He ducked as he walked through the opening, making sure not to bump Grace’s head. As soon as they were out of sight to anyone who wasn’t standing on the hillside, he eased her to the ground.

Her skin had a greenish cast to it that told him he hadn’t been gentle enough. He’d made her sick. “I’m sorry about the rough ride.”

“It’s okay.”

The clear filaments binding her had left deep creases in her skin. She was even bleeding in a couple of places where the pressure of the strands had been too much.

“It’s going to take a few minutes to get you out of this thing, but I’ll go as fast as I can.”

He started at her head, using his sword as carefully as he could to break through the tough fibers. When the length of the blade became too unwieldy, he worked her short sword free of her belt and used that. After a few painstaking minutes, the top half of her body was free.

She took several deep breaths. He could practically feel relief radiating from her in waves. “I’ve had better days.”

“Me too, honey. Almost there.”

He nicked her knee trying to cut it out of the binding. She didn’t flinch, but he could hear her nearly silent hiss of pain.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault. I’d rather have a few cuts and be out of this thing.”

The leather bindings around her calves helped protect her legs and he was able to make quick work of the rest of the net. Once it was all the way off, he bundled it up and tossed it into the refuse pile in the corner.

Her skin was covered with angry red marks and more than a few cuts. Between his efforts and the filaments, she was bleeding in several places.

He removed his bags and started searching for the medical supplies she’d packed. “We’ll get you cleaned up and then I’ll secure the cave.”

“I’ll do it,” she told him. “You can go do whatever it is you need to do.”

She seemed steady now, so he left her side and moved deeper into the opening.

As caves went, it wasn’t much of one. It only went about twenty feet into the hillside before ending in a crack just wide enough to let rainfall drain out. The floor slanted down the deeper it went, but it was still level enough that he didn’t have to worry about sliding down and getting his foot stuck in the opening.

Because of the angle and the boulder that hid them, he didn’t think they could be seen by someone passing by below. At night, the opening would look like little more than a shadow in the rocks.

Night wasn’t far away.

They had no food, no light, and Grace wasn’t going to be able to travel once it got dark.

“We’ll stay here tonight. It’s defensible, hidden and about as safe as we’re going to get with a Warden roaming around out there.”

“Is there a back door?”

“No, but it won’t come to that.”

“You should keep going. I’ll be fine here without you.”

“Even if I was willing to leave you alone—which I’m not—you’re the one who knows the way.”

She dabbed some kind of thick cream on one of the cuts on her thigh. “We’re not far away. I can see the rest of the path from the big rock now. Travel over the hill we’re in and head southeast over three more hills, each one progressively higher. In the valley after that last one, you’ll find the lake there.” She closed her eyes as if seeing it in her mind. “At the bottom of it are a bunch of stones—the kind Brenya used to carve the portal to Earth. They have some kind of innate magic, like those crystals we found. They’re what the Masons will use to build the portal.”

“How do you know that?” Torr took the small pot of antiseptic cream from her and applied it to the shallow cut on her cheek.

She tapped her temple. “A gift from Brenya.”

“So if we find the source of the Masons’ building material, we can wait for one to come for more stone, then follow it back to wherever they’re building the portal.”

“That could work, but I don’t think that’s why Brenya put the map to the lake in my head.”

“Then why?”

“The stones the Masons are using are drawn to each other. If we get one, it can lead us to the others.”

“Like a kind of compass.”

“Exactly.”

She held her hand out to take the cream from him again, but he kept it. She had a dozen small cuts, most of which she wasn’t going to be able to easily reach.

“I’ll do it,” he said. “Turn around.”

She looked confused for a second, like she couldn’t believe he’d help her, but then did as he asked.

The backs of her arms and shoulders had taken the worst damage from the Warden’s filament. While none of the cuts were deep, he was sure they had to sting.

Grace gave no sign that he was causing her any kind of pain. In fact, she kept talking like nothing had happened. “There’s no way to know how long the Masons have been at work or how much more time we have. One of us needs to find them and check on their progress before it’s too late and we have an army to fight. And you know that someone can’t be me. I don’t see in the dark like you do, and we can’t risk carrying a light source.”

He didn’t want to leave her. He didn’t know this world or what dangers might lurk in the night. She was too precious to risk, and while he couldn’t tell her why, he also couldn’t pretend she didn’t matter.

“We’ll go to the lake together tomorrow,” he said, hoping the finality of his tone would end the conversation.

She was quiet for a minute as he finished cleaning and treating her cuts. Her breathing became slow and deep, as if she was trying to deal with the pain.

Torr wished that the healing disks worked both ways, but his research into the devices had proved otherwise. They were meant to transfer health from one person to another, not the other way around—a one-way street.

When he was done, she let out a long breath. “I’m slowing you down.”

Torr closed the jar of cream and tucked it back in her bag. “I never would have been able to find the location of the lake without your help.”

“But you can now. I told you where it is. You should go.”

“No. I’ll be too distracted, wondering if you’re safe. You’ve gotten me this far. Morning will be soon enough.”