Author's Note: And here's three more chapters! The last chapter and epilogue are in process and will also be posted together. Enjoy! And I'd really love some comments if you'd care to share. :)

Sara wasn't sure what she expected as she, with Leonard and Ray, exited the front of the Guild hall. A phalanx of armed soldiers, perhaps. The ghost of Damien Darhk, perhaps with that of Lewis Snart. Members of the cult of Vandal Savage dropping from the sky, threatening them.

It seemed possible. After all, the whole city, perhaps the whole world, had changed while they were in there. At least, it seemed that way.

It'd rattled Leonard more than her, but this was his city, and he'd known the queen, knew the king and the young prince. Now, though, he just looked determined, blue eyes icy and focused, although he did flick a glance at her and smiled.

"You OK with that thing?" he asked, nodding toward the stone.

"Eh. It's unnerving, but I can handle it." She really didn't want him to ask why she might be…not susceptible, but sensitive, yes…to necromancy, despite her lack of magic.

Leonard didn't ask. Not right now. He nodded again, accepting her word, then repeated "Let's go."

The Artificers/Alchemists Guild had a stable, and Ray had already asked for three horses to be brought around. It'd been a long time since she'd dealt with horses, but Sara murmured quietly to the gray gelding the apprentice brought around and was gratified to see how quickly he calmed. She swung up into the saddle, sorting out the reins, then watched as Leonard and Ray settled themselves on their horses.

Leonard muttered something to his mare, then looked over at Ray. "If we're going at speed, we're going to have guards trying to stop us. If…when…they do, stop and explain. Send word to the captains, if possible—Barry should be around here, and he's fast-and gather as many guards behind us as you can.

The other man tried to protest, but Len spoke right on top of him. "You're certainly going to be considered the most trustworthy of us," he informed the artificer. "And it's going to sound like a wild pipe dream. But they'll listen to you."

The other man deflated a bit, but nodded, and Leonard glanced over at Sara, smirked a little, and clicked his tongue at his horse, setting out.

As soon as they were off Guild Row and onto the main city road heading for the noble district and the palace, they sped up, the horses more than amenable to the borderline gallop. Sara leaned over the neck of the gelding, whispering encouragement to him, but the horse knew his business and seemed quite pleased to be running instead of the sedate pace usually necessary in the city. He avoided people adroitly even as they left yells of annoyance and surprise in their wake.

Sara glanced over and saw Leonard and Ray to the side, keeping pace—mostly. She saw the white flash of Len's grin, and was momentarily glad that she wasn't the only one who was enjoying this a little, despite the stakes.

"Halt!"

And there was the Guard. Sara chuckled, the sound blown away by the rush of their movement, as she saw that one guardswoman possessed of some forethought had gotten out in front of them, and had her blade drawn. However, the young woman hadn't had quite enough forethought, because once she got there, she was confronted by two—Ray had already turned aside—galloping horses with two determined riders.

"Emergency!" Len yelled as they approached. "All guards to the palace!"

Sara had a brief impression of wide, startled brown eyes and the—girl, really—dove out of the way. The assassin and the thief galloped on past.

Whether it was luck or Ray spreading the word, they didn't get stopped again, and by the time they clattered over the bridge to the palace, there were other guards coalescing into position around the massive building as well. They clearly didn't know precisely what the danger was, but they knew enough to let Len and Sara through, and as the pair released their tired horses to a stable hand and yelled their identities to the fierce-looking guards at the door, they were met by Joe West, looking harried.

"Harrison Wells sent word via one of his tricks," he told them immediately. "Carter's with the king; Kendra's above doing a bit of a flyover. What's this about the Savage cult? And some…Time Master?"

Leonard lowered his voice. "Sara found the letters in Darhk's office," he said, cutting to the chase. "Whoever that person is, they were using Savage as a tool, to take over the kingdom, far as we can tell." He glanced at Sara, who wrapped her fingers around the chain around her neck. "And the Artificers Guild helped us figured out that Darhk's emblem, it's…ah…"

There was no way of making it sound any less than bizarre. "It's Savage," Sara told West bluntly. "We already knew Darhk was practicing black magic. Now we know why."

West stared at them, then ran a hand over his head and muttered something that included the words "too old for this shit."

"Me too," Leonard told him with a smirk. "But here we are. This is important-what happened to Savage's body?"

"It was burned, I was told." The other man hesitated. "The king ordered that. But…"

"But you didn't see it."

"No." West sounded disgusted, but not with them. "Damn it. It was one of those things—there was so much chaos…the queen…we were all just glad he was dead. I remember…"

An outcry from the courtyard distracted all three of them, then, and Len and Sara both turned to see Kendra landing there, lifting a hand to call members of all three Guards to her.

"Cult members, on the grounds!" she called in a ringing voice. "I took several out, but I don't know where they're coming in. Spread out, find them all!" The Avian woman took off her helmet, shaking out longish brown hair, then drew her sword and started crisply issuing orders. West gave Len and Sara a thoughtful look, but apparently decided to leave her to it and focus on the puzzle they'd brought him.

But Len had apparently given it some thought, too. "They know we're here now, know we're spreading the news," he told the Guard captain. "No longer worth it just to take us out, but they'll want the stone and maybe the letters, and they'll try to do some damage before any of this becomes truly common knowledge." He looked the man in the eye. "Maybe to remove the other two members of the royal family."

West had obviously thought of that. He nodded, his mouth a thin line, then looked at Sara, his eyes going to the emblem she wore.

Sara thought a moment, then took off her belt pouch, which contained the letters they'd found, then handed it to a started West.

"They're going to expect me to have these," she told him. "Better to pass them on." She paused. "Your daughter. I know she's stationed to the court. Is she here now?"

West took the pouch. "Yes," he said cautiously.

Sara smiled at him. "Well. Who better to keep and spread information than a bard?"

That actually got a return smile. "A good point, Master Assassin." He nodded at the emblem. "And that? If it's what you think…"

"Until we know who 'Time Master' is, I'm keeping it. No offense," Sara said hastily.

"None taken. But…it will make you a target, and they know you have it." He nodded to her. "That's not good."

"I'll take care of that." Sara met his eyes, letting some of the League-trained assassin out to play in her gaze. "Where's the king?"

She was rather impressed when West didn't even blink. "You know," he said calmly, "if you were the real bad guy here, it would be a very bad idea to tell you that."

Leonard actually growled, but Sara shook her head, amused and, yes, impressed. "True," she allowed. "But if I was the real bad guy here, would I have told everyone? And given you those letters?"

"True." West studied her, then nodded. "In the library," he said, lowering his voice. "It's actually quite defensible. Your thief here knows where it is."

Sara decided to ignore the "your." For now. She nodded to West, then glanced at Leonard. "Point the way?"

That got her a smile-smirk. "Follow me, assassin."

Leonard did, indeed, know the way to the library. He sometimes showed up there without warning, startling Hunter when the king entered his library and found a thief sprawled out in a chair, engrossed in a tome on history, or science, or periodically a novel. It had long since ceased to be surprising, for the most part, and Leonard's been occupied by his Guild's business, but, oh, he still knew the way.

After a few turns, though, and at least one staircase, he felt Sara's hand on his arm, tugging him to a stop in a nondescript hallway. When he did, and turned to look at her, she held something out to him.

A nearly black ruby with a knife carved in it.

He stared at it for a moment and then looked up at her again.

"West is right," she said. "They know I have it. They'll target me for it. Best if I don't actually have it in my possession."

"But…"

Her lips twitched. "Who better than a Master Thief to hide and safeguard something?"

She had a point. After a moment, Len reached out and took the stone, swallowing against the immediate nausea. "OK. But…"

Sara turned away, pointedly. "I don't want to know. I shouldn't know. Just…tell me when you're ready to move."

"OK."

He could see Sara blink. "Already?"

She turned, and he held his hands out before him, empty. "Already. Shall we carry on, Assassin?"

"Carry on, Thief."

When they finally made it to the library, Len paused at the door, then took a deep breath, knocking in a pattern he barely remembered, one set not so long after the queen's death, and shoved the door open.

He froze immediately, Carter's sword at his throat. But the Avian captain withdrew it after only a moment with a shake of his head, allowing Leonard and Sara into the room, where the king also stood behind a solid oak desk, watching him.

"You do realize," Hunter said, sounding remarkably calm, "that that was the code from, oh, about five codes ago."

Len sauntered toward him. "Well. I have had other things going on."

"Indeed." The monarch shook his head, then walked out from behind the desk, approaching Sara. "Master Assassin. I hear you've put some pieces together. Vandal Savage, you say?"

"Yes, your majesty." Sara paused, but no one seemed to be standing on ceremony here and now. "I hate to ask this, but where is your son?"

Something flickered in the man's eyes. "In his rooms. He's guarded."

The tone didn't invite further questioning, so Sara let it go. "Good. Yes, Vandal Savage." She took a deep breath, looking at Len, who picked up the thread, explaining tersely to the king about the earlier attack, which the king already knew about, the letters, Darhk and Lewis, the stone…and the Time Master.

"What happened to Savage's body?" he asked urgently, looking from Carter to Hunter. "If they've preserved it…"

The monarch looked considerably unsettled, as well as somewhat embarrassed. "I ordered it burned. But I didn't witness it. I…it was right after Miranda and I couldn't…I wasn't." He shook his head. "I turned it over to others." He looked at Carter, who shrugged. Sara recalled that the captain had been badly injured in the attacks.

Len sighed, but there was sympathy there. "You don't recall who took that duty?"

"I don't recall much detail from that time, I fear." The king's voice was self-deprecating. "It must have been someone I trusted, though. The old seneschal was…was gone, then, so it wasn't him. I…"

A chime rang, somewhere in the palace then, and Hunter's head jerked up, his eyes widening as he counted the rings. He looked at Carter, who looked both unsettled and conflicted, then at Len and Sara.

"That's the alert that there's trouble near Jonas' rooms," he said, fear in his voice. "They're going after him. But…"

"But he's not there," Sara finished drily, actually smiling a little when Hunter eyed her with an uncertain respect. "I understand. I'd probably have lied too-you don't know me that well yet. But…if you do indeed have a traitor in the palace…does anyone know where he really is?"

"It was a part of the emergency plan we put in place, after…after." Hunter ran a hand through his hair. "The Guard captains, the Council…Gid…my seneschal. There are three possible safe rooms we settled on. And…I trust all of those people. How could…"

Sara cut in, gently. She wasn't unsympathetic, but this wasn't helpful at the time. "If you can bring yourself to trust me, I'll go there and help guard him. But you have to tell me where."

"So will I." Len nodded, his eyes on his king, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "You know me, Rip. You know that, for all my trade, I want the best for my city. And that's not the cult of Savage."

Hunter regarded them both for a long moment, then nodded. "He's in the north wing, near the greenhouse, in my wife's old solar. Gideon is with him, and she…well…but…" He dragged in a shaky breath. "I…I value her too, immeasurably. I don't want anything to happen to her either."

Sara had to try to hide a smile. "They might be expecting you or a guard to go right there and lead them there," she said. "Is there another way…"

Len let out a low chuckle, then. "There is," he said archly. "I found it a while back. But…" He sketched a bow to the king, who rolled his eyes. "….please. Show us."

Hunter muttered something about thieves and secrets as Carter chuckled, but he also turned toward a section of bookcases, casting about for a moment before pulling one nondescript volume forward. There was a quiet "click," and the entire panel shifted, revealing a dark corridor leading away. Sara studied it, fascinated, as the king took a deep breath.

"This will let you out in a very quiet corner of the kitchen complex. Leonard knows the way from there." He shook his head, worry in his eyes. "Please. Protect my son and anything I have is yours."

"Oooh?" Leonard asked thoughtfully, but he also put his hand in a clear gesture of support on the king's shoulder before glancing at Sara and starting into the passage. She followed with alacrity.

The passage was fairly narrow, so Sara sheathed her sword again nearly immediately. As the panel slid shut behind them, it was quite dark, but she could see light ahead. Leonard moved toward that light, Sara behind him, and they soon stepped into a corridor that seemed very old, with globes of low, flickering light set into recesses in the walls every few feet. Sara paused just a moment to touch one, cautiously brushing her fingertips over the smooth surface.

"The mages make these, and they last for a good long time," Len informed her. "They're a little too much work intensive to be practical for lighting everything, but they can't really keep torches in here for many reasons." He started farther into the passage, clearly intent on their mission, and after one last look, Sara followed.

After a few minutes—Sara lost count—they emerged, as promised, into a recess in the back of a tiny pantry, behind a cabinet that seemed to hold fancy dishware. Len slid it back into place, then ducked out into a hallway, drawing his sword again and moving into a run, and Sara followed suit.

They heard the trouble before they got there, and Sara's heart sank at the yells and the sound of clashing metal—and at the chimes that signified trouble in a different part of the palace than before. They exploded into a larger corridor just as a handful of cult members—in the same nondescript clothing and black face coverings as their earlier attackers—arrived as well, and Sara lit into them grimly, without quarter, sword in one hand, dagger in the other.

This lot had had some training, but they weren't anywhere near her standard. She took out three—trying to wound, not kill, but with no promises made-and spun to see Leonard dispatching his second cult member and turning toward the sound of further violence.

In the hall just outside what Sara guessed to be the solar, there were more cult members guarding the door, and one least three bodies in Guard dress on the floor. Sara growled and focused in on, not the biggest thug there, but a slighter figure all in black that screamed "danger" more than the others. The cult had to have some real fighters, even by her standards, or they wouldn't be considered quite so dangerous; she'd been expecting this.

The person saw her coming and brown eyes narrowed amidst the black face coverings. They raised their sword and…

Ah, it'd been a while since she'd had a truly good one-on-one fight. And they were good, all right; in some point in the battle, they got in one good swipe at Sara's leg and she danced back, biting back a hiss of pain. But she was better, and it was almost with regret that she clouted the person with the hilt of her dagger, somewhat hoping that the wounds were survivable. The blood lust was coiling within, but she'd managed to stay in control, and that was a fine thing she didn't have the time and space to examine right now.

Len had acquitted himself well while she'd been preoccupied with the other fighter, keeping the others off them, and Sara helped him mop up, figuratively speaking, as soon as she could before they turned to the door to the solar.

Leonard, master thief, had the locked popped quickly, but the door only opened a tiny fraction before jamming again. Sara heard the ring of metal inside, but nothing else, which wasn't, she thought, a good sign.

"It's been blocked," she said in concern. "Whether that's by Jonas and Gideon or…"

Len made a noise of frustration and concern, then took a step back, bringing a foot up and kicking the door hard, hard enough to send even a fairly solid wooden panel splintering inward. Sara lifted an eyebrow, impressed, but immediately pushed past him to shove her way into the room, limping only a little.

As it turned out, the cult had blocked the door, because a group of members had made it inside. However, only one of them was still moving…and as Len and Sara watched, he stopped, for the most part, because Gideon, still all in gray, neatly ran him through with a businesslike flourish, and he dropped like a stone.

His wasn't the only body in the room, either. By far. The two women stared at each other a long moment, then Gideon nodded and called out quietly. A, young boy, about 11, popped out from behind a solid wooden set of shelves in the room, a dagger in his hand, looking to Gideon and then the others. He looked like the king.

Jonas Hunter took in the carnage in the room, eyes going wide. "Wow."

"Wow, indeed," Len muttered from behind Sara. "Hey, kid. You OK?"

The boy clearly recognized Leonard, even if he didn't know Sara. He brightened, then started telling the thief something with the excitement only the young or unbalanced could usually muster in the face of extreme danger, and Sara shook her head, continuing to focus on the…was she really the seneschal?

Gideon, after a moment, smiled, leaning down to clean her sword on the cloak worn by one of the assailants, and Sara, studying the other woman, thought of the unopened letter she'd found in Darhk's office, about an out-kingdom Guild member arriving in the city not long after the death of Queen Miranda. Well. One more small question answered.

"Impressive," though, is all she said.

The other woman nodded back. "Thank you."

A clatter of noise outside made then all start, and Gideon hesitated in putting away her sword. But then the words became audible.

"Jonas! Gideon!"

Carter had, apparently, been unable to keep his king from going to see what was going on himself. Hunter, a sword in his own hand, rushed into the room and stopped in his tracks, focusing immediately on his son-and then on the woman besides him.

He took a shaky breath, then crossed the room, avoiding bodies, to hug the boy hard (a gesture Jonas returned) and then turned to Gideon, staring at her like she was the most remarkable thing he'd ever seen. The seneschal serenely sheathed her sword, then smiled at him, an expression that was just a touch tentative and not at all the way a court functionary would usually look at her king.

Hunter took another deep breath, then stepped forward.

Sara and Len exchanged a glance, grinning, and then turned away, letting the king kiss his seneschal soundly as his son made amused gagging noises in the background, and Carter pretended he wasn't seeing anything. After a moment, Sara wandered over to one side of the room, poked at one body with a toe, then turned it over. Yuhenna, the Assassins Guild member who'd left rather than accept Sara as new Guild head.

She sighed, then looked at Leonard…who was studying her with eyes that were just a touch tentative as well.

"It's not over yet, though," he said quietly. "Even if most of the cult was wiped out. Savage…"

Sara nodded. "We need to find out who this Time Master is," she said. "If we head…"

"Not now, you don't." Joe West had stepped into the room now, Kendra by his side. Both of them glanced at the king and the seneschal, West rolling his eyes, Kendra laughing out loud before she moved toward the bemused Carter. West shook his head, then started toward Len and Sara.

"The palace is on lockdown, until we find where the cult members got in and make sure they're all gone," he told them. "The better to…to work on your other puzzle, too, see if we can figure it out." He sighed. "Some of the Council members are stuck here now, and they're not happy about not being able to leave…and the others are stuck outside and aren't happy about that either."

Len sighed too. "Tell me I'm not stuck in the palace with Druce."

"No, he was at his city house, and now he's raising holy hells because the guards are keeping everyone out." From the expression on West's face, he liked Druce about as much as Leonard did, Sara thought. "Well, we don't expect it to be more than overnight." He nodded to Sara. "Guild heads have rooms here as a matter of course. The Master Thief does, and Darhk had rooms he never used—I've already had them searched, but they're dusty and cold because the staff was frankly scared of him. They can prepare something else, but it might be a little while…"

Len cleared his throat. "My rooms have more than enough space," he said diffidently, looking at Sara. "If you want."

West snapped his mouth shut, looking rather amused again. Sara studied Leonard a minute, wondering…and then nodded. Either way, she'd rather stay with him.

"Sounds fine to me."