The tunnel arced up. Light shone at its end, bouncing off the walls to faintly reach them. Although many of the previous areas had been dimly lit, the light that shone down ahead of them appeared bright, full of warmth and vigor. Maybe a little too much warmth and vigor, in fact. As they approached the top of the tunnel, heat bore down on them. Levi wiped his brow. He squinted toward the light. After so long in dim and dark settings, even that much light was too much for him. “Is there a desert ahead of us, or something?”

  “You’ll see.”

  The heat grew more and more intense. In a refreshing change from the swamp, it was a dry heat. Less refreshing was how omnipresent and vicious the heat was. Even in the dark, there was no reprieve. Not a single hint of coolness, nowhere to be found. All the liquid had been sucked out of the air, and it began to leave their bodies as well. Colin shut his mouth firmly and refused to open it again. Isa walked quietly, eyes slightly squinted against the heat like a cat in the sun.

  “Reminds me of Vegas in summer. That place is an oven. A hundred and twenty on the mercury, and once that starts reflecting off the asphalt… whoo-ee. And it’s so damn dry. You step out into that heat, and you feel yourself baking. All the liquid leaves your body…” Levi paused. “Feels pretty much like this, yeah.”

  “What were you doing in Vegas?” Colin asked.

  “Gambling? Drinking? Wasting money? What else does one do in Vegas?” Levi asked.

  Colin squinted at him. “No way you’re old enough to drink.”

  Levi opened his mouth, then paused. He waggled his brows rather than reply.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Colin muttered.

  The heat grew even more intense. The earthen walls were dry and cracked here. Burned dust littered the floor, along with something that looked a little like ash. Levi kicked a grey brick of the stuff, and it fell apart, just like ash. He frowned, then looked at Isa. “No way.”

  She smiled mysteriously.

  “I mean, it’s clever as hell. Props to whoever did it. But there ain’t no way.”

  “Ain’t no way… what?” Colin asked.

  Levi ran off without answering. He vanished around the next bend.

  “It’s too hot for that,” Colin muttered.

  Isa looked at him. “Can you feel heat?”

  “Not really? It’s dull, like pain or cold or… pretty much anything. But I can feel my flesh drying out. It’s making me stiff,” Colin complained.

  She nodded. Her eyes returned to their slit state.

  Around the bend, Levi stopped dead. Colin almost collided with him as he turned the corner and yelped in surprise. “What—Levi, why?”

  Levi pointed ahead of them. A fire raged in the path ahead. Two large metal grates were wedged into the wall, spanning the room over the fire, and a heavy door that hinged at the floor blocked the way out. “It’s an oven! We’re literally stuck in an oven!”

  Isa laughed. “If you weren’t high enough level, you’d have already baked before you made it here.”

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  “And I’m not gonna bake now.” Levi charged the door. He leaped the flames, landing on their far side.

  Startled, Colin raised his staff high. Gold light chased after Levi.

  He planted his feet, digging his heels into the white-hot ashes. The leather of his boots crisped, the thicker soles singing while the uppers and laces lit up directly. He drew back his fist.

  On his back, the Armalgam perked up. The smaller four arms grabbed Levi’s shoulders, bracing themselves and twisting their body to put Handy on his right side. As Levi punched, so too did Handy.

  Levi’s hand stopped short of the door, but Handy connected. The huge fist impacted the door with a resounding THROOM. The metal caved in, and the door slit open at the time.

  Levi pointed. The Spinal Cord shot up, wrapping on something outside of the oven. It pulled, retracting him upward. At the top of the door, he swung on the Spinal Cord. As he swung toward the door, he unleashed another punch. The door fell open, hinges creaking and squealing the whole way.

  “Go, go, go!” Levi shouted. He swung himself back and forward on the Spinal Cord like a little kid on a swing. As he reached the apex of his swing, he released the Spinal Cord, leaping forward. It retracted around him as he flew through the air, over the open door. Reaching up, Levi pulled at the Armalgam. Its spine straps wiggled down his body, and it squatted under his feet. Levi crouched atop it. The two of them slammed down. The Armalgam rushed forward the second it touched the ground, scurrying forward like a deranged skateboard. It ran over the open oven door and out into the cool world beyond.

  Levi turned back. Isa flew behind him, carrying Colin in her grasp. Gold light still coiled around his feet. With the initial adrenaline rush over, the pain of the burns started to kick in. Levi hissed aloud, wrinkling his nose. He lowered to a crouch to put some of his weight on his hands instead of his feet. “Fucking hell. I forgot how much burns hurt.”

  A vicious shout broke the quiet. Levi looked up, drawn back to reality. The oven opened up to a village square. It should have looked idyllic, with Victorian-style beam-and-plaster houses, except for the people who populated it. Painted in the eerie, flickering light of the flames, they appeared grotesque, as monsters. Levi blinked, and their forms settled. Not monsters at all, but human.

  Human, but barely. Their eyes gleamed with a horrific savagery. Muscles bulged far beyond what any human could achieve on some, while others had distortedly long limbs or too many joints. Hair hung lanky and damp around their faces, and horns of all description poked through it. Some twisted upright, like a unicorn’s horn. Others curled on either side of their bearer’s head like ram’s horns. Some of them even had three or four horns, bursting forth with overgrown twists and turns at random. They wore clothes, but the clothes were old, bleached, and patched, repaired here and there with more modern, rugged clothes—clearly the gear of adventurers who had met with a tragic fate.

  All of them stared at Levi and the others with big, wide eyes. A strange emotion glimmered in their eyes, something like desire, but not quite. A deep need, one that flickered with the flames reflected on their pupils. One wiped his spit, sucking it back into his mouth with a loud slurp. They surrounded them, and as they stood there, more walked up from the homes and back alleys, completely blocking off the path ahead in a loose semicircle.

  “The locals look friendly. What do you guys think?” Levi quipped.

  “Don’t be deceived. They only want you for your body,” Isa returned.

  Levi raised his brows. He grinned and pointed at her. “Didn’t know you had it in you!”

  “I think we should run,” Colin said, catching himself as Isa set him down. She landed beside him, and the two of them quickly crossed to Levi’s side.

  Sitting on the Armalgam, Levi reached out and slapped Colin’s ankle, pushing mana into his body to heal away how much he’d baked. “I’d say we should fight, but… I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a bit toasty after that stint in the oven.”

  “Same,” Colin agreed.

  “So… run to fight another day?”

  Isa nodded shortly. Colin nodded a little faster. The gold light from his staff pulsed, surging into Levi’s feet.

  The pain faded. Levi tentatively set his feet on the ground, trying them out. Only faint pain came forth, so he jumped upright and hopped off the Armalgam. It clambered up onto his back. “On three?”

  The townsfolk leaped up. They rushed at the three of them. Steel shone as they drew weapons from under their clothes.

  “Onetwothreego!” Levi shouted, sprinting off.

  Colin and Isa chased after him. The three of them raced at the closing wall of human flesh as the townsfolk rushed toward them.