Stop! Can we stop and talk about this? Maybe have a think? I asked as Instinct eagerly trotted down the steps, headed into the depths of whatever the complex was under the palace.

  “What is there to think about?” she asked, sticking our head out over the edge of the stairs and peering curiously down the open central column.

  This was a mistake, in my opinion. Not because of the height or anything like that. We saw nothing but the steps spiraling into the depths; the haze was far too dense to see more than a few dozen feet, and it’s not like we had a fear of heights. No, the problem was with the sensation.

  The effect of sticking our head into the middle of the stairwell was a little like turning a blowdryer on our own face. It wasn't painful, exactly, but there was a distinct sense of something powerful racing from the depths and past and through us. I had a terrible feeling that if we stayed like that for too long it would strip us away; not in any tangible way, but layer by layer, piece by piece. It was hard to really put into words, but I had the fear that we would disappear, leaving behind only empty flesh with not a mark on it.

  Like my siblings, I thought. I barely even needed to imagine to see the way they’d fluttered and waved in the dreamscape, like sheets trying to tear away from their lines in a strong wind. Only where their souls were tearing loose in one piece, ours would be sandblasted into nothing.

  Instinct stumbled back, blinking and snorting. “It is uncomfortable, at worst,” she continued like nothing had happened. “The Herald’s servant, the one with the nose for treasure, said that we must descend. There must be something of immense value there. That, and I wish to see what is causing this. Do you not feel the power in the air?”

  The power that blinded and almost suffocated us a few days ago? I countered. Yeah, I feel it, no worries! It’s been getting stronger with every step you take, too. Maybe we should wait? Take a look at the room where Mak triggered all this, first?

  Instinct’s response was to continue down the stairs. ”There is no time like the present,” she declared, “and I, for one, am not afraid. Fight me for control, if you are so concerned!”

  I got the sneaking suspicion that pushing Instinct to do something that might quite possibly be dangerous had perhaps not been the best of ideas. I knew how scared she’d been. She knew that I knew, and Instinct was nothing if not proud. She might just be — or to be honest, she was definitely — using this as an opportunity to show how very disaffected and not at all scared she was.

  Unfortunately, I hadn’t ended up where I was by making the safest, most rational decisions at every turn. I was at least as curious as she was, both about the source of the magical phenomena, and what Sarina’s Advancement had been guiding her toward. Even if I could beat Instinct in a struggle for control — I was almost completely sure that I could, given time — I couldn't say that I’d do any different. I just preferred my reckless decisions to be my own.

  And besides, we were already a good way down!

  In the end all I did was watch as Instinct took us deeper, down turn after turn after turn of the winding stairs — I quickly lost count of how many. The golden haze grew denser and the acrid smell of ozone that hung in the air grew stronger as we descended. The pressure of the invisible wind increased, smoothly and constantly, enough to be noticeable but never so much as to be truly alarming or unbearable — though I knew intellectually that we shouldn't stay too long, and Instinct agreed without too much reluctance when I told her as much. A quick peek, we agreed, and then we’d head up again.

  Then we reached the bottom, and I couldn't say if we were at the base of the rock formation on which the high city sat, or deeper. Instinct looked up, wondering the same thing; the shaft seemed to rise into infinity, the haze too dense to see the ceiling.

  At the foot of the stairs, in the south-eastern part of the wall — toward the forum, if I hadn’t gotten completely turned around — was a tall, wide archway. Just from its appearance it would have been easy to tell that it was important even if it hadn’t been at the foot of those long, long stairs. It didn’t look constructed, but like it had been cut out of the stone. It had been done with incredible care and precision, with the sides carved into columns decorated with delicate stone vines, covered in thousands of leaves so thin it was a small miracle they hadn’t broken off in the process of shaping them, much less in the many years since. The columns curved inward after a few feet, meeting at the apex of the arch where, instead of a keystone, sat a large, multifaceted stone diamond, also wreathed in tiny stone leaves. It was clearly entirely decorative; neither the columns nor the keystone could possibly have borne any weight. But there was no pretense of function other than being beautiful, so that was perfectly all right. It was art for art’s sake, and incredibly well done, at that, with the simple, regular shapes of the columns and the diamond contrasting with the chaotic growth of vines and the multitude of fragile leaves on them.

  We have to show this to Val, I thought, and both Conscience and Instinct agreed without a single argument.

  From where we stood at the foot of the stairs I couldn't say if what lay beyond the archway was a chamber or a tunnel; the haze was dense enough that we could only see for twenty feet at best. Then we stepped in front of it, and the wind that emerged from it… Mercies, it was strong. Probably, I thought, as strong as what we’d felt when Instinct stuck her head out near the top. Only now we were standing there, with our whole being exposed and not even the stone steps of the spiral stairs to protect us.

  This is bad, I told Instinct. Maybe we should head back up?

  “We shall do no such thing!” Her growl echoed between the hewn stone walls. “We are here! We endured worse when it first happened! I will see what lies beyond that arch!”

  And with that, before I could even try to stop her, she threw herself forward toward the opening.

  It was hard to say how long the passage was. Long enough that we couldn’t see the end, at least. If Instinct had looked back a single time I might have been able to get a better idea, but ‘no looking back’ fit her perfectly. It couldn’t have been particularly long, at any rate. She moved quickly, and in the moments it took before the other end became visible I caught glimpses of scenes carved into the walls in high relief. They covered the passage from end to end, on both sides, but passed too quickly for me to really catch any detail. And then…

  Then we entered the chamber, and the cause of the explosion of magical power became unmistakable.

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  The wind was strong enough to be acutely uncomfortable, and I couldn’t help but imagine pieces of our souls flaking off and following that wind to-Mercies-knew-where. The smell of ozone was almost overwhelming, strong enough to burn our nose, and the haze was almost as dense as it had been in the food court right after the explosion — so thick that we could only see what lay in the middle of the chamber as a silhouette. But a silhouette was all we needed.

  “A crystal,” Instinct whispered, her voice echoing even more loudly in the chamber than it had in the stairwell. “Like in the mural!”

  Yeah, I agreed. Only, look at it! Damn thing must be two stories tall! Gods and Mercies, no wonder Sarina’s Advancement wanted her to come down here. I can’t even begin to guess what that thing might be worth!

  Look at the top, Conscience added, for once involving herself in a way that wasn’t just to make me feel bad. Is that a—?

  “A crack!” Instinct said, walking closer, then beginning to circle the crystal. Every so often a tendril of gold with a core of shadow would lash off the thing, but never in our direction. They always reached in the same direction — directly opposite the entrance — and when Instinct brought us closer to that side we could see the shape of a smaller crystal set into the wall. Even as we looked, another tendril came off the giant central crystal and snapped onto the smaller one, vanishing into it very much like the ribbons of a Rift being torn apart would vanish into a Nest Killer — or into a dragon, or a human magic user who knew to try.

  But as interesting as that was, my metaphorical bones were beginning to ache. We’ve seen enough! I insisted. We’ve been down here too long already. Don’t pretend like you don’t feel it, either! There’s bravery, and then there’s recklessness, and we’re both too familiar with the latter to pretend you don’t know which staying here would be.

  “Very well,” Instinct muttered, turning for the exit. “Perhaps we have seen enough. And I am beginning to feel an odd sense of foreboding and impending doom that I will admit to not liking at all.”

  Right, I thought silently. A sense of impending doom. That’s never a terrible sign of anything.

  To my relief, Instinct turned and seemed about to leave. That relief was short-lived.

  I couldn’t say what possessed her to do what she did. There was no hint of a conscious intention — no furtive glances before she acted. It was like she acted on a whim; she heard the call of the void, and decided to listen. As she passed the crystal she simply turned toward it. She did it so suddenly, so smoothly, that all I had time to say was, Wait, what are— before she’d reached out and placed one hand flat against it, and pulled.

  Agony. Utter, blinding agony coursed through us, along with a rush of unadulterated power like nothing I’d ever felt. No mere Rift could possibly compare; they may be natural, but this was refined. Processed. Concentrated, perhaps. We fell back, collapsing to the floor as the pain caused us to temporarily lose consciousness, but the sense of nigh-invincibility that filled us was too intense to let us stay out.

  We were holding far more power than we should be able to. I knew that. I also knew that we could swallow the sun and tear the moon from its orbit and use it to crush Behold Her to a fine, ruby paste, so I decided I probably wasn’t the best judge of what we could and couldn’t do.

  ‘She Swallows The Sun And Brings Down The Moon’ might make a good adult name, though! I said enthusiastically, not bothering with any context and barely noticing that our limbs were still spasming from the pain. On theme, yeah? We should run it by Embers!

  What are you talking about?! Conscience practically screamed. She somehow didn’t seem to notice the endless power coursing through our veins. We nearly died, thanks to the big scaly bitch and her somehow-worse-than-mine impulse control! Why are you talking about names? And why the hell do you sound like you just did a couple of lines in a nightclub bathroom?

  Can’t you feel it? I asked. I wasn’t sure if I was more confused or offended that she couldn’t tell how absolutely juiced we were. I also decided that I’d waited too long for Instinct to pick us up off the floor, so I did it myself and made my way toward the exit. Can’t you feel the power?

  Of course I feel it! I feel like I’m a balloon filled past capacity, and the tiniest prick would turn me into confetti. It’s awful! Terrifying! What the hell are you so stoked about?

  Nah, mate, I feel great! I insisted. Sure, every muscle in my body felt like it was tearing itself to shreds, but that was nothing compared to the strength and heat radiating throughout my entire being, from the incandescent ball of starlight in my chest to the tips of my tail and wings. My flesh was on fire in the very best kind of way! I wanted to fly south and lay waste to Happar’s armies. I wanted to cross the sea and reduce Tekeretek to blood and rubble. I wanted to challenge Behold Her And Know That All Things Must End to a duel and eat her heart as the stupid, malicious light went out of her eyes. I wanted to—

  You want to do stupid things all the time, Conscience snapped. You’re just usually marginally smarter than this. Even Scaly wouldn’t be quite this mental!

  I didn’t dignify her snark with an answer. I was taking the steps two or three at a time, eager to be out. Anyone watching might have thought I was fleeing, but no such thing — I just wanted to get into the air!

  It’s a damn… what’s-it, isn’t it? I gushed. An accumulator, or something! Made to be full of heaps and heaps of power. Mak must’ve triggered it somehow. Broken it, maybe? Made it just spew the stuff everywhere!

  Lovely image. Conscience’s words were accompanied by the sensation of a sigh. Anyway, we’re getting near the top. You seriously need to calm down before you do something irreversible. For that matter, Scaly needs to take over again before Embers notices that something’s up.

  I was crossing the food court, stepping nimbly between the piles of bones that had once been people and eager to be outside. She’ll understand! Honestly, I don’t know why we ever worried to start with. She’ll see how strong we are together, and then we can stop sneaking around and— and lying to her all the time. God, I hate lying to her! She’s so sweet! Don’t you think so, Instinct? We should just tell her the truth!

  All I got back was silence, and an emptiness where one had never been.

  Instinct? I asked, slowing down as a crumb of doubt snuck in for the first time since my companion made us touch the crystal. You all right, mate? You’re not having a sook, are you?

  More silence.

  Don’t listen to Conscience! You know what she’s like. It was a good idea, taking us down there. And maybe touching the crystal could’ve done with another think, but it worked out!

  The excessive power we’d absorbed was still churning through me, but the exhilaration was slowly bleeding off, replaced by worry. Instinct could be sullen and silent sometimes, but I could always feel something from her. Now the space where she usually was in my consciousness was just… empty.

  Scaly? Conscience said, and I could have sworn that her voice echoed. Instinct? Dragon? You still with us, mate?

  And still, all we got was silence.

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