Page 32 of Reaper's Quest

“We don’t want Fen to hear us.” Aoes tilted his head to the bridge above, then continued speaking at such a low volume I strained to hear the words. “Don’t need that kind of attention.”

I narrowed my stare.Because if Fen knew you had a way out of the citadel, he wouldn’t be guarding the gate anymore. He’d be running for the train station.

Aoes returned forward and descended the last few feet of the downward path. He led us into the shadow of the bridge and across the flatter territory at the base, stepping around or leaping over shallow pools of water cutting through the terrain.

No longer forced to travel in a straight line, Raven strode forward, slipped in beside Aoes, and strummed up a conversation.

They walked far enough ahead that I couldn’t hear their words with true clarity, and I didn’t really care. I heard enough to know they talked about the dried moat—idle talk. Why couldn’t Raven lay into Aoes and demand his true motives?

“Tell me about the magical barrier,” she said after too-long minutes. “Why doesn’t it extend all the way to the ground, and how did you possibly discover this fact?”

My ears pricked at the useful topic about which more information would be greatly valued.

Aoes’s smile wavered. “Well, uh…” With a rise of his chest, and the lift of his arms and shoulders, he continued, “The barrier once met the floor of the moat, but the floor isn’t where it once was. In other words, we dug a trench. It’s not a ton of space, but it’s enough to squeeze through.”

“We?” Raven pressed.

Who was brave enough to test the limits of the transformational magic to build a trench?

“The rest ofwehasn’t been around in a very long time.” Aoes swung his attention to me and scrutinized me from head to toe, as if sizing me up.

I braced myself for some unwanted comment, but it didn’t come.

Instead, he wrinkled his nose and returned his attention forward. “Anyway, if you hunch low or drop to your knees, you should all be able to maneuver beneath the magic just fine. The location of where to do so is marked with a line of rocks.”

A line of rocks the only marker to safeguard us against the monster-making power? Yeah…so not loving this situation.

“There it is.” He pointed to a shallow trench a few yards ahead.

Sure enough, a row of rocks lined both sides of the carved path, leaving no doubt as to where we should attempt to pass beneath the barrier magic?a sorcery that shimmered in an expansive wall before us. For added visibility, a log or branch rose like a pole on the other side, marking the location and making it easy to spot from a distance.

“The ditch used to be bigger, but over the years, with little to no use…” Aoes shrugged. “We need to get low to crawl under the ward.” He zeroed in on Aldine. “Can you handle this?”

Our elder scoffed. “Don’t let my looks fool you. I’m quite capable of many things.”

Aoes cracked a grin then crossed under the intended barricade, demonstrating how low we needed to drop and proving no transformation would take place. Aldine, not to be outdone by those younger than himself—as well as refusing to let his charges take an untested risk—went next.

I offered Raven passage before myself because, despite our tendency to clash, I was not a total dick. I could afford this small show of chivalry.

Raven crossed to the far side without issue. She popped up beyond the creature-creating barrier and wiped the dirt from her hands and knees.

My turn.

I lowered to the ground with my palms already sweating. Perspiration dappled my brow, and visions of the creature on the bridge dominated my thoughts as I crawled along the trench, the shimmer of sorcery lingering in the air above me.

My breath quickened, became labored.

Flying monster.

The thought birthed from a recollection belonging to a much younger version of myself. Images of the creature taking form on the bridge above morphed into the memory of one caged in my father’s laboratory while a video of its creation played on a loop.

My stomach twisted, and I hastened my progress.

It’s fine, I told myself.Just a newly uncovered memory. I’ve got this.

My focus flickered to my fellow reapers. They exchanged whispers and pointed between the citadel wall ahead and the underside of the bridge above. Neither paid me any regard.

Relief washed over me. Almost clear of the barrier magic, I sighed and shifted forward.