Edge of Pathos (Book 4 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 28

Valerie returned to the entrance to Plymouth that Willa and Steven had blasted open, hoping that no one would be nearby. She was relieved to see that glade was empty. She walked across the scarred earth, where the dynamite had created a huge hole, and turned the wheel on the ancient door.

It was dark inside, but not completely without light. The gems embedded in the walls of the cave held a faint glow, a remnant of Cyrus's magic. Valerie remembered the tunnel well enough to follow the path back.

She climbed down the ladder and approached the city. It had been quiet the last time she had come, but now it was completely empty. She was relieved that Skye had managed to evacuate the Groundlings who lived here so quickly. It was probably the only city in Plymouth where the people weren't enslaved by the Fractus.

As she followed the river and approached the cave, she saw that the debris from the cave-in she'd created at the mouth had been cleared away.

Inside, Valerie couldn't hear anything. She was forced to unsheathe Pathos to light her path, even though she knew that it would make her a target if there were any Fractus stragglers still in this part of the cave.

The space was empty, and Valerie decided to follow the river. She suspected that the location of the greatest concentration of Carne was somewhere deep in the caves.

The ground beneath her feet was slippery with black slime that gave off a faint hum of power. It smelled like the dank spot underneath an overpass where she'd huddled during the year she'd been homeless in Oakland. It was the scent of desperation and fear.

Valerie sheathed Pathos, only pulling it out occasionally to check that there weren't any obstacles in her path. The sound of the river moving and her own breath made a kind of soundtrack, and Valerie's heartbeat ratcheted up as the closeness of the tunnel bore down on her.

It was an acute relief to make out the distant sound of shouting. The hum of power that surrounded her increased in volume, and she began to jog.

Valerie stopped when the cavern widened into an enormous room that was dimly lit by balls of light suspended in the air. The rock face looked like it had been painted with pitch. An enormous lake was in the middle, and it was pure black, so dark that it seemed to absorb the little light in the room.

Everywhere were Fractus, overseeing the Groundlings as they scraped and scraped the walls of the room. The sludge they gathered was carefully deposited into the lake. They wore magical chains that chafed at their wrists. Reaper must have tightened his grip on his source of slave labor after Valerie had fought the Fractus at the mouth of the cave.

She reached into her pocket and squeezed the little ball that Skye had given her. He had a matching one that would vibrate from her touch, signaling him that she'd found the source of the Carne in Plymouth.

"Beautiful, isn't it? The perfect blackness?"

Reaper's voice in her ear made Valerie want to jump, but she forced herself to hide her reaction.

"This Carne was created from the bodies of hundreds of Conjurors, dumped here during the early wars on the Globe. Time degraded the magic left in their corpses into something pure, something that can be manipulated with the right power."

"I'm glad you're here," Valerie said, drawing Pathos from its sheath. "I think it's time we settle this between us for good."

Reaper grinned. "You shouldn't tease me. I'm beginning to think you've outlived your usefulness, now that I have what I want, and it doesn't look like your brother will be much use to anyone now that he's given up on living."