Fate's Debt

   Allende and Alesio had been gone for less than fifteen minutes when the scream sounded. It pounded against Berek's temples and ground his teeth, echoing in his brain the way no normal sound could. Alesio's scream: a cry of pain and despair. In a flash, he drew his pistols and sped down the dark Castillian street.

   He kicked down the door, only to face a deserted tavern. The stools were turned over and the surprised-looking bartender was polishing glasses in the corner. He fixed the man with a steely gaze and raised his pistol slowly.

   "The Castillian and his companion," Berek growled. "Where?"

   "I don't know what you are talking about," the man mumbled.

   The gunshot shattered the mirror behind his right ear, spraying glass across the bar in a wide arc. Berek dropped the smoking pistol and aimed the second at the bartender's chest.

   "Where?"

   "Up… up the stairs and through the door… they told me to stay quiet…"

   Berek was already bounding up the steps.

   The door hung open, revealing the body of Alesio sprawled on the floor. Her clothes had been torn, and blood pooled beneath her from dozens of shallow cuts. She sobbed in horror as Berek approached, her body shuddering in pain. Besides her, the room was utterly empty; a window stood open on the far wall.

   "Where's Allende?!" Berek pressed his hands against the deepest cuts.

   "Gone…" Alesio moaned, "…they took him…"

   "Where?" He tried to keep the worry out of his voice. "Alesio, what happened?"

   "…I gave him to them…" Her limbs shook as he tried to bind her wounds. "…Fate Witches… three of them. I… I… betrayed him… they told me I had to betray him…"

   "Just stay here," Berek admonished. "I'm going to get Sean and -"

   "No!" Alesio cried. "You have to find Allende! They took him… I betrayed him… you're the only one who can find him!"

   Her bloody fingers seized his hand and pulled it close. Her eyes shone brightly as she fixed the Avalon with an unblinking gaze.

   "Listen to me," she whispered, her tears suddenly gone. "They're going to kill the crew, Berek. They're going to burn the Hanged Man. The witches serve Vincenzo Caligari, the Vodacce prince. He wants the Brotherhood dead and Allende in chains… I don't know why. They have Allende and now they want to kill his men. The Hanged Man will burn to the waterline before midnight. They can make it happen.

   "But you can stop them, Berek. You can save us and save yourself in the bargain."

   Berek opened his mouth, struggling to take it all in. "What… what are you talking about…?" he stammered at last.

   "All your life, you've lived on luck." Her grip on his hand intensified. "That luck ran out when Reis cut you open. You were supposed to die that day, Berek, and you spent the last of your luck to keep it from happening.

   "I pulled you from the sea, I told Allende where to go, I sailed the ship to that desolate place where you would have died had we not been there. I did it so that you could undo my treachery, the treachery that fate had decreed. Fortune has abandoned you, but you're still alive and that means you can defy Her whims."

   Berek nodded slowly as understanding bloomed across his face.

   "Get the crew off the ship," Alesio continued. "Find Allende. Undo the threads of fate. You can do it, Berek; you're the only one who can. But you can't count on good luck to help you. You've got to start making some of your own." She coughed and blood caked her lips.

   "But you…"

   "…have played my part… now I need you to play yours." She loosened her hold on his hand, but her eyes remained as fierce as ever. "The Brotherhood will die by midnight. How are you going to save them?"

   He stood silent for several moments, studying her face intently. Then in a flash, he turned and bolted out the door.