Gideon sent a message that Sanguina would be moved an hour before dark, so Valerie hurried to her hiding place behind a large statue of a chimera, a creature that was part lion, part snake, and part goat. It stood in front of the Disguises Guild, which was next door to the Knights, and offered her a perfect view of Sanguina being transferred as she was led to the Justice Guild.

Kellen was the first to emerge from the arches of the Knights' Guild, and she was surprised to see that there were five guards flanking Sanguina, including Gideon, which was more than there were supposed to be. From the tightness in Gideon's step, she could see that he was worried about the change in plans.

Two of the Knights Valerie recognized. Mira, who she had met at her test, had the ability to change his form, and Claremont had magic similar to her own—fighting. The other two Knights she had seen around, but didn't know much about. They were both tall, burly men, the kind you would expect to find in the Knights of Light. But this was the Globe, so who knew what kind of magic they wielded in addition to being expertly trained fighters. She noticed that one had a sword strapped to his side, and the other carried a bow and arrow.

Before Valerie could even consider calling off the plan, she saw that Kanti was already walking down the colored path with a little sway in her step. From the grumpy frown on her face, she wasn't very happy about being a distraction—or bait, as she referred to her role.

Kanti stepped respectfully aside as the group came past, and Valerie saw that the two large Knights were staring at her. She gave them a little wave, and they both grinned. Valerie had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She was beginning to understand why Kanti found the attention so irritating.

Then Kanti raised her arms and an explosion of red flower petals burst from her palms. "Oops!" she said with a giggle.

"It's a trick!" Kellen shouted angrily. "Get your heads together!"

Everyone was stunned—except for Sanguina and Gideon, who knew what was happening. Sanguina began to run toward the meeting point—the fountain at the center of The Horseshoe. Her hands and feet had been tied with a strange, glowing rope, so she wasn't moving quickly.

One of the large Knights chased after her, knocking Kanti to the ground in the process. Her head hit a rock.

Chrome sped across the green lawn and pounced on the Knight with the bow and arrow. They were a blur of fur and fists, but knowing how much rage was fueling Chrome, Valerie wasn't worried about him.

Gideon turned to Kellen, trying to swat the fairy out of the air. But he moved so quickly that even Gideon's lightning reflexes didn't stand a chance. Before Valerie had even made it to the melee, Gideon had collapsed in a strange, glittering cloud of brown dust that had burst from Kellen's fluttering wings.

"Get away from him!" Valerie shouted as she launched herself at Kellen. The hum of magic was strong, but she reached out with her mind to find Henry, who was racing toward Kanti. They bombarded Kellen's mind, trying to confuse and overwhelm him. But they couldn't sense him at all—it was as if he didn't exist.

"You won't get in that way," Kellen sneered. Valerie guessed that fairies minds must be blocked like the Illyrians' were.

Kellen wasn't their only problem. Cyrus was keeping Claremont at bay—barely—by using flashes of light to temporarily blind her. He landed a few punches, but even without her sight, she was much more powerful than he was.

In Henry's mind, Valerie could see that he was testing his ability to mentally shove Kellen the way he had done to Ani. His magic hummed loudly, and Valerie suspected that his protective instincts were fueling his abilities. He was standing in front of Kanti, who was conscious but bleeding from her temple, and Valerie knew with certainty that Henry wouldn't let Kellen through, even if it killed him.

She saw that Sanguina had been dragged back, and the Knight hauling her kicked her so she fell to the ground. Once Sanguina was subdued, the Knight turned to Valerie with fierce determination in his eyes. Next to him was Mira, who transformed himself into Zunya again, which had the desired effect of freezing Valerie with fear. Her lapse was all that the other Knight needed to land a stunning blow to her right shoulder. But the resulting pain was a blessing, focusing her and flooding her with magic.

Sanguina took the opportunity to run again, and the large Knight growled and tackled her.

Seizing her chance, Valerie launched herself at Mira and they collapsed to the ground. They wrestled, shoving each other's faces into the dirt. He managed to get on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

"Surrender and stand trial for the crime of treason," Mira said, out of breath.

In response, Valerie hooked her leg around Mira's and experienced a guilty pleasure in seeing Zunya's likeness crumple to the ground. She followed up with a swift elbow to his head, and his eyes closed. As soon as he was unconscious, Mira returned to his small brown form, and Valerie hoped that she hadn't caused any serious bruising. He was only doing his job.

Without turning around, Valerie knew that the other Knight was racing toward her. He must have restrained Sanguina. She let her magic whisper to her, and, sensing his position, threw herself forward while reaching up to grab the Knight. She used his momentum against him and he tumbled over top of her head and hit the ground, hard.

Valerie was ready to press her advantage, but that was when she realized what the Knight's power was—he was a Master swordsman. He drew his sword from its sheath and she barely had time to draw Pathos before he charged her.

His dark brown eyes were filled with anger and confusion, and Valerie's guilt was a disadvantage, dampening her magic. The Knight had no idea why Valerie and her friends had attacked.

Valerie was completely on the defensive, barely blocking each of his strikes. Still, she could see surprise replacing some of his confusion. Her skills as a vivicus were well known, but not everyone was aware of how well she fought.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Henry had somehow forced Kellen into the cloud of dust he had created to incapacitate Gideon. It didn't knock him out, but Henry appeared safe, and was turning his attention to Cyrus and Claremont. But first, his eyes connected with hers, and his confidence in her ability to win her battle blasted away her guilt.

With renewed energy, Valerie let her magic fill her. Her thrusts and parries came more quickly, and the Knight's muscles strained to meet her blows. Pathos flashed in the sun, and when Valerie brought it down with all her might, the Knight's sword shattered under the force of her blow. He threw the useless hilt at her, and it bashed into her forehead.

She barely registered the pain. Instead, she let her magic guide her to use exactly the amount of force she needed to hit the nerve beside his neck with the heel of her hand. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, but she knew he wouldn't suffer much when he woke up.

Sanguina was struggling to her feet nearby, and Valerie helped her.

"Your sword will cut these bonds," Sanguina said, holding out the glowing ropes that bound her hands.

Valerie didn't have time to question how a sword could cut through ropes clearly laced with powerful magic. Instead she sliced through them like they were ribbons, and they fell to the ground, dull and powerless.

"Go to the meeting point," Valerie commanded.

"I can help," Sanguina said, and Valerie could sense how badly she wanted to participate in the fight. Which was the very reason why she wouldn't let her.

"No. Go now," Valerie commanded, picking up the sliced ropes and giving them to Sanguina. Sanguina took the ropes and raced toward the fountain.

The worst of the fight seemed to be over. The Knight fighting Chrome was bloody and unconscious, but breathing. Claremont was on her knees, glaring at Henry, who was holding her back with the telekinetic power he used against Kellen and Ani. Claremont struggled against his invisible restraints, but his concentration was focused. Still, Valerie came over and executed the same move she had used on the Knight she had just defeated, and Claremont collapsed to the ground.

The cloud around Kellen and Gideon had dispersed, and thankfully Gideon was returning to consciousness.

"You're all traitors and will stand trial for what you've done," Kellen said, his voice filled with rage.

"We're not the only ones with things to answer for," Valerie replied. The little fairy turned a dark, angry red, and flew away toward the Knights' Guild.

"Let's get out of here," Kanti said wearily. "We need to be gone before he gets reinforcements."

Henry tenderly wiped away the blood on Kanti's temple. He shot an angry glance at the Knight Valerie had just defeated. "I'll make that oaf suffer for doing that to you."

Kanti gave him a half smile. "You're too late. Valerie already did. Besides, it was an accident."

Cyrus and Valerie helped Gideon to his feet, but he still seemed unsteady. Chrome flashed an image in her mind of the tall tree in the forest where the rest of the group was gathering for their journey. With the permission of the People of the Woods, Chrome would lead them to their meeting spot in Dunsinane. He raced across the courtyard and was out of sight.

"That dude has some serious energy to burn," Cyrus said, staring after Chrome with wide eyes.

"Things didn't go as planned, but we are all accounted for?" Gideon managed to mumble.

"Yes, we're all okay. But what about you?" Valerie asked her mentor.

"The magic will wear off in a few days. What happened?" Gideon asked.

"I'll tell ya," Cyrus said with a big grin. "These slackers all hid in a corner, and I took on all four of the Knights and Kellen myself. Naturally, they were quickly defeated."

"Yeah, they didn't stand a chance against all that bright light. It was terrifying to behold," Kanti quipped.

"If you've found your sarcasm, then you can't be that hurt," Cyrus retorted.

A knot of tension melted in Valerie's lower back as her friends all laughed. Aside from some bruises, the first part of the plan had been a success. Everyone was alive, and Sanguina was free.

They reached the fountain, where Sanguina waited for them. Gideon pulled the stem of one of the jeweled roses, and the staircase leading to the underground city of Plymouth opened.

The residents of Plymouth had chosen to be shut off from the world above, and in return for secrecy, they allowed Masters of the Guilds to travel using the Shortcut, which was a series of clear tubes that had been enchanted to reduce the distance of every one hundred miles to one mile.

The group sped on a plush platform through the clear tubes toward Dunsinane. The familiar uneasiness that always haunted Valerie when she was trapped inside turned her knees to jelly. After all of the things she'd faced, why did this still bother her? She twisted the Laurel Circle on her thumb, as if she could make it warmer from the friction.

Traveling through the clear tubes would allow them to get to Dunsinane in a matter of hours, but she wished that she were aboveground with Chrome and the rest of their little army. Ceru had arranged for their travel with the People of the Woods. He knew of another ladder that would send them close to the border of Dunsinane, and if all went according to plan they would meet in the morning.

"You're allowed to relax now, you know," Cyrus said to her.

She scanned everyone's faces. Kanti was snuggled against Henry, and her cut was shallow. Gideon was asleep, but he appeared peaceful. Even Sanguina appeared calm as she stared over the edge of the platform, watching the city cut into the bedrock with wide eyes, more human than Valerie had ever seen her.

"I can't relax until this is all over," Valerie replied. "Even though we're all okay for now, everyone will be waiting for me to tell them what to do."

"It's what you were born to do, I think," Cyrus said.

The Laurel Circle was a little warmer on her thumb. Maybe Cyrus was right. She must have nodded off in spite of herself, because before she knew it, the platform was slowing, stopping in front of a staircase that was in much worse shape than the one they used when entering the underground city in Arden.

"We must proceed with caution," Gideon said. "The entrance to Dunsinane hasn't been used in centuries and upkeep has been neglected."

"I'll go first," Valerie said, leaving no room for debate in her voice.

To her surprise, no one, not even Gideon, argued with her. It was simultaneously terrifying to see how easily they accepted her authority and comforting to know that she had the power to put their welfare ahead of her own.

Valerie climbed off the platform and examined the staircase. There was a very low hum of magic emanating from the top stair.

"I think it might be booby-trapped," she said.

She tossed a rock at the step, but nothing happened. Carefully she climbed up, testing each stair for stability before putting her weight on it.

"Be careful!" Cyrus said, the usual thread of humor absent from his voice.

The final stair was very old and weak, and she realized that the magic wasn't coming from the step itself. She touched it with her finger, and it crumbled, leaving a gaping hole. She could hear water flowing far below, and the hum of magic was louder. It also had a strange quality to it, something dark and slimy. Whatever magic was in the water had been left by the Fractus.

From where she stood, Valerie reached up to slide away the rock that blocked the exit. It took all her strength to push it open, and the stone made a terrible groaning noise as it slowly slid aside.

She jumped up, using her power to give her an extra boost, and clung to the edge of the exit, right above the hole where the last stair had been, for a heart-stopping second. But magic and adrenaline quickly enabled her to pull herself up and out of Plymouth.

Valerie peered back down at the anxious faces staring up at her. "Give me a minute and I'll help you all up. I want to do a quick check for threats."

She also needed to get her bearings. She had emerged in the middle of an eerie purple canyon. There were strange black tracks that led away as far as the eye could see, and cut into the side of the canyon were crumbling buildings. One was an old mansion, with pillars and a huge porch on the outside, while the rest of the home wasn't visible, and must be cut into the rock face. The tracks and buildings were as old as the exit from Plymouth.

It was almost dark outside, and the air wasdusty, making it hard to breathe easily. The filth settled in her pores, and Valerieknew that whatever place this was, it had been the cradle of something evil. Itseemed like a fitting reception to the land where the Fractus lived.