When the S-Ranked portal appeared in the middle of downtown Phoenix, Angelo Lawrence's day went from bad to worse.

He stared at his phone for a moment. So did everyone else staged outside the A-Rank portal at Sky Harbor. They hadn't gone in. Not yet.

"I am making a strategic decision," he said slowly, thinking over his options. "Guildmaster Young, can your assistant help in an S-Ranked portal?"

"Absolutely not. Ezzie's a B-Rank. He's here to try to push to A, but an S-Rank's going to get us killed," Terrel Young, the guildmaster of the Portal Tyrants, said. Ezzie shook his head in agreement, but didn't say anything.

"Very well. Deborah, it seems I have more critical places to be. You, Terrance, Lara, and Ezzie will wait for additional A-Rank support, then attempt to clear the Sky Harbor portal. Your team is well-balanced already. Take whoever you can get, provided they are strong enough. This portal will need closing soon. Guildmaster Young, you and I will travel to the S-Ranked portal and wait for a suitable team there."

Terrel nodded. This wasn't the time for rivalries. An S-Ranked portal could mean anything from a threat that a mixed team of S and A-Rankers could handle to something all twelve S-Rankers in the Phoenix area couldn't put down together. The Carlsbad portal break represented the worst end of that scale that they knew of, but there was every possibility that what was opening in the middle of Phoenix would be worse. "Who can we get?"

"My dispatchers are contacting the Governing Council now, and requesting information on which S-Rank delvers are currently available." Angelo boarded the helicopter he'd arrived in, then offered Terrel a hand. "We will know soon."

The helicopter took off. A moment later, Angelo received a text.

Roadrunner Dispatch, G13: Hugo Martinez will be available in thirty minutes to one hour. Bernard the Wall is currently en route to the downtown portal. The Spark of Life is moving there as well. All other S-Rank delvers are unlikely to be able to respond for several hours. Attached is a list of A-Rank delvers nearing the S-Rank bottleneck who are currently available.

A tank, a healer, and an archer. With Terrel as a striker and him as a mage, that put their team in serious need of support. Angelo pored over the list, ignoring Terrel's breathing as the Portal Tyrant read over his shoulder.

They were still reading—and discussing options—when the helicopter landed. Without the correct team composition, they risked everyone dying inside the unknown S-Ranked portal. And that would be a disaster for Phoenix. Not the kind that killed a few civilians at an old ruin, but the kind that made the whole city a ruin.

Angelo had delved S-Rank portals before. Three times, in fact. That made him one of the most experienced S-Rank delvers in North America. But even so, he couldn't help but stare at the golden circle hovering mid-air, or the jet-black core within it. It looked a little like a black hole. Lightning lashed out from its center occasionally—Angelo had never seen a portal act like that before.

He offered a hand to The Spark of Life—Sarah Cullman—who took it, shook, and let go. Sarah was nothing if not professional. She'd been at the meeting with Councilwoman Myers, though she hadn't said anything. She rarely did. "Who else?"

"We are working on the final person. Right now, the team is mostly set, but we are in need of a support," he replied. "Here is the list. Does anyone jump out at you?"

The Falcon's Eye, Hugo Martinez, arrived a moment later. He was big, with one arm suspiciously stronger than the other. The massive bow he carried explained that, but it didn't explain the glare permanently written on his face, or the occasional flicker of disgust that broke it up. "Are we ready? Tucson has its own problems, and I expect you to help us in return for my help here."

Angelo was about to say something when the portal changed. The lightning grew stronger, and black clouds swirled out from the portal's dark center, forming a bank of impenetrable fog.

Something stepped out of the portal, and Angelo readied a spell.

But something felt…off. "Everyone, hold! This isn't a break!"

A boy stepped out of the fog. A very familiar-looking boy. He was unwounded, unscathed by the S-Ranked portal he'd just escaped from, but Angelo recognized him immediately. He had spent an entire evening, after all, directing his people to learn what they could about Kade Noelstra. He'd been bitterly disappointed that neither Deborah's official compensation nor her off-the-books one had been enough to sway his mind and show him that the Roadrunners were, in fact, his best option.

And now, here Kade was, an E-Ranked survivor of an S-Rank portal. Whatever he had found and done inside that S-Rank portal, just the knowledge of it would be incredibly valuable. Bringing Kade into the fold would be even better; he was quite possibly a unique person on Earth right now. Every guild in Phoenix was about to want him more than any other delver in town. And the Roadrunners were probably at the bottom of Kade's list.

Next to him, Terrel pulled out his phone and snapped a picture as Angelo tried not to curse.

I had a full Stamina bar, but I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was text Jessie, Jeff, and Ellen, and then go home and go to sleep.

Instead, as the golden portal slowly shut behind me, I found myself face to face with four of the most powerful men in Phoenix: Angelo Lawrence, the Light of Dawn; Terrel Young, the Portal Tyrant; Bernard the Wall; and the Falcon's Eye, Hugo Martinez. All four of them were staring at me. In full battle armor—the S-Rank kind, not the hodgepodge delvers wore at E and D-Rank. Ready to deal with an S-Rank portal break.

They all looked surprised to see me. I was surprised to see them, too. We watched each other for a moment; I couldn't have moved forward if I'd wanted to, their auras were flared so high. Then a woman's voice cut through the quiet.

"Kade Noelstra, correct?"

My head jerked toward the voice. The Spark of Life. She wore the same robes she had when I was a kid, when Mom and Dad had dragged Jessie to the GC center she worked at in hopes that her S-Rank healing might succeed where medicine and healers had all failed before. The same sad eyes watched me over her half-hearted smile.

The Portal Tyrant cleared his throat. "I've heard about you, kid. If you just survived what I think you did, the Portal Tyrants are very interested in having you on board. We could fast-track you to A-Rank."

"Any guild can fast-track him to A-Rank," the Falcon's Eye interrupted. "We're the only ones who can offer him his own private town."

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"So that makes you the most qualified to understand what he's just done? What that means?" Terrel Young spat. Then his eyes locked onto the sword that was still in my hand. The obviously C-Rank, masterfully crafted dueling blade. "What's that, boy?"

Angelo didn't say anything. He just watched. But his eyes said everything I needed to hear. They were hard. Angry—but not at me. He was furious about something else. I didn't know what, and I didn't want to find out. There were four S-Rankers here, and they'd all seen me step out of that portal.

This was bad.

I didn't want to be headhunted. Not by the Phoenix guilds, not by Tucson and the Iron Falcons, and not by the Governing Council. And I definitely didn't want to be here, with three guild leaders powerful enough to destroy half of the city. But I didn't see a way out, and now that the Portal Tyrant had seen my sword, none of them could look away from it. I could practically hear them salivating. So I stood there and listened as Terrel Young and the Falcon's Eye pitched their guilds, and Angelo stared.

Then I shook my head. "Thank you, but no. I need to talk to my sister and my teammates. They need to know I'm alright."

I started walking. Three S-Rankers' eyes bored into the back of my head, but I didn't turn around. I could feel their annoyance. Any of them could have crushed me for ignoring them, no matter how polite I was. But I'd been dealing with powers beyond my ability to fight all day, and I was too tired to care.

A hand lowered onto my shoulder. Angelo cleared his throat. "Mr. Noelstra, you do not understand what you have. I do. That is a gift from the portal, is it not? The Roadrunners could make use of it. Come with me, and I can resolve your conflict with Deborah in an instant. You want that, correct?"

I did. But I couldn't think. I reached up to move Angelo's hand, but it wouldn't budge.

One set of footfalls fell in step next to me. The Spark of Life. "Let him go. You'll have your shots at him, but Kade doesn't need any of your greedy bullshit right now."

Angelo's hand lifted like he'd been burned. "Fine. I will be in touch soon, Kade Noelstra."

"Looking forward to it," I muttered. Then I started walking. Most of the S-Rankers stood there, staring at my back. I unsummoned Tallas's Dueling Blade.

Behind me, The Spark of Life cleared her throat. "You don't have a ride here, do you? I'll take you to the GC center of your choice, or to your home."

I stopped walking. "You're not going to recruit me?"

"No. There wouldn't be any point in trying. They're trying to get the jump on each other. The Governing Council can't offer you anything you don't already have. That doesn't mean we won't try, but I'm also aware enough to know that tonight's not the night. Where to?"

The choice was easy. "Peoria. I want to go home," I said.

The Spark of Life nodded. "I'm Sarah."

Sarah, it turned out, drove a beater of a car. She revved the engine until it caught, then pulled out of the parking structure. The ride across downtown and toward Peoria was mercifully quiet, which gave me some time to text the people I needed to.

Kade: I'm okay. On my way home. You three are in a group chat.

Jessie: Screw you Kade. I'm going to kill you!

I snorted. The Spark of Life looked at me briefly, eyebrow raised, then looked at the road.

Ellen: I'm with Jessie at the Peoria GC center. We're on our way to your place. 20 minutes.

Kade: You mean 30, right?

Kade: right?

Ellen: No. The roads are empty. Deimos can really cut loose. I'll make sure Jessie buckles up, though.

Kade: Okay. I'll tell you all about what happened once we're home.

Jeff: Thanks. For coming back.

Kade: Nothing was going to keep me from getting back home.

I settled back into the duct-tape-covered seat and stared at the city as Sarah, The Light of Dawn, drove me home. There were portals everywhere, from the blues and greens of E and D-Ranks to a pair of angry-looking reds and a single, purple A-Rank portal. "There's a team clearing those," Sarah said. She seemed like she didn't want to talk, but couldn't stay quiet. I let the silence hang; it was more comfortable than forcing a conversation neither of us wanted.

Everything else, across the city, was quiet. I checked my phone. They'd put all of Phoenix under a curfew and shelter-in-place order while I'd been away. It was a little eerie, driving the evening streets without another car on the road, with every business dark and every house and apartment lit up.

We pulled up right outside my apartment. I opened the door. "Thanks," I said. I stepped out and shut the door.

The window rolled down. "No problem."

"Why help me, though?"

"I wish I could have done more for your sister," The Light of Dawn said.

"You remember her?" That was shocking. She had to see dozens of people every day. To remember a single girl from years ago…

"I remember all of my failures. There was nothing wrong with her—at least, nothing I could understand or fix. I've kept tabs on her progress, and it looks like she's finding her way in a hostile world. I hope she continues to do so. I hope you do, too. They're going to be all over you like flies on shit. I've bought you a night, though. I'm sorry I couldn't do more. For both of you."

"Thank you," I said. Then I headed inside to face Ellen, Jeff, and the most frightening encounter I'd had all day—my furious, terrified fifteen-year-old sister.

It took Jessie an hour to calm down.

And in the end, she only stopped because her elbow and shoulder literally would not cooperate to punch me again.

I let it happen. Let her scream and yell at me about how stupid I'd been. About how much she'd worried for the last hour. About how scared she'd been, and how furious she was. Her punches didn't hurt; I didn't even need to use Stamina to mitigate them. But before she could calm down, she needed to let her anger and frustration out, and there wasn't anyone else to let it out on.

Besides, she wasn't trying to hurt me. Not really. I hugged her the whole time, as much to let her lean on me as anything else. And then, when she stopped, I let her go. She sat down on the fake leather recliner; Ellen shot her a momentary look, but didn't say anything.

Neither she nor Jeff had said anything in the hour it took to work Jessie through her frustration.

For a few moments, my apartment's living room was quiet. Then I took a deep breath. "You want to know what happened, right?"

"Yes," Ellen said. Jeff didn't say anything. He just stared with shockingly red eyes, then nodded.

"Okay. I'm still trying to understand it, but I'll do my best."

And I dove into my explanation. It took a long time, with Ellen and Jeff asking questions as I went. Jessie was asleep in the armchair before I even got to the God of Thunder's conversation with me, and I'd skipped over most of the fight with Tallas. I'd have to re-explain it all to her again later.

After I finished, no one said anything for a while. Then Jeff cleared his throat. "I'm glad you're safe, Kade. I didn't want to lose you—not when I'm so close, and not after everything we've been through. Did the Spark of Life say anything about how widespread this portal surge is?"

"No. We were mostly quiet. She talked about Jessie a little at the end, though. I guess what Sophia said is true: healers really do struggle with their failures more than everyone else."

"Right." Jeff sounded unsure about that. He went quiet, then pulled out his phone. "I need to check how bad it is at Carlsbad. It'd be just my luck to be a day late. I'll be right back."

Ellen opened her mouth to question him, then stopped when I shot her a quick look. Instead, she focused on me. "So, you got a whole extra boss fight in, huh? I bet your skill levels are through the roof. I hit D-Rank on another merge from Loram."

"Right, my status." I hadn't even checked it—not since before the Loram fight in the C-Rank portal. I started to pull them up, then stopped. "I'll look later. It's probably not much."

Ellen snorted. "You should look now." Then she looked at my eyes and nodded. "Or later. Later's good, too."

I closed my eyes for a long time, until I felt someone sit down next to me. Ellen put an arm around my shoulder. I let it sit there, and she pulled me in for a side hug. "Kade Noelstra, you're a madman, you know that? Fighting C-Rankers solo—"

"He was A-Rank, but fighting down to C," I said dramatically. "Don't belittle my accomplishment!"

"Sure. A-Rankers fighting down solo, talking to lightning dragon gods, and telling three guildmasters to go screw themselves. I'm starting to think your sister's right, and that you're a walking bad decision."

I nodded, slowly disentangled myself, and stood up. "I need a little time to think. Let's talk tomorrow, okay?"

Ellen stood as well. "I'll let Jeff know you're shutting down for the night. Thanks for not leaving me alone here."

"I said you were stuck with me, right? I'm no liar," I said. Ellen gave me one more quick hug, then headed for the door. And, with my apartment finally quiet, I laid down on the couch, pulled up my status, and stared at it, eyes widening. "What the hell?"

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