Prelude

This place is a hole, thought Jahsin. Hardly where you'd expect to find the woman heralded as the greatest healer since Constance Moony. He scanned the bar looking for the golden glow that marked a holy mage, hoping that she would be drunk enough to reveal herself. It was only on his third scan of the room that he noticed her, sitting in the corner hunched over a glass, three empty jugs at her table. The symbols above her head glowed a faint yellow, slowly dancing in a complex circular pattern. This is the greatest healer alive?! There is more light coming from that poor attempt at a lamp than from this woman.

He walked up to her and sat at her table.

'Whadya want?' she said, gruffly.

'Do you know a man named Gerald McWarthy?' Jahsin asked.

'Do you plan on buying me a drink?' came the reply. Jahsin ordered another jug of beer and a glass for himself. After he poured them both a drink, she continued, 'Gerald McWarthy... Executed three months ago. Pity. He was a very talented shadow mage.'

The symbols above Jahsin's head began to glow a fiery red, each one looking as though they were going to explode. 'Talented?! Do you know that he killed two-hundred-and-fifty-seven people during his career?'

'That many, huh? Well, I did say that he was talented. Killing people is what shadow magi do, you know that.'

'It wasn't their time to die.'

'They died, so it must have been their time to die.'

'He killed my wife!'

'I'm sorry for your loss. Anyway, as nice as it is talking to you, you have terrible taste in beer, so if you don't have a point to make, leave.'

'You healed him.'

'I am well aware of that, I was there.'

'Why?'

'Did you get hit on the head as a baby or something? See these yellow robes? I. Am. A. Holy. Mage. A healer, in fact.' she drawled sarcastically. 'Healing people is what I do.'

'Healers are forbidden to heal wanted men.'

'The Holy Code has its flaws. I use my magic to save lives, it is what I was taught to do and what I choose to do. If there is a chance to save a life, I will take it, regardless of who that life belongs to.'

Jahsin's symbols were moving around violently, pulsating with red light. 'When Gerald was executed, I thought I lost my chance at revenge. Then I heard that he nearly died two days before he killed my wife, but fortunately for him, he was saved by a healer.'

Jahsin's body began to glow. The people in the bar began to take notice. The woman at the table sighed. 'You know what the problem with full fire mages is? It's impossible to have a conversation with one. The moment you say something they don't like, they just threaten to blow everybody up.'

One by one, a panicked expression appeared on their faces as it dawned on them what was about to happen. Suddenly, the people in the bar began to run around in terror. 'Somebody find a water mage!', 'Help, he's going to blow us all up!', 'Stop this you crazy man!', 'Don't provoke him, you'll make him angrier!'

'You don't need to do this. Killing me won't bring your wife back.'

'Maybe not, but it'll stop people like you from saving people like Gerald!'

She sighed again. The symbols above her head changed to a dark yellow and stood still. The rest of the room followed suit, Jahsin looking almost comical as his body had become bright orange. The woman closed her eyes and one of her symbols began to circle Jahsin, leaving behind a yellow trail with each pass, until he was entirely covered. Her symbols changed back to a pale yellow and the people around them continued to exit the pub.

'What is this?!' Jahsin demanded.

'You can explode, but most of the force will be contained by that shield. At best you will destroy this table in front of us.'

'How is this possible? You can't have had time to created a shield!'

'"When it's a matter of life or death, time is of no consequence." It's from the Shadow Code. Clever people, they are.'

'You're bluffing, there is no way you could have done it, so there will be holes and the escaping force would destroy you.'

'I've heard. Jahsin Holton. You have a son, Louis. What would he do if you were dead? He has already lost a mother, how would he handle losing a father not long after?'

'He only lost a mother because of you! I'm glad to have done the world a favour and rid it of you.' His spell had finally completed, his body now so bright that it hurt to look at it.

One second later, the only thing remaining in the pub was a female head, yellow symbols dancing feverishly around.