It was just after dawn, a time when only a few early risers walked the streets. Chloe forced down her fear as she followed Finn to the gaping maw of the archway at the base of the Sky Tower. This time, she wasn’t pretending to be a scribe. She clutched her reassembled staff in one hand, the silver spiral just above her clenched fingers. This time, she was ready to fight.

Chloe’s mouth tightened. Her friend was somewhere under the tower. Liana had come to Chloe’s aid when she’d been drifting on the Maltherean Sea.

Now Liana needed her.

Two soldiers stood guard outside, both holding huge crossbows, the weapons cocked and ready. Pale-skinned men from across the sea, they were clad in armor of metal links and wore two-handed swords in sheaths strapped to their backs. The scars on their hands and their cold-eyed stares made it clear that these were men who weren’t afraid of fighting.

As she and Finn approached the guards, Chloe saw something on the ground that almost made her stop and stare. It was a faint, reddish-brown smear, staining the paved stones of the road. Chloe swallowed, remembering how Isobel had met her end. With an effort she kept walking.

Wearing his expensive crimson cloak, Finn strode up to the closest soldier, a young man with a bristling black beard, and looked him straight in the eye.

‘I am Fustalonious, king’s chronicler, here on the orders of King Palemon.’

The two soldiers lifted their crossbows and exchanged glances.

‘Let us in,’ Chloe said firmly.

‘Who are you?’ The bearded soldier asked Chloe. He glanced at her staff, seeing the silver twist at the top. His frown deepened. ‘You are not from—’

Chloe pointed her staff at the guard and released her power. In an instant the silver device flared up with white light and a blast of air struck him in the center of his chest. His eyes shot wide open as he flew back and slammed against the tower wall. With a sound like the crack of a whip, his back broke before he crumpled.

The next soldier fumbled for the lever of his crossbow as she turned to him. Chloe brought forth a second surge of inner fire, feeling it flow through her body, channeled into the silver. She leveled her staff and wind punched into his chest, throwing him back against the stone, his feet several inches above the ground as his face became filled with terror.