The night wind stirred. Just then, thick clouds covered the moon, plunging the street into gloom.
Xia Lun silently gripped his pistol and rested his thumb on the hammer.
The man who had suddenly appeared to report the "Unassigned" was acting strangely. He seemed less like a living person in his right mind than some stiff, grotesque puppet.
"..." A Temple Guard's eyes shifted toward the alley, then back to the man. "The Unassigned are in that alley?"
"Yes. In the alley. Rats. Watching people. They'll be destroyed. Branded." The masked man's eyes were bloodshot, and his shadow stretched long across the street. "Go now. You should go."
The Temple Guards exchanged glances. Several drew their curved blades across their index fingertips, then dripped blood onto their scale armor.
"They're activating Protective Rituals," Scarface Elder explained quietly. "Inscribing Rituals on yourself is required training for a Warrior, and activating the ones on your armor means you've learned the basics. Let's keep moving. I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Let's wait and see." Xia Lun shook his head, then signaled to White Line.
White Line blinked and silently activated Psychological Invisibility.
She glanced at the wall beside her, sprang onto the treasure chest on the cart, then leaped for a window ledge beside the alley. With a pull and a swing, she climbed onto the roof as lightly as a breeze.
Once the Temple Guards had activated their Rituals, a faint golden glow seeped from their scale armor. They strode into the dark alley.
"Hurry, hurry," the strange man urged. "If you're too late, they'll run."
When several guards reached the middle of the alley, the strange man tried to follow them. The Temple Guard who had been speaking to him caught him by the shoulder.
"Stay here with me.