The metal was slick with filth and muck as Shawn hurtled down it at breakneck speed. Somewhere up above him he heard Vena jump in and close the door behind her. The walls blurred by, and the sounds echoed and clanged in the waste shaft. Finally, it began to level off, and Shawn shot out of the end of the tube, landing in a pile of…trash. Potato peels, apple cores, bones, fish heads, and more squelched around him as he clambered to his feet, nearly slipping again. Vena tumbled out of the opening and landed perfectly on her feet, without even touching a single piece of garbage.

  “Had a lot of experience with this, huh?” asked Shawn, irritably picking a peel off his shoulder.

  “Nope! First time.” replied Vena. “Let’s get moving. They could find your empty cell any minute now.”

  They clambered over the short gate around the trash heap and set off down the darkened street. Their steps echoed on the cobbles, and every shadow seemed to Shawn to be a guard at the corner, ready to drag him back down to the Inquisitor.

  As they traced their way back down the streets into the merchant sector, they passed through a courtyard with a large wooden platform in it. And on that platform was a wooden gallows. Shawn stopped, staring up at the frame of the gallows looming over the square.

  “Is that…” he trailed off, his mind going to a dark place.

  “Yes. That’s where you would have been publicly executed,” Vena replied, bluntly. “What a good thing that I was here to save you, huh?”

  Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him down the street. They quickly made their way out of the merchant ring, then came to the edge of the peasant ring. Shawn slowed as they approached the gates, creeping to a stop.

  “There are guards in there. What do we do?” Shaw whispered to Vena.

  “I’ve got a plan for that. These darts should put ‘em to sleep for at least an hour. They shouldn’t miss a minute.”

  Vena had produced two feathered darts and a long reed pipe from who-knows-where and crept forward. Sweat trickled down the back of Shawn’s neck as he imagined all the ways it could go wrong. Luckily, Vena’s aim was true, and both guards sagged against the wall silently. Vena made a sharp beckoning motion, then went to open the gate.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  “Do you need some help with that?” he asked, as Vena pulled on the large wooden crank.

  “No, I’ve got this,” she replied, straining.

  Silently, Shawn leaned forward and helped her to pull the crank enough to open the gate a crack.

  “...could’ve done it myself,” Vena muttered, turning to the gate. “Now come on.”

  They slipped through the gate and jogged along the path.

  “How were you planning to close the gate behind us?” asked Shawn.

  She eyed him and responded, “Didn’t get that far, did I?”

  They walked for a couple of minutes in silence before Shawn decided to try another attempt at conversation.

  “Where are we off to anyways? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to you for saving me and all, but I don’t even know your last name.”

  Vena’s eyes slid off the side of his face and dropped to the ground, and she quickened her pace. “It’s, uh, Valley. Vena Valley.”

  It was a painfully transparent lie.

  “Are you sure that that’s your real-”

  Suddenly, a knife was at his side, and Vena was leaning in close. “It’s Valley. End of story.”

  She released him, and Shawn sputtered a muffled “Sorry.” Clearly, she didn’t want to tell him her name, but really, who was he to question? He hadn’t told her everything about himself, anyways. *Cough, otherworldly portal, cough.* “So, uh, Vena, where are we headed right now?”

  Vena groaned, and slowed. She reached into her pack and pulled out a roll of paper and unfurled it between them. It was a map, drawn with elegant, dark red ink, and seemed to be depicting the lands around Vallenar. “Here’s us right now.” She pointed at a point right outside of Vallenar, the region labeled as The Western Path. She traced her finger along the path and southwards into another region marked as Longstriden. “This here is Longstriden. That’s where the other Allies are. I’m to bring you to them.”

  “So, these Allies of yours…they good people? I hope they’re not planning to gut me and use me for their magic spells,” Shawn laughed. “...they aren’t, right?”

  Vena’s eyes flashed. “Of course not. Now, we’re going to have to make tracks if we want to get to the grove before Val- the prince's Inquisition comes after you.”

  She rerolled the map and deftly replaced it in her pack, hefting it over her shoulder once more. “Let’s get going! We can sleep come dawn.”

  Shawn stood and sighed. Just a couple days ago, his biggest problem was his Psych final. Although, now that he thought about it, he’d missed it by now. He followed Vena down the path.