They staggered out of the collapsed tunnel and into a wider conduit. The echoes of the explosion were still ringing in Kaelen’s ears. He slowed his pace, taking stock of the space, while Jade leaned forward with her hands on her knees, breathing hard.

  “This… ain’t where we want to end up,” she said between breaths. “Damn these piss-slurpin’ rats! We’ll have to descend.”

  The conduit sloped downward, not up. That much was obvious even without landmarks. The brickwork here was older, darker, reinforced in places with metal braces.

  “We’re stranded,” Kaelen said. It was more a statement rather than a question.

  “It’d be better if we were. The route we took earlier wasn’t safe, but at least we didn’t have to go down.” Jade shook her head. “Rats. Shit gobblers, all of ‘em!”

  The lull in action gave Kaelen time to consider what had happened earlier. Only a few moments ago, he was freely casting magic, without resistance nor pain in his side. For as much as the return of his powers pleased him, the Dark Lord did not like unanswered questions.

  He glanced at Jade as she straightened and began walking again, her boots splashing softly through shallow runoff. Was this a fluke, or had something truly changed? There was only one way to test it.

  , he promised himself.

  Kaelen focused mana into his fingertips. The familiar sensation answered him at once and, for a heartbeat, it felt as though the spell would form. Then the ache in his side flared, as sharp and insistent as ever, yanking his concentration apart. He hissed softly and let the energy disperse.

  Jade stopped immediately and turned. “Ya good?”

  “Never better,” Kaelen replied through clenched teeth.

  She eyed him skeptically but did not press. Instead, she turned back and continued forward, slower now.

  , Kaelen thought.

  The pattern bothered him. He could attack rats and the so-called dung-eater without hesitation, but Jade remained… resistant. Off-limits, for lack of a better word.

  Mindless creatures, then. Was that the distinction?

  Kaelen’s magic had always been a source of pride. Only now, with the prospect of losing it looming above him, did he realize how much of himself was bound up in it.

  “Whatcha thinkin’ about there?” Jade asked, glancing back over her shoulder. “Ya look gloomy.”

  “I am thinking that my guide may have misled me,” Kaelen said. His companion did not need to know about his grievances – nor of how close she had been to becoming a cripple just now. “We’ve covered a great distance, yet we do not appear any closer to the surface.”

  Jade snorted. “Patience, my good man. Patience.” She gestured vaguely ahead. “Ya blew up a wall. Now I gotta find another way out, is all.”

  “I blew up the wall to save you.”

  “Ya want my bloody thanks or somethin’? We’re in enemy territory now,” she said, pointing at a marking on the tunnel wall as they passed it. A crude face with hollow eyes, its mouth crossed out with a thick X. “Mutes’ turf. We should be careful.”

  Kaelen quietly studied the symbol as they passed it. They moved in silence for half an hour, with him cataloging every side passage they encountered. After a while, even he got tired of the silence.

  “This… predicament of ours,” he began, more to fill the space than because he expected interest, “reminds me of an old legend about a labyrinth that was constructed somewhere in the First Age by a vain, prideful king. He wanted to go down in history, yet we still don’t know his name or whether he indeed existed.”

  Jade said nothing but slowed her steps, listening.

  “He was a devout man, or so the chronicles claimed. He prayed at dawn and dusk to every deity, known or imagined, funded temples, and fasted on holy days. He would not sign an execution order for fear of spilling blood, no matter how grievous the crime was. But every kingdom has its unrests, and he needed to deal with a handful at once.”

  “What’d he do?” the girl asked Kaelen.

  “He ordered a labyrinth to be built beneath the capital, hidden from the sun and all the gods alike. It was a marvel of engineering, with rooms that constantly moved and shifted. Those deemed dangerous to the realm would be sent inside, alive and unbloodied, and the king could tell himself he had spared them. They’ve been told that if they could find a way out, all of their crimes would be forgiven. None ever did.”

  “Was he crazy or somethin’?”

  “No more than any other ruler in history.” “The first to be sent there were the architects, to test whether the labyrinth was as secure as the kind had hoped. More people followed after the architects didn’t return. Eventually, among those taken was a woman named Alira. The king’s own lover, if we are to be believed. She was heavy with a child, too.”

  Jade whistled in amusement.

  “None was punished more than the king himself. The pious fool was plagued with terrible dreams. He would wake up in the night and look for someone in his walls. , he would say. When he could no longer bear it, he descended into the labyrinth, unguarded and alone. He wanted to find Alira and her child. His one and only heir.”

  “And then? What happened then?” Jade asked him impatiently. She was engrossed in his tale in spire of everything that had transpired.

  Kaelen tilted his head, his attention no longer on the story. He raised his hand.

  “Quiet, girl,” he said. “Can’t you hear? There are voices ahead.”

  The girl stopped and listened. Even though Kaelen couldn’t quite catch the exact words that were said, from the rhythm and intonation alone he knew he was listening in on a conversation.

  The voice drifted toward them, unmistakably human. Jade finally heard it as well and froze.

  “Wait,” she whispered. Then her face lit up. “No bloody way!”

  She broke into a jog before Kaelen could stop her.

  “Oi!” she called out. “You two!”

  Two figures soon stepped into the light further down the conduit. Men in patched leather and worn boots. They looked startled for half a second, then recognition dawned.

  “Jade?” the taller man said. His companion waved at the girl.

  She laughed and rushed forward. “Severin! Adder! By the gutters, after we found Caleb’s body, I thought ya dolts were dead!”

  Kaelen approached more slowly, his eyes narrowing. What was this strange feeling he’d been having?

  “This one is Severin!” she pointed at the taller man. He had a scar that nearly split his face in two. “One o’ the best swords in the whole slums! And this one’s Adder. He’s almost as good a mage as you are, and also knows every bawdy song in godsdamn history!”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  The other man was shorter and fatter and had grey skin. Adder made a mock bow and winked at Kaelen.

  “Didn’t expect to see your undersized arse down here,” Severin said. It was definitely his voice Kaelen had heard before. “C’mon, there’s a meeting down there. You can share your story there.”

  Something felt wrong. In a blink, Kaelen reached for Jade, and his hand landed heavy on her shoulder.

  “Ey, what chu do that for?” she whined in her ridiculous accent. “It’s my mates! They’re Good Knights!”

  Kaelen ignored her. He pointed at one of the men. “You there. A short and fat one. Adder, was it? Why don’t you sing one of those bawdy songs for me? I’m in a festive mood.”

  It was Severin who spoke in his stead. “Jade, who is this bloody dullard? He’s not one of ours, that’s for sure. Is he a novice? If so, Benji the Butcher would not be pleased with his conduct.”

  Kaelen noticed that, as the man was talking, his hand was slowly inching in on the sword at his hip. “Keep your weapon well-sheathed or I will find another place to put it in.” The man froze in place, and Kaelen pointed at his silent companion. “Well? Speak, damn you!”

  Oh how he wished he could command him with his [Dark Voice]. Finally, the taller man opened his mouth to answer. What came out was a wet, breathy rasp.

  Jade staggered back as if struck. “Y-ya… yer…”

  “Tongueless,” Kaelen continued for her. He felt the pieces click into place. That’s why the conversation he’d heard in the tunnel made no sense to him. It was a one-sided conversation with a mute.

  Jade didn’t need much time to process what was happening. “YA BLOODY BUGGERS! ARSE-LICKIN’ TURNCOATS! BACK-STABBIN’ CHURLS!” she exploded with rage. “GODS CURSE YER MOTHERS AND THE MUD THAT BIRTHED YA, YA TAINT-SNIFFIN’ FILTH! I’LL RIP YER SPINES OUT AND USE ‘EM FOR SKIPPIN’ ROPES, YA RANCID, GUT-ROTTED BASTARDS!”

  While the girl was busy exhausting her little bag of insults, Kaelen stared at the two traitors in front of him.

  “You’re with the Mutes now, are you not?” he asked, though there was little point in denying that. “And judging by your lack of reaction to what the girl said, you’re the ones who killed Caleb, are you not?”

  The tongueless man nodded and grinned, no sign of shame on his face. The taller man nodded, too. At least his eyes were downcast, though Kaelen did not buy his remorseful act for a moment. His hand was still awfully close to that sword of his.

  Jade kept rattling off her insults, “YA STINKIN’ CROOK-FINGERED CARRION-KISSERS! MAY THE RATS CHEW YER TOES WHILE YA SLEEP! YA SACKS OF FESTERIN’ OFFAL! BOOT-LICKIN’ MUTE-LACKEYS!”

  Kaelen stopped her with a gesture. “I think they got the point.”

  “A'ight, one more for the road.” She turned to the traitors again. “YA FESTERED SONS O’ WHORES!”

  Adder gave her a humorless smile.

  “You always did have a mouth on you, Jade,” Severin said. He stepped half a pace to the side, deliberately blocking the narrow passage. “You shouldn’t have come here. Should’ve stayed topside. Played the part of a good knight in the gutters.”

  “While you’re lurkin’ in tunnels like sewer rats?” Jade shot back. “Did ya offer Caleb the same sermon ‘fore you stuck him? Or did he just get in the way?”

  A flicker passed across Severin’s face at the name, but it vanished quickly.

  “You’re all just children playing at knighthood,” he said. “Benji struts around like he’s some grandmaster, but he’s got no vision. No ambition. Other gangs are expanding, while we’re stuck arguing over scraps. We could’ve been making real money from brownleg and blacktongue.”

  “Sell junk?” Jade spat, incredulous. “That your grand plan? Poisonin’ half the slums?”

  Severin shrugged. “Someone’s going to sell it either way. Might as well be us.”

  “Ya think money matters more than your friends, ya shambling muttonhead?”

  “I think money is the thing that matters,” he replied evenly. “And also this–” He drew a blade from his belt. “We can’t let you walk away from here..”

  A thin blade glinted in Jade’s hand as she raised it. “Funny,” she said. “I was about to say the same.”

  She pointed the tip at Severin’s throat.

  “I invoke a trial by the sword! One on one. Face me proper, if there’s any spine left in you. I’ll gut you first–” her eyes flicked to the silent figure beside him, “–then I’ll deal with your mute pet.”

  Severin shook his head with a smirk, his eyes never leaving Jade’s face. “We aren’t playing by the Good Knights book anymore, stupid girl. There will be no trials by the sword and no duels.” The tongueless traitor to his side made a neck-cutting motion with his hand.

  Jade laughed. “Ya’ll feel sorry for sayin’ that.” She turned to Kaelen. “C’mon, let’s show ‘em what’s what.”

  The two men tensed, getting ready for a fight. Fools though they might have been, they knew true danger came from Kaelen. He, on the other hand, simply glared back at the girl. “Am I your dog that you dare command me so freely? It seems to me you’ve forgotten your place, girl.”

  “What?” Jade asked him, all of her attitude gone in an instant. She looked like a wide-eyed kid again. An abandoned orphan.

  “This is your business, not mine. I hired you to find me a passage, nothing more. Or have you forgotten?”

  Jade pointed at herself. “Oi, the lady is in danger. Where’s your pissin’ chivalry?”

  “I seem to recall that it was who called herself a knight. A Good Knight, even.”

  The tongueless man laughed – or, rather, made a sound that sounded close enough.

  “Seems like this day is ripe for treason,” Severin noted and pointed at the Dark Lord. “You are a wise man for not getting in the way. Stand aside, and you’ll get a pass from us. I promise no one will cause you harm.”

  The girl was nothing to Kaelen, and yet accepting their offer would be akin to admitting that he felt threatened by these two low-life scums. Kaelen could not afford that.

  Kaelen reached out to Jade. “You will do just fine.”

  . He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She felt it immediately, even if the fools hadn’t noticed. It must have felt like fire and ice pouring straight into her veins.

  The traitors moved first as soon as Kaelen left Jade’s side. Severin rushed the girl head-on while Adder circled wide, his boots splashing and making waves in the shallow water. They knew her well and expected her to hesitate.

  Severin lunged with a sword in hand, which turned out to be a low-grade runeblade. The runes inscribed on cheap steel reminded Kaelen of the Sun-Kissed Blade that he had once tasted. This sword, however, only bore glyphs that enhanced its slicing and piercing damage.

  The runeblade’s glow made it a poor weapon for the dim tunnels. Jade could see it coming even without her enhanced senses. She ducked under the swing and drove her elbow into Severin’s gut, turning with the motion and hooking her foot behind his ankle. Her sudden [Strength] was enough to send him reeling.

  True to Jade’s earlier description, the tongueless man turned out to be a mage – and not a bad one, admittedly. While the girl was busy with Severin, he sneakily cast [Water Trap], which was tailor-made for fighting in the sewers. The water at Jade’s feet thickened, turning syrupy.

  She quickly abandoned her footwear, barely catching herself before Severin struck again. A crack like splitting stone echoed as a bolt of compressed force slammed into the wall beside her head, showering her with brick dust.

  “Cheeky bastards,” Jade spat, rolling aside with naked feet as another blast scorched the air where she’d stood.

  Kaelen watched from a few steps back, arms folded. When he touched the girl’s shoulder, he channeled a portion of his power into her, complete with level 1 of some of his skills. He only gave her the barest powerup, no more than what her body and mind could take.

  It would all burn out soon, but for this sorry lot, it was more than enough – so long as the girl knew how to fight.

  The traitors moved in unison. Severin sliced the air with his blade, letting Jade parry a few strikes with her thin knives. It was a half-hearted attack, because Severin’s true goal was to conceal Adder from her view. The mage lifted both hands, and the scarred man immediately crouched low. The water surged upward in a narrow arc, hardening midair into jagged ice shards.

  “Try [Moon Beam],” Kaelen offered calmly.

  “I don’t know any magic!” Jade barked back, ducking as the shards whistled past. Once again, her invigorated senses saved her just now.

  “Do it.”

  She didn’t stop to argue. Jade raised her free hand, imitating what he saw Kaelen do back when they were fending off rats.

  Two pale shafts of light tore through the gloom, clean and focused, slamming into Severin’s chest. He reacted fast and even managed to dispel one beam, while the other burned through his leather and touched his flesh. The man sank momentarily to one knee, clutching at the smoking wound.

  The mage retaliated instantly. A net of crackling energy snapped into existence, arcing between the tunnel walls, boxing Jade in.

  , Kaelen noted. Unlike the idiots Kaelen fought in the alleyway, these two worked great in tandem. Even their attacks complemented each other: one was a mage, another a physical fighter who relied on dispels.

  Jade felt the borrowed power straining, slipping through her fingers like sand. She had precious little time. Sensing that, she rushed forward, straight into the edge of the net.

  She slid under it and drove her blade into Severin’s thigh. He dropped his runeblade and before he could recover, Jade was on him. She didn’t fight like a mage. She fought like a gutter fighter who wielded magic like she would wield a butcher knife.

  A half-parried slash across the ribs. A knee to the gut. Another pulse of pale light, unpractised but no less brutal, aimed at his face.

  She didn’t forget to keep Adder occupied, too. She kept throwing reckless [Moon Bolts] at him in between strikes, just to keep the mage at distance. Adder was countering each spell with his own, sparks flying around him with each new cast.

  Kaelen nodded. It was a sound strategy, especially for a small-framed fighter such as her.

  Severin, to his credit, managed to parry some of the attacks and even dispelled a few spells directed at him at point blank, but was too slow himself to retaliate.

  Or so he would have liked the girl to think.

  , Kaelen almost yelled, but by then it was too late.

  Jade’s tactic of keeping the mage at bay with her spells was working splendidly until Severin sneakily dispelled one of the [Moon Bolts] meant for Adder. Even powered up by Kaelen, the girl wasn’t an experienced mage, so she didn’t notice it, and the tongueless bastard took full advantage of it in an instant.

  Rather than hit her with a spell of her own, Adder cut her down with his blade. Unlike Severin’s, this sword was ordinary and had seen better days. The man hit Jade right between her ribs as she was turning.

  “Shit,” she cursed, realizing too late what had just happened. The girl stiffened, gasping, walked backwards a few steps and fell face first into the shallow runoff. Her glowing palm flickered out the moment she hit the floor.

  The traitor yanked the blade free and stepped over her body, silently watching as Jade’s blood already started soaking through her clothes.