"Does this mean that Artemus has gone rogue?" Syryn asked. 

Rowan was writing down a message that was going straight to the Sanguine HQ.

"I don't know yet," he replied. "Let's wait and see."

______

The next day, Rowan paid and dismissed the crew he had hired for Syryn's rescue. Having the ship stay around wasn't just a drain on his funds, it was also a disaster waiting to happen. If a war was starting then the foreign looking ship would be hit first by the rioters. In any case, Rowan could hijack any one of the pirate ships that was anchored at Coop. He owed it to Artemus to stay behind and keep an eye on the activity at Coop. The blond was puzzled by his friend's decision to seek revenge against Bella. There was something deeper to the situation that he wasn't seeing. And if Artemus wasn't volunteering the information then Rowan would just stay and find out for himself.

That day, trouble came knocking on Rowan and Syryn's door. While they were out exploring the neighborhood, because Syryn was bored, the duo found themselves surrounded by a gang of thugs.

The man who identified himself as the leader of the group, stepped forward and grinned at Syryn.

"Come with us without making a fuss and we won't kill your boyfriend."

Syryn wanted to know where this was going. It was succour to his boredom. 

"Okay," he replied while giving Rowan a look. Just play along, his look seemed to convey. 

"No, no adventures today, Ryn. Pick another time when Artemus isn't starting a war in Coop." Saying so, the blond put his arm around Syryn's shoulder and squeezed it 'lovingly'.

"What war?" Until that moment, the leader had appeared calm. Not so anymore, he had heard whispers on the streets about Red Sun plotting something but no one had really believed it. Bella had more manpower and resources on her side. A war with the Queensmen wasn't just stupid, it was suicidal. 

"Which faction are you people from?" Rowan asked instead of answering the man's query.

"I'm the one asking the questions, blondie! Answer me. What war?!"

"I guess they're Bella's," Syryn guessed. "The other factions won't trespass this early in the evening."

"Bella isn't interested in pretty boys but I know someone who is. And he isn't from this side of the island," Rowan replied. "But who knows. They're all the same to me." 

The ignored thug was furious. He was being disrespected by his victims who didn't have the decency to be afraid. He wasn't all brawns and no brains though. The man understood that the people he was harassing weren't afraid because they were strong enough to beat him and his group.

"Fuck," he cursed. The command had been given and he had to obey. He had to kidnap the pretty boy for the boss or it would be his head and dick on a platter. "Listen, we don't want-"

"AAAAAAAAhhhhh!!"

He turned around in shock to see who was screaming.

"What the hell is going on?!" He screamed. There were hundreds of rats pouring out from the gutters and attacking them.

Syryn immediately put up a tall wall of ice around him and Rowan. The sage's teachings hadn't been wasted. He was almost back to mastering his powers.

"Strange," the mage commented.

Through the wall of clear ice, he saw the rats overpower the humans with their sheer numbers. The screams he could hear were of pure agony as the men were eaten alive by the hundreds of rats. It was a gory sight. One of the men was a mage and had begun setting fire to the rats but they kept coming, unafraid of the fire, as if driven by madness.

"As entertaining as this is for you, it's time we leave, Ryn."

His ice wall was already melting from the blaze that burned through the bodies of the thugs and the rats. Death by fire seemed just as bad as being eaten alive by rats.

"Afraid of a little fire, Rowan?" He asked. Yellow and red reflected and danced off Syryn's bright eyes.

"Neither of us are fireproof," Rowan pointed out dryly. "I'm going to leave you here and run away, Ryn."

The mage reluctantly relented. "Let's watch from a distance."

_____

That night, there were many incidents in Bella town. Several more groups of crazed rats attacked people. Their screams were heard close to the inn where Rowan and Syryn were staying.

"I could be wrong but I'm guessing this is Artemus' doing," Syryn told the blond. They were both in comfortable night wear and out of odds with the mood that had engulfed the town.

"I concur. It's too much of a coincidence."

Syryn threw open the window and looked out over the small section of the neighborhood that he could see from their room. There weren't a lot of people moving about but those who were could be seen running.

In the distance, smoke rose up to a sky that was tinged orange by the fire taking over the houses one by one.

"It looks like they still haven't put out the fire."

Rowan came to stand beside him.

"It's probably because of the rats causing chaos amongst the ones who are fighting the fire."

"The streets are clogged with them. I've never seen so many of the critters congregate like this."

Rowan was silently thinking about the implications of what was happening.

"Ryn, I think it's time we left this place."

"Where to?"

"Red Sun or the Iron Raiders. This is a bigger matter than what I originally thought." Artemus couldn't be doing this alone. Rowan had a suspicion that the anti mage had allied himself with another faction who wanted to overthrow Bella and take over her territory. If his suspicions were right then war was coming to Bella's town.

"Come," Rowan told the mage who was in the process of changing out of his pyjamas.

"What? We're leaving through the window?"

"Yes," Rowan replied, not showing any indication that he might be changing out of his night wear.