“The Divine Emperor.” Jake closed his eyes and tensed up even more. “My father.”

He explained as best he could, but they couldn’t remember anything about the System or the emergency access panel. Their eyes simply glazed over. He settled on telling them he’d found a clue, but he needed more information. Information that he might only get the next time he died.

Cara frowned. “No killing yourself to get more information!”

“I won’t.” Jake hoped she didn’t notice the bob of his Adam’s apple. No need to tell her that he’d tried just that.

Gramok laughed somberly. “Don’t worry, Jake. You’ll be dead again before you know it.”

The truth in his statement sat uncomfortably in Jake’s chest. “Thanks for that vote of confidence. We should get out of this place. I’ve had enough of its tests.”

They trudged back through the trial rooms, past the crystals, and through the dwarven tunnel. A faint wolf howl echoed down the winding staircase.

Fenrir. Tired muscles tensed throughout Jake’s body. “The beast’s waiting for us.”

“We’re safer down here than up there,” Cara said. “We should rest. I’ll take first watch.”

It made sense. Jake nodded and laid out Cara’s bedroll. It was too short, but it would have to do.

***

Jake bolted upright. Reddish light flickered across stone walls. Where was he? What had happened to the wallpaper?

Memories flooded back. He sighed. That was in another world. It felt like an eternity ago. Was it even his room anymore? Jake rolled over, but the hard bedroll refused to provide any comfort.

Gramok sat with his back against the wall, keeping watch over the tunnel entrance and the staircase. Cara was fast asleep in his huge bedroll. She looked ridiculous taking up barely half the length, but it had to be comfier than having feet go over the edge.

Jake snuck over to Gramok and sat next to him. “Want me to take over?”

Gramok shook his head. “I slept earlier.” His mouth opened as if to speak again, but closed without a word. His gaze fell back to the floor.

Silence. Jake swallowed. No cars driving past, no bustle of the street, no chirping birds. Nothing. Had Fenrir gotten bored? Or was it luring them in?

Metal chinked faintly as Gramok looked back up at him. “Your father… We don’t really know what it’s like in the Empire.”

A fire roared again in Jake’s chest and he snorted. “He’s the Emperor. What more is there to know?”

“It’s not that simple.” Gramok leaned his head back against the wall and sighed. “My father’s a lord.”

He didn’t get it. How could he? “It’s not the same.”

“No, it’s not. But sometimes he has to do things he doesn’t want to. Order things done that… that he’d rather not.”

“Like murdering people?”

“Yes.” Gramok smashed his fists together. “It’s legal because he says it is but, yes. Executions happen.”

Jake’s blood ran cold. “I murdered those orc thugs.”

“That was self-defense, Jake. You’re not a murderer.”

Adrenaline jolted through Jake, a pale imitation of the rush of driving his sword through the orc’s back. Killing wasn’t meant to feel like that. “What if…”

Telling Cara would shatter those naïve illusions she held about him. Gramok, though? That look in his eyes. Those sad, knowing eyes. Did Gramok feel it too?

“What if I—?” Jake looked away. No one needed to see his tears.

Gramok clasped his huge, armored arm around Jake’s shoulder. “There’s nothing quite like the thrill of combat. That’s not a failing, not unless the thrill becomes the why.”

Maybe. Jake clenched his fists to his chest. Or maybe this was where it all started. Where he’d gone wrong.

“So, Jake, as the smarter one of us by far, how are you getting us past that overgrown mutt up there?”

Jake shrugged. “No idea.”

“Magic, right?”

Jake shrugged again. Why hadn’t his father been able to leave?

“So, that new Transform spell. Can it make me a sandwich?”

Agony clawed at Jake’s heart. What if his father had been able to, but chose not to?

“How about armor? Weapons? Pancakes?”

Jake’s throat closed up. Why not? It wasn’t like there had been anything good to go home to.

“Cara asked me on a date, by the way.”

Burning pain filled Jake’s chest. He stared at the orc, blinking again and again. “What?” His pulse raced. It couldn’t be.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Gramok’s disarming grin worked overtime. “Got your attention though, didn’t I?”

The fire faded to a tingling heat. “Just surprised me, that’s all.” Jake bit his lip and looked away. “I didn’t think she was your type.”

“Oh, she’s not my type.”

Jake’s mouth went dry. “Fenrir, Shadow of Fenrir, whatever it is. We need to get past it.”

Gramok’s lips pursed, but he nodded. “Right. Could you teleport us?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know.” Jake sighed. “Teleporting all three of us would take combining the Portals, Area, and Teleport aspects, all of which are unstable.”

“And? You’re a natural at it. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. I don’t know what the problem is.”

“Touch is simpler than Area, isn’t it?” Gramok asked.

“Yeah, but I need to—” Jake paused, thinking it through. “You’re right. If we’re not in combat, I could send you two ahead, then catch up. It’d be slow, but it would be easier than sending us all at once.”

Gramok smiled. “Happy to help.”

Jake pulled himself to his feet and paced the room. It sounded great, but it still relied upon creating a Teleport spell of his own instead of tweaking Jeremy’s. The way the spell threads jumped around uncontrollably made no damned sense.

There had to be a pattern. How else had someone made the first Teleport spell? He tried again. Portals connected to Touch, but then it fell apart attaching the Teleport effect. Why? What was he missing?

What if he wasn’t doing anything wrong? What if it was to do with the effect itself? The Transform aspect had to be modified for whatever it created. Could Teleport be similar?

Jake’s insides quivered. It felt like the right track, but modifying the Teleport effect wouldn’t be simple. He pulled the aspect apart and examined the segments.

What did it mean? He compared them to the Self aspect. A partial match, but not much. He brought up the Target aspect. That had a closer match.

Of course! The spell was upon the subject being moved, which meant the destination had to be coded into the effect, pulling the destination from the mind of the subject. Without a destination, the spell couldn’t work, and it couldn’t pull the destination from the subject’s mind without Telepathy unless the subject was also the caster.

He sat down in the corner of the room, closed his eyes, and got to work modifying the segments. If he substituted part of the Self aspect in, he could hard-code the spell to draw the destination from the caster’s mind instead.

Eventually, it clicked into place.

Spellcrafting skill increased 7 → 8!

Two levels until he unlocked a Specialization. Jake smiled, put the perk point into Efficiency, and set about double and triple checking his work.

***

Gramok shifted his weight from side to side and glanced up the last few steps. “You’re sure this is safe?”

“I tested it on myself,” Jake said.

“That’s not a yes.”

Jake bit his lip. Technically, it was possible the spell wouldn’t work the same used on another person versus himself, or the rock they’d also tested it on. “I’m sure it’s safer than the alternative.”

Another glare. Gramok’s eyes narrowed. “The alternative is a god’s avatar trying to bite my head off.”

Cara chuckled. “I can go first, if you’re too scared.”

Gramok growled and shook his head. “Do it.”

The moment of truth. Jake’s heart raced. He focused on the empty room in his second sight and cast Teleport Touch. He pushed the tingling mass of blue energy into Gramok and hissed, “Raka-fa ri!”

Air shifted. Gramok vanished from Jake’s real vision and reappeared in his Farsight, still in one piece. Jake breathed out a sigh of relief. One down, two to go.

She was smiling at him, her eyes glazed over. Jake’s heart fluttered. There wasn’t time to get distracted. He cleared his throat.

Cara jolted upright. “Me?”

“Yeah.”

A mischievous grin spread across her lips and he bounded up to him. “What girl doesn’t want a magical touch from a cute guy?”

Heat flushed through his cheeks. “I can think of a few.”

She licked her lips and giggled. “Well, they’re missing out.”

He looked away. His heart wouldn’t stop beating. “Thanks.”

“Let’s do this. Gramok’ll be waiting.”

Jake nodded, focused on the distant room, and cast the spell again. “Raka-fa ri!”

He pressed the magic to her sternum and she teleported away safely.

Had she just called him cute? A knot twisted in his belly and his shoulders slumped. Thanks? What the hell was wrong with him?

He caught up to them with a self Teleport, waited for his mana to recharge, and repeated the process until they made it to the edge of the city.

Gramok stared out past the smashed door, sword drawn. “We won’t have any cover out there.”

Farsight wasn’t showing any enemies around. “I think we’ll be fine,” Jake said. “We should watch out for spirits, though.”

A deep growl issued from Gramok and he muttered in Orcish.

Yeah, he didn’t need reminding, did he? Hopefully, they wouldn’t run into anymore, anyway. Cara seemed to be doing better. She hadn’t clutched her sides at all since sleeping, and they hadn’t had to wait for her on the climb up.

“We’ll have to move fast,” Jake said. “You going to be able to keep up?”

“Keep up?” She licked her lips and swaggered to the doorway. “I don’t need to be fully healed to leave your slow ass behind.” She raised her hand and Gramok high-fived her.

Jake stepped forward and raised his hand. “Hey!”

She grinned back at him. “Problem?”

His eyes narrowed and his brow pulled in. Was he meant to be annoyed or flattered? Probably both, knowing her. Whatever, they had to get out of here. “Don’t wait up for me. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to keep up now.”

They couldn’t risk another troll encounter, or worse, so they traveled without the lantern. Cara led the way, her keen eyes guiding them past the broken gatehouse into the darkness beyond the magical light of the city.

He kept a weak Armor effect up on himself, low enough potency that he could cast it on the move and keep it up indefinitely. Even with the occasional levitation spell to keep up, his mana still recharged before the Armor buff. Better safe than sorry.

Every shadow might contain a goblin ready to pounce. He peered into the caverns, struggling to see anything as they left behind the light. Would he see it before it was too late? Would Cara be able to warn him?

Perception skill increased 4 → 5!

Night Vision would certainly be useful, but Discern Magic was right there, taunting him with its 4/5. One more point to max it out, then he could diversify. Every point until now had helped his magic come along by leaps and bounds. No matter how tempting it was not to be as blind as a bat whenever it was dark, he had to stick with the plan.

Were bats even that blind? Jake bit his lip. Maybe that was a myth. If there was one thing levitation had taught him, it was that flying required good vision.

The silence outside the thumping of his chest was deafening. Was his father coming? How long until he arrived? What would he be like? Pain stabbed at Jake’s chest. Fourteen years. Fourteen years in this place had to have changed a man.

A dark void tugged at Jake’s insides. Only a year between abduction and finding the emergency access panel. That’s how long it had taken his father to forget about his family, or worse, to remember and not give a damn.

Cara held her palm out and stopped. She turned and crossed her arms in front of her, then pointed to her eyes and out ahead. Something was out there.

Jake peered carefully around the corner. Torches partially illuminated the darkness—and foul creatures—beyond. Lots of torches. How many dungeon spawn were there?

A hundred, if not more. He gulped. Too many to fight.

The cavern was easily large enough for a football field or three. A huge totem stood at the center, shrouded in a magical darkness that waxed and waned. Ice filled Jake’s veins. Whatever this was, it was bad news.

Jake focused inward and crafted a Message spell. There had to be a better way than baking the message into the spell itself, but for now, this was the best he’d been able to extract from the amulet. At least the resulting spells were cheap, stable, and safe.

He took Cara’s hand in his and silently cast the spell. What is it?

She shrugged. He repeated the spell on Gramok. Gramok shrugged as well, before motioning a sword swing and then running his finger across his throat.

Jake nodded. It’d be suicide to attack head-on. Going around had to be better. He held up one hand and “walked” the other one around it.

A frown from Cara. She shook her head. She pointed to the corner, drew… a house, maybe, and then punched where the house was.

He crafted another Message spell. Are you worried they’ll attack Valbort?

She nodded. Jake’s gut twisted. They weren’t far. She was probably right. He snuck another look around the corner. Whatever the dark magic around the totem was, it sent shivers down his spine.

It hugged the contours of the totem a lot like an Aegis. Was it some kind of barrier? It oozed with power. Breaking through it wouldn’t be easy. What was it doing?

Every minute, a random section of the shield opened. A moment later, a golden circle appeared in the hole. A creature shot out, and the barrier resealed. The resulting creature would brush itself off and scurry into the pack, one more soldier in a rapidly growing army.

What were those creatures? It was too far out to tell, and Jake was pretty sure that the wargs had noticed the moment he’d Identified them. It was too risky to try Identifying with that many enemies around. A few were possibly goblins, but some were definitely too big to be merely that.

He backed away from the corner. How strongly protected was that totem? He hadn’t seen any Protection magic, but that black magic was something else.

A plan was forming, but the others wouldn’t like it, especially not Cara. He messaged them both in turn. Do you think you can sneak past them?

Cara’s eyes narrowed and her lips pressed together. Eventually, she nodded.

Gramok shook his head. His heavy armor would be a noisy problem.

Are there any tunnels nearby?

They pulled out the maps and pored over them. With the poor light, it was all down to Cara. After a few minutes, she pointed up and to the left, and then to the map.

Jake pulled the map close, noted the distances, and nodded. He closed his eyes, pictured the spot, and cast a silent Farsight.

The spell failed. He adjusted his aim and tried again. Another failure. Attempt number three, a tunnel entered his awareness. The image was almost entirely black, with only just enough flickering light from the cavern to make out the edges of the tunnel.

Jake opened his eyes and gave a thumbs up. The others nodded. He teleported Gramok first.

Cara took his hand and glared up at him. She didn’t need magic to send her message—don’t die again.

Don’t wait up for me. He teleported her away with the best smile he could muster. She didn’t have to worry; he wasn’t dying this time.

Not if everything went according to plan.