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And then Jace saw what he what he hoped to see. The dragon knew the prize behind the Implicit Maze. Jace saw it too, and realized the power of it. And then he understood why Niv-Mizzet had set his entire guild to the cause of solving it.

As the Izzet gate closed and Jace’s contact with the dragon dissipated, Jace sensed that his intrusion had been noticed. The attention of the dragon surrounded him for that moment, like a predator’s gaze latching onto its prey, curious and unsettlingly patient.

***

“Jace, it’s good that you’re back,” said Kavin.

Jace had returned to his sanctum and slammed the door behind him. He huffed inadequate breaths and tried to calm himself. His vedalken compatriot Kavin was there, presumably still working on the fragments of the code they had found, still agonizingly piecing together what Jace had learned all in one blazing moment.

“Kavin, we have to talk.”

Kavin waved a sheaf of papers, covered in his neat hand in fresh ink. “Yes, you’re correct. Because you’ll want to hear this. I have discovered something.”

“So have I.”

“Excellent. Now, then. I’ve been researching all the samples we’ve collected. The stonework, the rubbings, the artifacts. And I’ve found a pattern.”

“Kavin.”

“The code. It’s a version of an antiquated Azorius legal script, dating back hundreds, maybe thousands of years. We’ll have to find someone who can decipher it, naturally. But in fact, I happen to have some facility with Azorius runes. Call it an old hobby—”

“Kavin, listen.”

“I wasn’t seeing it before, because we weren’t arranging them right, and our samples are incomplete and worn by time. But I’ve been able to surmise some of the terms and concepts to which it refers.”

“Kavin, I know what the code means.”

Kavin blinked. “You do?”

“I’ve done some … surveillance. The Izzet are investigating the same mystery that we are.”

Kavin cocked his head an inch. “You were following Izzet guild members?”

“They’ve unlocked something related to the code.”

“Wait. You used magic to invade their minds?”

“I gained some of their knowledge, yes.”

“Jace, interfering in guild business can be very dangerous.”

“A path. They have begun to piece together a particular path.”

Kavin held up his notes. “That’s what I’ve learned, as well. There are repeated mentions in the stonework about a ‘path that winds through civilization,’ a ‘path leading to great promise.’ ”

Jace nodded. “The Izzet think of it as a maze.”

“A maze, yes, that’s a better translation. So, you’ve learned where this maze is?”

“It doesn’t seem to be a maze in the traditional sense. The maze seems to lead from landmark to landmark—it’s built into the very structure of the existing districts. An implicit maze. That’s why we’ve seen the Izzet showing up repeatedly, doing experiments around the Tenth—they’re uncovering the route through this maze. All this time you and I have been finding the breadcrumbs of the same trail they’ve been following.”

Jace watched Kavin absorb these revelations. The vedalken’s face rarely showed emotion the way humans did, but Jace could tell that he was struggling. This mystery was a thrill to his own curious mind, but Jace could tell that his compatriot had grave doubts about whether to pursue it.

“Jace, the Izzet are not just scholarly rivals. Their guildmaster does not take kindly to competition.”

“I know. But it’s not the competition that concerns me. It’s what lies at the end of the maze. I think it’s something that could prove very, very dangerous. It’s something that could alter the balance of the guilds. Something that could impact our entire world.”

“What is it?”

Jace wondered whether even to tell Kavin what he had grasped from Niv-Mizzet’s mind. But this was the end of their research. This was the answer they had sought. “Power. The Izzet believe this maze leads to some form of great power. Perhaps even a weapon. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, and I don’t think Niv-Mizzet does, either.”

Kavin’s eyes widened at the mention of the dragon’s name, but Jace went on.

“But this maze, this code, all of this—it’s old. It’s something that was built into the districts long, long ago. If it’s something that inspires such obsession in a dragon, if it’s something he thinks is worthy of his time, then it’s probably something that shouldn’t fall into his hands. We have to chase this, Kavin. We need to learn what’s at the end of this maze before the dragon does. But there’s an even more pressing problem.”

“Jace, who exactly provided you with this information?”

Jace picked at the seam of his cloak. “That’s the problem.”

“Who was it?”

“The dragon, Niv-Mizzet himself. I saw it, all of this, in his mind. And he may have seen me, too.”

“Jace …” Kavin squeezed his eyes shut. He pressed his fingers to his blue-skinned forehead until purplish blotches formed around his fingertips, and drew several deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again, his words came slow with forced patience. “The answer is no.”