Humans are weapons. We singers revere Passion, do we not? How can we throw away such an excellent channeling of it?

—Musings of El, on the first of the Final Ten Days

Kaladin woke with a start, ready to fight.

He struggled, his heart racing as he found his hands bound. Why? What was happening? He grunted, thrashing in the darkness, and …

He started to remember.

He’d tied his hands together on purpose, to prevent him from punching someone who woke him, like he’d done to Dabbid yesterday. He gasped, fighting the terror as he huddled against the wall. Kaladin told himself the visions were only nightmares, but he still wanted to claw at his own skull. Burrow into it, pull out all the terrible thoughts, the overwhelming darkness. Storms. He was … he was …

He was so tired.

Eventually he managed to calm himself enough to free his hands. He searched around the black chamber, but saw nothing. They hadn’t left out any lights. Teft, however, was snoring softly.

Everything was all right. Kaladin was … was all right.…

He fumbled around his mat, looking for the canteen he’d placed there when going to sleep. What had awakened him? He remembered a … a song. A distant song.

He found the canteen, but then saw a light on the wall. Faint, almost invisible even in the darkness. Hesitant, he wiped the sweat from his brow, then reached out and touched the garnet. A voice, so very quiet, spoke in his mind.

… help … please …

Storms. The tower spren sounded frail.

“What is wrong? They found the last node?”

Yes … at … the model …

The model? Kaladin frowned, then remembered the large model of the tower in the infirmary room. In there? Near the Radiants?

Storms. That was where his parents were.

There is something else … so … much … worse.…

“What?” Kaladin demanded. “What could be worse?”

They will … soon kill … all the Radiants.…

“The Radiants?” Kaladin said. “The captive ones?”

… Please … send … me Rlain.…

The voice faded along with the light. Kaladin took a deep breath, trembling. Could he do this again? He took out a sphere, then woke Teft.

The other bridgeman came awake, grabbing Kaladin by the arm reflexively. His grip was weak. Despite what he said, the time in a coma had left him enervated.

I have to fight, Kaladin thought. I’m the only one who can.

“What is it?” Teft said.

“Something’s happening,” Kaladin said. “The tower’s spren woke me, saying the final node has been located. The Sibling told me the Radiants are in danger, and asked me to send Rlain. I think they meant to send Rlain to Navani, like we’d been planning. Our hand seems to have been forced. We need to try to rescue the Radiants.”

Teft nodded, groaning as he sat up.

“You don’t seem surprised,” Kaladin said.

“I’m not,” Teft said, heaving himself to his feet. “This was coming, lad, no matter what we did. I’m sorry. Doesn’t seem we have time to do it your father’s way.”

“Watchers at the rim,” Kaladin said softly. “We’ll need to move quickly. You get Lift ready to sneak in to the Radiants, so she can begin waking them up. I’ll make a fuss outside to lure out the guards and distract the Pursuer. If the guards don’t come out though, you’ll have to neutralize them.”

“All right then. Good enough.” Teft pointed to the side, to where something lay folded on the ground. Bridge Four uniforms. Kaladin had asked Dabbid to get them changes of clothing. That was what he’d found? As they began to dress, Dabbid returned, frantic. He came up and grabbed Kaladin’s arm.

“The tower spren talked to you too?” Kaladin asked.

Dabbid nodded. “They sounded so weak.”

“Do you know where Rlain is?” Kaladin asked.

“I’m going to meet him,” Dabbid said. “Fourth floor. Something’s happened with Venli that has him really shaken. He didn’t want to talk in the infirmary.”

“Tell him the plan is a go,” Kaladin said. “Someone needs to inform the queen. Do you think you two can get to her?”

“Rlain thinks he can,” Dabbid said. “I will go with him. People ignore me.”

“Go then,” Kaladin said. “Tell her what we’re doing, and that we’re going to have to get the Radiants out. Then you two take up hiding in this room, and don’t make any storms. We’ll escape with the Radiants, get Dalinar, and return for you.”

Dabbid wrung his hands, but nodded. “Bridge Four,” he whispered.

“Bridge Four,” Kaladin said. “I don’t want to leave you two alone, Dabbid, but we need to move now—and I want the queen to be contacted. Plus … the Sibling said something. About sending Rlain to them.”

“They said it to me too,” Dabbid said. He gave the salute, which Kaladin returned, then moved off at a run.

“If something goes wrong,” Kaladin said to Teft, continuing to dress in his uniform, “get out that window.”

They’d practiced Kaladin’s trick of infusing objects and his boots to climb down walls. In an emergency, someone might have to jump out the window and hope to regain their powers before they hit the ground—but that was an absolute last resort. The current plan was for the Windrunners to climb down the outside, each with another Radiant strapped to their backs.

It was far from a perfect plan, but it was better than letting the Fused murder the Radiants while they were in comas.

“Even if you only get yourself out,” Kaladin said, “do it, rather than staying and making a hopeless stand. Take your spren and get to Dalinar.”

“And you?” Teft said. “You’ll follow, right?”

Kaladin hesitated.

“If I run, you run,” Teft said. “Look, what happened the last two times a node was discovered?”

“The Pursuer was waiting for me,” Kaladin admitted.

“He will be again,” Teft said. “This is a trap, plain and simple. What the enemy doesn’t know is that we don’t care about the node. We’re trying to free the Radiants. So distract him a little, yes, but then run and let them have their storming fabrial.”

“I could try that.”

“Give me an oath, lad. We can’t do anything more in this tower. We need to reach Dalinar. I’m going to head that way with as many Radiants as I can rescue. You’ve got my back, right?”

“Always,” Kaladin said, nodding. “I swear it. Get as many of the Radiants out as you can, and then run. Once you do, I’ll follow.”