Reaping the Aurora E-Book

Joshua Palmatier

• Herausgeber: Zombies Need Brains, LLC
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Ley
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 838

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

ENTER A WORLD POWERED BY LEY LINES! Wielder Kara Tremain and former Dog Allan Garrett have seized control of the new Nexus created at the distant temple known as the Needle, the stronghold of the White Cloaks. Kara intends to use the Needle's Nexus to heal the major distortions that threaten to shake their entire world apart. But the Needle is no safe haven.Father Dalton's followers have begun to rebel, starting riots and creating unrest. The tensions escalate beyond control when Father Dalton declares he's had a vision in which the Needle is attacked from the north by dogs and from the south by snakes; a vision that ends with the quickening of the distortions called the Three Sisters to the north...and the annihilation of reality itself!

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Other Novels by Joshua Palmatier:

REAPING

Copyright © 2017 by Joshua Palmatier

Dedication

Acknowledgments

PART I:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

PART II:

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

About the Author

REAPING

THE AURORA

Other Novels by Joshua Palmatier:

The “Ley” Series:

Shattering the Ley

Threading the Needle

Reaping the Aurora

The “Well” Series:

Well of Sorrows

Leaves of Flame

Breath of Heaven

The “Throne of Amenkor” Series:

The Skewed Throne

The Cracked Throne

The Vacant Throne

The “Crystal Cities” Series:

Crystal Lattice (coming Summer 2024)

Crystal Rebel (coming Summer 2024)

Crystal War (coming Summer 2024)

REAPING

THE AURORA

A Fantasy Novel by

Joshua Palmatier

Zombies Need Brains LLC

www.zombiesneedbrains.com

Copyright © 2017 by Joshua Palmatier

All Rights Reserved

Interior Design (ebook): ZNB Design

Interior Design (print): ZNB Design

Cover Design by ZNB Design

Cover Art “Reaping the Aurora”

by Stephan Martinière

ZNB Book Collectors #33

All characters and events in this book are fictitious.

All resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions of this book, and do not participate or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted material.

First Printing, DAW Books Edition, August 2017

First Printing, Zombies Need Brains Edition, January 2024

Print ISBN-13: 978-1940709642

Ebook ISBN-13: 978-1940709659

Printed in the U.S.A.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my agent, Joshua Bilmes, who took me on mid-series.May all of our hopes and dreams for my career come true.

Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible without the trust and faith of my editor, Sheila Gilbert, and my agent, Joshua Bilmes.Thankthemforworkingoutthedetailsandmaking it possible.

I must also thank everyone who believed in the series and bought the first two books.Without you readers, the story wouldn’t have any true life. I hope this third novel lived up to your expectations.

And of course, there were tons of people behind the sceneswhohelpedbringthebookabout,including everyoneatDAWBooks,who made the book better;my partner andfamily,whodidn’tkillmewhenIcomplainedorstruggledduringthewritingprocess;and mybetareaders,who gave me invaluable feedback, such as “This sucks” and “That was cool.” Without all of them, the book wouldn’t be this good.

Now, to prepare for the next project! (I heard that groan.)

PARTI:

Tumbor

Chapter One

“Kara was right.Erenthrallhascompletelychanged.” Allan didn’t react to Bryce’s words. They were standing on the edge of a cliff looking down onto thecitythey’doncecalledhome,althoughthemajorityof that city had sunk a thousand feet into the plains.

Allancould pick out pieces he recognized:the shattered stubs of the towers of Grass in the center of the city, the districts that surrounded them, including Hedge where he’d lived with Moira and Morrell,and the glittering waters of the rivers threading through the destruction. If he shaded his eyes,he could see the twin waterfalls cascading down intothe new depression,hazed by distance.After that,the rivers had mostly returned to their natural beds below,although he didn’t know what paths they were following once theyconvergedandreachedthissideofthecity.Based on the lack of water flowing through the river’s original bed south of here, he’d guess it had found an outlet underground. Or through the depths of the massive cracks that riddled the plains in all directions from where Erenthrall had once sat.

But he wasn’t here to determine what had happened to the river.

“What do you see?” he asked, cutting across the low conversationsthathadbrokenoutbehindhim. Hefacedthe restof the scouting party sent by Kara,Marcus,and Commander Ty from the Needle.There were twenty of them, including Bryce, the Wolf pack leader Grant, three of Grant’sWolves,nine fighters—a mixture of Bryce’s Dogs from the Hollow and Ty’s enforcers, although they all worethe enforcer uniforms now—the Wielder Dylan, and four of the common folk from the Needle led by Gaven.They’d brought four wagons with them.They were arrayed on a streetthathadonceledstraighttowardtheheartofthecity, theremainsofcollapsedbuildingsofoneoftheoutermost districts surrounding them.

“I see a giant pit in the earth where Erenthrall used to be,” Grant growled. He stood a few paces behind Allan, armscrossedoverhisbroadchest,hishalf-alteredwolfish face twisted into a frown.His nostrils flared as he scented the air,one ear twitching.“This was caused by the ley?”

“According to Kara,yes,”Dylan said.“The instability of the ley caused the quakes.Then, when the distortion over Erenthrallbegantocollapse,itdestroyedasignificantsection of the earth.You can see it.” He climbed down from his seatonthewagonnexttoGavenandsteppedforward,limpingonlyslightlyfromthekneeinjuryhe’dreceivedduring hislast visit to Erenthrall.A few of those scattered around the broken lip moved forward as well. “See the ring that surroundsthecity,wherethebuildingsandstreetsappearto bechurnedup?That’swheretheedgeofthedistortionwas. It shredded everything in its path as it closed. The entire centralpartofthecitywouldhavebeennothingbutrubble, like that ring,if Kara hadn’t managed to heal the distortion.”

“That doesn’t explain why the city sank a thousand feet below the level of the plains,”Bryce pointed out.

“Kara said there were massive caverns underneath the city.The land was stable until the quakes,and then it was weakenedfurtherwhen the distortion began to close.After that, it was only a matter of time before the caverns collapsed, taking the city with them.”

“I’dsaythecitysurvivedthecollapseratherwell,”Gaven added.

“There’sbeenadditionaldamage—fromthequakesand thecollapse.”Allangesturedwith one hand.“It looks like thesouthern part of the city suffered the worst.I don’t see manybuildings left intact there.And the western sections hadalreadybeendecimatedbythefiresimmediatelyafter the Shattering. But the northern and eastern districts appear to have been mostly unaffected.”

Bryceswore.

“What?” one of the enforcers asked. “What does that mean?”

“Itmeansthatthere’sagoodchancethattheRats,Tunnelers, and Temerites survived the collapse largely unscathed.They may still be out there, although I don’t see any obvious movement from here.”

“We wouldn’t,” Allan said. “The towers in Grass are blockingourviewof those districts.And they’d be too distant, regardless. Even the towers are hazy from here.”

“Idon’tevenseemovementintheneareststreetsbelow.” Allan dragged his gaze from the far towers of Grass to thedistrictsbeneaththem.Hesteppedforward,achunkof stone cobble at the jagged road’s edge dislodged by the movement,plummeting toward the city below.It was like looking down onto an eerily detailed map,the streets laid out in a grid, the blocks in between filled with debris.A fewmostlyintactbuildingsremained—atenementhereand there with a façade missing, a stone arch over a street, a toppledstatueinaparkorstonefountaininthecenterofa plaza.Thesunwasalmostdirectlyoverhead,sotherewere few shadows. Iftherehadbeensomeoneoutintheopen, close by,they would have seen them.

But that meant little.There were still plenty of places insideofbuildingsforthesurvivorsofErenthrall’ssecond cataclysm to remain hidden.

“Idon’t trust it,”Allan said.“Not after what happened the last time we came to Erenthrall. I want everyone on alert. We’re here to figure out who’s survived and what shape they’re in, nothing more. If we can avoid meeting anyone, that would be best.”

“Who lived in this section before the distortion’s collapse?” Gaven asked.

“TheGorrani.”

Nearlyeveryonestilled.Ithadonlybeenamonthsince the Gorrani who had lived near Tumbor had attacked the Needle and been nearly wiped out by PrimeWielder Lecrucius’ white wall of ley. Four thousand had died almost instantly,onlya thousand escaping.They had retreated to the south, toward the Gorrani homeland, but it was possible that those who remained in Erenthrall knew. If so, they wouldn’t welcome anyone who wasn’t Gorrani,especially those from the Needle.

Bryce stepped up to Allan’s side.“We have a more pressing issue than the Gorrani.”

“What’s that?”

The former Dog motioned toward where the roadway they’d been following through the outskirts of Erenthrall brokeoffa few feet from where they stood.“How in hells are we going to get down there?”

* * *

It took them the rest of the day to backtrack far enough throughwhatlittleremainedofErenthrallontopofthecliff to one of the cracks in the earth that was wide enough and withashallowenoughgradetoaccommodatethewagons. They camped at the edge of the crack,on the open plains, whileGrantsenthisWolvesdownintothedepthstoscout out a safe path for the wagons. Once they descended into thedepths,theywouldn’tbeabletoseewhethertheywere headed toward Erenthrall or traveling toward a dead end.

The next day, an hour after sunrise, they slid into the shadows, the walls of the crevasse rising up on either side as Gaven heighed the horses carefully over the rough scree. Allancouldn’tsuppressachillacrosshisshouldersasthey descended,shadowsengulfingthem,withonlyathinband of blue sky overhead that narrowed the farther they went. Torches were lit and passed along the length of the small caravan, the Wolvesleadingthemforward, bypassinglarger chasmsand offshoots in the maze of cracked earth.Without them,Allanwould have been lost within an hour.Occasionally, clumps of dirt and dust cascaded down from above, showeringthemwithgrit, theearthstillsettlingevenafter amonth.At one point,they hit a section where the side wall of the chasm had collapsed and they were forced to wait while the Wolves found another way around it.

By the time the crevasse widened and they finally emerged onto a rough slope of rock and earth that ended on a street filled with debris from the collapsed buildings on either side,Allan’s skin was prickling with apprehension broughtonbythesuffocating, confinedspace. Hebreathed in deeply as he stepped out into the open and rolled his shoulders free of the tension he’d felt escalating all day.The sun hovered above the western lip of the sunken city,still hours from true sunset but casting a long shadow across Erenthrall’s remains. Over half of the city was cloaked in an earlydusk,onlythejaggedtopsofthetowersinGrassand theeasternmostcliffsanddistrictsstilllitbysunlight.The edge of the crevasse was high enough they could see out overtherooftopsofthenearestbuildings,whichweretwo or three stories high at most in this district.

ThefirstthingAllannoticedwas—

“Fire!”Dylan barked,then winced as his voice carried outoverthenearestbuildingsandechoedinthechasmbehind them.Bryce glared at him,along with at least five of the other Dogs and enforcers as they emerged from the chasm.

“So much for remaining cautious,”someone muttered. Allanignoredthecomment. “Itlookslikesignalfires, clustered in an area to the northwest of Grass.It could be theTemerites,it’s hard to tell.Too distant for us to worry about now. I don’t see anything closer.”

“The Wolves report no one in the immediate area,” Grant said.

“Then we should set up camp here for the night. Bryce, see if any of these buildings are safe enough for us to shelter in. Find one easy to defend, if you can. Gaven—”

“I know the routine,” the older member of the Hollow grumbled, already reaching behind him into the stash of supplies they’d brought with them.“Are we going to need a fire,or will we have access to the ley?”

Dylan closed his eyes, brow creased in concentration, asthe rest of those with them broke into action. Bryce was already ordering the enforcers and Dogs out into the surrounding area.Those there to help Gaven were digging intothe supplies as well, even before Dylan opened his eyes and answered.

“Like Kara predicted, now that the nodes that were lockedwithin Erenthrall are open,the ley in the immediate area has mostly stabilized. I can tap into it and create a heating stone without any trouble.”

“Then there’s no threat of a quake or any ley geysers?” Allan asked.

Dylan shrugged. “The system isn’t completely stable. A fewofthenodesweredestroyedbythecollapseofthedistortion,butI don’t think we’ll have any quakes.Kara managed to secure most of the ley lines in the city from the Needlebeforewe left.Anything we feel will be minor adjustments made by the lines themselves locally. It’s the distortionoverTumborwe’llhavetoworryabout.Anyshifts in the ley there may be felt here as aftershocks.”

“So it’s uncertainty as usual,” Gaven grumbled under his breath as he walked past Allan.Then, louder:“Dylan, get down here. I’m going to want that heating stone.”

Theex-Dogsparedonelastglancetowardtheclusterof fires to the north before descending to the rubble-strewn street.Thequakes had lessened since Kara had healed the distortion over Erenthrall and restored some of the ley lines,compensating for the sinking of the city,which had lowerednearlyall the nodes.He didn’t understand how the ley structure worked, but Kara had obviously repaired a significant section of it.There was concern about the distortion over Tumbor, much larger than the one that had encompassedErenthrall,butsheandtheotherWieldersat the Needlewerealreadyconsideringhowtohealthatone. Once they freedTumbor using the new Nexus they’d created at the Needle, they could repair the distortions over the rest of the major cities that hadn’t yet quickened and then bring the entire system back into some semblance of order.

But that was the Wielders’ problem. Allan was more concerned with the dangers presented by the various groups whothreatenedtheNeedleand,toalesserextent,theHollow. Most of those groups resided here in Erenthrall—or theyhadbeforethecityhadsunkintotheplains.Butthere were still the Gorrani and the group at Haven who had attackedthe Hollow a few months before.BaronAurek,the Haven’s leader, had been killed at the Needle, but his second-in-command, Devin, was still unaccounted for. Allan wanted to find out who now controlled Erenthrall and whether they were a danger to the Needle, and also what had happened to Haven, if possible.

He halted in the center of the street and scanned the activity, Bryce’s men calling out to one another as they picked their way through the buildings, their attention mostly on the tallest—a three-story apartment building with only minimal damage along one wall and one corner of the roof collapsed. Gaven was already setting up a fire pit before it,Dylan concentrating on the flat stone he’d placed inits center,one hand splayed over its surface.A spit was beingerected,others breaking into their food stock,pots in hand.The Wolves were pacing restlessly around Grant, who stood to one side, observing everything with his usual intensity. Since the Gorrani attack on the walls of the Needle, Allan had grown used to the pack leader’s brooding presence. He spoke little, yet noted everything.

Allanheadedtowardhim,satisfiedeveryonewasbusy. He raised a hand and called out,“Bryce!” motioning the Dog toward him for a small conference.

TheWolveseyedthembothwarilyastheyapproached their pack leader, one of them settling down by Grant’s side.The others continued pacing behind him.

“Report.”

“It looks like that three-story building will serve our purposes for now,” Bryce said. “The enforcers are searching it, lookingforanysignsofrecenttenants. I’vesettheDogsup on patrol, about a block out from here.They’re checking the surrounding buildings just in case.”

Grant rumbled, an impatient sound coming from deep inhis chest.“What do you need from the Wolves?”

“I know you’re here to find and recruit anyWolves remaininginthecity,”Allan said,“and to find your wife,but I’m concerned about the Gorrani who held these southern districts.We haven’t seen any sign of them since we arrived. I’d like to know where they’ve hidden themselves.”

“Iftheysurvivedthequakes,”Bryceadded.

“Icansearchthesouthernpartofthecitywithmypack tonight.We’ll look for our brethren and the Gorrani.We can cover more area without the rest of you slowing us down.” Grant hesitated, then added,“You haven’t forgotten the Wolves still trapped in the shard Kara mentioned?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten.We’re going to see if Dylan can free theWolves and the people still trapped there as soon as we know that the area is safe.”

“Thenwe’llbebackbeforesunrise.”

Grant spun on his heel,emitting a low growl,the three Wolves halting and listening intently before loping out aheadof him,vanishing into the shadows of the crumbling city without a sound. Allan and Bryce watched Grant’s back until he turned a corner.

“Do you think he’ll find any other Wolves?” Bryce asked. “Yes. Weknowthereweresometrappedinthedistortion— those who were following Hagger, for one. And I’m certainthe auroral lightshave transformed otherssince the Shattering.”

“I’msurprisedhedidn’thaveMorrellchangehimback tobeingfullyhumanassoonasshearrivedattheNeedle.” Allan tensed. He still wasn’t comfortable with the idea thathisdaughtercouldhealotherssimplybytouching them.Watching her change Drayden fromWolf form back to human had been disturbing,but he’d been able to ignore it by focusing on rescuing Kara and the others from the Needle.Morrellhadonlybeen attheNeedleforafewdays beforeKaraapproachedhimaboutreturningtoErenthrall with this group, providing him with another distraction.

“He’llhavebetterluckconvincinganyWolveshefinds to join him if he’s partially transformed,” he said curtly, then facedBryce and changed the subject.“What did Kara tell you before we left?”

“Thatwewereto scout out Erenthrall,determine the lay of the land, and return. If we ran across any food or supplies,bring them with us,but that wasn’t the main goal.”

“That’s the gist of it. But there’s something more. Besides rescuing that family from the shard that was left behind, and seeing what groups have survived and how they’ve changed withoutthe distortion blocking the center of the city,we’re alsosupposedtoseeifwecanfindsomeallies.”

“Allies?Here?Everyonehaseithertriedtokillusorhas traded us away for food.”

“Not everyone.The Temerites left our scavenging parties alone.”

“That’s because we stayed clear of their enclave when we were here.You know they clashed with the Rats and some of the other groups to the east.”

“Kara’s got it in her head that we should be trying to work with the groups here in Erenthrall, rather than fight with them over the resources released from the distortion. BeforewelefttheNeedle,shetoldmetotrytocontactthe Temeritestoseeifthey’dbeinterestedinsometypeofarrangement.”

“Whatkindofarrangement?”

“Mutual trade between the Needle and Erenthrall. Helpestablishingamoresolidpresencehereinthecity.A coalition against the less desirable groups here, like the Rats.”Allan shrugged.“Whatever I can work out.”

“And you think that’s possible?”

Allan didn’t want to admit that he’d given Kara the idea whilethey’dbeencapturedbytheTunnelers,sohesimply raisedhiseyebrows. “Whynot?Asyousaid,westeered clearoftheTemeriteswhenwewerehere before.Now that we have the resources of the Needle, maybe we can use them to regain some control of the chaos here.”

Bryce broke into mumbled curses, then planted his hands onhis hips in resignation.The tension inAllan’s shoulders relaxedslightly;hehadn’tlookedforwardtoarguingwith Bryce if he’d taken exception to the idea. “How are you going to approach the Temerites? Just walk up to their wall—if they still have one—and knock on their door?”

“Ifnecessary.But if another opportunity arises,I’ll take it. I wanted you to know, so that the Dogs and enforcers would be prepared.” He began to walk toward where Gaven andtheotherswerenowstirringthecontentsofapotresting on the heating stone, two hares rotating on the spit to one side. Bryce hung back a moment, then followed.The scentofroastingmeatstruckandAllan’snostrilsflaredas heinvoluntarilysuckedinadeepbreath.He pickeduphis pace,even though he knew the meal wasn’t ready yet.

Brycecaughtuptohimandasked,“What’stheplanfor tomorrow,then?”

“Unless Grant reports something unusual after his excursion tonight, we’ll cut across Erenthrall, through some of the districts that were trapped in the distortion,and try to free those Wolves and that family from the shard. After that…we’ll see.”

* * *

“Whatdidyoufind?”

Grant had barely emerged from the gray shadows of dawn,butAllanhadbeenwatchingfor him.The large man huffedas he stalked forward,his furred face creased with a scowl of worry.Allan’s eyebrows rose when fiveWolves emergedfromthedarknessbehindhim.“Twomoreofour brethren.There were others, but they fled like prey.” His lip curled in disdain.“We will find them.”

“What about the Gorrani?”

“We hunted their old territory,but they were not there. Theirscentisstrongin thatarea,though,andinthe partof theoldcitythatusedtobetrappedinthedistortionnearby.” His gaze shifted toward where the rest of the camp had begun to rouse, Gaven already cooking by the heating stone, Bryce’smendonningswordsastheyate.“Arewemoving?”

“Anyideawhere the Gorrani went?”Allan countered.

Grantreturnedhisattentiontotheex-Dog.“Tothecliffs to the south.We could see their fires.”

“Willtheybeaproblem?”

“Not if we skirt their territory.They are foraging, like rabbits.”

“Then, yes, we’re moving.” Allan spun back to the camp, giving Bryce a signal, the Dog calling out orders.The activity in the camp picked up,everyone scarfing down what they could, while Gaven scrambled to collect everything and load the wagons.

“We aren’t staying here?”Grant asked.

“Idon’tknowifwe’llbeabletomakeitback,so we’re taking everything with us. I don’t trust Erenthrall anymore.” Within twenty minutes,they left the three-story building behind, dawn’s light pulling the ruins of Erenthrall from the shadows.Grant’sWolvesvanished,althoughtheirpack leaderstayedwithAllan.Brycesentoutscouts.They headedstraighttowardwhereKarahaddescribedtheshard she’dleft behind,even though it would take them through part of the released section of the city.

They reached the churned-up edge of the circle where thedistortionhadbeenbynoonwithoutencounteringanyone. The demarcation between the earthquake-cracked roadway and the utter destruction caused by the distortion’s collapse was dramatic.The road simply cut off,the ground inside the collapse splintered and broken, granite sliced into random blocks and thrown into a haphazard pile.Therubblehadbeendraggedtowardthecenterofthe distortion—towardGrass—churnedintoaheapahundred feet wide before Kara had managed to heal the distortion fromwithin.Gaven groaned when he saw the pile of stone, but a quick glance to either side revealed that there would be no going around it.The residue of debris arced off in eitherdirection,nearlyuniforminheight.The only option was to climb over.

Theyclearedtheworstoftheshatteredstone,creatinga narrowpathforthehorsesandwagons,thencontinuedonward, losinganhouroftime. Butoncethey’dpassedinside thering,spiritsimproved.ThispartofErenthrallhadbeen caughtinsidethedistortionandhadn’tbeenaffectedbythe quakes.Buildings were more intact,the damage caused by the Shattering. Bryce sent out his enforcers to scour the closest buildings as they moved,most reporting back that manyofthehomesandbusinesseshadn’tbeenlootedyet. Then they crossed a threshold and the tenor of the buildingschanged.Allanthoughtatfirstthatthey’dpassedinto anewdistrict,thestoneofthecobblesandthesurrounding buildings suddenly ancient,his skin prickling with age.He drewinadeepbreathofunease, theairtaintedwithdust and decay,the scent thickening.

“What happened here?”Bryce asked,drifting closer to Allan as they progressed.

They passed a reddish-brown building, the stone façade sliceddiagonallyacrosstwofloors.Thestonebelowtheslice was a vibrant color,that above faded as if bleached by sunlight.

Allan grunted in sudden understanding. “This section was in one of the shards where time ran faster.The bleached stone feels older because it is.”

Bryce shuddered and unconsciously picked up his pace. They slipped from the decaying stone into a new section.

A few hours later, they neared an area where all the buildings were shrouded in a fine layer of spider’s silk. The enforcers clustered about the wagons as they slid past,the horses snorting and stamping their feet, eyes wide in fear. Holes penetrated the layered silk, boring through doorways and windows into darkness. Staring into those depths,Allan’sskincrawled,hispalmssuddenlyclammy. Something deep in the darkness shifted with the scrape of skittering feet, and a section of the webbing trembled, although Allan saw nothing.

Beside him, Grant bared his teeth and growled, the soundalowand dangerous rumble in his chest.“Don’t go any closer,”he said,his voice quiet.“It’s watching us.”

They edged beyond, Allan not relaxing until they’d turned a corner and the eerie tenements were left behind. “What was it?”

“MenweretransformedintomorethanWolvesafterthe Shattering.”

They never entered Grass, passing by the truncated towers a few districts away.But dusk began to fall before they were near the ring of destruction on the far side of Erenthrall. Allan ordered a halt, and they camped in the gardensofwhatwasoncealord’smanse,behinditswalls. Onceagain,theycouldseefirelighttothenortheast,closer now. To the south, fires lined the walls of the cliffs that surroundedthecity,AllanmarkingtheGorrani’slocation. Overnight, howls broke the quiet, Grant and the other Wolves perking up,the two newest members pacing near the wrought iron gates of the wall and whining.Ley light also punctuated the darkness, some sections near Grass glowing with a low steady pulse, others throughout the city sputtering fitfully. Most were mere pinpricks, like stars.

“Wedidn’tseeanyofthoseleylightslastnight,”Allan commented.

Dylan pointed toward the steady section.“Those were likely blocked from view by Grass.”

“They’renear where theTemerites were camped before the distortion was healed.”

“TheTemeritesmight haveWielders.They could have stabilized the ley once the nodes were freed.They might be actively using the ley again.”

“What about the other lights?”

“LeylinesthatwereleftopenattheShatteringarenow active again because their connections to the inner nodes havebeenrestored.Theleyrunswhereitcan.Ifleyglobes wereattachedtoitsflowandlefton,they’dlightupagain, assumingtheysurvivedthesurge.Theywon’tbeglowingas stronglynowbecausetheNexusisn’ttheretoaugmentthe strength of the ley.”

Allan thought about all the lights that had once lit the city,recallingthewebofleylineshe’dseenfromthehills overayearbefore, howthecityhadglowedinthedarkness of the plains with a strange brilliant beauty.

The glow of ley he saw now was nothing compared to that.

The next morning,they followed the edge of the river, crossing it eventually on a cracked but still standing stone bridge.The waters flowed dark beneath them.

Then they climbed the distortion’s ring of debris and enteredtheterritory near whereAllan,Kara,and their previous group had run into theTunnelers and the Rats.Bryce steppedforward,takingthelead,andAllanlethim,knowing the Dog knew how to handle his men. With Dylan’s help, they angled toward where the shard containing the trapped Wolves and the family they had been chasing stood, moving slowly, everyone on edge. But they saw no one and heard nothing.

Theyenteredthesquarewheretheshardglowedwitha faint orange-pink light, even beneath the sunlight. Bryce barked out orders, and the enforcers spread out around the square as Allan, Grant, Dylan, and the wagons pulled up alongside the shard. Stepping up to its edge, Allan could see the cart trapped inside, the man who drove it tensed in grim determination, the horses lathered with sweat, eyes wide in terror. Another man, a woman, and two children cowered in the cart behind him, three Wolves houndingthecartfrombehind,caughtinmid-snarl.When they’dbeen here last,Kara,Dylan,Artras,and Carter had healed the shards that surrounded this section.But they’d been unable to free the people trapped here, because it would also free the Wolves.

And because this shard was really composed of multiple pieces,someofwhichsliced through the woman,the small boy she clutched to her chest, the driver’s legs, and the horses.

“Can you release them?”Allan asked as he felt Dylan halt beside him.

The Wielder sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll have to heal the breaks inside the shard first; otherwise, it will cut those poor people in half. Then I’ll release the shard. Which means the Wolves will be freed at the same time.”

From behind, Grant said,“I’ll handle the Wolves.” He whistled,thesoundsharp,andallfiveWolveslopedoutof the shadows of the surrounding buildings,trotting toward them.Allan hadn’t even realized they were that close.

GrantturnedbacktoAllan.“Telluswhenyou’reready.” Allan signaled Bryce, the enforcers drawing in closer aroundtheshard,Gavenandhiscrewsteppingdownfrom the wagons as well. Bryce’s men focused their attention outward,while Gaven and theWolves focused on the trapped people andWolves.

“Wheneveryou’reready,Dylan.”

TheWielderlicked his lips,then closed his eyes.Allan stepped back, keeping his distance. He knew he could affect the ley in odd ways and didn’t want anything to interfere withthereleaseoftheshard.Buthetensed,readytocharge forward as soon as the shard released.

Nothing happened at first, until Allan noticed that the fracturesinsidethe shard were slowly fading.The face that cut through the people and the horses dissolved, sinking back on itself,toward a focal point to the right of the cart. SweatbrokeoutonDylan’sforeheadasheworked,adroplet trickling down to drip from his nose.He raised a trembling hand—

And then the entire shard collapsed.Screams,snarls,and the desperate shouts from the driver slammed into the silent square as the cart leaped forward.The Wolves in pursuit lurched forward as with a splintering crack one of the cart’swheelsfaltered.Thecart sagged sideways,spilling the woman and the boy she clutched to the cobbles,her scream cut off.The man in the bed clutched at the headboard with one arm, roaring in defiance as he snatched for the girl and missed.Shetumbledoutabreathafterhermotherasthe bed’scornerstruckstoneandjerkedsideways.Thehorses screamed as they fought the suddenly cumbersome weight,theentire rear axle cracking,the second wheel spinning off to the side.

Allandartedforward,headingtowardthegirl.Outofthe corner of his eye,he saw Gaven and the others doing the same. They’dknownthey’donlyhavesecondsbeforetheWolves wouldbeonthem,evenbeforethewheelgavein.

Even those few seconds wouldn’t have been enough if it hadn’t been for Grant and his own Wolves.

Before Allan had made it halfway to the girl, a blur of gray fur sped before him and launched itself at the snarling Wolvesin pursuit.Eyes fixed on the girl,Allan heard two heavy bodies slam into each other, a vicious snarl cut off with a sharp,startled yip,which instantly devolved into a mess of thrashing growls.He snatched the girl—no more than six—from the street, dragging her to his chest in a protective huddle, then shouted “I’ve got her!” before sprinting across the space toward where some of Bryce’s enforcers waited on the far side.As soon as he passed their line,he spun, breath heaving.

Behind, Bryce was dragging the woman and her son, younger than the girl, back from the edge of a snarling massof Wolf teeth and claws. Grant’s pack had attacked the threeWolvesthathadbeeninpursuitofthecartandblood now slicked the cobbles.Grant had stayed back,although hesteppedforwardas soon as Bryce,the woman and child, and the rest of their men retreated from the fray.

A low growl churned up from his chest,building in intensityuntilitcrackedandbrokeintoashouted,“Enough!” Grant’s pack broke free of the fight,twisting and rolling outoftheirattackers’reach,pullingbackinaroughcircle. Some of them were bloody,bites and claw marks on their sides. Oneofthemlimpedslightly.Allofthemhadteeth baredandweregrowling.

ThethreeWolves left rolled into defensive stances,fur bristledacross shoulders,lips drawn back.Their feral eyes glared at their fellowWolves before latching onto Grant. Oneofthem stepped forward,head lowered,body bracing for a leap.

Grant barked out a command, mostly snarls, and the two Wolves behind their leader flinched.The leader didn’t.

ThegirlinAllan’sarmsbegantostruggle.Heloosened hisholdandshotaglancetowardwherethecarthad headed,glad to see Gaven and a few of the others had the panicked horses under control but were keeping their distance.Thetwomen in their midst looked confused,but he trusted Gaven to handle it and turned back to theWolves. Grant stepped forward,to within arm’s reach of the lead Wolf,andknelt.TheWolf’s growl deepened and one paw stepped forward.

Without warning, Grant’s hand moved forward and cuffed theWolf hard enough to shove him to the side.

Thosewatchinggasped.TheWolf’sheadsnappedback, teeth flashing. But Grant’s hand wasn’t there anymore. The Wolf’s jaws closed on air, and Grant cuffed him again fromthe other side. He yelped this time, rounding on Grant again.Thetwostaredateachother,untiltheWolfleader’s rumbling growl of defiance broke off,and he dropped his head with a plaintive whine and attempted to lick Grant’s hand.

Tension leeched out of the square as Grant stood and gave Allan a curt nod. Allan sighed, then glanced down toward the girl in his arms.

Shelookedup at him with wide-eyed curiosity,her eyes a penetrating green, her hair a silky yellow, like corn tassels. Bloodhadbeadedalongascrapeononecheekwhereshe’d struck the cobbles while falling from the cart, another more seriousscrape along one forearm,but she didn’t appear to notice either one.

“Are you here to save us from the ley?” she asked. Allanstrodetowardthegirl’smother,whostoodnextto Bryce,herface frozen in shock.That transformed as soon as she saw Allan and her daughter.

“Ellie!”

Shestumbledforward,snatchingthegirlfromAllan’s armsandbendingdowntosetboththeboyandgirlonthe ground as she kissed their foreheads and checked them over for injuries.

Bryce had come up behind her.“Looks like we managed that. Now what?”

“Now we regroup and find a place to settle in for the night.”

He glanced warily at theWolves,Grant and the others still surrounding the three new additions, although they weren’t bristling at each other anymore. “We should probablykeepthemseparate,don’tyouthink?Untilweknowif the newest ones are going to follow Grant’s lead?”

“Not a bad idea.”

He raised his fingers to his lips. A piercing whistle and hand wave called Gaven and the two men released from the shard toward them, one of the men crouching down beside what Allan assumed was his wife, hugging her and the two children close as he broke into tears.

The other man—the driver of the cart—stood over them, arms crossed, eyeing Bryce, Gaven, and the rest as they converged back on their own wagons.

Hisgazefinallysettledon Allan, mouthdownturned with unease, tainted with suspicion.“Who are you people?”

“Survivors of the Shattering…and the healing of the distortion.”Allan could tell the words meant little to him. “That man,Gaven,said we were trapped in the distortion.Thatyoufreedus.”

“Yes.Wewouldhavefreedyou sooner,but we couldn’t with the Wolves attacking you. They were caught in the distortion as well.It’s taken us a few months to get back to you.”

“Months.”Themanfidgeteduncertainly,glancing around at the surrounding buildings,the cliffs,the ring of debris caused by the distortion not that far away, broken only by the section where Kara and the others had healed shards before it had started to collapse.“He said we were trapped in the distortion for over a year.”

“Yes.A lot has happened since the distortion quickened.”

“So it would seem.”

The second man finally released his wife,although the woman still held both children close to her side.

“Forgive my brother,” the man said, extending his hand. Allanhesitated,then shook it.“He’s always been untrusting.IwanttothankyouallforsavingusfromtheWolves.” He laughed,the sound shaky,as if he were barely holding on to sanity.“From our perspective,you simply appeared out of thin air. One moment we were alone, running for our lives, the next—there you were!”

“Charles, hush,” the woman said, grabbing his arm to calm him. But she turned to Allan with a thin smile.“We are grateful, whatever has happened.”

Charles’ brother suddenly tensed. He nodded toward one side of the square and said,“You have company.”

BeforeAllan could turn,one of the enforcers cried out in alarm.Bryce’s men formed up around the wagons as a dozenmenemergedfromoneofthestreetsonthefarside of the square, creating a short wall between the buildings to either side. Archers trained arrows on them, but no one fired.Three men passed between the archers’ ranks,steppingout before them,then halted.Allan couldn’t tell who theywereatthisdistance.TheTunnelers?Temerites?Another group?

Thefactthattheyhadn’talreadyattackedtoldhimthey weren’t Rats.

“Get your family to the wagons,”Allan said, not bothering to look back to see if Charles and the rest were complying as he stalked toward where Bryce and the enforcers stood.Grant and hisWolves remained clustered to one side, their attention fixed on the newcomers.

“Thatdidn’t take long,”Bryce said as he approached. “Can you see who they are?”

“Not at this distance.”

“Stayhere.Itlooksliketheywanttotalk.”

Brycesuckedinabreathtoprotest,butAllanwasalready walkingacrossthesquare.HeflickedorderstoGrantwith onehand,thepackleadernoddingonceinacknowledgment. Then he focused on the group ahead.As he drew closer, he relaxed slightly. The lead figure was obviously Temerite, the thin face and neatly trimmed beard a dead giveaway. Most of the others sported the same beards. They were dressed in the armor he’d seen the guards of theTemerite nobleswho’dvisitedErenthrallusing,althoughthenithad gleamed.Nowthepolishhadwornoff,theuniformsobviously blemished from hard use. Pieces had been replaced with whatever could be found at hand. Even the leader’s uniform—slightly more embellished but still practical— showed wear.

Allan halted ten paces away from the leader, acutely aware that at least four of the arrows were trained on him. He and the Temerite eyed each other for a tense moment.Then theTemerite’s eyes flicked toward the rest of Allan’s group in the square.“That was impressive.We’ve been trying to figure out a way to release the family for monthsnow.” Hisattentionreturnedto Allan, hisgaze hardening. “Whatgroupareyouwithandwhatareyou doing here in our district?”

ChapterTwo

Allan hesitated, not letting his gaze waver from that of the Temerite’s. He knew that whatever he saidnextwoulddeterminethe Temerite’sreaction.

But he also knew that theTemerites must have an idea of who they were and where they came from, even if he did sense confusion in the Temerite leader.

He cleared his throat and said carefully,“We’re from the Needle.”

“TheWhiteCloaks,”oneofthebetasbehindtheleader hissed,hishandsnappingup,thearchersbehindhimtensing,pulling back to fire with a creak of straining wood.

Butthe leader shouted,“Halt! Don’t fire!”

Thebetaglaredathisback,butkepthisarmraised.The archers remained ready.

The leader lifted his chin.Allan noted a small scar alonghis cheek, nearly hidden by the cut of his beard. His hair wassalted with gray as well andAllan adjusted his age upward,placing him closer to forty.“You claim you come from the Needle,yet I see noWhite Cloaks with you,although obviously you have a Wielder.”

“There’sbeenachangeinpowerattheNeedle.”

“A change in power,” the Temerite said.“The Father and hisWhiteCloaks are no longer in control?Who succeeded them?”

“Father Dalton still leads the people, but he is only a figurehead. The Wielders—led by Kara Tremain—have seized the node. She’s the one who healed the distortion here and stopped the quakes.She and CommanderTy run the Needle now.”

Thiscausedafewofthearcherstostir.

“He’s lying,” the beta behind him muttered. “No one person could have healed the distortion,let alone stopped the quakes.”

“She didn’t do it alone,”Allan said.“She had the help of the other Wielders. And the node.”

“Whyareyouherethen,inErenthrall,inourterritory?”

“Thelasttimewewerehere,thiswasn’tyourterritory,it was theTunnelers’.What happened to them?”

“You mean the Underearthers? The ley returned to most of the ley lines after the quakes. They were forced above ground. They’ve taken over the University. Those that survived.”

“And the Rats?”

The beta grinned, the expression unpleasant. “We drove them out.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” the leader said.Then, deliberately:“Why are you here?”

Allan sighed.“We came to free the family from the shard andtoseehowErenthrallhaschangedsincethehealingof thedistortion.Wealsocametoseeifwecouldfindanyallies in the city.”

All the Temerites stilled, even the beta. “Allies?” Theleader’svoicewastentative.

Allan spread his arms, palms out. “Why are we fighting? We’ve been watching you since the Shattering.We have the sameenemies,thesamegoals.Webothneedfood and supplies,allofwhichishardertofindwhenwehavetowatch our backs constantly.”Allan switched his attention to the beta.“Myguessisthat youmayhavepushedtheRatsout, but they aren’t gone. They’re still here, somewhere, causing problems.AndthentherearetheGorrani,who’ve retreated tothesoutherncliffs.They’restillforaginginthecity, aren’t they?Stilladanger?Theremustbe other groups as well,to the east, to the north.” He watched the leader carefully, sawthe man shift his weight at mention of the north, confirming Allan’ssuspicionsthatHavenhadn’tbeeneliminatedasa threat. He hid his disappointment, even though he wasn’t surprised, and returned to his original point. “So why should wefight each other?Why not pool our resources and help each other survive?”

TheTemeriteleader’sheadliftedasheconsidered.Behind him, his beta said, “We don’t need them, Captain. We’ve been doing fine without them.”

“That’s not for us to decide,Lieutenant.”

The leader focused his attention on Allan, a muscle nearthe scar twitching.“You’ve shown good intentions by releasingthefamilyfromtheshard.Forthat,Iwillgrantyou an audience with our Matriarch. She will decide whether we will risk an alliance with the Needle. I will escort you to her, alongwithyourmen.ButyourWolves”—hisgazeshifted toward Grant and the pack—“must stay behind.We will notlet them inside our walls.”

“Understood.”

“LieutenantBoskell, ifyouplease.”

The beta slowly lowered his arm,the archers lowering their bows at the same time. He bellowed an order in Temerese and the archers relaxed, stepping to either side as anothergroupofTemeritespouredforthfromthebuildings behind,thesemenbearingswords.Theyspreadoutacross the buildings facing the square andAllan’s group,forming disciplinedranks.Therewereat leastfortyinfantry,along withthearchers.Theymadenothreateningmovestoward Allan’sgroup,but they eyed them and theWolves warily.

The captain stepped forward, right arm extended at shoulderheight,atraditionalTemeritegreetinginplaceof a handshake, where men of equal rank grasped each other’s shoulders.Allan had seen it done at Baronial events, but had never participated.

Aware that Lieutenant Boskell and the captain’s men werewatching—aswellashisowngroup—hereachedout and gripped the captain’s shoulder, the gesture only slightly awkward.

The captain smiled slightly.“Captain Lienta, seconded by Lieutenant Boskell, of the Temerite enclave that remains here in Erenthrall.”

“Allan Garrett.”

Lienta squeezed Allan’s shoulder, then let his hand drop. Allandid the same.“Why don’t you introduce me to your party.”Overhisshoulder,he said,“Lieutenant,send someone to warn the enclave and the Matriarch, then remain here with the unit.”

“Very well,Captain.”

Hemotioned Allanforward, fallingintostepbesidehim as they crossed the square toward Bryce and the others.The Dogwatchedthemapproach,theenforcersbehindtensing in uncertainty,everyone else huddled by the four wagons except for the Wolves near Grant off to one side.

Asthey drew closer,Lienta said quietly,“You have an interesting collection of individuals, Allan Garrett. Wolves, Wielders, enforcers, and Dogs. I look forward to hearing howsucha varied group came about.Assuming our Matriarch doesn’t order your deaths.”

The casualness of the statement sent a shiver through Allan’s shoulders. He didn’t have a chance to respond, though,asBrycestepped forward and asked,“What’s happening?” his voice guarded.

“Bryce, Captain Lienta. He’s going to escort us to the Temerite wall so that we can speak to the Matriarch.”

Lienta had stiffened formally at the introduction and noddedminutely.“We won’t require that you discard any weapons, although we will keep most of you in the outer yard. Only three of you may see the Matriarch.”

Bryceasked,“Areyoucertainyouwanttodothis?”

“It’s what Kara wanted.”

Bryce’s look of annoyance spoke volumes, but he ordered the enforcers and the rest into position around the others. Allan waved Grant closer.

“We’regoingintotheTemerite enclave,but theydon’t want the Wolves inside.”

“Nothingpersonal,” Lientasaid, althoughhisdiscomfort at having the half-transformed man this close was obvious. His gaze never left Grant’s face,his entire body rigid.

Grant’s lips peeled back to expose a few too many teeth. His nostrils flared. “We will hunt in Grass and search forthe Wolves who attacked you before the quickening. We willfindyouafterward, oncethe Temeritesfreeyou. And if they do no”—his eyes flared a feral yellow—“then we will hunt inside the Temerite enclave.”

Thebroad-shoulderedpackleaderturnedaway,uttering a low growl to hisWolves,all of whom loped off into the side streets of the square, vanishing into the falling shadowsof dusk.

Lienta watched them silently,then looked up toward the darkening sky.“We’ll need to hurry if we’re going to reach the walls before nightfall.”

“We’reready,”Brycesaid. “Then follow me.”

They rolled across the square,theTemerites falling into ordered positions around them, cutting them off from a quickescape.As the shadows deepened,night descending, lights flickered on in the city around them—both firelight andleylight.ThemostprominentcamefromtheTemerite walls where they were headed, but there were ley lights overthe old University walls,one globe steady,the others flickering or completely out. Pockets of light dotted the landscape in all directions, few concentrated. Noises erupted from the darkness. Howls broke off to the south, startlingeveryone,andAllan wondered if they came from Grant and his pack, or from others. A short time before they reached the Temerite walls, frenetic ululations came from the northwest, obviously human, although wild and animalistic. At a questioning glance from Allan, Lienta said curtly,“Rats.”

Thentheywereatthewalls, multiplefiresblazingonthe rooftops overhead, the broad thoroughfare in front of the buildings that the Temerites had boarded up to create the main structure of the wall cleared of all debris.Anyone who tried to approach the Temerites would be exposed and withinrangeofthearcherslinedupalongtheroofs’edges. Menshouteddownaquestionastheyapproached,Boskell shouting back, and a moment later the heavy wooden doors thathadbeenbuiltacrossanarrowstreet,connectedtothe buildings on either side, groaned outward.They’d obviously beenpulledfromatradinghouseormercantileandmoved toformthebarricade,thewoodreinforcedwithpiecemeal sheetsof metal.A few of the exposed wood sections were charred,asif someone had tried to burn their way through thedoorsatsomepoint,andonly after that didAllan notice thatthe buildingstheTemerites hadchosenfortheirwalls were all made of stone.

They passed into a courtyard crowded with people, nearly all of them Temerites, although there were a few others mixed in. On one side, a large group was engaged in training,menandwomenbeingdrilledinswordsmanship, some practicing with shields. All were being directed by sharpcommandsfromascoreofTemeritemilitary,inuniformslikethoseLientaandhisunitwore,withthebearing to match.Allan had not known there were that many Temerites of military standing in Erenthrall, but then he hadn’tpaidattentionthatcloselybeforetheShattering.The Temerites had never factored into his goals when he’d come before.

Therestofthosearoundthecourtyardwerebusyworking at more mundane tasks, such as repairing broken harness andcartwheels,patchingclothes,ortanninghides.Across from the makeshift gate, at the opposite side of what had once been one of Erenthrall’s marketplaces, two carts loaded with stone debris trundled down the cross street, headedsouth.Theentire plaza and the street beyond were lit with torches and fires;Allan saw no ley globes or any sign of the ley at all.

“Your carts and the rest of your group can wait there,” Lientasaid,motioningtowardacornerofthesquareopposite those training but still near the front gate.He’d already dismissedBoskellandtherestoftheunit,allofthemmoving off toward the training yard and the buildings beyond. “You and two others can accompany me to the Matriarch.”

“Bryce and Dylan, come with me,” Allan said, the two stepping forward as he turned to Gaven and Bryce’s beta. “You two,keep watch and make certain everyone stays here and out of trouble. I don’t want anyone leaving this square.”

“We’ll be fine,”Gaven said,as he eyed the work theTemeritesweredoing.

Bryce’s beta kept his eyes on those training.“We’ll be waiting here,”the beta said,a cool gaze falling on Lienta, “when you return.”

Lientaignoredtheunderlyingthreat. “Thisway,then.”

Theycrossedthesquare,anothercartloadedwithstone passing by in front of them. Allan followed it with his eyes,butsaidnothingasLientaledthemdownasidestreet,past anoldwarehouse, animmaculatechurchtoBastionscarred byquakedamage, andawalledpark, beforecuttingthrough asectionoftenements to another plaza.This one contained a fountain, its basin studded with four obelisks, one cracked andtoppled,withacentralstonestatueofahandthrustup out of the ground, clutching a giant ley globe. Moonlight cast the entire plaza in a silvery sheen.

As they crossed the plaza, Dylan raised one hand as if to brush the surface of the ley globe as they passed.“Why is itnot lit?” he asked, hand falling as they headed toward a series of three-story homes filling the block to one side, theirwindowsglowingwithcandlelight. Allanhidaflicker of surprise. He’d thought the Matriarch would have housed herself in the much larger and grander mercantile house that reared up dark and foreboding behind the fountain.It hadapalatialfeeltoit,farsurpassingthelessornatearchitecture of the other homes.

“After the Shattering, the ley no longer worked in this sectionofthecity.That’soneofthereasonstheMatriarch hadusseizecontrolofit. Ithelpedthatourembassywas already here, and that it was deemed a strategic location that, with some modifications, would be easy to defend.”

“Modifications like using the buildings as a wall and blocking off the streets with gates?” Allan asked.

“Yes.Therewas also the distortion to consider.We used it to our south as part of our wall. It proved extremely effective…until it collapsed.”

“Buildings do not make structurally sound walls,” Bryce interjected.“They have a tendency to collapse as well.”

“Theydon’twhentheyarefilledwithstone.”

They’dreached the row of houses,the steps leading up tothe brownstone near the center guarded by fourTemerite watchmen.They said nothing as Lienta ascended, one of themreachingtoopenthedoorforthem,warmlightspilling out onto the steps.

Allan halted abruptly within three steps of entering the massivefoyerinside,andDylan gasped.The room took up the entire front half of the brownstone, a grand staircase curvingup one side to a second level.Doors led off to left and right, another straight ahead, watchmen posted to either side of them all, but it was obvious that the houses they’d seen from the street were an illusion. The entire block was really one large building, the doors to either side entrancestowhat,fromtheoutside,would be the houses to the left and right. Allan guessed that the building was deeperthanmostwouldsuspectaswell,possiblyevenextending all the way to the next street.

“Whatis this place?”Bryce asked sharply,tension bleeding from him in waves.

“WelcometowhatusedtobeErenthrall’sTemerite embassy,” Lienta said.

Heledthemtotheleft.None ofthewatchmenacknowledged them; they didn’t move at all. Allan scanned the sparse furnishings of the foyer, noting the patched cracks in the walls caused by the recent quakes. It may have been cleanedup,buttheTemeritesweren’tasunaffectedbythe recent disasters as they’d like to pretend.

Theroombeyondcontainedalargedeskstackedwith disheveledpapers,clothsacks,andsmallboxes.Asizable crack traced its way diagonally across the wall behind the desk. Infrontofthewindowsthatlookedoutontothe plaza, behindwherethefakefrontdooroftheexterior house would have opened into the room, sat an array of chairs, a Temerite woman of at least fifty years ensconced in thecenter.Sheheldasheafofpapersinonehand,anattendant to her left, a small table to her right containing quill and ink and a tray with a carafe and short glass. She was clothedinatan-and-dunshirtblockedintheusualTemerite styleworn bynobility,with ashawloverhershouldersand ablanketspreadacrossherlegs.Ringsadornednearly every one of her fingers,and a fine but understated necklacesurroundedherneck.Herskinwaslinedwithage,but hergazewhensheglancedupattheirapproachwassharp. She set the papers aside and rested her hands on thesidesofthechair,herbackrigidwithformality.“Iseethat Lieutenant Boskell’s note was correct,”she said,her voice cracking slightly but with steel beneath it.“You have foundothers.FromtheNeedle,noless.Andyouthoughtitappropriate to bring them here.”

Lienta’ssteps falteredforonlyasecond,but theMatriarch wasn’t paying attention to him. Her gaze had raked through all three of those behind him and after that single passhad settled onAllan.He had been the subject of such penetrating gazes before; the most memorable had been BaronArent before the Shattering.The Matriarch exuded the same sense of power and intelligence and control.

“Did Lieutenant Boskell also mention that they claim theWhite Cloaks are no longer in control of the Needle?” Lienta asked, coming to a halt directly before the Matriarch and executing a stiff bow.

“No, he did not.” The Matriarch sniffed her irritation, one eyebrow rising slightly.“Is this true?”

Lientasteppedtooneside,sincethequestionwasobviously not directed at him.Allan moved forward, Bryce coming up on one side, Dylan on the other.The Wielder was nervous, his hands in constant motion.

Allan resisted the urge to bow.“There has been a shift in power at the Needle, yes.”

“I hope you saw fit to toss that Kormanley pretender who called himself Father off the Needle itself.”

“No,”Allananswered.“He’s still alive and still speaking to the people, giving his…religious services.”

“Pity. But if that’s the case, then how has the Needle changed?IfthisFatherisstillpreachinghishatredofErenthrall to the people—”

“Heisn’t.CommanderTy of the Needle’s enforcers has himundercontrol.He and theWielders have forced Father Dalton to accept certain rules and restrictions. He is escortedtohissermons