The sound of metal shrieking echoed up the stairwell to Jake as he all but flew down the steps.

The sound came again as Jake reached the bottom of the stairs and saw its source.

The holding cell area had an open design based around a central table and eight surrounding cells. The table had a dead Triarchy guard slumped over it, and of the two occupied cells, one of them had been broken into and its inhabitant eviscerated.

Jake’s heart skipped a beat until he saw Nepthys standing in the other cell, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at him. Thankfully, she looked uninjured, if a little rough around the edges.

A masked classer was currently cutting his way into her cell with a Wyrd-covered dagger, but Nepthys’s reaction must have given Jake away as they stopped and whirled around to face him.

“Where does fate lead us?” The classer asked, their voice slightly distorted by the mask but filled with tension as they drew a second dagger.

Jake didn’t even try to answer and instead charged forward, intending to defeat this one in the same way as the first.

Lunging forward, Jake stabbed with his sword before summoning the Hidden Fang and trying to ram it into the classer’s ribs.

As Jake expected, his opponent parried his sword, but without other people to distract them, they realised what he was doing and were able to use their off-hand to knock Jake’s other hand just far enough away that he couldn’t connect.

Fortunately for Jake, the masked classer pulled back several steps after their brief exchange and regarded him with what looked like wariness.

With his dagger already summoned, Jake’s best chance at surprising the enemy was gone, and with it, he could feel his odds of surviving this fight plummeting quickly.

Keeping his breathing steady, Jake went with a plan he’d been working on since he’d gotten his wand and threw his dagger at his opponent’s face.

The other classer dodged aside, only to find Jake had quick-drawn his wand and was firing a hail of oversized thorns their way as he closed the distance.

Sword clashed with dagger, and thorns stabbed into dark cloth as the two fought, Jake using his wand by instinct more than anything and scoring minor wounds as he kept up the pressure.

The clash ended as a dagger cut across Jake’s wrist, and his wand flew out of his hand to go skittering up against one of the cells. At the same time, however, Jake’s sword slashed across the classer’s right thigh, causing them both to stumble backwards.

Blood streaming from a half-dozen minor cuts, Jake realised he was ever so slightly in better shape than his opponent. That had mainly been down to the initial spray of thorns, though, which had caught them by surprise.

He could summon his dagger back, but he knew that meeting the masked fighter blade-to-blade was a bad idea. They were nowhere near as fast or agile as the one that Jake had fought upstairs, but a quick flash of Wyrd through his eyes confirmed his suspicion.

Whoever they were, they were approaching the peak of the second tier.

If Jake was going to win this, he needed some sort of edge. A surprise or a distraction would work. He just needed to wound them enough to balance the difference in their ranks.

They circled each other warily, both eyeing their opponent for signs of weakness that could be exploited. As they did, Jake noted that the lock holding Nepthys’s cell shut was almost broken.

Felix had told him that holding cells for the Ascended were different from their mundane counterparts. Weavers were involved in their creation and ensured that anyone within the cell could not use their Wyrd.

If Jake could finish what the masked classer had started, Nepthys could take an active part in her own rescue, and that would give Jake the edge he needed.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

He just needed a distraction, something large enough to buy him several seconds and completely consume his opponent’s attention.

Jake almost missed a step as he realised what he needed to do, shame curdling in his guts from even considering it.

Something changed in the stance of the other classer, and Jake knew that they were about to commit to the final clash. If he was going to do anything, this was the moment.

Steeling himself, Jake reached to that ephemeral part of himself where his Boons existed and called forth The Mighty Drake.

Unsure of how this would work, Jake approached the Boon the same way he would the Hidden Fang, which meant that a ripple of shadows appeared in the space above Jake’s free hand.

A deep, raspy quack rumbled free from the shadows as a large duck seemingly stepped through. Its shimmering feathers seemed to shift between midnight blue and a kind of black edged with iridescent green as its wings snapped open while it dropped to Jake’s hand.

Jake grunted with surprise at the weight of the duck as it dropped onto his hand, but he didn’t hesitate and hefted the duck up before launching it right at the face of the masked classer.

For a brief moment, Jake wasn’t sure who was more surprised, his enemy or the duck being launched at his face.

Surprisingly, the duck recovered first. Its large wings flared out to control its flight as its feet came up and latched onto the classer’s mask.

Jake missed whatever happened next as he was already racing to Nepthys’s cell, triggering his infusion Skill as he went and pouring as much Wyrd in as he could.

Jake hadn’t had much chance to really examine what his Skill was doing, but he knew enough to realise that what Felix had told him about the efficiency of the Wyrd used was key.

Normally, that meant that he could use the Skill with less Wyrd but the same effect, whereas now, it meant that he could use far more Wyrd without it breaking down.

Bringing his sword down with both hands, Jake felt the metal shift and part with a tortured scream, the vibrations of the impact sweeping up his arms.

Jake’s sword had a solid dent in its edge, but he was almost through; just one more hit was all he needed.

A dagger bounced off the edge of the cell next to Jake’s head, making him curse and dodge to the side. Glancing back, Jake saw that the classer had momentarily won free and was raising their hand to throw another dagger when the duck flew into their side, giving Jake the time he needed.

Turning and activating the Skill, Jake struck the metal again and carved right through.

Without the bolt holding the door shut, Jake swung it open and tossed Nepthys the sword he was holding. Even as badly damaged as it was, it was better than nothing.

Grabbing the dagger that had missed him, Jake took a moment to appreciate its balance before he and Nepthys charged the classer, who had finally managed to throw the duck into the wall of a nearby cell.

Jake winced internally as he saw the duck hit the bars awkwardly before falling and landing hard on the ground. It looked like one of its wings was broken.

Still, it had done its job, and the classer’s upper body was a mess of cuts and scratches from their tussle with it.

Off-balance and already wounded, the masked classer was no match for the two of them working together. Nepthys’s shields blocked any dangerous attacks from the classer, while Jake used his Boon to retrieve his Hidden Fang and deliver a fatal dose of poison.

Silence stretched over the room as the classer collapsed, and Jake turned to Nepthys, unsure of what to say. Neither of them had spoken yet, and suddenly, the silence in the room began to feel oppressive.

“Nepthys, I…” Jake trailed off as he became acutely aware of how close they were standing to each other.

“Thank you for coming for me,” Nepthys said, her gaze searching for something in his eyes.

“Always,” Jake said, his throat dry as he found his own gaze lost in her eyes. He’d never noticed until now that they were brown on the outside, but the very core was a warm amber.

A disgruntled rasp from the injured duck broke the moment, and Jake quickly stepped away, his cheeks flushing as he thought of how stupid he must have sounded.

“I guess I should thank you as well,” Nepthys said, her voice somewhat husky as she moved over to gather the duck up into the crook of her left arm. An awkward process, given its size and injured wing. “Is he one of yours? Does he have a name?”

“Yes, from a Boon I got,” Jake said, trying and failing not to be a little irritated by how pleased the duck looked by her holding it. “The Boon says his name is Moby.”

“An adorable name, and he’s beautiful as well. I’ve never seen feathers like this before,” Nepthys said, admiring the iridescent green that outlined the darker feathers. “Do you have anything that can heal his wing?”

Jake considered the question for a moment before using his third Manifestation to conjure an apple from the Orchard’s Gift. Nepthys had a few bruises and was limping slightly, so it would be good for her as well.

Splitting it in two was surprisingly easy, and Jake quickly ate his half while passing the other to Nepthys. Closing his eyes to revel in the brief absence of pain, Jake murmured a soft prayer of thanks for this particular Boon.

While Jake set off to gather any useful supplies in the room, Nepthys took her half of the apple and split it again, feeding a portion to the duck, who gobbled it down almost daintily.

Moby’s wing immediately looked much better, and Jake could have sworn he gave him a smug look as Nepthys gently lowered him to the ground.

“So, what’s the situation?” Nepthys asked, a serious expression settling onto her face.

“Not great,” Jake said, putting everything aside for the moment to focus on the task at hand. They still needed to get out of here alive.