It took a long time for Hump to collect himself. He dripped with sweat, his heart felt like it was about to explode, and his hand throbbed as if he’d been struck by a hammer. Even after he’d caught his breath, he couldn’t escape the feeling that death was about to claim him.

There was a movement nearby and he jerked to see Dylan stepping toward him, crossing the now deactivated formational lines. The druid squatted before him, angling his head so that he met Hump’s eyes. “Are you alright?”

Hump nodded, wheezing in as deep a breath as he could. “Just about.” His voice was shaky.

The others crowded around him, other than Graham, who was sat on the floor by his mirror reader. He mumbled to himself as he studied it.

“What happened?” Bud asked softly.

Hump glanced over to where the black stone rested against the edge of the formation, his stomach sinking at the sight of it. “The stone worked. I was suddenly in a dark place, and there was something there with me—a person, or creature. I don’t know. I thought I was going to die, but then pain exploded in my hand and the darkness faded.”

“I can explain the hand pain,” Emilia said. “That was Celaine.”

Hump turned to Celaine. “What in the world did you do to me?”

She shrugged. “You wouldn’t let go so I kicked the stone from your hand.”

“She’s seriously got something against your hands,” Bud said. “At least she didn’t try to chop one off this time.”

“She’s tried to do that before?” Emilia asked.

“Oh yeah,” Bud said. “Only a couple of times though.”

Celaine scowled at him. “Don’t make it sound like that. This time, it looks like I was just in time.”

“She was,” Hump said. “I’d have taken the loss of a hand over a few more seconds trapped there.”

The humour left their faces now, replaced with worry instead.

“It was bad?” Bud asked.

Hump nodded. “Whatever that thing was, we don’t want to mess with it. I guess I should have expected as much when messing with a warlock device.” Hump shivered.

Marcela rubbed her face. “Can you describe it?”

She looked afraid, which made sense. Sheercliff wasn’t just her home; these were her people. She had a responsibility to them, and a threat like this… she was only a couple of years older than Hump. It was too much.

“I couldn’t see it properly.” Thinking back sent piercing pain shooting through the back of his eyes, and he pressed a hand to his head, groaning. He blinked hard. “It stared at me with two eyes that shone like white lights in the dark. That alone was enough to make me think I was going to die.”

“Do you think it was the riftwalker?” Celaine asked.

“Maybe. I couldn’t make out its features though. Just its eyes, and its strength. It was so far beyond us that I couldn’t apply it to a scale.”

“What’s a riftwalker?” Marcela asked.

“It’s a term Countess Daston introduced me to,” Hump said. “She suggested the being I encountered in the past may be one.”

Before Hump could continue, Graham shouted.

“Yes!” He jammed his skinny arms into the air in cheer. The mirror reader swirled with information, glowing much like Hump’s spellbook would. All the essence of the stones in the bowl was drained now, the light within each gem gone.

Hump forced himself to his feet, taking Bud’s hand when he offered it. He staggered as he found his legs, and Dylan handed him his staff.

“Did it work?” Hump asked.

“It worked,” Graham said. “I’ve got a usable reading. Whatever you did, Humphrey, you did it, lad! This is amazing.”

“Can you track others like it?” Marcela asked, excitement in her voice.

“Tracking them is a different matter,” Graham said. “This is just the first step. I still need to create an artifact capable of identifying such essence signatures first. And then of course, somehow find a way to apply that across a whole city. We need to consider powering such an artifact too, and—”

“Graham,” Marcela interrupted. “What I want to know is whether or not it will work. Did we make progress? Was this worth trying?”

“Ah.” A childlike smile spread across Graham’s face. “Then I would have to say, yes. Definitely, yes! This was a big step forward.”

“Thank the gods,” Marcela said. She turned to Hump, grinning. “Well, you did it. Now we just need to figure out how to tell my mother.”

Hump let out a sigh, a mixture of disbelief and relief. He outed himself as a warlock, but achieved what he’d set out to. More importantly, he wouldn’t need to try going face to face with whatever was on the other side of the black stone. He’d played his part. Now he could forget the troubles of Sheercliff and continue focusing on his own problems. That was, right after he’d spent two days recovering and enjoyed a date with Luna.

“Did you ever doubt me?” Hump asked, trying not to sound as exhausted as he felt.

Marcela looked at him softly and smiled. “Maybe a little. I appreciate the risks you took in doing this. Your trust… I won’t forget it. I still owe you more than I think I can ever repay.”

“I’m just glad I could help.” He leant heavily against his staff. “Now if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to sit out for the rest of training today. I’ll let you lot figure out what to do next.”

“We need to take this to Countess Daston, right?” Emilia said.

“We do.” Marcela folded her arms.

“I’m sure she’ll be delighted,” Graham said.

“As am I,” Marcela said. “The question is how much truth to tell her about Hump.”

“Give Vivienne and Graham the credit,” Hump said. “I just helped Graham activate the runes. It’s simple. I was nearby, so it makes sense for him to ask me for help on wizardry things first.”

“You have met Justine, haven’t you?” Bud said. “She’s got eyes everywhere.”

“And ears,” Hump said. “Or so she said.”

A shudder shook the room. The ground quaked. Hump caught himself on his staff as the entire room rocked from side to side. They all looked at each other. They’d become used to earthquakes over the last few days, having at least two each day. Only, the timing of this one was too perfect to be coincidence.

“I suppose that confirms that link between the black stones and whatever’s causing the earthquakes,” Hump said.

There was a crack like glass breaking, which made Hump frown. He didn’t see any broken glass nearby.

Marcela shook her head. “That wasn’t caused by the dungeons, or anything related to the warlocks. Look.”

She pointed at a space of open air. It took Hump a long moment to figure out what she meant, but then he saw it. The air distorted the room behind it like fragments of uneven glass. There was another thunderous crack, louder than before, a boom that shook Hump to his soul. Hump’s heart raced. He raised his staff, aiming toward it and readying a spell.

“What’s going on?” Hump asked.

“It’s okay,” Marcela said. “That is my mother. It seems we were detected after all.”

The glass fractured completely now, and essence exploded into the room, pouring through like moonlight in a mirror. A gap appeared in the world, and on the other side stood Countess Daston. She was coated in armour from head to toe. Plated metal that radiated the same moonlight glow as the rest of her power. An intricate design of metal plates that clung perfectly to her figure. She wore a white tabard, and a cloak about her shoulders that seemed to shine like the moon itself. And in her hand, a single edge sword glinted.

Hump felt her aura descend on him like silk, only he was drowning in it. Trapped in its coils. Entranced by its light.

Beside him, Bud dropped to his knees first, head bowed. The knight tugged at Hump’s arm, and he followed suit. The others around him did the same. All but Marcela, who stood at attention, waiting.

Countess Daston stepped through, a dangerous look on her face. She appeared ready for battle, both in attire, and in presence. They watched her silently as she surveyed the room, noting Graham’s equipment, the black stone, and then finally settling on Marcela.

“You just had to say her name,” Hump whispered.

“Like you can blame me,” Bud snapped back through gritted teeth.

Countess Daston sheathed her sword. “I sensed a disturbance, Marcela. I take it that had something to do with you.”

Her voice was anything but amused.

“Yes, it was, Mother,” Marcela said. “Graham was able to use the research left behind by Wizard Vivienne to figure out a potential activation method for the black stones. He needed a wizard to help him test it, and Wizard Humphrey volunteered.”

“You’ve managed to figure it out?” Countess Daston asked Graham, the threat leaving her voice. “Oh, please, all of you stand.”

Marcela cleared her throat. “Mother, your aura is… leaking.”

“Oh my.” Countess Daston laughed. Suddenly, her power retracted. “I’m sorry. When I sensed something strange, I became worried and rushed over. I suppose that was rather rash of me in hindsight. Now please, everyone be at ease.”

They all stood.

“Graham, would you please explain what’s going on,” Countess Daston said.

“It’s as Marcela said. With Wizard Humphrey being so close to Vivienne, he seemed like the perfect candidate. And of course, he was close by.”

Countess Daston gave him a suspicious look. “I see. And this was from Wizard Vivienne’s research, was it?”

Graham nodded. “That’s correct.”

“The same research you and I both looked at on the day of her capture and concluded it was still insufficient.”

Graham laughed awkwardly. “It’s been a few very long nights, but I was able to make some progress. Vivienne was able to identify the purpose of enough runes for me to figure out what the others were most likely to be. I simply needed someone to activate them for me so that I could move onto the next step. Surprisingly though, it was all Wizard Humphrey needed to push the black stone all the way to activation. A mighty good show, I must say. I see why you’ve taken an interest in the lad.”

It wouldn’t have been a very convincing explanation coming from anyone, but especially so from Graham. Hump held his breath and waited, wondering what he would say to Countess Daston if she pushed the matter. Her daughter had accepted him, he thought that the odds were quite good that she would too. It might be political suicide in the event it ever became public that the Dastons had worked with a warlock, but Hump tried not to think about that.

“I think I understand,” Countess Daston said finally. “As convoluted as that explanation was, I’m happy to leave it there. Whatever is going on, though, I suggest you come up with something better before you need to explain it before General Bennet and the other factions.”

Graham swallowed. “Excuse me?”

“Such good news can’t be kept to ourselves,” Countess Daston said. “I believe I should congratulate you first, Graham. What an astounding success. You may have just saved our city.”

“You give me far too much credit, my lady,” Graham said. “It was thanks to Wizard Vivienne’s hard work that we made it this far so quickly.”

“And Humphrey as well,” Countess Daston said too. She met his eyes and smiled in a way that made Hump feel like she understood more than he would have liked. “Thank you once again for your efforts.” She turned back to Graham. “Will this be enough to detect other activations across the city?”

“I believe so,” Graham said. “It will take me some time to create the necessary equipment. And there is the issue of fuelling such a thing.”

“Whatever you need, you shall have it,” Countess Daston said. “While the upper echelons of this city agree on few things, none would argue against the importance of finding these warlocks. No expense shall be spared. But how long will it take?”

Graham frowned. “A week, at a push. Perhaps two. Oh! I will need Wizard Vivienne’s help with this. With the powers of the warlocks being far closer to those of wizards than Chosen, I’ll need her help.”

“That’s going to be a fun conversation.” Countess Daston smiled. “I’ll call for a meeting. I apologise, but I must trouble all of you to be in attendance. I suspect we’ll need witnesses.”

“What are you going to do?” Hump asked.

“I postponed Vivienne’s tribunal in the past,” Countess Daston said. “Now, I think I’ll bring it forward. I’ve grown quite tired of the divide amongst the powers of my city. It’s time everyone unites behind the common cause. What better a cause than hunting warlocks?”

A grin cracked her face, and it took all of Hump’s self-control to prevent his expression from slipping.