Animus burst from the window, sending glass cascading down to the street. They hovered in the air, flapping their translucent wings.

“There's a drainpipe on the side of the building. Use it to climb up to the roof.” they snarled. 

Collin leaned off the window sill, reaching out toward the rusted pipe snaking up the front of the shop. He gripped it firmly, swinging himself out the window. His feet landed against the warm stucco, pushing him up over the edge of the roof. Breven followed close behind while Animus flew above them both.

“Will Ms. Holiday be ok?” Collin asked worriedly. 

“She can handle herself.” Animus chuckled. 

Just then a puff of green smoke billowed out from the shop entrance. The hoard of Knights came flooding out, coughing and wheezing. 

“Just like I said,” Animus laughed. “That’s one of her potions. She brewed it just last night.” Animus leaped over to the next roof, sliding across the shingles. “Hurry! She managed to distract them for now but we have to get away before they recover!”

Breven and Collin took a running start, jumping over the gap between the two low buildings. Animus peered over the edge of the roof cautiously then back at Collin.

“This way,” they whispered, leaping down over the edge. Below the building was a thin alleyway stacked with barrels and crates. Collin jumped down, landing hard on a crate that split beneath him. Breven crashed down beside him, laid out between two barrels. 

“What was that?” a man’s voice barked. 

“Hide,” Animus hissed. Collin and Breven scrambled behind a stack of barrels, holding their breath. Animus shifted into a short man with a bushy mustache and beard. 

A Knight came running down the alleyway, his dark metal armor shimmering. “Sir, you shouldn’t be back here,” he said firmly to Animus. 

“Sorry ‘bout that. Took quite a tumble. My legs just aren’t what they used to be.” Animus chuckled in an elderly voice. 

“Well, be more careful. There’s a criminal on the loose.” the Knight said sternly, walking back out of the alley. 

“The coast is clear,” Animus called playfully, shifting back to their original self. 

“How are we going to get out of the city!?” Collin cried. “This place is probably crawling with Knights by now.”

“I think this is my time to shine,” a voice called from behind. Everyone turned to find a man balancing on a barrel. Collin recognized the black and gold masquerade mask hiding his face. 

“Kace,” Collin gasped. 

“Hello again, Magpie,” Kace returned sweetly. 

“And who might you be?” Breven asked. 

“A magician,” Kace teased. “And I may just have the right trick to get you out of this situation.” Suddenly he vanished and reappeared behind Breven, plucking the map from his pocket. “I can teleport you all a short distance. Far away enough that the Knights won’t be able to find you right away. It looks like there's a valley not far from here, that’s where we’ll go.” Kace explained, examining the map over. 

“Hey now, how do we know we can trust you?” Animus asked, pointing a finger in his face. “You could just end up teleporting us right into the back of a Knight’s carriage.”

Just then a hoard of Knights ran up to the alleyway, yelling. They unsheathed their swords and raised up their shields. The same Knight from before stepped ahead of the others, his arms crossed. 

“I thought something was sketchy about you,” he said. “Men, get ready to charge! Take the culprit and kill the rest!” he barked loudly. 

Kace smirked at Animus.

“I don’t think you have much of a choice,” he whispered.

Animus bit their lip frustratedly, wrinkling their nose. Kace grabbed hold of all of their hands, and in a flash of hot, white light, they had all disappeared from the alleyway.