Richard opened his mouth to unch into his version of events, but Jace cut him off with a raised hand, and to her amusement, his mouth snapped shut and silenced him.

  “Actually, before story time,” she said, “we need to decide where we’re going. We can’t stay down here forever.”

  Richard gave her an angry look, then pointed at the map. “This looks like the shortest route out. A day, maybe two. We get above ground, find a guard post, someone in charge, maybe someone who can…”

  Marian winced. “Yeah, uh, that’s a real bad pn.” She leaned over the map, shaking her head hard enough that her hair whipped. “Actually, that would be a terrible idea.”

  Jace tilted her head. “Why?”

  Hina murmured something in the dungeon nguage. Jace understood; Richard didn’t.

  “Hina,” Jace said gently. “English, please.”

  Hina nodded, settling back on her heels. “If we go to the surface near the necropolis entrance, our master's family will find us."

  Marian nodded, "I agree, they, or their allies, always watch the exits. If they see us without our old masters, they will know they are dead and even if they were fighting with senior members, they were still family.”

  Richard frowned. “So, what, we just wander around down here forever?”

  “You don’t understand,” Marian gave him a pained look. “If the families catch us, they’ll most likely kill us. All of us.” She looked at Jace. “They don’t tolerate escaped sves. Especially not summons.”

  Jace leaned closer to the map. “All right, dies. What are our options?”

  The two exchanged a nervous look.

  “Well,” Hina began slowly, “the city surrounds the necropolis on three sides. The closest districts are not good pces. Slums, really, although mostly deserted, full of criminals or those hiding from the families.”

  “Sounds like a great pce to blend in.” Richard shrugged.

  Jace grinned. “You’d get mugged in five minutes.”

  Marian shook her head. “The powerful families, like the ones who owned us, live to the south. Huge estates, like something you see on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Guards everywhere. We wouldn’t st five seconds.”

  “Then neither of those pces sounds good,” Jace said.

  “Yes, master.” Marian rotated the map. “To the north is the religious quarter. Priests, temples, and quite a number of schors. We might find a pce there, but dungeon sves would be rare.”

  She gnced at her friend.

  “They’re strict,” Hina said, “but they don’t like the families much. Some say they protect summons, but we don’t know if it's true.”

  Marian tapped another exit. “Honestly? I think the guilds are our best bet.”

  Richard leaned over the map. “Guilds?”

  Marian nodded. “There are guild districts all over the city. Some magical, most not. Markets, workshops, trade halls, those types of things. But I’m guessing.

  “Guessing?” Jace echoed.

  “We’ve never been there,” Hina admitted. “Everything we know is from listening to others. We might be wrong.”

  Marian added, “Not totally wrong. Hina traveled more than I did; she went with the little mistress sometimes.”

  “Yes,” she replied, “but mostly to temples. Remember, her grandfather was a priest. But I have never been to the guild district.”

  Jace rubbed her forehead. “Still, it sounds like our best choice.”

  Marian shrugged. “Could be good, could be bad. As I said, we’ve never been there.”

  She nodded for the two of them to continue.

  “Now, there are farming communities beyond the city,” Marian said, pointing to another part of the map. “Farther out, more vilges. Although from what I have been told, it is peaceful, but also dangerous. Monsters roam the countryside. Not necropolis monsters, wolves, big cats, giant lizards, but monsters still.”

  Hina added, “And the farther you get from the city, the less protection there is. You’re at the mercy of whatever’s hungry.”

  Richard sighed. “So, everything sucks. Still… vilges don’t sound too bad. Monsters I can handle.”

  Jace gave him a ft look.

  He bristled. “What?”

  “Nothing, so, we don’t have a lot of choices." She then bit her lip and sat up straighter. “Okay, since the girls have to stay with me, we need to find a pce where we can disappear. Somewhere, the families won’t look.”

  Hina bowed her head. “Yes, master.”

  Richard blinked. “Still weird hearing that.”

  Marian shrugged. “Trust me, it’s weirder saying it.”

  Jace exhaled slowly. “Even weirder for it to be directed at me.”

  Richard tapped the map. “Cool the guild districts sound good and if it's anything like back home, I bet these people care more about money than who you are.”

  Marian nodded thoughtfully. “And if we’re lucky, they’ll just ignore us.”

  Jace didn’t answer right away, then finally made a decision, as it was hers to make. “Okay,” she said finally. “Guild districts, it is. However, if anything looks wrong, we disappear into the wilds.”

  Richard nodded, leaning over the map again. “Alright, then the shortest route… take this corridor, then those stairs, then that big hall. We’re topside in a day or two.”

  Hina shook her head, pointing at a safer route.

  Marian, still studying the map, paused, then looked up at Jace.

  “Okay, I gotta ask,” she said. “Where exactly are you from? Because you don’t sound like any summons I’ve ever heard.”

  Hina smiled. “Yes. Your words are very polite. Like… um…” She slipped into the dungeon nguage, searching for the right phrasing.

  “Hina,” Jace reminded gently.

  “Ah, sorry.” Hina bowed. “I mean… You speak like a priestess, or someone from one of the old families.”

  “Formal,” Marian snapped her fingers. “Yeah! Like a super posh, ‘fancy grandma’ version.”

  Jace blinked. “I’m speaking normally.”

  Marian ughed. “No, you’re really not.”

  Hina smiled, “We understand you, master. Well, mostly. But people will notice.”

  Richard looked between them. “What do you mean by ‘old style’? She sounds normal to me.”

  “That’s because you don’t understand half the words she uses,” Marian said.

  Hina nodded. “Very beautiful. Very strange.”

  Jace closed her eyes, remembering her dreams. “I didn’t realize.”

  Marian shrugged. “How could you? Just, if we go into the guild districts, people are gonna notice.”

  Hina slipped into the dungeon nguage again, sounding worried. Jace transted automatically. “She says… your accent makes you sound important. Maybe too important.”

  Marian grimaced. “Yeah. Like someone the families would want to grab. Or someone the priests would bow to. Either way, not great.”

  Jace exhaled slowly. “So, I can’t blend in.”

  “Not even a little,” Marian chuckled. “But hey, it’s not all that bad.”

  Jace looked at the group, then nodded. “Then we need to pick a route were standing out won’t get us killed.”