"Shoot him between the eyes before he can finish adjusting that brass monocular!" Captain Briggs screamed, his hand snapping up to fire two quick pistol shots from his position near the stone pillar.The lead bullets tore through the damp steam, flying straight toward General Arthur Vance's head. But before the iron shot could hit, two elite Ironwood Legionaries stepped into the line of fire, their polished chrome shields interlocking with a heavy, metallic slam. The bullets flattened harmlessly against the silver plating, dropping into the dark water on the platform floor."How predictable," General Vance sneered, his silver-handled cane clicking rhythmically against the stone as he took a slow step forward. "Old men clinging to outdated gunpowder weapons while the capital reshapes the laws of nature.""Charge the platform!" Silas shouted, his heavy broadsword clearing his leather sheath as he led Jorgan and six mutineer soldiers into the fray. "Do not let those chrome legionaries lo

"Talk before I carve that smug smile right off your bloodied face!" Marcus snarled, slamming his grand-uncle hard against the damp stone floor of the safe vault.The deep drainage vault was cramped, damp, and lit only by the faint, pulsing glow of the crimson fungi. Dozens of exhausted mutineers and refugees leaned against the cold granite walls, their eyes fixed on the captive imperial general. Above their heads, two miles through solid stone, the heavy brass chimes of the palace bells continued to ring, sending low vibrations through the room."You can hit me all day, boy," General Vance wheezed, wiping a streak of red from his chin with his gloved hand. "It changes nothing. The ticking does not stop.""What does the watch mean, Vance?" Silas demanded, stepping forward with his broadsword drawn, his blind eyes fixed on the captive. "What is the High Council planning at the surface?""It is not a secret anymore, blind man," Vance chuckled, his grey eyes turning to meet Marcus’s glowi

"Drop the executioner before his blade touches my father's neck!" Marcus roared, bursting out from the sewer grate as his left eye erupted with midnight black fire.The heavy iron executioner on the forty-foot scaffold was already raising a massive, two handed cleaver high above his head. Below him, chained to the brass links of the iron ritual mirror, Marcus's father hung limply, his clothes torn and his grey hair matted with dried blood."Now! Detonate the eastern charges!" Captain Briggs shouted, pulling himself up onto the cobblestones near the plaza fountain.A deafening explosion rocked the eastern edge of the grand plaza. The blasting charges Thomas had packed in the sewers detonated simultaneously under the guard barricades, sending a shower of shattered granite and iron plates into the cold morning air."Squad one, advance!" Jorgan screamed, leading twenty mutineers through the smoke with their repeating rifles barked in rapid succession. "Keep your fire concentrated on the s

"Hold on to the iron frame or the earth will swallow us whole!" Marcus screamed, his dark eye flashing purple as he threw his arm around his father's chest.The cobblestones beneath the central plaza did not just crack; the entire earth gave way with a sound like a mountain snapping in half. The center of the capital city collapsed downward, dropping a three hundred foot section of stone, barricades, and iron scaffolds straight into a vast subterranean chasm."Marcus, jump!" Lyra yelled, her fingers digging into the edge of a stable stone ledge as the iron scaffold slid into the dark abyss.Marcus leaped across the widening gap, holding his father tightly against his side. They crashed hard onto the sloped granite ledge just as the rest of the execution scaffold vanished into the deep pit, shattering against the jagged rocks below.A blinding column of raw, unrefined energy from the Wilds erupted out from the center of the chasm. The geyser of dark green and purple light roared into t

"Catch those ropes before we smash into the ironwood trees below!" Marcus screamed, his voice echoing through the smoke as he threw a thick shadow tether up toward the lower deck of a falling royal airship.The plunge down into the three hundred foot chasm had been stopped at the very last second. Lyra had grabbed Marcus's collar, and together they had managed to swing themselves onto a lower stone ledge where Captain Briggs and Jorgan were already securing a line.Right above their heads, parked along the northern landing docks of the capital, four massive royal cargo airships were straining against their heavy mooring ropes. The crew of royal guards on board were in complete panic, abandoning their posts as the ground beneath the docks began to crack and sink into the expanding pit."Those airships are our only ticket out of this burning trap!" Captain Briggs shouted, using his crutch to balance himself on the rocky ledge as he pointed his pistol toward the sky. "Board the flagship