The small, steady flame of Flynn's Exorcist Candle blooms in the gloom, pushing the darkness back to the corners of the room. It's a brave, defiant light, but it's not enough to chase away the cold despair that has settled over Siena. She's staring at the floor where her own candle died, her expression one of profound loss.
"You... you're sure?" she asks, her voice a fragile thread. "Everyone?"
Flynn's face is grim. "Classmaster Thomson and a few of us are all that we know of for now. We escaped."
There is a terrible moment, one where I can see Siena begin to collapse inward, the pillars of her world kicked out from under her all at once.
Before she can manage it - before I can think of anything to say - Flynn speaks again in a firmer voice.
"But you're here. You're alive." He says, taking a step toward her. "So that means there's others. Others like us who survived. Who escaped." He is being earnest. Earnest and hopeful. Flynn is many things, but right now...he's being a leader.
She looks up at him, her green eyes wide. She doesn't say anything. She doesn't have to.
"You have to come back with us," Flynn insists. He's not just asking anymore. He's pleading. "We have a safe place. A secure sanctuary, hidden away with wards older than the Citadel itself. We have food. We have a library. We have... a plan."
I have to actively stop myself from scoffing. A plan. We have a plan to go get water from a well. I'm not even sure Thomson has a plan beyond 'survive'. But Flynn's hope is a tangible thing, a force of nature in its own right.
Siena's gaze drifts from Flynn's hopeful face to my corner of the room. The suspicion is back, warring with the desperate hope on her face. "A safe place? But you send out Tainted Bloods on missions?" she asks, her voice laced with a fresh wave of venom. "That is not the Order I know."
"It's the only Order left," I say, my voice flat and even. "You can accept that, or you can fend for yourself when the Gloom Dwellers find you next time." There's no anger in my tone, just a brutal, honest pragmatism.
She stares at me, her jaw tight. She wants to argue. She wants to condemn me. But the logic is inescapable. She survived this long through luck and a desperate, last-ditch spell. She can't survive indefinitely.
She turns away from me, her focus on Flynn. "The wards... are they truly strong enough?"
"When you realize where we're hiding, it will make sense." I say, trying my best to not have to say it directly. But then I realize this is yet another gamble - she could decide it's just a lie.
I look over at Flynn. He looks back at me. And he doesn't say anything else.
There's another silence.
Siena looks between the two of us again. "Fine." she says, her expression hardening with resolve. She takes a deep breath and stands up. She seems to have come to a decision. "Fine. The light must band together to hold off the Gloom." She walks over to me. She's still suspicious, but her face shows more determination than before. She picks up her blade and sheathes it, her movements precise and economical. "If you're what the Order has left... then I guess I don't have much of a choice. I'm with you."
A wave of relief washes over me, so potent it almost makes my knees buckle. We did it. We found a survivor. We gained an ally. And we might still get back to the crypt before sunset.
Flynn grins, a flash of white in the gloom. "Welcome to the team. The name's Flynn."
"Michael," Michael says, stepping forward, offering a hesitant smile.
Siena just gives a curt nod. She's a professional, and this is no longer a social call. "We should go. The longer we stay here, the greater the chance he sends something else back to check on his... work."
"And the water," Michael reminds us, pointing a thumb back toward the square. "We still need the water."
"Right," Flynn says, his businesslike tone returning. He looks at me. "Caden, you're on watch. You see any of that soot stuff moving, you give a shout. Siena, you're with me. We'll fill the canteens and anything else we can carry. Michael, you stay with Caden. Keep your eyes peeled. And for the Light's sake, don't drop your candle again."
Michael flushes but nods, gripping the Exorcist Candle like it's a religious relic.
We move as a unit, a tight, efficient formation. Siena and Flynn head to the well, their movements quick and purposeful. Michael and I take up positions by the general store entrance, scanning the silent, dead town.
Siena is a revelation to watch.
I've grown up seeing fully fledged Exorcists, obviously, but I've never really watched one on a mission like this. Not so close. There's an economy to her movements, a focused intensity that puts even Flynn's natural athleticism to shame. While Flynn cranks the handle with brute strength, Siena is a whirlwind of preparedness. She doesn't just fill the canteens; she checks the seals, tests the straps on the packs, her eyes constantly scanning the rooftops and windows. She's a soldier, and this small, abandoned town is her battlefield.
While they work, I stand guard, my senses stretched taut. The soot-like residue is everywhere, a thin, almost invisible film on the world, but it feels... quiet. Inactive.
Whatever was left of the soot's intellect seems to have expired for now. Which is just as well. It reduces the chance that it could be somehow reporting back to bring more Dwellers on our heads.
And...
I still really don't want to let Siena know about my secret until Thomson has the chance to tell her for me. I'm no good with words. I can't imagine how I'd keep this woman from running off, and...
I feel...
Guilty enough about all this. It's hard enough to convince myself I'm not at fault somehow, much less someone else - especially if her fear of me gets her killed. I can't have that.