Arcanius by Toby Neighbors

city’s third level.
    “We did it,” Lexi told Dancer. “Now you can rest until morning.”
The wind glider cooed, wrapped its long tail around Lexi’s neck, then lay down on her shoulder. Lexi worked her way down and around the city, into the darker, narrower streets. She stayed in the shadows where she felt safest and looked for the landmarks that she used to navigate her way around the circular city. There were taverns and brothels on the lower levels of the city that never closed. Inns that only opened after the sun went down and catered to crowds that preferred the dark, shadowy interiors to any establishment on the upper levels of the city. Lexi made her way with confidence, even in the darkness. She was looking for someone, but she had to admit it felt good being home.

Chapter 7
    Tiberius
    There was a light burning in the kitchen, and servants were starting to make the first loaves of bread for the day. There were still several hours before dawn, but the work in the palace kitchens rarely stopped. Tiberius and Rafe slipped over the fence that surrounded the chicken coop. The birds were sleeping and didn’t notice.
    “Just like old times,” Rafe whispered, referring to their teenage years.
    Tiberius remembered sneaking out of the palace with Rafe and roaming the city, then coming back in through the very same chicken coop.
    “Some things never change,” Tiberius replied.
    They opened the wooden door that led to a dark room where animals were slaughtered. The room was scrubbed clean almost daily but still smelled of death. Just beyond the butcher room was the palace kitchen. It was a huge space with massive ovens and long wooden work tables where meals were prepared. Lights had been lit near the ovens where a gaggle of servants were mixing dough and greasing pans to make the dozens of loaves that would be consumed by the earl’s family and city officials that made the palace their home. The side of the kitchen near the butcher room was dark, and Tiberius slipped quickly through the kitchen and into another dark corridor that was used by the servants. There was a narrow set of stairs, and Rafe followed Tiberius up toward the third floor where the earl’s residence was located.
    They cast off the cloaks and then quietly slipped into the wide hallway that led to the earl’s bedchamber. A guard stood outside the door, and there were lamps burning in sconces along the hallway. Tiberius and Rafe walked slowly toward the guard, neither trying to hide their identity. The guard was a young soldier and he recognized them as they came close.
    At first his mouth hung open in surprise, and then he raised his spear.
    “We aren’t here to hurt anyone,” Tiberius said, raising his hands.
    “You were banished. You can’t be here,” the guard said.
    “My father is very sick,” Tiberius said. “I’ve come to see him one last time.”
    “But how? I saw you leave the city.”
    “We’ve been across the blighted lands and back,” Rafe said with a cocky smile. “Want to hear about it?”
    “Well, yeah, but I can’t let you go in there,” the guard said. “No one can go in except his healers.”
    “Are they helping him?” Tiberius asked.
    “They’re making him comfortable. It’s all they can do. He’s unconscious. He won’t know you didn’t come.”
    “But I did come,” Tiberius said. “And I really do have to see him. What harm can I do? He’s dying, isn’t he?”
    “Well…” the guard looked as if he had never considered that possibility.
    “And I can promise you that he will be alive when I leave,” Tiberius said.
    “I can stand watch with you,” Rafe said. “I’ll help you pass the time.”
    “I guess you are his son,” the guard said, and Tiberius knew they had won him over.
    “Thank you,” Tiberius said.
    “Did you really cross the blighted lands?” the guard asked Rafe.
    “Yes, and there are things down there you wouldn’t believe,” Rafe began.
    Tiberius held back his