Shadow Slave

Behind the window, a striking vista of the cursed city sprawled far below. The morning sun washed the ruins in a pale light, making them look menacingly mysterious.

Nephis smiled.

"Besides… what can compete with this killer view?"

As though answering her words, a ghastly wail resounded from somewhere far away, echoing in the wind like a dying scream. Sunny trembled.

'I guess she meant it literally.'

With a sigh, he put Changing Star's strange choice of habitat at the back of his mind and approached the pile of meat.

"Let's eat first."

The three of them sat on the stone floor and ate monster meat, passing around Cassie's beautiful glass bottle between each other. It was just like the good old times, provided that those times were not actually that old, and there had certainly not been anything good about them.

Almost.

When all three of them were satiated, Nephis looked at Sunny with calm intensity. For some reason, he was reminded of the unseen waves of pressure that Gunlaug created anywhere he went.

"What have you learned in the castle?"

He sighed. This was going to be a long conversation.

Sunny started by describing the general order of things in the ancient stronghold. He told Neph about the six different castes and the complex relationships that existed between them, as well as briefly explaining how the members of each caste lived their lives. Sometimes, Cassie would add a few details of her own.

Changing Star frowned.

did you say that there were five hundred people

her a

somewhere around that.

for a

City at around a thousand. Most of them are fairly young, too — which would mean that each year, hundreds upon hundreds of us are sent to the Forgotten Shore, with

She paused.

Sleeper of our crop here in the slum. As far as I know, we three are the only ones to come to

his

it's four. Caster is also here. He's living comfortably in the

grew

of the Han Li clan? He is

be so

not

He had been here pretty much this entire time. Actually, Caster had told us that there were only seven Sleepers sent to the Forgotten Shore by the Spell this year.

a few moments, and then

pattern to how many people the Spell sends here. Fifteen years ago, when a bunch of crazy humans first laid claim to the castle, there would be just

gestured at the three of

is, when mere seven Sleepers arrived. Since the Spell is obsessed with the number seven, some people believe that this marks the end of a fourteen-year long cycle and the

thought for a bit,

the

naturally. One that Sunny had asked himself many times before finally convincing himself to go find

had ever met. Caster paid her a bunch of

silent for a few

"Continue."

thoughts on how things worked under the pristine white surface of the magnificent fortress. Inevitably, he had