Englecon Mine, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

They encountered several other groups of slaves before the true fight began. Matthew was damp with sweat, his shirt and hair wet with it as he concentrated on destroying cameras and removing cuffs even before their group moved into the tunnels containing them. It was as if he was outside of himself; he followed Stephanie like a zombie while his mind flew beyond her, sensing the pulses of Athrii. It was overwhelming and exhausting. Despite the number of cameras and cuffs he was destroying, the pulse seemed to be growing stronger. When he shifted his focus back to his body, he found relief, but he could still sense it. It was like a low, droning tone that washed to the back of his mind, still present but only noticed when focused on. Matthew realized now that the pulse had always been there in the back of his mind, within his reach, he had just never truly focused on it.

Until now. Now, it was blatantly obvious.

The true fight began when they turned down a main tunnel and encountered a group of guards escorting a line of slaves. There was a second of silence, one second of surprise; Matthew took a hold of the Athrii in the slaves' cuffs and crushed it. The cuffs clattered to the floor. The slaves behind him rushed forward and attacked the guards like a swarm of angry hornets.

Matthew snapped back to focus when Stephanie grabbed his arm and pulled him in the other direction. The slaves were already converging down the tunnel, rushing to attack their next enemy. Stephanie was pulling him away.

"They've got that way, we'll take this one," she said, pulling him behind her. "We've gotta get that screen!"

He followed her blindly, gulping in deep breaths of air to steady his racing heart. The air felt hot and muggy. He wiped at the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand.

Stephanie noticed. "You alright?"

"Destroying magic is hard."

"Is that what you're doing? Destroying the Athrii?"

He nodded. "Except the more I destroy, the more there seems to be. It's like it's growing, getting bigger."

Stephanie shot him a narrowed look. "Getting bigger or getting closer?"

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"Is there a difference?"

"Didn't the Overseer contact Zusia about me?"

Matthew jerked her to a stop, alarm bolting through him. His heart seemed to be skipping beats. "You think... she's here?"

"Creator, I hope not," Stephanie said, shifting the weight of the pickaxe on her shoulder. "If she is, we're all dead. It's one thing to destroy Athrii. It's a whole other thing to face down an Athriian herself."

"Yeah," Matthew whispered, taking a shuddering breath. He was tired — not even just physically, but mentally. He was beginning to get a headache, and the Warmth was too preoccupied to deal with it. "C'mon." He pushed himself to start walking again, turning a corner into a room without thinking.

It was the Punishing Room again — they had completed a full circle, coming around through the other door. Matthew stopped short when he realized it, his stomach plummeting when he saw the Overseer standing at the edge of one of the pits.

It took a second for the reality to set in. The next second Matthew was sprawled on the ground, his head throbbing, his senses disoriented. Stephanie yelled, fighting someone, but Matthew knew it would stop the moment he felt the blade against the back of his neck. Sure enough, Stephanie quieted, and by the time Matthew turned his aching head to look at her, she was cuffed and held tightly by a guard by the door. Matthew hadn't noticed the men when he entered the room, and he mentally cursed.

"I left you both the choice and you acted exactly how I assumed you would," the Overseer stated, his voice echoing through the room. "You're powerful, boy. I have half a mind to let her deal with you herself."

Matthew looked up at him, the blade on his neck forcing him to do so slowly. The man stood several yards away, the air of confidence about him grating and frustrating. At his feet, Matthew now noticed, lay Abby. Her appearance sent a jolt through him. She was paler than he'd ever seen, her eyes opened and yet glazed over and staring at nothing. Only the steady rise and fall of her chest showed she was still alive. Her clothes were torn and bloodied and her back was bandaged. She looked as though she had been dropped there.

"What did I tell you the repercussions would be for disobeying me, Matthew?" The Overseer turned around to look at Matthew, and Matthew spotted the dagger the man held in his hand.

Matthew's blood went cold. The Warmth reared like a frightened horse. "Don't," he managed to say, his voice breathless.

"It's far too late for begging and pleading." The Overseer crouched down over Abby and lifted the dagger.

"No! Wait!" a voice yelled from the tunnel, and someone rushed into the room. The Overseer stopped and looked up, his face twisting in disdain. Matthew craned his neck to see who had shouted.

It was Oceania.