As Ashe stepped off the plane, the interrupted sleep and jetlag pressed against him like a wall of exhaustion. The cool air of early June had been replaced by scorching, humid heat. Given that they had stopped to refuel once, and from the alarms and radio conversations during the flight, he must have been in the air close to twenty-four hours. The Guild only had three Central HQs—one in Asia, one in Europe, and one in North America. From the flight time, Asia was out; that left Europe or North America.

  Ashe made his way down the steps, his knees locking on impact with each step. By the time his feet hit the tarmac, sweat had already begun to form, clinging to him like a second layer of skin. It reminded him of the few years he had spent living in Houston. If he remembered correctly, the Guild had one of the HQs in Florida. Could that be where he was?

  He took in a deep breath of air. The smell of the sea filled his nose. The hints of tropical sweetness of citrus and jasmine came as an afterthought. He was almost certain that this had been the same feeling, when he and his family had gone to Disney World Orlando.

  Before he knew it, a gust of air brushed against his face as someone approached. He scrunched his nose and listened, but nothing came. Scentless, silent—that was strange. A hand hit him below the shoulder, hard enough to knock him slightly off balance. Without warning, his body felt fear coursing through him. Sweat formed on his hands and a slight tremble crept into his limbs.

  “Nice to meet you.” The voice was friendly.

  Ashe stuck out a hand and a bony hand slipped into it. The man was missing a pinky finger, and a scar ran along the inside of his palm. Ashe froze. The man’s grip was firm, unmoving. He knew who that was—he had listened to everything he could get his hands on about him.

  The founder of the Guild. He had started as the first jumper but had quickly moved to administration work as members flooded in. Still, it was said he was quite powerful. He wasn’t on the rankings, but that didn’t matter. In that moment, Ashe felt like a deer in headlights.

  “My name’s Danny Oullette.”

  As the words landed, the sound of the guards’ breathing and the constant click of radios faded into the background, disappearing. For that moment all else became irrelevant.

  Ashe nodded, struggling to get his uneven breathing under control. His hand bobbed up and down as they shook. When he finally managed to squeeze a few words out through clenched teeth, all he got was, “I know.” Despite the fear and emotion welling within him, his tone remained despondent, unemotional.

  His voice didn’t skip a beat despite Ashe’s response. “Let’s get going.”

  Ashe couldn’t follow Danny; the sound of his steps seemed to vanish before it reached his ears, his breathing a part of the air around him. He had to wait for the guards to start walking, then followed in their direction.

  By the time the footsteps stopped, Ashe’s shirt was soaked with sweat and all he wanted was some cold water. A guard lightly pushed his back. “Get in.” Ashe pushed his hands in front of him and fumbled around, locating what he expected to be a car.

  When he didn’t find the handle at first, those bony hands gripped him and jerked him up and into the car.

  Inside, the air was cool, and he let out a sigh. The car was new, the smell of leather still pungent, and it was completely smooth beneath his hands.

  As he sat down and put the seat belt on, Danny began to speak once more. “So, we’ve heard a little about you, but why don’t you help enlighten me? Do you know how long it’s been since we had a new candidate?”

  Ashe sat there, his jaw slightly agape, the air conditioning drying out his mouth. When he finally spoke, his words were not what he had expected. “Can I have some water?” He almost facepalmed as the words came out. He expected an apathetic response, a sigh of exhaustion. Instead, there was a light chuckle and a command for some cold water.

  He was handed the crisp water, and the car began moving. The cap was already open, and a small splash fell onto his shirt. He tried to rub it off, even though his shirt was already soaked, then took a long sip and began to speak. He didn’t know how much Amalia and the Mistress had told them, or how much he could share without falling under further scrutiny.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “I was adopted in 2005.” The words were cut off before he could assess what information he should share.

  “Yes. Yes. Guatemala. 2005. Lilly and Axel Longreen. Doctors. Australia.”

  All right, so he knew about his past. Good to know. From there he tightened his story, leaving out his parents’ deaths; he didn’t have the energy for that today. “So I’m blind.” He almost laughed as he said it.

  But Danny didn’t. The humour and friendliness faded slightly. “Yes, we know that much. We checked your medical files.”

  Danny’s voice quickly bounced back when he spoke again. “What about your abilities? Why do you think you’re a candidate to be a herald?”

  Truthfully, he didn’t. “I don’t.” He had only ended up here because he had told someone his secret, not because he had sought this out. Ashe heard the faint sound of Danny’s nails brushing against his skin.

  “Interesting, that’s a first. Well, tell me why your Guild Mistress thought she needed to call me.”

  Ashe tried his best to explain and, despite the practice, it was still foreign on his lips. Like explaining sight to him, it was a concept he couldn’t quite grasp. Ashe motioned with his hands and feet, a way of making it more real; maybe that would help.

  As he finished, his mouth closed. He had left a few holes in his story, testing Danny’s ability to reason. But none came. His stomach sank that either meant he already knew the truth or that he hadn’t noticed them.

  Ashe could hear the sound of jeans twisting on the leather seat as Danny turned to face forward. The lightness was back, the brief flicker of frustration completely gone as he spoke.

  “Alright, so we have a few rules when you arrive.”

  Ashe nodded, trying to be as polite as possible.

  “First, you will be moved to the candidate dorms. Even if you are the only one, we haven’t changed procedure. At that point you will be given food, a bath, and a night’s sleep. In the morning we will come get you and begin testing, at which point, if you succeed, we will share more information.”

  Pretty standard, Ashe thought to himself.

  Danny shifted his weight, and his voice grew just a little deeper, more serious. “You will also be given a new phone. It will not allow you to call or make contact with people outside of the facility. You shall also at no time take off your necklace or leave the premises without authorisation.”

  He had expected this, and yet it still felt like a gut punch.

  The roads were smooth and, as the silence closed in, time passed while Ashe sat there in a trance, wondering what would come. He had dreamed of this many times, but he had never imagined it. Now that he was here, he didn’t quite know what to do with himself.

  The car skidded to a stop and the doors popped open. They were here. Ashe turned, but before he could find the door handle, the door flung open and a warm wall of air met his face. “Thanks,” he said, even as he frowned; he would have liked to do it himself. He felt even more useless than normal.

  As he jumped from the SUV, his feet landed on the ground hard. The smell of the ocean was gone; only the burning sensation of the heat remained. But he wasn’t here for that. The guards began to move and Ashe followed.

  The whoosh of sliding doors and then the cold hit him like a ton of bricks. The constant change in temperature made his head swim and a headache begin to form, but he didn’t comment on it. Inside, murmurs and voices met him. He could only make out one sentence: “This goddamn glitch. It’s bugging my OCD. When will whoever’s in charge fix it?”

  Ashe turned his head slightly and spoke up. “What glitch?”

  Danny at his side answered. “Nothing to worry about. There is a glitch on the human world rankings scoreboard. The name is ‘Unknown,’ and the details seem to be sparse. We can only see the points attributed to them.”

  For a brief second he paused. “But I doubt it’s right. If someone had that many points, we would know their name.”

  A flicker of curiosity rose in Ashe. “What rank is he?”

  “Rank thirty-eight. 115,057 points.”

  Ashe froze, trying to add each point he had received. The total didn’t feel like a stranger’s. “Damn.” The word slipped out before he realised he was speaking aloud.

  “What’s wrong?”

  His mind began to race and the words came out stuttering. “That’s just a lot of points.” Danny didn’t say anything, but Ashe could tell he didn’t buy it.

  Then, with a swift change of subject, Danny spoke. “Check him in.” His voice came out of the blue and Ashe flinched at the sound. Just as he settled, cold hands brushed against him and pulled the necklace over his shirt. A short beep later, the staffer dropped it back down. It must be a way of tracking him.

  They continued on. Into an elevator, crammed with six people—it wasn’t exactly comfortable. He could feel the heavy breathing of the guards on his neck and their elbows jammed into his back.

  When it stopped, he exited the elevator and waited for someone to show him the way, but no one did. “Just go straight. We have some things to prepare for tomorrow.” Then, like he was being dropped off at camp, his duffel bag landed at his feet with a thud and his walking stick rolled off it.

  Ashe lifted his head, but before he managed to speak, the doors closed. He was alone once more. He picked up his things and turned. Walking stick in hand, he felt out the hallway until he hit something. A dull thud. Wood. He ran his fingers over it. A door. He pushed against it.

  Inside, the smell of dust filled his nose. He had barely taken a step before he sneezed. This wasn’t exactly what he had imagined. If he had been a child, that crawling feeling would have sent him running. But as long as there was a bed—and the food would be coming soon—he would be fine. He had to be.