Will was walking to the group, back to Alyss, when he heard the cannon go off. Another death...

He continued walking, wanting to get back to Alyss, wishing that he could go faster, but not wanting to be exhausted when he got back to her.

When he came to a wide stream, he took a drink of water, then backed up so he could get a running start, hoping to clear it without getting his feet wet.

Then someone grabbed his arm.

Alyss was worried. "I hope they're okay. I mean, what if Will didn't get to the fence? What if someone killed him while he was on his way there? That would explain the cannon!"

Tucker tried to calm her down. "Or maybe Will got her to the camp just fine and is on his way back right now. Maybe the cannon was for someone else."

"But what if something did happen?" Alyss said. "Oh, we never should have sent them!"

"Alyss," Horace said. "We had to send them. You know that."

Alyss nodded.

"I'm sure they're fine.

Will whirled to face the person who was holding arm and found himself face-to-face with a thin, pale girl with long brown hair. He tried to pull his arm away, but her grip only tightened.

"So you're Will," the girl said. "I must say, I expected…more."

"How do you know my name?" Will asked.

"Alyss told me, of course. Such a pretty girl."

Alyss had told her. Okay, that might make sense. Alyss was pretty social. Except… "But how did you know that I was Will?"

The girl laughed. "I've been watching you. And I kind of like you. It's kind of sweet, how much you just love Alyss. Such a shame that you're such a dismal failure."

"How am I be a dismal failure? I'm not a dismal failure!" Will said. He tried to pull his arm free, but she tightened her grip more. Will imagined that he could feel his bones splintering. He gritted his teeth. "I got Julia to Malcolm. I saved her."

She smiled, laughed. "Oh, but you didn't save her." Her eyes were yellow, Will noticed. Yellow. "My friend Jake, he's taking care of Julia. Probably will end up killing the old man too."

Will shook his head. It couldn't be true, it couldn't! "Jake doesn't know where the camp is."

"Yes he does. You led him right to it."

Will shook his head again. He couldn't have—He would have known if someone was following him. Wouldn't he?

"I actually think they're already dead. Didn't you hear the cannon?" She smiled at him, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

Will tried to pull his hand away again, but she tightened her grip just a little more. "I could snap your wrist right now." She said calmly.

"Why did you have to kill them?" Will asked. "They weren't any danger to you!"

"We couldn't allow young Julia to live. As long as that girl lived, Jake or I could never really be the victor. There'd always be one person that, whichever of us won, didn't beat."

Will closed his eyes. "And Malcolm wouldn't have let Jake kill Julia without defending her."

"Most likely. Maybe he was smart enough to realize that he couldn't defeat Jake, but probably not. If you ask me, it's high time that he was revealed as a fake and a traitor."

Will choked on a sob. "He wasn't a fake, and he wasn't a traitor!"

She laughed. "Well, he definitely wasn't a sorcerer and he definitely wasn't loyal to Picta."

"But he—he never claimed to be a sorcerer!"

"Yes, he let others do that for him. Much more honorable."

Will let out a shuddering breath and looked at the ground. "Much more honorable than you."

"Really? The rebel was more honorable than the girl who only played by the rules?" She laughed again. "You know it's true. That's why you won't meet my eyes."

Will shook his head, but remained silent.

"You know, in this light, from this angle, you actually almost look handsome. Almost look worthy of that beautiful girl. Such a shame that I have to kill you before you get back to her."

Will looked up sharply, which caused the girl to laugh. "Why do you have to kill me?"

"Well, Jake and I, we're both very aware that you would die for Alyss. After all, you're here, right?"

Will stared at the girl with fear in his eyes.

"We don't particularly want to deal with one more extra person getting in the way." She almost actually looked regretful.

"You're going to kill Alyss?" Will asked. Somehow, the prospect seemed unbelievable to him, after he'd come so close to getting her back.

She laughed. "In case you hadn't noticed, that's how this game works." She pulled a knife out of a sheath with the hand that wasn't squeezing Will's wrist. She looked at Will once again. "If it makes you feel better, I really do hate doing this."

Will tried to jerk his wrist away once again, and the girl broke his wrist. He felt a flash of white-hot pain. Then, in one fluid motion, she stabbed him in the chest, and quickly pulled her knife away. It was covered in blood.

Will put his hand over the gash in his chest. When he pulled his hand away it was covered in blood. His breath came quicker and quicker.

Alkaney looked up from studying her knife. One corner of her mouth curled up into a smile before she pushed Will into the river.

I just killed Will...