I had a strange dream, like I was sleeping peacefully until I was swallowed into a void, and then I had fallen into the ocean… The first thing I became aware of was voices, very near to me, quietly talking. Voices I recognized. I realized that Peyton and Asterollan were with me, and the thought was somehow instantly calming. The next thing I immediately became aware of was my headache – it throbbed just behind my brow in the middle of my forehead, sharp, like a pickaxe poking into my brain. I sighed as I stirred and sat up. I felt a strong hand grip my shoulder and elbow, helping steady me. “Are you okay?” Asterollan asked. His voice sounded harsh, but when I opened my eyes, I saw the worry spoken plainly on his face – as well as the dark circle on his forehead.

I nodded, hardly able to take my eyes off the mark. “I… I just feel like someone took a pickaxe to my head, but I’m fine.” The memories of watching people get crushed by rocks, of losing Lyre behind me in the cave-in swirled through my mind, making me feel nauseous. And Greyjon… A bad headache was the least I deserved. I placed my hands over my face, rubbing slightly, wishing I was sleeping again.

We were in some kind of strange stone building with a dim ring of lights set into the ceiling. It looked almost like it had been formed out of the rock itself. The floor dipped down, completing the dome in a kind of lopsided oval. It was like being inside a stone egg that was set with flat platforms along the walls at spaced intervals, like beds. I was laying on one of those platforms. Maybe they were beds after all.

Peyton and Kaphryn sat on another platform nearby, watching me as I sat up. Captain Kaphryn watched me intently, warily, and Peyton sat, her arms crossed and her head tilted as she stared. I could see the same dark circle on Peyton’s forehead, and reached up to my own pounding head where I assumed I had a similar mark. It struck me as immediately strange for a moment – every time I had seen a tether on an elven slave, the marks had been different, unique, usually encompassing one entire half of their face and trailing down their necks. For some reason, I understood intuitively that this was not the same. Rubbing my forehead again, I asked, “What did they do to us?” As I asked, I reached for my magic. I could still feel it, sense the power around me, but it was just out of reach and I couldn’t grasp it.

Asterollan frowned. “I thought it was tethering at first, but…”

“It’s not. It’s suppression.” Peyton frowned, uncrossing her arms and gripping the edge of the platform she sat on. “They’ve had enough dealings with the elves that they’ve developed a method of suppressing magic. Apparently, the process is quite similar to tethering, but there’s no Focus, because they don’t want us to cast. Instead, there’s a key.” I looked up at the dim circle of lights above us, blinking as I stared into them. It looked suspiciously like electricity. Before I could even voice the thought, Peyton said, “Yes. It’s electricity.” I raised an eyebrow at her nervously.

“They… they have electricity,” I mumbled the statement in shock. “Where are we?”

“It’s a city of some kind. I don’t know the name of it. The Underlings minds are… hard to understand. I don’t even know if they built the city themselves, or just found it… They seem to understand and speak Blest, but they also have their own language…” As Peyton spoke, I tried to imagine words coming out of the toothy maw of that strange, eyeless face I had stared into before and shuddered.

“That scholar had mentioned before that there were records of a transport that could run the Graces straight to the seal, deep underground. It supposedly ran on some kind of mysterious energy, maybe this electricity you both mentioned,” Kaphryn spoke up, a frown on her face. “We were just discussing the possibility that the Underlings have tapped into its source.”

“That scholar?” I repeated her words, raising an eyebrow.

Her frown deepened and a flush rose up her face. “That… Jon Umberling.” I stared at her a moment, amused at her reaction, but decided not to comment on it and only nodded. “We saw the transport briefly, when we descended into this cavern. We should make it our goal to get to it.”

“It ran along a glowing track, kind of like a futuristic train,” Peyton described for me. I sighed and rubbed at my forehead again. “The gems they used to suppress us are the keys to that,” she said, changing the subject as she read the thought that flitted across my mind. “But when we tried to attack them and take them by force… well, it ended poorly.”

I frowned, wondering how strong the Underlings were if they easily overpowered people like Asterollan and Peyton. I also imagined that as a Captain, Kaphryn wasn’t a pushover either. “Somehow, they used the keys against us,” Peyton said a bit defensively, reading the concern in my thoughts.

“You need to quit doing that,” I said.

Peyton smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. I’ve been… opening it up a little more lately. Trying to get us out of this mess.” I nodded, understanding. “What I have learned is that they can’t take the suppression keys far from us for some reason. Whether that’s for a good reason or a bad reason, I can’t say, but the guards outside have got ours.”

“What would be a bad reason?” I asked, feeling a little confused.

“Maybe we die if they get too far from us,” Peyton suggested, a little too cheerily.

I stared at her, my jaw dropping open at the thought. “Or,” Asterollan said, finally speaking, “they become less effective at containing us with distance.” His hand was still on my shoulder, and I felt him give a reassuring squeeze. When I glanced up at him, I saw that his eyes were unfocused as he frowned, deep in thought.

Peyton raised an eyebrow, her eyes lingering on Asterollan’s hand on my shoulder for a moment before she said, “I’m simply trying to posit the possibility that it wouldn’t be wise to just go running out of the range of the gems. At least not until I can get a read on what the result might be.”

Asterollan’s hands pulled away from me as he shifted to sit on his own stone platform. “Now that Cassandra is up, we should run or try to fight them again. How many guards are outside now?”

“Just a few. But they’re waiting for something,” Peyton looked thoughtful, her eyes unfocused. I realized she was trying to push into the minds of the Underlings.

“Can you tell why they’ve captured us in the first place?” I asked.

Peyton flushed, looking mildly annoyed. “They work for him. For Shadawn. He created them.”

I gaped at her. “What?”

“I don’t know when or how or why, but they all seem to think they owe their existence to him. And from what I can tell, he still wants me.” She paused for a moment, then seemed to rethink the phrasing of her last sentence, and blushing furiously added, “As his Chosen. Shadawn wants me as his Chosen.”

I nodded, not really questioning. Even if Shadawn wanted Peyton as something more… was that hard to believe? She was a movie star. Beautiful, and ridiculously talented, and skilled at everything she tried… no wonder she caught the attention of would be evil godlings. “Okay. Stop that,” she said, reading my thoughts and still blushing furiously. “I’m not perfect.”

I snorted. “So, what’s the plan?”

Kaphryn sighed. “The door is sealed from the outside. I suppose we just wait, and prepare ourselves for the second they do unseal it.”

“And then?” I glanced around and saw that all three of them had set and determined expressions. I hesitated a moment, then nodded. “We fight,” I said nervously.

We moved closer to the entrance, taking up platforms that would allow us to move quickly against whoever stepped in first. Since I had already had plenty of sleep owing to passing out earlier, I sat up with Peyton to keep watch. Kaphryn and Asterollan each chose their own platforms to snooze on for a bit, taking the moment to rest. Peyton stared at where they insisted the door was, her eyes unfocused as she attempted to read more out of the thoughts of the guards outside the building.

I glanced around the small room nervously, though there wasn’t much to see. Eventually, my eyes rested on Asterollan. I stared at the features of his face absently, especially the notch in the bridge of his nose where the scar sliced across his face, a long white stripe across his otherwise flawless and tanned skin. It occurred to me again that if it wasn’t for that scar, he would be devastatingly beautiful. In sleep, his expression was less severe, instead veering toward melancholy. I wondered for a moment if he was having a sad dream…

“He’d do anything for you, you know,” Peyton said suddenly. I shifted, startled by her words, and looked up at her. She was staring at me, her head tilted curiously, her blue eyes seeming to stare right through me.

My heart raced for a moment, and I inwardly chastised myself for it. “I have Lyre…” I said, a bit harshly, and avoided looking in her eyes. I wondered if Lyre was even alive.

Peyton nodded. “Lyre would do anything for you too. But what if he’s dead?”

I glared at her. “He’s not dead,” I said firmly. She smiled knowingly, and I was instantly annoyed. Then, half curious if it would get a rise out of her, I asked, “Do you think Lucas is still alive?”

She looked a bit surprised for a moment, then something in her expression hardened. “If he’s not, it’s your fault.” The comment hurt so much I nearly gasped out loud, but Peyton’s head suddenly swiveled toward the door and she reached out to shake Kaphryn awake. “They’re coming,” she said quietly. I reached out to wake Asterollan, but saw that his eyes were already open. He sat up, pulling himself into a crouch on the platform. I heard the shifting of the stone as it pulled slightly out and shifted to the side smoothly, automatically.

Before we could move, I felt a sharp pain overwhelm my senses. My vision strained, sending strange halos of light flickering through my sight that warped everything so drastically that I shut my eyes tight. The sharp pain I had felt in my head before intensified, brutally. I realized I was screaming, a sharp piercing noise, and I could hear Peyton grunting in pain and Asterollan’s angry shouting. I managed to force my eyes back open in time to blearily make out Captain Kaphryn yelling and throwing herself bodily at the first figure that appeared at the door. She was easily swiped out of the air by one unnaturally long limb and thrown harshly, her back slamming into one of the platforms on the other end of the room. She gasped, moaning in pain as she crumpled to the curved floor, curling into a ball.

Peyton, gasping in pain, shifted forward, striking quickly into the neck of the figure. Her blow caused it to wheeze painfully, and it let loose a short, sharp bark of pain as it fell to one knee, but the one behind it held up a small black gemstone. The gem glowed brightly and Peyton screamed shrilly, clutching her head.

After a few moments, the pain subsided, but the strange halos of light still seemed to flicker across my vision, making me feel nauseous. The creatures stood for a moment in the doorway, holding the gems up, a threatening reminder they could use them on us again. One of them made a strange series of clicking noises from deep inside its throat, and then spoke in Blest. “Follow,” it said, and clicked and gurgled again. They stepped back from the door.

We hesitated for a moment, then Peyton stood and stalked out, standing just outside the door. I slipped off the platform I was on and followed, my chin lowered as I stared at the tall creatures that surrounded us. There were several of them, forming a loose semi-circle around the entrance of the building we were in. Asterollan jumped down from his perch, walking over to check on Kaphryn, and helped her to her feet. As they both stepped out behind Peyton and me, the Underling that had spoken before gestured with its hands at Kaphryn. “You. Stay.”

We paused for a moment, then Kaphryn sighed and stepped back into the building. The door slid closed, smoothly transitioning back into place. I stared back at the door. “What’s going to happen to her?” I asked, as the creatures began to move us forward.

Peyton’s expression paled before it even spoke. It gave a harsh series of clicks, much like laughing, and then said, “Food.” The nausea became overwhelming. I looked out across the dimly lit cavern, seeing a massive city on the other end, and the lights from similar domed buildings as the one we had stayed in splayed across the ceiling. Far below, I could see the glowing line of the transport that Peyton and Kaphryn had mentioned.

We seemed to be heading toward it. “Where are you taking us?” I asked. I had hoped to sound a little demanding, and winced when my tone came out desperate and frightened.

“To Master.” We walked quietly with the group for a moment. I wondered briefly if maybe this was for the best. They were taking us directly to Shadawn. We wanted to go to Shadawn. Granted, with the suppression in place, this confrontation wasn’t going to happen how we wanted it to. But maybe we could figure something out once we were there. My mind raced, wondering what action I could take, or whether Asterollan or Peyton had a plan…

I thought about Kaphryn being cannibalized by the creatures and froze in my tracks.

We couldn’t leave her. She was in this mess because of my stupidity. I couldn’t leave her. One of the Underlings shoved me hard between my shoulder blades, causing me to stumble forward a few steps, but something in my mind had set – I wasn’t going to take another step. Not where they wanted me to go.

It happened quickly. I stumbled forward onto my knee, felt my resolve harden before I even hit the ground, and heard Peyton groan as she read my mind. Distracted by my hard tumble, the Underling that had shoved me reached down to grip my arm and roughly pull me up, and Peyton swiveled into a sudden round house kick, her movements as graceful as a dancer. I didn’t even know what she was kicking at until I heard the crystalline sound of the gem hitting the ground.

Without even trying to stand all the way, I pulled from the Underling’s grip on my arm and dove toward the sound, hoping to find the gem in the dim light. I heard Asterollan tackle the creature as it grasped at me, rolling onto it, and then heard him scream in pain as his key was used against him, but I didn’t look back. I continued grasping along the ground desperately, but then felt the halos flair in my vision and screamed in pain, convulsing bodily and curling up into a protective ball.

I could hear Peyton struggling, fighting desperately. It must have been her gem that she had knocked free. I felt rough, clawed hands grip me, lifting me bodily, and I screamed and kicked, windmilling my legs in desperation. I felt dread well up in me as more clawed hands gripped me, tearing at my skin. This was hopeless, I realized. I began to cry as I screamed, feeling angry and frustrated, and looked up in time to see Peyton’s face.

She was fighting, lashing out with swift strikes and weaving out of the grip of the Underlings that were trying to catch her, her expression set in a grimace reflecting my hopelessness. But suddenly, her expression contorted. Her eyes widened in shock, and a smile spread across her face. “Yes!” she shouted, pumping her hands into the air as she literally jumped for joy.

I stared in confusion.

And then the vines shot violently from the rocks, eviscerating the Underling that had started to reach for her, and realization dawned on me.