Seven days of hard travel. Seven nights of hidden camps. The settlement appeared through pine trees like an answer to desperate prayer.
Small. Maybe thirty structures. Built into the mountainside with craftsman's care for concealment. Smoke rose from chimneys that dispersed it. Guards that weren't visible until they chose to be. Someone here understood survival.
"Halt." A voice from nowhere. Then three figures emerged from what Kael had thought was solid stone. "State your business."
"Refugees from the camps." Elena kept her hands visible. "Seeking sanctuary. Heard Vera takes in runners."
The guards studied them. One, a woman with burn scars, focused on Kael. "That one's got a spirit. Can feel it from here."
His painter stirred inside. Nervous. These people knew how to sense Kiratashi. How to fight them? Or just how to identify threats?
"Low Apprentice." Kael admitted. "Bound three weeks ago. Not with the Council."
"Obviously. Council dogs don't ask for sanctuary." The scarred woman gestured. "Follow. Vera decides who stays."
They were led through the settlement. Kael counted defensive positions. Escape routes. Choke points. This wasn't just refugee housing. This was a fortress disguised as a village.
People watched them pass. All ages. All wearing the same hollow look of camp survivors. But underneath... something else. Not hope exactly. But determination. Purpose.
The main building sat against the mountain. Half-carved from stone itself. Guards at the door looked competent. Alert. They'd fought before. Would again.
Inside, a woman waited.
This... Kael's spirit recoiled. Pressed flat against his ribs. This woman had power. Not visible. Not flaunted. But there. Like heat from banked coals.
"Vera." Elena breathed the name. Recognition? Relief? Fear? All three.
"Elena Morsten. Textile merchant. Camp Three survivor." Vera didn't look up from the map she studied. "Escaped two months ago. Been running north since. And..."
She did look up then. Eyes that had seen too much focused on Kael. "Interesting. Very interesting. A Thorne?"
How did she...? His birthmark pulsed. Hidden under clothes but apparently not hidden enough.
"Kael Thorne. Son of Aldric. Recently bound. Recently captured. Recently escaped." Vera stood. Circled them slowly. "The Council will tear the kingdom apart looking for you."
"I know."
"Do you?" She stopped in front of him. "Do you understand what that birthmark means? What your bloodline carries? Why they've hunted Thornes for fifteen years?"
"No." Truth. He knew they wanted him. Not why.
"Neither do I. Not fully." Vera returned to her desk. "But I know enough. Natural Kiratashi blood. Ability to bind without rituals. Other things. Dangerous things. Things the Council fears."
Natural Kiratashi? Bind without rituals? None of that matched what Garrett had taught. What he'd experienced.
"Questions for later." Vera decided. "For now... can you follow orders? Can you contribute? Can you keep that spirit controlled?"
"Yes." His painter emerged partially. Defensive. But also curious. It painted a small flower on the wall. Peaceful gesture.
"Useful. We need Kiratashi. Even Low Apprentice." Vera pointed to the scarred woman. "Darra will show you quarters. Get you fed. Explain rules. Tomorrow you start training."
"Training for what?"
"To be useful. To survive. To maybe, eventually, matter." Vera's smile held edges. "We're not hiding here. We're preparing. Building. Planning to bite back."
Bite back? Against the Council? Against the camps? Impossible. But... the determination in her voice. The number of survivors gathered. Maybe not completely impossible.
Darra led them to a smaller building. Four rooms. Currently empty. "Pick one. Meals at sixth bell. Morning training at fourth. Don't be late."
She left them to settle. The room had actual beds. Blankets without holes. Walls that didn't leak. After weeks of caves and ruins, it felt surreal.
"She knows me." Elena sat heavily on her bed. "I've never met her. But she knew my name. My history."
"Information network?"
"Has to be. But how extensive? How organized?" Elena shook her head. "This is bigger than we thought. More real. More dangerous."
More hopeful? Kael's spirit emerged fully. Explored the room. Painted improvements on the walls. Little flowers. Birds. Things that suggested life beyond survival.
A knock interrupted. The door opened to reveal a young man. Maybe sixteen. Thin in the way of camp survivors. But smiling. Actually smiling.
"Heard we got new ones. I'm Marcus. Different Marcus than you might know." He caught Kael's expression. "Yeah, we got three Marcuses here. Gets confusing. Anyway, thought you might want tour? Food? Information about how things work?"
They followed him out. The settlement revealed itself in layers. Storage buildings carved into mountain. Training grounds hidden by natural stone. Gardens growing things Kael recognized from Elena's teas.
"Thirty-eight current residents." Marcus-different-Marcus explained. "About half camp survivors. Quarter normal refugees. Quarter Kiratashi who got tired of the system."
"Kiratashi defectors?" That seemed impossible. Kiratashi served the Council. Always.
"More than you'd think. Watching people fed to spirits... some develop conscience. Some remember humanity." Marcus led them to the meal hall. "Course, some are probably spies. Vera knows. Watches. Waits to see who shows true colors."
The meal hall held twenty people. All eating. Talking. Living. The food was simple. Stew. Bread. But hot. Plentiful. Kael's first real meal in...
When had he last eaten without fear? Without rationing? Without wondering if this was the last?
"Easy." Marcus warned as Kael reached for seconds. "Body's not used to plenty. Make yourself sick eating normal again too fast."
Right. Wisdom from experience. How long had Marcus been here? How had he survived whatever camp spawned him?
"Tell them about training." Darra appeared. Apparently lunch supervisor as well as guard. "They need to understand expectations."
"Right. So. Everyone trains. Everyone contributes." Marcus counted on his fingers. "Morning is physical. Combat. Evasion. Survival skills. Afternoon is specialized. Based on what you can do."
"I'm a merchant. Was." Elena corrected. "What use is that here?"
"Logistics. Organization. Networks." Darra answered. "Vera's building more than just this settlement. Needs people who understand supply. Movement. Management."
Building more? How much more? But questions would wait. First, prove themselves useful. Trustworthy. Worth the resources they'd consume.
"Kiratashi train separate." Marcus continued. "Well, additional. You do normal training plus spirit work. Vera handles that personally. She's..."
He paused. Searching for words.
"Scary." Darra supplied. "Official rank but trained different. Knows things. Does things. Makes even experienced Kiratashi nervous."
Kael's spirit shivered agreement. It had felt Vera's power. Recognized something dangerous. Something controlled but barely.
"How many Kiratashi here?"
"Six including you. Two Low Apprentice. Three Intermediate. Vera at Official." Marcus grinned. "Not much against the Council's thousands. But we make do. Quality over quantity."
Quality. Six Kiratashi against thousands. The math was laughable. But... they weren't trying to fight directly. Were they?
"What's the actual plan?"
Silence. Marcus looked at Darra. Darra shrugged.
"Above our level. Vera shares what we need. When we need it." She stood. "For now, plan is survive. Train. Grow stronger. Rest will come when it comes."
Fair. Trust earned slowly here. Information guarded. Made sense when spies were acknowledged possibility.
They finished eating. Marcus showed them more. The medical building where Elena's salves were already known. Library with books about spirits. About binding. About resistance.
"Started with nothing." He gestured at the shelves. "Every book salvaged. Stolen. Traded for. Knowledge matters. Understanding enemy matters more."
"Where did Vera come from?" Kael had to ask. "How did this start?"
"Ask her yourself someday. Maybe." Marcus led them outside. "If she decides to trust you. If you survive long enough. If, if, if. Everything here is conditional."
Conditional but real. More real than anything since the camps. People working together. Planning. Refusing to accept the world as it was.
His spirit painted the settlement on a flat stone. Birds-eye view. Showed the defensive positions he'd noticed. The hidden paths. The kill zones. Strategic mind in paint form.
"Useful." Darra approved. "Can it do that reliably?"
"Getting stronger. Learning." Kael watched his spirit add details. Guard rotations. Sight lines. "It understands tactics somehow."
"All spirits reflect their Kiratashi. You think strategic, it paints strategic." She studied the map. "Could be very useful. Vera will want to see this."
Tomorrow. Always tomorrow here. But tomorrow with purpose. With possibility. With people who'd survived the worst and chose to fight rather than just hide.
The sun set behind mountains. Cast the settlement in shadow. But warm shadows. Safe shadows. As safe as anywhere could be in a world of monsters.
"Curfew at eighth bell." Marcus reminded. "No lights after. No movement unless emergency. Mountains have eyes. Not all friendly."
Wild spirits. Roaming Kiratashi. Council patrols. Threats everywhere. But here, tonight, walls and watchers and others who understood.
Elena had already retreated to their room. Processing. Adjusting. Hoping despite herself.
Kael watched stars emerge. His spirit painted them on stone. Added constellation lines. Patterns. Like there was meaning hidden in the sky. Maybe there was. Maybe refugees reading stars for guidance wasn't strangest thing in this world.
"She talked about you."
Darra's voice made him jump.
"Who?"
"The red-haired girl. Mya. We had someone in Camp Seven. Passed information when possible. They mentioned her. Mentioned she waited for someone. Believed someone would come."
This... Kael's throat closed. His spirit stopped painting. Curled close.
"She was right. Someone did come." Darra's expression stayed neutral. "Too late. Too weak. But came. That matters to some. Matters that she knew she mattered to someone outside."
Did it matter? When dissolution came, did knowing someone cared make it easier? Or just more bitter?
"Can't save everyone." Darra continued. "Can barely save anyone. But we try. Build networks. Gather intelligence. Sometimes rescue one or two. Better than nothing."
"Is it?"
"Has to be." She turned to go. "Get rest. Tomorrow starts hard. Gets harder. But at end, you're stronger. Maybe strong enough to matter next time."
Next time. Always next time. But what else was there? Give up? Accept? Lie down and wait for spirits to feed?
No. Not while people like Vera built resistance. Not while survivors refused surrender. Not while his spirit could paint memory and possibility and defiance.
Tomorrow he'd train. Learn. Grow. Become useful. Become dangerous. Become whatever was needed to make the feeding stop.
For Mya. For Elena's daughter. For everyone consumed while heroes were too weak to matter.
It had to be enough. Building slow. Growing careful. Preparing for someday.
Had to be.