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“It’s a sport to them. A game of which of them is the strongest, it seems. They appear quite fanatical in who they have become.”
“So you are Kassemyr’s gift to them. The blood they have to prove themselves to get. And in doing so, they don’t grow tired and restless in the city.”
“Just so.”
Nadia nodded. It was dreary news. The Wraiths had been reduced to food instead of being killed outright. If any of them survived up here for long, it wouldn’t be for years. It was too harsh an environment. It was a death sentence either way.
A bright geyser sprouted from the ground fifty meters to their left, a crack sounding at the explosion. Nadia and Harm whirled around, more alarmed than the others.
“Put on your mask,” Corrine told her, voice raised.
The sound of a Wraith yelling caught her attention at once and she did as told without thinking. Breathing came easier again, and she noticed the other Wraiths watching her. More bursts from the ground erupted, and flakes of ashes floated down around them.
“Do you feel all right?” Terys asked her.
Harmiston stepped closer. “Why shouldn’t she?”
“We don’t know what that is,” Terys said, “but it has some silver qualities. It harms the half-breed weres among us.”
“It does?” Harmiston’s eyebrows went up, and he turned to watch the eruptions from the ground.
“We should step back some,” Corrine said, and they all did. All except Harmiston.
“You mean there’s silver causing that effect?”
“I don’t know, Chronicler,” the Shield answered him. “All I know is that when it starts, it continues like when it first hits the air. It carries on exploding.”
Harmiston looked back at Nadia, but she couldn’t decipher whatever his mind was processing now. What she could understand was the Wraiths’ reaction when he faced the eruptions again and raised his hands. Something black flew from them, shimmering and pulsating. It hovered above the ground at the height of his shoulders and simply floated into the nearest geyser of what looked like water and silver bursting from the ground.
“What is this?” Terys asked, sounding impressively neutral despite the shock he had to be sharing with the other Wraiths.
The black-colored magic turned into a small cube and floated back. Something shimmered inside it, something silvery. Nadia realized Harmiston had taken a sample of whatever this unstable matter was. And if he did, he saw potential here. She smiled behind her mask.
“He’s not quite unchanged,” she told Terys, and turned with a nod in the direction they’d been walking. “Should we move on?” she asked and saw them all lower their weapons, before Harmiston turned back, unaware of the threat. He seemed engrossed in the cube, which he now held in his hands. His lack of fear made it clear the dangerous substance was contained.
“You’re a mage now?” Terys asked when they began walking again.
“Never really was,” Harmiston said.
“You should—”
“I should be in the Spellbound Halls yes, I know.” He waved that off as inconsequential. “But now we’re here. Let’s focus on that.”
“I see many roles have changed.” Terys gave Nadia’s outfit a pointed glance.
“Seems we all have purposes to fulfill,Blade.”
He nodded and led the way back to the camp. They passed hidden and obvious groups of guards, but about half an hour later, Nadia laid eyes on the ones she’d been tasked with finding—Shields, Shadows, Specters, and Bolts. Many more of them alive than dead. They were worn down and exposed, with no roof over their heads, spread out on a flat relatively pebble-free area, but they were alive. And living Wraiths could tip scales.
Chapter 10
Murmured voices reached Nadia from the kitchen, where she lay comfortably in bed. She stared up at the ceiling and saw nothing special there but felt the few hours of rest had done her good. The scent of soap was strong on both her and Harmiston, who slept soundly next to her, one arm slung over her, his chin resting atop her head. He was warm and relaxed and she was thankful they hadn’t had to stay for long on the surface like the Wraiths had.
After gathering everyone in the camp, Terys had wasted no time, and they’d made their way back toward the main gate and the entrance to the air well she and Harmiston had come through. The descent had been long and arduous and warmer than the ascent with so many people breathing the same air. They had persevered, though, and made their way down to the city, avoiding any encounters with more hybrids. The last Shadows to leave the surface had reported four of them coming through the main gate, likely to search for the ones who had not come back. They would find them dead but hopefully not catch on to the mass escape of Wraiths down to the city.
Nadia stretched and gave a contented sigh. The Wraiths had gone to Stonewater Mansion to join the Bolts already there. The last Nadia had seen of the place was rooms overrun with dark-clad people and Victoria’s mixed grimace of joy and confusion at how to house them all. But they would figure it out. The Wraiths weren’t ones to complain, and they didn’t need much space, at least for a while yet.
Nadia herself had not stayed. She wasn’t supposed to. Instead, she’d returned to the Ghosts with Harmiston. The upside had been that the shower was available. She could only imagine the queue at Stonewater. It was likely still going. But a shower and sleep in a proper bed had done wonders for her tired body. She glanced at the bedside table and smiled a little. The empty packs that had contained their sandwiches lay there. She and Harmiston had wolfed them down before falling promptly asleep a few hours ago.
