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Slipping along the aforementioned narrow alley behind the stables, we found the hidden door and stepped inside Two of the operators glanced up with confused looks, their black-and-yellow-striped robes adding a nized one of them as someone Shelton had questioned before

"Got so in like he owned the place

"About?" thedown the aisle running between the smaller arches in the control room The control rooap where no Alabaster Arch stood

"We’re looking into some other arch control roohts in the ed "Oh, well that’s rather si atop a pedestal in the floor like the one in El Dorado "You need to trace the Cyrinthian syht across the ht, you can spread your fingers across it for everything, or sier like so"--he deht parts of the cavern"

"Looks sih," Shelton said "Thanks, that’ll help a lot"

"Of course" The , then back to us "Have you found other hidden way stations?"

"That’s classified," Shelton said, then with a conspiratorial glance around, leaned forward and said, "Two of them" He winked "Don’t tell anyone"

The operator returned the wink "How exciting"

"Yeah The proble everything up that gets near it"

The operator’s brow furrowed "I thought we’d solved that issue" He narrowed his eyes at Shelton "Surely, you drew the pattern on the modulus--"

"Who are you people?" said a stocky man flanked by two others as he strode down the center aisle Each ly down to the beltline before flaring out like a trench coat

"I ht ask you the same question," Shelton said "We’re with Darkwater"

The man raised an eyebrow, and looked at his companions "That’s funny," he said with a smirk "Because I’m with Darkwater, and I sure as hell haven’t seen you before"

Chapter 9

A cold feeling clenched my bowels Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Adam and Shelton tense

The stocky th, his s as his co, he whirled his staff Silver bolts of light flew from them The arch operator yelped and threw hiainst a support colu his rod into the floor The azure blue ni into place A flurry of purple orbs froainst the shield, ricocheting in all directions with a buzzing whine The third athered at the end

"He’s charging a wave," Adareen as he leveled it at the attackers

"I see that," Sheltonit

An invisible force yanked the end of the ed fro like banshees They roared up at an angle, e in the dark stone of the support column

I looked behind us Only the open platfor no cover frorabbed ainst Shelton’s shield