Rayna squinted against the sudden appearance of several more wards coating the outer walls. “Damn, does Ember have sunglasses or something?”

Shela sneezed. “Sunglasses?”

“Never mind. What does the note say?” Rayna used her hand to shield her eyes from the magic burning her retinas.

Shela sneezed again. “I don’t know. I didn’t read it.”

“It’s a note for me,” Nali said. “Arguably one that didn’t need to be sent. I’ll have a word with Esh later.”

Rayna’s eyes finally adjusted enough that she could see more than blurry blobs as Din came down the stairs with three other people.

Checking their name tags, Rayna confirmed that the newcomers were the Gann, Pria and Trent that Din had mentioned earlier. She also realized that she was, by far, the lowest level in the room.

All of Nali’s students were in the upper sixties.

“I hope you have a plan,” Din said. “My wards aren’t going to last long.”

“You and I will hold them off as long as we can,” Nali said. “The rest of you, there’s a trap door under the table that Rayna is sitting at. Here’s a map—” Nali handed a folded piece of paper to Pria. “—and a tracking beacon—” She handed Gann a wooden coin similar to the one that Shela had used to enter the safe house. “Don’t activate that until you’re out of the tunnels. It won’t work underground anyway. We’ll catch up when we can. If we’re not there within an hour, I want you to take the long way around the city and meet us back at my estate, understood?”

“What if they overpower you?” Pria asked, her voice worried.

“They won’t know about the trap door,” Nali said. Gesturing for Rayna to move, she put the table and chairs into her Inventory, revealing the plain wooden floor beneath.

Nali grabbed the edge of a floorboard and lifted a panel that merged seamlessly with the rest of the floor.

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Pria said, sounding annoyed. “What if we went through the roof instead? We could scatter in multiple directions; they won’t be able to catch all of us.”

“But they would catch some of us,” Trent pointed out. “That’s a bad plan.”

“You could just come with us,” Gann suggested. “They won’t get through those wards for a while, and like you said, they don’t know about the trap door. By the time they find it, we’ll be long gone.”

“If they find no one, they’ll keep looking,” Nali said. “If they find Din and me—whether we escape or not—they’re more likely to assume that there’s no one else to find. Now, get inside. Those wards won’t last forever.”

Shela hopped into the hole without hesitation. “When you see Father Esh next, tell him he owes me for this.”

Nali nodded. “I’ll pass the message along. Rayna, you next.”

Rayna jumped in, sighing in relief when she entered the more muted magic of the tunnel. Her hair was still bundled under her cap, blocking a good portion of the glow.

The other three came next and before Rayna could wish her good luck, Nali had already closed the hatch.

From the shuffling of wood overhead, Nali replaced the table and chairs to hide the trap door once more.

“All right, come on,” Gann said in a low whisper. “The sooner we get out of the tunnels, the sooner Nali and Din can make a run for it.”

They took off down the passage, traveling at a light jog that they could all easily maintain. The walls glowed with what Rayna thought were reinforcement spells. The dirt walls certainly didn’t look like they should hold up over time and Rayna didn’t see a single crossbeam as they ran.

The spells on the walls were patchy, too. It wasn’t one big spell, but a tapestry of little spells that got brighter in some sections and dimmer in others.

Rayna lost track of the turns they took as Pria led them via the map Nali gave her. She seemed sure of her path until they came to a dead end.

“This isn’t right,” she said, drawing her magic light closer to the map. “This should be open.”

“Did we take a wrong turn?” Trent asked, peering over Pria’s shoulder.

She shook her head. “We didn’t.” She pointed to the map and traced the path they had taken with her finger. “We’re here, see?” She tapped a spot on the map that was marked as open.

Rayna frowned. “Why is it marked and not just open?”

“I thought that meant it was a way out,” Pria said. “See there’s another one here and here.” She indicated two more similar markings on the map.

“Let me see,” Gann grabbed the map. “Maybe that marker means a deadend?”

Trent shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would you mark that there’s a tunnel on the other side then?”

Gann glanced at Shela. “You’re awfully quiet. Have anything to add?”

Shela shrugged. “Not really. You all seem to be doin’ a decent job with the navigatin’. At least, it seemed that way ‘til a minute ago.”

Rayna frowned at the dirt blocking their way. It was too cleanly cut. Everything in the tunnel was rough, held in place by spells, but this patch was tightly packed dirt with a stronger glow than the rest of the walls.

Rayna placed her hand on the dirt.

She nearly fell over as her hand passed right through. Rayna regained her balance, pulling her arm back from the false wall.

“Oh,” Pria blushed, taking the map back from Gann. “If Nali put an illusion down here, she should have said something.” She walked forward, slamming face first into a solid wall of dirt.

Pria fell onto her backside, rubbing her nose. “Damn, that hurt.” She glared at Rayna. “I know you’re new, Rayna, but you could have warned me you were using an ability to phase through the wall.”

Rayna shook her head. “I didn’t. My hand just went through.” She stuck her hand through again to demonstrate.

Trent and Gann both tried, but they, too, found the wall to be solid.

“What about you, Shela?” Rayna asked.

Shela shook her head. “Doesn’t much matter, does it? If they can’t go through, we need to find another path.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Maybe there’s a switch or something on the other side,” Rayna suggested.

“Not likely,” Shela said. “It’s more likely it’s a trap to trick youngin’s in and separate them from the group.”

“Youngin’s,” Rayna asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, that’s the main thin’ I can see that’s different about you,” Shela said. “All of us are full-grown folks, while you’re, what? Ten? twelve?”

“Twenty-seven,” Rayna said in a flat voice.

Gann snorted. “You lie like a kid, too.”

“I didn’t lie,” Rayna snapped.

“It’s fine,” Pria said. “Let’s just find another path. It’s not worth the risk and Nali and Din are still waiting for us to get out.”

Rayna relented, glancing back one more time at the fake wall. She didn’t like leaving mysteries unsolved.

They ran into another dead-end some time later, but this time it was real. A cave-in had created a sloped mound of dirt where the path should have been.

After this, Gann took over navigation, telling Pria to hold the tracker instead.

“It’s not like you’ll do any better,” Pria pointed out. “I can’t help it if the map is wrong.”

“Just be quiet so I can focus.” Gann readjusted his grip on the map, tilting it as if a new perspective might reveal something new about the static piece of parchment.

They traveled in silence, everyone’s mood growing sour as they trudged through the dim tunnel.

“Are you all right?” Shela asked in a whisper, falling back to stand next to Rayna.

“I’m fine,” Rayna said, not really interested in talking.

Shela must have sensed Rayna’s mood because she backed off, walking in front of Rayna instead.

Rayna didn’t realize that the cave was getting dimmer until she nearly tripped over a rock the size of a small cat. She activated her Night Vision skill. The walls were even rougher in this part of the tunnels and dust periodically rained down from the ceiling, making Shela sneeze.

The spells on the walls were getting weaker too.

“Hey guys,” Rayna said, her sour mood forgotten as her uneasiness grew. “I think we should find a different path.”

“Because of the dirt?” Gann asked. “Don’t worry, that’s just something that happens in tunnels like these.”

“You’re acting like you’ve actually been down here before,” Trent said. “It’s going to take hours to get the dirt out of my hair.”

Rayna reached a patch of the wall that was so dim, she wasn’t sure there was even a spell there. She cautiously touched the wall and a chunk of dirt the size of her fist fell to the ground.

“I don’t think the spells holding the walls together are stable,” Rayna said.

“Spells?” Gann asked. “What are you talking about?”

Rayna cast about for a way to explain without giving away that she could see magic. “It’s not like these tunnels are just holding up on their own. There are no supports; no crossbeams. The logical conclusion is that there’s some sort of magic that’s holding the walls up.”

Trent laughed. “That’s ridiculous. These tunnels have been down here for centuries at least. Spells don’t last that long.”

“Maybe Nali is refreshing them,” Rayna suggested, her annoyance growing again. “And maybe she didn’t mean for us to go this way.”

“Even Nali couldn’t keep that many wards up at once,” Pria said, sounding more patient and understanding than the other two.

It just came off as patronizing.

“All right, fine,” Rayna said. “I can see magic.”

Gann snorted. “Yeah, right. and I can taste it.”

Rayna narrowed her eyes at his back. “I’m being serious. Magic glows and the walls are getting dimmer with every step.”

“It could be that,” Gann said. “Or maybe, it could be a nervous child making up stories so we’ll listen to you.”

Rayna’s temper flared. “Or maybe you should take that stick out of your ass and listen to reason.”

Gann stopped to glare at her. “I’m not turning away from the only clear path because some littlie got nervous about a few specks of dust in her hair. Why don’t you shut up and stop acting like a princess just ‘cause Nali took a liking to you.”

“Call me a littlie again and I’ll take a chunk out of your arm,” Rayna snarled, baring her teeth. “I’m probably older than you are and I have a low tolerance for stupidity.”

“Right,” Gann said, rolling his eyes. “Because you’re twenty-seven?”

Rayna didn’t dignify the sarcastic question with a response.

“I’m with Rayna on this one,” Shela said nervously. “This place doesn’t look very stable. We could—”

“If the two of you want to go back, be my guest,” Gann said. “But the map is staying with us.”

Rayna balled her hands into fists, trying to get her anger under control. Intellectually, she knew she was overreacting; this was probably her child body throwing overblown emotions at her that she wasn’t used to dealing with, but that didn’t seem to reduce her desire to bite a few of Gann’s fingers off.

“How about we do this,” Pria suggested. “We backtrack a few tunnels and check the map again. If we find another path—”

“There is no other path!” Gann snapped, his voice rising. Another chunk of dirt fell from the ceiling, the impact booming down the tunnel.

The others ignored it, which only served to intensify Rayna’s irritation.

“Rayna does have a point,” Trent said hesitantly. “There’s a lot more dirt coming off the walls than there was earlier.”

“You’re taking her side?” Gann asked incredulously.

“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” Trent said. “I’m just being reasonable.”

“Reasonable to listen to her?” Gann shook his head. “She’s the one who got Nali into trouble in the first place. You heard what Din said! This girl mouthed off to Lord Myre and now we’re running for our lives through some System-forsaken tunnels.”

“Din didn’t say that,” Pria said. “She said that Rayna said something she shouldn’t have.”

“That’s the same thing!” Gann said. “She pissed off Myre and now we’re all paying for it. And Nali is still protecting her for some reason. She’s been a student for less than a week and she already knows about the safe houses!”

“Is this about Rayna?” Trent asked. “Or is this because you’re jealous?”

“Jealous?” Gann snorted. “Maybe I just think Rayna should turn herself in instead of making Nali pay for her mistakes.”

“We’re not sending a child to the vanishers!” Pria objected.

“I am not a child!” Rayna growled, squeezing her fists so tight that she made her palms bleed.

“Rayna, you need to calm down,” Shela whispered urgently.

“Why?” Rayna asked. “Because I’m supposed to be the better person? Gann is the one being an asshole here!”

“I’m—”

Shela cut him off. “You need to calm down because you’re leakin’.”

That statement was so nonsensical that it managed to snap Rayna out of her anger. What the hell was that supposed to mean? She hadn’t peed herself, had she? That would be the cherry on top of an already terrible day.

Gann snorted. “Leave it to a littlie to lose their cool in an emergency.”

“Oh, would you just shut it?!” Rayna’s baseball cap flew off, her hair cascading over her shoulders and filling the tunnel with pale blue light.

Rayna opened her mouth to say something else, but she froze as a low rumbling echoed down the tunnel. She turned her gaze to the end of the path, only dimly aware that Gann was running his mouth again.

The tunnel grew darker as the rumbling grew in intensity.

The tunnel was collapsing.

“Run!” Rayna shouted, taking off in the direction they’d come.

She didn’t wait to see if they were following her, focusing on her footing. If she tripped, she wouldn’t have time to get back up.

Rayna didn’t overthink the path. She didn’t care if she had a way out afterwards. She focused on where the walls were brightest and headed in that direction.

Despite their higher levels, the others were struggling to keep up. Pria screamed something, but Rayna was already out of telepathy range. She didn’t dare stop to get closer.

Then she came to a dead end.

Rayna cursed, turning around and putting her back to the wall. She could see the others in the distance, still running from the cascading dirt.

“Come on!” she screamed, though they had nowhere to go if the dirt kept coming. Pria faltered disappearing under the dirt.

Rayna screamed, backing away to press her back against the wall.

She fell through it, landing hard on the other side.

“Shit!” Rayna jumped up, trying to run back through the wall, but the false wall didn’t seem to go two ways. “Shela! Gann! Trent! Can you hear me?” She didn’t even like them, but she didn’t want them to die. As panic rose in her throat, tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t do anything. She was trapped.

What if…?

Rayna pulled Phira out of her stone.

“It’s about time!” Phira said. “What—” She stopped, taking in Rayna’s current state. “What’s wrong.”

“The… others… are behind… the wall,” Rayna sobbed, taking gulping breaths in each pause. “Can you see… if they’re all right? I—I can’t get through.”

Phira didn’t ask for any more details. She disappeared through the wall.

Rayna squeezed her eyes shut, keeping her hands firmly pressed against the wall.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please let them be all right.”

Phira didn’t return for several agonizing minutes. Rayna’s heart had slowed down enough that she could breathe normally, but the fear didn’t dissipate.

Phira finally returned, her expression confused. “What was I supposed to be looking for?”

“Shela!” Rayna said. “Or Gann or Trent. They were running from the collapsing tunnel.”

“Collapse?” Phira asked. “As in there was a tunnel before?”

“Yes!” Rayna snapped, wiping the tears from her eyes. “There was an open tunnel with dirt walls and—” Rayna paused, just now noticing the cold stone beneath her hands. She looked around, seeing more stone and not a speck of dirt.

“There wasn’t a cave in on the other side of this wall,” Phira said, confusion in her voice. “I don’t think there was a tunnel there in the first place. All I could find was solid rock.”

Rayna stared numbly at the stone. It wasn’t a false wall, it was a portal.

She could be anywhere on Ember now.