Lena kicked the locking mechanism of the nearest cage. The metal offered no real resistance to her strength. As the door swung open, the blue hum of the mana siphon died out, plunging the cell into a heavy silence.

Inside this particular cage, a dozen emaciated figures slumped against the bars with dull eyes staring at the floor or their hands. The mana drain had left them lethargic; their bodies were running on the bare minimum required to keep their hearts beating.

"Get up," Lena said. "We're leaving."

No one moved.

Jake stepped up to the next cage, ripping the door off its hinges with a groan before tossing the grate aside, where it clattered loudly against the concrete.

"Did you hear her?" Jake asked. "The door is open. Move."

A man in the first cage looked up. He glanced from the open door to Lena, then back at the floor.

"Nice try," the man said. His voice was so coarse that it looked like his vocal cords had been grated with sandpaper.

Lena frowned. "What?"

"The test," the man said, sounding tired rather than angry. "Last time, the girl who ran made it ten feet. You broke her legs. I'm not running. Just take the mana and leave me alone."

Lena stepped into the cage, grabbing the man by his clothes and hauling him to his feet; he was light, practically weightless.

"Look at me," she said. "Does this look like a test?"

The man blinked, struggling to focus.

"It's a trick," the woman in the next cage said, hugging her knees to her chest. "You want us to run so you can hunt us. It's for the beasts." She turned to the others. "They like it when we run."

"We aren't from the Church," Jake said, stepping into the light so the torches could show the name tag floating above them. He pointed above his head.

[Jake Roberts—Level 310]

[Lena Merridon—Level 325]

The man's eyes widened as he squinted at the numbers, shaking his head as if trying to clear a fog.

"Level 310?" he said. "That's... that's not possible. The High Executor is at that level."

"We're stronger than her," Jake said. "That's why we're here. Now get up."

Arguments broke out in the other cages as the mana drain ceased and clarity slowly returned to the prisoners. Some stared at the open doors with a desperate kind of hunger, while others shrank back, terrified.

"Maybe they are right!"

"It's a trick!" an older woman said. "They mess with our heads. If you step out, they'll cut you down."

"I'd rather die cut than rot!" a young man said, stumbling out of his cage on shaking legs. He looked at Lena. "Give me a weapon."

"I don't have spares," Lena said. "But you don't need one. We're the weapons. You just need to do as we say."

The older woman stayed put. "You're going to get us all killed."

Lena looked at the prisoners, knowing that they were wasting time. Every second they spent arguing was a second Lira used to organize a response.

"Listen to me," Lena said. "We destroyed the perimeter. An ally is outside with an army. The Church is losing. If you stay here, you die when the building collapses. If you come with us, you live."

"The church is losing?" That promised freedom. That seemed to cut through the haze, and the prisoners started to move, slowly dragging themselves up and helping the weaker ones stand.

Then, the blast doors at the far end of the chamber hissed.

Jake spun around, his daggers appearing in his hands. The doors slid open to reveal a squad of twenty heavily armored Zealots. They weren't patrolling; they were rushing.

[James Harrington—Level 287]

…

[Michael Torres—Level 291]

…

[Sarah Mitchell—Level 283]

[David Chen—Level 289]

…

[Rebecca Thompson—Level 285]

…

[Marcus Johnson—Level 292]

…

[Elena Rodriguez—Level 286]

…

"Secure the livestock!" the lead guard shouted. "If they can't walk, kill them!"

The prisoners screamed, and the few who had stepped out scrambled back inside, trying to hide behind the bars they had just escaped.

"Jake," Lena said.

"On it."

Jake charged, abandoning stealth for pure speed. He crossed the twenty meters between the cages and the door in a second, slamming into the lead guard's raised shield with the force of a truck. The guard flew backward, knocking over two men behind him.

Jake didn't stop. He slashed low, severing the tendons of a Zealot's leg, then spun to drive his dagger through the throat of another.

"Hostiles!" a guard screamed. "Kill the intruders!"

Spells flew across the room, firebolts and arcs of lightning lighting up the area. Lena flanked the main group rather than charging them head-on. She appeared behind a mage who was charging a spell, grabbed his hair to pull his head back, and slit his throat.

The prisoners watched from their cages as the men and women who had tortured them for months fell, seeing the blood and the fear on the guards' faces.

"It's real," the man who had asked for a weapon said. He wasn't shaking anymore as he grabbed a metal bar that had broken off the cage door. "It's real!"

"We need to move them!" Lena shouted over the noise of combat. "We can't fight and babysit them at the same time!"

More guards were pouring through the door, trying to push past Jake to reach the cages. As one Zealot lunged at a woman who had fallen near the walkway, Jake realized he couldn't reach her in time.

He summoned the War Mastiffs.

The air rippled, and twenty massive hounds materialized in the center of the room. There was no space for more.

The Zealot froze just as a Mastiff bit into him. The man screamed.

"Get on!" Jake said to the prisoners. "Climb on the dogs! They'll carry you!"

The prisoners hesitated, terrified of the Mastiffs' glowing eyes and dagger-sized teeth.

"Do it!" Lena shouted, kicking a guard away and throwing a knife into another's chest. "They won't hurt you! Get on or die here!"

The young man with the metal bar moved first, vaulting onto the back of the nearest Mastiff.

"Go!" the man said to the others. "Get on!"

Panic turned into action as the prisoners scrambled out of the cages and climbed onto the hounds, two or three to a beast, while the Mastiffs lowered their bodies to let the weaker ones mount. The guards realized what was happening.

"Stop them!" the squad leader roared. "Don't let the prisoners escape!"

They ignored Jake and Lena to aim their weapons at the mounts.

"Oh no, you don't," Jake said.

He activated Augmentation and stepped in front of the guards. One of them swung a heavy mace, but Jake caught the handle with one hand, twisting to snap the wood before driving his knee into the guard's chest, caving in the breastplate.

"Move!" Jake ordered the Mastiffs.

The hounds obeyed, bolting for the door and charging straight through the line of guards.

Then he summoned more War Hounds.

Weighing five hundred pounds, the hounds slammed into the armored men, knocking them aside for tramples or bites.

Lena covered the rear, throwing smoke bombs to fill the corridor with gray fog. She moved through the smoke, striking at anyone who tried to chase the horse-sized dogs.

Jake stood at the doorway. He wasn't looking at the escaping prisoners; he was looking down the hall, where more footsteps were thundering toward them.

"There's more coming," he said.

Lena stepped up beside him.

"Good," she said. "Let's buy them some time. Then let's get the hell out of here."

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