Camille pulled her truck into the Valley View the next morning. The eastern sky glowed with pale light as the sun promised to show its face, and the warm hues reflected off the inn’s rustic sign. Crystal lanterns hung from wooden posts around the parking lot, designed to look like old-fashioned lanterns. It seemed like everyone these days followed the modern elfish trends, but not Aria Farron. She knew exactly what this place was, and she embraced it with all her heart.

A few more cars sat parked near the entrance, and these gleamed with coats of morning dew. Most belonged to strangers from other towns, but she recognized a few from the east side. The Lockwoods drove the red Nomad with the white camper shell, and the light brown Mariner van belonged to the Hawthorne family.

She felt especially bad for the Hawthornes right now. Not only had they lost power, but their oldest son, Nolon, had been the town’s only mechanist. He could have fixed the power outage if he hadn’t died in that explosion last year.

Camille shifted the truck into park and unbuckled her seatbelt. Her little brother, Ashton, did the same, and they stepped out into the cool mountain air. The scents of fresh coffee wafted out the inn’s open windows, mingling with the crisp scent of pine.

She’d always loved late summer mornings like this. In fact, she probably would have walked here if she hadn’t had to babysit Ashton. Camille’s apartment was farther down Pinecrest Street, a quarter mile from the Valley View. Meanwhile, her father lived in a manor on the northwest side of town, far away from everything.

As a kid, most of Camille’s classmates had lived on the west side, close to the Starwing Plant and the other businesses near Main Street. This meant she had to ride her bike two miles to see anyone outside of school. Meanwhile, her classmates just had to cross the street or walk next door. Even the farmers’ kids all seemed to know each other, despite living far on the outskirts themselves.

She pushed open the inn’s front door and stepped into the warmth of the common room. The scents of coffee were far stronger in here, along with the smell of baking bread and fried bacon that wafted deeper from the kitchen. A few of the locals sat hunched over their breakfast, but most people were still asleep at this time. The plant wouldn’t change shifts for another hour at least.

“Morning, you two,” Aria said from behind the bar. Zack’s mother wore a white apron over her blouse, and it was clear she’d been multitasking again.

“Morning!” Camille said with a cheerful wave. Her eight-year-old brother stayed silent beside her, as if he couldn’t quite muster up the energy for a greeting.

Camille stepped forward and rested her elbows on the bar. “Is Zack up yet?”

Aria laughed at that. “What do you think?” She turned around and started pouring some coffee from a glass carafe. “Feel free to wake him up, though. This should help.” She set a steaming mug on the bar’s polished wooden surface. “Anything for you?”

“Oh no,” Camille said. “I’m cutting back on caffeine.” That wasn’t strictly true, but she’d heard about the inn’s broken espresso maker, and she didn’t want to make more work for Aria. Especially because she took her coffee with syrup and steamed milk, and that was even harder to make without a proper machine.

“Okay,” she said. “Then how about one of those espresso scones you like?”

Camille’s stomach rumbled at the thought. “You have those today?” She’d technically eaten some hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, but those didn’t hold up against the scents of the Valley View’s kitchen.

“Of course.” Aria smiled and gestured to a glass case behind the bar. “With chocolate chips and espresso icing.”

Two minutes later, Camille climbed the wooden staircase with one cup of coffee, and a plate of three espresso scones. Well, technically two scones now; Ashton had already scarfed his down before they’d left the common room.

“Hey.” Camille glanced down at her brother. “Want to get the key? It’s in the front pocket of my bag.”

Ashton unzipped a side pocket at random.

“The front one,” she repeated.

Her brother stifled a yawn as he unzipped the next pocket and pulled out the keychain. “Which one is it?”

“Dark brass, on the far right.”

Ashton held up a key that looked more gold than brass.

“Nope, that’s my apartment.”

The little brat held up another key that was quite clearly silver. A sly grin crept across his face.

“That’s the library,” Camille said with a glare. “No, that one’s the house . . . yes, that one!”

Ashton finally stuck the key in the lock and pushed open the wooden door. Most people in Starwing Town didn’t bother locking their homes, but things were different at the Valley View. Half the tourists and travelers forgot their room numbers, and things got even worse once they’d had a few drinks.

The suite was small by most living standards, but that was fine. The Farrons owned the whole inn, so they didn’t spend too much time up here. If they needed to cook, they could easily use the kitchen downstairs. The same was true for the dining room and the fireplace.

She stepped through the small living space, passing a single sofa and a flat crystal screen. Zack’s old gaming consoles sat tucked away under the wooden entertainment stand, but he hadn’t played those in years. He’d claimed to miss them, but there were only so many hours in a day.

Old photographs covered the wall behind the sofa. Most of these had been taken before Darek Farron left for his final mission, and they showed all three of them as a family. Zack looked a lot like his father; they both had the same tall, muscular builds, and the same short dark hair. The biggest difference was their facial hair. Zack’s father had a nice thick beard, while Zack struggled to grow one despite his best efforts.

She continued down a short hallway with two bedrooms and a small bathroom. Aria’s door sat wide open, with her bed made, and the morning sun streaming through the open window. The floor and surfaces were pristine as always, without a speck of dust in sight.

Camile had her hands full with scones and coffee, so she knocked on Zack’s door with her elbow.

No answer, of course. Zack could sleep through a storm.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Okay,” Camille told her brother. “Break it down.”

Ashton charged forward with a sudden burst of energy, pushing open the door and shouting at the top of his lungs. “Zack! Wake up!”

Zack sat up in the dark room, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Camille strolled in behind her brother, set down the scones on the desk, and pulled open the curtains. They were dark green camouflage, which seemed a little juvenile for an eighteen-year-old. He claimed he’d be moving out soon, so there was no sense in replacing them.

The room itself wasn’t half as clean as Aria’s. Papers and military-themed toys covered the desk and bookshelves, and laundry covered the floor.

“Morning, sleepy head.” Camille stepped over to the bed and handed him the steaming cup of coffee. “I brought you something.”

“Where’s Daudilus?” Ashton asked from behind her.

Zack gestured toward the open window with his mug. “Probably having a training montage out back.”

“Can I go play with him?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Thanks,” Ashton said as he skipped out of the room.

Camille bit her lip as her little brother left. “I didn’t tell him anything yet.”

Zack shrugged. “He’s eight—he’ll take it in stride.” He lowered his blankets, revealing his shirtless torso. The rest of this room was like a time capsule, but Zack had put on a lot more muscle these past few years, especially in the chest and shoulders. All that work with his dad’s dumbbells must have paid off.

And . . . she was staring.

“For Titan’s sake, Zack.” Camille felt heat rush to her cheeks, and she looked away. “Put a shirt on!”

Zack laughed. “You know, the surprise act doesn’t work if you stare for thirty seconds.”

“It wasn’t thirty seconds!”

“Oh, so you admit you were staring?”

“You’d do the same if it were me.”

Zack shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “Well, you’ve got me there.”

Camille still didn’t meet his eyes again. “Are you going to get dressed or not?”

Zack lowered his blankets to his waist and relaxed against the headboard. “You’re the one who barged into my room unannounced.”

Camille rolled her eyes. “Please?”

“I would.” He glanced at his dresser across the room. “But I’m also not wearing any pants.”

“Fine.” Camille got up from the chair. “Which drawer?”

“Second from the top.”

Camille opened the drawer. Nothing was folded, but she grabbed a black t-shirt at random and tossed it across the room. She didn’t see any pants in the dresser, but she spotted a pair of shorts on the floor and tossed him those as well.

Once he’d dressed, Zack sat back on his bed with his coffee and scone. “Finished your research already?”

“I wouldn’t say I finished it, but I made some progress.” Camile unzipped her bag and sat a small stack of books on his bed. Then she rolled over his desk chair and opened the first book: Gnomish History: From Rise to Ruin.

“The gnomes had something called the System.” She opened the book from the middle and gestured to a specific paragraph. “This ‘System’ pulled on ambient mana to increase the users’ strength, cognition, and healing.”

“Smaller words,” Zack said with a yawn. “I can only inhale this coffee so fast.” He held up a hand to forestall her protests. “You know how you are at midnight when you practically fall asleep on your feet? That’s me in the morning.”

“Sorry,” Camille said with a wince. She also talked a lot faster when she got excited, and that probably didn’t help things.

Zack took a good long drink from his mug. “So the gnomes used mana to train. I think I knew that—it’s one reason they fought with the elves”

“Right,” she said. “Only the elves could use mana at first, but the gnomes found a way to harness it artificially.”

He gave a slow nod. “And you think the spheres are connected.”

“See, that’s the thing. The gnomes kept their system a secret, so we don’t know for sure. But think about it . . .” She flipped to her next bookmark on gnomish technology. “Mana attracts mana. Every appliance in town has some kind of core that pulls the ambient mana from the air. What if these spheres do the same thing, but with people?”

“And look at this part,” Camille pointed to the passage she’d read before. “Improved strength, cognition, and healing.”

Zack blinked at that. “Like Daudilus.”

“He’s also driven,” she said. “You said he was training outside. Almost like the system is rewarding him.”

“Alright,” Zack said. “I’m convinced.”

“You could sell these to a university down in Arvendale,” she said. “They’ve been trying to figure out the gnomes’ secrets for decades.”

“Sell them?” Zack looked at her as if she’d just set his bedroom on fire. “No way—think about this for a second. Improved strength, cognition, and healing. We can use these to explore those gnomish tunnels.”

“I thought you might say that.” Camille opened another book. “So I did some research on mana poisoning . . .”

His smile faded. “You really think these things are dangerous?”

“Well, I don’t know, but the whole thing sounds risky.”

“Daudilus is fine.”

“For now. But what if the spheres are safe for gnomes and dogs, but toxic for humans?”

“Has that ever happened before?” Zack countered. “Humans can breed with gnomes. Biologically, that makes us the same species.”

“That’s a massive simplification,” she said. “Besides, those gnomes in the tunnel were dead.”

“Maybe they died of old age,” Zack said. “They looked pretty old to me.”

“That’s because they were skeletons!”

“I was kidding,” he said with a grin. “But what if I found old skeletons in the forest? Should everyone be scared of the forest?” He reached under his bed and retrieved a cardboard box.

Camille let out a long sigh. “You’re going to try one no matter what I say, aren’t you?”

Zack considered that as he stared down at the box. “No. Not if you honestly think this will give me mana poisoning. But I think the evidence says the opposite. Mana poisoning comes from unrefined mana. Those gnomes were using the spheres, and Daudilus has one, too. Even your research turned up positive.”

“Fine,” she said. Part of living in a small town was learning to accept other people as they were. Zack was bold and adventurous, while she was careful and reserved. She would have preferred more evidence, but Zack was right. Resources were limited in Starwing Town, and another week of research probably wouldn’t reveal much more.

Zack unwrapped the cloth bundle and revealed a pair of glowing blue spheres. He reached into the box and touched one with his bare hands.

Camille resisted the urge to cover her eyes. “How’s it feel?”

“Smooth,” Zack said as he picked it up. “Like it’s made of glass. Not really cold or hot.”

Zack tried opening his mouth, but it was obvious the sphere wouldn’t fit. He tried anyway, and Camille did close her eyes this time.

“Sorry,” Zack said. “Want me to wait till you’re gone?”

“No.” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “That would be even worse.”

Zack tried licking the sphere, then inhaling it through his nose. “Tastes like regular mana. Kind of rocky, but kind of sweet.” He frowned as he tossed it between his hands. “How did Daudilus do this?”

“You could ask him,” Camille said.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Zack got to his feet and stepped toward the window. Camille followed him, and they saw Daudilus in the back lot, playing catch with Ashton. The husky performed elaborate jumps to catch the ball in midair, but that was nothing new; he’d always been a good catcher, even before the sphere.

“Or maybe we should wait,” he said after a short pause. “Otherwise Ashton will come up, too.”

Camille nodded. “I don’t think Daudilus ate the sphere. It was in his chest, not his stomach.”

“Dogs' stomachs are close to their chests,” Zack said as he paced around the room.

Camille glanced at his unmade bed. “You seriously aren’t going to make that?”

Zack shrugged. “I’m just gonna sleep in it again tonight.”

“I thought soldiers in the military made their beds every morning?”

He gave her a sidelong glance. “How do you know that?”

“I work in the Temple of Knowledge. It’s my job to know things.”

He paused by his nightstand and took another sip of his coffee. “Thought your job was to put books back on the shelves?”

“Right, but I have to know where those books go.”

Zack tried pushing the sphere into his chest, but nothing happened. Camille let out a slow breath of relief. Maybe this wouldn’t work, after all. Maybe that thing with Daudilus was just a fluke—some crazy set of circumstances they couldn’t replicate.

Then Zack lifted his t-shirt to his chin and tried forcing the sphere through his bare skin.

This time, the mana dissolved into blue mist and sank straight through the bone of his sternum.