Silas dropped through the rusted iron grate, his boots splashing deep into the foul, chemical-choked runoff of the lower drainage tunnels.The air hit them like a wall of wet lead, thick with the stench of boiling sulfur and industrial waste.Kael scrambled down the ladder next, his face twisted in absolute disgust as he pulled his scarf tight across his nose."This is insane," Kael muttered, coughing violently as a billow of green steam rolled past their boots. "We are going to die of lung rot long before Vane’s men find us down here."Seraphelion dropped from the ladder last, his boots hitting the slick stone with a heavy, uncoordinated thud.The Commander stumbled hard against the damp brick wall, his breath coming in shallow, wheezing gasps."Move," Silas ordered, grabbing Seraphelion by the arm and dragging him forward into the gloom. "The junction is fifty paces ahead. Keep your heads down."The water rose to their knees, dragging at their legs like invisible, grasping hands.Ov

The scrap-metal bulletin board outside the lower exchange hissed and sputtered with a fresh burst of static.Kael tore the damp paper down before the chemical ink could smear entirely into the rusted iron."Read it, Kael, or do you need me to spell out the numbers?" Silas hissed, keeping his back pressed against the corrugated wall of the alley."I can read it just fine, Silas," Kael muttered, his fingers trembling as he held the proclamation up to the pale, smog-filtered light. "And you aren't going to like the arithmetic.""Just give us the sum," Seraphelion said, his voice dropping into a harsh, metallic register that rattled the loose bolts in his collar. "My head is already pounding without you two turning it into a marketplace auction.""Three hundred silver crowns," Kael said, his face draining of what little color the industrial fog had left behind. "And absolute immunity from the debtors' tribunal for anyone who brings in the Head of the Commander."Silas let out a harsh, bit

Silas dragged Seraphelion around the final, rusted corner of the narrow alleyway, his boot slipping violently in the thick, foul-smelling grease of the industrial runoff."Move your feet, Commander, or Vane's executioners are going to separate your head from your shoulders right here in the mud," Silas snarled, his voice tight with desperation.Seraphelion stumbled forward, his breath hissing sharply through his teeth as the bio-mechanical Stabilizer strapped beneath his coat flared with a sudden, violent surge of blue light."I can't push any faster," Seraphelion gasped, clutching his ribs as a wave of searing, galvanic agony shot up his spine. "The resonance... it's tearing my nerves apart from the inside out."Kael slammed his back against the towering, damp brick wall of the dead-end alley, his wide eyes scanning the open mouth of the street they had just abandoned."There’s nowhere else to run," Kael shouted over the grinding roar of the city's overhead steam lines. "We are boxed

Seraphelion stepped past Silas, his chest heaving as blue light leaked through the open weave of his coat."I am not handing over anything," Seraphelion rasped, lifting his palm toward the oncoming line of armored enforcers.The heavy bio-mechanical Stabilizer beneath his ribs surged with a deafening shriek of strained metal and compressed steam.A pulse of raw, kinetic resonance tore from Seraphelion’s outstretched hand, slamming directly into the lead enforcer’s chest plate.The brass vocal resonator exploded in a shower of sparks and jagged shrapnel, sending the massive guard crashing backward into the brick wall."Now!" Silas roared, lunging forward with his shortsword aimed at the exposed hydraulic joints of the second enforcer’s knee.Silas drove the blade deep into the ticking mechanism, twisting it violently until a jet of boiling grey fluid hissed into the damp air.The enforcer bellowed in pain, swinging a massive, armored fist that clipped Silas across the jaw and sent him

"If we stay here, we die in this filth, and Vane wins without spending another copper," Silas said, kicking a piece of shattered brass across the slick stones of the alley."And if we walk out into the open streets, we're targets for every bounty hunter with a brass badge and a grudge," Kael hissed, clutching his bleeding forearm tighter as he winced in pain."Which is precisely why we aren't running away anymore," Seraphelion declared, his voice dropping an octave as the blue light beneath his coat flared with sudden, fierce intensity."What does that even mean, Commander?" Kael demanded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he leaned against the damp brick wall for support. "Are you suggesting we take a stroll back into the merchant district?""Not a stroll," Silas corrected, a grim, humorless smile touching the corner of his bruised mouth. "An invitation. We're going to Vane’s counting house.""You've lost your mind," Kael snapped, shaking his head rapidly. "That building is guarded