Yeah, well, burnt eyebrows are about as good as it gets. Ferris hugged himself, shivering. And now I’m gonna die because Miss Goody-Two-Shoes went all hero on us.Don’t call me that. She wouldn’t meet his eyes just stared out at the floating islands, looking miserable. I knew what I was supposed to do. I screwed up. This is what happens.Oh, come on, spare me the martyr routine. Ferris laughed, but it sounded forced. We’re not dying for some noble cause. We’re dying because a bunch of suits couldn’t file the right paperwork.She clammed up after that. The silence just stretched. Sun hung low, a gold coin rolling toward the Sky-Spire.There’s gotta be some way out, Ferris muttered.No one gets off the Brink. Magic’s solid here.Nothing here is solid. He glanced around at the empty platform. Nothing but the drop. He felt a truly terrible idea forming. Okay, new plan.There’s no plan.The cuffs stop you using magic, right? But not just… being connected?She finally looked at him, suspici

Boom’s workshop looked more like a tornado had blown through than any kind of doctor’s office. Ferris sat wobbling on a rickety stool, watching her rummage through jars stuffed with who knows what. Lyria just stood by the door, arms folded, trying her best to keep all the chaos at bay like that was even possible.“Alright, stuff to make it work!” Boom announced, holding up a jar full of swirling purple smoke. “I’ve got bottled-up regret, a splash of a broken promise, and… let’s see, some lazy vibes from a bard who flunked out.” She shook another jar. Inside, a sluggish gray slug barely twitched.“We are not using a slug,” Lyria deadpanned.“It’s not a slug, it’s an idea!” Boom snapped, like she’d just been insulted. “Fine. Regret it is. More mellow anyway.” She popped open the purple jar. Suddenly, the whole place reeked of old roses and missed chances. Ferris felt a weird pang for a dog he’d never even owned.“Now, the thingy!” Boom darted over to a table and came back with this smal

Clang.It wasn’t that loud, but it was sharp in the tight vent. He froze.Down below, one cook looked up from chopping carrots, frowning at the ceiling. He listened. The dish machine kept clanging. He shrugged and went back to work.Ferris waited. Then tapped again. And again. He wasn’t trying to break it quickly, but to weaken the rusty joint bit by bit.Sweat dripped into his eyes. Lyria was staring at him intensely. Her hunger was a constant, painful ache.On the seventh tap, the screw gave way with a soft crack. The corner of the grate drooped.They both felt a surge of hope.He moved to the next screw. Tap. Tap. Tap.The second screw broke faster. The grate was now hanging by two corners.Below, a cook moved the stew pot off the table and took it to the sink. The bread and cheese were out in the open, unguarded.Tap. Tap CRACK.The third screw snapped. The grate swung down, hanging by only one corner, leaving a small opening to squeeze through. It was a twelve-foot drop to the fl

Turns out, The Gilded Lock was just a plain, gray block in a part of town that reeked of incense and desperation. The place was so boring, it was basically invisible. Plus, anyone messing with it had a habit of disappearing into Spireland’s endless holes.Ferris and Lyria watched from a storm drain, having followed the sewer to a pipe at the edge of town. Just like they figured, they looked like drowned rats, glowing a bit from sewer fungus. Lyria’s armor squeaked, and Ferris couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering.“Okay, plan,” Lyria whispered, eyeing the reinforced door. A guard in a thick jacket leaned against it, picking his teeth. Looked bored stiff.“Right. Plan.” Ferris’s brain, usually a mess of dumb ideas, had frozen over. “I’ll… distract the guard.”“How?”“I’ll chat him up.”“You’ll chat him up.”“I’m a people person! Underneath all this panic, I’m super friendly.” He tried to fix his wet hair, but it stuck up like spikes. “You, meanwhile, use your… knight skills… to go ar

The ledger you kicked. In Finn’s vault. I pasted a one-way link to the glue. A little test. Goes off when it finds feels like stress and magic nearby.You have a lot of that now. Glad you are not dead.They were talking to a librarian from somewhere else. In a bar. While cops are out looking for them.Now shut up, Mavis continued, all business. Finn’s Quiet Study is a bubble inside the Vault of Echoes. It's nice, but the tea is bad. I’m on the inside to learn the Vault’s memory security.I think I have a trick to untying a soul-bind that should not blow you up.Hope, mixed with worry, crossed their minds.Then, Mavis went on, you must do three things. One, get to the Vault. Two, find a loud noise deal, it makes sad sounds and is with that deaf snob in Cloud-Silk. Three…She paused. The fizzing was much worse.You must be sure if you want to do this. We have to take off the mind guards. To let your brain bond blow up. You need to see what they are like. Not just a look, but to feel ever