It was early afternoon by the time Lewis, Olivia, and Cassandra rode into Porthton. After leaving the tower in the middle of the night, they arrived in Springcaster just after sunrise. There, Lewis had offered them both the chance to go their own way if they wanted to. Something told him that the place his power was taking him was going to be dangerous.

They had both elected to stay with him without so much as a second thought. It had been humbling to hear them both say that they would rather stay with him than go off on their own, even though he had warned them about the danger they could face. Still, they hadn't backed out.

The three of them had then gone off in search of a stable in Springcaster and, thanks to Olivia's connection with the tower, had managed to secure a pair of horses. He tried not to think about the reaction of the stable owner when he found out the tower had been destroyed and wouldn't be there to pay him. After picking up a few more supplies thanks to Olivia, they set off, heading south.

Unlike their journey north, they had taken the roads. As a result, the journey had only taken them three days, all three uncomfortable days. It had only been in the last couple of hours that Cassandra had stopped clinging to him with a death grip. Olivia, it turned out, had ridden horses from a young age before she was taken to the tower, making her a natural.

'Is this where we're supposed to be? Wherever we are,' Olivia asked as they dismounted, leading the horses to the trough of water.

Closing his eyes, Lewis tried to focus on the power inside him. So far, when he had needed to, he had been able to focus on it, letting it guide them. 'I don't know,' he sighed, opening his eyes again. 'I can't focus on the power like I could before.'

'You've been using the power to guide you?' She asked, astonished. 'Do you have any idea how dangerous that could be?

'What? It isn't like I'm going to walk off a cliff because it tells me to,' he laughed. Olivia didn't laugh, though.

'You're focused on the power, though,' she said. 'It's dangerous if you focus on it too much. That is what drove the precursors insane before the collapse.'

'You probably should have told me that sooner,' Lewis said.

'I thought you knew where you were going,' Olivia snapped. 'I didn't realise you were letting it lead you.'

Shaking his head, he turned away, tying the reins of his horse to the metal ring hanging from the post beside the trough. As he looked up, a man with scraggly black hair and a tangled attempt at a beard walked out the door or into the pub in front of them, a hessian sack over his shoulder. When he saw Lewis watching him, he froze, almost as if he recognised him.

For a moment, Lewis thought he recognised him as well, but he couldn't quite place him. Looking down when his horse nudged his arm, Lewis tried to focus on the face, ignoring Olivia, who was now embarking on a triad about learning lessons from history. He knew that man from somewhere; he knew it. When he looked up again, the man was sprinting down the street, his sack over his shoulder as he ran towards a black horse that was tethered at another water trough.

Why was he in such a rush? He hadn't seemed in a hurry when he had left the pub. Was it because of him? Maybe he had been doing something he shouldn't have. But that didn't explain why Lewis had recognised him from somewhere and the man had recognised him.

'Are you even listening to me?' Olivia snapped, poking him roughly in the shoulder.

'No,' he said bluntly, staring after the man as he mounted his horse. With a glance back at Lewis, he turned the horse, urging it in the direction they had just entered Porthton from. Who would run from him, he wondered? It couldn't be Anthony; it was too young for him, not to mention that he was locked up in the prison beneath the castle in Tristan. 'George!' he said suddenly. Lewis hadn't recognised him because of the beard, but George had recognised him.

'What?' Olivia and Cassandra asked together.

'We need to go now!' he insisted, unravelling the reins from the post as quickly as he could before mounting the horse. Half helping and half pulling, he dragged Cassandra on to the back of his horse again, despite her protests.

He didn't even bother to wait for Olivia to respond before he turned his horse back north, taking off after George as fast as the people in the street would allow him to. It wasn't until he reached the edge of town that he heard Olivia's horse behind them. By now, though, he was too focused on the horse in front, which was slowly widening the gap between them.

'Lewis! What's going on?' Olivia shouted from behind them. He could hear her getting closer.

'It's George!' he called back. It had taken him a while to make the connection, but now that he had, he was sure he was right. 'In the vision, he had that sack with him when he was in the cave with the orb.'

'You're sure he wants the orb?' she demanded, appearing on his right side.

'If he doesn't, then he still has the crown. I need that for the coronation to stop the Prophecy of Days,' he said.

'I don't understand,' Cassandra said. The death grip she had had on him for the last three days had returned. It was now so tight that he could feel her fingernails digging into his stomach. Up ahead of them, George took the right fork in the road, and Lewis made his way in the same direction with a brief glance up the other fork, which led to Springcaster. What was George trying to do? he wondered as the road trailed off, replaced by scrub land and a pebble beach on their right.

'The Porthton Caves,' Olivia said. 'When we were riding into town, I overheard someone talking about them. Apparently strange things have been happening in the area.'

'That must be where he's going then,' Lewis said, trying to urge his horse on. They needed to keep George in sight if they were going to have any chance of finding him.

It wasn't until he felt a few spots of rain on his face that he realised just how dark it had gotten all of a sudden. A ferocious wind from out at sea was driving the dark clouds towards them. Keeping to the scrub land, he spotted the rocky hills up ahead. They must be getting close, surely.

'There!' shouted Olivia. Following the line of her outstretched hand, he spotted the black horse they had been following, standing alone beside the entrance to a cave. George had disappeared inside the cave, as Lewis assumed.

'I don't need to tell you how dangerous this is going to be,' he said, pulling up on the reins to stop his horse before it charged headlong into the one that was waiting. At the sound of them approaching, I looked around. Deciding that they weren't a threat, it turned its attention to a small clump of grass growing out of a gap in the rocks.

'I'm coming with you; you'll need help if he has the orb in there,' Olivia said, dismounting her horse beside him.

'Well, I'm not staying out here on my own,' Cassandra said, looking skyward as there was a rumble of thunder.

'What about the horses?' Olivia asked, looking up at the sky as well.

Before he could say anything, there was a crack of lightning almost directly above them. One of the three untethered horses reared up, charging off in the direction of Porthton again. 'I guess that solves that,' Lewis muttered. It looked like they were going to be walking back. 'Come on.'

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With Olivia beside him and Cassandra following them nervously, they entered the cave. In what little light there was from outside, he saw piles of driftwood that had been pushed to the sides, probably by the high tide. In the distance, he could just about hear what sounded like footsteps.

'Is it just him?' Olivia asked quietly.

'Unless he's made any friends along the way, then it should be,' Lewis replied. Somehow, he didn't think George would have

It surprised him that after a few tight turns inside the cave, they were standing on the edge of a large chamber. Through the darkness, he saw a faint orange glow. He didn't know why, but he had imagined that something that was supposed to be as powerful as the orb was barely hidden.

'The orb is real,' Olivia breathed beside him.

'I expected there to be more protection,' Lewis said. especially after Ellen said it hadn't been seen in living memory.

'What did you say?' Olivia demanded, grabbing his arm and turning him to face her.

'I said I thought there would be more protection around the orb,' he repeated.

'No, not that. What you said after,' she said. 'You used Ellen's name.'

'So?' he said slowly, considering her worriedly. 'She did say that.'

'Ellen fell into the volcano, though. The Fires of Creation are supposed to destroy every memory of a person that ever existed!' Olivia said.

'Maybe it didn't work?' Cassandra suggested, hopefully. The only other option was one that he didn't think he could bear to consider. If she hadn't fallen into the volcano, then she was still alive.

'Think about the night at the volcano; try and remember it,' Olivia said.

'We were all in chains. Ellen was talking about the orb,' Cassandra said. 'It was like she was arguing with someone.'

'The Fires of Creation must have worked then; there is no way she could have overpowered all of us,' Olivia said.

'So that means,' Lewis said, trailing off as he realised the only other option was the one he didn't want to consider.

'She's alive.'

'Ellen doesn't matter right now,' Lewis insisted, pulling away from Olivia and setting off towards the orange glow of the orb again. 'We're here for George. We can deal with her later.'

For a moment, a shadow moved across the orange glow as they reached the middle of the chamber. The far side of the room was filled with old stone pillars, some of which had collapsed over time. Beyond them, Lewis saw George pick up the orb.

'George, stop!' he shouted, breaking into a run. Around the chamber were a series of stone dishes filled with fire.

'I thought it would be nice to see something for a change,' Olivia muttered.

George stood behind the small stone plinth where the orb had been resting. In front of him was the sack, and the crown sat on top of it.

'Cousin, what a surprise! he said coldly, looking up at them. 'What's this? Not your usual entourage. Have you had a fight with your orphan girlfriend?'

'Put it down, George. You have no idea what that can do,' Lewis said, moving around the last pilar so that there was only the plinth and the crown between them.

'I never did see what she saw in you,' he sighed, considering the orb in his hand.

'Perhaps the fact that I wouldn't murder my own grandfather to steal the throne?' Lewis snapped.

'You think I murdered him for the throne?' he asked. 'Perhaps it is you that has no idea what is going on and not me.'

'Then why did you do it?' Lewis replied, trying to keep him distracted as he inched closer. If he could get close enough, he could tackle him and get the orb.

'I needed the crown, and the only way to get it was to force another coronation,' he explained. 'I couldn't care less about the throne. In the new world, there will be no throne, only power given to his loyal supporters. Let the world be one again. He will return, more powerful than ever.'

'What are you talking about?' Lewis demanded. George wasn't making any sense.

'The King of the Precursors,' George whispered as he picked up the crown in his other hand, examining it. 'All I need to do is work out how this thing is supposed to work.'

As he moved the orb closer to the crown, it began to pulse quicker, the light inside it growing brighter. It was now or never. With George distracted by the reaction of the orb, Lewis leapt over the plinth, tackling him to the ground.

'Lewis!' Olivia shouted as the crown was knocked out of George's hand, bouncing away as they rolled around on the floor. Grappling with each other in an attempt to gain dominance, Lewis tried to knock the orb out of George's vice-like grip.

'Everyone! Stop!' A woman screamed, her voice echoing around the cave. At the same time, Lewis and George both looked up, their fight for the orb momentarily forgotten. Standing behind the last pile was Ellen, the left side of her face horribly burned and scarred. She had one hand in Cassandra's hair, pulling her head back as she held a knife to her throat with the other. 'Nobody moves, or the little tribe princess dies.'

George shrugged as he got to his feet. 'I've never met her before.'

'Where do you think you're going?' Ellen snapped as he walked over to the crown.

'I got what I came for. I'll leave these three for you,' he said.

'No, you don't,' Ellen shouted. Waving the knife in George's direction, he was thrown backwards. 'I want the orb as well.'

'Do you really want to argue with my master?' George asked as he looked around for the crown.

'How about I make this simple for you to understand? You give me the orb, or I take it from your lifeless hands. The choice is yours,' Ellen said.

Caught between the two of them, Lewis looked one way and then the other. On the one hand, George had the orb, something that Ellen wanted. With it, he might be able to trade it for Cassandra's safety. On the other hand, Ellen had a knife to Cassandra's throat and could kill her before he could move. On one side, Olivia was looking between George and Ellen. Was she making the same calculations as he was?

'Give me the orb, now!' Ellen said as George's free hand began clawing at his neck. Under it, Lewis could see his neck tightening. She was strangling him.

'Alright,' he hissed.

'Very good,' Ellen said. Still holding his throat as he gasped for breath, he walked towards her.

Glancing in Olivia's direction, he hoped that she was on the same wave length as him. Leaping at George as he passed, Lewis tackled him for the second time, watching in horror as the orb, his only bargaining chip, flew out of his grasp. With a deafening crash, the orb hit the floor, exploding into a million pieces. Behind him, there was a shout, and he looked up just in time to see Cassandra break free of Ellen's grip as Olivia launched herself at the pair of them, tumbling to the floor. In a blinding flash of light, Olivia went flying through the air, disappearing beyond several fallen pillars with a crunch.

'What have you done? Ellen screamed, advancing on him when she saw that the orb was now nothing but a heap of orange fragments on the floor. In all the hours of torture that she had subjected him to, he had never felt anything like what happened next. It felt as though she was going to rip his heart out through his chest. He couldn't help but scream. Through watering eyes, he saw George scramble to his feet, tearing past Ellen and disappearing in the direction of the exit. 'I have spent my entire life searching for the orb, and you've destroyed it. You'll pay for this!'

For a split second, the pain in his heart subsided as he watched Ellen prepare to strike the killing blow. Dropping the knife, Ellen raised her hand. Just as she brought it down, Cassandra appeared between them, falling to the ground with a piercing scream that never seemed to stop.

Taking advantage of Ellen's moment of distraction, Lewis leapt over Cassandra, throwing himself at Ellen as he tried to reach the knife lying on the floor. She wasn't going to get away this time; he was going to make sure of it.

Just as his fingertips grazed the handle of the knife, there was another blinding flash, and he felt himself leave the ground momentarily. With a crash, his back hit the plinth. It was absolute agony. Somehow, it was worse than everything Ellen had managed to subject him to.

Slowly, she got to her feet, her eyes focused on nothing but him as he sat slumped against the plinth. 'Did you ever really think you could beat me, beat The Dusk?'

'Sorry, I've never heard of you,' a voice said from behind her. A second later, her eyes widened, and the blade of a sword appeared through her chest.

With a thud, she fell forward, unmoving, the sword sticking out of her back. Standing, shirtless and dripping wet, was Arthur, his hand that had been holding the sword still outstretched. Before either of them could say anything, Ellen's body burst into flames, burning ferociously for a moment before dying out; a pile of ash was all that remained as the sword fell to the ground with a clatter.

'How's that for timing?' he asked, retrieving his sword from the ground.

There was a groan from Cassandra before he could reply. Movement was agony, but he fought it, crawling across the ground towards her. 'Cassandra,' he whispered, turning her to face him. Her torso was covered in what looked like deep claw marks, with blood blossoming from beneath her ripped shirt. 'Cassandra, look at me!'

'You're okay,' she muttered, looking up at him weakly.

'We're going to sort you out. Just hang in there,' he said desperately, trying to put pressure on the wounds, but there were too many of them. 'Olivia!' he shouted, looking around for any sign of her.

'It's okay,' she whispered, placing her hand gently on top of his. Somewhere to his left, he heard footsteps, and Olivia appeared from behind one of the fallen pillars, clutching her head.

'Olivia! Help her!' he screamed as Cassandra's hand slipped off of his own.

'Thank you for showing me the real world,' Cassandra whispered as she looked up at him.

'Just hold on,' he pleaded. 'You're going to be okay.' The words hadn't even left his mouth when her eyes fluttered shut, her last breath escaping into the air. Pulling her into his lap, he held on to her, hoping and praying that there was still something he could do.

'She's gone, Lewis,' Olivia said, her hand appearing on his shoulder gently. 'I'm sorry.'