With the hidden door closed, Gray’s candle flickered, and for a second, he thought it would go out. Luckily, it didn’t. He adjusted how he held the candle and then continue down the steps.

  In the narrow passageway, he felt the pressure of the Hellbinder Barrier as he walked underneath it. It wasn’t as hard as passing through Settie’s wards, but it still wasn’t pleasant. It left part of him chilled in some strange way.

  He then reached the basement of the house, his heart thumping. He wasn’t worried about demons, though he should be, but it had been nearly two months since he’d last seen Ruin Manor.

  Squeezing himself between the shelves, he was back in the cellar with the dusty wooden shelves around him. He walked through the gloom, climbed the creaking steps, and then pushed open the secret door. In seconds, he was underneath the main staircase and then in Ruin Manor’s parlor.

  “Yellow?” He called out.

  Nothing answered him.

  He winced. He expected the dog to come running, but as far as he could tell, the entire house was empty. He looked out the window, and it was the same view he’d had before—the empty street, the overgrown trees, the crumbling buildings. Above was the soaring Hellbinder, rising up as far as he could see.

  He didn’t go through the front door, but went to the back. Going through the kitchen, he thought of all the times he spent there with Settie, talking while being careful about the questions he asked, since the dragon lady hated questions.

  Gray opened the back door and saw the air waver. He swept his stick through the air, and he saw the glow of where he hit the wards. The wards were still working.

  The back door led to narrow alley between houses. Across was a wall with tough desert plants growing out of the cracks. He’d grown up where walls had moss, but in the Belly, the air was far too dry.

  Retracing his steps, he went to one of the empty back bedrooms on the ground level. He checked, and the wall still had a loose board that gave Yellow access to the house. Gray then went out the front door, pushed through the wards, which weren’t so bad. Was that because he’d already made it through them? Or was it because getting out of the house was easier than getting in.

  Either way, he walked out into the street, feeling rather exposed. The air was far cooler, and he had the idea it would only get colder the closer one got to the Weeping Well.

  A second later, Yellow came trotting around the corner. The dog stopped, barked, and then came speeding up, his nails clicking on the cobblestones.

  Gray bent, and then, he was holding the dog again, as the dog barked excitedly, licked his face, and whined because he was so happy.

  Gray closed his eyes, holding the dog. “Oh, Yellow, it’s good to see you. You have no idea how hard it was for me to make this little trip. Are you getting enough to eat?”

  As if to respond, Yellow barked. The dog looked happy and healthy all right. There was a little dried blood in the dog’s muzzle, and Gray reached and flicked it away.

  Yellow didn’t mind a bit, and then Gray was getting licks on his face, which made him laugh. “Okay, okay. You good to come inside?”

  The dog barked again, and followed Gray back through the wards, which seemed to be a different kind of magic around the house. Yes, Gray felt the pressure, but he only had to expel a little of the Settie’s stored mana into the stick to push through.

  Yellow went through like they were nothing, but then, he had his little leather collar with the red gemstone.

  Back inside, it felt like the most natural thing in the world for Gray to climb the steps, walk down the hallway, and find his room. It felt massive compared to his little cell in Third Barracks. His bed was made, the sheets clean, and everything was in order. Settie had made sure everything was ready for when they finally returned. No, for when her next guest would show up because Gray was pretty sure that Settie figured he would be living in Third Barracks with all the other recruits.

  He went back to the hallway and found the steps at the end of the hallway. Yellow happily followed him. It was clear the dog was thrilled to have his human back.

  Gray thought that Settie’s room would be warded, but it wasn’t. It also was missing half the roof. Her bed was there, and a chest, which Gray wasn’t about to open. It was either locked, cursed, or trapped, or possibly all three. He wasn’t going to push his luck.

  But up on the third floor, he had a view of the town he’d not seen before. Her room was the biggest in the house, and there was a desk, a bookshelf under where the ceiling covered, but the best part was the chair that face the Weeping Well.

  It was just under the eaves, protected from the rain, though with hot and dry the summer had been, Gray wasn’t sure he would ever see rain again.

  He couldn’t see the Weeping Well itself, but he could where the buildings ended…and something began. He saw some big strange bird launch itself out of the ruins of a temple, chased by a flock of smaller actual crows.

  Something in the distance roared

  Yellow huffed, ears perked, his eyes sharp.

  “How close was that?” Gray asked.

  Yellow didn’t move for several long minutes. Then he went to a next of blankets near the chair and settled himself in.

  Gray went over, eased himself down into the captain’s chair, and enjoyed watching the sun set in the distance. So they were on the eastern part of Old Town. The Pylons of the other cities could be seen far in the distance, huge towers that dwarfed the wall. The size of those towers challenged his imagination. He needed to learn more history about the Belly. He wanted to know who built them, and what had happened to First Pylon in Pit City.

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  Gray reached and down and petted Yellow. This was the best room in the house, and it made sense that Settie had it. The missing wall and ceiling was perfect for someone who could shift into a dragon.

  It was so quiet, and when the darkness came, a breeze came with it. He’d not felt so comfortable in a long time. No noise. No heat. No scorpions. And he was with such a good dog, who was soon sleeping next to him.

  And yet, Gray couldn’t stop thinking of Rynn. What would she be doing? Would she be okay? First Field was a dangerous place.

  Gray sat there for a long time before he got up, fixed himself a quick dinner of nuts, dried meat, and even drier fruit. Of course, Yellow got a sampling of everything.

  In the cellar, Gray found all the practice swords that he’d used to spar with Settie. He chose the sharpest one, just in case a demon broke through.

  He didn’t go to his room for a long time, and when he did, he laid there on his bed, eyes wide open. Yellow was back asleep, curled up at his feet. He didn’t need the blankets, and with the broken windows, the air was circulating.

  He wasn’t worried about demons, no. He trusted the wards would hold, and besides, if something did come through, Yellow would warn him.

  No. The bed was too soft, the house too quiet, the silence perfect and complete.

  No, he was too comfortable now.

  “I can’t stay here,” he said finally. “Not without Rynn.”

  He went to sleep determined to spend exactly one night there. Yellow was doing just fine.

  Then he had the dream.

  He was back in the place of water and stars. He was standing on stone, ancient stone, so smooth and weathered it felt like silk under his feat.

  Oma’s house shack was only a couple dozen yards away. The pine tree smelled so good, and it was bigger than he would’ve thought. A whole forest was behind it, thick, dark, impenetrable. The house, though, was cheery and filled with light.

  Gray heard the voices inside—there was a gaggle of women in there, laughing, giggling, at times shouting. He couldn’t understand the words, but he knew they were all having a good time.

  He took a step but stopped. Somehow—probably dream logic—he knew if he got too close, he would wake up. On the back of his neck, he felt the itch of his mana mark, and he reached back to scratch it but stopped himself.

  “Oma?” he asked.

  “Yes, my little dreamer. You are closer than ever. There’s a reason why you are here. You realize that, don’t you?”

  “Is it because I’m closer to the Weeping Well?” he asked. “Or is it because I’m rebelling against Captain Settie?”

  Oma chuckled. “Or is it the dog? Yellow missed you. You’ll know the reason in time.”

  He was about to ask who was in the shack when a storm of barking threw him from the dream.

  Moonlight streamed through the window—he heard hissing, spitting, and a strange fluttering right outside.

  He grabbed his sword and got out of bed. Yellow was already at the window, barking and snarling.

  Outside, a tangle of flying snakes were trying to get through the wards. The air sizzled around them, and they weren’t glowing yellow, but exuded a black mist. At first, Gray thought it was some kind squid or kraken thing, but he realized the snakes had a strange way of linking their tails as the fluttered on green leathery wings.

  The lust crows that Gray had seen before fluttered down, and were ripping into the snakes, ripping them apart. When the snakes fell to the ground, the birds followed, to choke down the flesh, before flying up.

  It was chaos outside, but neither the snakes nor the crows could get inside. The battle lasted only a few minutes, before the snakes split apart and went soaring away. A few of the crows went after them, but the rest stayed around to eat a grisly meal on the ground.

  Yellow whined a little, gave Gray a few glances, and then returned to the bed. He barked, letting Gray know it was safe now.

  Gray was a little shaken. He’d never seen so many demons all at once. Also, he’d never considered that they would be hunting each other. How many more demons would there be if they actively worked together? Then again, demons were creatures of chaos, and chaotic things weren’t known to cooperate peacefully.

  It had gotten a little cold, and so he climbed underneath the soft blankets. He loved the feeling of being safe and protected, and soon found sleep. Like he thought, Yellow wouldn’t let him sleep through a demon attack.

  When Gray woke up again, the silverly moonlight had been replaced by the gray light of early down. He listened as Yellow snored. Abruplty, the dog, still half asleep, got up, circled around himself, and then plunked himself back down and went back to sleep immediately. This time there was no snoring.

  The house was perfectly still, so quiet that it was like the demon attack the night before had never happened.

  Gray felt his mark starting to itch, and he knew if he laid in bed long, he’d want to scratch it. Besides, he wasn’t going to linger. He wanted to get back to Rynn, and yet, he found himself not wanting to leave.

  Letting Yellow sleep, Gray went back to Settie’s room and sat in her chair. He watched the light slowly return to the ruins of the town, though, it would take a while for the sun to rise high enough to clear the wall.

  Despite being surrounded by demons, Ruin Manor was still safer than Third Barracks, and not just because there weren’t scorpions. No, there weren’t people, and Gray knew that beasts were rarely as dangerous as people. Animals would warn you, and wouldn’t attack for just any reason, most of the time. People, though, were driven by lust, anger, greed, and the rest of the seven instincts, both the negative and positive.

  He inhaled. Yes, he would miss Yellow and the house, but he would miss Rynn more. They’d become inseparable.

  But what did the dream mean? Since leaving Ruin Manor, all the times he visited Oma he’d gotten farther and farther from her home. He didn’t think it was coincidence that on his first night back, he’d stood on actual stone above the water. That had to mean something.

  Well, he could test his theory. His hand went back to the itch, and he felt grateful for it.

  He was about to get up when Yellow came marching in. The dog sat down in the blanket and looked at him. The dog’s eyes seemed so patient and wise.

  “I can’t stay, Yellow. But this is a good reminder that I can’t sleep with Rynn. I can’t become even more bonded to her. And she’s probably right. Settie wouldn’t like us breaking through her wards on a daily basis. Who knows what that would do to them? I wouldn’t want to weaken them any. I wouldn’t want to jeopardize your very safe home.”

  Yellow whimpered a little, then licked his chops.

  Gray laughed. “I know what that means. I’ll be having breakfast back at the canteen, so I’ll donate mine to you. Next time, I’ll bring you better food. And there will be next time. I’ll come back, every now and then, to check on you.

  After making his bed and feeding the dog, Gray made sure the house was all set for another long absence before he traversed the tunnel again.

  Emerging, he pushed the door and then pushed through the wards and back into the city. The vendors were just coming to the market to set up their wares. He hadn’t slept much, but he didn’t feel tired. Instead, he felt refreshed in some way.

  More than that, he was excited to see Rynn again.

  He didn’t have to wait long.

  She was sitting on the stones, her back to a building, her head resting on her arms. Next to her, was a brand new sword she must’ve just purchased.

  He hurried over to her.

  “Rynn?”

  She turned, and he saw the white tracks of old tears. Her eyes were red from crying. When she saw him, she wiped at her face, but that wasn’t going to do much.

  Since she wasn’t rambling, she wasn’t saying a word.

  A thought struck him. “Have you been here all night?”

  She didn’t answer him. She just stared.

  That was answer enough.