"We are safe down here," Lysane said, trying to sound hopeful. "You said these tunnels are not on any map. They do not know we are under their feet."Caster pushed himself away from the wall. He forced his tired legs to take another step."We are safe in the dark," Caster agreed. "But these tunnels do not go all the way out of the city. We are heading toward the Old Canal. To cross the canal and reach the Outer Gates, we have to go up to the surface. We have to walk under the open sky for at least one street."Lysane’s grip on his arm tightened. "One street. We can do that. We will run very fast."They continued walking in silence for another twenty minutes. The tunnel began to slope upward. The air smelled a little bit fresher.Finally, they reached a dead end.The tunnel stopped at a heavy, rusted iron ladder bolted to the stone wall. The ladder led straight up to a square iron grate in the ceiling."This is it," Caster whispered. He looked up at the grate. Faint, gray daylight filt

Underneath the thick, blinding cloud of dust, Caster and Lysane were huddled tightly against the fallen stone pillar. The pillar had protected them from the falling house.They were covered in dirt, coughing softly, but they were alive."That was incredibly foolish," Lysane whispered, coughing up dust. "We almost crushed ourselves.""It was the only way," Caster whispered back. "But the dust will clear in a minute. They will find us. I need to make them look the wrong way again. Permanently."Caster looked at the ground. The courtyard was covered in ordinary gray ash from the storm the night before.Caster reached out. He found another broken piece of white marble in the rubble. This piece had a different ancient rune carved into it. It was the "Echo" rune. A rune used by singers to make their voices bounce off walls.Caster bit his thumb again. Another drop of dark, black blood.He smeared his blood onto the Echo rune. He twisted the lines. He changed the geometry. He pushed his mind

The heat was terrible. Above their heads, the capital city was on fire. Commander Thorne and his Twin Moons soldiers had received their new orders. They were no longer searching the ruined houses. They were burning them to the ground.Down in the dark, damp tunnel beneath the Old Canal, Caster Spellbound and Archmage Lysane huddled together. They sat in the mud. The air was thick with gray smoke.CRACK. SNAP.The loud sounds of breaking wood echoed from the street above. A house was collapsing into the fire. The ceiling of the dirt tunnel shook. Small pieces of rocks and dry earth fell onto Caster’s shoulders.He did not brush the dirt away. He just stared at the dark wall across from him.He was completely exhausted. His body felt like it was made of heavy lead. Inside his chest, his magical core was gone. There were only a few tiny, weak red embers left at the very bottom of his soul. He had given up the power of a god. Now, he was just a frail, tired old man sitting in the mud.N

Lysane wiped a tear from her cheek. She knew he was making sense, but it felt like a betrayal to leave him."What about Finn and Elara?" Caster asked gently. "You hid them in the meat cellars. They are just children. They are trapped in a city full of angry soldiers. Who is going to get them out? Who is going to protect them?"Lysane looked down at her hands. The thought of the brave little boy and the scared little girl hiding in the dark made her heart ache. Caster was right. The children needed her."I... I can find them," Lysane whispered. "I can sneak them out through the old smuggling tunnels.""Then do it," Caster said. He gave her a small, sad smile. "Be their protector. Keep the truth alive. Let the world know that Caster Spellbound was just a man who tried to fix his mistakes."Lysane looked up at him. She wiped her nose with her dirty sleeve. "If I go to save the children... what are you going to do? Where will you hide?"Caster stood up.He brushed the mud off his torn, di

"Because of the deep leylines," Lysane explained. Her voice sounded desperate and urgent. "He told me his plan. He has no blue magic left. He is empty. But he believes the old, dead trees in the East hold ancient dark magic. He is going there to gather the ash. He said he is going to build an army of ash monsters in the forest and march them back to destroy what is left of the capital."General Corin’s eyes narrowed. This sounded like a very real, very terrible threat. He had seen the giant ash golems in the city. If the Rogue Vector built a whole army of them in the woods, the Twin Moons would have a massive war on their hands."Why did he not kill you?" Vane asked suddenly. Vane’s eyes were sharp. He was always looking for a trick. "If he is a crazy demon, why are you still breathing?"Lysane looked right into Vane’s cold eyes. She did not blink."Because he wanted me to deliver a message," Lysane said softly. She let a fresh tear roll down her cheek. "He burned my hands to show me