El watched Lhogan as he leaned in front of a small, slightly smoldering box on the wall ten feet away from where the mattresses had been. A shimmer in the air, like a wave of heat, connected the box to his eyes, and then a hidden door in the wall slid open.

“This way,” Lhogan said, and ushered her inside.

“What was that?” El asked after Lhogan followed her in, and the door closed behind them.

“New security measure, scans your Spark through your eyes. Really dries them out too,” he said and massaged his eyes with the palms of his hands.

“New?”

“Yeah, it’s actually why I was surprised Felps suggested this. We had a break-in a few months back,” Lhogan explained as the hallway they were in turned into a spiral staircase, and Lhogan led them down.

“A break in? Did you catch them? Who was it?”

“We think it was an operative from Guld,” Lhogan said. “Yes, think, we didn’t catch them.”

“What’d they take?”

“Data of some kind. I don’t have the clearance to know more than that. Anyway, since then, they installed those Spark readers all over the place. Uh, it probably goes without saying, but you shouldn’t talk about anything you see down here. The weapons above, sure, no problem, but down here is still some top secret stuff.”

A Guld operative was more interested in what was down there then the weapon above she’d tested? Just what kind of other project was Felps working on?

Lhogan leaned in front of another Spark reader at the bottom of the stairs, which opened a door into a wide passageway.

“I had no idea there was something like this underground,” El said as she looked first right then left. The passage was definitely manmade, with twenty-foot ceilings, and at least twice as wide. And it looked to curve and fork further down. “How far does it go?”

“Miles,” Lhogan said, and turned left. “Don’t worry though, we aren’t far from our destination.”

“All for research?”

“Not all, no. Just this area. There are parts I can’t access, even higher security, that I think the military controls. I’ve heard a rumor the Church controls the biggest section.”

“Been hearing a lot about the Church lately,” El said. “Are you one of the faithful?”

Lhogan waved at a pair of researchers in orange coats as they passed, then shook his head at El. “No, my mother is, but my father never really got into it. So, neither did I. What about you and your parents?”

“My parents died when I was young, so I’m not sure. I don’t think so. Nexin’s never mentioned it. As for me, no time for that,” El answered.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Lhogan said. “About your parents.”

“That’s okay. It happened a long time ago, and it’s a fact I can’t change. No point in running from it.”

“Thanks. Why’d you ask if I was one of the faithful?”

“I don’t know a lot about the Church other than its role as caretaker of the Flame. Just trying to figure out why they’re suddenly running rampant over my life. One of the cardinals was in that room,” she explained.

“Oh? Should you have told me that?” Lhogan asked and gave her a sly wink.

“They didn’t tell me I couldn’t talk about who was in there, just not what was said. Besides, you’ve shown me a few things I probably shouldn’t be seeing.”

“I can show you a few more if you like,” he said with another wink.

“Don’t ruin this by making me punch you,” she said flatly. “Anyway, back to the Church, why would they have any sway over the military?”

“Well, that kind of makes sense,” Lhogan said. “Think about it. Why do we even have a military? Or the Firestorm? What has our nation been doing for the last… uh… what is now, two hundred and twenty-two years?”

“Two hundred and… wasn’t that when we conquered Graxia?”

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“Correct, and more importantly, when we reclaimed their Ember. That was the first Ember, other than our own, that we’d taken by force. And who do you think directed us to do that?”

“The Church,” El answered.

“Exactly. Graxia was our neighbor. A trading partner. Practically a sister nation. I don’t know how much you’ve read about it, but our… campaign… against them wasn’t a pretty one. That was before our Ember was strong enough to provide the Spark like it does now, so we played dirty. Poisoned water supplies, spy games, and assassinations. You get the idea?”

“Wow. They didn’t teach that in school,” El said. “Where’d you learn it?”

“Told you my dad didn’t really get into the Church? He was a historian, by hobby more than profession, and liked to share what he found with me.”

“So, you’re saying the Church has been the one directing the military since the beginning?”

“Yup. It’s not like the military hasn’t benefitted from it. Every Ember it captures for the Church increases the power of our Sparks and fuels the war-machine. Each victory makes the next one that much easier. The lizards were probably one of the toughest conquests, since they also had multiple Embers, but we took our time until we made our move. When we finally attacked, well, it was pretty one-sided.”

“The lizards had more than one Ember? School really didn’t teach us much.”

“They called themselves the Chosen of Pyre, or at least that’s how we translated it. Before we stopped them, they were probably the closest nation to ruling the world. They had the most land, the most Embers, the strongest fighting force.

“Blaze, if they’d been able to cross the oceans before us, they might’ve actually done it. But they never figured out how to fly like we did. That changed the war. Changed history.”

“Were the lizards a single nation, like us?” El asked. “Did your dad ever tell you anything about different tribes?”

Lhogan didn’t answer right away as they turned a corner, a heavy double door the only thing at the end of the hall. Had she said too much?

“Not exactly,” he finally said. “Dad mentioned an enemy the newts had a long time ago. I only remember because he said the translation was never quite right. The closest he got was something like blood feud, so he suspected it was some kind of civil war. Maybe they were different tribes, but I don’t know.

“Anyway, we’re here,” Lhogan said, and pointed at the huge doors in front of them. “Remember, not a word of this to anybody.”

“My lips are sealed,” El said. “Until we get to dinner,” she clarified.

“What about after dinner?” Lhogan asked with another wink.

El looked back down the empty hall and stepped into Lhogan, so close their mouths almost touched. “There’s nobody here now,” she breathed.

“There isn’t,” he whispered back, pupils dilating.

“And I have a very good sense of direction,” she added, reaching down to take his hand and bring it up between them.

“You do,” he said. “You do?”

“Yes, so here, now,” she took hold of his thumb and pinky finger. “If you… touched me,” she whispered and brought his hand closer to her chest. “There wouldn’t be enough of you left for your friend Felps to find after I left this maze.” A slight twist of her hands, and his fingers, in opposite directions accentuated her point.

“Understood,” Lhogan whimpered.

El released his hand and stepped back. “Can I give you some advice?”

Lhogan shook his hand gently, but nodded.

“I don’t dislike you, and I appreciate what you’ve done for me today. So, don’t rush things. The best things are the ones you have to wait for a bit.”

“Is this you playing hard to get?” Lhogan asked, but not maliciously. There was a twinkle in his eye. He was enjoying this?

“I don’t play. At least not when I’m in uniform,” she said with a wink of her own.

Lhogan sighed overdramatically, but nodded. “You won’t be able to resist my charms for long,” he promised.

“Maybe, but that’s not why we’re down here. What’s behind this?” El asked and thumbed at the door.

“Fine, fiiiiiine,” Lhogan laughed with a shrug and stepped over to yet another Spark scanner. “It’s not quite finished yet, but I think you’ll get the picture pretty well,” he said, and a small side door opened next to him.

“What, no grand reveal?” she asked, but joined him as he went through the door.

She didn’t need a reply, her breath taken away by what hung before her.

The spherical room she entered was only about one hundred feet in diameter, and she stood on a wide balcony midway up that ringed the central feature. Glistening in the light, an electrum skeleton, a giant electrum skeleton, hung suspended.

Skeletal wings sprung from its wide shoulders and stretched toward the walls. The lanky arms ended in bladed fingers, each as long as El’s sword, while the legs seemed stubby in comparison. Most striking of all…

“Where’s the head?” El asked.

“That’s your question, after seeing this?” Lhogan asked with a chuckle as a few researchers eyed them, but didn’t say anything.

“For the moment,” El said.

Lhogan just shook his head, but he was smiling. “I told you it wasn’t finished. That’s the last thing they’re working on. Apparently the most important.”

“What is it?” she asked, stepping to the edge of the railed balcony to have a look. Even with the double doors all the way open, this thing would need to hunch to get out of there.

“Full disclosure here,” Lhogan said. “I don’t exactly know. All Felps really told me is that it’s the weapon that’ll win the war for us, if it goes that long.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, he also told me to imagine the double-forged electrum bones, that’s what those are, ‘engulfed in holy flame as they smite our enemies,’” Lhogan finished in his best Felps’s voice.

“Again with Church involvement?” El asked.

“What… I don’t think… oh, I see your point. He did actually say holy flame and smite, but I figured that was just him being his usual overdramatic self. Could still be,” Lhogan admitted.

“Or, this could be Church-directed. But, even if it is, how are they going to make this work? Wait, you said a Guld operative was here?” El asked.

Lhogan nodded.

El turned back to the giant skeleton and looked at it in a new light. “Is this some kind of golem then?”

“Huh,” Lhogan said and leaned on the railing. “I hadn’t really considered that. It could be.”

And one engulfed in holy flames? Was that just figurative in that their Sparks all originated with the Pyre? Or something more literal?