Edge followed the women away from the mountain, using Conceal every now and again to erase his tracks. The other hunters didn’t leave any sign of their passage as they crossed the forest floor. Sasha was the best tracker he knew, and Lillian was a veteran shadowkiller.

  Unfortunately, Mel wasn’t nearly as stealthy, since her talents revolved around fulfilling her peacekeeping duties. She was a quick learner, and the other women had been helping her improve, but her efforts were slowing them down.

  At the rate they were progressing, Edge was worried that the Claws would find them before they moved out of range of the jailbirds’ sensory skills. When he pondered the problem, an idea came to him that would let the team pick up their pace.

  “Mel. I can see that you’ve been working hard and learning how to survive in the wild, but we can’t afford to let the convicts catch us. I can use my skills to help us move faster and get rid of your trail, but it will only work if I carry you.”

  “You want to what?” Everyone came to a stop and turned toward him. Then, to Edge’s astonishment, the muscular guardsman, who had taken on man-eating monsters without batting an eye, blushed so deeply that her cheeks matched her hair.

  Lilly and Sasha looked at each other and smiled but didn’t say a word. For a second, he thought Mel was going to refuse, but then she nodded her agreement. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Hand me your axe and pack.” He stored the weapon in his vault, along with his naginata. After placing Mel’s bag inside his spatial storage, Edge gestured for her to hop onto his back. She blushed again and then draped her arms around his neck and wrapped her knees around his waist.

  He rose to his full height, looped his elbows below her legs, and resumed walking through the Sweltering Green. He did his best not to let her presence distract him—a combination of hard and soft surfaces thanks to her armor and athletic curves—and pretended not to notice the amused glances the other women kept sending his way.

  Now that Edge and Mel were only leaving a single set of tracks, he could erase them with Conceal, and they were able to proceed at a rapid rate. With the cycles he’d picked up in the dungeon, carrying Melenia wasn’t any trouble at all—just another testament to how much he had grown over the last few weeks.

  When they drew near their destination, he set Mel down and had everyone keep going after telling him how to find their shelter. “I’m going to make sure that no one is following us. I’ll catch up with you soon.”

  When the women were out of sight, Edge used Foebinder to climb into the canopy. Then he Concealed his presence and activated Penetrate Foliage. He passed the time by getting a feel for the local terrain while gazing into the jungle.

  Half an hour later, he was reasonably certain that they had escaped from the convicts that were certain to be hunting them, and by now, the rain would have washed away any trace of their scents lingering on the breeze.

  Lilly had a magitech device that prevented the crew from being sensed through magical means, which meant they should be safe for the time being. He lowered himself to the ground, then followed the instructions Sasha had given him, hiking over to a verdant hillside where a cavern was hidden behind a massive bush.

  The instant that Edge stepped past the threshold, something warm and pleasantly squishy hit him in the chest.

  He looked down at the top of Sasha’s head. Even though he could only see her strawberry blond hair from this angle, he could tell that she was crying. He returned her embrace, and she looked up—bright green eyes peering out from above her short, sharp nose.

  “Sasha.” He grinned as moisture gathered in the corners of his eyes that had nothing to do with the pervasive rain. “I’ve been worried sick about you. I can’t tell you how good it is to see you alive and well.” He looked over at Lilly and Mel. “That goes for both of you too.”

  “Edge.” Tears ran down Sasha’s freckle-speckled cheeks as she squeezed him tight and then let him go. “When Jumo told me you were still inside the dungeon, I thought I would never see you again. Does that mean…”

  “Yup.” He flashed a triumphant grin. “I beat the boss and claimed the manufactory for Puppet Town. Not to mention, killed quite a few of the jailbirds inside the dungeon, although most of that was an accident.” He turned to face Lillian, who had removed her fox mask and was looking at him with a question on her lips. She must have already revealed her identity to Sasha and Mel.

  “Snake is alive, and so is Setna. She’s wounded, and he’s taking her back to Puppet Town to get treated by Doc and the alchemists. What happened to Jumo and Tessa, and everyone else for that matter?”

  “Jailbirds attacked the base camp the same day we got split up,” Mel answered before enveloping Edge in a bear hug that creaked his ribs. “They both made it out of the dungeon right before the bastards hit us. Gram died in the attack, along with three other hunters and two of the deputies.”

  Lilly walked over when Mel let him go, filling him in on more of the details. “As far as we know, everyone else is still alive. The Claws chased them into a series of caves running beneath the mountain where we met. The network is deep and extensive, and so far, the convicts haven’t been able to figure out where our people are hiding.”

  To his surprise, the dark-haired shadowkiller drew Edge in for a quick hug too, then let go while looking a little embarrassed.

  “I’m worried that the stalemate won’t continue much longer. I think Roth—the summoner who is second in command of the Claws’ strike force—is getting close to catching Trapper’s team. I’m glad you’re here, but the stage-two jailbirds coming from the Savage Garden are going to be a problem, particularly their crew leaders. There are already too many convicts for us to handle, and the situation is going to deteriorate rapidly. Did you happen to learn anything about their plans while you were in there?”

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  “I eavesdropped on some of their crews, and I think I know what they’re up to.” Edge told a small lie to keep Sakura’s powers a secret. “Now that they’ve lost the manufactory, they’re going to invade Puppet Town instead. In addition to the group in the jungle, there’s another strike force hiding in the Ivory Plains. That’s why Earl hasn’t sent reinforcements, as far as I can tell.

  “The only thing keeping them from besieging the town now is the situation here. Once they deal with our people underground, the Claws will regroup and attack the settlement. We need to kill as many of them as we can, free our friends, then head back to reinforce Earl’s troops before it’s too late.”

  “Gods damn it,” Lilly swore. “It’s good that they suffered heavy losses in the dungeon, but we’re already up to our necks in shit. We need to make our move before it’s too late. I don’t think Trapper’s group can hold out in a direct exchange of force.”

  Sasha pulled out a notebook, flipping to some pages near the end. “Tell me everything you’ve learned about the Claws who were operating in the dungeon, and we’ll fill you in on what we’ve observed here.”

  Edge told the women about the crew leaders, Ripper and Ella, and what little he knew about the jailbirds’ skills, then listened carefully when the others took their turn.

  This began an animated discussion that continued well into the night. He took joy in the knowledge that at least three of his friends were still alive and well. He was worried about Trapper and the others, but he was hopeful that the four of them could find a way to turn the situation around.

  He eventually found himself yawning every other sentence, so they decided to call it a night. Edge tucked himself into his bedroll and was asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

  ***

  He awoke early the next morning. For the next few minutes, he just lay there, listening to the percussion of the falling rain while savoring the fact that he had escaped the Savage Garden and wasn’t alone anymore.

  When Edge tried to sit up, he discovered that he was trapped. Sasha was asleep with her head on one shoulder, and Mel had claimed the other.

  Lilly was already awake and found his dilemma to be deeply amusing. His eyes widened with surprise when he realized what she was wearing. Damn.

  Lillian had stripped down to her shorts and a sports bra—in the middle of cleaning the elastic magitech body armor she wore when she wasn’t assuming her alternate identity as a shy, soft-spoken handywoman. Her raven locks had grown longer since the last time he’d seen her, falling around her face to frame her dark eyes and delicate features.

  It was impossible not to notice her generous curves with so much skin exposed to the jungle air. Edge did his best to keep his eyes from wandering as he adjusted to a situation that was remarkably different from his ordeal in the dungeon.

  “They were really worried about you,” Lilly said as she began checking the aether tanks on her assortment of magitech devices. “But I had a feeling you would pull through. I’ve known from the moment we met that you’re a man with unfathomable secrets, and I’ve always had a hunch that you are far more dangerous than anyone your stage has any right to be.”

  She met his gaze, smiled, then began donning her armor one limb at a time. “I’m relieved that you and Byron pulled through, although his ego is going to be even more insufferable after taking down that boss with such a small team.”

  Sasha and Mel woke up a few minutes later. They pried themselves free from his arms, then shared a look before pretending that nothing had happened. While everyone was eating breakfast, Edge made a decision, committing to a course of action that he’d been contemplating ever since their battlefield reunion.

  If he was going to be working with these women as they took on the Crimson Claws, he couldn’t afford to hold anything back. What they were attempting was insanely dangerous, and keeping his powers to himself would wind up getting them all killed.

  Besides, I already trust Mel and Lilly with my life. I might as well trust them with my secret too. I doubt that I can keep it hidden for much longer anyway. “So,” he began. “Sasha has already heard this, but there are some things about my core I think you should know, although I’d appreciate it if you kept the information to yourselves for the time being.”

  Edge took a deep breath, then went ahead and told them everything—the truth about Skill-Eater, the black chains, and all the powers he’d picked up over the last few months. The only thing he held back was Skill-Eater’s true nature, since he honestly didn’t understand it himself and didn’t want them to worry.

  Lilly let out a low whistle when he reached the end of his story. “Now everything makes sense. All those little details that didn’t quite add up have finally fallen into place. When we make it back to town, you have to let me run some tests on your core, but we can talk about that later.”

  He shuddered at the avarice in her eyes—like she was fantasizing about cutting him open—before dismissing it as a figment of his overactive imagination. She held up her fox mask for emphasis. “And don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret. We all have parts of ourselves that we don’t want the world to see.”

  “You’ve saved my life on more than one occasion,” Mel added. “Not to mention you accomplished something incredible and scored a major victory for Puppet Town. These lips are sealed until you want them to part.” Her cheeks reddened when she realized what she’d said. “Wait. That didn’t come out right.”

  They all had a good laugh over that and then got down to business. The crew put their heads together and began figuring out how to bypass the Claws who were besieging the survivors of the expedition, rescue Trapper’s team, then return to the settlement before Yussuf made his move.

  In the end, they decided that the only way to deal with so many cored warriors was to harry and harass them until they made their move and entered the caverns in force. Once the battle was joined, Edge’s crew would fall upon the Claws from behind, sowing chaos in their ranks and creating an opening for Trapper’s group to break through the blockade.

  They would pick off any isolated jailbirds they happened to run into. But the hunters couldn’t afford to reveal their presence and tip their hand too early, or they would be surrounded and overwhelmed by a superior force.

  Before they got on with their day, there was one final matter to attend to. Edge needed to check out his gains from the fight and spend any attribute points he’d earned from cycling up.

  Sure enough, when he summoned his Guide and opened his updates, he had several messages awaiting his perusal.

  You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle up your core. Your new cycle is: 18.

  You have 5 attribute points awaiting allocation.

  For defeating 6 cored opponents Stage 2 or above, some of whom possessed additional Mortium, your team has earned 12 Mortium. Your share is 3 Mortium.

  One of those Claws was stage one, and the other three died before I arrived. That explains why Raid Wiper didn’t kick in. After thinking it through, Edge decided to put his points into Endurance this time around. He was going to be pushing his body to the limit over the days ahead, and he needed to be able to run or fight for hours on end without getting tired.

  When he signaled his intentions to the System, potentia flowed out from his core. The transformative magic began enhancing his lungs and circulatory system, improving their capacity on a genetic level.

  When the process was finished, Edge joined the women at the mouth of the cave and then stepped into the jungle—ready to bring the pain to the convicts who had hurt his friends and threatened his home.

  You caught us with our pants down and stabbed us in the ass. Now it’s time to return the favor.