Echoes of fire

Alexis headed down into the crypt as the sun started to break over the city.

It wasn't just her that needed to leave. Sooner or later so would all her companions.

As she journeyed deeper and deeper below the place she had come to call the Red Keep, her mind raced on what she had learned.

The other half of the Hammer in the hands of the Brotherhood. As she entered the painted cave the smell of blood and sweat hit her in a nauseating wave. Her vision swam and she had to hold herself against the entrance for a few short heartbeats.

Her eyes turned to the fire burning low in the centre of the cave, casting its flickering shadows over the now familiar walls and paintings adorning the rough stone.

She was tired. Her eyes drifted over everyone else again. She blinked. Gonyaul, Tarmen, Voah, all sound asleep. And Tar kneeling over the young Ozainae witch...

She blinked. Not once, but twice, shaking her head. She saw his figure move towards the corner of the cave where the black hand appeared to break the hammer in two, where he sat facing the wall.

And as if sleepwalking, Alexis was drawn to the ghost of her predecessor...