Yilina followed Raylee. “Should we be doing this?” She asked the dragon nervously. The place had a sense of foreboding. “It needs to get done,” Raylee assured her. “But maybe we should wait until the others get back.” “They won’t like us down here.” They were headed into the catacombs, looking for the well of shades. “Aren’t they supposed to be a maze? What if we get lost?” “That’s what you’re here for. Even down here, you should be able to tell where you are and find your way out. Unicorns have that ability. I can feel the pull of the well.” “There are marks on the wall. Someone else’s been down here.” Raylee nodded. “Ann. She would hide down here as a child. She explored extensively and marked the walls with her knife so she wouldn’t get lost. This mark leads outside. This one leads to a room she used as a lab. It was once a prison. This one is a dead-end. And this one, she never finished. It’s a good thing too. It looks like it’s leading to the well. With as unstable as she is, the well would be dangerous. Fortunately, Drepal recognized this and warned her away.” “Is it safe for us?” “Mostly.” “Mostly?” “Don’t worry. We won’t stay near it for long.” “What are we doing?” “I told you, we’re checking the well.” “Checking it for what?” “Stability. Like I said, it powers a spell that protects a quarter the world. It’s not a little world.” “We’re not even under the palace anymore,” Yilina said at one point. “We should be under the college. The college is one of the spell’s runes.” They entered a chamber. In the center was a column of light. In it, several little colored lights swirled. As they watched, a new light appeared. Yilina cocked her head. “When you said a well, I pictured a hole in the ground, like humans use to get water.” “Well might not be the best term. But I don’t know what else to call it. It looks good.” Raylee started to leave. “It’s not,” Yilina told her. She was looking so intently at it she didn’t see Raylee smile. She had a second purpose down here. “Up near the ceiling, the column is fractured. Magic from above damaged it.” Raylee frowned. “That shouldn’t be possible.” Yilina stepped closer to the column, staring intently. “It’s been damaged for years. The magic is similar to Shunati’s, but there’s no healing.” She took Raylee’s hand. “You don’t need me to find your way out.” She transported them to a room above the chamber. The stone room was empty with a single door and a window overlooking another room. It was heavily warded. There were scorch marks on the walls and grooves gouged into the floor. There was a lot of residual magic in the room. “Those gouges in the floor, whatever did that, did the damage.” “Who are you and what are you doing here?” A man demanded. “I’m Yilina and this is Raylee. Who made those?” She pointed to the grooves. “A student. You don’t need to know more. You don’t belong in here.” He tried to usher them out. Yilina stood her ground. “Who are you?” “I’m Thorgrey. I’m the college headmaster. Only authorized staff belong here. How did you get in here?” “I transported us. We were down below.” “Below? It’s solid rock beneath us.” “Who do we talk to about this?” Yilina asked Raylee. “I’m not sure. Nim or Chapado will help us when they get back.” “Are you students of Nim’s?” Thorgrey asked. “I’m his friend,” Yilina said. “I’m a friend of his mentor, Chapado. We met when she was a child.” “This room isn’t shielded for immortals. Come out.” Raylee growled. “I’m not immortal.” “You kind of are,” Yilina told her. “You’re how many millennia old and you don’t age. You’re just an immortal dragon rather than a human.” “Just who are you two?” “I’m Yilina, third wife to Jamis, one of the lead stallions of Ventara.” “A unicorn?” “And I’m Raylee the white, great-great-great-great-grandmother to Mishtali, elder of the Menthanlan clan.” “You’re related to Mishtali?” Thorgrey frowned. “Who made these gouges?” Yilina asked again. “And how?” “Voramini. He went through shia tal ma, and stayed here until he learned to control it.” “How long was he here?” “About six months.” “How long ago?” “Over thirty years.” “That fits with the age of the damage,” Yilina told Raylee. “Was it during the shades?” Raylee asked. “It was. We had to sedate him. He was giving off magic something terrible.” “The column would be at its weakest then,” Raylee told Yilina. “What column? What damage? What are you two ladies talking about?” Thorgrey demanded. “Let’s get back to the palace,” Raylee suggested. “We’ll scry Emeton as soon as the contest is done.” She headed out, ignoring Thorgrey’s questions. Yilina followed. “I don’t fully understand it all, but it didn’t look good down there.” She turned to Thorgrey. “Thank you for all your help.” Both women hurried away, leaving behind a rather puzzled headmaster.