“Empty it. We might have a live one,” the guard said. “Be ready to sound the secondary alarm, just in case.”
They started unloading the carts. Erich heard the carcasses thump on the ground, then the wet sound of flesh hitting flesh. The weight on his shoulders was becoming less and less. He clenched his hands and grasped the hilt of his dagger. The light came through, and he made eye contact with the guard unloading the bodies. And for a moment, the guard didn’t seem to notice, then he recoiled. As he was about to shout a warning, Erich shot up, flinging gore and blood around the room. As he rolled out, he sprang up and slashed at the nearest guard, opening up his throat.
The second guard was reaching for the second alarm—runic markings carved into the wall, as Erich flung his dagger to knock his hand away. The guard rushed toward Erich and drew his blade, which was etched with binding runes. Dagger gone, Erich was defenseless, and if that blade cut him, he knew his wounds wouldn’t heal. Erich felt the dragon’s wings beating against his insides, begging to be unleashed. But before Erich could let go, a black sword thrust its way through the guard’s gut from behind, and he slumped over onto the ground. His sword lay in the rot and blood on the ground.
Fritz stood there, hands shaking and face pale.
“First time killing a man?” Erich asked him.
Fritz looked up at him, eyes wide and pupils blown. “It shouldn’t be that easy.” He looked at his spotless, shaking hands.
Erich sympathized with him; the first time you took a life was the hardest. But they didn’t have time for Fritz to tremble and second-guess his actions.
Erich clapped him on the shoulder. “You saved us both. If you hadn’t intervened, he would have sounded the alarm, and we’d both be dead.”
The screech that had first alerted them of their presence had died down. And they had a moment’s reprieve to collect their weapons and head out. Fritz couldn’t tear his eyes away from the corpse that was slowly bleeding out on the ground. While he did that, Erich went and retrieved his dagger. It wasn’t weighted as well as his. And he mourned its loss. But it was better that he let the old one go. Just like his uncle should give up on bringing him back to Sundland.
Fritz seemed to have collected himself enough to move on, and they exited the room. It opened onto a long hallway. On the outside of the door, there was no one around. But by the lack of windows, Erich surmised they were deep underground. With his weapon drawn, he motioned for Fritz to follow, and they took the labyrinth of halls through the temple. The tunnel had an uncanny resemblance to the collapsed underground tunnels he’d encountered in Artria, and he was certain that if he asked Fritz about it, he’d learn of their rich and storied history. In fact, if Fritz wasn’t rattled, he’d probably be telling Erich right now. But Fritz was walking like a ghost behind him, and Erich feared he wasn’t going to be able to complete their mission.
They needed to find the oracle, and more importantly, Ludwig, and a way into the temple proper. He had a general idea of the interior of the tower, thanks to Ludwig’s map. But even Ludwig’s intel had gaps in it. He’d barely joined the Midnight Guard’s ranks, and they’d yet to show him all the inner workings of the dungeon. Erich had stopped beneath a torch to consult his map when he heard voices approaching him.
He silently signaled to Fritz to stand down and then pressed his back against the wall, waiting as the footsteps drew closer. As soon as guards turned the corner, he sprang and stabbed one guard in the ribs between a gap in his armor and angled up to hit his heart for a swift, clean death. Then Erich caught the second as he turned to run and sound a runic alarm carved into the wall by cutting his throat from behind.
“Help me hide them,” he said to Fritz, who was looking a bit green.
They dragged the bodies into an alcove, and Erich hoped that no one else would come down this way for a while. From what he’d gathered, these alarm runes were all over the tunnels. At any time, they might startle a guard and alert the entire dungeon.
Erich grasped hold of Fritz’s shoulders and turned him to look at him as he shoved the map into Fritz’s hands. “Go find the oracle, and we’ll meet back in the tunnel once I have Liane.”
Fritz still looked as if he were in a daze, and Erich shook him lightly.
“Tell me you can do this.”
Fritz glanced up at him, his vision clearing. “I can do it.”
Erich nodded. “Good.”
They parted ways, and Erich jogged down the hallway as he opened his dragon sight and saw the paths revealed to him. It was a tangled thread of interconnecting lines, but amidst it all, he spotted one golden thread. It was the same thread that he felt tugging him toward Liane whenever she was near. This was the path he had to take to get to her.
The dungeon was suspiciously empty, and he felt that same prickle of warning crawling up the back of his neck seconds before alarms started blaring. Erich brandished his weapon, waiting for an attack, but no one came in his direction. It wasn’t Erich who’d set off the alarm but Fritz.
He felt his connection with Liane pull taut. He could use this distraction to reach her and remove her from the temple, but at the same time, he’d doom Fritz to death. Rather than push forward, he looped back and rushed down the stairs toward the dungeons, where the oracle was meant to be held. He saw the guards on the stairs, and with their backs to him and their attention focused on breaking down the door, Erich had made his way through half of them before they turned on him.
As their blood splattered on his face, Erich felt the dragon stir beneath his skin, felt it overcome him. He could reject it, or he could embrace it, and this time, Erich knew there was no point in turning away from the dragon within him. He unleashed the power and felt it ripple over his body, transforming his skin into something scaled and hard. He rushed toward the guards, knocking them down when they slashed at his body. Their attempts did not break the skin, and he tore through them like a creature through paper.
They were no match for him. And as his dragon eyes opened onto the world around him, he saw in brighter colors than he ever had before.
He pushed down the door and discovered Fritz and an old woman huddled together. There was blood on Fritz’s face, and he was shaking.
“I got her out, but as soon as I did, the alarm...” He trembled.
“Don’t worry. You did what we set out to do. Get her out of here, and I’ll go get Liane.”
“But the alarms...”
“Don’t worry about me. Use your portal, or whatever you need.”
Fritz looked stricken, but the oracle placed a hand on his shoulder. “It is what I have seen. We’ll meet again at the vein.” The old woman’s eyes were glazed over and milky white. But even so, Erich felt as if she were seeing past him into a thousand branching futures.
