Tye gave me a sympathetic look as he was assigned to another group. Lydia squeezed my arm before joining Dreadwatch.
I walked over to where the four men stood, feeling like I was approaching a firing squad. Percy’s jaw was tight, his expression closed off. Aiden looked ready to pounce on his prey,aka, me. Eris gave me a small nod and maybe a wink, or might have been a muscle spasm. Draco’s face was unreadable.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me,” I said, aiming for casualness.
“Just follow our lead and try not to get in the way,” Percy snapped.
I bit back a retort. This wasn’t the time or place. “I know what I’m doing, hot shot.”
“We’ll see,” was all he said before turning away to check his weapons.
Reeves approached our group, assessing me. “Black. I’ve heard about you.”
“All good things, I hope,” I replied with a smile that felt stretched thin.
“The Assembly speaks highly of your combat record,” she said, not returning the smile. “But the Abyss is different from field encounters. These bane have been contained for study. They’ve adapted.”
“Adapted how?” I asked.
“They’ve learned to conserve energy. To wait. The warding prevents them from creating portals to escape, but it doesn’t diminish their intelligence.” She handed each of us a small device that looked like a compass. “These will help you track bane signatures. The stronger the reading, the closer the bane.”
I examined the device, noting how the needle trembled slightly even now. “They’re that close to the surface?”
“The Abyss begins just below us,” Reeves confirmed. “A network of caves and tunnels that extends for miles beneath the forest. The entrance is this way.”
She led us to what appeared to be an ordinary hillside. With a gesture of her hand, the ground shifted, revealing a dark opening in the earth. Cold air rushed out, carrying with it a scent I recognized instantly—the metallic smell of dark matter.
My stomach clenched. I’d smelled this before, in New York alleys and abandoned buildings, moments before a bane emerged from its portal. It was the smell of death and emptiness and hunger.
“Your team will enter here,” Reeves instructed. “Follow the main passage until you reach the first chamber. Your route ismarked in blue. Stay on it. The exercises end at sunset, or sooner if you complete your objective.”
“And what exactly is our objective?” I asked, peering into the darkness.
“Data collection. The devices will record your encounters automatically. We want to know how the bane react to different zodiac signatures, particularly yours, Ms. Black.”
Of course. This wasn’t just training, it was an experiment. With me as the lab rat.
“Gear check,” Percy ordered, ignoring my scowl. “Weapons, lights, emergency beacons.”
We all went through our equipment one final time. I had my combat knife strapped to my thigh, a collapsible staff at my back, and several small orbs of warded silver—emergency measures against bane that got too close. My tattoos tingled with anticipation, my magic responding to the proximity of dark matter.
“Ready?” Percy asked, not really looking for an answer as he activated his light and stepped toward the entrance.
The temperature dropped immediately as we descended. The passage was narrow at first, forcing us to move single file, with Percy in front, then me, Draco, Eris, with Aiden taking up the rear. Our lights cast long shadows on the rough stone walls, creating the illusion of movement where there was none.
Or so I hoped.
After about fifty feet, the passage widened into a chamber roughly the size of the dining hall at Dominion. Crystalline formations jutted from the walls and ceiling, but they weren’t the clear or colorful crystals you’d expect in a natural cave. These were black, with veins of dark purple running through them like infection.
“Dark matter crystals,” Draco murmured, coming to stand beside me. “They form where bane have been present for extended periods.”
I nodded, resisting the urge to touch one. “I’ve seen smaller versions in severe incursion sites, but nothing like this.” I neglected to tell him that the tattoo ink used for my serpents were infused with dark matter crystals. I didn’t feel like poking the bear today.
My tracking device was pulsing now, the needle swinging in slow circles as if confused. Percy checked his own, frowning.
“Readings are scattered,” he said. “They could be anywhere.”
“Or everywhere,” Aiden added grimly, his hand moving to the hilt of his blade.
