“That is so much shit!” Roland shouted as he slammed his fist on the table. “Not the noble behavior. That’s exactly what I’d expect from the head of a house, exactly what everyone expects because it’s what they do. But it’s not right.”

  Eden hadn’t spoken. “The problem is, none of us want to be powerful arcanists. Every rin I’ve made goes to making business contacts. I’m building a future, the future I want. If anyone had enough fragments for a rune it’d be Harris.”

  Harris looked as glum as Declan felt. “Every fragment I get I use to practice. You can’t grow Inscription without materials. If I had five more strike fragments, I’d think a lot about giving them to you. Probably still use them for practice but I’d think about it. It’s the thought that counts. What are you going to do?”

  “Everything I need is right here. Skinner said once there’s dozens paths to power. They can’t all be guarded.” He stood and brushed himself off. “I don’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t want apologies that don’t change anything. I’m going to the library.”

  The librarians greeted him, and had added five more books with introductory chapters for him to read. Even better, they offered him a study chamber that was truly private. Declan spent the first two hours reading combat manuals. It was possibly the worst way to learn to fight, all theory, drawings and no actual practice.

  He wasn’t going to make a lot of learning progress, but Declan wanted to turn his anger into progress, so he returned the books, asking for the same set next time, and ran, ran for hours, ran until sweat poured off of him and he steamed in the mist. Ariloch was so much larger than he’d imagined, and this far out he wasn’t ‘House Arcanist Thorn,’ he was just another member in the crowd.

  It was hard to imagine slums in a city built around an academy, but the homes in the outer ring made Foundrytown look kind. The windows were barred, the buildings fenced, a nod to the ever present blazed beasts.

  He spent rin on a meal of fried meat in baked dough and watched street dancers and looked over the fake rune-stones that wouldn’t accept any mana and couldn’t be real. When the sun set, he finally turned his way home. It wasn’t really home, but it was the place he thought of.

  House Ariloch was no longer dark, and a trio of arcanists sat on the front porch. Chen Rivers lay in a rocker, snoozing in the dark. He shot up as Declan climbed the stairs. “Where have you been?”

  “Out. You’re all adults, I’m the house arcanist, not your baby sitter,” Declan answered. “If you need me, don’t. I’m getting some sleep.”

  “Little problem with that, boss,” said River. “You got company. I did not let them in.”

  Declan considered just taking one of the empty rooms upstairs. The problem was, his home was his. He nodded to Lake as he headed that way. “I didn’t forget. Tomorrow, class.”

  “I’m a big girl, kill my own blazed beasts and everything,” Lake said. “But all I really need is witnesses. They won’t risk anything unless I’m alone.”

  “You won’t be.” Declan opened the door to his apartment. He basically expected Tegan Domine. He didn’t expect Rohan. “It has been an incredibly bad day. Is there any way we can do this tomorrow?”

  “I’d love to but you managed to disappear from our scouts, who are meant to find people,” Rohan said. “I’m here because Alister said ‘Ask the Ariloch bastard,’ Why is it my second in command showed up today with the only open rune space in his arcsoul bound to strike? And what could that possibly have to do with you?”

  Declan looked to Tegan. “And you?”

  “I’m the second in command, asshole is third, and for some reason Mr. Valiant here thought you’d be more open to talking to me. Are you?”

  “No.” He turned away from her. “You’re on my bed.”

  “Get more furniture. Most people don’t complain about a woman on their bed,” she answered.

  “In my bed and on my bed are two very different things and I have a splitting headache.” He sat down beside her. “I killed a blood mist octopus. Found a strike rune, which actually worked for me. Skinner told me to see the registrar, who tested the rune.”

  “Fuckity fuck.” Tegan swore. “First off, what did you kill it with? Second, could you have any worse luck? Any? No, you could not.”

  “Not helping,” Declan said.

  “I know. What did you kill a fucking spider with?”

  Declan nudged the pack and drew his bearing fom it. “Turns out, this works pretty damned well.”

  Tegan lifted it with both hands and shifted it back and forth. “Is this like some Foundrytown religion? ‘You must bring a piece of the foundry with you?”

  “A gift from my dad and the other workers.” Each word made his head hurt worse.

  Rohan hadn’t spoke since Declan began. “The only reason Alister would do something that stupid is that his father made him. There are a limited number of rune spaces in every arcanist’s soul. He was supposed to received Crystaline Shield.”

  “Not my fault. Not my problem,” Declan declared. “You are the tip of the top. I’m not even the bottom layer. Go have tip-top problems anywhere that isn’t my room and my bed.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “I don’t believe in meaningless words,” Rohan said. “Your first rune must always be earned or I’d just give you one. Is there something else I can do?”

  “The stupid stances you do in the morning. I want to imitate them. Clear the ‘mana channels.’ Can you teach me that?” If he lay back on the bed, the world only mildly pounded.

  Tegan leaned over, activating a rune. “You have got to have a head injury. Mana channel alignment is horrible. That’s what you want? Done. Rohan will make you wish you’d never said that. He loves mana channel alignment. Can you even align channels if the arcsoul is still sealed?”

  “Of course you can!” Rohan gave an infectious grin. “See you tomorrow. We start patrol at sunrise. First day, I’ll only need fifteen minutes, so, get some sleep. You’re doing something great here, Declan. Keep doing it.”

  ###

  His headache was not gone when the alarm went off, but Declan rolled out of bed and trotted to the front door. Rohan sat in a rocker outside, already dressed. “Good, I thought I might have to come in and pound on your door.”

  “Do you ever sleep?”

  “Of course we do, at least four hours a day, sometimes five, unless we’re getting laid, and then…exhaustion is worth it.” Rohan waved. “Come on, practice works better on the scab. Even better, there’s a decent chance of a blazed beast attacking. You’re mildly safe.”

  The sky had turned the deep blue before dawn and the world was quiet as Declan listened.

  “Whether your arcsoul is open or not, the mana channels still function and aligning them is a slow process. The faster you go the slower it works.” Rohan started with a stance that had his legs just over shoulder wide. “Sink down, it’s not a crouch, you’re aligning your channels in your thighs and upper arms. If you had a rune we’d have you orbit it. As it is, press your mana down into the earth. It’s not about amount, it’s about movement to purge impurities.”

  Declan held the position. “Ready.”

  “Not quite. Here, like this.” Rohan nudged his foot out a bit more, pushed his hands inward. “There, there, now that’s more like it. Now channel.”

  He pushed downward for what felt like an eternity.

  “Good work. Every moment you think you can’t, just say ‘one more moment.’” Rohan’s voice moved as he spoke.

  One moment became a hundred, a hundred became an impossible eternity, and then Declan fell over as spasms wracked his joints, leaving his limbs a tangled mess. “What the hell?”

  “That is how you know you got it right. Up, do it again.”

  Fifteen minutes had been a generous estimate. Declan was unable to stand by ten and spent the next five staring at the coming sunrise. “How do you do this?”

  “Years of practice. Do me a favor and stay right here, ok?” Rohan backed away, letting runes burst into view. “Don’t move a muscle, you’re recovering and perfect.”

  “Got it!” Declan called. “Not moving. What am I aligning?”

  Runes blazed outward, cutting over Declan as something screamed and Rohan sprinted past, drawing a sword. “There was a Dawn Wraith I’ve been hunting for days. It’s afraid of me, but it was really hoping to eat you. Thanks for the assist. Same time tomorow!”

  Declan rolled over and began to crawl home.

  By breakfast he was moderately able to stand and hell-bent on recovering his apartment. The smell kept distracting him, and it for once wasn’t because it was terrible. Someone was cooking and that someone sure as hell wasn’t Declan, who emerged from his apartment to find Lake also drawn.

  “You hired a cook?” Lake asked.

  Sure enough, in the kitchen, a wide man stood with an apron, working the cooktop Declan had assembled but actually using all six burners as he cooked. He already had a crowd, a rapt audience of people who weren’t going anywhere, and the man’s broad smile said this was something he was passionate about.

  Two runes circled him, one a circle with smaller lines crossing it, the other a cross hatch of lines that rose and fell as it circled. They were active, real runes but Declan had zero idea of what they could be. Still, the man was an artist, and he knew the kind of passion he saw. He waited his turn. There was no ordering, you accepted the plate offered or someone else would. “Hi. I’m Declan Thorn. I didn’t see you here during the overswarm.”

  The man didn’t miss a beat, swapping pans and turning off burners. “That’s because I was having a knockdown brawl with my ex boyfriend during the overswarm. Then I was locked in the basement for three days and then I was looking for anywhere but there to find home. Let’s just say House Rush is collectively out for blood. Roland said I should be here before sunrise. My name’s Hayden Cross, formerly of House Rush.”

  “Welcome to Ariloch,” Declan said. “You are amazing,” he continued through a mouth full of food. “Are those cooking runes? I wasn’t even aware those existed.”

  Haden wasn’t paying attention. He worked like Mr. Cook in the foreman’s house, cleaning his station as he went. “There are runes for everything. The combat ones are all you see here, but ones like I have cost ten times what any attack rune is. They’re so rare. Literally ten times an attack. Even shards of artistry runes are valuable, but they don’t combine well. Inscribers hate them.”

  Declan stared but the words wouldn’t come. Maybe the mana alignment had broken something. Declan quickly assigned him a room and demanded he stop cleaning. Paying for groceries would be his next problem, though he’d confirm the answer with Eden. “I want you to cook three times a week. I’ll get supplies, you work this magic.”

  “What if I want to cook? For me? I had a private kitchen in Rush.”

  “Use this one. You’re not required to,” Declan said. “Any chance your boyfriend as Alister Rush? Please?”

  Hayden gave a deep belly laugh, bending over. “Ash and bone, what I’d give for that. No, he’s a lost cause. I’d love to help him get found. Sorry, did I say something wrong?”

  “No.” Declan kept his fury quiet. “The only hard rule is your house wars don’t come past the doors. Seriously, you’re welcome here.” Every joint ached as he limped over to take a table by Lake, who had eaten a plate and now eyes Declan’s. “Say I did some ‘mana channel alignment,’ how long would that hurt?”

  “First off, I only had a week of that. Second off, I wouldn’t go back if I could. They’re expensive, painful, and the gains are minor.” She shook her head and inched a fork toward Declan’s plate. “You going to eat that?”

  “Yes!” He held his fork like a dagger. “Why do they make the ArCore practice every day if the gains are ‘minor?’”

  “Because they’re fucking nuts. That’s the actual reason. The technical reason is that every advantage matters. They’re literally out in swarms, I’ll take shots from the windows, sure, but being exposed? That’s ash and shit.” Lake stabbed at Declan’s plate, spearing a slice of ham. “Gods this is delicious.”

  “I’m glad you like it, there’s going to be a tax to pay for groceries.”

  “No shit. People will pay not to eat at the commons. What, fifty rin a week?”

  He shook his head. “Everything I bought for the overswarm was twenty. I’m guessing three a week.”

  “Five,” Lake suggested. “Don’t go less than five, five isn’t even a sneeze for a functioning arcanist. Start at fifteen and then go higher. Twenty.”

  “I was thinking we give everyone a few days to eat. A few days to get comfortable. Then we introduce house dues. When do you need to be at class, and where?”

  “I’m ready. Tegan’s got me a guide who’ll bring me back to Dueling Theory, just wait until he arrives and you’re free.” She stood, staring at the kitchen. “I could get used to this. Medical has what’s technically food. It makes the commons look delicious.”

  Fine. It was time to learn some dueling theories.