Just kill them? I’m not going to do that!”

  “No,” Milo said. “I’m not telling you to kill indiscriminately. I’m saying kill anyone who attacks you. They’ll find out what you are when you defend yourself and if you let them live, you may as well let them kill you.”

  “I thought I was seeing a doctor, not going on a slaughter mission.”

  “You don’t have much choice. You need healing. The healer has guards. Those guards will kill you on sight.”

  “If I kill their guards, why would they heal me?”

  “They’re not bodyguards, they’re her prison guards. The healer is their prisoner.”

  “Is she a criminal or something?”

  “More like a slave.”

  Devin’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  “Very,” Milo said. “And you need to be, too. If they think you’re here to free her, they’ll kill her.”

  “I’m not here to free anybody! I just want healing.”

  “You can attempt to explain that to the guards, but I doubt you’ll have much success,” Milo said.

  The ache in Devin’s stomach flared up and he went quiet. He watched a man and a woman in peasant garb hurry into the manor. The man carried a young child in his arms. Even from here, Devin could hear the child’s wailing.

  “They’re going to see the healer,” Devin said. “Why can’t I?”

  “This isn’t Washington, DC, or even Little Rock. Everyone in this town knows everyone else, and strangers are rare. You remember how the farmers reacted to you. Well, these aren’t farmers, they’re soldiers. If you want to ignore your Guide and ask nicely to see the healer, it won’t end well. It’s your decision though.”

  “How do you know about DC and Little Rock?” Devin said. He shook his head. “Never mind. Irrelevant question, right? Just tell me how many guards there are. Also, are they enhanced?”

  “I don’t know how many guards there are, but yes. They’ll be enhanced. I don’t know what level. Probably Copper. Silvers have better things to do than guard buildings.”

  “Well, if I’m going to fight, I need to be more prepared than I was against that tree,” Devin said. He looked at his weapon abilities. It said he was best with the short sword, but he had no idea how to use one.

  Except that he did. He could picture one in his hand. He could almost feel the hilt, the balance, and how to swing it.

  “It looks like I’m good with short swords, daggers, and unarmed,” he said. “The last one is lucky since I don’t have any weapons. Is there anything …” He stopped as a new wave of pain hit him. He wrapped his arms around the trunk and gritted his teeth until it passed.

  When he opened his eyes, the sky was dark. It was what astronomers would call nautical twilight.

  “Good, you’re awake,” Milo said. “It’s time. Also, the healer won’t be what you expect, so keep your wits about you.”

  “What do you …”

  Milo hopped off the branch and disappeared down the tree.

  “Well,” Devin said. “I guess we’re done with questions.” He gauged the distance to the trunk. The weakness had passed but he was still shaky. The thought of climbing down that trunk was almost worse than the idea of going into a fight against a bunch of armed and juiced-up soldiers.

  “Hell with it,” he said. “Just gonna rip this band aid off.”

  He let go of the limb and fell through the branches below, making dozens of pained noises on the way down. He landed on his back next to Milo.

  He lay there waiting for the pain to go away. It didn’t, so he sat up and started pulling twigs and pine needles out of his hair. Milo watched him, so catlike in his disdain that Devin half expected him to lick his paw.