Hello, everyone! I have managed to get this chapter set up and ready to go, so here it is. Not much else to say, really.

DISCLAIMER: The 'Amulet' series is created and illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi, and published by 'Scholastic'. The author owns any original characters and custom elements included into the story.

Onward!


In the shadows beneath another rung of light peeking through a sewer manhole, Corbett directed Caleb to halt. The raven-man cocked his head to one side, his beak slowly opening and closing like he was breathing. His giant, muscular frame rose and fell a few centimeters as he listened, quiet and watchful like the raven or crow he appeared to personify.

The pair had been walking for what seemed to be a long while, but there was no easy way to tell the passage of time. Caleb had continued to keep his hand over his nose and mouth, breathing whenever necessary and no more than that. He did not smell as much of a stench as when he had first entered the sewers, which told him either he was losing his sense of smell, or his body was getting used to the scent. Either choice was not a good one in the long run.

There had been no other humans, "cursed" or not, in the sewers along with the escapees. But the sewer was occupied by smaller creatures; rats, insects, a few spiders, and their long-reaching webs. None of them interfered with Caleb and Corbett's travels, but their presence was heard and seen easily enough. This was a place people rarely came down to; good for hiding, but bad to stay in for long periods.

I hope we get out of this place soon, Caleb thought.

As Corbett continued to listen to what activity – or lack thereof – was going on in the city above, Caleb gained the desire to know more about the "cursed" prisoner's big plan. Caleb knew he was not welcome to hear secret information about the "Corvid", but it might not hurt to ask a few questions about what Corbett was going to do next. Leaving Cielis was the big goal, but the how escaped him.

"Corbett," Caleb whispered through his hand, "how are you going to leave the city? It's in the clouds, and unless you know how to fly one of those blimps, I don't see you getting very far."

Corbett didn't answer right away, instead walking to the next manhole in view. This involved stepping over a crossing passageway where a narrow stream of sewage joined the larger mass. At the next manhole, Corbett listened again, and after several moments of listening he looked back at Caleb standing just by him.

"We will use this to complete our journey." Corbett reached into his bedsheet-like robe to pull out what he had felt for earlier on in their journey. He held it up to the small bits of light, showing it inside his large hand with black talons instead of fingers.

The object was a small vial, a cross between a test tube and a drinking glass. Wider at the bottom than the top, it was filled nearly to the brim with small pieces of some larger rock. Confused, Caleb waited for an explanation from Corbett, who gave one right away.

"This contains the grinded pieces of a Stonekeeper's amulet. Our prior cell's occupant was a rebellious member of that elite group, a practitioner of war when the Guardian Council wanted peace. But the power remains the same, regardless of who wields it.

"Every Stonekeeper, see, draws power from the same central source. That source lies far beneath us, in the caverns of Cielis, a natural artifact the city was originally built to protect. The Mother Stone."

A larger stone that powered every Stonekeeper's amulet? Caleb was amazed as he heard this, and he also realized a critical fact. Then, Emily's got her powers from that stone. And so did Trellis, and Max!

Corbett continued his explanation as he pocketed the vial back into his robe. "The Mother Stone was once a great crystal, whole and pure. The Guardian Council carved out pieces of it to make into amulets, and every Stonekeeper uses the Mother Stone's energies in their magic. Those energies remain from user to user unless the amulet is destroyed."

"Wouldn't grinding an amulet up destroy it, then?" asked Caleb, moving his hand a bit away from his face so his words could be heard more clearly.

Corbett shook his bird-like head. "Only Stonekeepers can truly destroy a Stonekeeper's amulet. The Mother Stone's essence is what powers them all, even when broken into tiny particles. If the amulet is given to another, they will have access to that power. But if that essence is taken from the amulet, only a useless hunk of rock remains."

"Then what good is to break the amulet into pieces?"

"When the time comes, we will show you. But not until we have the chance to leave." Corbett began to walk forward again, and then stopped after a few steps. "Ah, we had forgotten we had something of Caleb's."

Reaching back into his robe, Corbett plucked out the black feather Caleb had been given by the Corvid agents in Kanalis. He gave this back to Caleb with a touch of reverence. "Keep this safe," he firmly told Caleb. "The Corvid only give out one feather to anyone who earns their trust."

Caleb took the feather from Corbett's taloned fingers, but there was no sense of comfort in having it back. "I don't think I deserve it anymore," he admitted. "I've acted against the Corvid's wishes recently."

Corbett clucked and shifted his muscled shoulders, causing the feathers on his upper body to ripple. Sensing Corbett wanted to know more, Caleb described his disposal of the damaged drone, the metallic raven that had been spying on the Luna Moth's progress. Corbett, against Caleb's assumptions, did not get angry when he heard the story.

"Once given," Corbett informed the teenager, "the feather cannot be returned unless its recipient is dead. That is Corvid law, written by the All-Father. If Caleb wishes to truly apologize, he must show this feather to the Corvid's twin leaders and explain things to them."

Speaking to a greater power was an opportunity Caleb did not want to ignore. "Who are the leaders?" he quickly asked.

"Huginn and Muninn. They translate as "Thought" and "Memory" in the All-Father's world. They are named after the twin raven messengers of a god from planet Earth's religions. These leaders also have the patience of gods to withstand processing all the Corvid's gathered information and flocks of agents. It's been so long, we have worked so hard for them, and now—"

Corbett suddenly stopped talking. His eyes looked away from Caleb, a human expression of obvious guilt flashing over his face. Caleb saw this even in the sewer's darkness, recognizing the emotion and its meaning from times his friends on the high school track team. It was clear Corbett had said too much. But Caleb wanted to know one more thing.

"Corbett," Caleb carefully asked with his hand held nearly down to his side, "were you here when Cielis was first attacked?"

"We were." Corbett's voice had become deep with emotion, sadness the most obvious.

"And it's been how long, now? Years, for sure." Years spent up in the sky, alone, with seemingly no way to contact anyone else. Isolated. Imprisoned.

"We don't know. Nor do we care." Corbett took a deep breath, the feathers on the back of his neck rising for a moment before falling back into their former places. "Our chance to soar has come, and we will not let it pass by."

With that proclamation, Corbett turned on his heels and thundered further down the sewer's curved passages. Caleb shook his head, believing he had said too much himself, and rushed to keep up with the taller man in the next leg of their journey.

"Stop." Corbett signaled for Caleb to halt beneath yet another manhole cover, the passage slowly curving to their right. Caleb had his hand back over his mouth and nose, but he lowered it back to his side when he saw Corbett start to climb up the ladder below this particular manhole.

"We are near the Waterfall Corridor." Corbett sounded giddy now compared to his earlier stoicism and caution. "This is the closest we will get to the city's edge. Come, Caleb, follow us to fresh air and freedom!"

Caleb smiled with hopeful joy. His enthusiasm was diminished by the thought of leaving everyone else on Cielis, but he rebounded by picturing their pleased looks when Caleb led a rescue fleet back to Cielis. I'll come back, he silently promised, and I'll save you all. I'll get all the peoples of Alledia to fight for us.


Corbett spared a few moments to glance around the immediate vicinity, the manhole cover perched atop his head as he looked this way and that. When he sprang up, he grabbed the cover in one giant hand and stepped to one side, still watching attentively for any witnesses. Caleb scampered up, taking grateful breaths of cleaner air, pleased to be out of the sewer's grime again. He had been in more sewers while in Alledia then he would have ever imagined himself doing on Earth; it was not something he wanted to continue doing.

Once Caleb was standing on the same path as Corbett, a side street between rows of closed and silent houses stacked like in Kanalis, Corbett dexterously replaced the cover and took lead once again. The streets were empty, far too empty for a city like this. Caleb compared it to Kanalis and Nautilus, both major centers for people and trade and business, with doors open and streets filled with activity.

"How did all this happen?" Caleb muttered as he walked by closed doors and dark windows with no signs of life beyond them.

"Fear, Caleb. Fear silenced this city. Fear of elves, of Stonekeepers, of anything that the corrupt Guardian Council hates." Corbett waved a hand at their empty surroundings, clean of debris and waste but empty of what made a city alive. "Fear led to this. A warning must be spread across the land, so no one else will suffer in this way."

Caleb nodded in agreement and understanding. The war with the elves was making a lot of people scared for the safety of themselves and those they cared about. Like Caleb himself, in fact. To stop the spread of this fear, to stop the war, seemed like the best outcome to make things right.

But what about getting back home? That matters more than this alien world!

Doesn't it?

Caleb looked around at the quiet streets again. Do I really care about this place? This isn't my world, but it feels like its own place. He thought back to Silas Charnon, the genius worn down by years of toil in Alledia, the man who had seemingly created a network of spies against a conflict he had known was coming.

"Well, after your great-grandmother Isabel passed away, Silas locked himself in this house and was never seen again."

Karen had said that back on Earth. But Silas had been in Alledia, working without the presence and comfort of his wife. Maybe Silas did care about this world like Earth; here, he had more things to work for and care about.

A sharp cluck came from Corbett as he stopped just around the bend of an alleyway's exit point. "Yes, our freedom is here!" He raced out onto a curving metal walkway that curved to the right like the sewers had, but instead of a wall on the opposite side there was only the sky and air. A long, curved wall made of metal slabs riveted together provided a barrier of protection for anyone walking there.

Caleb stepped out more reluctantly than Corbett. The "freedom" the raven-man had claimed was here was not recognizable to the young human's eyes. This walkway was wide enough to accommodate two or three people, but there was no transport or other device capable of flight in sight. Did they have to go even further to reach their way out of here?

"There they are! Halt, by order of the Guardian Council!"

Oh no! Caleb spun around at the sound of an unfamiliar voice ordering him to stop. Further down the walkway from them, in the direction Corbett had wanted to go, a squad of four masked guards had seen them. They raced towards them while weighed down in their suits of armor; despite the armor they moved surprisingly fast.

Corbett, for once, did not react quickly. He looked back at Caleb, then the walkway behind them, and finally over the edge to the sky below. He did not run, but he did not attack the guards head-on. He stood just as tall as them, but there was only one of him and four of them.

The guards moved around Caleb and Corbett, trapping them against the wall. Caleb felt the rush of cool air on the back of his head, his coat providing some protection against the cold touch of a long, deadly fall. The guards leveled their spears at the pair, their masks hiding their faces behind a menacing visage.

"Surrender or die," ordered one of the guards. This guard had the voice of a man who seemed constantly angry, someone who had seen too much in his life to be happy ever again.

"No!" Corbett thrust his arm into his robe. "The Corvid will soar! We watched, and we waited. Now, we act!"

The guards drew their spears back to attack the moment Corbett drew his special vial from in his robe. Then, to Caleb's shock, the raven-man opened his beak wide and tossed the vial and its contents in his mouth like a giant medicine tablet. With a few choking gasps, Corbett swallowed the vial down his gullet in one go.

Caleb had not moved. He… He swallowed it whole! Pieces and all! He just couldn't believe it had happened. Did Corbett know what that might do to him? Had he been a Stonekeeper all along, and this was a final trick?

It quickly appeared that Corbett did know what would happen. As the guards thrust their spears at him, the raven-man coughed violently, the feathers on his body started quivering violently. A blast of air forced the guards backwards, and Caleb was pressed against the wall as well. Corbett stumbled back until he pressed against the outer wall; he was tall enough to bend his upper back and head over the edge.

Corbett's eyes were bugged out, his beak stuck open as he started giving choking gasps and short squawks. Every sound he made created another burst of energy, the feathers continuing to vibrate as his eyes turned completely white.

Caleb reached for Corbett, realizing that Corbett was probably going to die and not wanting to see it. But Corbett bent back even further against the wall, until he tumbled up and over the edge. The guard closest moved to stab Corbett with his spear, but he tried to do it too late. Corbett fell over the side, a few black feathers floating down and spinning like flower petals.

The moment passed. Corbett was gone.

After a second to comprehend things, the armored guards grabbed Caleb's arms. He remembered his own situation and yanked his limbs free with a wild burst of strength. "Get away from me!" he shouted, but the guards instead surrounded him against the outer wall. The tips of their spears were aimed at his chest.

A high-pitched screech came from over the edge. A few seconds later, as Caleb and the guards all looked that way, they saw a black, winged form flew away from Cielis with strong flaps as black feathers came off its body in great clumps. It looked like a giant bird that was molting as it flew, but it had human legs and used its arms like great wings. White energy surrounded it, trailing away from it in mimicry of even larger, feathered wings. A monster's wings.

The giant bird gave another screech that sounded almost human; an echo of a triumphant scream mixed with the hunting call of a bird of prey. And then, with one last pump of its long arms, it shot like a bullet into the clouds around the city. Its departure was marked by an explosion of sound and white energy; a sonic boom that tore through the surrounding air and into any listener's ears.

As the waves of sound and concentrated energy passed across Caleb and the guards, an unseen force slammed them all to the ground. Mere seconds passed as they got back up again, but that was enough for Caleb to roll away from the guard's grasp by mere inches. Rising to his feet, he sprang a few more steps back before turning fully around and sprinting down the path to the closest turning point.


Caleb's lungs ached with the sudden pressure of breathing while running. But he ran anyway, getting back onto the empty streets. He chose the direction with the most daylight in the sky, the best reason he could think of just then. He remembered he had stayed with Emily, Navin, and Karen at the uppermost residences. So, he had to find a way up to the topmost buildings of the city.

The prospect seemed impossible; running through a city to reach its top, while starting just at its bottom. It was a gauntlet, more so than any long runs he had done in school or at home. When he thought about it, he had to stop against a wall and get more air into his lungs. His limbs were already hurting, and he still had so long to go.

When he had his energy back, Caleb picked his path and ran down it, looking for any stairs or elevators that would help him get where he wanted to be faster. I'll take this in stages. One level after another. And watch out for guards, they're probably everywhere.

Caleb's worries about guards being everywhere were not quite justified. Guards were certainly present, patrolling the streets in small groups as if searching for something, but he did not appear to be their primary focus. Several groups were going towards the edges of the city, opposite Caleb's chosen path. Caleb suspected they were going to investigate the explosions just beyond the city limits.

The upper buildings of Cielis got closer and closer. Each time Caleb took a moment to check his progress, he found he had gone a bit further, he had completed a bit more of his goal. He didn't perform this checking very often, given that Cielis was still a big and unfamiliar city to him. It was one thing to look at the streets from an aircraft from high above: it was another to navigate those paths at the ground level.

One thing that remained constant was the lack of other people. There were some humans, old or young, but they looked at Caleb like he was an alien. They also did not stick around to ask or answer any questions, retreating behind doors or closing windows at the first sign of trouble. This did not improve Caleb's morale, but he kept going anyway. There was no going back now.

At least it's a pleasant morning to go for a long walk. The air temperature was fine, the skies were mostly clear of clouds, and there was a general coolness to the air that was not present on Alledia's actual surface. It was like the spring and autumn mornings back on Earth, good weather to run in before the neighborhood got moving. This meant Caleb did not sweat very much as he travelled; his effort was felt more in his muscles than on his skin. And his long runs had primed his body to work for long periods of time with limited pauses, letting him keep going without slowing down.

It felt to Caleb like he was doing something he was good at. But he didn't focus on that thought.

As Caleb got to the central towers, beneath where the dropships had docked, he found a stroke of luck; a pair of elevators going up what looked like several levels and into the docking stations. Pressing the button by one of the lift doors triggered it to open. Counting his blessings as he stepped into the circular interior and its curved metal walls, he pressed the button for the highest available level and relished the chance to rest his legs. The doors closed with a quiet hissing sound, and a second later the lift jolted as it started to climb.

There were no windows on this lift to look out of, the great view from the elevator Caleb had taken before not replicated here. Caleb was too tired to be disappointed; what he really wanted to do was find a bed and sleep. But what he wanted to do was not what he needed to do.

Reaching into his coat's pockets, Caleb felt the Corvid's feather still in there. He thought back to Corbett's words about trust and rules. Guilt, and a sense of failure, washed over him as he saw the raven-man's final moments before his fall. Had that giant bird really been him, changed into some great beast by the power of the Stonekeepers?

The lift slowed, and then stopped. Caleb inhaled, dismissing his questions, taking in as much air as he could and getting ready to sprint to the nearest spot of cover when the way was clear. The doors opened to reveal a woman wearing the uniform of Cielis's airship crew. Unable to move out of her sight, Caleb instead tried to move past her and get out of the lift. The woman grabbed his arm before he could get away.

"Hold on a moment." The woman's voice was cold and emotionless, her grip as hard as the guards from earlier. "Where are you going?"

"Out. I wanted to leave the room. But I'll go back if I need to." Caleb finally looked back at the woman and saw, to his surprise, that the woman's eyes were glowing with dark blue light. She glared at him, and then she pulled him away from the lift as the doors slid shut.

"You're coming with me," she ordered Caleb. "Don't try to run." Her free hand reached for the rifle slung across her back, a warning that Caleb was forced to comply with.

Caleb cursed his ill fortune. After his journey, his moving through an unknown city all on his own, he had failed. Back to Yarboro Prison, he figured. Back to the stone walls and grime and darkness, away from the people he had wanted to help most of all.

The woman moved back to the lift, still holding on to Caleb by the arm. She pressed a nearby button, and a few seconds later the lift arrived and opened its doors. The woman pressed the topmost button on the same pad Caleb had used, which caused Caleb to raise an eyebrow.

Where is she taking me? Back to the suite? His hopes, raised and dashed over and over, began to slowly climb up again. Maybe his luck hadn't run out after all.


Alright, that's all for now.

As usual, feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated.

Draconos is taking off!