Page 107 of Destroyer

“The artifact,” said Gwyneth, echoing Ru, her expression going from incredulity to wide-eyed shock. “The Shattered City dig site… Do you think the artifactcausedthe Destruction? That they’re planning to use it again somehow?”

Ru shook her head. “No. I mean, I don’t know, but… Why would the regent, Lord D’Luc, the Children, all invest so much time and money in studying the artifact if they already knew what it was? They can’t possibly know what it’s for. Nobody does, least of all me.” Ru’s words spilled out in a desperate stream.

“But Ru, remember how theyfoundit. They knowsomething.”

Cold dread gripped Ru from the inside out as if a frozen fist was squeezing her heart. The dig at the Shattered City, the discovery of the artifact, the specific request for Ru’s knowledge of magic, the funding, and now these repeated demonstrations… Lord D’Luc, or the Regent, or both — someone had already suspected that the artifact was not only magic but also capable of producing a destructive force. If Ru’s conclusions about the Children were right, if they truly did seek a cleansing fire of some kind… why else would they expend the resources on a dig site at the Shattered City? They’d known the artifact would be there.

And the moment the artifact had shown its true potential in the dungeon, the moment that swirling darkness seeped from it like death, Lord D’Luc had come running. After the very experiment the Children had urged — no,ordered— Ru to conduct.

“Gwyneth,” Ru said quietly, “Lord D’Luc believes the artifact is a weapon and means to use it. We need to tell the professors.”

Her friend’s expression, the soft shake of her head, told Ru everything before Gwyneth spoke. “They’re all sick,” she explained. “Bedridden, delirious. Not one of them can stay awake for longer than a few moments, just enough to eat.”

Realization curdled in Ru’s stomach. “The Children. As soon as they arrived, the professors started falling ill. This has to be their doing. They want us helpless. We need to get out of the Tower, and the artifact is coming with us.”

Gwyneth grimaced, glancing away, out at the moonlit night. “Do you truly think… Maybe we should sleep on it, Ru. Talk it over with Arch?”

“Are you mad?” Ru said, already moving to her wardrobe to pull out a pack, to change into traveling clothes. “I’m not waiting around a second longer to see what Lord D’Luc does with the artifact now that the Tower is essentially at his disposal. You saw what happened with the last demonstration. Do you think he’ll stop there? He’ll push me until I break, or until I lose control completely, killing us all in the process.”

Not waiting for Gwyneth’s response, Ru knelt to wrench her pack from the bottom of her wardrobe, hastily shoving shirts and underclothes inside. A few moments later, she felt Gwyneth’s presence at her side, calm and quiet.

“How can I help?” her friend asked, and relief swept through Ru.

“There’s a tin of cookies in the bottom drawer of my desk. For emergencies.”

Gwyneth nodded, then scrambled to her feet to fetch the cookies.

By the time she returned with the tin, Ru had finished shoving clothes haphazardly into her pack. She shoved the tin inside, fastened the pack tightly, and set it aside. “Thanks,” she breathed, catching Gwyneth’s eye. They shared a solemn look, and Ru knew there was no need to say anything else.

“Do you need to change? Pack a bag?” Ru eyed Gwyneth’s simple woolen dress and boots.

“I’m fine,” Gwyneth said. Her expression was rock-hard, her lips set in a determined line. “I’ll be… fine. But where will we go?”

Ru shrugged out of her sweat-soaked clothes, not caring about modesty. Hastily she pulled a pair of thick trousers from her wardrobe, a plain white shirt, and a gray wool waistcoat. Over that she threw on an overcoat, shoving her feet into dirt-caked boots.

“My family’s house in Mirith,” Ru said, pulling her hair into a bun, and securing it at the nape of her neck. Then she bent, picking up her pack and slinging it over one shoulder. “From there, we’ll send for Simon.”

Gwyneth shook her head. “No, not your house. If Lord D’Luc comes looking for you, if the regent sends anyone after you, that’s the first place they’ll look. We can stay at my second cousin’s estate just outside the city. They couldn’t possibly guess we’d go there, and she won’t ask questions.”

“Gwyn,” Ru said, breathless, “you’re an angel.”

She smiled, despite everything. “I’m just a good friend.”

“It’s the same thing,” said Ru. “Let’s go.”

The corridor was dark and quiet. The hour was so late that even the Tower’s night owls had gone to bed, and in an hour or two, the first glimmers of sunlight would begin to edge over the horizon.

“We have to get Archie,” Gwyneth hissed, stopping dead as soon as they slipped from Ru’s room.

Ru had already begun to stride away in the opposite direction, toward the stairs. She spun on her heel, shaking her head. “He’s terrible at riding,” she hissed back. “He’ll only be a hindrance. We don’t havetime.”

“You’re worse at riding than he is,” Gwyneth protested in low but aggressive tones.

“We don’t have time to explain everything.”

Gwyneth stood her ground, hands on hips. “YouknowArch, he’ll understand immediately. We won’t even have to explain. He’ll just come. Don’t you trust him?”

Ru sighed, accepting defeat. “Fine. Go get him, and make sure he packs food. I’m going to the dungeon. I’ll meet you at the stables.”

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