Warren made his way out of the watchtower, stumbling for a moment as he got his bearings, fnked by Evelyn to help keep him upright. His tabard looked scorched, but the older Passguard showed no signs of any wounds on his head. He looked around at the fallen trees with dying purple embers at their cores, bewildered at the sight—and at his fellow Passguard with an unusual sword in her hands. “This is your work? Where on Terra did you find a weapon like that?”

  Janine smiled as her free hand tapped at her neck where I usually resided. “It’s been with me all along, turns out. Just needed the right moment, I guess.” The western bell tolled again, reminding the Passguards of the danger still present within the town’s walls. “Sir, it’s not over, there’s still more at the other gate.”

  A gasp escaped Evelyn’s lips. “The magic shop! What if dad’s still there? You have to go make sure he’s okay!”

  “We will,” Warren said, patting Evelyn’s shoulder before facing Janine. “We should bring Evelyn to the citadel along with any stragglers we find. I need to get a new weapon from the armory anyway. Unless either of you have any more magic swords you’d been hiding from me?” The veteran Passguard stroked his chin as the other two shook their heads. “No? Worth a try. Janine, if you’d be so kind as to take the lead and keep the path clear for us.”

  With a nod, the three ran toward the north end of town. The streets on the eastern half of town were quiet, untouched by Py’riel fire, though the plumes of smoke from buildings near the citadel indicated that the other group of enchanted creatures were making their way through.

  A half dozen monsters scurried along the Passguard citadel’s fortified walls, searching for a way inside to terrorize the sheltering townsfolk. Unaware of how easily their counterparts had been dispatched, they approached us as if we were easy targets, only to end up in pieces on the ground. Warren’s jaw dropped when he saw Janine use me to chop the Py’riel into oblivion.

  “That’s incredible,” Warren said, csping his hands together before he pointed down the street. “No need to wait for me, Passguard. If you can handle yourself, then get moving!”

  We ran from the citadel toward the western half of town where the monsters had taken root. Janine skidded to a halt at the familiar sight of shops and cottages engulfed in roaring violet fmes. Buildings crumbled as Py’riel dragged their branches along their sides to transfer their fire to engulf any structure that could burn. I could feel Janine’s pulse through her hand as her grip tightened, her legs going weak at the mirror image of the night all those years ago. She drove my bde into the ground to brace herself as dread set in.

  Janine.

  I reached out to her through our bond. If I was corrupting her soul as Galen cimed, I had to take that chance. She handled the Py’riel with ease when they couldn’t get a foothold in town, but we couldn’t give up at a moment when they had the upperhand. Panicking meant more of the town would fall—maybe all of it if Janine couldn’t overcome this fear. It would only take one unchecked monster to consume the town.

  Janine.

  We’re not done.

  I know it looks frightening. We can’t save everything, these buildings are beyond our help now. But we can save everyone. The citadel only stays secure if we clear the town of Py’riel. I know it looks just like the day we lost Nadia. That’s exactly why we can’t stop now! Don’t let tonight become that same memory for anyone else. You can protect our home, but you have to stand up and keep moving!

  Janine let out a long breath, clearing her mind as she rose to her feet, drawing me out of the ground. She recoiled at the heat of the fmes surrounding her at first, but she worked up the courage to charge into the inferno, yelling a battle cry with each ssh into an unsuspecting Py’riel. The world vanished around us, the fmes disappearing from our minds—all that existed was Janine, myself, and the next monster to sy.

  Once we neared the western gate, we found the other two Passguards and Tobias struggling against a couple monsters that lingered to torch the buildings missed in the first assault. A few downed remains of trees y in the road, but most other Py’riel had scattered to other streets. Bloodied and bruised, the others were at least still alive, cornered at the magic shop. Tobias pointed an ice staff at the ground, freezing the Py’riel’s legs to give the Passguards time to attack before the creature broke free for an attack of its own. One monster continued to harass the Passguards while the other reached out to touch the side of the magic shop’s walls...

  “NO!” Janine and I made swift work of the two Py’riel before she jammed me against the wall so I could nullify their magic before it spread too far.

  The other Passguards dropped their swords, and Tobias colpsed to the ground, as they all fought to catch their collective breath. Janine hugged her uncle after checking his injuries. “Everybody okay?” she asked.

  “There’s just too many,” Robinson, one of the remaining Passguards, said as she shook her head in shock. “We can’t win if it’s just us.”

  “No, we’re going to be okay.” Janine let go of Tobias, “Warren’s near the citadel, can you get Tobias there too? If you go now and head toward the town square first, that route should be safe.”

  The other Passguard, Mazarel, nodded. "We’ll take him there," he said.

  Coming to his senses, Tobias looked at me in fascination. “That can’t be Nadia’s neckce, can it?”

  “It is,” Janine said, holding me closer to Tobias. “It cuts through the Py’riel like they’re nothing, and it can kill their fires too! It’s how I’m going to save Quinn’s Peak.”

  Tobias stood up again, resting on his ice staff like a crutch. “Hmm. I never would have guessed, but the Fates must have known what they were doing when they gave you a sword like that.” He sighed, but he smiled at Janine. “I won’t doubt your destiny any longer. Do what you must, Janine. Do it for Clint. For Nadia.”

  “For everyone,” Janine said with a determined glint in her eyes before we departed once again.

  Nobody perished that night. One by one, Janine and I hunted the remaining Py’riel down, extinguishing fires before they could spread. Beyond a couple pockets of of unsalvageable buildings in the western half of town, Quinn’s Peak stayed mostly intact, nothing we couldn’t hammer back together ter.

  Had we left town to chase down the Py’riel in search of our own glory—had I caused Janine to do all that, at least—we would have lost everything that truly mattered. Instead, we kept the town and its people intact, ensuring that Quinn’s Peak would continue to thrive, able to breathe easy while their guardians watched over them.

  I’d never forget that night, neither would the townsfolk. In the Py’riel’s attempts to destroy it all, they instead created a legend: the Hero of Quinn’s Peak.

  My champion.