A/N: Sorry if this chapter isn't that good! I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. Hope you like it!

Jogging in cold wind was proving to be extremely difficult to do. The back of my throat was rougher than sandpaper, and a stitch was forming at my side. Despite Grandma Olive's strong hand pulling me along, I was still the farthest behind. Ardyth reached our destination first: the Traveling House. This house is what most of Ravenore used to travel from place to place. Inside, millions of doors lined the walls, and each lead to a different place. It shouldn't have surprised me that this was how we would reach Spire City.

Grandma Olive pulled out a long brass key from her coat pocket, and unlocked the door with a click.

Approximately fifty different doors lined the huge, circular room. I knew one of these led to a wide staircase, which lead to a similar room, but with different doors. The lavender carpet was soft under my feet. Celeste approached a door carved out of ebony. She turned the doorknob and quickly stepped through. Theodore and Grandma Olive followed suit, the door closing behind them, until only Ardyth and I remained in the room.

"Ready?" He said, taking my hand and squeezing. I nodded, and wrenched open the door. A blast of cold air slapped me in the face, along with the smells of barley, coal and ash, dirt, wet cement, and paper. This door was located in a narrow alleyway, and peering out I could see thousands of people rushing by without glancing our way. Thin, pointed towers lined the streets and pierced the black sky. As soon as I stepped through the door with Ardyth, the door slammed shut behind us.

I whirled around, but the door was gone. Grandma Olive, Celeste, and Theodore were waiting patiently across the street.

"Hold on tight," Ardyth murmured, as he pulled me into the stifling crowd. The people wore long black cloaks, and low brimmed hats. They had the cloaks pulled up to cover their noses, while the hats covered the top half of their faces. It was disconcerting to not be able to see anyone's face. I gripped Ardyth's hand tighter. We continued to carve a path through the crowd. People bumped into me roughly, colliding with my shoulders and stepping on my feet. Ardyth's hand was the only thing that kept me from toppling over.

We continued to run once we reached Grandma Olive, Celeste, and Theodore. They seemed to be handling the crowd better than I was, walking around everyone as if they were no more than air.

Ardyth guided me to the right, where a small, cone shaped building stood. He knocked two times on the wooden door.

No one answered.

"Vincent never answers his door; he's too lazy." Theodore said, pushing the door open.

A low wooden table stood in the middle of the room. Open books with torn pages were piled on top of it, and every other surface of the room. Even the metal sink had more books than water in it.

"Vincent?" Theodore called, and nudged a pile of books aside with his shoe. He walked across the room, where another door stood slightly ajar.

Ardyth and I followed, with Celeste and Grandma Olive bringing up the rear. I placed my hand on the doorknob and immediately drew back. It was scorching hot. I hadn't ever felt anything like it; the burn had a sharp sting that traveled up my arm and spread through the rest of my body. Everything blurred, and I began to see flashes of red every time I blinked. My hands trembled, and I fought to keep standing.

Ardyth's cool fingers brushed against my palm, and as the stinging ebbed, my vision cleared.

"Ardyth—" Celeste began.

"I'm fine, Celeste." Ardyth wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulder. He led the way through the door Theodore had gone through.

A large fireplace filled up most of the room, along with two red armchairs. One rested on its side, and a burn mark tunneled through the back of it, as if a laser had incinerated the material.

"Oh, Vincent." Celeste sighed from the other side of the room. She was kneeling beside a broken flowerpot, and a grey pile of ash. When I looked close enough, I could see yellow sparkles throughout the pile.

Ardyth stiffened beside me, and I looked up at him. His eyes were slightly glazed over, and he seemed to be staring intensely at something I couldn't see. He blinked, looking panicked.

"Quick! Everyone hide!" His voice held so much fear, that for once, I didn't question him.