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her.
    The soldiers passed the bottom of the hill, a dozen or more rounded the crest, and the clunky roar of a motorized truck lumbered up the far side. Her mind flashed back to Jason’s casket. She was surrounded again – always alone.
    But she wasn’t alone; she could feel Jason nearby, somehow.
    Hannah dropped to all fours and squeezed into the opening. Rocks scraped her hands and knees as she crawled deeper. Darkness so thick it stole her breath pressed from all sides. She wiggled forward, finally bursting out into a cool chamber.
    Light flashed nearby, momentarily blinding her. When her eyes adjusted, she saw Broken Nose a few feet away holding a small, glowing stick. Majick? No. It has to be more Ilsan technology . The light punched through clouds of dust that floated past. The chamber was unfurnished, scarcely bigger than the prison tent. Carvings of bones, skulls and letters in a foreign language lined the room. She touched the stone wall. A spark jumped to her fingers. Energy passed from the wall to her hand, trickling through her body.
    Broken Nose spoke up. “The Melor built this castle before the Ilsan invasion. The siege lasted months. The Royal family dug tunnels from the catacombs to the West River. On the night of their escape, the Ilsans overwhelmed the castle and sealed the tunnels. Hundreds of people were buried alive. I do not think anyone’s been down here since. Except me.”
    Hannah wanted to ask, who are you? Her voice wouldn’t work.
    Shouts from above filtered into the chamber.
    Broken Nose turned to another tunnel. “It isn’t far, but we have to move fast.”
    The two raced through the catacombs. Broken Nose set a furious pace, dragging Hannah through chambers and around comers until she lost track of which way was up. The Ilsans were fast on their heels, never more than a few steps beyond the last corner.
    Broken Nose never slowed. Hannah’s lungs burned.
    Trying to keep up, she didn’t notice Broken Nose stop. She slammed into him, pushing them both to the ground. Hannah scrambled to her feet and froze.
    There was nowhere to go. The tunnel was a dead end.
       
    Marissa Cabbot was in luck. No, not luck, she didn’t believe in that. Fate hadn’t made her the first woman in the Grey Wolves, the elite arm of the Republican Guard. Hard work, dedication and more than a little blackmail had carried her to the top. Most of the Senate was in her debt.
    So she didn’t call it luck when Hannah Blue and the traitor ran into a sealed tunnel. It may have been an accident, but she would find a way to claim the credit. There were plenty of medals she hadn’t received.
    Cabbot slowed to a jog and raised her revolver, pulling back the hammer. She’d better wait for the rabble behind her to catch up. Witnesses were needed to sing her praise.
    She was a Wolf hunting her Prey and Cabbot liked to play with her food.
       
    Hannah spun. One of the soldiers had caught up with them. The Ilsan strode forward grinning, revolver raised. More troops would be right behind. Broken Nose stepped into her side-vision. His rifle was broken, face cut and his lamp flickered on and off.
    She chanced a glance at him. Now what?
    He seemed to read her thoughts. “Now we see if you are as good at majick as your grandfather.”
    Hannah’s eyes widened. She shook her head furiously.
    He knelt and drew in the dirt.
    The soldier called to them, “don’t move!” A woman’s voice.
    Hannah gawked at the approaching soldier. A rifle slung behind her shoulder and a deep blue dagger marked her as a Grey Wolf. Her ammo belt clinked with each step. Every trapping of modern war.
    War!
    War was the monster that had devoured everything in Hannah’s life. War damned her family to slavery, robbed her of Jason and forced her into this tunnel. Rage rose like bile in her throat, churning together with raw grief.
    Broken Nose took her hand and pulled her to her knees. “Hannah, focus on these.”
    He scratched four marks into the