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Eshfen watched the horizon and wondered how many people he would kill after sunset.

He hoped they would be armed, men and women aware of their crimes. Of their treachery. It would be easier that way.

But even it they did not brandish swords or daggers, they would be judged guilty.

It was about justice. Only justice.

Great sweeps of cloud covered the sky, forming a shield between the slowly darkening vault and the expanse of the sea. Even the last glimpse of the sun would soon disappear over the horizon, engulfed by the ever-thickening mantle, and now the shallow waves seemed darker and darker.

Eshfen ran his eyes over the water as he rested his hands on the wooden handrail, fighting not to get seasick. He hated boats, from the smallest to those capable of carrying huge cargoes. But he would let himself be whipped, or accept being thrown overboard with his wrists bound, as long as he did not complain. As long as he could do the job he was given.

For what he did was important. His actions would soon change Kenjir. Forever.

To his left, the auxiliary sighed. His name was Sidio. He was almost as tall as Eshfen, with darker skin that matched most of those he'd met since arriving in Kenjir. His long black hair framed a face full of restless energy. He constantly shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a habit that bordered on the unbearable.

"The wind is rising. The sea may swell. If we don't move now, it will be impossible to reach the island in time," Sidio said in a voice burdened with anxiety and perhaps even fear.

Eshfen turned to look at the city behind them, Evvron, where the strip of city lights shone brightly along the coast and then at the top of the immense rocky ridge. There stood the House of Wisdom, home to the oldest academy devoted to the literature and history of Kenjir.

In the opposite direction lay the island of Lenna, their destination. There, the merchants guarded the precious objects he and his auxiliaries had been sent to retrieve. Some might call it theft, but of course they didn't know the truth.

Eshfen nodded. "Where is Mali?"

"She's keeping an eye on the captain and his son."

Good. Eshfen did not like the owner of the fishing boat. The man reeked of cheap wine, and his son, the only other person on the boat besides Eshfen, Sidio, and Mali, seemed terrified at the thought of disobeying him. Men who ruled by fear and beatings were always the least reliable.

Eshfen kept that thought to himself and tried to concentrate on the mission. He loosened his grip on the railing, turned to the back of the boat, and saw the captain fiddling with the oar as his son dropped anchor.

Mali stood a few paces away from the men, watching them in silence with her arms crossed.

As he approached the three, Eshfen felt the boat sway more and then slowly settle.

The captain locked the helm and walked over to a wooden crate on his right. From it he took out a map, which he unrolled directly on the lid of the container.

"The merchants know how to protect their island. No ship docks without their permission. Hell, it's risky to even approach the island without alerting them," he said with a mixture of amazement and admiration, pointing to a series of concentric circles that surrounded the image of the island of Lenna.

He tapped his finger on the circles. "There are dozens of ships that sail these routes around the island nonstop. Even at night. We can't get any closer."

Eshfen caught the excuse hidden between the words.

"We are close enough. All three of us are strong swimmers," he said. And he wasn't exaggerating. He, Sidio, and Mali had trained rigorously for months, mastering the art of swimming faster and longer than any other member of the Order. Eshfen was proud of this accomplishment, but remained vigilant, knowing that even the slightest mistake could jeopardize their mission. Successfully evading the patrol ships would be a monumental feat.

"What about the harpoons?" Mali asked in a flat voice. The auxiliary still held her muscular arms across her chest and clenched her jaw, accentuating the angular features of her face.

"Here. Closer to the island," the captain pointed.

Eshfen let out an anxious sigh at the thought of what this additional marking on the map represented.

Sacred Artifacts.

A product of the power of the Masters, the beings who walked among men and ruled them as gods, the harpoons could pierce any ship from one side to the other and cut down every threat from the sea. An extraordinary deterrent that had cemented the position of the Covenant Guild and its dominance over trade in Kenjir. In theory, such weapons were the exclusive property of the Masters and their armies. How the Guild merchants had managed to secure them remained a mystery.

But that was just one of the many secrets that surrounded the Masters and the way they decided to rule Kenjir.

"We'd better get ready right away, then," Sidio said as he flanked Eshfen's left side. From a pocket in his trousers he pulled out three thin chains of polished iron. The links that formed the chains were so small and so delicately forged that they looked almost like silver hairs.

Eshfen took one, as did Mali. Sidio was already wearing his. Each necklace had a pendant, an opaque black pearl the size of a small grape.

"They look fragile," Mali said. "Are we sure they will hold the passage?"

It was the captain who answered her. "All the guild warriors who guard these waters wear one. If you wear them around your neck, the harpoons will not be activated. Try to handle them carefully," he said in a solemn, dark tone, as if the mere mention of the harpoons brought images of pure horror to his mind.

Sidio stroked the necklace and pendant as if they would suddenly crumble between his fingers. Perhaps he was imagining what would happen if one of those darts struck him. They were said to be forged from Lethenium, the metal of the Masters, as long as a small boat and as thick as an arm. They were fired from huge underwater crossbows. The force of the impact would be enough to shear a man in two, his entrails exploding and scattering in the water.

Eshfen chased away the image of Sidio and Mali reduced to mush: "Let's dive in."

Both nodded and approached the side. Before jumping into the water, they checked each other's uniforms. They wore tight-fitting breeches and tunics made of a thin, black fabric stolen from a Tutor military outpost. A largely unknown material, capable of retaining body heat and keeping the skin reasonably dry even in these cold waters.

"Our contact is ready, I suppose," Eshfen said, keeping the corner of his right eye on them and the rest of his attention on the captain.

The man hastened to agree. "Look for this sign on the piers facing the Peaks," he said, unfastening the collar of his tunic. He showed him a tattoo on his chest of a stylized flame. "It will be engraved on the wood, away from prying eyes."

"Good." Eshfen put on the necklace and hid it under the tight fabric of his tunic, then let Sidio and Mali walk around him to check his uniform. They nodded shortly after, waiting for his orders.

Eshfen took one last look at the captain and his son, who stood a few steps behind him. The boy looked at him as if he had seen a ghost of the night, one of those that haunted children's dreams. "If you are not here when I return, my brothers will use your skin to make boots. And they will carve your bones. They would make good spoons," he hissed.

The captain and his son nodded quickly. "We are men of our word, my lord. Men of our word, you shall see."

Eshfen watched them in silence.

Then he turned his back and nodded to Sidio and Mali. With a few firm steps and an elegant leap, he dove over the side of the fishing boat.

The water greeted him, cold and clear.

The clouds thickened. Eshfen had waited weeks for an evening like this, a combination that was hard to come by. For the mission to succeed, he needed cloudy skies, yes, but not so cloudy as to threaten a storm. And he needed the little natural light of a sunset, but not the pitch black of a moonless night. That was why the wait for overcast skies had taken so long.

Just when he was beginning to lose hope, here was the perfect evening. It had been a new, very strong confirmation of how foolish it was to doubt the power of his Lord.

The God of Ashes.

As he swam with long, steady strokes, followed closely by Mali and then Sidio, Eshfen silently implored the waves and currents to stay calm.

Every three strokes his face would appear. He would open his mouth to breathe and glance at Mali and Sidio. The two auxiliaries kept up the pace tenaciously. They swam in clean strokes, very little splash even from the churning of their legs. The fabric they wore helped make the crossing smoother and even less noisy. It was an amazing invention. Too bad it had come from the minds of false gods.

They had also calculated the timing and memorized the intervals between the two lines of defense. So shortly after, Eshfen slowed his pace to almost a halt. He allowed himself to quietly observe the vastness of the sea and catch his breath.

As soon as he heard the breathing of Mali and Sidio, he asked, "Are you with me?"

"Always!" replied Sidio, stuttering a little. The young man was out of breath, his words muffled by water. Perhaps he had swallowed some.

Mali instead sounded calm as always. "Yes, my lord." She shook her head sharply to move a few strands of the short brown hair that fell across her forehead.

Eshfen caught a movement not far to the right and immediately recognized the silhouette of a guard ship. The patrol was close. Only a few more minutes.

There was still some natural light, but the men on board had lit the lamp that projected an ominous beam that illuminated the sea around the boat in circular motions. The lamp was probably placed in the center of the ship and operated by at least two warriors. It created a wide, cold patch of light on the water.

Eshfen and his brethren did not know for sure what powered this kind of equipment, but it was not hard to imagine that it was based on the Arts of the Masters. "There is no time to go far enough. We have to dive."

Mali nodded.

Sidio was wide-eyed and breathing too fast.

Eshfen stared into his eyes. "Look at me. Look at me."

The young man blinked quickly, struggling to hold his gaze.

"You are ready. Like me and Mali. You can do this. You are ready. Stay close to me. Do you understand me?"

Sidio nodded.

"I will count to three, and then we will dive. We go head first, as if to pick up the most spectacular ring ever forged. I'll stop you. You try to stay close to me and wait. All right?"

"Yes, missionary Eshfen," they whispered in unison.

Eshfen looked first at Sidio and then at Mali. His face was determined and ready. He prayed that his confidence would burn into their souls like wood to feed the fire of their faith.

He counted slowly. Then he dove into the water.

He continued to move his arms slowly, stretching his legs as if he were walking on a cloud to keep himself upright.

There, among the icy yet gentle currents of the sea, a new form of silence filled his ears and mind. It was a living silence, made up of vibrations that shook his chest and moved up his neck. The world of water enveloped him and crushed him without hesitation. It flowed around him like a sleepy beast awakened by large insects.

Eshfen focused on Mali to his right and Sidio to his left. There was much less light down there and he could barely see them.

Sidio was a problem. During training, he had a hard time tolerating the semi-darkness, even if he could hold his breath long enough. Fear often got the better of him. His performance had improved in the last few days, but in those moments Eshfen wondered if he was asking too much of such a young auxiliary.

Where was the guard ship?

Eshfen watched the surface, above. From this perspective, he felt as if he were flying. It was as if he were suspended in midair beneath a giant mirror, worn and blackened by time. There it was. The surface of the sea rippled, disturbed by the oars, and the almond-shaped silhouette of the boat moved above them with the light that seemed to set the waves on fire. It was powerful, an eye of fire that created a very brilliant stain on the water.

How deep could it go? The beam moved with exasperating slowness. It was close, close, close…

Sidio was shaken by a convulsion, then another, and another.

Small eruptions of bubbles escaped from his mouth as he projected upward, but he was getting too agitated. Reaching the surface seemed impossible, and even if he did, the guild warriors would easily catch him.

Eshfen pushed toward him and grabbed his leg. In the slanting beams of light from the boat, Sidio's eyes, wide with panic, met his.

All three knew what it meant. That the life of an auxiliary was less important than the mission.

The guard ship high above them was loaded with men who would pierce them without a second thought, and he had no intention of wasting all the work he had done so far.

Mali, however, surprised him.

She rose to face Sidio, wrapped her legs around his waist and then took his face in her hands. She placed her lips on his and pumped air into his lungs. She was taking a huge risk, on the verge of sacrificing herself for a comrade far less gifted than herself.

Eshfen shook his head, fighting not to give in to anger. If he let himself get carried away, it would become impossible to hold on. And anyway, his time was running out. His chest burned and his heart pounded louder and louder in his ears.

The guard ship was moving away. He calculated that if they started swimming up immediately, they would be able to surface, catch their breath, and return underwater to hide at a relatively safe distance.

Perhaps. But in truth, the Guild's men were more than capable of spotting them immediately. The mission could fail at any moment.

Eshfen nodded to Mali and gave Sidio a tug before swimming to the surface. Just before reaching the water's edge, he had to pull Mali out from under an armpit and hold her up to keep her from swallowing water as she struggled to stay afloat.

"Easy, easy," he hissed at her. He helped her by wrapping a hand around her chest and forcing her to float on her back with him. "Calm down. We made it. Just breathe."

She coughed again, but recovered almost immediately.

Eshfen searched for the guard ship and the lamp. He found it to their left. It was moving away quickly, but the beam of light was still more than capable of intercepting them.

What had happened to Sidio?

"The beam is coming back," the young man warned.

Eshfen saw him no more than three or four strokes away from them. He released Mali's grip and ordered, "We must dive again. Are you with me?"

"As always, my lord," she replied. Her voice was hoarse and she struggled to control her breathing.

Sidio nodded and answered him in a hushed voice.

Eshfen wanted to scold them both. Or strangle them. Or all of the above. Maybe when the mission was over.

"On the count of three."

They soon discovered that the limit shown on the captain's map was much wider than they had thought, and that the patrols covered a considerable area of sea. They had to repeat this deadly dance twice more. They would dive, wait for the boats to pass, then return to the surface.

Sidio was not panicking, but both he and Mali were swimming more slowly, struggling to hold their breath. Eshfen was in no better shape, but he hid it more effectively.

Eyeing a buoy that marked the beginning of the harpoon range, Eshfen decided that a break was absolutely necessary. He clung to the buoy, which was the size of a small cart and shaped like a pyramid; it consisted of a series of cylindrical wooden barrel-like containers floating on the surface of the water. Just above it, a series of wooden steps culminated in a lamp similar to those on the guard boats they had passed. The light it emitted was much dimmer, however, and served more to indicate the buoy's location than to identify potential threats.

Sidio and Mali clung to the buoy, one on Eshfen's right and the other on his left. All three were breathing heavily, inhaling and exhaling.

Eshfen watched the two young helpers for a few moments, then turned his gaze to the sky. The wind was moving great masses of cloud, and darkness was descending to cover everything. About two-thirds of the way up, their time was running out.

On the horizon, the panorama of the island of Lenna resembled a golden hearth. Eshfen pictured the great trading port and the countless ships that filled it day and night. Thousands of men and women, boys and girls, working at all hours. Even from so far away, he could almost feel them swarming the docks.

"The worst part of the crossing is over. Let's get to the docks and finish the mission," he said, as if the last part of the swim was as easy as being carried along by the gentle current of a springtime stream. As if the whole stretch of sea was not the most dangerous, really. He continued to swim with a strong, determined rhythm.

They could not clearly see the harpoons or the mighty crossbows submerged in the now dark water. They could only make out their large silhouettes. One of the disadvantages of choosing a night like this for long, reckless swims.

But Eshfen felt his wrists freeze and his chest tighten at the thought of those giant arrows so close. Again and again, he had to fight the urge to brush against the little pearl that made him harmless in the eyes of whoever was operating those terrible weapons.

The truth was that he and his companions knew little, too little, about how the Artifacts worked. He hid those thoughts in a dark corner of his mind. They were dangerous and threatened to turn into a lack of trust in their God, the one who planned their every move.

Eshfen pushed forward, moving his arms and legs harder, as if someone had thrown a harpoon at him and each stroke could draw a furrow between life and death.

The area of the port they reached was sparsely populated.

Eshfen estimated that the various docks and berths that made up the harbor held no more than a dozen small boats. This was precisely why they had chosen this part of the island as their arrival point. But it wasn't completely unguarded. They often had to dive and emerge along the sides of boats, then dive again and resurface under three different piers before they found the right one.

When they finally saw the flame symbol, they were almost exhausted and there was no way or reason to hide it.