Kate and the round cell vanished and Corvan found himself back under the leafy canopy of the trellis. Screwing his eyes shut, he tried to fall asleep by focusing on the soothing sound of the fountain. He needed to get back to the dream room and tell Kate that the reason he couldn't warn Tyreth was because he needed to rescue his father first.

Something sharp bit into his neck and opening his eyes, he discovered Tsarek's lean face sticking through the wall of vines, a short tube in his mouth. The lizard’s cheeks puffed and Corvan felt another sharp sting on his neck. Sitting up, Corvan frowned at Tsarek and shook his head. Tsarek motioned impatiently for him to follow, then faded back into the tangle of leaves.

Leaving the couch, Corvan stuck his head through the thick curtain of grey foliage. Tsarek was waiting just inside a debris-filled alley behind the trellis. At one time it must have been a protected corner of the garden for a tattered sling chair still hung from an overhead beam that stuck out from the back wall. Over time the vines had grown over the trellis supports and the space forgotten.

Tsarek grabbed ahold of his arm so tightly, has claws were poking into Corvan’s skin. "Oh Sir, I am so glad I found you. You must come with me right away. It is not safe to be in this city. They have many lumiens here and it is so very dangerous for you now that you . . ."

Corvan cut him off. “Did you find my father?”

"Yes. He is in the next cavern on the other side of the place they call the Gatehouse. Gavyn took me through it. He is a very clever boy."

"Gavyn is here?" Corvan looked past the chair into the dusty shadows.

"Not now, but he was with me when we found where your father. Then Gavyn went away somewhere. He seems to do that often, but I can lead you there." Tsarek took a step back and pointed along the narrow alley to an opening in a stone wall at the far end. “We can escape that way.”

"Looking for more lumien seeds?" The voice behind Corvan startled him so bad he banged his head on the support beam of the trellis. "You won't find any.” Leena stated. “That's not a lumien vine."

Tsarek pulled on Corvan's hand, but Corvan shook his head. This was not the time to make a run for it. He didn't have the energy. Tsarek let go, gestured to the opening at the end, and stepped towards the escape.

Extracting his head from the curtain of leaves, Corvan turned to face Leena. Her face was dark with anger, and this time she was armed with a crossbow.

"Don't even try to give me your excuses. I've heard them all and every single one is a lie."

Leaving the trellis Corvan moved with shaking legs back to the couch. Leena pointed the crossbow bolt directly at his heart, her trigger tensed and ready. He sat on the edge and looked up at her. "I promise you I . . ."

Leena lunged toward him, eyes blazing. "Promise?" she hissed. "Do you know how many promises I've heard?"

Corvan leaned away from the end of the crossbow. "You haven't heard any from me."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, you are a clever one. Well, Cor-Van,” she said sarcastically, “it's not going to work on me." She motioned with the crossbow to the back off the arbor. "Get on your feet. I don't care what our guardian says, you need to go to the Gatehouse where they can deal with you while you are still worn out by your own greed."

Corvan stood and Leena took a quick step back. "I understand how fast you can move when you have the power in you, but I also know that my bolt is even faster." She nodded toward an opening farther inside the arbor on the side where Tsarek was hiding. "There is an old hidden gate there. We will go out that back way and up to the city wall. It will be best if our guardian believes you have run away."

Corvan moved slowly to where Leena had pointed her bow. If only she knew how weak he actually was. He stumbled on a single step up to a walkway that circled the open garden area.

"Don't try to pull any of your tricks on me,” Leena hissed at him.

Corvan did not answer.

"What, no more excuses?"

Corvan turned slowly around. "Why are you so angry at me? Have I done anything to hurt you or anyone else?"

Leena clenched her jaw. "Not yet, but you will. You cannot be trusted."

Corvan leaned a hand against one of the pillars to steady himself. "I know I was wrong to eat the lumien seeds. I don't deny that."

Leena's face softened. "It’s good you can at least admit it. I wish others . . ." She swallowed, then gestured with her crossbow for him to move along the covered porch to where the thick vines from the trellis cascaded down the back wall.

"Feel through the leaves beyond that darker brick." Leena said. "The latch is just inside."

Corvan pushed his hand through the wall of leaves and felt for the handle. "Ouch." The word left his lips before he realized it was Tsarek who had just poked his hand. The lizard was letting Corvan know he was waiting inside and was ready to use his poison.

"What happened?" Leena whispered.

"Something poked my hand."

"Just open the gate and get inside. I don't want anyone to see where we went. This exit is my secret."

Corvan pushed the vine covered gate open and stepped into the overgrown space behind the arbor. Tsarek's face stuck briefly out of the leaves in front of him, his eyes raised in a question. Corvan shook his head quickly. He didn’t want Tsarek to do anything to harm Leena. Tsarek frowned as he pulled back into the tangle of vines.

"Turn right," Leena whispered as she stepped down behind him and shut the gate.

Corvan stepped through a narrow opening and groaned at a steep flight of stairs stretching steeply upward to where a blue lumien shone through a small opening.

“Up to the top of the wall,” Leena command and Corvan began to ascend the stairs. With each step toward the light, his breathing became more labored, and his heart rate increased.

"Quit stalling." Leena said. "We don't have all night."

He turned to face her. "I need to rest. I'm tired out."

Leena leveled her crossbow at his chest. "I'm not that stupid. There are only ten steps left. You can rest when we get to the top."

Wearily Corvan turned around and looked ahead. Leena was wrong. There were actually thirteen more steps. Summoning his remaining strength, he counted them down. With one last step onto the landing, his legs gave out and he stumbled to one side, collapsing on a stone bench set into an alcove. Tipping his head back to the wall, he closed his eyes to keep the sweat that was trickling down his forehead from stinging his eyes. He didn't even have the strength to wipe it away. As his breathing slowed, at least his heart stopped clenching in painful spasms.

Blinking past the salty sweat, he opened his eyes. Leena stood across from him, her back against the wall next to the doorway from below. "You're not just pretending, are you?" she asked.

Corvan shook his head. "If you wanted me to die, that just about did the trick."

"Why are you so exhausted?" She leaned her crossbow against the wall beside her leg, but her hand hung close.

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"When you caught me in that energy building, the vines had already sucked the last of the lumien power from my body. The lumien plant was about to kill me."

"The vines grabbed you after you ate the lumien?"

Corvan shook his head, and the slight motion made the alcove spin around him.

"You're still saying that the Rakash took it?"

Corvan gave a small nod. "Their leader. The one with only one hand."

"You saw him?” She moved in close. “Here in Anamir? The one with the missing hand?"

Corvan nodded again and Leena glanced towards the glow of the power house in the gardens across the river. "I didn't think he would ever show his face around here again."

"He was hiding in the vines and he said your name, so I was trying to warn you."

Leena's eyes widened. "My name? When?"

"When you were leaning over me, just before you hit me on the head, the Rakash leader was hiding in the vines behind you. He looked right at you and said your name."

Leena tipped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Tears squeezed out from beneath her lashes.

Corvan waited few minutes, then broke the silence. “Where do the Rakash come from?"

Leena’s eyes opened and she nodded to her right around the corner. "From the darkness on the other side of the gatehouse."

"How do I get there?"

Her brow creased. "That is where I was taking you. It's where we send all the males who eat the seeds. Why do youwant to go there?"

"I know that is where my father is being held prisoner and he is sick. I must get to him before he dies. That is why I ate a lumien seed, I thought it would help me rescue him from the Rakash, that it would make me stronger than them."

Leena stared at him a long time, then joined him on the bench. "My father is there too," she said softly.

"Then you should come with me. We can help each other."

Shaking her head Leena looked at the stones at her feet. "You don't understand, my father is not a prisoner, he is . . ."

"Leena." A voice called from outside the alcove to the left. "We have been searching everywhere for you."

Three armed men were walking toward them.

Leena grabbed her bow and jumped to stand between him and the approaching men. She spoke quietly over her shoulder. "You need to get back down the stairs. Ask the guardian to give you sanctuary. I will hold them here. They are not allowed to follow you into her house."

Corvan pushed himself up and stood on shaking legs behind her. There was no way he could climb down that steep flight of stairs. "Where will they take me?"

Leena twisted around. "To the gatehouse but you must not go with them. You won't come back." Her eyes were pleading.

Corvan touched her shoulder. "It's okay, Leena. Don't try to stop them. It's not your fault."

Leena turned to face him; her eyes filled with tears. "It is my fault. I reported you and told them I would bring you up here to them." She raised her crossbow between them. "Grab this from me and use it to get away."

Corvan put a hand on hers and pushed the crossbow down to hung limply at Leena's side. "I must go to the gatehouse and rescue my father. I will look for yours as well."

Fresh tears fell freely as Leena gave her head a small shake.

The guard who spoke stepped up behind her, his two companions flanking them with short swords drawn. "Is this the one?"

Leena did not turn away from Corvan.

"We will take him from here,” the guard said. “You are commended for taking the initiative and doing what is right for our city.”

Leena wiped her eyes and looked at Corvan. "I made a mistake. This isn't the one you are looking for."

One of the flanking guards stepped around her, looking contemptuously at Corvan. "No, not a mistake. There is not much in him right now, but he has consumed lumien seeds in the past." He pointed his sword at Corvan's chest. "Any weapons?"

"We took his sword away." Leena replied. "He's not dangerous."

The man snorted. "All seed eaters are dangerous. We must rid our city of this curse, or we will end up like Kadir or even Katay Alba."

"The guardian of the sisters wished to speak with him before you take him away." Leena's voice quavered as she put a hand on Corvan's arm.

"Your guardian is known for being too lax in protecting our city. She stands to lose her position if she is not careful."

Leena opened her mouth to speak but Corvan cut her off. "I'm ready."

The guard sneered at him. "We'll find out just how ready you are." His sword poked into Corvan's chest, forcing him to take a step back.

Leena released Corvan's arm and moved back into the alcove. In that instant Corvan saw a blur as Tsarek whipped out of the stair opening and ducked behind one of the stone supports on the outer wall. Corvan turned quickly away. The last thing he wanted was for Tsarek to try to rescue him.

As they moved along the wall he glanced back. A small shadow was creeping along the inside of the parapet.

The walkway on the wall curved towards the squat building he had seen from the power station in the gardens. The thick vine from the power station crossed the water on stone pilings and thrust into the side of the building just below the level of the city wall. All the windows in the building were dark, like hollow eyes looking longingly at the bright lights in the city above and the gardens across the river. As they approached a door, one of Corvan’s captors called out and it swung open to reveal a dim lumien bulb hanging above a man with a drawn sword.

"So, you found him," the man said dryly in a deep gravelly voice. "Doesn't look like much."

"He is a seed eater, and he is alive. That's all our Master requires."

The new soldier grabbed Corvan’s forearm and shoved him ahead into a hallway. "I will take him from here,” he growled. The point of the man’s sword propelled Corvan along the hall and then up a narrow set of steps. He was guided down another corridor, then turned to face an arched doorway. "Open it,” the guard commanded.

Corvan pushed on the door and stepped into a darkened room. The only light shimmered through a threadbare black drape over a window beyond a large stone desk. Through it Corvan could make out the lights of the power station across the river.

A shadow moved in front of the curtain; the head of a man who was seated in a high back chair, facing the window.

The guard cleared his throat and spoke out. "We have captured another one."

The black figure nodded.

"Leena from the sisters reported him."

A raised hand dismissed the guard and the door clicked shut. In the silence, Corvan caught the rustle of cloth behind him. Someone else was in the room.

After a lengthy pause, the man behind the massive desk swiveled his chair around. The screech of metal wheels grating against the stone floor made Corvan's teeth hurt. The man made was confined to some sort of wheelchair.

A deeply cowled black robe cast a dark shadow over the man’s face but Corvan caught a glimpse of a mask with only two thin slits for the eyes, like a snow-blind mask.

"Put your hands there." The voice was quiet and low, and a black gloved finger pointed to the front edge of the desk where two polished black globes the size of grapefruits stuck up on thick dowels. Corvan hesitated. "Do it," the voice commanded and Corvan felt the presence behind him move in closer. Gingerly Corvan touched the top of one of the globes. It was warm and throbbed with power. "Now the other one," the masked faced intoned.

Corvan touched a finger to the second globe and a sudden surge of power ran through his body. It was lumien power. Not as natural as the seeds but more measured and controlled. He let it invade his heart and breathed deeply. It was good to feel strong without any guilt from having eaten one of the limited supply of seeds. This was the same power he had felt through the skin of the seed in the energy house. It was coming into the gatehouse through the vine over the river.

Closing his eyes, Corvan reveled in the sensations flowing through his mind. Memories flicked past like a jittery film projector. Things long forgotten about his childhood years; playing on the castle rock, camping with his dad at the river. His father's laughing face filled the screen and Corvan shut the memories off and focused his attention back to the present. His heart was completely full of lumien power. It was enough. Now it was time to find his father.

Corvan tried pulling away from the globes but instead, his hands gripped them even tighter. Was his body craving more power? He could feel his heart expanding, pushing his ribs into painful rings around his chest. His body began to shake as an intense ache flowed out to invade every cell of his body. Arcing his back, he tried to get away from the throbbing globes but it was no use. He groaned out loud, trying desperately to shut down the energy flowing into his core.

He was about to black out when a muscular arm wrapped around his belly and yanked him back. His hands came free of the globes, power crackling between his hands and the rods in arced lines of blue lightning. The strong arm drew him tight against the person's chest and the lightning ceased. Corvan gasped in pain as the power raged within him.

"It is enough." A coarse whisper, like sheets of sandpaper rubbing together, was close by Corvan’s ear. His head slumped forward and the arm holding him shifted up to his chest.

A white stump without a hand.

The leader of the Rakash had just saved his life.

The shadow behind the desk leaned forward. "Only I decide when it is enough. He could have taken more. This is the strongest one we have found yet. No wonder he was able to find a way into Anamir city."

"He came over the falls from Kadir,” the Rakash leader said.

The old man behind the desk snorted. "How can that be? There is no one left in Kadir with this kind of strength." The dark figure stood to his feet and pointed at Corvan. "I believe I have found a new leader for my Rakash army. One that still has both his hands." A gloved finger pointed to the side of the room. "Take him to the conditioning room and start the process right away."

The Rakash leader hoisted Corvan off the ground and draped him over a broad shoulder. Lumien infused blood flowed down to Corvan's head. His ears rang and the room grew even darker.