Page 28 of Fallen Star

"Nah. If I didn't have one, I'd just borrow yours. Bigger win for both of us."

I roll my eyes, but then remember what we just left, and my heart sinks. "Iris. He killed Iris."

Dean shakes his head. "She's the Unseen Lord. She's not easy to kill. She'll regenerate, but she won't be able to get here. We're on our own."

"I… I don't really know how to react to that right now."

"Hurry it along, people. Power awaits," Levi says, stroking the shards at his waist.

Right. I have to help the bad guy. "Give me a second to get my bearings," I say, taking a moment to look around.

We arrived just where I intended, and everything matches my vision. I look up, and in the pale blue sky I see wings stretching wide, casting a long shadow over the hills in the distance. I suck in my breath as the dragon soars overhead, majestic with scales of blue jewel tones that flash against the light of the sun.

When I lay my hand on the fountain, made from the remains of dragons, I feel the energy in this world, how it was shaped by the dragon's breath, how it took form out of the bones of the dragons. When I open my eyes, the Star shards glow brightly on Levi's hip, and the world looks different. A magical trail of white light leads me forward, and I follow it as if in a trance.

Dean doesn't let go of me as we walk towards the ruin. An ancient stone stairway descends into an underground entrance covered with hanging vines that have climbed and crawled over and through the stone engravings and pillars framing the door.

Using one of my axes, I chop away at the aggressive foliage. Dean helps with his sword, but Levi and my mother just watch and wait. I feel her fear and his impatience and anger. Both exhaust me as I struggle to figure out how to stop Levi before it's too late.

I can already feel the toll the use of the Star's power is taking. It is robbing the life of hundreds of people each time Levi uses it. Stealing pieces of them. Leaving them weaker to fuel the power needed. And it's giving Levi more life. He's become stronger, more dangerous, with each new shard found, and with each use of its power. I'm running out of time.

Once the door is cleared, Levi shoves me out of the way to study it. Then he uses the shards to blast it with power, hoping to break it down.

Nothing happens.

"Get this open," he shouts, his anger overcoming him.

I lay my hand on the stone and close my eyes. It speaks to me, but its voice is muted. Muddled. The door has seven concentric rings carved into it, each with different symbols, though they are covered with so many layers of sediment they're hard to decipher. "We have to position these symbols in the right order," I tell them. "That will unlock it."

"Then do it," Levi growls. "That's why you're still alive, after all."

Right. The circles move with great reluctance, slowed by age and time, the stone grinds together as if waking from a long winter slumber.

I try a few configurations to no avail. Dean runs a hand over one, and pauses, then asks to borrow my axe.

I hand it to him, and he uses it as a chisel to reveal more of the symbol on one of the rings until it's decipherable. He then holds up his arm, revealing the demon mark on his wrist and compares the two. "What do you think?" he asks.

I peer closer. "It's incredibly stylized, but yes, it could be a match."

His eyes light up. "Help me clear away the others."

We work silently, using my axes with care as we chip away at the wall, until all seven symbols are more easily read. Dean sucks in a breath as he studies it. "The rings are the Seven Realms of Inferna," he says softly. "But… that makes no sense. Why would they be here, in Nirandel?"

"I don't know, but if that's true, then we need to align the symbols to the correct realm," I say.

He nods and begins working. I don't know the demon symbols of each of his brothers, but he does. Levi looks on with interest, but says nothing and offers no help.

The largest circle is the hardest to move, and it takes both of us all our effort to budge it from its spot. Once we set it in place with King Fenris's demon mark visible, we step back and wait.

Nothing happens.

At least not at first.

Then, the ground beneath our feet shake, and within the wall stone and metal groan and grind together, moving for the first time in who knows how long.

A thrill travels up my spine. Despite the stakes, despite the circumstances, this is my calling. This is where I feel most alive. When I step into the timeless places where the past has gone to die and explore what still remains. Unearthing history makes me feel alive. So when the door splits in half and pulls itself open, revealing a dark hall covered in so many spider webs it will be impossible to walk through without hacking them away, I don't hesitate to step in.

And Dean is right by my side. I can tell by his face he's having the same experience as me. We are both seekers of the lost, of the ancient, of the historic. We share that bond. That thrill.