The stench of rot hit my nostrils the moment we entered the mines. Blood-sense never lies—something deeply wrong was happening here. I felt it from the start but kept pushing forward. House Nors does not retreat from danger.

  Caers, as always, up front. That cocky bastard! From day one in this "class of dregs," I wanted to knock him down a peg. Some nobody from nowhere, not a drop of noble blood, yet he still draws everyone's attention.

  And of course the creature chose him! A disgusting parody of a human... Limbs twisted so badly it hurt to look. And it charged straight at Luten, ignoring everyone else. Before I could think, my body decided for me.

  I slashed my palm, forming a blood shield between Caers and the creature. Father drilled it into me since childhood: "Our blood holds the power of ancient houses, Valentin. Pain is the price, power is the reward."

  Only problem was... My blood—the kind that usually burns through demons like acid—just soaked into this thing. Like I was feeding it. The creature swelled like a leech. Fear crept beneath my ribs. Vile. Forgotten. And right behind it, as always, came rage. Hot and blinding.

  Retreating, we joined the others. Something was crawling toward them too.

  Chaos everywhere. Tara darting around, hurling her vials. Kyle hacking and stabbing, but what good was it? His blade sank into that foul flesh like quicksand. Even Mira, standing aside with the metal plate in her hands, looked helpless.

  Luten shouted.

  "To the exit! Move!"

  Footsteps pounding through tunnels. Behind us—that vile squelching. Closer. Closer still. The floor beneath us springy, like living flesh. Walls writhing, shifting shape, cutting off our escape routes.

  Aris saw better than us and was panicking hard.

  "It's... It's controlling the whole mine!"

  Suddenly the walls of the shaft shuddered. The ceiling began crumbling, as if something enormous moved above us.

  "Watch out!"

  I yelled.

  Instinct kicked in before thought. I shoved Luten aside as an entire stone slab crashed from above.

  I created a blood shield, covering the three of us—myself, Luten, and Aris. But Tara, Mira, and Kyle were cut off by the collapse.

  When the dust settled, I tried to call out to the others.

  "You alive? Tara! Kyle!"

  Mira's muffled voice came through the rubble.

  "We're fine! Tunnel ahead is blocked, but not completely. Looking for a way around!"

  Luten examined the edges of the fallen stones.

  "This wasn't an accident."

  His voice was disturbingly calm. Like this was routine for him.

  "Look at these cuts. Too clean."

  The Nors in me demanded I dismiss him—some nameless brat couldn't be right. But my eyes saw the same thing. Someone had split us apart deliberately. Like cracking nuts for a feast.

  Aris approached the wall, his shadows writhing restlessly around his legs.

  "Symbols on the walls."

  He whispered, pointing at barely visible patterns carved into the stone.

  "My shadows... They're trying to read them. I've never seen anything like this."

  I moved closer. Indeed, Aris's shadows seemed to dance near certain marks, resembling a distorted infinity symbol. Something about them felt familiar—I'd seen similar patterns in ancient blood magic treatises that Father kept under lock and key.

  "These are forbidden symbols."

  I ran my fingers over the stone surface.

  "They're connected to flesh-transformation rituals."

  Luten looked at me with surprise.

  "How do you know that?"

  I smirked, hiding my sudden unease.

  "House Nors keeps many secrets. Not all of them are fit for bragging."

  Aris flinched. His shadows thickened as if protecting him.

  "Up ahead..."

  He pointed into the tunnel's darkness.

  "Something's moving. Many small shadows."

  I peered in that direction. The darkness seemed to condense, taking shape. Figures emerged from the gloom—small at first, cat-sized, but gradually larger. Their movements were jerky, unnatural, like puppets on strings.

  My fingers tightened on the knife handle. The blood of House Nors was ready to spill again.

  "Looks like we'll get a chance to find out what's going on here. Let's show them House Nors isn't so easily intimidated!"

  All the small creatures moved in one direction, circling us. Translucent skin stretched over twisted bones, exposing tangles of vessels and organs.

  Aris pressed against the wall to my left. Luten to my right, with his makeshift scythe. Tara and the others cut off by the collapse.

  I cut my wrist, forming a thin whip from blood. The first demon leaped fast. It landed right on my weapon. Its remains spread across the floor and absorbed into the stone. Worse still—my magic literally flowed into that filth.

  The creatures circled us, waiting. Wrong behavior for lesser demons. I got distracted for a moment and nearly missed an attack from three at once.

  Luten was faster. His movements had changed. He moved in circles, describing wide arcs with his blade. The sword looked wrong in his hands, like he needed something with greater reach.

  "Three on the right!"

  Luten grabbed his scythe, Elliot's gift forged from titanium debris. With it he moved completely differently—sweeping motions, constant shifting of his center of gravity. The technique grew more confident with each fight.

  We cut our way toward Aris, who still stood by the wall, lost in a strange trance—his shadows studying the symbols.

  Suddenly the demons retreated, like a tide receding into the sea.

  Aris emerged from his trance, his voice hollow.

  "They're leading us deeper. This isn't an attack. It's an invitation."

  "Invitation from whom?"

  Breathing hard, Luten lowered his makeshift scythe. Aris only shrugged. I bandaged my wound, hiding my weakness. House Nors does not show weakness.

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  "We have two paths: back to the collapse or forward, where we're being so insistently invited."

  The mine shuddered. From the depths came rumbling, as if something massive was moving toward us.

  Luten was grim.

  "The decision's already been made for us."

  We moved forward, following the retreating demon shadows. The tunnel widened, leading deeper into the earth. The air grew heavier, saturated with dampness and something unpleasant, organic.

  After ten minutes of descent, the tunnel suddenly opened into a vast space—the mine's central hall. Our torches barely illuminated it fully.

  Rotting wooden beams supported the vault. Broken rails for ore carts hung from the ceiling. But beneath all this, beneath layers of earth and debris, something else showed through.

  The ground had been torn open, exposing strange stone slabs with bluish veins. Several slabs bore faded patterns similar to what we'd seen in the tunnel.

  Luten pointed at modern equipment scattered across the hall.

  "Someone worked here recently. Drills, scanners... otherworlder tech."

  In the center of the hall lay a pit—the result of excavation—with something large half-extracted from the earth.

  Aris approached, his shadows writhing around him with unnatural activity.

  "Something wrong is happening to my shadows. They... feel something here."

  Suddenly the air thickened. From the pit in the center rose something enormous—first an elongated head with multiple rows of eyes, then shoulders with spines, hands with six fingers... The creature crawled out fully: almost human, but wrong. Like someone had tried to improve a human without understanding how one worked.

  Four arms instead of two, probably for "better magic." Two normal, two thin with elongated fingers. Chest inflated like a forge bellows. Eyes of different sizes: left one large, bloodshot; right one small but piercing. Human mouth, but teeth filed to point in different directions. Skin stretched too tight in places, hanging in folds elsewhere.

  "Too soon."

  The voice was almost normal. Too normal for such a body.

  I cut my palm, forming a blood blade, but felt strange resistance. Magic worked differently here. Weaker.

  "What are you?"

  The creature tilted its head, studying Luten.

  "I... am... pa-a-art... of the ne-e-ew... or-der... Hera-a-ald... of transfor-ma-a-ation..."

  It moved forward with unexpected speed. Aris reacted first, directing his shadows beneath the creature's feet, trying to slow it. The demon stumbled but immediately regained balance.

  "Yo-o-our... little... tri-i-icks... are use-less... against what the new master has birthed."

  I struck from the side, aiming my bloodied blade at its neck. The blade sank in easily, almost without resistance. But the wound... closed before my eyes. Simply knit together, and my blood seemed to suck inside!

  "Your power only feeds me, blood mage."

  A blow from nowhere. Ground vanished beneath my feet. Something cracked in my chest. Breath failed. The wall slammed into my back, driving the air from my lungs.

  Get up. Don't show weakness. A Nors dies on his feet.

  Luten grabbed a metal rod from an otherworlder drill and joined the fight. His movements were incredibly fast—attacking and dodging, never letting the creature focus.

  Seeing my weakness, Aris ran to me.

  "Your blood..."

  Aris wheezed.

  "He eats it... different... His mouth twists."

  "What... do we do?"

  I couldn't believe my own words.

  "Our powers... together!"

  I released blood in a stream. Aris directed his shadows, wrapping them around the red flow. Something new emerged: blood threaded with darkness.

  "Luten! Catch!"

  He snatched our creation mid-flight. In his hands, the clot hardened, taking the shape of a curved blade. The strike landed true. The wound didn't heal.

  "It works! Different magics confuse it!"

  The creature howled. Now it couldn't decide whether to regenerate as human or demon. The thing seemed to learn during combat. It copied Luten's speed, anticipated his movements.

  "Curious samples. Especially you, human without magic."

  I tried to rejoin the fight, but my body wouldn't obey. Blood loss was taking its toll. Aris kept sending his shadows, helping Luten keep the demon at distance.

  Suddenly the creature changed tactics. Instead of attacking Luten, it lunged at me. My legs buckled. I was like a wounded deer before a wolf—easy prey.

  "First I'll eliminate the source of combined magic."

  I gathered my last strength, forming a thin blood curtain. Pathetic blood veil. Laughable. The demon swiped—claws tore through my defense like a knife through butter.

  A shadow darted forward. A human shadow. Aris. Black tendrils of his power condensed into a wall before me. The creature's claw pierced Aris's shield... But not instantly. Enough delay for the point to sink into his chest instead of mine.

  Cold gripped my throat. Not pain. Not fear. Something worse. Feelings a Nors heir wasn't supposed to have.

  "You... idiot..."

  I didn't recognize my own voice. Trembling like a puppy.

  Luten slid behind the monster—not running, but flowing like a shadow. The scythe sliced through air with a wet whistle. Black sludge sprayed from the demon's wound. The creature made a sound like tearing metal.

  "Unclear. You possess no magic, yet can use their power as your own. Curious sample."

  The demon jerked, pulling its claw from Aris's body. The shadow kid fell into my arms, unexpectedly light. Blood gushed from the chest wound. I instinctively tried to seal it with my magic, but the blood wouldn't obey, mixing with some black substance.

  My voice cracked like some snot-nosed kid's.

  "Stay with me. Don't you fucking dare die for my sake. That's... that's just... idiotic."

  Aris smiled. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

  "If you could... see yourself."

  Luten continued fighting the demon, but each of the creature's movements grew faster, each strike more precise. It was learning, adapting.

  "Why? You hated people like me."

  "The director sent me to watch... all of you."

  Words came hard for Aris. Blood bubbled on his lips.

  "Especially Luten. Promised... something in return."

  The demon and Luten circled the hall, exchanging increasingly fierce blows.

  "But my shadows... they see truth. In you there's more than the Nors name. In Luten—more than meets the eye. I saw hope."

  The creature suddenly fired something from its chest—a thin spike aimed straight at us. I tried to roll away with Aris, but my body wouldn't respond. The spike whistled through the air and drove into the floor beside us.

  The demon growled in frustration, preparing another strike.

  Aris whispered.

  "Go."

  Shadows around him gathered, pulsed.

  "One last... favor..."

  "Shut up! Nobody dies here today."

  Luten landed another powerful blow, but the demon caught the scythe blade with one of its hands. A second's hesitation—and the creature hurled Luten across the hall. The scythe fell from his hands, clattering toward the pit in the center.

  "Now let's finish this."

  The creature turned toward us.

  Something broke inside me. I remembered our first meeting in class—a skinny kid always hiding in shadows. I despised his fear, considered him unworthy of a Nors heir's attention. Now, watching his life fade, I felt... What? Respect? Anger?

  The demon was closing in when figures appeared in the tunnel behind it. Tara, Mira, and Kyle had found a way around the collapse.

  The creature muttered without turning.

  "More samples."

  This distraction gave Luten his chance. He reached the scythe and charged the demon from behind. The blade sank deep into the creature's neck. The demon made a strange sound—not a roar of pain, more like surprise. It jerked, twisting impossibly, nearly throwing Luten off.

  I slashed both palms. Pain cleared my mind. Blood flowed, but not aimlessly—I directed it in streams toward the demon, forming not a weapon, but chains.

  "The master will be displeased with failure."

  The chains wrapped around the demon, binding its movements.

  "We won't hold long. Luten, get out with the others!"

  From the corner of my eye I caught movement—Kyle, Mira, and Tara had broken through to us. Kyle grabbed my shoulders, but I pushed his hands away. Nors pride dies last.

  "No! Take Luten!"

  Aris used my full name. Something new flickered in his fading eyes.

  "Valentin! Tell them... tell everyone... shadows never lie."

  His body suddenly became lighter than air. Shadows around him thickened, flowed in streams. I understood what was happening—he was giving the last remnants of his life to his magic.

  Aris's shadows merged with my blood chains, transforming them into an impenetrable cocoon around the demon. The creature thrashed inside, but every movement only tangled it further.

  Luten shouted, seeing I refused to leave.

  "Kyle, get him out!"

  Powerful arms lifted me. I tried to resist, but no strength remained. The last thing I saw was Aris's body dissolving, becoming a mass of pure shadow.

  I woke outside, blinded by sunlight. Tara leaned over me, her hands glowing with the greenish light of healing magic.

  "Kyle carried you out. We barely made it. The passage collapsed."

  I tried to sit up. My body barely responded.

  "Aris?"

  Tara lowered her eyes, and the answer was clear.

  Nearby sat Luten, clutching a broken piece of our makeshift scythe. His gaze was fixed somewhere beyond the horizon.

  "What do we tell the academy?"

  A strange feeling pressed against my chest. Grief? For a shadow kid from the gutter? Shame that he'd sacrificed himself for me? Father would call these emotions weakness. But here, now, for the first time something seemed more important than the family name.

  "We tell the truth. That Aris Drem died a hero, protecting his comrades. Protecting... me."

  Luten raised his head. Surprise showed in his eyes.

  "House Nors knows how to honor worthy opponents. And even better—worthy allies."

  The sun was already falling toward the horizon. The sky filled with red—hatefully similar to blood, but brighter. More alive. A strange thought pounded in my head. Our rabble, our "dregs," became something else today. A team? A family? And all at the cost of a kid I'd considered nothing.

  Costly. Too costly. Even for a Nors.