Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

23. Heir of House Dresden

With a foot mounted on a piece of collapsed debris, Kliff closed his eyes and listened. There it was, the discordant thrum of Essence. Most mages went their entire lives without perceiving the odd frequency for themselves. Conversely, though, it took an especially talented sorcerer to detect it.

Every creature on the planet naturally produced this signature; it was proof of their existence. In Ruenist texts, it was taught that a person's Essence constituted their soul. Kliff wasn't huge on religion, but he could acknowledge its merit concerning Magic Theory. The amount of Essence a person possessed would ultimately determine whether they were a mage or a dullard; a most important distinction, indeed.

Kliff broke off his spot and bolted at a hastened pace down the narrow road ahead of him. In the past twenty minutes since he'd been beckoned into the pocket prison, Kliff had already gotten accustomed to the otherworldly surroundings.

Cracked walls consumed by violet-colored vines that spanned for miles and miles. A darkened sky, for in its lack of stars, compensated with ribbons of light. Shattered pillars and staircases that led nowhere. Kliff absorbed it all in, and it became normal.

He arrived at a fork in the road, each leading in a different direction that looked unequivocally the same. Kliff closed his eyes again and reached for where the infrequency was the loudest. The lesson that Autumn had taught him replayed: Hone in on the glimmer amidst the flood. Generally, Essence didn't produce a sound, but it radiated a unique sensation, one that rolled through its environment like the elegant waves of the sea.

Occasionally, however, there were anomalies that fractured the fluid anonymity of it all. Tears in a world's design. In his training, Kliff learned that these anomalies signified a Breach, that is, a split in the Realms of Existence that spirits and otherworldly entities used to infiltrate the Mortal Realm. In this instance, it wasn't a spirit that was responsible; this anomaly was new.

Pocket prisons themselves were composed exclusively of magical energy, and so the anomaly obstructing it was akin to a crack in a glass window or a fissure in an otherwise perfect-paved street. A discordant note, a broken wand, a blight. The way out.

Guess that's why he called it Integrity's Rift, Kliff thought, smirking. In order to escape, I'll need to track down where this labyrinth breaks.

Inhaling sharply through his nose, Kliff darted down the empty corridor, kicking up a storm of dust behind him with each rapid step forward. It took some adjusting, but Kliff had gotten used to his strange, enchanted uniform. Eventually. Whatever enchantment was placed on it made the fabric loosen and tighten in accordance with his movement.

The surgin' thing didn't even grow damp with sweat, and whatever damage that it sustained—may it be as simple as a tear in the clothing or a ripped sleeve—would instantly repair itself. This meant that there wasn't really a need to wash it, and he wasn't entirely certain why each student was provided multiple pairs of them. Kliff would tend to them, for propriety's sake.

Five more minutes of his hastened jog and the path expanded into a diamond-shaped courtyard scattered with collapsed debris, decrepit pieces of architecture Kliff couldn't accurately identify, and had been partially consumed by violet veins slithering across its surface.

Some of the walls were even caved in, and Kliff caught a glimpse of the corridor on the other side. As he stepped over the remains of a crumbled pillar, Kliff's eyes sharpened as something flickered on the ground. Ice? Kliff advanced to it, a hand hovering over his wand holster. Yes, it was indeed ice.

Adeline must have passed through here, Kliff thought, glaring.

Details of his surroundings enhanced as he dedicated to them the appropriate amount of attention. Sheets of ice splattered over particular segments of the walls, and when Kliff concentrated hard enough, he could just faintly sense the Essence particles floating in the air. A battle had occurred here, but with what?