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Back Into the Dying Light Save as PDF
Chapters (72)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. I
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. BEFORE
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. BEFORE
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. BEFORE
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. BEFORE
  25. II
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. III
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. IV
  52. 42
  53. 43
  54. 44
  55. 45
  56. 46
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. 58
  69. AFTER
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  72. Newsletter Sign-up

Jude laid down the thin blanket provided to him and leaned out of the gap. His cell was on the side of the tower that faced away from the amphitheater, where Beru was supposed to be. All he could see when he looked down was the ocean, lapping up against the cliff a hundred feet down.

Jude remembered being perched on the top of the lighthouse of Nazirah with Anton and the long fall into the sea that had followed.

He shook away the memory, swinging his legs through the opening and lowering himself against the tower’s outer wall. The masonry of the tower made for fairly good toeholds, and with his Grace increasing his strength and balance, it was an easy climb around the side of the tower despite the wind driving cold stiffness into his fingers.

When he reached the other side of the tower, he finally caught sight of the amphitheater, filled with hundreds of tiny figures too small to make out. He began to descend, pausing at the halfway point of the tower, where one of the stones was marked with paint. He pressed a palm to the stone, and it shifted slightly. Jude pushed it all the way in and then swung himself into the opening it revealed.

He got to his feet in yet another cell, empty save for the supplies Hector had stashed here. He changed into the sturdy clothes Hector had provided and strapped one sword to his belt, the other to his back. He longed for the familiar weight of the Pinnacle Blade, but he had lost it when he’d handed it over to Pallas in Behezda, along with the other Relics. They were no doubt hidden away somewhere—Pallas needed the ancient, Grace-imbued remains to maintain the seal that bound the god’s will inside Beru.

Jude picked up a glass orb filled with bright, iridescent liquid and tucked it into his cloak pocket, then slipped back through the opening of the tower. Keeping a firm grip on the masonry with one hand, he smashed the orb against the tower wall. The liquid glittered as it splashed against the stones.

Jude knew very little about alchemy, or any of the trades of the Grace of Mind, but he had to assume that the alchemist who’d created this tincture, along with the one he’d used to escape the cell, was a genius. The iridescent liquid, when exposed to air, would create a flash of blinding light that would blanket the entire area between the prisoners’ tower and the watchtower across from it. But the real brilliance was that the reaction was delayed by ten minutes. Enough time for Jude to get in position.