The sun was just a faint glimmer over Nethas’ western wall when Logan, Elaine, Joshua and Richard walked the streets again. Logan kept them to the alleyways as they snaked toward the west gate. He could see two patrols of five armored women marching in the light.

  There were more than he expected. His hope that their antics the night before would be enough to keep the majority of the knights guarding the Order’s main grounds was ill founded. It would be difficult to leave unnoticed.

  “We don’t have long before they close the gates,” Elaine whispered behind him as they edged closer to the street.

  Though she was no longer wearing the armor of a knight, she still had the bearing of one. Logan had to respect her strength, but Elaine wasn’t going to make escaping easy. He grimaced as he searched the streets again.

  The knights were stopping every young woman in sight. That would be another added difficulty. There were too many to fight, and neither he nor Elaine had bought new weapons. That would leave the two mages to fight, which would just draw more attention.

  “We could fight our way through,” Elaine said. “Not all of them are knights. Many are just with the city guard.”

  “I could scorch the area.” Joshua added.

  “No,” Logan and Richard said at once.

  “We want to avoid pursuit,” Richard said. “Neither of you are ready for another fight.”

  “How do you plan to sneak through there?” Joshua raised his voice. “There are too many of them.”

  “It’s impossible,” Elaine said.

  “Let me do what I do best,” Logan said, reaching down and extracting two stones from the packed dirt. “You all head for the gate once they are away. I’ll lead them south after the bridge.”

  “You cannot seriously expect that to work,” Joshua said. “How do you know that they’ll follow you?”

  ‘This is foolish,’ Talan said. ‘I won’t be able to help you. It is still too soon to use the magic.’

  “Don’t worry,” Logan said, more to calm his own nerves. “I’m betting their pride won’t be able to live it down.”

  “We’ll wait for you down the road,” Richard said. “At the first fork in the road.”

  Motioning the rest back, Logan stepped out into the light. He kept his breathing under control, taking in long deep breaths. He found his target within moments, measuring the distance as he rolled the first stone between his fingers.

  With one quick motion, he threw it. The faint ding of rock hitting metal rewarded him as it struck the back of a knight’s helm. Logan stood still on the spot, waiting as the woman turned to find the source of the attack.

  It wasn’t time to run yet.

  As her helm lined up with him, he let the second stone fly. Again, the faint ding rang out through the air. This time she had to be sure who had thrown it. There was no yell; the woman just looked at him.

  “A bunch of armored goons harassing people,” Logan said, trying to get her angry. “It’s just what I’d expect from the Order.”

  Her gauntlet rose up in response, and the woman removed her helm. It took Logan a moment to recognize the woman’s tan face and short black hair. Suddenly, he realized that his plan might work too well.

  “You,” Elise said, her lips curling into a wicked grin. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  Logan didn’t spare the time to say something. He bolted. His legs surged into motion as he ran toward the west gate. Behind him, he could hear the knights rushing after him. Their metal armor rang out in his ears.

  “Don’t let that man escape!” she yelled.

  In front of him, the gate guards were closing ranks. Logan wanted to slow down. He wanted to change direction. He knew he was running right into a trap. There was only one way through it.

  The crowd still had not cleared. There were still many merchants struggling to get out of the way, pushing together to clear a path for the knights. Logan dodged between them, his ankles burned as he spun left and right.

  Hands reached to grab him from all directions. Logan only felt the air as they rushed by. He smiled. There was no way they would catch him. He pushed past the guards, crossing through the gates and to the other side.

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  The bridge wasn’t nearly as crowded. Logan raced harder down the wooden planks. He could hear the knights behind him, gaining on him. Logan didn’t dare look back, every moment counted now.

  His boots hit dirt hard as he reached the end of the bridge. Already, fire burned in his chest. Logan struggled for some control, rushing south along the steep embankments of the lake. He needed to find the perfect spot for the next part.

  There it was. He could see the tip of the king’s forest, so close to the lake. He turned toward it, chancing a glimpse back at his pursuers. All ten of the women were in pursuit of him with Elise in the lead.

  Logan barreled into the brush. Sharp branches and burs whipped and cut at him, but he continued. He wouldn’t have much time to find a hiding spot. It would be the only way to escape his pursuers.

  “Spread out!” Elise yelled the command; the knights had entered the forest.

  Logan searched frantically, but he could not see what he was looking for. There were no ridges, no uprooted trees. There was not even a creek to dive into. He wanted to yell out his frustration, but he didn’t have the breath or time.

  ‘Wait,’ Talan said.

  “I don’t have time to wait,” Logan said.

  ‘Listen to me!’ Talan’s voice ripped through his head. ‘Go right and run until I say to stop.’

  Logan wanted to argue, but thought better of it. He didn’t have a plan, so it was no different from what he was already doing. He followed her directions, going this way and that through the forest. He only hoped Talan knew what she was doing.

  ‘There,’ Talan said. ‘Place your hand on that trunk.’

  Logan did as she told him, running up to the nearest tree and putting his hand against the trunk. Nothing happened. All he could feel was the hard bark against his skin. He could hear the knights getting closer.

  Before he could say anything about it, the rough touch of the bark faded. His hand went through the trunk easily, and the rest of his body followed. An instant later, Logan was no longer in the forest.

  He fell into darkness and rolled down a set of stairs. Each edge dug into his skin. He held his head tight until he finally came to a stop. The floor was cold to the touch. He took in hurried breaths of the stale air and pushed himself up from it. It was metal.

  He ran his hand along the narrow wall. Even through his gloves, he could feel the smooth surface. The entire place was made of metal then. That would be a rare sight, if he had any light. Stone was easier to build with than metal.

  “Where are we?” he asked Talan.

  “An old cache.” Green fire erupted from the dark, illuminating the corridor. “There are many hidden across Nelim. They only wait for the right touch.”

  “Where does it go?” Logan asked, peering past the light.

  “Let’s find out,” Talan said, starting down the corridor. “Unless you’re afraid.”

  Logan followed her. He could hear every step he took echo down the corridor. He grimaced at the sound. Someone outside of the corridor had to hear those steps. Yet, Talan continued, unafraid.

  Logan could see a single bright light at the end of the corridor. Talan merged into his shadow as they reached it, leaving him to walk ahead. He didn’t need the glow of her flame to see anymore; the white light was overpowering.

  Logan shielded his eyes as he walked into the room. Spots speckled across his eyes until they adjusted. There were no torches or candles lighting it. The very walls gave off the light and he couldn’t smell any smoke.

  There were weapons in metal racks lining the walls. Swords, bows, and staffs each ordered in their place. It was a weapons cache then, something that the sylvestrians would use if they their main defenses fell.

  There was nothing else. No armor rested in the room. There were no shields, axes or maces ready for use. There weren’t even any arrows stowed away. It was odd. If the cache was for retaking Frenal, there should be a greater variety.

  ‘We fought off so many armies and monsters to carve out our kingdom,’ Talan said. ‘In that we learned to always be prepared for attack. This isn’t the only cache in the world.’

  “Are there any with more than just these in them?” Logan asked as he looked through the racks.

  ‘Yes,’ Talan said. ‘The more powerful weapons have defenses.’

  “What kind are those?” Logan asked.

  ‘Weapons that could make the sky tremble with just a thought. There are those that can crack the ground and sunder a city. There are weapons that can even raise the dead as mindless abominations,’ Talan said with disgust. ‘Most of those we decided were too terrible to use. We sealed away what we could not destroy.’

  “That’s not very comforting,” Logan said.

  ‘You cannot control progress,’ Talan said.

  Logan wasn’t sure he could argue. He kept looking through the swords, but they were all nearly identical. Not even the bindings wrapped around the hilts had faded. It was as if they were all just copies of a single sword.

  “Do you mind?” Logan asked as he took hold of a sword’s hilt and drew it from the rack.

  ‘We have no use for them anymore,’ Talan said. ‘They’re just relics now.’

  It was an unremarkable long sword, hardly different from any he had held before. It was lighter than he expected. Neither edge bore any scratch nor nick from battle and no rust nipped at the blade. It looked brand new.

  “It’s very light,” Logan said, taking a few practice swings with the sword.

  ‘None of our weapons are simple,’ Talan said. ‘Though none of these are imbued with magic, you will hardly find an equal on Nelim.’

  He took a second one from the rack, and found two sheaths resting at the bottom. The worn leather cracked in places, but they would do until he found something better. He sheathed both, and slid them into his belt.

  That was two problems solved.

  “Is there only one way out of here?” he asked, pointing down the corridor with the sword.

  ‘Only the corridor,’ Talan said.

  “Well, let’s go see if they’ve gotten past here,” Logan said, starting back down the corridor. “We need to meet up with the others.”

  Once he reached the end of the corridor, he touched the wall at the top of the stairs. It felt completely solid under his hands. In moments, the wall fractured, opening up to reveal the forest outside.

  Logan peered through the exit, looking for any sign of his armored pursuers. They were nowhere in sight. The forest was empty. Logan stepped out cautiously, his hand resting on the hilt of his new sword.

  The familiar crunch of leaves greeted his boots as he reentered the forest. He could hear only the chirping of birds and the buzz of insects now. He waited for a few more moments to make sure, staying completely still.

  Once he was sure, Logan left the safety of the tree. He started to jog north on tired legs, hoping to catch the road as quickly as possible. He hoped that everyone else had made it across the bridge without incident.