The carriage ride lasted an hour.
Adrian spent most of it staring out the window, watching the city pass by. The rain had stopped but the streets were still wet. Gaslights reflected in puddles as they rolled through district after district.
Where are we going? How far from home?
Not that home existed anymore. He'd destroyed it. Obliterated it with a ritual he barely understood.
Caspian sat across from him in silence. The scorched book fragment rested on his lap. Occasionally, he'd look at it, then at Adrian, then back out the window.
He's trying to figure out what I did. What ritual I used. But the evidence is gone. As long as I don't tell him, he can't know for certain.
That was Adrian's only advantage. The explosion had destroyed everything. His mother's journals. The ritual circle. All the research. The Vigil might suspect but they couldn't prove what method he'd used.
Keep your mouth shut. Admit nothing. Survive.
The carriage turned down a narrow street and the buildings changed. No more residential housing. These structures were larger. Older. Made of grey stone with narrow windows and iron gates.
Official buildings. Government buildings, maybe.
The carriage stopped in front of one particularly imposing structure. Four stories tall with columns flanking the entrance. No sign. No indication of what it was.
This must be it. Vigil headquarters.
The door opened and one of the other men gestured for Adrian to exit.
"Out."
Adrian climbed down on shaking legs. His body still felt wrong. Off-balance. Like the explosion had knocked something loose inside him that hadn't settled back into place.
The building loomed above him. Dark windows. Heavy doors. It looked more like a prison than an office.
Maybe that's exactly what it is.
Caspian stepped down behind him and placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder. Not aggressive but firm enough to make a point.
"Walk. Don't run. Don't make a scene. If you cooperate, this will be easier for everyone."
Easier. Right. Easier before they kill me.
But Adrian nodded and walked towards the entrance. The two other men flanked him. Caspian walked behind. A proper escort for a prisoner.
The heavy doors opened before they reached them. Another man in a black coat stood inside. He looked at Adrian with barely concealed curiosity.
"This is the source?"
"Yes," Caspian said. "Intake him. Standard protocol. I want a full assessment within the hour."
"Yes, Warden."
They entered a long hallway. Stone floors. High ceilings. Gaslamps along the walls provided dim light. The air smelled like old paper and something else. Something sharp and metallic.
Blood? No. Something else. Something I can't identify.
Doors lined both sides of the hallway. Most were closed. Through one open door Adrian glimpsed what looked like a library. Books stacked floor to ceiling. A man in dark robes stood reading by lamplight.
They passed more doors. More rooms. The building was massive. How many people worked here? How many practitioners did the Vigil employ?
Enough to hunt down anyone who uses methods they consider dangerous.
They reached a staircase leading down. Into the basement or lower levels.
Of course. They're taking me underground. Harder to escape from underground.
The stairs were steep and narrow. Adrian's legs protested but he forced himself to keep moving. Behind him, Caspian's footsteps were steady and patient.
At the bottom was another hallway. This one was colder. Darker. The walls were bare stone and the doors were reinforced with iron.
Cells. These were definitely cells.
Adrian's heart hammered. They're going to lock me up. Interrogate me. Maybe torture me.
They stopped in front of one door. The man from the entrance produced a key and unlocked it.
"Inside."
Adrian stepped through. The room was small. Maybe ten feet by ten feet. A narrow bed against one wall. A small table and chair. A single lamp. No windows.
The door closed behind him with a heavy thud. The lock clicked.
Adrian stood in the centre of the room and tried to control his breathing.
Calm down. Think. You're still alive. That means something.
He sat on the bed. The mattress was thin but not uncomfortable. Better than sleeping on the street, which is where he'd expected to end up after destroying his house.
They could have killed me at the house. They didn't. Caspian said they want answers. As long as they want answers, I'm useful. As long as I'm useful, I'm alive.
But for how long?
Adrian looked around the cell. No obvious way out. The door was solid. The walls were stone. Even if he managed to break the lamp and use the glass as a weapon, he was one exhausted boy against an entire organisation of practitioners.
I need to think smarter. Klein from Mother's stories wouldn't try to fight his way out. He'd gather information. Learn the rules. Find leverage.
But Klein wasn't a terrified nineteen-year-old who just accidentally destroyed his house with a forbidden ritual.
Footsteps in the hallway.
Adrian stood as the door opened.
A different man entered. Younger than Caspian, maybe thirty. He carried a leather bag and wore spectacles. Behind him came Caspian.
"Sit," the younger man said. Not unkindly.
Adrian sat back on the bed.
The man set his bag on the table and opened it. Inside were various instruments. Glass vials. Crystals. Metal tools Adrian couldn't identify.
"My name is Doctor Rhys. I'm here to perform a basic assessment. This won't hurt if you cooperate."
Doctor. They have doctors. That's... something.
"What kind of assessment?"
"We need to understand what you've become. What Dao you've bound to. Your current stage. Basic capabilities." Rhys pulled out a crystal similar to the one Caspian had used earlier. "Hold out your hand."
Adrian hesitated. Should I? What if this hurts? What if it tells them too much?
"Hold out your hand," Caspian repeated from the doorway. His tone made it clear this wasn't optional.
Adrian extended his hand.
Rhys pressed the crystal against his palm.
The same pulling sensation as before. Like something was reaching inside him. Searching. But this time it went deeper. Adrian felt it moving through his chest. His head. His bones.
What is this thing? What is it looking for?
After a moment, Rhys pulled the crystal away and held it up to the light. The darkness inside swirled more actively than before. Thick. Almost solid.
"Interesting," Rhys murmured. "Very interesting."
"What?" Caspian asked.
"He's definitely bound. Stage one, newly initiated. But the signature is... unusual. I can't identify which Dao."
Caspian stepped closer. "Can't or won't?"
"Can't. The pattern doesn't match any of the known methods we have on record."
They don't know.
Caspian's jaw tightened. "Something outside our records."
"Possibly. Or a variation we haven't encountered." Rhys set the crystal down and pulled out another tool. A small brass device with multiple lenses. "Look at me."
Adrian looked up. Rhys held the device to his eye and peered through it at Adrian's face.
"His spirit core is enlarged. Consistent with binding. No visible corruption yet but it's too early to tell. The ritual was recent. Within the past few hours."
"Will it stabilise?"
"Hard to say. If it was an unrecorded method, the survival rate could be anything. The fact that he's alive and conscious is remarkable. Either he got extraordinarily lucky or the ritual was performed with unusual precision."
Mother's research. She spent six months making sure the ritual was perfect. That's why I survived.
"What are his capabilities?" Caspian asked.
"Unknown. He'll need to discover them himself. Standard practitioner abilities should manifest within days. Enhanced strength, speed, durability. Beyond that..." Rhys shrugged. "Depends entirely on which Dao he's bound to."
"Can we force the information out of him?"
Adrian's stomach turned cold.
Rhys looked uncomfortable. "Torture? Not recommended. It could destabilise the binding. Kill him. Better to wait and observe."
"Observation takes time."
"Yes. But it's safer. For everyone."
Caspian was silent for a long moment. Finally he nodded.
"Fine. Keep him confined. Standard intake protocol. Meals. Basic accommodation. But monitored constantly. I want reports on any changes. Any manifestations. Anything unusual."
"Understood."
Rhys packed his tools and left. Caspian remained in the doorway.
"You got lucky, boy. Doctor Rhys convinced me you're more valuable alive than dead. For now." He stepped closer. "But understand this. If you become a threat, if your binding destabilises, if you show any signs of corruption, we will execute you immediately. No trial. No appeal. You'll simply cease to exist. Are we clear?"
Adrian nodded. His throat was too tight to speak.
"Good. Someone will bring you food. Get some rest. Tomorrow you start answering questions properly."
The door closed. The lock clicked.
Adrian sat alone in the cell and let out a shaking breath.
I'm alive. They don't know what ritual I used. They can't prove anything. As long as I stay useful and don't show signs of... whatever corruption means... I have time.
Time to figure out what I've become. Time to learn about this binding. Time to find a way out of this.
Mother, Father, if you can hear me... I'm going to survive this.
Adrian lay back on the narrow bed and stared at the ceiling.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges. New questions. New dangers.
But tonight, he was alive.
That was enough.