The Dark Realm: Infinite Realms, #2

By P R Adams

There's no escaping the fire.

Riyun Molliro was a simple mercenary, too honorable for a corrupt world and desperate for work. A long-shot job to bring home a powerful executive's daughter took him inside Wholesale Fantasy, a game unlike any other. Now he finds himself fighting for his life against the most powerful wizard ever known and the unstoppable dragon that serves him.

Rescuing the young woman is all that matters, but that requires finding her first. With the wizard and dragon in pursuit, it's Riyun who needs rescue.

But wizards and dragons aren't the only threats in the game. In fact, they may not even be the worst.

Grab your copy of The Dark Realm and continue the thrilling tale of Infinite Realms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Promethean Tales
• Release date: Nov 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201488819

Book preview

1

Asecond before, there had been spotty, flickering light in the broad, square chamber carved from the cliffside—candles and lamps and flashlights. Now it was replaced by a glowing globe of energy, a funnel. Magenta at its wide mouth, swirling down through indigo to black at the far tip where the mad wizard Meriscoya had unleashed it. Blistering, furnace-like heat belched from the near end, bringing with it crackling and popping reminiscent of mountain thunderstorms. Sulfur and ionized air rode on that cacophony, as did the smell of burning composites and cloth.

That was Naru’s garments and armor, cooking, disintegrating.

Even if Riyun could get to her, even if the wound from the wizard’s staff plunging through her chest hadn’t killed her, the heat would.

The mercenary lieutenant backpedaled from the fallen hacker, holding a hand up to protect his eyes from the magic’s fury. This was the worst thing he could ever do—abandoning someone under his command. Yet he had to. Minimizing losses was his number one priority. Everyone, fall back!

Could they hear him in the raging maelstrom? He could barely hear himself.

But Javika was there, the ever-dependable Biwali warrior. She pressed a hand against the small of his back, where just weeks before a giant bug had penetrated the Juggernaut armor plate and injected paralyzing venom.

She was close, shouting into her helmet radio. We have no exit. The door has been sealed.

Somehow, she managed her impossible calm, even in this moment.

He backed up another few steps, bumping against a support pillar. It was the one the Total Rewrite designer Kilani Dohlar had been chained to when they’d entered the chamber looking for the wounded wizard, hoping to finish the job. Now she was squeezed into the far corner, behind Lonar, the giant tweak who served as the squad’s heavy weapons specialist.

Even the big man’s bunched muscles and thick frame wouldn’t be enough to protect her from the hellish magic cooking everything it touched.

Meriscoya had drawn them into a trap, and now he was going to kill them.

Riyun squared his broad shoulders and bowed his helmeted head toward the expanding magical field. Beneath the helmet, sweat dampened the thick pad of wavy, black hair. Eyelids twitched over golden eyes on either side of his broad nose.

All the power in the universe wouldn’t be enough to stand against the blinding eldritch nimbus. Horrific howls—like a chorus of bestial terrors—rumbled inside of that sorcerous weapon. The thing had swallowed Naru. It had encompassed Quil while he tried to pull the wounded hacker from the funnel’s desolating maw.

And all Riyun had to stand against it was his Minkaur Devastator assault carbine. A few bursts of 10mm explosive-tipped bullets weren’t going to do a damned thing against such power.

Braced against another column several feet back, Hirvok and Symbra had their helmets off, their bronze skin a sickly gray in the magical glow.

The sergeant snarled at Riyun before pulling Symbra back to the next row of pillars. Hope you’re happy, Lieutenant! I told you this job was nothing but trouble!

With the obliterating energies sweeping out, there was no arguing the point.

Naru had been right: going against Uzir Beraga had been a bad idea. The billionaire owner of Total Rewrite was too wealthy, too smart, and too crazy for anyone to stand against.

And Riyun had done just that with only his small mercenary squad.

Now his team was about to be so much arcane dust, atomized and lost forever inside a pocket dimension created by unimaginably advanced technology. Who could ever have guessed Beraga’s engineers had learned how to harness the incomprehensible technology of the Golgar Portals to create an entirely new universe?

Javika placed a steady hand against her lieutenant’s chest and shoved him back toward the last set of marble columns. There must be another way out.

Maybe. You make a run for one of those alcoves, though, and you’ll be trapped.

She shook her head, the deep purple of her helmet glassy in the flaring magic. We have taken enough one-way trips.

Her words stung, even if she hadn’t meant for them to.

Now that he was parallel with Kilani, Riyun checked his weapon. Any chance you know a secret exit?

The designer flashed a blinking, dazed look, then shook her head. This is it.

Fatalism.

He couldn’t accept that. He’d spent a lifetime fighting the notion.

But what else could he do? The wizard had summoned what felt like an extra-dimensional nuclear blast inside the chamber. Its magical energy had taken Quil and Naru. With each second, it expanded out to swallow more of the large room, filling up to touch the ceiling and walls, wrapping around the columns and sliding over the stone floor. Its annihilating heat settled into the stones, sucking out the air.

Before Riyun could think of a final raging, defiant exclamation, the magic was on him, pushing him back like a physical substance. It pinned him against the wall, dragging the heated breath from his lungs, pressing his ribs until they seemed ready to crack.

His vision blurred. Steam gusted from between his lips, filling his gold-colored helmet. The visor reflected the wild, dancing power as he looked at the visor of Javika’s helmet. He wished he might see her black eyes one last time before—

The pressure climbed to the point it smothered and crushed.

Then it lessened. It receded.

Environmental sensors inside his helmet dropped from frighteningly red to merely a dangerous burnt orange.

A diamond-white sparkle shimmered around the edges of the deep magenta magic, which now resumed its funnel shape again.

Despite the helmet’s internal oxygen supply, the smell of sulfur remained.

Grit coated Riyun’s teeth, leaving behind the taste of a defiled crematorium. His external audio pickups detected a sickening roar of a distant, malevolent chorus of otherworldly torment.

And finally, the funnel shrank back into the small magenta globe that had birthed it, a star collapsing in on itself after unleashing its ruin.

It left behind the darkened chamber, the lamps and candles now snuffed and melted.

On the floor below where the wizard had launched his attack, stone was blackened, leaving an outline of two human forms: Naru and not far away Quil.

The hacker’s clothes and armor were gone. Her spilled blood twisted in the air above her, a gray whirlwind of ash.

But her body remained.

Some feet back from her, lying on his back, her gear clutched to his chest, the pseudo blinked in disbelief. His head jerked around, assessing what remained after the supernatural tempest.

However, it was the hacker’s body that kept Riyun’s attention. He’d earlier realized how much weight she’d lost in this new world. She’d been a little pudgy when she’d joined, but that changed with weeks of constant activity and a drastic change in diet.

What drew his eyes in, though, was the wound on her chest.

The hole where the bottom of Meriscoya’s staff had punched through armor and flesh with the same ease as a spear might was closed. It was a wicked red against the pale gold of her skin.

But her chest rose and fell.

She’s alive! The lieutenant charged forward, unconcerned with the lingering heat. His armored knee pads scraped up black soot as he tugged his right glove off. Quil! She’s breathing!

A glance back confirmed the others were still standing, too.

His team had survived!

Javika scowled as she dug in her backpack, pulling out a dark T-shirt that would be too tight even after the weight Naru had lost. This is not the time for celebration.

We’re alive. What more do you want?

A way out would be helpful, would it not?

He nodded, snatching the T-shirt from the graceful assassin. We’ll find one. He handed the garment to Quil.

The pseudo was absorbed in checking the young woman’s vitals and moving her limbs around to check for injury. Her heart beats, and her pulse is steady. There are no indications of anything obstructing her breathing passage. I have concerns about the way that staff penetrated her. It could have struck the spine.

After hesitating, the medic covered her with the T-shirt—lengthy as a towel to fit over Javika’s long, lean frame.

The assassin had her own helmet off now. She shook out her frizzy brown hair as she scanned the room, lips pressed tight in frustration.

Riyun’s eyes went to where the door had been. Our exit?

Hirvok and Symbra were finally moving. They hurried to the smooth surface that had moments before been an opening in the stone wall. Soot coated that area now. Lonar joined them while the Total Rewrite designer crept forward, mouth ajar.

She knelt beside the hacker. "She…should be dead. We should all be dead."

They should have been, but Riyun wasn’t going to waste time on figuring out the why, not after all he’d seen. The artifact. She was holding—

A tiny sparkle of diamond-white light came from the shadows of an alcove.

He pushed up and rushed into the dark space, picking up the jeweled staff with unintended reverence. The wooden surface was a pale white now, a smooth ivory that gave it more authenticity than it deserved.

The thing had seared Meriscoya and his huge dragon Niyalki, blinding them. Yet it had failed to save the wizards wielding it.

Despite that, Naru had somehow managed to save the team with it.

Javika scraped to a stop behind him. You worry about a toy when we should be seeking exit.

"This toy is the only reason we’re alive, Javika."

You know this?

What Meriscoya hit us with was every bit as powerful as the ancient dragon’s breath. This whole room should be slowly cooling molten rock. You know it as well as I do. We should have been crushed by the force of it, then turned into so much fine ash. Didn’t you see the white glow?

No.

Well, I did. It was there. It held the magic back. He pointed the staff at the hacker lying on the darkened stone. It kept her from being incinerated. Maybe it sealed her wound. She’s not even blistered where her skin touches the stone.

The assassin glanced at the three mercenaries searching the wall. Do you believe everyone will accept this?

You want to tell me someone is still ignoring the magic we’ve seen?

You were.

No. He brought the bottom of the staff down on the floor with just enough force to feel the vibration rattle through it. It felt solid, not at all like the cheesy prop Beraga had been whipping around in the Total Rewrite blue glass room. I believe in what we’ve seen here. It’s real, even if I can’t understand what it is.

When Javika held a hand out for the artifact, he passed it to her. The way she studied it—like it might be a weapon to compare to her own deadly blade—made him smile.

She harrumphed and handed it back. We need action. We need meaningful discoveries.

"This artifact working isn’t meaningful? You heard Fassyl: This is powerful enough to kill that wizard and dragon both."

The old fool died.

He was too busy yapping—

She rapped a knuckle against the staff. "This failed him. We cannot trust it."

Tarlayn used it to transport us from the depths of the catacombs.

So you claim. Your team will not accept this. Look at them.

Lonar turned from banging his huge fist against the wall that blocked them from Meriscoya’s bedroom chamber. The giant tweak’s eyes were narrowed, going from the unconscious hacker to the lieutenant—or the staff he held.

There was no mistaking the look on the rough-cut face: distrust.

If the ever-loyal heavy weapons expert had lost faith, it was easy to figure out Hirvok’s thoughts.

Riyun nodded. If they can’t find a way out, we’ll need something else.

The wiry assassin bowed, then walked to the nearest alcove. Her skills were enough to find an exit, assuming one existed.

Quil looked up from massaging the hacker’s neck. Lieutenant?

Anything?

I do not believe the spine is damaged. The exit wound is closed as well as the entry. Although the staff tip must have come close, it is at least a fraction of an inch shy. Based on the angle of the wounds, I believe it missed the lung as well.

Riyun dropped to a knee beside the young woman. Can we move her?

The pseudo frowned. Her pulse is steady but weak. Alive is not the same as healthy.

If we leave her here, he’ll find her and finish the job.

I do not propose leaving her here alone. Would turning this place into a place of our own be a possibility?

The wizard isn’t the only threat. Niyalki’s still out there.

He cannot fit inside—

The dragon can spit fire. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what it’ll do until there’s nothing left of this place…if we stay here.

I…understand. Logic may be desirable, but it is not always palatable.

Out of the corner of Riyun’s eye, he saw Javika move to the next alcove. The others had abandoned their search.

Hirvok shuffled over, sniffling. That door’s gone. We’re stuck.

For just a moment, Riyun considered that. We’ll find a way out.

Right. Then what? We’ll cart her around with us? The sergeant pointed at the unconscious hacker. "We’re dead if we don’t get out of this room. And if we do get out, we’re going to be on the run."

Thank you, Sergeant.

The Onath scout settled into a squat, looking his commander in the eye. Uh-uh. Don’t blow me off. That won’t work now.

I’m assessing the situation.

"Yeah? Let me give you an update. We want out. We’re tired of this. We’re tired of you, Lightning. You’ve made too many bad decisions."

For Hirvok to have gone to a call sign in such a situation, lacing it with disgust and sarcasm, things must have escalated worse than Riyun had imagined.

He winced, happy he still had his helmet on. I’ll take that under advisement.

It was as pithy as he could manage, and it couldn’t hide his concern.

If Hirvok was speaking for the others, then the team was done. They might escape the valley and the wizard, but that would be it. Only a cohesive unit could survive in the crazy world of Wholesale Fantasy.

And Riyun no longer had anyone’s trust.

2

Riyun helped Quil get Naru into the T-shirt, which ended up like a clingy black dress for the hacker. Her warmth and breathing ate at the lieutenant, reminding him that she was alive despite the way Hirvok had dismissed her.

The resentful stares of the others said it all: At this point, it was every mercenary for him or herself.

Even Quil seemed troubled when he looked at the young woman, lowering her head gently back to the hard stone floor. Lieutenant?

Yes?

The pseudo considered the others with his silvery eyes. They hung back, Hirvok and Symbra going through the motions of searching the walls for a way out, while Lonar shuffled around, massive shoulders hunched in what might have been a pout or defeat, heavy boots scraping loud enough to echo in the big chamber.

Quil sighed. I cannot make sense of their behavior.

There was the unspoken question: Did Hirvok mean what he’d said, or was the Onath sniper just being a jerk, as was typical for him?

Riyun breathed in the warm air—dry as an oven, still heavy with the remnant sulfur and sharp, ionized tang he’d come to associate with wizardry. They’ve got a valid point.

Being?

Surviving Meriscoya’s attack—it’s not something we can count on doing again.

But the artifact— The pseudo considered the staff that now leaned against a nearby pillar, where Kilani studied it while biting her lip. —saved us. As you observed, there is no other explanation. It is only logical that Naru unconsciously activated the magic contained within before Meriscoya rendered her unable to do anything further.

You believe that?

I have tried to assess the situation using objective analysis. As you observed, there was an energy that was distinct from that used by the wizard. This other energy was of a specific color and—for lack of a better term—texture. What other source could possibly be pointed to as an explanation for this?

It’s a good argument. Riyun turned as Javika came out of another of the antechambers, magnetically braced helmet bouncing off her narrow hip. The scowl she threw signaled that her patience was running out. I’m not sure good arguments matter when people are fighting for their lives.

Then they propose to leave her here should an exit be uncovered?

I get the sense that’s inevitable, yes.

The pseudo’s silver-gray eyes locked onto Riyun’s. And you, Lieutenant?

I don’t leave people behind.

Quil pinched his chin. Then you and I can take turns carrying her.

We can.

But Riyun knew better than that. While carrying a slimmed-down woman of the hacker’s size wouldn’t be much of a challenge to someone of his size and strength, Quil was smaller, thin, and nowhere near as strong.

And then there was the matter of the hacker’s surviving gear. It was a small miracle that Quil had decided to pull her by the weapon strap when the heat pushed him away from the young woman. That miracle came at a cost: the weight of the surviving gear. Her equipment would be more than enough of a challenge for the young man to contend with.

Riyun set his helmet on the stone floor with a scrape. All we can do for now is concern ourselves with surviving.

This is the rational approach to any endeavor.

Maybe— The lieutenant turned toward the designer now rubbing a thumb over one of the staff’s gems. —we could glean some insight from someone familiar with the design of this environment. Miss Dohlar?

That caused the woman to freeze. She hooked dark, wavy hair behind an ear that protruded out, almost managing to soften a face burdened by an oversized nose and thin lips. I’m sorry. Did I miss a question?

When we rescued you from that winged thing, you said you were a designer.

Yes. A systems designer.

Working for Uzir Beraga?

"On Wholesale Fantasy, yes. I was responsible for several of the cultural development processes. In fact, I was credited with creating the socioeconomic systems that prevailed for nearly three millennia on this continent. Um. Assuming we’re still on Kariskoy? The main continent?"

Riyun cocked an eyebrow at the pseudo. Ring any bells?

I believe we are in the ruins of Quayir Yvar, less than 150 miles out from Badonosk.

The woman relaxed. Okay, yeah. That’s the continent of Kariskoy. This is where it all started—the hedge lords, the merchant princes, the queens. It all radiated out from here.

An interesting choice. I would have thought something—

Quil? Riyun put a hand on the medic’s shoulder. Maybe I should ask her?

Yes.

The designer frowned. Ask me what?

If you know this area, perhaps you’re aware of another way out of this chamber other than—? The lieutenant nodded toward the wall where two of his estranged squad made half-hearted attempts at knocking the butts of their weapons against the stone.

Oh. Kilani snorted. I wish. I didn’t even know about this place until he stuffed me in here after yanking me off the valley wall.

Javika came out of another alcove, head bowed, arms akimbo, glaring at Riyun.

He wanted to help her, but she was the expert. Miss Dohlar—

Just Kilani.

Kilani, we need to find a way out, and the one door we were aware of is gone.

The designer crossed one arm under her small breasts, then rested the elbow of the other arm in the cupped hand of the first. She proceeded to scrape her thumbnail over her front teeth. "Ronda Gasapir built the twin ruins. I mean, she built the twin cities that became the ruins. I helped her with the design of the story—the old powers resisting the rise of the new? Yeah. That was weeks of work. Lots of late nights, weekends, and too many cartons of Dilakir noodles. At least I made a…friend out of all that. Kilani blushed, then looked away. But Ronda’s team handled the architecture and the various plots that resulted in the old powers collapsing."

You don’t have any idea where we might search for an escape route?

Just where you’re already searching. In fact, I’m not so sure what you see here right now was built into the design. I remember Ronda stressing about the way some of the plots and schemes she fed into the locals went as expected.

Fed?

Quil perked up at that. She used visions and holy messengers?

Kilani looked the pseudo up and down. We all did. That’s the basic design behind these worlds. The premise involves magic, a fantastical take on the old legends and teachings of our people—

Symbra wheeled around from where she’d moved, closer than before. Wrinkles stitched across her button nose. Please don’t say that.

What? The designer craned her neck to get a better look into the flashlight glow of the two Onath mercenaries.

"Please don’t assume your work reflects the proper teachings of my people."

Riyun clenched his jaw to keep silent.

That wasn’t a concern for Quil, though. Symbra is an Onath. She has extensive training in the true history of our ancestors.

"My ancestors. Symbra strode over to the column where the artifact leaned. She picked it up, examining the surface. Once things stretched into colonizing beyond Yurov, we became separate peoples. And once we began creating people—" She frowned at Quil, a look that destroyed the natural beauty of her features.

Kilani let out a surprisingly bright laugh, a sound almost as sharp as a bell ringing. Six Saviors. The laugh went on. "You’re one of those people."

Excuse me?

Oh, I could’ve guessed you were an Onath if I’d had a good look at you in better light—that hair, those eyes. But to hear your ridiculous words. The designer fell into another fit of laughter.

Symbra stepped closer to the other woman. I don’t appreciate your tone.

And I don’t care. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not somewhere you can call in a bunch of Thought Police and have me reeducated to better appreciate my place as a Tuos.

Stop. Don’t even try this nonsense. You and your ilk have no respect for the purity of history. You usurp our culture and muddy it with your own—

Riyun stood, hands held up. Okay. We’ve got higher priorities.

The Onath woman turned, a look of hurt replacing her anger. Higher priorities?

Than arguing over who has what rights to which interpretations of history? Yes.

"This matters! What they’ve done here is an unacceptable violation!"

Those words apparently triggered the designer, who launched herself into the lieutenant’s open palms. Violation? Ha! You know, for as big of an asshole as Beraga was, I give him credit for calling bullshit on you Onath assholes!

Before things could escalate, Riyun wrapped his arms around the designer and guided her away from Symbra. That’s enough. Break it up.

As soft as Kilani had looked in her tattered robes, she became a tensed ball of muscle, shaking a fist at the other woman. Don’t try that crap on me! You hear? You can shove your purity and policing others’ creativity!

He guided the woman farther back, stopping once he had a few columns between the two of them and the others, then releasing her. You mind telling me what that was about?

It was the designer’s turn to look exasperated. Are you kidding me?

She’s trained in history. It’s something that means a lot to her.

"No. She’s trained in propaganda and mind control. Do you know what it’s like to have to dedicate most of your life to work, meeting insane deadlines and Beraga’s absurd expectations, only to have people from the Ministry of Purity intrude on your rare free time with tracts and edicts detailing how you can’t pilfer ideals and mythology for your product? Do you?"

I’m sure I don’t. Maybe that’s not so important now. As you pointed out, we’re not somewhere all of that matters. This is a situation where just getting food is a challenge, where our lives depend on escaping a closed room, where slipping away from a wizard and dragon is our only chance of survival. Are you with me?

Kilani groaned. You’re blind to it. You can’t see how much of an entitled bully she is. Her people—

"We’re not dealing with people here. We’re dealing with individuals."

But that’s just it. You heard her. The way she talked down to your medic? He’s a pseudo, right? Doesn’t that bother you?

She was trying to draw distinction between the history of those who can trace their bloodlines back to the start of everything and those of us who came about after the diaspora.

It was a fine point that Riyun could use to avoid losing respect for Symbra. If he were being honest, he’d taken just as much offense at her words as Kilani had, but his job was to try to salvage the team if at all possible.

The designer relaxed. "Fine. Fine!"

Thank you.

"I don’t know how much you trust someone like that. I mean I see you’ve got two Silvers on your team, and I’m pretty sure you’re no Onath."

I’m not. I also don’t care whether someone else is. We’re all the same.

"That’s a great way to see the universe. Really, it is. Except they don’t see it that way. They’ll never forget that they’re ‘pure’ blood and that you aren’t."

The hurt in the woman’s voice—she must have had a big history with the Onath. All your run-ins with the Ministry of Purity were the result of your time at Total Rewrite?

Hardly. I had relatives who got caught up with…troubles.

Terrorists?

Kilani looked away. That’s their word for it.

Shit. The Migra Rutai. Is that how you ended up here? Did you stumble across what Beraga was doing?

"Stumble… You know about that?"

I ran into someone who must have been here or knew someone who had been here. He said the sky was burning.

The designer curled in on herself. Then you’re already one step ahead of the class. He was selling them a lie about living a life without all the hopelessness of our worlds. You know: a chance to carve out a life that they could call their own? Except he was really using them as beta testers, and they died in droves.

And they would never have volunteered if not for the desperation caused by Onath families and corporations.

Things just kept getting messier.

Javika stepped out of another antechamber, head whipping around. She spotted Riyun and hurried over, sneering at Kilani. I have found an exit.

A way out! Hope rushed through him. They had a chance.

If he could keep everyone from killing each other…

3

Flashlight beams barely penetrated the dark revealed by the secret door. Riyun’s armored duster scraped against the stone frame when he squeezed through the narrow opening. What little he could see had the look of rough-cut stone. When he sniffed, he caught a foul odor from below: sewage. And worse.

He pulled back with a scowl. Nice. This is the only way?

Javika’s black eyes became slits. I could search again. Is time no longer a concern?

It is. Sorry. It’s just the look of those steps. I’ll have to twist around just to fit, and nothing looked level.

Level enough. I descended to a landing without falling.

He glanced back at the others now gathered around Naru. Lonar’s going to have a time of it.

He has a time with anything indoors.

What about that smell and those sounds?

The sounds are echoes and the earth speaking, nothing more. We have smelled worse in our time here.

Maybe we have, but it stinks like a sewer. Worse. That’s not good.

We escaped once using sewers. Would it trouble you to do so again?

Hirvok twisted around, and a flashlight beam reflected off the gold trim of his armored chest plate, bright against the deep burgundy. We leaving or not? Because if we’re staying, I’m laying claim to that far corner for the night.

The comment drew a wry grin from Lonar. It was impossible to miss the way the others had gathered around the sergeant. Whatever damage he’d done to his relationship with the team when the dragon had knocked Riyun into the depths of a mine had been repaired by the long string of mistakes.

In the face of incompetence, any alternative looked better.

With a sigh, the lieutenant strode back to the fallen hacker’s side, eyes locked on the sergeant. It’s a tight squeeze. We’ll be loud in there, and it’s pitch black.

Yeah? We’ve moved through tunnels before.

This is strange—really dark. Unnaturally dark, but Riyun couldn’t say that.

I’ve got point. We’ll be fine.

Grit scraped beneath the sniper’s boots as he ambled to the opening. He made a show of it, whipping wide his duster and spinning before winking at the rest of the team. It wasn’t false bravado but misguided confidence. Hirvok actually thought nothing could get to him.

After securing his flashlight to his assault rifle, the Onath scout descended the steps out of sight, his voice floating up behind him. Don’t be too long. I’m not waiting.

Before Riyun even asked, he could see the look in the others’ eyes: No one was going to offer to help him with Naru.

Rather than have to contend with rejection, he scooped her up in his arms.

Quil rose to his feet. I should be the one tasked to—

I’ve got her. I want you behind Hirvok. Your eyes are better than most. Stay sharp.

The pseudo gave a stiff nod and hurried after the scout.

Riyun eyed Symbra and jerked his head after the other two. You next. Javika’s on your tail.

Once the pretty mercenary was well away, Kilani looked at the big tweak, then turned to Riyun. And me? I’m coming with you, right? You can’t leave me here. He’ll come back for me.

We’re not leaving you.

I—I don’t have any weapons or armor.

You won’t need them. Follow Javika.

The one who killed that demon?

She’s a Biwali warrior. You couldn’t be safer.

A shaky nod, a whispered thanks, and the designer hustled for the antechamber.

That left Riyun and Lonar. The heavy weapons expert shifted his grip on the autocannon, allowing the muzzle to drop. I get the rear, huh?

I need someone to cover my tail.

Or you could leave the kid here. Hirvok’s right: She’s not gonna make it.

You know my policy.

The big man puffed his massive chest out. We left Tawod behind.

There was no sign of his body. For all we know, he’s still alive.

That ain’t making it better.

I know. Not knowing what happened to him still eats at me, Lonar. That’s just another reason I can’t leave her here.

You think she’ll pull through?

I’m not delusional. I saw the way Meriscoya stabbed her.

You just want a nice place to bury her? Is that it?

It’s something, isn’t it?

The big man grunted and jerked his chin at the opening. Lead on.

Moving through the turning passage with Naru cradled against his chest and the artifact strapped to his backpack, Riyun had to descend sideways. With the steps being crude and uneven, it was slow going. Even then, he nearly lost his footing a few times, his already deafening footfalls turning into a roar of jangling gear and meaty thuds against the wall as he struggled to stay upright.

And each step down brought the smell closer: human waste…and rot.

Somewhere down below, a woman groaned: Kilani. I think this takes us to the dungeon.

Riyun rounded a curve to find Javika waiting for him, her armor and duster now as black as midnight. Her long body was tensed. You heard her?

A dungeon. We’ve been in a couple of those.

She knows about this one. The stairs end thirty feet down from here.

Lonar came to a stop a little above Riyun, huffing and cursing. He wasn’t cradling the autocannon anymore. Instead, both hands were pressed against the walls, more as a reaction to how everything squeezed against him than for balance, or so it seemed.

He smiled at Riyun’s attention, head tilted back to suck in air. This is some fun, Boss.

Catch your breath. Riyun squeezed past the graceful assassin. When he exited the stairs, he set the catatonic hacker down gently.

The others played their lights across dark stone. Kilani stood in the middle of the group, wringing her hands in an endless loop. Her head jerked at every sound echoing down what appeared to be a natural tunnel that stretched deeper than any of the flashlights reached.

Riyun sucked in the foul air and let his heartbeat slow, then edged up to Quil. Give her a look.

The pseudo’s silvery eyes were bright in the reflected light. Without a word, he eased back to where Naru lay, but the look on his face reflected guilt and shame, as if he’d been hoping Riyun would order him to carry the hacker despite the others stating that they intended to leave her behind.

Was the medic torn between fitting in and dealing with his own conscience? Riyun hoped so. Carrying a wounded combatant left the team vulnerable, but he wasn’t about to abandon one of his people.

If Quil came to understand the reasons why, the effort would be worth it.

It was cool in the tunnel, but Riyun was burning up. He took a drink from his canteen, the water cold and sweet. Then he tapped Kilani on the elbow. Hey.

She jumped, eyes wide. Oh.

Calm down. You’re safe with us.

I—I know. But her head turned toward Symbra, who sneered.

The last thing Riyun wanted at that moment was a fight, but this was something he couldn’t put off any longer. Symbra, why don’t you scout that way? He pointed in the direction Hirvok had taken coming out of the staircase. Hirvok, take a look back the other way. One minute, then come back.

After staring at each other for a moment, the two Onath headed out.

Were they considering challenging orders? Seriously? The timing was horrible.

For now, Riyun could only control his own actions. He leaned in closer to the designer. Okay, tell me what you know.

What I know? We’re near the dungeons. Kilani squeezed her hands tighter.

Anything else?

I— Like what?

How far away are we? What’s in the dungeons? Is there another way in and out?

Well, I… She sank in on herself. I’ve never been down these tunnels. There’s another set of stairs—nicer. But that smell. It’s the dungeons. We lived in filth.

We. There were others?

Oh, by the Six Saviors, yes. He stuffed us in there. It wasn’t bad enough to have to wallow in your own excrement, apparently. I think he took pleasure in the misery.

You seem clean enough now.

For his ritual. When he selects you for the sacrifice, he treats you like a queen: a bath, a feast, a night in a comfortable bed—his, if you want. No thanks. Then you wake up drugged, and you spend a day repeating incantations with him. I remember doing it but can’t recall a single word. When that’s done— Her voice caught. You saw what happened.

How many were still down here?

Eight? Ten? I…didn’t want to know them. You understand?

He did. Sometimes, prisoners of war shut down and turned inward. It was the safest way to deal with the horrors of torture and deprivation. The enemy often liked to toy with their captives, maybe to turn them against each other. That was one of the hardest parts of being a mercenary. Not everyone remembered that they were one crappy series of commands or a few strokes of bad luck away from being a prisoner themselves—

—or worse.

Boots scraped, and Hirvok jogged from where he’d gone, his flashlight pausing to shine down on Quil and Naru. Javika’s cool glare followed the Onath sergeant all the way back to Riyun’s side.

Just as Hirvok came to a stop, his gear clattering softly, another light came from the opposite direction: Symbra returning.

Riyun shot a questioning look at his second. Anything?

A couple forks. One of them turns into a cave. The others go on.

We’re looking for the dungeons.

Symbra leaned against the tunnel wall, gasping. This way. The smell grows stronger. I nearly threw up.

Kilani’s face bunched up. Don’t you dare judge us!

What in the—?

Riyun stepped between the two women. How far would you estimate?

The pretty Onath mercenary glared past him before finally tugging a few loose strands of her gold-brown hair back and twisting them into the tight tangle she used to make it easier to slide her helmet on. I don’t know—a few minutes?

"You two check it out. Proceed cautiously. Meriscoya could be down here."

Hirvok shook his head but pushed between the lieutenant and the designer. This better get us out of here. I’ve got more important things to do than stumble around in a maze of tunnels.

They all had more important things to do, but the sergeant knew that. He was blowing off steam, and Riyun needed to let it happen.

For now.

He waved for Kilani to follow him back to the others. Quil, can you stay here with Naru?

The pseudo brushed a strand of neon blue hair from the young hacker’s face. There are no imminent threats here. If you perceive danger ahead, I could accompany—

It may be nothing. What we can’t afford is something dragging her off.

I understand.

Kilani will stay here with you.

That seemed to relax the designer, who lowered herself to sit on the floor. She covered her face and rocked slowly, completely ignoring the artifact when Riyun set it down beside her.

Javika leaned into Riyun’s space, then drove her palm into his chest, pushing him away from Lonar, Quil, and the unconscious hacker. Discipline has broken down.

I noticed. Things are strange right now.

Hirvok has been waiting for an opportunity such as this.

Even he isn’t that dumb. The problem is that they’re overwhelmed. It’s all too much, too strange, too fast for them.

She moved even closer into the lieutenant’s personal space, her breath hot and unpleasant. The problem is that the money has been eliminated. Without payment, their true loyalty is revealed.

Hold on. Riyun waved Lonar after the other two. We’ll be right there.

The tweak looked around, shrugged, then took off at a fast walk, broad shoulders banging off the tight walls.

Javika didn’t wait long. There is no holding on. This is the problem that has always been present with this unit.

I don’t think this is the right time to start in on me, is it?

She jabbed a finger into his chest plate. What time would be good, then? You treat them as family, yet they turn their backs on you.

Every team has highs and lows.

You are too forgiving, too trusting. They must be made to understand their roles.

Heat rose in his cheeks. And how do you—

Gunfire roared in the tunnel, drowning out his words and ending the conversation.

Someone was under attack.

4

Running through the tunnel was a hellish challenge for Riyun. Being stuck behind Lonar only made it worse. Lights bounced off the walls, only to disappear into the black. Stomping boots and deep grunts would suddenly be swallowed by automatic fire followed seconds later by shouts: Hirvok and Symbra.

At least they were still alive.

In an instant, the nightmare of pushing through the tunnel ended. One second, Lonar was dashing forward, squeezing through the confined quarters. The next, he was gone.

Then his voice floated up from below: a startled shout.

The noise came too late for Riyun. He plunged over the same sudden opening, tumbling down stairs every bit as uneven and hard as the spiral stairs he’d carried Naru down. His joint pads banged with a sharp crack, followed by the muffled slap of his armored duster. Even through the armor, the impacts hammered with bruising force—

—until he came to a stop against