Reaper Gordon led Cell 14 east, crossing peaceful farmland for the first few hours before the terrain gave way to dense woods. He rode on his white horse, Feather, while the rest of the group followed on foot, scrambling to keep up despite the steed’s leisurely gait.

  The previous day had been, contrary to what he’d been told, a nice reprieve for Esteban. After the harrowing week he’d had getting to Estoril, a day of Dross work felt like a relaxing break. He scrubbed latrines, mopped floors, and tended to the horses of the Bound cell leaders. It was the kind of menial labor that reminded him of his childhood chores on his family’s small farm. It was a far cry from the back-breaking reclamation work he’d endured as a scavenger.

  He had also visited the quartermaster, though the man denied him any supplies beyond a fresh pair of undergarments. Those were a godsend, as the ones he had worn from Ardan were tattered and reeked. Esteban paid three bits for an extra set, ensuring he had a clean pair while the other was being washed.

  “Can you feel it? We’re almost there,” Mara said.

  “Feel what?” Esteban asked.

  “The chill in the air. We’ve just entered the portal’s Zone of Influence.”

  The team had studied the map before leaving on their cull. Their target was a portal fifteen miles east of Estoril. Each portal summoned a different sort of Echo. This one spawned beasts known as “Frost Wyrms.”

  “How big is the portal’s Zone of Influence?” Esteban asked Mara. She wore shiny black leather that showed no seams. It was skin-tight, and it made her look like she was painted in a thick layer of black oil.

  “Twelve to fifteen miles, depending on the portal.”

  Gordon stopped and raised his hand for the group to halt.

  “We’ll set up here. We still have seven hours of daylight, so we’ll make camp then look for some stragglers,” the Doubler instructed, dismounting his horse.

  “I have a good feeling about this. I bet we get twenty Soulgems. Live ones too,” Lelan said. There was a spring in his step, betraying either nervousness or excitement. Or both. He wore a suit of light leather armor that didn’t look like it offered much protection, but as an archer, he prioritized mobility.

  Ox grunted. “Don’t worry about that. Focus on staying alive.” He leaned on a tent pole, driving it into the ground. He wore the heaviest armor in the group, a suit of layered leather reinforced with chainmail that hung halfway down his thighs.

  “You know what’s better than being alive? Being alive with some coin in your pocket,” Lelan said with a mischievous grin.

  Esteban understood the sentiment. Culls usually lasted for the better part of a week, sometimes longer if the portal was distant. As a lowly Dross, he was paid less than the rest of the cell, though not by much. An Iron Thresher earned eighty bits a cull, while a Steel made a full silver mark. Yet after paying for lodging, supplies, and repairs, they had hardly any coin left.

  The House expected them to return with at least ten Soulgems, regardless of whether they were “live” or “duds”. They received two extra bits for every dud above the quota, and five for live ones. It was common practice for cells to fill their quota with duds, saving the live gems for the bonus pay.

  But coin did not matter to Esteban. He just wanted to slay as many Echoes as possible to feed the Black Ring.

  “Does anyone know what ‘celerity’ means?” Esteban asked as he lashed the tent fabric to the wooden pole.

  “It’s a type of vegetable,” Lelan stated confidently.

  “That’s celery, you fool.” Ox laughed.

  “That’s what he said!” Lelan objected.

  “It’s one of the Heavenly Spheres. It means quickness or speed,” Mikael said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Those were the first words he’d spoken since they left Estoril.

  “Silence! The Unbound shall not know nor speak of the Divine Order,” Gordon barked, his eyes narrow and jaw tight. His words were mechanical and rehearsed, as if he were quoting memorized scripture. He glared at Mikael, who continued setting up his tent as if nothing had happened.

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  Quickness or speed. That was good to know.

  “Are you familiar with this portal?” Esteban asked.

  “Aye, we’ve culled this one many times,” Ox responded.

  Echo portals had a certain capacity which they could not exceed. At least that was what Esteban learned during the briefing before leaving Estoril. When a portal was culled, the Echoes repopulated slowly over the next few months.

  “And the Echoes can’t leave the portal’s zone of influence?”

  “They can, if the portal is nearing capacity. Echoes prefer to remain within range to feed on its energies, but they are also territorial. If there are enough of them active, the weakest get pushed out of the zone of influence,” Mara explained.

  “And can you not gather a large army and kill all of them?”

  “The closer you are to a portal, the stronger the Echoes get. But they also become more dependent on the portal and must stay close to it. To seal a portal, you must destroy the Portal Keeper. Those are strong. Very strong. At least as strong as a Fiver. No portal has been sealed in decades.”

  “Aren’t the Valyr powerful enough to seal them?”

  Mara gasped, and Gordon closed the distance to Esteban in a heartbeat.

  “Watch your tongue, Dross. The Masters are not here to clean up the mess we created. Be grateful they guide us and care for us.” He exhaled, his body slackening slightly. “You are an ignorant country boy, so I will forgive this transgression. But never speak ill of the Masters again.”

  “As you command, Reaper,” Esteban mumbled behind gritted teeth.

  The camp was set, and the team made their way deeper into the woods. Esteban stayed behind the group, carrying bags of weapons, salves, bandages, and other supplies the cell needed for the cull.

  “Halt!” Gordon commanded. “Enemy to the north. Get in formation now!”

  A small creature hovered in the distance. It turned in their direction and let out a piercing shriek. Esteban did not expect such a tiny thing to be capable of producing such a loud cry. Shivers went down his spine as he saw three more creatures emerging from the shadows of the trees to join the first.

  “Frost Babies! I love those!” Vick said in a high, excited, pitch.

  The team spread out in a half circle around Gordon, who stood with his arms crossed, sword sheathed at his belt.

  Lelan readied a thin wooden bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the creatures.

  Ox clutched a hammer with a black steel head eight inches across. The steel haft was over three feet long. It seemed impossible for an Unbound to effectively wield such a heavy weapon, yet Ox looked at ease, a toothy grin on his face.

  Mara spun her sword in a skillful blur before gripping it with both hands and dropping into a fighting stance.

  Vick crouched low, one leg extended behind her, while the other bent. She held two daggers, one behind her back, the other raised before her face. She wore no armor, opting for a white linen shirt and trousers.

  Mikael stood straight, his face impassive, holding his sword low with an air of indifference. He wore a leather jerkin and leggings similar to Esteban’s, though dyed dark green instead of blue.

  Esteban dropped the supplies at his feet and drew his knife. His instructions were to stay behind and avoid combat if possible.

  His grip on the knife tightened. He was desperate to rush in and help the people who had accepted him into their group, but beneath that noble urge, a darker desire clawed at him. He didn’t know the conditions needed for him to absorb Essence. It was possible the Ring would feed on the Essence of any Echoes killed nearby. But it was also possible he needed to be the one delivering the killing blow. Instead, he forced himself to hold back, trusting his time would come.

  Gordon retreated until he was ten feet behind Esteban, leaving the rest of the group twenty feet ahead.

  The beasts were about two feet long with white scales that showed a hint of blue. A pair of small wings, too small for their round body, fluttered on their backs. Their reptilian faces were not so different from the one Esteban had killed days before, save for their eyes, which glowed a cold blue. They trailed white steam as they moved around. The four Frost Wyrms charged, and Esteban’s bones vibrated with their shrieks.

  “Attack!” Gordon shouted, and Lelan loosed an arrow.

  The creatures dodged the projectile as the remainder of Cell 14 charged their enemies, Ox shouting as he ran.

  Lelan loosed one arrow after another. Esteban was impressed he didn’t hit his own team, though it didn’t look like he hit any of the beasts, either.

  His arrows served a purpose, however, as the beasts left themselves open when they dodged. Ox’s hammer slammed into the first, smashing it into the ground with a wet crunch.

  Mara dodged a series of icy daggers that shot out of the Echoes’ mouths, spinning and ducking, her movements a graceful dance. She dropped low as an Echo flew above her back, then swept upward, her sword carving a path through the air and slicing the Echo’s belly, splitting it wide. Guts sprayed across the ground as the beast fell, convulsing and screeching before finally going still.

  Vick leaped and spun, landing a dozen small cuts on a third Echo. It fell to the ground, its wings crippled and dragging behind it, yet still lunged to snap at her leg. It missed. With a frustrated cry, the beast turned and scrambled toward the woods. Mikael calmly walked after it and struck his sword into its back, pinning it to the ground.

  “Watch out!” Esteban yelled.

  A dozen more Echoes streamed from the woods. Mara stepped back, having just dispatched the last of the first group, her eyes going wide.

  In the middle of the swarm crouched a larger beast. It was the same type, but far bigger. Its body was narrow and long, measuring at least ten feet from head to tail. A large pair of white wings, twice as tall as a man, unfurled from its back as it lifted its head to the sky and let out an impossible roar, shaking the very ground beneath their feet.