The tremor that rumbled through the skybridge sent vibrations up my legs as I pressed my
forehead to the quivering window glass. All I could see of the rift from this angle was the
distant glow behind the mechanics of the containment ring. It spun so fast it was a silver
streak across my retinas, working overtime to process and contain the raden issuing from
the rift.
The rolling thunder faded to a low hum, and I straightened, looking to Seth at the window
beside me. "Come on," he ordered, his brows pinching together to form a sharp V.
Eager to get off the bridge, I followed double time.
On the other side, we found Tower One's hallways filled with engineers and scientists. They
crowded around the stairwells and elevators, creating a messy queue as everyone tried to
reach the auditorium and hear President Valera's explanation for the alert. Another round of
flashing lights caused the press of employees to shift and murmur nervously. Monitors along
the hallways displayed maps of Tower One with the same instructions: "Keep calm. Power
surge expected. Proceed to the auditorium. Keep calm…"
"What's going on?" I heard anxious people around us ask each other.
"It's nothing."
"I hear the rift is acting up."
"Is it collapsing? Or leaking? Should we be evacuating right now?"
"If that ring comes down, we're dead."
"Don't be ridiculous! That's not possible."
"Torrin…" My brother caught me by the shoulder and whispered, "Mind your footing."
I rolled my eyes, but Seth's straightforwardness sliced through the paranoia rising like steam
all around us.
Operational staffers walked up and down the shifting lines, occasionally asking for badges.
One stopped beside us the second he noted Seth.
"Just a moment, ardent." The man appraised Seth's ID card and consulted with his phone
screen. "Ah, Mr. Gray, good." He glanced at me. "And… is this your brother?"
"Yes. Seth and Torrin Gray," my brother replied, while I held up my laminated card.
Another tap on the phone. "Report to the security office. Both of you."
He raised a finger and signaled a guard, who rushed to our side.
"This way, please."
We arrived at a security elevator, where a different guard checked our clearances—mostly
mine. We boarded the lift by ourselves, and as it climbed, we heard President Valera over
the elevator's loudspeakers, his address broadcast for those still making their way to the
auditorium.
"At approximately 1:24 p.m., a pulse of radiation energy emanated from the Lightbridge rift.
Our protective halo safely defused the surge, and the only side effect was a slight blip in the
buildings' power. Thanks to the work and wizardry of everyone in this room, each of our
many safeguards functioned flawlessly. A round of applause for yourselves, everyone!"
The elevator stopped, and we were guided into a wide, heavily windowed room that
overlooked the auditorium beneath us. TV screens and computer monitors cast ghostly light
across the dim, overcrowded office. Cramped in the far corner, Jace raised a beckoning
hand.
"We will now take questions," the president said on one display as Seth and I wove through
the desks. "Yes, you, from CENN?"
I suspected all the journalists were pre-selected, and sure enough, some of their questions
were being typed on the monitor in front of me.
"You made it," said a voice to our right.
Colter Valera blocked our way to Jace, exchanging a stiff nod with Seth by way of greeting.
Colter's green eyes flicked to me. "Congratulations on your promotion, Torrin. Quite the
timing."
"Should I be here?" I asked, noticing that I was the only boneforger in the room.
"We're short on support staff," Colter answered. "Most of the other forgers are hauling
equipment to the roof."
"Ardents," came a smoker's bark. Jonathan "Jack" Hawthorne—a former Marine turned
ardent, now COO of the Valera Conglomerate—stepped into the ring of lights at the room's
heart.
He scanned the room with beady eyes. "I'll keep this brief. Everyone already knows about
the raden surge; what they don't know is that a bunch of engineers were trapped inside
when things went FUBAR. They went radio silent around the time the first shockwave was
measured. We need you to go inside the rift, rescue any survivors, determine what caused
this nonsense, and report back the moment you're convinced the rift is safe."
"That rift's clear of parabeasts. Why send ardents?" asked Fintan Calhoun, a pale figure in
the corner with deep-set cobalt eyes.
"We're not babysitters," agreed his heavily tanned, barrel-chested brother, Gavin, fingers
tapping a bored rhythm on the butt of the shard gun holstered on his hip. I normally avoided
the pair of them. Gavin swaggered like he'd just sauntered out of a gunslinger movie, and I'd
heard rumors Fintan liked to play with dead things.
"You're whatever the hell we need you to be, ardent," Hawthorne spat. The COO wasted no
further time on the Calhouns. "Per protocol, we had multiple ardents with the engineers
inside the rift. Since they haven't reported back, we have to assume that whatever happened
there requires extra muscle. You're our first responders. If you find something alive in there
that isn't human, kill it. Ardent Valera will have overall command. A second team of
engineers and carvers will follow once you've given them the green light. That's your
assignment. Any questions?"
"None, sir," Colter answered.
Hawthorne studied the gathered faces. "Anyone?" When silence answered, he thumped his
heels together. "Dismissed."
Jace pushed his way to us in the shuffle toward the door. "That wins the award for weirdest
briefing. Total cluster. And I've made it clear I don't work with the Calhouns. Somebody is
more worried than they're letting on, don't you think?"
He rattled on, clearly not expecting an answer. I knew nothing, and Seth considered most
questions rhetorical.
I let out a shaky breath as we left the room. A raden surge strong enough to shake the
towers? Missing ardents and engineers on a supposedly routine job? Nothing about this
boded well.
Seth seemed unaffected, but I knew he had his reservations. Primarily, about my
involvement. No matter how well he wore that unflinching mask, I knew he was upset.
We crammed into the security elevator with half the rescue team, then plodded through the
lower halls in double file, following Colter and his second in command, Rhea Dunn, in the
front. The service elevators to the roof were across the tower, forcing us to pass the
auditorium and the ongoing briefing.
Unfortunately, two well-dressed reporters had been milling near the doors and spotted us.
They slipped outside and intercepted us just before we reached the elevators.
"Colter Valera!" the twenty-something female reporter heralded, eyes shining like she'd seen
her favorite boy band. "Seth Gray!"
"Of course," Colter sighed under his breath.
Rhea stopped when he did, toying with the handles of her twin axes. She was a tank of a
woman, with a severe half-shaved haircut, an even harsher jaw, and hard hazel eyes that
stood out against her mahogany skin.
"Mister Valera," said the middle-aged male reporter, shoving a microphone at Colter and
craning his neck a little to give Rhea a nervous glance, "Richard Heartman from NWB, can I
ask you a couple questions…?"
Colter put on a bright smile. "Sure. I'll answer if I can." He glanced back at Rhea. "Make sure
the helos are loaded and the team is ready."
Rhea hesitated, her eyes affixed to the back of Colter's head. After a tense moment, she
spun back around, moving on the pads of her booted feet like a predator. "You heard him.
Move!"
"Seth, Seth!" the woman said breathlessly as she slipped around Richard Heartman. "I'm
Jade Janowitz from The Scene, can I—" Her face fell as Seth put up a stiff hand like a
blockade by his face, eschewing her with a firm, "No."
He blazed past her, and I had to hurry to keep up.
The Scene? How had a tabloid journalist even snuck in here? She must have some great
fake credentials.
Once we were some distance from the reporters, Seth grabbed me by the shoulder and
pulled me beside one of the auditorium's many exits, letting the team forge on without us. "I
need to tell you something," he started.
"Whatever it is, I already heard it," I parried, pointing at the new bruises I felt puffing my face.
"It left quite a mark, in fact."
Seth shook his head with a low grumble, then went rigid. Following his eyes, I turned around
to see Hanna sneaking out of the amphitheater.
"What are you doing here?" asked Seth as he hurried over, his hand brushing lightly along
the side of her belly when he reached her.
"I had to stretch my legs, so I was standing in the back and saw you pass by." Hanna
intertwined her fingers with Seth's, then noticed me, and her face fell. "Jesus, what
happened to you?"
"You should see the other guy," I managed, smiling.
Hanna shifted widened eyes toward my brother who, without missing a beat, continued, "You
shouldn't be here."
"They wouldn't let me leave until I attended this briefing," she huffed. "If you even want to call
it that. There's nothing brief about it, and the whole thing sounds like fluff.
"Really?" I asked.
Hanna nodded. "They said no security systems were affected by the surge, but we lost
power in the lab for several minutes. We had no working lights, no environmental controls…
no security! Dr. Long had to hold one of the containment units closed with his bare hands.
The poor guy got stung! He'll be fine in a few days, but still!"
Seth glared at me as if Hanna's presence in the towers was my idea.
Fortunately, Hanna read both our faces fluently. "Stop that," she chided, smoothing his worn,
olive-colored cloak over his shoulders. It was the first birthday gift she'd given him after they
started dating. "It's over now. Let's get Isla home. She's going stir crazy in there."
"I can't," said Seth, bringing Hanna's hand up to his cheek when she tried to tug him along.
"We can't," I corrected.
"Why not?" Hanna looked us over, brows furrowing. "What's going on?"
Seth straightened up and said, "We're needed in the rift."
"Both of you? Oh." She tried to rearrange her face into a smile for me. "First time on the new
job, huh?" Her mouth tightened, struggling to stay upturned as she looked to Seth. "What
exactly is the job?"
Seth parted his lips but no sound escaped.
"Just going in to check on some engineers," I interjected.
"Oh." Hanna's shoulders loosened. She let go of Seth to squeeze my arm, nose scrunching
in a more genuine smile. "Well, show them what you can do, just like you did in the lab today.
Play to your strengths; you've got plenty of them."
I squirmed under her cheery praise.
"His trouble is that taking solid advice isn't one of them," said Seth flatly.
"Nah, just taking yours," I shot back. "I always listen to Hanna."
"And you listen to me good," she said, wagging a finger at Seth's nose as she pushed
herself up on tiptoes. "Don't take too long." She pecked his lips. "And let Torrin be Torrin.
He's got this."
Seth captured her scolding finger between both palms and gave her hand a parting squeeze.
"I'll see you at home," he said, making no promises to obey. We left Hanna and sprinted
toward the elevators. Colter was standing beside the nearest one, sharing some last words
with the reporters.
"We'll see what happens," he laughed, leaning inside the elevator door frame, totally at ease.
"Enjoy the rest of the briefing."
I caught his eye with a waving hand and mouthed, "Hold it."
Colter kept his arm braced on the door and twisted aside for us.
"Thanks," I acknowledged as the doors closed.
"Sure thing." Colter pushed the button for the rooftop. "Why aren't you two with the squad?"
"Torrin shouldn't be on this mission," Seth said, ignoring Colter's question.
Although I'd been waiting for it, I still found myself wordless with anger and embarrassment.
"He's not trained for this," Seth continued, "and we're going in blind. Send him in with the
engineers after us. They could use him."
"No." I found my voice and looked Colter dead in the face. "I'm not part of the clean-up crew
anymore."
Colter appraised me briefly, but his eyes bounced back to Seth. "I see your point, but I need
every available body, raden or not. The Conglomerate is hitting this hard and fast. They've
even pulled in freelancers for last-minute replacements. I'm sure you understand how much
is at stake if this turns into a bigger problem."
"And if we send in people who aren't prepared, we'll have a bigger body count on our hands
if things go badly," Seth countered.
Boiling over with anger, I opened my mouth to defend myself again.
Colter exhaled through his nostrils and looked at me. "You tell me. Are you ready for this?"
"I—yes. One hundred percent," I pledged.
"Good," said Colter, facing the door as the elevator stopped. He held up a hand to forestall
any more arguments from Seth. "Let's join our teammates."
The second the doors opened, the headwind sweeping across the roof blew rain into my
face. Seth and Colter each raised glowing arms, evaporating the raindrops into an amber
cloud of steam and raden.
The Calhouns and a few other ardents were pulling hide or bone pauldrons, vambraces, and
gauntlets over their standard uniform leathers, standing in a shared aura that shielded them
from the rainstorm like a canopy. Hanging above it all, the golden wheel of the Lightbridge rift
shed dim light across both tower rooftops.
I raced between Seth and Colter past dozens of men and women in bright yellow reflective
vests, interspersed with ardents, boneforgers, and medics, all loading up. Rhea stepped out
of the aura to meet us, heedless of the driving rain.
"Last of the equipment coming up now," she said, jerking her head toward a steady stream of
techs tossing black duffle bags into a series of dropships. "Most of the crew have already
boarded and are getting geared." She stepped closer to Colter, side-eyeing me and the
distant carriers with a frown line between her brows. "Kind of a mixed bag. What stuffed shirt
put this together?"
"It's all hands on deck, Rhea," was all Colter said as he marched past her.
I exchanged a quick glance with Seth, but if he had any issue with Rhea's grievances, he
didn't give any indication.
Rhea stalked off after Colter, and without looking back at us, tossed a thumb at one of the
quadcopter personnel carriers lined up by the eastern ledge. Seth led the way, and a
bedraggled young woman checked our names off a list.
"Seth Gray." A woman sashayed between us and the loading stairs. "Didn't realize we'd have
ardent royalty with us on this job." Black hair tumbled in waves around her face, framing
heterochromatic eyes: one so dark it was almost onyx, the other the warm gold of raden.
"Priscilla," said Seth, hardly looking at her.
Her lips twitched into a Mona Lisa smile, and she played with the pommel of a dagger, one
of many that were sheathed in a harness around her torso. "Always such a sour puss," she
tsked, reaching up like she might shuck his chin, but he jerked his jaw away. Priscilla only
laughed—a throaty, velvet sound—and passed us by, calling out, "Hey, Leon, what
happened to retiring? I thought last time I saw you, you said, and I quote…"
But I missed whatever Leon had said as we loaded up into the carrier, our boots making
metallic clangs down the aisle between the jump seats bolted into the walls. A handful of
other boneforgers, one medic, and a couple of ardents were already inside, including Jace,
and I dropped into the free seat beside him, sandwiched between him and Seth.
"Torrin."
I'd bent to unzip my duffel but looked up at the sound of my name to find Taj walking up from
the back with two forger kits in tow. He nodded. I nodded back.
"Didn't know you'd been promoted." I couldn't read his tone, but he handed me one of the
kits to supplement the supply in my duffel, and I decided to take it as a friendly gesture.
"Thanks. Yeah. Right after we talked yesterday, actually. In the rift."
"Huh," was all he said back.