The firelight of the black market shrank behind them, collapsing into flickering points as they ran.

  Amina led without hesitation, keeping close to the stone walls as she drove them forward at full speed. The old city of Cairo unfolded like a living maze—arched passages opening onto slick stretches of worn blue stone, sharp turns collapsing suddenly into alleys barely wide enough for a single body to slip through sideways.

  Lucas clutched his pack with one arm. With the other, his thumb spun the dial on the metal disc rapidly. Inside the glass sphere, threads of gold-red light stretched taut, one end fixed firmly on the dark figure ahead.

  “Left,” he snapped.

  Amina didn’t question it. She slapped a half-closed wooden door as she passed, barking two rapid phrases in Arabic. Someone inside gasped. The door cracked open just long enough.

  They slipped through—out the back—emerging into another alley just as their pursuers reached the entrance, finding only swinging lanterns and a cloud of startled chickens bursting into the street.

  “They split,” Amina muttered as they ran. “Nightfall’s Shadow Walkers. The path them.”

  As if to confirm her words, two patches of darkness peeled themselves off the wall ahead.

  They detached cleanly, thickening, solidifying—becoming two figures nearly identical to the robed man carrying the stone. Their footsteps made no sound as they broke apart, three routes diverging at once.

  Lucas swore. The detector screamed, its hum edging into overload. Runes flared rapidly across his lenses.

  “Center has the strongest signature,” he said through clenched teeth. “The others are decoys—but they carry residual shadows. They’ll distort tracking!”

  “I’m taking the middle,” Jabari growled, yanking off his scarf to bare his jaw. “You two cut the tail.”

  He vaulted onto a trash crate, caught a cracked brick seam with one foot, and launched himself up onto the low rooftops with a predator’s grace.

  The shadow ahead sensed him and back into the wall, trying to erase itself.

  Jabari smiled coldly.

  He tapped the spine of his blade three times, murmuring an old, fire-laced chant under his breath.

  “Come.”

  Blue flame ignited with a sharp . Using the blade like a stylus, he carved a half-circle sigil through the night air.

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  From the fire leapt a shape—indistinct at first, then roaring into clarity.

  A beast, lean and lionlike, mane bristling, eyes glowing like burning coals. It landed without sound, sand exploding beneath its paws as it locked onto the central shadow and lunged.

  Erika sucked in a breath. “You summoned—”

  “Spirit beast,” Jabari snapped back, his voice trembling despite the speed of the reply.

  Under the blue fire, the backs of his hands looked gaunt. Fine cracks had appeared along his palms, like fissures burned into dry earth.

  The spirit beast ran like wind itself, clearing two low walls in a single bound. The shadow compressed instantly, flattening into a slick membrane that tried to slide beneath the creature’s belly.

  The beast struck.

  Its foreclaw slammed down—sparks flying—tearing the black film open. Cold mist and viscous darkness spilled out.

  “Don’t close in!” Lucas shouted from behind.

  Two rune-plates flew from his hands, embedding themselves into opposite walls. Golden threads snapped into place like spider silk, sealing off the side alley.

  The Shadow Walker didn’t contest the block.

  Instead, it recoiled sharply, crashing into one of the decoy shadows. The two overlapped—and split again.

  Three figures burst outward, each faster than before.

  “It’s multiplying through overlap!” Amina cursed.

  She yanked free a short baton and smashed it into a water jar on the right. Water flooded the ground, reflecting torchlight.

  As one shadow passed through the reflection, its outline warped—just for an instant.

  “Now!” Erika shouted.

  She dropped her weight forward, hands snapping together. The jade pendant surged hot as emerald qi condensed into an invisible wedge and drove straight into the distorted shadow.

  The figure stumbled, its image rippling violently against the wall.

  Jabari seized the opening.

  He tore the tie from his hair, letting it fall loose, then pressed a single lock against the blade’s spine. Blue fire raced along the strand, leaping to the edge in a violent flare.

  Beast and blade merged into a single arc of motion.

  The strike fell.

  The Shadow Walker bulged outward, forced into three dimensions. The blade sheared past its neck—missing full severance—but exploded its shoulder in a spray of black frost. A wave of killing cold slammed into the alley.

  Fire and shadow collided.

  Light detonated. Stone walls were pitted as if struck by shot, the air reeking of scorched ash.

  The spirit beast roared, absorbing the cold with its chest. Frost raced across its mane—then vaporized into white steam as its own flames burned hotter.

  It lunged again.

  The Shadow Walker hurled three thread-thin strands of darkness, trying to bind the beast’s limbs.

  The beast rolled low. Jabari twisted his wrist, blade humming as blue fire surged along the threads.

  Crack.

  The shadow strands burst midair like shattered ink.

  “Cost!” Lucas warned.

  Erika saw Jabari’s temple twitch. He staggered slightly. A metallic taste rose in his throat, and a thin line of blood traced down from the corner of his mouth.

  Spirit summoning didn’t burn fuel.

  It burned .

  Her heart clenched. Without pause, she pulled two talismans—Calming Mind and Rooted Essence. With a flick of her fingers, emerald threads slid unnoticed along Jabari’s shoulders and spine, bracing critical meridians.

  Ahead, the alley broke open.

  Moonlight spilled across a wide courtyard ringed by broken columns—the outer yard of a ruined temple.

  “Force it inside!” Lucas shouted. “I need space to set a formation!”

  The spirit beast reared, flames surging.

  Man and beast drove the Shadow Walker backward, across the threshold, into the temple’s shattered hall.

  A heartbeat later—

  Fire and shadow collided again.

  Sparks erupted, turning the entire front chamber bright as day.