When I came to, the pain had diminished to a dull throb. Martin had nestled himself into the crook of my neck, yet awoke as I sat up.

The room was dark and my eyes had to gradually adjust. Once they had, I recognized Allegra and Leandro asleep in their beds. The younger Farfalla had already kicked off most of her sheets. Her brother slept like a stone on his stomach, both arms under his pillow. The curtains were drawn over the windows.

Taking care not to wake the two, I crept over to the windows and pulled the curtain back just a hair. As I suspected, the stars were out. Pinching the bridge of my nose in a vain attempt to relieve the pressure in my head, I let go of the curtain. Then I changed into my nightgown and robe, courtesy of Donatella's impeccable taste. It seemed even slumbering was to be done in fashion in her mind. Then again, my own nightclothes were torn and stained beyond repair after that eventful night. I was in no position to complain.

After putting on a pair of slippers that were a size too small, I lit a candle and gestured for Martin to come with me. He ran up onto my shoulder once I had extended my arm out to him. Then I quietly exited the room, shutting the door behind me with care.

The tavern must have closed for the night, for the place had not a single light save for my candle. Floorboards creaked and at least one guest was snoring on the floor above us. Someone below must have been dealing with a crying infant, judging from the faint wailing.

"So the fair maiden awakes," a voice spoke up from behind.

Startled, I whirled around to find Casimiro leaning idly against the door to his room, a lazy grin on his face and his shirt open. His black hair was tousled and free of the band he usually kept it in.

"I had to sleep off a very bad headache," I told him as a bit of pain caused me to wince. Martin stood up on my shoulder.

"I saw that earlier. You Memoriums seem to bear with a great deal of pain," he responded as he moved to stand beside me at the railing. The tavern below was like a black abyss with barely discernable shapes within.

"Typically retrieval does not cause pain to that degree. Headache are minor a majority of the time. But this memory...it is like nothing I have ever encountered before." I tried to explain, loathe to admit my failure.

"You may need to explain that to those of us that are not nearly as well-versed as you in such matters, mia volpe," said Casimiro.

"Already calling me by my stage name, are you?" I feebly joked.

"You might as well get used to it. You will hear it often."

"Apparently," I grinned wryly. "To answer your question, Memoriums examine memories by focusing and pulling them back. The more specific the memory, the easier it is to find. But if you don't quite know what you are looking for, it takes much more effort. It's like searching for a book in an immense library."

"And the more effort you exert, the bigger the headache.

"Not quite. The more likely you are to get a headache. The severity and complexity of the memory are also factors. A small, simple happy memory does not cause discomfort. But a complex one, a painful one, especially those clouded by amnesia, repression, or simply old age, those can leave us with more side-effects than headaches."

"Such as?" Casimiro pressed eyes sparkling with growing fascination. He must not have spoken to a Memorium at length before. Most hadn't. People tended to naturally keep their distance from us and not just for the sake of avoiding physical contact. We were strange to them, unnatural, almost not human. They saw Memoriums as less human than mages, perhaps because they had complete control over their abilities. We did not.

"Such as phantom pains in various parts of the body after a memory of a man being stabbed, or a deer shot with an arrow in its flank. Another case is strong feelings like depression after a memory of a grieving mother."

Casimiro's signature smile wavered. I had not thought it possible.

"It seems you bear a curse instead of a gift," he said with a sardonic laugh.

"It is neither. There is no good or bad to our abilities. They simply are. They may inconvenience us, but we deal with it and go on." I disclosed.

"You would not rid yourself of them if some mage said he could take them away?" he asked somewhat teasingly, brushing stray strands of hair from his face in a graceful motion. His amulet gleamed in the candlelight. So he even wore it to bed.

I shook my head.

"Firstly, I would be skeptical of any mage who said he could, as tampering with memory is strictly forbidden by law. I would be a fool to accept such a shady offer. Secondly, I could never imagine a life without my abilities. I am proud to be a Memorium." I answered without hesitation.

"You have never thought of another life?"

"Never."

"Many would call that narrow-minded," the bard remarked, his playfulness steadily returning.

"I call it knowing myself."

"Few are as lucky as us then," chuckled Casimiro.

"You are rather sure of yourself."

"Why else would I be the handsome fearless leader?"

I set the candle on the railing and rubbed Martin's back as he brushed his paws over his head.

"Perhaps because they are indebted to you," I suggested.

He raised a brow quizzically, straightening up and folding his arms in front of his sculpted chest. This time I was the one smirking.

"Allegra told me about she and her brother's colorful past. Taking in a boy and girl on the run and dealing with their persecutors requires a certain degree of boldness. No doubt they owe you their lives." I admitted with a shrug.

Casimiro burst out laughing so loudly that I feared he would wake the entire establishment. To my surprise, no one poked their heads outside their doors.

"If I'd known those two were going to get me kicked out of Ilaria, I would have asked them to shine my boots as incentive," he beamed.

Allegra certainly had glossed over that little detail in her story. There was also the question of how a thief and a mercenary could cause so much trouble that they had to flee the country. My thoughts must have showed on my face, for Casimiro only looked all the more amused.

"The Farfallas were still practically no more than babes. Allegra was just ten and Leandro was more baby fat than muscle, which you have yours truly to thank." the bard proudly recalled. "I doubt they remember the severity of it all that well."

"But Leandro knew how to fight before meeting you."

"He did. He just lacked a worthy challenge, something I was more than willing to provide."

"And who trained you? Your father?"

He shook his head and twisted one of the rings on his finger.

"My mother. She was one of Ilaria's finest."

There was no mistaking the respect in those words.

As I was about to press him further on the subject, the door swung open with a slow creak. My blood ran cold the moment I saw the gray uniforms file in. In a way, a part of me was surprised it had taken them this long to find me.

"It's them," I whispered, the image of Corim thrusting the blade into his own flesh fresh in my mind. My feet felt rooted to the floor.

Casimiro did not waste a minute. No sooner had I spoken did he blow out the candle and wrap his arm around my waist to pull me into the room behind us. He set me down, then roughly shook Leandro awake.

"What do you think you're doing?" the man glowered at him sleepily.

Casimiro put a finger to his lips.

"Wake up your sister," he instructed with utter calm, with a hint of an anticipating smile. "Hunters are after our fox."

Leandro immediately blinked the sleep from his eyes and nodded, then threw back the covers. He pulled on a shirt and began to strap on his belt and sword.

"How many?" he asked.

"Don't know. We didn't stay long enough to count."

"Do you plan on distracting them?"

That last exchange was enough to shake me from my stupor and fill me with a new fear.

"You can't!" I cried out, suddenly feeling ill. "The wolves will kill you!"

As if summoned, the growls and snarls permeated the walls and floor. My mouth felt dry. They could probably smell me. They were wolves, after all. Martin squeaked and grunted nervously in my ear. I could feel him shaking through my robe.

By now Allegra was awake as well, eyes wide at the noise.

"W-what is that?" she stammered. Her hands clutched at the bedsheets.

I looked back at Casimiro, who still seemed to be considering his options, then patted Leandro on the shoulder.

"Take Allegra and Serinda to safety. The rest of us will buy you time and meet you later. Do not stop until you reach Darbury," was all he said.

"Are you insane?" I interjected.

My opposition went ignored. Leandro didn't argue. He didn't say a word to contradict him.

"In bocca al lupo," he expressed in a grim tone.

"Crepi," Casimiro replied before sauntering out the door.

"Come on, throw on a coat and carry what you can," ordered Leandro.

As much as I wanted to stop and demand what Caimiro intended, I knew time was of the essence. While Casimiro raised his voice and shouted of a fire at the top of his lungs, Allegra leapt out of bed and I pulled on my boots. As other doors flew open and people began to scream, the three of us rushed to gather our things. In what seemed to be only the blink of an eye, Allegra had shoved four tiny knives through her sash, two on each hip. She then threw on here rabbit fur coat, concealing them from view.

"Will they be alright?" I managed to ask as I pulled my hood over my head.

"If we're lucky he won't brag about it later," Leandro quickly shot back, ushering us out the door.

All around us people were shouting, pushing against each other in their nightclothes in a mad dash to get out. In the tavern below were several of the people in gray, some staring in astonishment at the situation while others glared at Casimiro standing before them, loftily holding his seemingly delicate blade. How had he gotten down there so fast? Then I saw the shadow wolves circling around the room like a slow insidious twister with snapping jaws.

Leandro tightly gripped my arm and dragged me along, ushering us past the moving bodies. Where were we even going? The exit was blocked. Unless they planned on jumping out a window, we had few options. I found my fingers curling around Corim's ring in my pocket as if it were a charm. Like a foolish child, I clutched it as it could protect me. I squeezed so hard that the pointed wings pricked my fingers.

As we rounded a corner, I caught but a glimpse of Donatella and Fiore, he gripping something long and made of wood, she brandishing an ornate fan. What on earth did she intend to do with that thing? Cool the shadows with a breeze?

Leandro's hold on my arm tightened as we raced up a flight of stairs. Then just as we reached the top step to the next floor, a shade flew through the crowd and snapped its inky jaws at Allegra's foot. One inch closer and it would have had her. She yelped at the sight of it and seized my arm, her nails like needles.

We slammed the door behind us, though we knew that wouldn't delay the creature for long. Already we could hear a sound as if the wood were burning and tendrils of smoke began to curl beneath the crack in the door. My stomach seemed to turn to ice water.

"What are they?" shrieked Allegra.

"I don't know," was all I could manage to mutter.

"We can ask questions later!" barked Leandro as he dragged us along.

His gentle face was gone. In its place was the visage of a warrior. It was like a snarling lion. Was that the face of the mercenary he used to be? As tight as his hold was, it was not painful, but warm and sure, if strained. He threw open a door that led to one of the rooms. Kicking aside a noisy rocking chair, we closed the distance between us and the large window on the other side of the room. My heart pounded as he forced it open.

"You can't be serious," I fretted.

"We do not have many options," Allegra spoke up. "It's either a window or a roof."

Her tone seemed oddly cheerful despite the alarm in her hazel orbs.

"We don't have time to debate," said Leandro, scooping me up in his arms as the shade appeared out of the corner of my vision. Martin squeaked again and his tiny nails dug into my clothes.

Leandro dashed out onto the roof with Allegra not far behind, kicking the window shut. The chill air whistled past our ears and sent goosebumps spreading across my skin. Above us stars glittered in the pitch black sky. Below were the stables and our caravans in an alley. Wait, they were not really planning on jumping down there, were they?

Sure enough, they did exactly that, with Leandro leading the way. My heart seemed to stop at the feeling of weightlessness and I desperately clung to Leandro. Then it all happened again after we hit the roof of the stables. Martin was shaking like a leaf by the time we hit the ground. Allegra scrambled into the back of the blue caravan and Leandro set me down inside, then went to get the horses. It couldn't be this easy.

Suddenly the window which we had used for our escape shattered. Glass flew in all directions and rained down upon the ground as the shade wolf burst forth, billowing out into the wind and jaws snapping. When I placed a hand on Martin, his fur stood on end, his ears flattened against his skull. Then, just as the caravan began to speed away, its yellow eyes locked onto us. The chase was on.

Racing down the streets, I was catapulted forward as we ran over a bump or perhaps a dip. The shade was fast approaching, never letting up or showing a sign of weakness. Allegra and I watched it with wide eyes.

"Don't just sit there!" roared Leandro from the front. "Do something!"

"Like what? What even stops it?" Allegra shouted back.

"Try anything!"

Gritting her teeth, Allegra took a decorated box and tossed it out into the creature's path. It passed right through and met the ground as a shower of ash. The color drained from Allegra's face. What were these things? There must have been some way to weaken them. But how would one kill smoke or shadow?

With the creature advancing ever closer, I glanced about the caravan in the hope of finding something, anything. Boxes. Crates. Harmless props. But then I saw the lanterns. I had an idea.

"Fire." I burst out and immediately, shakily got to my feet to take one down. "Allegra, find something to light this."

For a moment, the girl hesitated.

"Now!" I hollered, and she scurried around to find something. She furiously dudg through one of the crates. The wood of the caravan was starting to burn and turn black. The sickly yellow eyes gleamed hungrily.

"Hurry!" I clamored in desperation as the creature grew close enough for me to smell the acrid stench of smoke.

From a rather plain bucket, Allegra pulled out a small packet. She raced over as fast as anyone could on a rocking floor and ripped the packet over the lantern. From a puff of green powder, a fire instantly sprang to life. I heaved the lantern over into the street, hitting the shade right between the eyes.

In less than a moment, the monster was consumed in flame. It writhed, yelped, and whined in pain as the fire spread. The pitiful sounds were enough to make me feel sympathy for the abomination. It sounded just like a tortured dying dog.

Dogs die, Serinda. Just as humans do, I recounted Corim's words, his pitying eyes as he placed his hands on my trembling shoulders.

Yet I continued to watch, frozen to the spot. I watched as the smoky flesh burned away and the animal cries assaulted my ears, transfixed and wondering why I didn't simply look away.

As the wolf disappeared, something else took shape within it. It grew and solidified. It was a man, garbed in gray. He was too far away to make out his face. But I knew it was one of agony. He was screaming. Screaming and screaming as the flames licked at his body. I had never heard a man scream like that before. He was dying and he knew it. He knew that he could not stop it.

Because I had thrown the lantern.

I suddenly felt numb. My throat was dry as bone. My knees buckled beneath me. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Dogs die, Serinda. Just as humans do.

e