Chapter 58

“Wait, what?” Lianshi stopped in the middle of the hallway to stare at Scorio. “You did what with who?”

Scorio turned around as he kept walking, spread his hands out to his side, and gave her his most innocent look. “An Imperial Ghost Toad, Lianshi. Honestly. I thought I said it clearly the first time.”

Leonis slowed down and reached up to rub at the nape of his neck. “You went out drinking.”

“No,” said Scorio, still walking backward, watching as Lianshi reluctantly began to stride after him. “Though Nox would make an interesting drinking companion. He’s got very definite opinions.”

“Opinions? Are you mad?” Lianshi hurried to catch up and then poked him in the chest with a stern finger. “You went hunting, and then ended up at the Old Academy without us and struck up a friendship with the fiend that nearly killed us only a few weeks ago?”

Scorio chuckled and turned to fall in back beside Leonis. “Not a fiend. He was quite clear about that. Actually, I think that’s a very rude thing to say to an Imperial Ghost Toad.”

“I can’t handle this,” said Lianshi, staring at Leonis. “Is he lying or telling the truth?”

“Knowing Scorio, what do you think?”

They walked in silence till they reached the end of the hall that opened out into a broad hall.

“Wait,” said Lianshi, grabbing him by the elbow. “Wait wait wait. You’re serious.”

“Yes.” Scorio glanced around, making sure none of the other Great Soul students were listening in, and stepped aside into an alcove. “What’s more, he showed me a way into the Old Academy. We went pretty deep, but it wasn’t far, distance-wise. Just a dive and then a climb.”

“You got into the Old Academy,” said Leonis, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Which means you did a Gauntlet run.”

“Three,” said Scorio ruefully. “Which is why I feel hungover today.”

“And why you look hungover,” said Lianshi. “You promised to not do anything stupid!”

“It wasn’t stupid. It was exactly what I needed. It’s our edge, reclaimed.” Scorio lowered his voice. “Look, I can’t do this playing Praximar’s game. This Academy is designed to slot us all into our places and keep us there. I need an outside element, a wild card with which to shake it up. I plan to make octs with Heartstones, to return to harvesting Black Star, but the old Gauntlet’s my only real chance at winning this whole thing.”

“You’ll get expelled if you’re found out,” protested Lianshi.

“I’ll get expelled if I don’t,” said Scorio.

They stood in silence, stalemated, till Lianshi turned back to Leonis. “Reason with him.”

Leonis looked up and scratched at the stubble on his throat, lips pursed in thought, then sighed. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“You what?”

“Scorio’s right. Mad, but correct. Our current trajectory is taking us where, Lianshi? You know as well as I do that our time running the old Gauntlet saw us grow the fastest. I thought I was about to hit Emberling in less than a month, but that month has since come and gone and I’m still struggling.”

Lianshi frowned.

“Think,” said Leonis. “You gave up your hopes of rapid advancement when you turned down Kraken and their advanced treasures. I never had the chance because I died too soon in the original Gauntlet run. Since then we’ve been trying to catch up with the top fifty Great Souls in our cohort and falling behind. We’ve been killing ourselves with training, even going so far as to literally die in runs through the old Gauntlet, and still, we’re falling behind. Why? Because they get to devour those high potency treasures that duplicate all our hard work. What it takes us a week to achieve they accomplish in one swallow. We’ll never catch up without an edge. There are how many Emberlings now? And none of us are even close.”

Lianshi had no response, so she simply stood there, arms akimbo, scowling at Leonis.

Scorio hesitated, then stepped in a little closer. “You obviously don’t have to come—”

Only to bend over as she elbowed him, hard, in the gut. “Don’t say stupid things. Of course I’ll come. You’ll need at least one adult watching out over you two.”

“Then it’s settled,” said Leonis smoothly as Scorio straightened up. “Every Eighthday we’re back in the ruins.”

Scorio winced and smiled at Lianshi. “How close are you to Emberling, do you think?”

“Close,” she said, tone growing morose. “I’m having trouble igniting my Heart, but feel like I’ve plateaued.”

“There you go,” said Leonis. “We’ve all day today to push ourselves past any sane limit. I’ll wager you reach your First Trial before Second Clay.”

Lianshi stilled. “You think?”

“One way to find out,” said Scorio with a grin. “Nox said we could use the tunnel whenever we want, though he takes no responsibility for our dying horribly if we run into something bad down there.”

Lianshi’s hopeful expression fell into a deadpan stare.

“Which won’t happen,” said Scorio, raising both hands and backing away. “Because I lead a charmed life, and all who travel with me are equally blessed.”

“Uh-huh,” said Lianshi. “You’ve been spending too much time with this big idiot.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Leonis punched a fist into his other palm. “Let’s get going. We’ve only ten Eighthdays left before our real Gauntlet run. We need to make the most of them.”

“Well, all right then,” said Scorio with a grin, and led them back out into the hall and turned left, toward the closest Academy exit.

“Speaking of,” said Lianshi, stepping up to Scorio’s side. “How are we going to convince Naomi to come back? It doesn’t feel right without her, and I don’t want to invite anyone else to complete our team.”

“I don’t know,” said Scorio, rubbing at his chin. “Asking her back won’t work.”

“I know,” said Leonis. “We each reach Emberling and approach her with a show of force. Show her that we’re not a group of spoiled children, but warriors in our own right. When she sees that we’ve caught up with her, she’ll take us seriously and agree to come.”

Scorio and Lianshi exchanged a glance.

“That actually sounds pretty good,” said Lianshi. “What did you do with the real Leonis?”

Who only groaned and placed his hand over his eyes. “I was once worshipped as a grand king, and now I’m subjected to such paltry taunts? How the mighty have fallen.”

To which Lianshi dexterously slipped her foot between his two and tripped him up. Leonis let out a cry of alarm, staggered, then fell to one knee.

Lianshi let out a high-pitched laugh and took off running down the hall, followed a second later by a roaring Leonis.

Scorio chuckled as he watched them go. But his smile faded, and he proceeded alone, his mood turning somber. It was heartening to see them play, but on some level, it only served to remind him of how different their worlds were. The thought of playing such antics himself felt surreal.

No. He didn’t have it within him to fool around. He had to focus. For Leonis was right: they had but ten more Eighthdays, and Scorio intended to wring blood from each and every one.

* * *

“Gah!” Scorio awoke upon the ancient, jeweled bier and clutched at his stomach. Pain sliced through his core where the statue’s spear had impaled him in the gut, and he curled over onto his side, grimacing and fighting down the urge to moan.

Just pain, he told himself, just pain.

But the wound felt so real. On some level, it just didn’t make sense that blood wasn’t flowing through his fingers, that his stomach wasn’t torn open, that he wasn’t dying. The pain was primal, overwhelming, flattening out the rest of the world with its terrible immediacy.

But Scorio forced himself to breathe through it, and by slow degrees, it abated, like a tide withdrawing from the shore. When he was able to, he ignited his Heart, and then unknotted himself and breathed deeper as the pain faded away. With great effort, he sat up. He was drenched in sweat, beads running down his face, his robes clinging to him.

“You guys all right?” he called out, and then blinked and sharpened his darkvision so that the impenetrable darkness before him resolved into a narrow tunnel of outlines and gray shapes.

Whoever had sealed off the Academy had done a masterful job; a smooth stone shell a foot thick flowed within the other walls, plugging every gap, sealing every door and window, and reinforcing the masonry so that no new holes could be knocked into the walls. Imogen’s destruction was completely sealed over. As a result, everything within was pitch black, a swarming, utter absence of light that felt smothering.

“Loving life,” rasped Leonis from one side. Scorio looked his way and saw the huge man rubbing his neck. “Especially when being the greatest threat results in having knife thrown at your throat.”

“Your fault for being so good-looking,” said Scorio, then glanced around. “Lianshi?”

She wasn’t there. Scorio wiped the sweat from his eyes and swept his narrow beam of darkvision over the biers. She’d laid down on the one to his immediate left, but it stood empty. Had she rolled off in pain upon appearing? Sliding off his own, Scorio limped around her bier, his core still wrenched and in pain.

“She’s not here,” he said, turning to Leonis, dark panic opening its wet wings in this throat.

“Not here?” Leonis forced himself up to sitting and stared back. “What do you mean, not here? We always return at the same time.”

Scorio forced himself to stand still and think. “Perhaps the mechanism is getting older. Perhaps her return is being delayed.”

“By the ten hells, I hope not,” growled Leonis. “That’d mean this whole system is falling apart. Or perhaps she’s still stuck inside?”

“No,” said Scorio. “I saw her go down fighting that axman. She died just before I did. She should be here.” And he turned to stare angrily at the bare surface of the bier. “Where the hell is she?”

Leonis stood, rubbed at his neck one last time, then dropped his arms. “We should go back in, then. Find her. Perhaps she’s looped and appeared at the entrance again.”

Scorio had no words. The very thought terrified him. What if Lianshi was trapped within the Gauntlet forever? They’d have to rush back to the new Academy, tell Praximar, Helminth, someone who might know how to wrest her free.

“Come on,” said Scorio. “Let’s go back and look for her.”

Grimacing, Leonis activated his crystal and returned to his bier. Scorio did the same, lay back down, and a moment later, appeared once more in the tomb of hammered copper.

His body felt rough, still suffering from the pain of the previous death, but he ignited his Heart again and leaped out of the opening. He saw Leonis doing the same, and cast around at the other tomb entrances.

All were sealed shut.

“No,” he hissed, darting from one to the next. “Leonis, which one did she emerge from? Do you remember?”

“I don’t,” rasped the other man, rubbing at his throat as he approached. “One of these, but I can’t remember which.”

“Lianshi?” Scorio crouched by one and pounded on the copper plate that sealed off the tomb. “You in there?”

They paused, listened.

Silence.

Together they moved from seal to seal, but no sound emerged from below, no voice responded to their anxious calls.

“Perhaps she already went in,” said Leonis, rising to his feet to look at the bright beam of pale light. “Time might flow differently here. While we were talking outside, she might have decided to proceed alone.”

“Let’s go, then.” Scorio led the way at a run, his Heart burning darkly, the power washing away the last of the pain in his stomach, till he was able to open his stride and race about the rough stone dunes to the huge chasm of light.

Picking up speed, he ran straight at it and dove. The move was almost automatic now; he appeared in the first chamber, slid under the sweeping blade, and fell into a forward roll. Leonis dove into view just as Scorio rose to his feet, Heart guttering out, and a moment later they stood, turning in slow circles, examining the chamber.

“Nothing. Next one.” Scorio led the way to the dark door, hauled it open, and stepped through. The broad hall with its statues presented itself, each pristine and still upon its plinth, the central passageway to the far side cloaked as ever in absolute darkness.

“Nothing,” said Leonis, emerging next to him. “Would the statues be damaged if we were following after?”

“Or perhaps we’ve entered a different iteration,” said Scorio, the idea chilling him. “Maybe if you don’t enter at the same time, you can’t follow each other.”

“Stop scaring me, man,” growled Leonis. “That would mean we can’t reach her.”

“Damn it, let’s go. Ready?”

Leonis raised a hand. “Give me a moment. It’s taking longer and longer to ignite these days.”

When Leonis, at last, was ready, Scorio jogged forward, wary, focused, waiting for the tell-tale grind of stone as the first statue came to life.

A compact man to his left with a long dagger in each fist shifted, stepped forward as Scorio passed him, and immediately Scorio threw himself back, avoiding the first knife swipe by inches.

Leonis barreled into the statue from behind with a roar, lifting the stone figure clear off the ground in a feat of stunning strength and then bore the man down to the ground.

An archer awoke, stepped back and off his plinth, arm looping up and behind to grab a stone arrow from his quiver and nock it to his stringless bow.

You charged archers if you were close, zigzagged if you weren’t. The statue was only four yards away, so Scorio yelled and hurled himself right at the archer as he drew his arrow’s stone fletching back to his cheek.

No hesitation, no doubt, and as a reward, Scorio heard the arrow whisk past his head as he tackled it around the waist and knocked it into the wall. Heard stone crack, and then everything became a flurry of elbows and knees, the statue abandoning its bow to fend off Scorio’s attacks.

But his fear, his terror over Lianshi’s situation caused his Heart to burn all the brighter, and Scorio heard himself screaming as he slammed an elbow into the statue’s face, then again, then palmed the man’s features and crunched the back of his head into the wall.

The stone fractured, fell apart, and Scorio turned as the statue collapsed to see Leonis wrestling with the knifer, who’d twisted onto his back and was trying to force a blade up into his friend’s chest.

Leonis had the knifer by both wrists and was forcing the blade aside, his face red with effort. Scorio lunged forward and stomped the heel of his boot down upon the statue’s face, again and then a third time.

Stone cracked once more, and the statue cracked and fell apart.

“That’s right, you gray-faced bastard!” shouted Leonis, sitting back on his heels as he caught his breath. “And yours? Dead already? Well done, my friend!”

Scorio staggered back, took a deep, shaky breath, and then extended his hand. Leonis took it, hauled himself up, and then together they turned to the third door.

“Not looking forward to this,” said Leonis quietly, taking the lead.

Scorio frowned. “Lianshi… she can’t have made it this far by herself.”

“She might have. If she tackled this room alone, she’d have only fought the one statue. One way to find out.”

Leonis led the way through into the next room, and together they paused to examine the grid that was etched deeply into the walls.

“No sign of her,” said Leonis, tone heavy.

“Let’s press on. Move fast but don’t lose focus or control. It’s the moment you panic and let the pain get to you that you’re dead. Ready?”

Leonis sighed, dusted off his thighs, then gave a curt nod. “Together?”

“Sure. We can shield each other’s sides. Let’s fill our reservoirs first, then on the count of three.”

They strode forward when they were ready. Scorio swept more Coal mana into his Heart, replenishing its already dwindling reserves, and stared straight ahead.

Movement to his left, and he darted forward to avoid a block as it flew at him. Only to realize that he’d left Leonis’s flank exposed. He cried out a warning, but the other man was reacting to a second block.

Scorio leaped as another flew at his ankles, and then everything was movement and chaos. They made it two-thirds of the way across the room before they were felled, pummeled and jellied by the blocks that came faster and faster.

Scorio stared at the distant door, fought to crawl toward it, needing to see if Lianshi lay on the far side, fighting off the terrible pain until he couldn’t even move, could only curl up into a ball.

The pain was terrible, but it ended mercifully soon; all was dark, and then Scorio groaned as he found himself upon the bier once more.

But this time he pushed nausea and agony aside to sit up, bleary-eyed. He ignited his Heart again, the expenditure costing him, and peered around, darkvision quickening anew.

“Lianshi? Lianshi!”

“Here!”

The sound of her voice was a sweet balm, and he collapsed onto his elbow, gasping as his body protested at the abuse it had suffered, his bones and joints clamoring, his head pierced through and through by a shaft of pain that quickly began to abate before his Heart’s flames.

“You’re alive,” gasped Scorio, lowering his brow to the cool stone of the bier as he fought down the urge to vomit, then forced himself to look up once more. “What happened?”

Lianshi stood beside her bier, eyes wide, her black hair spilling down past her shoulders, lanky and tall as ever—but something subtle had changed about her. Even through his wall of pain, Scorio could sense it, a novel if dim presence, a feeling of… solidity, as if she’d become ever slightly more real than the world around them.

Lianshi was staring down at her hands but blinked and flicked her gaze up to meet his own. And in that moment, he knew.

“You’ve reached Emberling,” he whispered, sitting up once more.

Her eyes gleamed, and her smile was tight and victorious, her whole frame thrumming with energy as she moved forward to stand before him. She went to say something but was clearly overcome with emotion, so instead, she simply gave him a curt nod, her lips parting into a brilliant smile.

“She what?” Leonis still lay atop his bier, one arm draped over his eyes. “No. That’s not fair. I was supposed to make Emberling first.”

Scorio studied her with wonder. “The Trial? You underwent it?”

“Yes.” Her voice was an awed whisper. “I did. And… and I understand now why we’re told not to discuss it with those who’ve yet to undergo it.”

“Wait,” protested Leonis, shoving himself up to sitting. “You saying you’re not going to tell us?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, real regret twisting her features. “But there’s a reason. I would if I thought it would help you, but it would do the opposite. It would only twist the trial itself. And… beyond that, I think what I experienced would have nothing to do with what you’ll undergo.”

“Huh.” Scorio stared at her, nonplussed, but then he grinned and lurched off the bier to envelop her in a fierce hug. “You did it! You made Emberling!” And he picked her up and wheeled her around, causing her to laugh self-consciously. Setting her down, he stepped back to regard her. “What’s it like?”

“And what can you do?” asked Leonis, padding over. “You figure that out yet? Your technique?”

“I have, actually. The knowledge comes to you at the trial’s end.” Lianshi took a deep, shaky breath, and then cast around, searching the floor. “Wait a second.” She hurried away, dipping and examining the spaces between the biers, and then returned with a stout plank of wood and handed it to Leonis. “Here. Hit me in the face as hard as you can.”

Leonis blinked and turned the inch-thick plank over in his hands. “You’re… sure?”

“Positive. As hard as you can. Trust me.”

Leonis licked his lower lip and raised the board over one shoulder with both hands. “This doesn’t feel right. I’m only hitting you in the face as hard as I can because you’re my friend.”

Lianshi laughed nervously. “This should work. Don’t worry.”

Leonis glared at her. “Should work? If it doesn’t, I’ll take off your head.”

“No, it’s fine. Swing on three.”

Leonis settled back down and rippled his fingers over the stout board.

Scorio watched as Lianshi counted, heart in his throat, his darkvision reducing them both to gray outlines. A defensive power, then? Nothing that would hurt Leonis. What would it be? That ruled out a ranged attack like Hera’s or Feng’s. Something like Jova’s resistance…?

“Three,” said Lianshi.

Leonis grunted and swung, brought the board screaming around against Lianshi’s face.

The board shattered.

Leonis staggered, off-balance, then lifted the foot and a half of broken board that remained in his hand in shock.

But Scorio only had eyes for Lianshi. A gleam had washed over her, reflective and smooth like a coating of glass. It lasted four heartbeats, then faded away.

Lianshi let out a whoosh of air and shook out her arms. “It worked!” She laughed nervously, then cut herself off. “I mean, I knew it would, it’s just that—wow. I…” And she gave her head a quick shake.

“Wait.” Leonis tossed the board away. “Your Emberling power is immunity to wooden boards?”

“No, idiot,” said Lianshi, stepping forward to shove him in the chest. Leonis didn’t budge. “It’s more than that. It’s… complete immunity. To anything. Any attack.”

Scorio let out a low whistle. “Complete immunity? You become invulnerable?”

“Yeah,” said Lianshi softly. “I think so. But only for a few moments. And I can’t use the power immediately again. It takes a little while to become available.”

“Huh.” Leonis placed his hands on his hips. “How long?”

“I think it’s ready again now,” said Lianshi, curling a long strand of hair behind her ear. “But… that’s going to be tricky, to use it in a fight.”

“Yeah,” said Scorio. “You’ll have to time its use just right. But damn, Lianshi. Invulnerability? And that will only grow as you advance in power, right?”

Lianshi smiled shyly and again curled her lock of hair behind her ear as it slipped free. “I think so, yeah.”

Scorio shook his head in wonder. “Even Jova takes damage. And do you become immovable, too?”

“I—I don’t know,” said Lianshi. “I mean, I think so? I didn’t budge when Leonis hit me.”

“Let’s try it,” said Scorio. “Activate your power, and then we’ll try to push you over.”

She gave a sharp nod, inhaled, and then that glassy sheen swept over her again. Together, Leonis and Scorio stepped forward and gripped her arms. It was like taking hold of a steel statue. They grunted, trying to move her, and completely failed.

“There!” gasped Lianshi, releasing her power. “That’s as long as I can hold it for.”

“That’s fantastic,” said Scorio in wonder. “Imagine, you could activate your power and block a door, or stop before a carriage so that it crashes through you, or…”

“Wait,” said Leonis. “Can you move when you have your power activated?”

Lianshi just nodded, eyes wide.

Leonis let out a low whistle. “Now we’re talking. Does it make you stronger?”

“No, I don’t think it does.” Lianshi hugged herself tightly. “Not like I could push through a wall or something.”

Scorio nodded, mind whirling. “But, for example, in the room we just died in, the one with the flying blocks, you’d be perfect at racing through it.”

“You just died in the room with flying blocks?” asked Lianshi, clearly confused.

“Yeah. You didn’t appear when we did, so we grew… concerned,” said Leonis.

“Oh. Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t have any control over that. It just came upon me during our last statue fight.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Scorio, brushing her words away with a sweep of his hand. “But what did it feel like? The onset of the Trial? Did you know what was happening?”

“It’s just like Hera told us,” said Lianshi, stepping back to hike herself back up onto a bier. “It was becoming nearly impossible to fill my reservoir. And then during that fight, remember how I hung back?”

Both men nodded.

“I was desperately trying to ignite. I felt like I was drowning, just drawing in more Coal, but I couldn’t will it to ignite. And the more I panicked, the more I drew in. It felt like suffocating, but maybe that’s because I was working with Coal, but I saw you both fighting, and realized I couldn’t hang back and wait. So I ran in—”

“Without igniting?” asked Leonis in disbelief.

She nodded. “But I kept drawing in mana as I went. And when the axman cornered me, I felt… I don’t know how to put it. This strange mixture of desperation and determination. I wanted to ignite so badly, knew I was dead without my Cinder abilities, and knew that you’d die if I fell too quickly, and I think… well.” She frowned and looked down at her knees. “I think I managed to ignite just before he clove me through the chest. And that’s… that’s when everything changed.”

“Damn,” whispered Leonis. “And now you’re an Emberling.”

“What about the standard Emberling powers?” asked Scorio. “Can you use them?”

Lianshi paused, then laughed. “I hadn’t even thought to check. Let’s see.” And she stared past them, frowning. She blinked a few times, her face without depth in his darkvision, and her eyes widened.

“Oh, wow. Yes. My darkvision has widened to nearly double what I could do before. And… there’s… it’s hard to put this into words. I can sense more? It’s like…” She trailed off, then twisted about in her seat, looking around the dark interior of the basilica. “I can sense the mana? It’s all Coal, but I can feel it, see it—but it’s more like a translucent overlay, it doesn’t block the room, but… it’s really hard to put into words.”

“What about us?” asked Leonis. “Can you sense anything?”

She pursed her lips and scrutinized them both closely. “Yeeeee…esss,” she said, dragging out the word. “But not much? I can sense hints of Coal within you? And… there’s a feeling that I can’t interpret. I’m going to need more practice, or perhaps just more information before I can explain it.”

“Fascinating,” said Leonis quietly. “And incredibly useful.”

“Your strength?” asked Scorio. “Your body?”

Lianshi grinned. “All I’m going to say is that Leonis better watch his step.”

To which Leonis guffawed, hands on his hips. “Now that’s incentive for my reaching Emberling right there! Come, both of you! Another go at this old Gauntlet?”

“Absolutely!” said Lianshi, hopping off her bier and dropping to the ground smoothly. “I can’t wait to try my power against those statues. But first.”

Scorio and Leonis turned back to her.

“I want to thank you, Scorio.” Her voice grew grave. “Without your pushing us, we’d never have come to this place. I’d never have trained so hard, so effectively. Who knows how long it would have taken me to reach Emberling? Without the resources the elites get, I was starting to feel like I was drowning… but this. This place. It was the edge we needed. The way to catch up. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Ah, don’t mention it,” said Scorio, rubbing at the back of his head. “We’re all in this together.”

“Sure. But… yes. Thank you.”

“Of course,” said Scorio, but then his smile grew troubled. He was where Lianshi had been before she’d come here. He felt like he was drowning. It dismayed him how far he still had to go. “Let’s get to work.”

They palmed their crystals and lay back on their biers. A moment later Scorio felt the chill of the tomb. Opened his eyes, sharpened his darkvision, and flipped up to his feet. Drew in Coal, labored for a moment to ignite his Heart, and leaped forth to land in a crouch upon the floor of the vast antechamber.

Leonis was clambering out, muttering under his breath, and then from a third empty square, Lianshi burst forth to land lightly on her feet, poised and balanced and with a wicked smile on her face.

“I could get used to this,” she said and turned a perfect pirouette.

“Don’t get cocky,” said Leonis, dusting his hands off as he finally rose to his feet.

“It’s far, far too late for that,” laughed Lianshi. “Keep up if you can, boys.” And she took off, light on her feet, skipping ahead effortlessly and forcing both men to push themselves to hurry up.

Scorio grinned as he watched Lianshi enjoy her new abilities. She leaped over stone dunes for the fun of it, then did a cartwheel just before the huge blade of light, so that she flew into the burning pale light feet first, her streaming black hair the last thing they saw.

“She didn’t just do that,” said Leonis, drawing up short before the light.

“Emberlings,” said Scorio in mock disgust. “Ready?”

Leonis nodded, and together they sprinted forward, leaping as they’d done a score of times before, to dive through, into the next chamber, and avoid the slashing blades. They both tumbled and rolled up to their feet, to see that Lianshi was already at the far door.

“Very gracious of you to wait,” said Leonis.

“I am nothing if not patient,” she said sweetly. “I was thinking. When we move into the next room, let's use my power to neutralize each foe. I’ll try to catch their weapon or otherwise entangle them, and you both destroy them. Agreed?”

Scorio smiled. “You’re the Emberling. Let’s give it a try.”

They passed into the next chamber and eyed the rows of statues, still and ominous as always. But a new mood was in the air, an infectious levity that came from Lianshi’s expectant grin. They all labored to fill their reservoirs, then Lianshi turned to walk backward, raising an eyebrow at them both as Leonis groaned and shook his head, turning at the last moment just as the assassin lady flowed forth off her pedestal to attack her.

Scorio and Leonis bolted forward, galvanized into action by Lianshi’s war cry, and Scorio ignited his Heart as he saw Lianshi gleam with her glassine layer and leap straight into the assassin’s arms. The statue tried to back away, hacked at her, but Lianshi grabbed her in a hug, tangled up her arms, then both men were there.

Other statues were awakening, but there was no time for them yet. Scorio kicked out the assassin’s leg from under her just as Leonis sidestepped a wild stab and slammed his elbow into her face with a cry.

The assassin’s head fissured but didn’t shatter; Lianshi stepped back, punched the assassin’s fist, and broke her fingers. She caught her short blade as it fell, ducked under the other dagger as it swiped across, then rose and slammed the blade into the statue’s head.

It shattered at last, and as the assassin went down, the three of them turned to see a spearman slowly approaching, weapon held at the ready, while a stiff, elderly man with a slightly curved sword and shield came in at their flank.

“Hate the spearman,” said Leonis, rubbing at his elbow.

Scorio edged back. “Slowly give ground, but not fast enough to provoke a charge. Give Lianshi time to regain her power.”

The three of them gave way, the two statues approaching slowly but surely, the tension in the air growing palpable until Lianshi snapped her fingers.

“Ready,” she said, and her body flared with its translucent layer. She darted forward, smacked the spearhead aside, its tip raking uselessly against her arm, and clotheslined the statue, dragging him back before swinging in behind him and leaping up onto his back to scissor her legs around his waist and apply a lock with both arms around his neck.

Scorio came right after her as the swordsman charged, and shoved the spear across so that it smacked into the other statue’s legs and tripped him up. Leonis pounced, overwhelming the statue with his sheer size and strength, slamming him viciously into the wall and breaking off his leg.

Lianshi grunted and the spearman’s neck crunched as his head popped off. Before his spear could crumble, Scorio tore it free of his suddenly nerveless hands and hurled it at the swordsman, impaling him in the side.

Leonis hammered the base of his palm into the statue’s face, keeping him off-balance, stumbling back, then with a roar stepped in to pick up the swordsman with tremendous effort and hurl him into the wall.

The statue exploded into large, jagged chunks and crashed to the ground.

Scorio’s eyes opened wide. “Did you just throw him?”

“I…” Leonis was panting for breath, his shoulders rising and falling. “Yeah. I did. I threw him.”

“Damn.” Lianshi tossed the spearman’s head aside, which crumbled apart midair. “You really don’t like being left behind.”

“Ha,” said Leonis. “Come on. We’ve my favorite room in the world to tackle.”

The three of them marched past the other statues toward the distant door.

“Wait,” said Scorio. “Did the three of us just emerge from that fight unscathed?”

“We sure did,” beamed Lianshi. “Looks like our little team is getting dangerous.”

Leonis took hold of the doorhandle. “What’s our plan for the next room?”

“I can run across in my invulnerable form,” said Lianshi, “but that doesn’t help you both.”

Scorio frowned, remembered how he’d been unable to protect Leonis’s flank. “Actually, this is what we’re going to do. You’ll escort each of us across, one at a time. We sprint, and you provide cover to our left. That leaves just one side to watch, which should make it easier.”

Both of his friends nodded.

“Let’s try it,” said Leonis, and they passed through.

The sight of the grids in the walls gave Scorio a chill. “I’ll go first. Ready Lianshi?”

“Count of three.” She crouched slightly, ready to take off at a run. “One.”

Scorio leaned forward, knees slightly bent. It wasn’t far to the far side of the room. A mad dash should cover it in time. He just had to avoid taking a block to the head.

“Two. Three!”

He ignited his Heart just as they took off, sprinting as fast as they could. Lianshi was a gleaming presence at his left, but Scorio only watched the right wall as blocks began to shoot toward him. He dodged, leaped, spun, took a hit to his shoulder which crunched. But it was easier to just watch one side; a second block grazed a trail of fire across his back, and then they slammed into the far wall with a whoop.

“It worked!” Scorio laughed, grabbed Lianshi, and pulled her into a tight hug. “When you’re ready, head back for Leonis.”

“Do I have to?” She grinned as the massive man made a rude gesture at her. “Fine.” She took a few deep breaths, dropped into a crouch in which she bounced slightly upon the balls of her feet, and then rose. “Huh. It’s already a little easier to ignite than it was just before I hit my trial. All right. Here I go.”

Again she took on that vitreous sheen, and again she sprinted across the room. It was amazing to watch—the blocks bounced right off her, spinning wildly in all directions as they cracked and shattered.

Then she was on the far side, running into the far wall with arms outstretched. She turned, face flushed, pensive. “So I’m noticing the duration is growing shorter if I use it as quickly as I can. It’s not a full reset.”

“Then take your time,” called Scorio. “We’re not in a huge rush.”

She nodded, swung her arms in windmills, then turned to punch Leonis on the shoulder. “You’d better make it across in one piece.”

“If you cover my side I will. Don’t sprint off without me.”

Lianshi laughed, exhilarated. “I won’t.”

They waited another couple of minutes, and then she nodded. “Ready. Count of three?”

Scorio watched, tense, as Leonis prepared and then dashed out. He was powerful and surprisingly adroit for his size, but nimble wasn’t a word Scorio would use to describe his friend.

Still, he did well; four cubes hit him in all, the first three pounding into his shoulder and thighs, but it was the fourth that caught him hard, cracking into his elbow as he stumbled, the huge muscle of his thigh seizing up and nearly causing him to spill. Lianshi grabbed his arm and hauled him clear, so that they both collapsed to the ground at Scorio’s feet.

“You all right?” Scorio couched by Leonis’s side. “Your arm?”

Leonis’s face had turned pale, and he cradled the arm to his chest. “Think the elbow’s broken.”

“Damn.” Scorio straightened and stared at the black door as it appeared. “The next room is all about climbing.”

“I know,” said Leonis. “Perverse to place it right after a room like this.”

“I’m sorry,” said Lianshi, her humor all gone. “I tried, but—”

Leonis interrupted harshly. “What are you sorry about? It’s because of you that we’ve even made it this far.”

“Because—well.” She dipped her head. “Scorio said Naomi crossed this room easily, right? And she’s just an Emberling. I should have done better.”

“First off,” said Scorio, “you’re not even used to your power yet, whereas Naomi’s been the Nightmare Lady for, I don’t know, years? Second, her power is more adept at defending others through these kinds of challenges, while yours is perfect for defending yourself. Third—”

“Fine, all right, I get it,” said Lianshi, ducking her head. “I still feel like I should have done better. And the climbing room? Being invulnerable won’t help me climb any faster.”

“We’ll just do the best we can,” said Scorio, reaching down to clasp Leonis’s good hand. “Remember, the three of us have never gotten into this room together, and now we’re passing on to the fourth. That’s amazing growth.”

Lianshi considered, and then her expression lightened. “You’re right.”

“Let’s go through,” said Scorio, “but remember, the floor falls away almost immediately, so leap for the wall quickly.”

“Then?” asked Leonis.

“Then do your best. Ready? Let’s fill our reservoirs and then go.” Scorio waited, dragging in Coal till he could drink in no more, then opened the door and led the way. They passed through the void into the tower room, the ceiling easily some thirty or forty yards above. The far wall was only five yards away from the doorway, painted a pure white and textured like a natural cliff face, complete with handholds and ledges. These extended all the way up the face of the cliff, making for a difficult but not impossible climb.

Not hesitating, he ignited his Heart and leaped across to clutch at a set of handholds, Lianshi and Leonis did likewise. A second later, the floor fell away, revealing darkness, and then the wall began to scroll downward.

Leonis was forced to jerk his way upward, lunging for each handhold with his good hand, scrambling to stay ahead of the drop, but even with the slow scrolling, it was clear he’d not make it.

Lianshi, on the other hand, scampered up then paused, uncertain, to stare down at Leonis.

“Go!” he barked. “You’ll not get me all the way to the top. I’ll see you both in the basilica!”

Scorio half-expected the massive man to release his handhold and fall back, but he climbed gamely until the increasing speed of the wall became too much, and he fell away silently into the void.

Focusing on his own climb, Scorio surged upward, seeking ever new handholds and ways to climb, Lianshi always ahead of him, lithe and light and climbing with otherworldly grace.

But the speed only grew, and Scorio realized that he’d passed the point where the Nightmare Lady had plucked him free and carried him aloft. He focused, clenched his jaw, but slowly he began to descend, his speed unequal to the scrolling drop. Gasping for air, sweat beading his brow, he thought wildly for a second of reaching into his robes for his bridge, his chalk, only to realize of course they’d not come across with him into the Gauntlet.

“Scorio!” Lianshi had reached the ledge at the top, now a good twenty yards above him, and stood, hands on her knees, panting hard as she stared down at him.

He wasn’t going to make it. Then his Heart died, and with it went his strength and enhanced skill. With a cry, he leaped up again, grabbed a ridge with one hand, but missed with the other. He swung out wide, feet scrabbling at the wall, dropping down toward the dark.

“Good luck!” he shouted, then the wall fairly spat him down into the darkness. The white glow of the climb receded, shrank, and then he hit something at terminal velocity and died.

Only to blink, back spasming and arching powerfully as he awoke upon the bier. Leonis was gasping to one side, and Lianshi let out a cry of agony as she curled up into a ball on the other.

“Ignite,” cried out Scorio, battling the pain of what felt like shattered hips and broken shoulders. He willed his Heart to burn, but for a moment it wouldn’t catch, no matter how much Coal he swept into it. He panicked, felt a pang of terror over the thought of remaining in this state of pain forever, and then his Heart went up with a whoomph and black flames consumed it.

Immediately the pain began to recede, muscles relaxing, cramps easing, deep pain flowing away.

“Argh,” said Leonis. “That was no fun.”

“Lianshi,” gasped Scorio, pushing himself up. “How did you do?”

“Not well,” said his friend, sitting up as well. She grimaced. “That… monster? The creature on the throne? It was brutal. I tried to use my power to best effect, and I guess I managed to surprise him, but without a weapon, I wasn’t able to take advantage of my few seconds. Then he grabbed each of my wrists and tore my arms off.”

“Ouch,” winced Scorio. “We’re going to have to brainstorm the best ways to use your invulnerability.”

“I…” She paused, frowned, then met his gaze. “You said Naomi killed him easily, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know about easily,” said Scorio, but in his mind’s eye, he saw the Nightmare Lady’s tail whipping out to stab into the hollow of the monster’s throat as she darted past. “But yes. She did defeat it without taking a wound.”

Lianshi punched the bier lightly and looked away.

“Naomi’s no slouch,” said Leonis, easing off his bier. “And as Scorio said, she’s had years of practice. She’s utterly lethal in combat, but she’s not invulnerable. No one is, except you.”

Lianshi sighed. “Thanks. I… You’re right. I shouldn’t compare.”

“And think of it this way,” continued Leonis. “Our powers are supposed to grow and meld with whatever new abilities we develop, right? Who’s to say how long your invulnerability will last when you’re a Dread Blaze? And what else you’ll be able to do at that point? I mean, it kills me to counsel patience when I’m dying to make Emberling myself, but relax, Lianshi. Try a little patience.”

“We did make it much further than we’ve ever done before,” said Scorio, wincing and stretching out his back. “To go from the hall of statues to the climbing room is a huge leap, especially with both Leonis and I as dead weight.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Leonis. “I am a force of—”

“Yeah,” said Lianshi, then sighed again. “True.” Then she held up her hand, and in Scorio’s darkvision a wash of translucent energy washed over it. “And I could get used to being invulnerable when I need it most.”

Leonis laughed hoarsely. “Are you even listening to yourself? Get used to being invulnerable? Damn me to the Pit.”

Lianshi grinned self-consciously.

Scorio matched her smile and was about to suggest they give it another run when he caught himself. A memory came to him: Naomi having to carry him back after he’d pushed himself too hard, too far. She wasn’t here now to protect them, and if they went too hard, they’d not only suffer for it, but probably die on the return trip to the Academy.

“Good job, everyone,” he said. “Probably time we headed back.”

“Wait,” said Leonis, narrowing his eyes. “Who are you? Where’s Scorio?”

“No, I’m serious. I learned my lesson the last time. Let’s head back, get some rest. We’ve nine more tries at this Gauntlet before we must tackle the real one. Let’s not get ourselves killed on the way home.”

“Wonders never cease,” said Leonis in mock amazement.

“I made Emberling, and Scorio lost his death wish. We really have grown as a team.”

“Ha,” said Scorio. “I’d go again if it was just me, but I’d not be able to live with myself if one of you got hurt on the way back.”

Leonis raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that you’re the Cinder, and she’s the Emberling, right?”

“Not for long,” said Scorio, willing it to be true. “Soon we’ll all be Emberlings, and then this old Gauntlet won’t know what hit it.”