Soon after the battle ended, Yuze insisted the group travel further east. Mags assumed they were heading to some sacred tomb hidden in one of the ravines. Nothing else made sense, for only the Rift could be seen in that direction. Surprisingly, Marek made no objections. He volunteered to retrieve their horses, and then the party trotted across the hardpan in silence.

  Bringing them to the brink of the black storm that composed the Rift, Yuze dismounted and sighed heavily. Briefly, he slipped into one of his tormented mindsets. Whispering so quietly she couldn’t hear, the monk eventually shook his head and growled in anger, “I must! There’s no choice, damn you!”

  Then, younger and more naive in spirit, Yuze tugged at the hem of Mags’ tunic. Sheepishly, he handed her a delicately braided silver bracelet. “We can’t leave, can’t go home. We were broken too. Nothing’s been the same since our friend Serin died.”

  Marek spurred Ember closer, his gaze intent on Yuze, absorbing every word.

  Another shift overtook the man. Her Kiyashi emerged, eyes sharpening. “My soul was broken in the creation of the Rift. I’ll never see my homeland again, so you must take this, Marigold. With it, we may communicate while you’re away.”

  She felt Marek’s eyes on her as she replied, “I’ll do what you command. But Kiyashi, how can any of us leave? What are you talking about?”

  “The Death Mage will return with Casteran might and more of the undead behind him.”

  “Her,” Marek cut in. “The Death Mage is a woman.”

  Yuze’s brows rose in surprise. “Truly? That’s never happened before. Rare for a woman to be drawn into one of the inverted classes. It’s no matter in the end. Marek is not ready to face that creature, regardless her sex. And you must grow as well, Marigold.” Nodding to the swirling wall of darkness, he said, “I alone can command the Rift, though only partially. I will create a way where there is none, and you and Marek will escape to the Unbound Realm.”

  “I can’t leave,” Marek said. “What of Mirrin? I’m just supposed to give up on him? Let my uncle die?”

  “I promise to see to your uncle. There’s more than one way of healing a sickness,” Yuze said before holding up a finger. “And I know the way stone is gone, but there are other ways of traveling swiftly. I am the Wandering Sage, after all.”

  Marek still didn’t seem convinced. “But it’s my duty to stay and defeat the Death Mage! Serin’s daemon told me in the Crucible that I am supposed to save the world. How can I do it if I leave? Are you certain, Yuze?”

  “The world is not limited to the Coherent Realm, Marek,” Yuze replied sharply. “You must save its sister half as well. Both are bound by the same fate. To save one is to save the other.”

  Stepping closer to the inky black sea, Yuze addressed them both. “It was written in fate long ago. Serin and I formed a contract. He sacrificed his life and ascended while I lingered behind and parted with a fragment of my soul. We did so in the hopes that one day we’d both pass on our power to those better suited to heal this terrible scar. The demons cannot forever be bound by the Rift’s magic. It’s been deteriorating for centuries, and you must be the ones to finish our legacy.”

  Mags exchanged an anxious look with Marek, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he too feared Yuze’s madness. “Kiyashi,” she said calmly, “forgive me, but I don’t understand. You want us to go to some other place, and what? Figure out how to get rid of the demons? How to fight them?”

  “Your quest is simple and nearly impossible. You must travel to the Temple of Hailan in the Iron Hills of Hong Shan Province. There, should they still exist, you will find the Cultivators that preceded our path. The Mountain of Iron and Stone and the Winds of Wandering Sects share the temple and have protected it for ages.” Yuze’s face sagged, the heavy burden of time suddenly dragging him down. “They were the ones that guarded the scroll my brother took, the scroll he used to summon the lords of the underworld. He wanted more than anything to win the war between the realms. His ambition led him to darkness.”

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  Turning to the Rift, Yuze shook his upheld arms. “His ambition led to this. I betrayed my brother, my Sect, and my homeland when I joined with Serin. Yet in so doing we saved everyone. Our combined might created the Rift. It acts as a separation, but its greater purpose is containment. Countless demons call the Rift their home. And if the world is to survive, you and Marek must find the scroll, seal the door that has been opened to the underworld, and banish the Rift along with all who dwell there.”

  Yuze’s shoulders lifted and fell. Then, before anyone could stop him, he reached out a hand and touched the darkness. A tunnel burrowed into the sea of shadow. It ran deep into the black fog, and soon after, an exit appeared a few miles away. A pinprick of daylight shone at the end of the passage.

  Cinnabar’s hide twitched beneath her thighs. The horse undoubtedly felt the same unremitting dread Mags did. This was a terrible place, and though Yuze had carved out a path for them, none in the party seemed ready to tread it. “Kiyashi,” she protested, “this is madness! We should stay and train and prepare for war with Casteras. I’ll be damned if I’m going in there!”

  “You must! It won’t hold for long, and I cannot open the way again. Tell her, Marek! You spoke with him, did you not? Tell her what the Principality said!”

  Mags turned to the tall mage sitting atop his dark horse. Marek’s heavy sigh spoke volumes. “I did. When I bound the staff, I had a vision of Serin Kaiteras. We only spoke a little, but he told me to trust Yuze. He said I had to ‘heed the wanderer’s guidance’ before disappearing. I didn’t think it was literal, but here we are. Mags, I want to stay as much as you, but I don’t think we have a choice. As awful as that tunnel looks, my intuition is telling me we must.”

  She clenched her jaw so tightly she imagined her teeth might shatter. Closing her eyes, she grasped the Second Principle and nodded her head. “Fine, you and I will go on this blasted quest. This stupid bracelet better work, though, Yuze, or I swear I’ll kick your ass when we get back!”

  The monk cackled and tilted his head. “Kiyashi!” he corrected. “The enchantment will work even through the Rift’s distortion. You can reach out to me at any time. Submerge yourself in meditation while wearing the bracelet and call to me. I will answer.” His smile was as warm and kind as the morning sun. “You’re my Dai’shu,” he went on. “My flame, my spark. I’ve passed my power on to you, and as you grow, so too will I diminish. This gift can only be given once, Marigold. I promise I will not abandon you.”

  “If we’re going, we should do it now,” Marek said, eyeing the tunnel.

  Yuze smiled sadly. “Just so. On with it, you two. Be quick, and do not touch the shadows of the Rift!”

  “Hold on!” Ashurai said, scowling like an angry bear. “I’m going as well.”

  Mags locked eyes with the warrior, overcome with gratitude and worry. “Ash, no. Marek and I have to do this. No point in dragging you into the shit as well.”

  He spurred his horse until it brushed against Cinnabar. “I will go, Mistress Strongtower. Someone on this fool’s journey needs to have a head on their shoulders.”

  Yuze gasped and thrust a finger in the sky. “Aha! I thought it just a silly song, but I suppose the bards were right. The Hero, Monk, and Mage will ride beyond the sage. To conquer untamed lands, riding into fate’s cruel hands. I think Ashurai is correct. He will join you, for three is stronger than two.”

  Mags blew out an exasperated sigh. Her teacher had given her a command—a mad one that baffled the mind, yet she’d see it through nonetheless. “Fine,” she snapped. “But you’re not allowed to die!”

  In a rare display of emotion, Ashurai smiled broadly, his face softening as he did so. “Then it’s settled! To the Unbound Realm we go!” Spurring his horse, the Basari plunged headlong into the tunnel.

  Marek blinked in surprise and then bowed to Yuze before urging Ember Shade to follow.

  Left alone with her Kiyashi, Mags wanted to scream, to cry, to jump down and hug the old bastard at least one last time. “I… Thank you,” she said at last. “For everything.”

  Yuze bowed deeply at the waist. “Good luck and be brave, Dai’shu. You bear my spark. Stoke it to a bright flame, Marigold. And don’t come back until you’ve done as I commanded.”

  Her eyes burned, but she refused to cry at their parting. That would make this a goodbye, and she wasn’t ready for that. She bowed in return and promised, “It will be done, Kiyashi. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

  She kicked Cinnabar’s flanks, and they plunged into shadow. Her skin prickled as soon as they entered the tunnel. Everything went dark, and the sound of her mount’s hooves was swallowed by the mist.

  “You’ve got this, Cinny,” she said, hunching over the horse’s back and placing both hands on her shoulders. Mags held the beast as it galloped behind Marek and Ashurai. She could scarcely make them out far ahead, and the pinprick of daylight grew larger and larger.

  A heavy dread touched her heart. Mags felt the weight of two realms on her shoulders, and it was crushing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of light. She turned her head to search the darkness, and in its depths she beheld the face of a man. The shadows swirled around him, and two great wings held him aloft. Eyes darker than night stared at her, delivering more than a simple threat.

  I will consume you, they seemed to say. And when I’m finished, I’ll devour the entire world.

  Mags spurred Cinnabar again, shouting at the mare to hurry, unable to endure a second longer of that harsh and terrible gaze.