From high above the surface, End arrows between people became almost completely indistinct, though masses of them in one place–such as cities–were visible. The arrows between Maria and people below–such as Ian–extended beyond sight, though they served as a rough compass, allowing her to instinctively orient herself to fly deeper into Sere.

She had a ruggedized glossY outfitted with a map and compass, and it even tracked her rough location and showed it on the map. Still, she’d only checked it twice since the elevated vantage point made it easy to tell where she was.

In Eternity, she’d lamented all the supposedly-useless knowledge she’d never put to use. Part of her upbringing had required her to memorize maps–and not just maps of political lines, but topography. East, west, north, south–she’d committed every part of the globe into her memory, reinforcing her knowledge through necessity, especially for Selejo’s neighbors.

She knew she was almost to her destination when the water’s edge filled the horizon. It was the Haethen ocean, spanning westward between Sere’s southern shores to the Adrillon, Kester, and Corneria. She’d only ever seen it a handful of times on diplomatic trips before she became the Eldemari. It was a deep blue, reflecting the perfect, cloudless sky. There weren’t many people on the coast–she was keeping close to the Kaspari mountains, so the nearby beaches were rocky and precipitous, dangerous for regulars.

There were a few coastal towns, but all were west of the mountains, comfortably sheltered in the valley. They had no idea what the Sere Consortium was hiding in the compound that stretched from a primary entrance in the mountains all the way to the island of Pierre…

Maria controlled her descent carefully using her Sun affinity to heat the air, filling her parachute. She consulted the projected map of the immediate surroundings and shifted her heading a few degrees, away from the ocean, instead looking down the coastline.

Ten minutes later, she saw it–a small lake in an old volcanic basin.

As she approached the surface, she watched intently for the first signs of defensive End arrays.

Where are they? she wondered, her eyes narrowing. Lower and lower she fell, with no signs of them, not even as she finally alighted on a tall snow-capped peak. There was no one nearby and no arrays–had she been sent to the wrong place? Clara Belvaire had told them that this was where she had the best chance of entering the compound.

She had been tempted to try entering through Pierre directly, but Clara had availed her of that possibility, insisting that the island was covered in detection arrays. Maria had still been tempted until Clara said that Achemiss (or whatever form of representation he sent) was coming through the entrance in Kaspari.

Clara had been somewhat limited in what she could tell them, even with Ian’s necromantic oaths. She’d only been to the compound a handful of times, and her memories of it were limited, likely removed by oaths or Remorse practitioners. But she knew some details.

The subterranean compound was labyrinthine and difficult to traverse, not to mention heavily guarded. Sere was known for its many technological innovations, developed by guilds and corporations within its borders, and the most sensitive projects–especially those with defense applications–were siloed in the Kaspari compound.

Maria wished she could use quantum channeling to confer with Ian and Euryphel back in Ichormai, but it was incompatible with her unliving physique. If she had Eury in her head, she’d be able to proceed with less caution, assured of her steps.

You’ve tangled with old ascendants and come out on top, she reminded herself, and you’re effectively immortal. You’ll be fine.

At least with ascendant energy and the camouflaging clothes, she could proceed swiftly down the mountain, reinforcing her body and moving with preternatural grace to avoid leaving traces of her passage.

This close, the arrow tying her to Clara Belvaire guided her steps. It was dark blue, cutting across the sky and mountains like a strip of midnight.

Finally, she found it.

A lake, more like a pond, with dark, deep water, lay at the center of seven peaks. From her vantage point, the peaks looked like a weathered silver crown, the snow blinding in the sunlight.

She saw numerous End arrows extending from her into the mountains and lake, confirming the fate she had with people here. It was ominous, seeing fate between herself and unknown individuals in a secretive government compound.

But even as she saw the arrows, there were no signs of any arrays.

They must be contained to the mountain itself, she thought, frowning. She’d expected the arrays to be buried in the mountain, though for their range of effect to extend past the surface, visible to her fatesight.

Then again, if the compound is subterranean, the arrays don’t need to cover the surface. By restricting them to the mountains and the earth, the Sere Consortium hides this location from people like me passing through. I only found it because of Clara’s description.

Maria wasn’t exactly surprised, though she was disappointed by the discovery. She’d made ample use of Selejo’s natural geography to create her array networks and buried important parts deep underground. Even Ian and Euryphel had needed to rely on the power of Ascendant Ari to destroy her arrays beneath the Cuna.

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As she circled the seven spires of rock, she considered how best to proceed.

Assuming there were, in fact, arrays in the mountains, she wouldn’t be able to disrupt them if she couldn’t get in close. Sure, she could dig a hole in the mountain using her fire elementalism and ascendant energy, but that would attract notice, defeating the purpose.

Which brought her back to Soolemar’s advice: plan for the eventuality of being detected. And maybe even masquerade as one of Achemiss’s constructs.

She considered her objectives as she mulled over the path forward. Her primary goal was finding Clara. The woman was here–the End arrow confirmed it–and bound by an oath that would kill her if she knew that she’d successfully helped divulge the locations of the rifts that were promised to Achemiss.

It was an insidious kind of oath, subjective to her own perspective and memories. Maria found it distasteful and prone to sabotage from Remorse practitioners. But it was equally as powerful for the same reason.

Clara was going to convey the rift locations to Achemiss at this compound, and then they’d be stricken from her memory.

For the entire visit, Ian and Euryphel planned to eavesdrop using the transmission artifact. They’d never told Clara that explicitly, but she was a shrewd genius. She knew that Ian had the transmission artifact and that it could be used–in tandem with Euryphel’s scenarios–to spy without leaving traces.

So she knew–knew that they’d be listening when she told Achemiss the private rift locations. And in telling Achemiss without alerting others to Ian and Euryphel’s anticipated surveillance, Clara would break her oath, and she’d die.

Ian could hold her death at bay with the necromantic oath, but that would only be a temporary measure. Maria would need to destroy the oath and reconstruct it after Clara’s mind was wiped. And she couldn’t wait to do it–other End practitioners would notice that the oath had been triggered by inspecting Clara’s end arrows.

Maria knew it was cold, but Clara was only a means to an end–if she needed to die for them to learn this information, so be it. But her death would alert Sere and Achemiss, rendering any knowledge gained useless. The woman’s death had to be avoided at all costs.

After learning of the rifts, Maria’s second objective was related to the classified subject. They already knew that Clara couldn’t speak about it beyond the compound. Ian would ideally learn its identity while using the transmission artifact to follow Clara’s movements.

Whatever the classified subject was, Achemiss was interested in it. And since Achemiss wouldn’t be coming in person–that would be unfathomable–a construct would likely be returning with the subject either today, or later. If it was later, Maria wouldn’t have much to do after saving Clara with her End affinity. But if Achemiss’s envoy returned carrying the classified subject today… she could destroy or intercept it.

For now, she needed to get close enough to Clara to fulfill her primary objective–keeping the scientist alive.

I’m going to need to enter the compound, aren’t I? It was the reality Maria had feared and expected.

Her eyes scanned the mountains, looking for an entrance in the rock. It would need to be at ground level and accessible to hoverglosses for the transport of supplies, but Maria couldn’t find anything. She wondered if her undead eyesight was to blame, her reliance on sensing vitality preventing her from seeing an entrance.

Wait, she thought, pausing. A hovergloss could simply fly straight into the caldera, approaching from above and diving into the water. Clara had mentioned the lake surrounded by tall mountains as being the entrance to the compound, but Maria hadn’t considered that the lake might be the literal entrance.

But even if there weren’t End arrays or even guards on the surface, Maria knew there were other ways to detect trespassers.

She slunk closer to the lowest of the peaks, one cast in the shadow of its neighbor… and nearly stepped on a glosscam buried in the rock, facing out toward the lake and the opposite side of the caldera.

Maria was difficult to track with her camouflage vestments and her lifeless physique, but the cams made her hesitant. If she literally stepped on a camera, she’d expose herself on the surveillance system.

You’re already committed to exposing yourself, assuming that they’ll take you for one of Achemiss’s constructs, she chided herself. The stealth game is already pointless.

Taking a deep breath, Maria descended, jumping from the mountain side and landing with a soft crunch of ice. She fixed her eyes on the lake, its shore only a few feet away.

Then, with trepidation, she dived in.

—

Clara Belvaire waited in Compound 89, the subterranean research facility and fortress considered too locked down for even the Infinity Loop experiments.

At least that’s the excuse they give, she thought, staring at the white, dingy ceiling of her temporary office. It was lit by cold overhead bulbs linked together through an array that ran through the bedrock.

The truth was that this place was too remote, lacking easy access to flowing souls. The Infinity Loop worked best in a city.

Clara felt numb, sitting and waiting, unsure if she’d survive the next few hours. Her life was in the hands of Dunai and his allies, but if she knew one thing well, it was that powerful practitioners were fallible. She believed that Maria Sezakuin had the ability to save her, but she didn’t trust salvation would actually come. Sure, letting her die would ruin their plans, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen.

Suddenly, she found herself yanked from her present reality. As she gasped in surprise, she heard Ian’s voice. “Maria is entering the compound. Vouch for her and let her see your End oath.”

She spun around, realizing with a start that she was in the same conference room she’d been in before when Ian had called her. The Death practitioner stood next to her, while Euryphel reclined on the table itself, his elbows propped up on a pillow, his stomach pressed to the wood.

“Okay,” Clara said, unsure how she was supposed to respond. It’s not like no was an answer. Her stomach roiled at what his words implied. Maria had actually come. Maybe the plan would work, despite her jaded assumptions.

Ian killed the transmission, snapping Clara back to her real body.

Maria is entering the compound, she thought, repeating the necromancer’s words. And I’m supposed to deal with it.

Clara rubbed at her forehead. What could go wrong?