The archives beneath Cinderguard were colder than the night air. Candles flickered atop pedestals carved with herbs of oblivion, their wax dripping into shallow pools of ink-black liquid. A faint hum—like encoded whispers—rippled through the corridors.
Kess led the way, her lantern a halo in the darkness. Gellon followed close, rifle slung but ready. Seris brought up the rear, eyes darting to every alcove, every shadow.
"Remind me why I agreed to this?" Gellon muttered, voice low enough that only Kess heard.
She didn't look back. "Because I promised you a new blueprint. And because you owe me from Silvermark."
He snorted. "Life debt accepted."
Seris paused at a fork in the passage. "Archive vault is left. But we'll need the Key of Echoes to open it."
Kess laid a hand on her satchel. "Already have it."
Seris shot her a sidelong glance. "Not that key." She pointed to the elaborate glyph-lock blocking the vault door. "That key."
Kess's fingers fluttered across her scroll. "I'll override it. Give me two minutes."
Gellon leaned his rifle against the wall and paced. "You got exactly one."
Kess didn't reply. She whispered a tethering incantation, silver threads weaving through the lock's code. Each rune glowed in sequence, then dimmed.
The door rumbled open.
Inside was a chamber of glass cases and floating data-crates. Holographic maps spun mid-air, each detailing forgotten vaults and long-buried system forges. In the center, on a pedestal ringed with frozen codex-script, lay a rolled parchment: the Deep Vault Map.
Kess's eyes gleamed. "Finally."
She stepped forward, but Seris's hand caught her arm.
"Wait—"
The ground shook.
A hidden panel slid open behind them, and a squad of Gutter Banner scouts poured in—ragged men and women, faces painted with ash, eyes wild with rebellion.
Gellon grabbed his rifle. "So—unexpected guests."
A banner scout pointed a jagged blade. "Leave the map. Or die."
Kess straightened, surprised. "We're not part of the Court!"
A scout spat. "Court dogs or crown thieves—it's all the same."
Seris drew her slender sword. "We've no quarrel with you. Stand down."
They advanced, blades ready.
Gellon's voice was ice. "Stand. Down."
But the banners surged forward. A clash of steel and wood echoed.
Kess ducked a swing and cast a memory-knot—threads wrapping around an enemy's wrist, pulling her into a wall. Gellon fired a warning shot over their heads.
BANG!
The banners faltered, then pressed on with more fury.
Seris moved like water—blade flashing, cutting arcs of moonlight through the gloom. Yet the banners kept coming, renewed by desperation.
Kess dove for the map, snatching the scroll free and rolling aside. She unfurled it, revealing a network of tunnels below Hollowfang Valley.
But the banners didn't care for maps. They wanted crown debt paid in blood.
Outside, Kian's group could hear distant shouts through the city pipes—tenuous coughs of gunfire and steel.
"Sounds like things got spicy," Veyna said, raising her voice against the din. "Want backup?"
Kian's reply was measured. "Trust them. They can handle themselves."
Back below, the battle raged.
Kess slashed, ribboning the hem of a scout's coat. Gellon's rifle barked, and the banners fell back— regrouping in tight circles.
Seris stepped beside the pedestal. "The lock overrides our exit. We need it off."
Gellon cupped his hand over his ear. "Got another chord box—down that hall." He pointed. "You two go. I'll hold them off."
Kess hesitated. "We can't leave you alone—"
Seris pressed a gloved finger to her lips. "Do it."
Gellon squared his shoulders. "Go on."
Kess and Seris sprinted down the corridor, banners in hot pursuit. Gellon turned, rifle at hip, charging forward with a roar that rattled the crystal cases.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His boots echoed as he drew them away, weaving between pillars. The banners hemmed closer until Gellon raised his rifle.
BANG!
The firing pin slammed the case nearest him, shattering glass and sending shards flying. The banners ducked—giving Kess and Seris time to slip away.
They reached the chord box door—another glyph lock. Kess's hands fluttered, chanting memory-linger. The lock clicked, and they slipped inside.
Seris slid her blade home. "Hurry."
Kess grabbed the mechanism and worked her threads into its code. The door swung open, but as they turned to run, Seris grabbed Kess's arm, face pale.
"Wait—look."
In the corner, a gilded archway they hadn't seen before. Beyond it lay a hidden vault: racks of blueprints, ancient relics, and a single throne of bone and iron.
Kess's eyes widened. "This is… the real archive."
Seris's hand trembled on her sword. "This is what they hid."
A whisper flickered through the air:
They cannot know.
Above, distant gunfire paused.
Kess looked at Seris. "We can't leave this behind."
Seris nodded. "Risk it."
They slipped inside. The door closed behind them.
There was a flash of light, and the corridor seal slid shut.
Gellon's firefight roared to a halt.
Inside the true archive, Kess and Seris studied the bone throne's crest—a twisted symbol combining Codex, Predation, and Memory.
"It's… our mark," Kess murmured.
Seris bowed her head. "They fear what you become."
Kess traced the crest. "Not fear… envy."
She reached out to the throne—bone cold under her fingers.
Codex Alert: Unauthorized Architective Structure
Potential knowledge overload.
She drew back. "We take only the map."
Seris produced a small mirror, angled to capture every reflection. "Record first. Then we salvage."
Kess nodded. "Agreed."
Below, Gellon fought through the last of the banners. As their numbers dwindled, he raised his rifle overhead and roared, a clear call that resonated through every hallway.
"Retreat!"
The banners scattered like crows at a corpse.
Above, Veyna and Kian heard the cry and prepared.
Kess and Seris burst into the open just as Gellon held his ground. Kess pressed the map into his hands. "Go!" she hissed. "We've got half the story."
Gellon didn't wait for more. He sprinted back the way they'd come.
Kess and Seris followed—but Seris lingered, her gaze drawn to a hidden glyph on the wall: a stylized eye, unblinking.
Kess pulled her arm. "Now."
Seris nodded, and they ran.
Outside, as Echo-Ward's hatch closed, Kess sank against the hull.
Seris knelt beside her. "That crown." She tapped her temple. "It was never about power—it was about knowledge."
Kess shivered. "Knowledge can slay as much as a blade."
Seris offered her hand. "We'll make sure it only builds."
Kess took it, voice steady. "Together."
Far above, on the crumbling battlements of Cinderguard, Lord Haleric watched a phantom scrying disc.
He flicked a command.
"Tell the Inheritor: they found the archive. Prepare the Crown's legacy for war."
Below, the city trembled.
End of Chapter 38