“’ Relia asked Glim as the three figures stepped forward.

  ,’ Glim replied.

  Relia’s teammates were obsessed with Veilcords, but she hadn’t studied them much. And she certainly hadn’t expected to face the mysterious weapons here in Cadria.

  ‘’

  ‘Relia said. .’ The words flowed through their bond unbidden, but Relia meant them with all her heart. Even if Caster Serrano wasn’t here, the Sons of Talek had already tortured Lena. She couldn’t let that happen to anyone else.

  Glim said.

  The mana spirit appeared on Relia’s left, facing the three newcomers. “Hey!” she waved a friendly blue hand. “You guys are from Clan Kazaru, right?”

  No reply. The trio just stared at Glim, expressionless behind their black visors

  Glim just nodded along. “I couldn’t help but notice you don’t have your Veilcords. Did you know the Storm Garden is happening right now?” She gestured vaguely toward the northeast. “Shouldn’t you, like, be there with your friends?”

  They still didn’t reply, but Relia caught a stiffening of their muscles.

  ‘.’ Glim laughed in Relia’s head. ‘’

  The three Masters spread out across the courtyard, clearly planning to surround them.

  Glim said. ‘?’

  ‘.” Relia flexed her fingers as life mana flowed through her channels. They’d have to watch their usage in this fight. Glim’s body could store enough power for several techniques, but once that ran dry, she’d be forced to dip into Relia’s soul. With both of them fighting at once, they would lose mana twice as fast as an ordinary Master.

  Relia still had her Aeon soul, but she had far less experience fighting with that. Best to save it for emergencies.

  Two more heartbeats passed as the storm raged around them. The wind shook the surrounding vines and whipped Relia’s braid against her shoulders like a wet rope. The rain pelted her face, while puddles gathered around her boots.

  Then everyone sprang into motion.

  The two men leapt straight for Relia. She focused on the right one and trusted Glim to handle the left. Sure enough, the mana spirit compressed her form into a spiked Missile and slammed straight into the left man’s chest. Relia didn’t look to see what happened next.

  Green death mana flowed out from her palms like smoke from a grenade. Her opponent raced through the cloud, undeterred. Relia squeezed her mana around him, scrambling for a gap in his defenses.

  She found none. His armor and Cloak were the best she’d ever seen. She hadn’t expected that to work against a Master from North Shoken.

  Her opponent closed the distance in two more strides, lashing out with fists and feet. Most Espirians favored long-ranged combat with their guns and Missile rods. This guy thought he could catch her flat-footed, but Lyraina and Elend had both trained her in close combat—far beyond what she’d learned at school.

  Relia dodged the first punch, feeling the wind from her opponent’s fist brush her chin. Her right forearm rose to block the second.

  The man dropped low and swept at her legs. Relia widened her stance and pushed her mana down through her feet, anchoring herself to the stone like roots in bedrock. At the same time, she Cloaked her legs at the point of impact.

  The kick slammed straight into her kneecaps, but Relia felt no pain. She seized the opening and threw a punch at the man’s chestplate. But instead of striking with her fist, she unleashed a burst of pure mana and sent her opponent crashing through the nearest stone pillar. The impact warped his helmet and cracked the chest plate down the middle.

  Relia pushed off from the stone floor, conjuring a needle-like blade as she closed in for the kill.

  The man sprang to his feet and unleashed several jade projectiles. Relia wove through the chaos, slapping the techniques aside, never losing momentum.

  Pale green fire shone from within cracks in her opponent’s armor. Then his chestplate regenerated like a healing technique. Even the helmet reshaped itself, the craters popping back into perfect curves.

  ‘’ Glim’s voice echoed in her head. ‘’

  Relia slammed into her opponent mid-rise, hurling him straight through another wall. Clouds of dust mingled with the storm as the stone crashed down around them. Pure mana filled her palms as she prepared another technique.

  ,’ Glim said. ‘’

  Her opponent somersaulted back through the rubble and leapt to his feet in one fluid motion. Three green projectiles flew from his hands like sharpened bullets.

  Relia blocked the techniques with a quick shield and spun back toward the woman. Unlike the others, she hadn’t taken a single step from her starting position. Jade mana flowed from her outstretched hands into the stones themselves. Pale green light blazed from every crack and crevice, just like their living armor.

  The whole world turned to jade in that moment. The walls flowed toward her like green tidal waves. The pillars transformed into giant serpents. Even the ground turned to quicksand beneath Relia’s boots.

  She tried to Cloak her body against the impact, but the technique was too strong. The floor hardened when it caught her legs. The tides blocked out the sky, and the serpents coiled around her. It felt like being buried alive from every side.

  ‘’ she shouted at Glim through their bond

  ‘your ,’ Glim replied. ‘’

  Relia opened her crystal soul and drank in all the mana she could. The stolen power turned to Moonfire, strengthening her cells.

  Five tons of jade slammed into her from every side, faster than a fleet of airships at full thrust. If she’d waited a second longer, the impact could have broken every bone in her body. Even now, she felt them bend and compress from the impact.

  Relia pushed her Cloak outward, beyond the boundaries of her body. It surrounded her like a second skin, pushing back against the jade prison. Pure Missiles filled the gaps, coalescing into a single Construct.

  The pieces flew backward in a burst of broken green shards. Some flew far enough to strike the temple’s roof. Others crashed into the jungle or the sea.

  Just then, a pair of thick arms wrapped around Relia’s neck. Not mana this time—one of her enemies. Relia tried to break free, but his arms were like stone. He forced his mana directly into her channels—an offensive Cloak technique.

  Time slowed as Relia’s brain worked on overdrive. Every cell in her body threatened to change as the mana pierced their membranes. Relia knew this technique, and she knew what came next. Jade artists could permanently transform anything. Including people.

  She reached out with her Aeon soul once again, unraveling the mana before the technique took root. Icy flames surged through her as she cycled Moonfire once again.

  First, she reinforced her own cells, creating barriers the jade mana couldn't cross. Then she reversed the flow, cycling the Angelic mana out through her skin and into her opponent's body where his arms touched her neck.

  At a distance, he could have resisted. Up close, he stood no chance against the darker side of Moonfire.

  Relia had tried this technique against her father at the Palace Prime. But this man wasn’t a Mystic, or even a Grandmaster. He tried to fight back, but he barely lasted a full second. The technique severed his spinal cord, and his arms went limp around her neck.

  ~~~

  Arturo hid in the jungle while Relia and Glim fought the jade artists to the north.

  “Can you help them?” Lena shouted over the storm.

  “No way, prima.” Arturo had been prepared to fight mana spawn, not Shokenese Masters. “We show ourselves now, they’ll make us hostages.”

  Static crackled in his ear, followed by his mother’s voice. “Arturo?”

  Arturo pressed a hand to his transceiver. “Mom? You there?” He missed her next reply over the rain and clashing techniques. “We could use that pickup now. How far are you?”

  “Five minutes,” she replied.

  “Stormy’s on the east side,” Arturo said. “Land the ship on the west. Use the temple as cover.” Assuming there was still a temple left in five minutes.

  “Did you say Storm’s Eye?”

  “It’s a few miles offshore,” he said. “Be ready for a quick pickup.”

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  Relia and Glim exchanged more techniques with the jade artists down below. Their surroundings were more jade than stone at this point, but they faired well enough.

  “Look!” Lena pointed toward the ziggurat where a group of cultists scrambled out the main entrance.

  Arturo raised his rifle and peered through the scope. A cluster of glowing blue figures emerged from the darkness behind the cultists. Some were shaped like apes or jungle cats. Others resembled giant insects.

  The braver cultists fought back with basic techniques—mostly shields and Missiles that splashed harmlessly against the creatures’ bodies. But even the Artisans lacked proper training.

  “How’d they get inside?” Lena asked.

  “Probably came in through the toilets.”

  “You’re joking.”

  “Wish I were, prima. Those little bastards can squeeze through anything.”

  Her gaze shifted back to the fleeing cultists. “Are you going to help them?”

  Arturo nodded as he cycled mana to his assault rifle, enhancing every round in the magazine. “You stay here. I’ll—“

  She grabbed his arm before he could leave. “You need me.”

  “What?” He glanced back over his shoulder and met her eye. “You been holding out on us?”

  “That shield used Angelic mana.”

  “So?”

  “It needs a power source. That means Etherite.”

  “Oh.” Until now, he and Lena had been forced to work with those lesser crystals from the Shadow Garden. But what could they accomplish with a piece of real Etherite? What could they build?

  “The others are retreating,” she continued. “They’ll risk leaving it behind. But I can find it if—”

  “Say no more, prima.” Arturo opened the leather pouch at his hip and pulled out a metal cylinder, about as big as a sword hilt. He clicked the silver button on the top, and a disc of protection mana formed around the handle—over five feet tall and twice as wide. The shield vanished with another click.

  “Take this.” Arturo passed the portable shield Construct to Lena. “Cycle mana to the sigils if it dies.” Lena accepted the device, then Arturo pulled out an Apprentice-level handgun. “Know how to use this?”

  “No.” Lena pushed the weapon away. “I’d do more harm than good.”

  Fair point; only a headshot could bring down a mana spawn. Arturo returned the handgun to his pocket space and pulled out a Missile rod. “This uses force mana,” he said. “Won’t kill the spawn, but it’ll knock ‘em back. Just point and shoot.”

  Lena still looked uncertain, but Arturo pressed the weapon into her free hand. “For emergencies,” he said. “Better than fighting with your bare hands.”

  They jogged down the muddy ridge. Chunks of jade and stone rained down like deadly hail, forcing them to duck under overhanging branches.

  Once they reached the bottom, they snuck across the western courtyard and climbed a long staircase toward the ziggurat. Arturo stopped when he reached the twenty-foot stone wall that surrounded the temple proper. Storm’s Eye had broken the shield, but a gate of steel and impedium blocked their path.

  No sense in knocking at this point.

  Arturo slung his rifle across his back, then extended his left arm to Lena. “Hang on to me.”

  She stepped closer and wrapped both arms around his shoulders. Her body trembled with cold or fear. He couldn’t tell which.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Ready,” she echoed.

  Arturo cycled mana to his jetpack. The gravity sigils reduced their weight, and a burst of fire launched them fifty feet into the air. Wind and rain whipped his face, and Lena’s arms tightened around him.

  They soared straight over the inner courtyard and landed at the temple’s entrance. Mana spawn swirled around him like clouds of glowing blue paint against the gray haze.

  A teenage girl tripped on the stone floor as she fled. A spawn shaped like a praying mantis loomed over her, with eyes like glowing white coals and razor-sharp arms. Three more spawn cornered a group of cultists against the outer wall.

  Arturo released Lena, grabbed his assault rifle and unleashed a hail of bullets. His rounds altered their course as they flew, guided by his aspect. One struck the mantis on the back of its head. The creature screamed like grinding metal before dissolving into blue mist. The girl scrambled away on her hands and knees, leaving bloody handprints on the stone.

  More bullets struck the spawn near the outer wall. Blue gore sprayed the trapped cultists and the surrounding stone. Two spawn went down. The trapped cultists surged away from the wall as the third one rounded on Arturo.

  “Head down the stairs!” Arturo squeezed the trigger and shot the last spawn in the head. “There’s an airship coming!”

  Most needed no encouragement. One man scrambled over to a control panel and opened the massive steel gate. The noncombatants retreated through the gap, while others kept fighting near the temple’s entrance.

  A massive blue scorpion burst from the ground directly in front of Arturo, showering him with dirt and broken stone. Its stinger lashed out before he could bring his rifle up.

  Arturo threw himself sideways as the tail flew past his face. He rolled, came up on one knee, and put three shots in the creature’s head.

  “Behind you!” Lena screamed.

  He spun around—too slow. An ape’s fist crashed into his skull like a sledgehammer. Stars filled his vision as the world tilted sideways.

  Arthuro’s body moved on autopilot despite his confusion. He brought his rifle up, jammed the barrel under the creature's jaw, and squeezed the trigger. Blue liquid splattered his face, but he’d missed the creature’s brain.

  The ape slapped the rifle aside and pinned Arturo to the ground. A fist pressed against his chest, and he couldn’t breathe. Another fist flew toward his face.

  Arturo Cloaked his arms and caught the fist with both hands. He might be the weakest on his team, but he was still an Artisan.

  Just then, a burst of force mana sent the creature into the nearest stone pillar. Arturo drew in a sharp breath as the weight lifted from his chest. He braced himself for pain, but nothing came. No broken ribs.

  He retrieved his rifle and took another shot before his attacker could recover. This time, the bullet took the spawn between its eyes, and its head exploded like a blue melon.

  Arturo spat blood as Lena pulled him to his feet. He tried to thank her for the save, but he couldn’t hear a thing over his ringing ears.

  Several heartbeats passed as he stood frozen in place, blinking rain and liquid mana from his eyes, struggling to process the chaos. Spawn swarmed the courtyard everywhere he looked. Cultists ran in seemingly random directions while the spawn ripped their friends to pieces.

  Still, others watched it happen in stunned silence—they might as well line up outside a slaughterhouse.

  That snapped Arturo back to reality. “Move!” He gestured them toward the open gate. “Down the stairs!” He had to repeat himself several more times before they listened.

  Arturo finished off the stronger spawn with his rifle. With them gone, the cultists had no trouble finishing the weaker ones. When he glanced back at the temple’s entrance, he spotted a human Artisan in his late twenties guarding the doorway with a pure Construct. The man's dark hair was plastered to his skull with rainwater, and his shield rippled as the spawn threatened to break through.

  “Open the shield,” Arturo said to the man. His own voice still sounded distant in his ringing ears, but better than before.

  The Artisan glanced at Arturo, taking in the sight of him, from his high-tech armor and weapons to his Artisan soul. Arturo must have passed his inspection, because the man opened a gap in his shield and gestured him inside.

  Arturo slipped through the gap, firing on the spawn beyond.. A pack of eight-eyed wolves burst like water balloons. A flying serpent unraveled. An octopus exploded into blue chunks before fading to mist.

  Two more apes tried to flank him, striking high and low in unison. Arturo dropped to one knee, sweeping his rifle in a tight arc. No sooner had the bullets emerged than they curved through the air and found their targets.

  “Clear!” he shouted back to Lena. She scrambled through the shield behind him, and they set off down the corridor. Red emergency lights flickered overhead, looking out of place against the ancient stone walls.

  “Which way to the power source?” he asked Lena.

  Lena closed her eyes for several heartbeats, then lifted her chin toward the ceiling. “Top floor.”

  “Great.” Right in the line of fire if Stormy attacked again.

  They spent the next two minutes fighting their way through the halls, killing more spawn and freeing trapped cultists along the way. Eventually, they found a central staircase and began their climb. Lena's breaths came in ragged gasps behind him, but she didn't slow down.

  The top floor was wide open, filled with desks and computers. Wires coiled around the ancient stone columns, and fluorescent lights hung from the high ceilings. Arturo glanced around in confusion—even his Silver Sight revealed nothing. But Lena stepped toward a titan steel cylinder in one corner of the room.

  “It’s in here,” she said.

  Arturo stepped forward. The cylinder was locked up tight, but he retrieved Irina’s Master Key from his pouch and cycled some mana into the artifact. The metal wrapped like quicksilver as it took on the correct shape, then he inserted it into the lock.

  The curved door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a shard of Etherite in the center of the structure. The crystal was half the size of Arturo's hand, surrounded by leythium wires. It held no mana; Storm's Eye had drained it all when it broke the shield.

  Arturo pulled a flashlight from his pouch and illuminated the structure’s inner walls. A complex sigil grid reflected the light. He recognized the patterns, but not the sigils themselves.

  “Hang on.” Arturo pulled out a digital camera from his bag.

  “What are you doing?” Lena snapped.

  “Exactly what it looks like.” Arturo rotated the camera through the opening and began snapping photos. “This could save us years of work later on.”

  “Don’t you have a Second Brain?”

  “Won’t work, prima. This is all gibberish to me.” Technically, he could have still used his Second Brain, but it would take some advanced techniques. At that point, a camera was faster.

  Lena’s hand pressed against his shoulder as she knelt for a closer look. “You think Lady Trelian made this herself?”

  Arturo shrugged as he returned the camera to his pouch. “You’re the Aeon expert.” He hesitated before grabbing the Etherite. “Is this gonna blow up if I take it?”

  “You’re the sigil expert,” she countered.

  “Right.” Arturo scanned the structure one last time, but nothing here resembled a trap.

  Finally, he drew a sharp breath and retrieved the crystal.

  ~~~

  Relia threw herself sideways as a forest of jade spikes closed in around her. The first technique tore through her left shoulder, ripping muscle and scraping bone. The second broke through her thigh. Blood splattered the stones, but the Moonfire healed both wounds before she hit the ground.

  Her last opponent still hadn't moved from her starting position. She stood with her hands outstretched, conducting the jade courtyard like an orchestra.

  Relia surged forward. . The ground buckled and split beneath her, trying to swallow her whole. She vaulted over a rising wall, using her hands to push off its surface.

  Stone spears burst from every direction. One caught her right bicep, shredding through skin and muscle. Another carved a deep gash across her ribs. The wounds sealed as fast as they opened, leaving only torn fabric and blood.

  The woman pulled her hands back, gathering her jade mana into a single point.

  Too late. Relia was already there.

  She stretched out her hands, forming an Angelic Construct between her and her opponent. Jade projectiles hit the Moonshard like a charging drake, drowning out the sounds of thunder and gunshots.

  Relia slammed the shield into her opponent, knocking her back.

  But the woman didn't fall. Instead, a pillar of jade erupted beneath her feet, launching her ten feet into the air. She twisted her body and flew directly over Relia’s head. Even airborne, she maintained her Ritual technique. The ground opened once again, and more jade spikes closed in.

  Relia raised a hand toward her flying opponent, sending her shield upward like a flying disc. She sharpened its rounded edge as it flew, thin as a single molecule.

  The technique cut beneath the gaps in her opponent’s armor where her torso met her legs. Blood splattered Relia's face, hot against her rain-soaked skin. The woman's legs hit the ground in front of Relia with wet thuds. The torso fell behind her.

  But still, the Ritual technique didn’t stop.

  Relia whirled around, bringing her disc back down like a cleaver. This time, it slammed into her opponent’s windpipe, severing her head from her torso.

  Finally, the entire courtyard froze in a forest of glimmering jade.

  GlimRelia called out.

  “All good!” The mana spirit appeared beside her in the ruins, wiping nonexistent sweat from her brow. “I beat my guy two minutes ago—just waiting on you.” She winced when Relia didn’t return her grin. “Sorry. Too soon, I know.”

  Relia spent several seconds breaking free from her surroundings. Now that the jade artists were dead, it was just ordinary stone. A few swipes from her Master body shattered the pieces like cheap glass.

  Once she was free, Relia stepped toward the courtyard’s eastern edge. Storm's Eye waited on the distant horizon, its massive form slithering in place amid the roiling blue clouds. Even from here, she could feel its power like a weight on her soul.

  Glim floated along beside her. “I did some probing. These guys in the Storm Garden. Then someone teleported them back to shore.”

  Relia nodded, wiping blood and rain from her face. If she were still an Artisan, she might be gasping for breath. As a Master, she felt strangely calm. “Akari?”

  “Classic Akari,” Glim agreed.

  “Well, I tell her to stop draining so many souls,” Relia said. “But why were they ? Are the Kazarus working with the Sons of Talek?”

  “No idea,” Glim said. “But the orders came from the Jade Prince—attack the hideout and take as many prisoners as they could . . .” She trailed off as Storm’s Eye opened its jaws and gathered another blazing white Missile in its mouth.

  Relia cycled her mana and prepared for the attack. But Storm's Eye wasn't aiming for her. It was aiming for the temple.

  This time, they had no shield to defend themselves.

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