Standing in the middle of a barren, rocky valley was a massive fortress. It was the Arcane Weapon Bureau. It was even uglier than Fort Ironcliff. The fortress was made entirely of rough, jagged black iron. It looked like a giant, spiked crown sitting on the earth. Massive metal chimneys poured thick, sick red smoke into the clear blue sky. The air around the building hummed with a terrible, heavy vibration. This was Elias Thorpe’s headquarters. This was the factory where he built the red energy weapons. This was where he brought the harvested souls. And, according to the secret files Caster had read, this was where Inquisitor Graves had arranged to meet Thorpe. This was where Graves had taken Sikoa. Caster gripped his wooden stick tightly. He ignored the burning pain in his broken ribs. He walked up the long, rocky path toward the massive black iron gates of the fortress. Usually, the gates would be guarded by a hundred elite shock troopers. But today, the heavy iron gates were s

Caster could not blow the gate open with his golden magic. If he used the golden light, Elias Thorpe would sense the divine power instantly. Thorpe would know Caster was in the building. Caster needed the element of surprise. He had to stay hidden. "I have to use my hands," Caster whispered to himself. He pulled the hood of his red coat lower over his face. He made his shoulders slump. He tried to look like a tired, defeated engineer returning from a long day. He stepped around the corner. He walked slowly toward the checkpoint. His wooden stick hit the metal floor. The three heavily armed guards immediately raised their rifles. They pointed the glowing red barrels directly at Caster’s chest. "Halt!" the lead guard shouted. His voice was muffled by his thick iron helmet. "The fortress is on lockdown! Nobody moves without orders from Director Thorpe!"Caster did not speak. He kept his head down. He raised his shaking hand and held out the small metal identity badge. The guards ke

If Caster used his golden magic to blast the door open, the explosion would be massive. It would alert the entire fortress. It would also drain the last bit of life he had in his heart. "I cannot blast it open with magic," Caster whispered to himself. He stepped back. He looked at the massive, heavy iron hinges on the right side of the door. The hinges were the size of a man’s head. They held the incredible weight of the door in place. Caster reached into his deep pocket. He had lost his blue magic. He had hidden his golden magic. But he still had his brilliant mind, and he still had his dirty pockets. When Caster had survived the mob in the Gilded Rose, he had grabbed a few things from his broken alchemy table. He pulled his hand out of his pocket. He held three small, sharp, dark gray stones. They looked like ordinary rocks. But they were not. They were explosive alchemical shards. He had made them

The tubes ran straight up from her body, connecting directly to the massive, spinning Core Array above her head. Caster stared at the tubes in horror. The machine was not pumping liquid into her. It was sucking something out of her. But it was not sucking her red blood. It was sucking her magic. Inside the clear tubes, a faint, dark, smoky gray light was flowing upward. "They are draining your mana," Caster whispered. His hands shook as he reached out to touch her cold cheek. "Sikoa. Wake up. Please."Sikoa slowly opened her one good eye. Her dark eye was cloudy and tired. But when she saw Caster’s face, a tiny, weak spark of her old, fierce bravery returned. "You stupid... old man," Sikoa whispered. Her voice was incredibly raspy. Her throat was totally dry. "I told you... to stay away.""I do not leave my friends behind," Caster said softly. He grabbed the sharp steel dag

"Come down here, Elias!" Caster roared. His voice was a booming, heavy command that shook the glass cylinders in the spinning machine. "Come down here and face me! Stop hiding behind trapped souls and stolen magic!"Thorpe did not look angry. He looked incredibly amused.  "You think I am hiding?" Thorpe asked. He shook his head slowly. "I am not hiding, Caster. I am waiting."Thorpe raised his hand. He pressed a large red button on the metal railing of the catwalk. A massive, deafening sound erupted behind Caster. Caster spun around. The large doorway that Caster had used to enter the laboratory, the doorway where he had blown the heavy vault doors off their hinges, was suddenly blocked. Three massive, solid slabs of thick black lead dropped from the ceiling. They slammed into the metal floor with an earth-shaking crash. The lead doors sealed the exit perfectly. There were no keyholes. There wer