CHAPTER 17

  The journey to the Second Tier took us through twisting passages beneath the red tree and into what I assumed was the spire's interior. We moved in a tight line, boots scraping stone, the air still carrying a faint tang of smoke, piss, and blood from the city below.

  We eventually came to a vertical shaft with a large platform held up by ropes and pulleys. It was a cargo lift wedged between the spire's outer and inner walls. I didn’t question the absurdity of it. All of us piled on, and the platform lurched. As it carried us up, I braced myself to step into some kind of mechanical underbelly. Pipes. Gears. More of the ugly metal plating that covered the ceiling of the First Tier.

  After everything that had just happened, part of me still expected to see gray apartments and more blood in the streets.

  I could not have been more wrong.

  We stepped out through a narrow opening and into dusk light. The teal twin moons pierced in from the eastern side of Paradize like sideways spotlights, washing everything in a cool glow.

  The Second Tier was the opposite of the one below it in almost every way.

  No cramped buildings pressed together—no smoke-choked alleys stained with waste. Instead, smooth grass rolled away from us in every direction, short and soft, stretching out for miles. The plains were dotted with what looked like a thousand mirrors scattered across the land. As we moved closer, I realized they were not mirrors at all. They were pools. Thousands of them. Still, clear water filled them. Some were the size of ponds, others broad enough to be considered small lakes. Every one of them was perfectly calm, reflecting the double moonlight like sheets of silver.

  Wooden huts were spread across the landscape, hundreds of them. All identical. They had the same footprint, the same curved roof, and every front door faced the same direction. It was as if someone had walked this entire tier and said, Turn these all to the East.

  Behind us, the massive stone spire continued up past the tier's ceiling toward whatever came next, I assumed Tier Three. It had to be about a mile in diameter. The curve of it swept out of view so far that we almost could not see around it. Somewhere on the far side of the spire, would be the home entrance to the Second Tier's Sibling’s domain. Kael had told us on the way up that her name was Nerida. And that she was as vicious, if nor more, than Igi-igi.

  I hoped word of our escape had not reached her yet. But now, hope felt like hoping the sky would forget to be blue.

  "One thing I forgot to mention," Guru Kael said, turning to face us. His voice was just loud enough to reach the group. "Do not touch the water. Just as you survived Igi-igi by not looking down, here you avoid Nerida's wrath by staying dry. Understood?"

  We all nodded. Everyone took a half step farther from the nearest pool.

  Kael led us onto a dirt path that wound between the water, a brown line through a teal-and-silver world.

  With Bartholomew's group gone, we were down to sixteen Cinders, twelve Forgemen, and four Firebrands. On top of that, we had Jorik, his two kids, Guru Kael, and two masked Criers traveling with us. A tiny sliver of what had marched to death into Paradize.

  The growing quiet night gave me too much space to think. My nervous tic caught up with me, and I started scratching my thumbs.

  We have fifty days to learn these Breath techniques. What Jorik had done to heal us felt like magic, it seemed complicated, not something you picked up in a month and a half. Can we really learn it that fast? I asked Fern.

  Who knows, he said. We’ve learned other techniques faster than average people before. Fern said.

  That’s. True.

  Fern continued. And do not forget the Mages. Lotrick said King Marduk himself wants to lead the assault to get his Magelord back.

  They still need to find a new way to pierce the barrier, at least, I thought. Those Pillar Dust cloaks were a one-time thing.

  Let us hope they have not recreated them, Fern said.

  I grimaced. Demigods above and Magebloods below trapped us, squeezing us in the middle. The thought made my stomach twist.

  I worry that more people will die, Fern said quietly.

  I do too, I answered. That is why we will just have to learn this Breath magic fast. To get strong enough to save everyone.

  I forced myself to focus on the tier around us rather than count the ways we could fail.

  Swarms of tiny bugs danced above the pools in little spirals. When I leaned over one of the closer ponds, I saw dozens of fish beneath the surface, all the colors of the rainbow. Reds, blues, golds. They looked like koi or goldfish packed together in water barely forty feet across. Each hut had its own dock jutting over one or two pools, and every dock had stands for fishing rods and lines. Kael had mentioned when we were in the elevator, that the Second Tier lived off the water while the First Tier farmed and mined.

  Paradize had its own food chain tucked away from the world.

  The difference in how these people lived versus the slums below made my jaw tighten. Down there, they were stacked on top of each other under Igi-igi's eyes. Up here, they had space, open air, and an illusion of peace. Jorik's children stared from behind us, eyes wide, faces lit by the moonlight. Envy lingered on the kids. To want basic human needs that young is a terrible thing.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  The moons tracked slowly overhead as we walked. Eventually, they disappeared behind the ceiling, the floor of the Third Tier above. Crystal lamps that hung from that ceiling flicked on one by one, casting rays of teal light down onto the plains. Every pool glowed from within, like the whole tier was floating on a endless blue sky. At the far horizon, I could see where the floor ended. Tier Two was perched in the middle of the air, suspended only by the central spire of the Pillar.

  Paradize was like a city in a massive pillar-shaped snow globe.

  After what felt like hours, Kael stopped in front of an unremarkable hut. Behind us, the central spire looked smaller and when I held my thumb up to the spire, it disappeared behind my thumb.

  The hut we stopped in front of had the same curved roof and the same dock over the water, exactly like all the other huts.

  "This is it," he said. "Our training ground for the next twenty days." He rapped his knuckles on the door in a specific rhythm. "Remember this sequence if you get out alone."

  Clicking noises sounded from inside, and a series of locks shifted. A masked Crier opened the door. They wore identical masks and identical red-and-black uniforms to the ones we had seen on the first floor.

  "Guru Kael." They bowed, then glanced past him at the line of us on the path. Their eyes lingered on my green hair. "Is this...?"

  "Yes," Kael said. "It is time. Anything reported on Sibling movement?"

  "Nothing as of five hours ago," the Crier answered and looked back over Kael’s shoulder at me. "You mean they are..."

  "The ones from the prophecy," Kael finished for them. "Is Rasa back?"

  "Still on patrol. Three days now. He returns tomorrow."

  "We’ll start without him," Kael said. "Prepare the main chamber. And start cooking, sixteen pounds of chromatic trout and several bowls of crispy rice. Oh and this time? Don’t forget the sauce, my boy.”

  The Crier glanced at us again, unreadable behind the mask. "Yes, Guru. At once."

  Inside, the hut looked exactly like a fisher's home from any fantasy story. It was small, maybe four hundred square feet, with one bedroom tucked in the room’s corner. A cast-iron kettle hung above a small fire, and a bucket of tangled line and several rods leaned against the wall. It was simple and clearly staged.

  The Crier crossed the room, pushed a patterned rug aside, and revealed a wooden trapdoor. He hauled it open. Stairs descended into an orange crystal-lit tunnel.

  "In and out, how many damn tunnels are we going through?" Lucius groaned.

  “Would you stop complaining? Being cautious is good,” Ruriel said. His purple hair caught the light as he started down.

  Zenobia lit up. "I was thinking the same thing!" she chirped.

  Tevin frowned and watched her follow Ruriel, shoulders slumping. Mel leaned close to me.

  "Poor bastard," she whispered, then patted his back. "Come on, lover boy."

  We filed down after them. Silas. Jessa. Hyper with his lazy grin. Heda in her black gi. And lastly, Hakashi came down and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, where the tunnel opened up and the air grew warmer. He held his hand up and held Raine, Nanda, and me back.

  "Listen," he said. His eyes darted between us, nervous and sharp at the same time. "Prophecy or not, Cinders stick together over others. We don’t know these ‘Criers’ intention.”

  Hakashi continued. "Raine, keep strategizing. If you see a smarter way to do something, you say it. Nanda, watch for threats and any strange energy. And Erik..." His gaze settled on me. "You and Fern are central to their prophecy somehow. Use that to your advantage; see what kind of special privileges or skills you can get. But do not let it go to your head. Stay intentional."

  We nodded. Then we turned and followed Guru Kael down the tunnel.

  The passage was barely five feet high. Everyone except Kael had to crouch. The ceiling and walls had orange crystals lodged in them, which lit the rock with a warm glow. We wound downward for several minutes, deeper under the tier’s surface. Eventually, the air grew hotter, thick with an earthy, smoky smell when we came to a door.

  "Your home for the next ten days," Kael announced, and pushed open another door.

  We emerged into a chamber that felt like a small coliseum carved underground. The room was a large square with stadium-style benches along all four sides, facing a central arena about the size of two tennis courts. Weapon racks lined one wall, while a small pool of brackish water sat still and dark in one corner. In the opposite corner, a long trough of glowing coals shimmered with heat.

  The floor was a pale, yellow sandstone, and the air smelled like burning charcoal. The combination of charcoal and heat made my head swim.

  "You will adjust," Kael said. “…If you want to progress."

  He tucked his staff under his arm and clapped his hands.

  Three doors around the arena swung open. Masked Criers filed into the room from each door, about forty in total. They moved in silence, feet nearly gliding over stone, and fanned out until they had us encircled us.

  “Welcome, Guru Kael!" they shouted in unison, voices bouncing off the stone.

  Kael laughed softly and clapped his hands once. "Ah, the Tier Two Criers. More boisterous than my quiet First Tier ones. Although, they need to be to spy correctly.” He smiled. “If only my tier had private spaces like this." His smile faded. “Let’s get straight to it. We have grave news."

  The room settled into a hush.

  He recounted everything. Astrifer's return as the Sixth Sibling. How our expedition marched against their will into that hall. How Igi-igi had killed them. How those souls now rode the network of conduits up toward the Third Tier Nexus. And how we were coming to learn Breath and destroy the necklace.

  As he spoke, I saw it all again. Lucile raising her hands in chains. Usiast, the cooks, the nurse. Bodies collapsing around each other. And of course, the floor turning to eyes.

  My hands curled into fists. I did not realize I was shaking until Fern spoke up.

  Hey, breathe, he said.

  I breathed, and relaxed.

  "The Third Tier Nexus is our target," Kael said. His voice sharpened. "We must strike before those souls reach it and refine. Before the Siblings drink their power. That means we move quickly and without error."

  The Criers watched him with anticipation.

  "But we have something the Siblings do not expect." He turned and pointed at me. "Young man, step forward. Show them your back."

  Great. I thought.

  I stepped up beside him and turned so they could see the sword wrapped at my back.

  "Behold," Kael said. "Ashsteel. A weapon lost to the ages, and locked away from us. One has somehow fallen into this boy's hands. As you all know, when infused with soul glass, it can kill the Siblings.”

  Whispers rippled behind the masks to eachother, like a soft wave of sound. I could feel their stares dig into me.

  “He has green hair, and the Ashsteel blade. They are transforming warriors, and know combat more than most of us.” Kael said to the group. "Everything our parents and their parents trained for. Everything they sacrificed. Is for this moment. The prophecy has begun. It is not some story for another generation. It is ours to start.”

  Cheers erupted. Criers stamped their feet, shouted, grabbed each other's shoulders.

  I turned back toward my friends. They stared at me with a mix of confusion and—

  "Look at you," Mel said, smirking. "Mister Chosen One."

  "Shut up," I muttered through clenched teeth.

  I was not chosen. I was an intruder wearing someone else's body. I had taken Fern's body, that wasn’t planned on. Not like how Astrifer planned. I had walked through that portal chasing Noah and somehow ended up here with a cursed sword and green hair.

  I did not believe in destiny, though. Not when Noah was possessed and three hundred Cinders were dead on a stone floor.

  "Enough celebrating," Kael said, clapping his hands again. "Time to forge them into warriors worthy of prophecy. We begin with Mask Breath, and the foundation of all techniques. And yes, we use the accelerated methods."

  I gulped as masked Criers closed in and dragged me down one passage way.