Fordham came closer. “It looks like the Guard are herding them in the opposite direction. Using some kind of magic to force them left. What’s left?”

“Row Park,” Kerrigan said. “We’d never get permission to walk through the Row.”

“Then why are they directing us there?” Clover asked.

None of them had an answer, and as they turned the corner, guards blocked off their retreat. Kerrigan looked back in confusion as barriers were put in place behind them. Suddenly, the march stalled, leaving the huge crowd stopped in the middle of the road, almost to Row Park.

“What are they doing?” Clover asked.

Fordham shook his head. “It’s too far ahead. I can’t tell.”

A chill ran down Kerrigan’s back. “Something’s wrong.”

“What?” Hadrian asked. He was straining his neck. “There’s some kind of light ahead.”

Fordham followed where he was looking. “Fire.”

And then the screams began as the last rays of light died on the horizon, plunging them into near total darkness. People jostled all around them, but they were stuck.

Kerrigan grabbed on to Clover’s hand. “Stay close.”

Fordham put his chest to her back protectively. “We need to get out of here.”

“Lead the way.” She slid her hand into his.

He nodded and pulled the four of them through the crowd. It was slow going. Everyone was trying to escape at once, but there were no exits. They were trapped in a part of Central district with high buildings on either side. The alleys were clogged. Fordham tried to move them back the way they’d come but stalled when he saw what awaited them.

Red Masks.

Kerrigan’s stomach dropped. The Guard had vanished from their posts, and in their place were men standing in all black with red masks over their faces. Or… the guards were Red Masks. That thought was chilling.

A loud bang exploded behind them. Screams grew to a deafening volume. And to Kerrigan’s horror, she watched one of the buildings shift. Rubble rained down on the crowd. The building listed sideways and collapsed, trapping countless people.

Kerrigan gasped. “We need to help.”

Another building exploded nearby. Kerrigan ducked to the ground, ash and rock falling down on her. Her eyes darted left and right as the world that she knew and the city she loved dissolved into chaos. Fear crept up her throat. She was paralyzed with inaction. All she could think and feel was that night so long ago when she’d been trapped by Red Masks. When she’d seen her life flash before her eyes and known it would be her last.

“Kerrigan!” Fordham yelled. “We have to get out of here. Help me get through the Red Masks.”

She stared up at him with tears in her eyes. “How?”