Page 23 of A Door in the Dark

Her words hit Ren like a strike of lightning. It was an answer to the other question Ren had been thinking about. That was the reason they’d traveled so far. Timmons had unintentionally amplified their tangled routes and distances. Ren almost blurted the realization out to the others before biting her tongue. Her friend hadn’t stopped crying since they arrived. Knowing her own role in how far they’d traveled would drain what little fight she had left. But at least Ren knew the missing factor in the equation. Timmons’s innate power had multiplied how far they traveled.

“If you’re really strong, it might triple the distance?” Theo answered. “The person who travels would still be on this side of the mountain. That’s a lot of terrain to cover.”

“What’s the worst that would happen?” Timmons asked. “If one of us tried to push past the limitations of the candle. Travel as far as we can.”

“A big part of the function of the candle is protection,” Ren answered, recalling a section she’d read in Wax and Way. “Think about it like a cocoon. Something pungent that covers up our real scent. Remember, the waxways were left behind by the dragons. Like everything else on this continent. It’s how they traveled. We’re just tapping into an old system. It’s kind of like running water through another civilization’s pipes. Most of the time it works flawlessly. But every now and again you run into whatever has grown in the dark all this time. Traveling past the limitations of the candle means exposing yourself. Trying to travel too far is the reason some wizards don’t come back.”

She glanced around and realized that wasn’t the most positive framing. She probably could have just said It won’t work and left it at that. Most of the faces around the circle had fallen. Only Avy still wore a determined expression.

“My grandfather was full Tusk. I never met him, but he was a true pioneer. Never stopped traveling. Always going on exploration treks. My father—he learned some pioneering from him. And he taught some of that to me and Pree. I know enough to get us through terrain like this. The mountain passes…” He trailed off, eyeing those distant peaks. “I’m not going to lie. They’ll be a lot harder than this. But if we all stay together? We can survive them.”

Theo scowled. “Good pioneers die in those passes all the time.”

“Alone,” Avy threw back. “Testing their own physical limits. Most of them don’t use any magic because they’re survivalists. We’re not trying to set records or anything. We’re just trying to get back to Kathor alive.”

Ren saw that it was going to fall to her to keep the two of them away from each other’s throats. “Let’s focus on right here, right now. We can’t use the way candle until we get back on the other side of the mountain. So how do we survive, Avy? What’s the first step?”

He nodded, thinking. “Find a heading. Establish our landmarks. Keep moving.”

Those simple tasks brought a renewed focus to the group. Avy picked out the pass he thought had the lowest elevation, and they all memorized the landmarks they’d need to follow to get there. Having a firm plan—and a little sun shining in from the west—was almost enough to buoy their spirits. Until the conversation returned to the shadowed wood and the body they’d left behind. “We should go back,” Theo said. “We need to get Clyde.”

Ren was already mentally preparing an argument against bringing Clyde with them. Their new situation was dangerous on a number of levels. There were far more deadly predators in the Dires. This had once been a hunting ground for dragons. Only the most dangerous creatures had survived them and now flourished in their absence. It would be difficult to walk through territory like this with a 170-pound piece of bait in tow.

The other danger was in running out of magic. Their vessels stored only so many ockleys. Refreshing a levitation spell every few hours would have a cost. And the odds of successfully carrying a corpse through the mountain passes were slim. She’d have to frame the suggestion to make it sound like the obvious course, because she knew bringing Clyde was the kind of mistake that might get them killed. Better to give him a grave out here and be done with it.

“We’ll have to do a resource check before we get moving,” Ren suggested as they descended into the growing shadows. “Go through our satchels. Carry only what we need. It’ll be good to know how much food we have. Calculate our combined magic, too.”

Everyone stiffened at the last comment. She saw the way Theo chewed on his lip. It wasn’t exactly taboo, but much like politics, magical accommodations weren’t discussed at the dinner table. Everyone knew the wealthier houses received the largest magical allowances. It was supposedly a meritocracy. The more your businesses benefited the city—or the more citizens you employed—the larger your magical allocation. Which meant that families like Ren’s received the lowest stipends. She knew the entire system was designed to maintain the established hierarchy, especially since the public wasn’t actually allowed to know how much each of the houses received each month.

When the silence stretched on, Timmons finally chimed in. “I’ve got some textbooks I’d gladly leave behind.”

This had always been her way of dealing with stress. Dry humor could help her weather any storm. Ren offered a grateful nod. They’d survived junior and senior year by acting as each other’s armor. Offering their strength whenever the other felt too weak to go on. Timmons picked up on Ren’s signal and kept trying to lighten the mood.

“Quentin’s The Wizard and the Kingdom is practically begging to be abandoned in a forest, never to be read again. The first eighty pages are just him slobbering over Malfa’s charmwork.”

“Oh. I liked that one,” Ren replied.

“You like them all, dear.”

Avy glanced back. “We’ll want to keep pages for tinder, but all the bindings can go. Did anyone else pack any food? I’m pretty sure I—”

Theo’s voice cut through their discussion.

“Where’s Clyde?”

They’d reached the hollow where his body had been covered. Everyone saw that Theo’s cardigan had been thrown aside. There were dark streaks, disturbed branches. The forest glade was empty now, though. No one spoke because no one knew what to say.

Clyde’s body was gone.

14

The missing body made the surrounding shadows even more unnerving.

Up on the overlook it had been bright and sunny. Late afternoon. Down here the canopy was thick enough to draw on their darkest imaginings. It would be night before long, and anything could be hiding just out of sight.

“Defensive spells at the ready,” Ren whispered. “Avy? What’s out here?”

He struggled to keep his booming voice quiet.

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