They climbed for what felt like hours.

  Finally, the foul, stagnant smell of the deeper tunnels gave way to something closer to dust and stone. The walls here were older, patched and reinforced in places, but less claimed by gangs and creatures alike.

  Jade no longer searched the walls for markings. Instead, she followed subtler cues that Kaelen could not deduce.

  “Up,” she said at one fork, without hesitation. Kaelen did not argue. He let her lead.

  They passed through a narrow maintenance shaft where old iron rungs had been bolted into the wall. Jade climbed first, quick and agile. Kaelen followed with less enthusiasm. At the top, they found a wooden hatch swollen with age. Jade pressed her ear against it and waited.

  Nothing.

  She shoved. The hatch creaked open just enough for a blade of gray light to spill into the shaft. They emerged behind a crumbling warehouse near the city’s outer wall.

  “Clear,” Jade whispered, though Kaelen could sense that on his own. There were no guards. None that Kaelen could sense. Their only witness was the wind and distant crowd noise.

  He climbed out after her, straightening slowly. It was early morning. They’ve spent the entire night travelling through tunnels. Behind them, the city loomed as an endless mass of walls, towers, and layered lights. Ahead stretched open land, broken only by the pale ribbon of the road. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

  Jade rolled her shoulders and exhaled hard. “That’s it, then. We out.”

  “Yes,” Kaelen said. “It would appear so.”

  “Shame. I almost got accustomed to the smell.”

  Kaelen stepped fully into the open and looked back at the city. Velengard loomed behind them, brick and smoke and ambition stacked on top of old bones. For a moment, he said nothing.

  “You’ve made good on your promise.” From Kaelen’s mouth, it was as high a praise as he’d ever given to anyone.

  “Aye. Yer turn now.” Jade extended her hand with half a dozen dimmed spheres. Some of them were a tad larger than the rest, but it took no time at all for Kaelen to infuse all of them.

  “I’m not familiar with the exchange rate, but I’m assuming I just made you a whole deal richer than you were,” Kaelen told her. “What are you going to do once you’re back in the city?”

  The girl looked at him with a puzzled look. “Back? There ain’t nothin’ holding me here in New Velengard. I’m done with this gang business for now.‘Sides, I always wanted to go to the capital.”

  “The capital?” Kaelen made sure to never mention he was going to Silvervale. Could Jade have deduced that on her own?

  “Aye, why not? The gangs are bigger there. Might be I could find some place for me. But if not, there’s always somethin’ to do in Silvervale.”

  “I,” Kaelen stammered. He pondered whether he should say it at all or keep quiet, but decided to rip the bandage off. “I’m going there as well.”

  The girl barely reacted to that. “Oh. Shoulda figured.”

  “Since we’re going the same way, it might be that our journey doesn’t have to end outside this city.” He could compel Jade by force, if need be, or fear. Greed seemed to be a great motivator, too, but Kaelen believed it was always better if his subjects felt needed. “You are a capable thief. There are certain… things that even I could learn from you.”

  Jade thought for a moment and stuck out her tongue. “Not a chance. Ya bring bad fortune, bud.”

  This wasn’t a reaction Kaelen expected, so he fell silent.

  “Ah, wipe that gloomy face, wouldja?” the girl laughed. “What was the thing ya said ‘bout loyalty? It’s all a fairy tale, innit?”

  “Using my own words against me? Can’t say whether I should feel insulted or proud.”

  Jade shrugged. “Relax. I’ll be a good citizen and at least show ya where ya can hitch a ride.”

  They walked along the city walls until Jade pointed out the Southern Gate. That’s where the noise from before was coming from. Kaelen could see crowds of people and strange-looking carts, both departing or arriving. The guards were checking documents and cargo of all arrivals.

  “There,” Jade pointed at carriages. “Ya can ask ‘round and get a nice enough fare. With yer talents at infusin’ spheres, ya shan’t have much trouble.”

  “And mingle with the commoners? I think not.”

  “Yer not royalty to be this picky. It was who was almost made the queen, mind you.” Jade laughed.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Kaelen ignored her and looked into the distance.

  There were other ways for him to cover that distance. In the worst case scenario, he would have to run on his own two legs. His endurance would have probably allowed him to run for at least the quarter of the way, but what then? Spend the night in the woods?

  It wasn’t the beasts that scared Kaelen, it was the lack of comfort. But after she rebuked him, he didn’t want to ask her for help.

  He considered summoning something, but the thought barely finished forming before he discarded it. Too likely to attract the wrong sort of attention. For now, anonymity mattered to him more than speed.

  Jade stood to the side, with her arms crossed. She had kept her distance since they’d emerged from the contraband route, wrinkling her nose at the open air as if it were no improvement over the sewers.

  “So,” she said. “What’s it gonna be, my magic man?”

  Kaelen drummed his fingers. “Now I decide how to reach the capital.”

  “On foot?” she asked skeptically. “That’s a long walk.”

  “I am aware.”

  “You do you, but I like my feet blisters-free,” she shrugged.

  Kaelen was about to speak when a shadow fell across the ground beside him.

  “Are you two looking for a passageway to Silvervale?”

  Kaelen turned slowly. The woman addressing him looked to be in her thirties, give or take a few years, and a full head shorter than him. She wore practical travel clothes, dusted boots, and a scarf pulled loose around her neck. Her expression was open and curious.

  “Why do you believe I want to get to Silvervale?” he asked, his face a stone mask.

  Was she an investigator of some sorts? Maybe their little venture through the sewers hadn’t gone unnoticed. Kaelen couldn’t be certain of anything.

  The woman smiled. “Because you’re standing on the westbound road, staring into the distance. Was I wrong?”

  Kaelen said nothing.

  “Our cart’s headed that way,” she continued. “We’ve got an empty spot. Figured I’d ask.”

  He glanced past her. The cart was just a few paces away. Two men walked beside it, one older, one younger. A child sat atop a crate under the canvas, swinging her legs.

  Kaelen studied her face and sensed no guile there. Before he could answer, Jade stepped forward to take a look.

  “Aww, and who’s this cutie?” The woman bent down to wave at Jade. “Is this your sister?”

  Jade recoiled from the lady’s attempt to pinch her cheek. “Gods forbid, woman!”

  “A daughter, then! But I can scarcely believe that. You look so young,” the woman said, turning to Kaelen.

  Jade stepped back, already retreating toward the treeline. “I ain’t no one’s daughter! In fact, I was just on my way.” She took a few steps away from Kaelen and the woman, then visibly hesitated and walked back.

  “Y’know what? Before I go, ya should tell the entire story. Ya owe me that much.”

  Kaelen raised an eyebrow. “What story?”

  “The king in the labyrinth,” Jade enunciated every word like he was slow. “So, did he do it? Did he find his lover and child?”

  Kaelen gave her a cold look. “No. Of course not. The king never surfaced, and neither did his lover nor anyone else. Did you think real life was some fairy tale?”

  The girl clearly expected a different kind of ending. She made a sound and turned around. Kaelen watched her go with an unreadable expression. Before she disappeared completely, she turned one last time, waved at Kaelen and yelled, “See ya never, screwball!”

  The woman cleared her throat. “I take it she won’t be joining us.”

  “No,” Kaelen said. “She will not.”

  “Pity. She looks sharp.”

  , Kaelen agreed. The sudden admission surprised even him.

  He turned back to the road, weighing the woman’s offer. Traveling by cart would be slower than running, but it would attract less attention. It would allow him to observe, listen, learn how people spoke of the world beyond the city. Besides, he had this book he barely opened.

  “I will agree to your proposal, but only on one condition,” Kaelen warned the woman. “I value my time and do not want to be disturbed as I read my book.”

  “Of course,” the woman agreed. “And what book is this, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Sevenfold Oath.”

  “I see. Not the most engaging read, but I suppose Master Graham’s work is by far the most detailed.”

  She might have been right in this regard, but in all honesty, that made no difference to Kaelen. He never read to entertain himself or bid time, only to learn valuable information. Compared to the numerous spell tomes he had stolen and devoured over the centuries, Master Graham’s treatise might as well have been a children’s coloring book.

  “How much is the fare?” Kaelen asked the woman, changing the subject.

  “Oh, that won’t be necessary!” she protested. “We’ve got an empty spot, is all. With New Velengard on the lockdown, we’re just happy we could help another soul to safely get to the capital.”

  Kaelen winced at the mention of Doomgard’s new name, then at the woman’s insistence that he be let on for free. The Dark Lord was not some beggar.

  “I do not require charity,” Kaelen said coldly and produced a bright sphere.

  , he smiled internally.

  Then again, it was he who infused the sphere with his own energy, so by all rights it was his.

  “You are very honest,” the woman bowed and took the sphere. “I will not shame you with further objections. May I know your name?”

  Kaelen hesitated. Giving her his real name was out of the question. From what little he learned about this day and age, his name was what mothers used to scare their children into obedience. But damnation, why didn’t he think of something earlier? The thief girl never asked for his name, so he didn’t bother to invent a pseudonym.

  Not willing to make this prolonged silence any more suspicious, he blurted out the first thing that came to him. “Kael,” he said with a grimace and then repeated, more for his own sake than anyone else’s. “Kael is my name.”

  It was not a lie, just an omission. Kaelen only hoped that was enough to dupe this mortal.

  “Nice to meet you, Kael!” the woman bowed again, oblivious to the Dark Lord’s momentary hesitation. “I am Maris. Now please, come after me. I see Old Joff is signalling it’s time to go.”

  There was, indeed, an old man driving a cart who was waving at Maris. Kaelen looked over the cart, which was a modest little thing, and immediately regretted agreeing to this.

  The woman gestured toward the cart. “Hop on, then. We’re making decent time.”

  It’s only now that Kaelen noticed something peculiar. “Where are your horses? This cart has no steeds.”

  The woman looked at him with a puzzled look. “Why would we, silly? It’s crystal-driven.”

  “Crystal?” Kaelen was about to ask a dozen additional questions, but the journey through the sewers proved to be a series of one long distraction after another. He had barely made the first step towards his goal.

  Kaelen climbed aboard and took the empty seat near the back, facing the road ahead. The cart creaked into motion, wheels turning.

  As the city disappeared fully from view, Kaelen let his gaze settle on the horizon ahead.