The Lightning Wastes (The Traveler's Gate Chronicles: Collection #3) by Will Wight Page A

Torannus, Feiora's brother, had been another Overlord. Before she sealed him into a block of solid crystal for treachery and attempted regicide.
    Leah glared at the Overlord of Cana. “I'll let him out at any time, if you think she won't mind me executing him instead.”
    Indirial put on a thoughtful look. “No...no, I don't think that would win you any friends. Besides, she has a point. She's got enough trouble keeping her people from panicking to hunt an Incarnation down. What would she do if she found it?”
    Leah had to resist raising a hand to her pounding head. She always got a headache after meeting the Overlords. Instead, she scooped up a report detailing the number of Travelers under her direct command.
    “How many Endross Travelers did you have working for you?” she asked.
    “Six.”
    “Can you find any of them now?”
    “I'd bet I can tell you exactly where they are.” Indirial craned his neck and looked meaningfully out the flap of the tent.
    A few miles distant, but still clearly visible, the city of Cana glowed like a cherry-red sunset. The whole capitol, from wall to wall, was covered by a shining dome of scarlet light.
    Sealed by the power of the Ragnarus Incarnation. No one had been in or out since the Incarnations first escaped, over three months before.
    Leah found herself wondering whether any of the Endross Travelers were still alive. Whether anyone was alive, under the dome, or if their blood, minds, and souls had been used as fuel for the weapons of the Crimson Vault.
    “I don't see any on the list,” Leah said, scanning it quickly.
    Indirial leaned forward, shuffling through her papers. “I think there's...ah, yes, here we go. One of Cana's weather-workers made it out before the city was sealed.”
    Leah took the paper he offered her. “An Endross weather-worker? I never knew Cana had one.”
    “The weather in Cana's pretty mild, so she had an easier job than most, but she warded off her fair share of storms.”
    She stared at the one single name under the “Endross” column, as though she could make it multiply by sheer force of will. “Where are the others? Even counting the people trapped in Cana, we should have seen some Endross Travelers from other cities.”
    Indirial hesitated for a moment before speaking. “This is just hearsay, you understand, but I've talked to the other Overlords. They're all missing Endross Travelers. I'd go so far as to say we're missing maybe half of all the Endross-trained Travelers in the kingdom.”
    “Where did they go?” Leah asked. Her tone sounded much more harsh than she meant; she sounded like she was going to track them down and strangle them all one by one.
    That didn't sound like such a bad plan, actually.
    “With the King dead, and the Incarnations loose, and no Overlord specifically looking over their shoulder, where do you think they went?” Indirial leaned over the map. “Some of them probably deserted, I'm sure some of them started following their Incarnation around, and I'd bet most of them took the excuse to move to their Territory. You know how Endross is.”
    Endross itself was a blasted landscape, half storm-wracked desert and half deadly jungle. Endross Travelers were the only ones crazy enough to try and live there.
    Leah stood up, taking care not to put any weight on the unsteady desk. “Since the Overlords are unwilling to do their jobs, I'll have to go myself.”
    Indirial pulled his cloak off the chair. “I figured as much. Let's go get that weather-worker, she can guide us.”
    She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Not us, Indirial. I have a different assignment for you.”
    The Overlord's eyebrows raised. “You can't go without a bodyguard.”
    “I need you to hunt down the Endross Incarnation. Kill it if you can, but if not, drive it away from the populated areas.”
    He nodded thoughtfully. “Huh. Yeah, there's no one else around to do the job. Very well, my Queen, I live to serve.” He gave her a little