We were out of sight but could still see them.

“What are you doing?” I demanded as I yanked my hand free from his grip.

He didn’t answer, just kept looking ahead at them.

One of the uniformed men alighted from his horse and opened the door to the carriage. Out stepped a man, middle-aged, wearing a clergy’s robe and hat, and holding a sceptre in one hand.

“Is he supposed to be some kind of priest?” I mumbled, more to myself, but Kael heard.

“He is the High Priest,” he answered, then more menacingly added, “What the hell is he doing here?”

The High Priest turned and helped someone else out of the carriage. It was a veiled woman, dressed in a gown of white lace that trailed behind her. It looked more bridal than clerical.

“And that’s supposed to be what, a high priestess?”

“That is the Saintess,” he answered in a low voice, almost a growl.

They have great costume designers at this place. I mused.

Then we both watched in silence as the Saintess raised her hands toward the sky. They glowed with a gold light, and suddenly golden sparks began floating down from the sky. She kept repeating a chant, words that I couldn’t understand. And the crowd answered her in unison.

Neat special effects. But who is this for?

I strained my eyes looking for a familiar face in the crowd, someone from the office, who was the cause of such a performance. Or someone who clearly looked like they didn't belong, but they all wore the same look on their faces. They were all mesmerized.

The sparks fell onto the crowd, and a silence spread throughout the town. They all smiled as the gold lights touched them.

Curious, I extended my left arm out to a falling speck, expecting it to pop like a bubble would. Instead, I was stung violently. I pulled my arm away immediately, but the action attracted more of them. Soon, were swarmed by them.

“What the hell are these things made of?” I managed to choke through the pain. It was searing now, traveling up the length of my left arm and burning its way to my heart. My vision blurred and my knees buckled.

Kael threw his cloak over us as he pressed me against the wall. I watched as he too grimaced when they fell on the exposed skin of his hands.

“They’re burning you too?” He asked, shocked.

“Not just burning, it feels like I am having a heart attack.” I gripped my chest as I glanced through the small gap in the cloak at the crowd. No one else seemed to be experiencing the same thing we were.

Eyes closed, arms extended out, and heads thrown back. They seemed to be in bliss.

“You’re rejecting the blessing.” Kael’s face was now inches from mine, as he studied me. His eyes glowed like pale fire. I had to look away; it felt too intimate.

“Sammy.”

“What did you just say?” I tried to focus on Kael’s face as everything else seemed to be spinning now. I clutched at my left arm, which felt like it was on fire.

“I said that you’re rejecting the blessing.” He answered through gritted teeth.

“Sammy, come with me,” the voice came again, but it wasn’t Kael; it sounded like a boy. But there wasn’t anyone else with us.

My knees gave out, and I was falling, but Kael reached out before my knees cracked on the hard ground beneath us. I felt his right arm hold me at my waist, and his hand cupped my face.

The sparks had stopped falling.