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footsteps coming his way. He turned and bumped into a table. The furry creature leapt down from his shoulders and shouted, “Watch wherrrre you’re going!”
    “Atc,” Vul said from the other side of the door. “You silly thing. I’ll feed you.”
    “Vul, no—”
    The door swung open, and Eref stood still, trapped between the chair and the table.
    Vul screamed.

Chapter Three

    The Pyre

    Balor crept through Dark World. He hid in the revolting shade of the trees. Nothing could stop him from hunting Eref down. Not even this horrible place could dissuade him, though it came close.
    When Eref had disappeared so mysteriously, suspicion had turned to Balor. Nothing he said had convinced the Light People that he had no part in freeing Eref.
    “You were working with him!” they had insisted.
    “No! I’m eighteen! I’m eighteen!”
    But they’d hurled stones at him anyway. People had shouted and cursed and even beaten him with their own fists until Headmaster Lesur had come to stop them.
    “What are you doing? This student of mine was misled by the criminal Eref, but he has been saved by his age. His is no longer capable of following evil. Leave him alone.”
    The people had retreated, but the look in their eyes told Balor he was a dead man. One of these days, when he let his guard down…
    Balor had heard the whispers. Eref had escaped. He’d planned this all along. He was living as a king in Dark World, building an army. Waiting to take over Light World.
    So Balor knew he had to prove himself. The Governors would thank him. All of Light World would thank him. When he returned victorious with Eref’s head, things would be good again. He could live a happy, normal life. The hero of Light World.
    He had sneaked into Headmaster Lesur’s office, stolen the rare dark-vision glasses they used to study shadows in class, and hurried to the End. It didn’t take much to get past the lazy soldiers guarding the area. Those idiots believed everyone was too afraid to come near.
    But not Balor. He wasn’t afraid of Eref. He would kill him with his bare hands.
    And then, with a deep breath, he had dropped down through the hole.
    The fall was long, and it had dropped him into the blackest, ugliest world he’d ever imagined. Even as a child, Balor hadn’t thought of Dark World like….
    What had he thought?
    On the ground, Balor scratched an itch at the back of his head and adjusted the glasses. Moist, mossy trees spread their branches low all around him. When he moved, their slimy vines slid across his shoulders. When he stepped, the swampy earth squished beneath his feet.
    The air blew warm, clammy breezes that made Balor feel as though he were breathing underwater. And the smell . Revolting. Flowers, thick with water and the scent of tangy mint, oozed odors by his nose. Nausea threatened at his throat.
    But Balor was stronger than that. He thought of home. He focused on the bright, dry light that kept everyone healthy and safe. He remembered the logical structure of his world, so unlike what appeared to be a vague, circular layout in Dark World.
    Balor’s homeland made sense. Clay homes atop tall, dry, sturdy stones in the Northeast and Southeast. In the Northwest stood the Lightcare, where the sick or elderly went to die in peace.
    Three essential structures made up the middle of Light World: the Light, on the west end, where everyone worshipped twice a week; the Learning, their school on the east end; and in between, the largest, most impressive building in Light World. The Center.
    The Center, to which all roads in Light World ran. No one could reach any destination without first traveling to the massive white structure at the heart of their world. It stood so high that only the Governors who lived there knew how many stories tall it was.
    From the Center, the Governors sent forth new decrees, lesson plans, and laws. They blessed gems. And, of course, the Eighteener Entrance took place there.
    Balor scratched his