Chapter 35 Sparks in the Dark
The air in the tunnels changed after the oath. It wasn’t something you could name—more a sense that the mountain was breathing again. Each step hummed faintly underfoot, a low vibration that resonated with the mark on my wrist.
Drake noticed it too. “It’s awake,” he murmured.
“What is?” I asked.
“The mountain,” he said. “The oath stirred its core. It remembers what it means to guard something.”
“Fantastic,” I muttered. “We’ve officially added a sentient rock to our growing list of complications.”
Seris, walking a few paces ahead, didn’t even turn. “Be careful what you mock, Knight. The mountain’s heard worse and buried the offenders under six tons of regret.”
“Noted,” I said dryly. “So, what now? We just sit here and wait for the world to stop ending?”
“Now,” she said, “we prepare for the Syndicate’s response.”
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The safehouse felt like a heartbeat that couldn’t decide whether to rest or run. Rebels moved through the tunnels carrying crates of weapons, medical supplies, and crystals that pulsed faintly with stolen energy. The scent of oil, sweat, and old earth filled every chamber.
I found Drake near the far wall, checking the seals on a row of firebombs that looked suspiciously homemade. “Planning a party?” I asked.
He didn’t look up. “Insurance. If the Syndicate finds this place, they’ll come with drones and pulse cannons. We can’t outrun those.”
“So, you’re going to blow us up instead?”
“If we fall, we make it costly,” he said. “That’s the unspoken rule.”
I stepped closer, crossing my arms. “And you’re so calm about that?”
He finally met my eyes. “I’ve had a long time to practice dying.”
Something in me tightened. “You’re not dying. Not like that. Not while I’m here.”
His mouth curved faintly. “Then you’d better learn to fight like hell.”
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Later, Seris called us to the central chamber again. Maps covered the walls, marked with shifting runes that tracked Syndicate movements. Their forces were spreading like rot—slow, deliberate, impossible to contain.
“They’re moving faster than expected,” Tavir said. “Collectors have been sighted in the valley, and there’s a sky cruiser hovering just beyond the ridge. They’re searching for something.”
“Us,” I said.
Seris nodded grimly. “Or the boy.”
The child was asleep again on a cot near the spring, his small chest rising and falling with steady breaths. His mark glowed softly in rhythm with the pulse of the chamber.
“He’s stabilizing,” Seris said. “The oath helped anchor him. But it also made him a beacon. If they get close enough, they’ll feel it.”
“So we hide him,” I said.
She shook her head. “No. We move him. East, beyond the old river tunnels. There’s a fortress the Syndicate abandoned years ago—it still has working wards. We can use it to mask his resonance.”
Drake frowned. “That’s at least two days on foot through terrain they control.”
“I know,” she said. “That’s why I’m sending the two of you.”
“Of course you are,” I muttered.
“You’re the bond pair,” Seris said. “You’re the only ones who can keep him hidden if the Syndicate picks up the trail. Your magic cloaks him. Anyone else would lead them right to us.”
Drake looked at me. “We’ll need supplies. Weapons. A route that doesn’t run straight into their scanners.”
“I’ll handle it,” Seris said. “You leave at dusk.”
I exhaled. “Dusk. Great. Plenty of time to panic.”
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The rest of the day passed in a blur of preparation. I packed what little I had—bandages, dried meat, a canteen, and a small med kit that Seris insisted on. Drake loaded weapons and maps into his pack, every movement efficient and deliberate.
The boy watched us quietly, wide-eyed but silent. When I knelt beside him to adjust his cloak, he reached out and touched the mark on my wrist. His hand was small and warm.
“You glow,” he whispered.
“So do you,” I said softly.
He smiled faintly. “Does it hurt?”
“Sometimes,” I said. “But it’s worth it.”
“For him?” He nodded toward Drake.
I froze. “What do you mean?”
The boy tilted his head like he was listening to something far away. “The fire talks to me. It says you’re both part of it. That you keep it from falling asleep again.”
Drake stepped closer. “What else does it say?”
The boy’s eyes unfocused. “That something’s coming. Something that wants to steal the light from the inside out.”
The room went cold.
Seris crossed to us, her expression hard. “He’s attuned. The fire speaks through him. But it’s not prophecy—it’s warning.”
“Feels the same to me,” I muttered.
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When dusk fell, the mountain seemed to hold its breath. The tunnels were quiet, shadows long.
Seris met us at the entrance with a small metal box. “This contains the boy’s resonance crystal. If you’re cornered, crush it. The signal will call me—but it’ll also alert them. Last resort only.”
I took it, tucking it into my belt. “Understood.”
She looked between us, her face unreadable. “You two may not like the bond, but it’s the only thing keeping him alive. Trust it. Even when it hurts.”
“Especially when it hurts,” Drake murmured.
We left before the sun fully vanished.
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The night outside was cold, stars sharp as shattered glass. We moved fast through the narrow valleys, following a river that glowed faintly in the moonlight. The boy slept against my chest, wrapped in my cloak.
Every so often, Drake would glance back, eyes flashing gold in the dark. “You okay?” he’d ask.
“I’m fine,” I’d lie.
Hours passed like that. The world was all stone, wind, and the sound of our footsteps.
Then the hum started.
Low at first—like distant thunder—but growing, vibrating through the ground. Drake froze. “Engines.”
“Syndicate?”
He nodded once. “Drones. Multiple. They’re scanning the gorge.”
I looked around. The terrain offered little cover—just jagged rocks and narrow paths. “We can’t outrun them.”
“No,” he said, “but we can hide.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward a cleft in the cliffside barely wide enough to fit through. The passage opened into a hollow carved by ancient water, narrow and dark. We crouched inside, the boy pressed between us, the hum growing louder.