I swung with all my strength. For a single heartbeat, Devon's eyes met mine. When they did, the red glow in her eyes dimmed. A soft smile crossed her face. In that moment, she looked like the Devon I'd known back on Earth.

  A hair's breadth before my blade reached her throat, something black as night enveloped her. My heart skipped a beat as my blade sliced through thin air instead of muscle and bone.

  "I can't leave you alone for more than ten minutes without you causing a fuss, Devon."

  The shadows roiled for a few seconds before they dissipated. In their place was a mountain of a man. He was clad in black plate armor that shimmered with runes. Salt and pepper hair cascaded down his head, framing an angular face dominated by a long hooked nose and a thick beard.

  However, it was his eyes that truly stood out. The irises were solid black, like the darkest, deepest pits I'd ever seen. His gaze carried the weight of both intelligence and boredom. A massive greatsword was strapped to his back. I was sure one swing of that thing would cut me in two.

  He held Devon in his massive arms. Her black blood flowed from her ruined chest in thick globs onto his black plate armor. The man sighed, resting one massive gauntlet on the top of her head. A wave of shadows poured from his hand and sank into her skin. As they did, she groaned.

  After a moment, her eyes fluttered open. When she saw the man, it was clear what they were to one another.

  "Bael..."

  "Hush. Don't speak, my love."

  "The recipe... They ruined it... She'll be... angry..."

  He frowned. "Shh... Rest now."

  She murmured something inaudible, then closed her eyes and rested her head against his breastplate.

  He gave me an amused smile. "What's your name, boy?"

  There was weight and power behind his words. The question hit me like a blow to the face. I tried to resist, but it was like trying to stand still in a hurricane. "Alex."

  The man gave a subtle nod. "I see." He looked me over. "You did well, Alex. Devon's no amateur."

  "Neither am I."

  He laughed. "You're confident." He scanned me once again, his eyes sizing me up until they found Embermist. When he saw my blade, his eyes widened. "I was certain she was mistaken. If you don't mind my asking, where did you find that blade?"

  I struggled against his words. This time, I resisted. "Nowhere."

  He frowned. "It is no small thing to wield a weapon crafted by one of the Great Ones. Let me ease your burden." He lifted his arm. Shadows poured from his palm and snaked toward the blade. When they reached it, they gingerly brushed along its sheath until they reached the pommel. When they did, the pommel gem flashed. The tendrils of shadow ignited, burning like gunpowder in the air. The man closed his palm before the flames reached his hand, severing the connection.

  "Doesn't look like Embermist wants to go with you."

  "Embermist, eh?" His eyes stayed locked on the blade. "It has chosen you." His words were half statement, half question. "Interesting."

  I said nothing.

  "While I'm certain that sword of yours did much of the work, I'm impressed nonetheless." As if it pained him, he looked away from the sword and back to the woman in his arms. Despite his healing shadows, she was still breathing shallowly, and black blood continued to pour from her ruined chest. His eyes lingered on her for a long moment before returning to me. I felt myself shiver as he took me in. "Well fought, young Guardian."

  "Who are you?"

  "Baelgrim of Galden. Pleased to meet you." He dropped into a low bow.

  "What do you want, Baelgrim of Galden?" I readied my sword. Deep inside, I knew it wouldn't do much if he decided to attack, but I'd die fighting if I had to.

  "Unfortunately, you've taken what I wanted. Now, I'll have to compromise." He reached down and tugged at something around Devon's waist. Holding it up, I saw that it was one of Elna's vials, now broken. "I didn't want to take a prisoner. Forcing others into servitude is so... unsavory." He made a sharp gesture. His long black cloak billowed behind him. The cloth transformed into a dozen shadowy hands that snaked into the smoke and flames. After a moment, Elna was hovering in the air behind him, held aloft by the hands.

  "Let her go." I leveled Embermist at him. Its pommel gem flickered weakly as I did.

  "Alas, this is my only option. Her father escaped during my attack on that little temple, so I have no choice."

  Little temple? "You don't mean—"

  "The temple you called home, yes. When we learned you continued forward to Llyn, I traveled there myself. If only you'd listened to Devon in Fairport, my attack wouldn't have been necessary."

  "What did you do?!" I was screaming.

  "What was necessary." He took a step closer. "I didn't expect such resistance. That old dwarf put up quite the fight. He held me off for hours before..." His face split into a grin. "If Devon hadn't called out to me, I'd still be there."

  My arms were shaking. The fear I felt vanished in an instant, replaced with deep, searing anger. I knew I couldn't win, but... "Before what?"

  "I suppose you'll find that answer some day. In any case, Elna is now in my service." The old gnome floated closer to him. "Until we meet again, I bid you adieu."

  Before I could move, the man disappeared into a plume of black smoke. I screamed at the cloud of dust and swung as hard and fast as I could. Hitting nothing, my blade bit deep into the nearby cobblestones, burying several inches into the scorched stone.

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  What had happened to all of our friends?

  The sound of crumbling rubble behind me caused me to whirl. I watched as a nearby building collapsed on itself. In the distance, I could just make out the sound of bells and shouting. Something metallic clattered to the ground nearby. I turned to face it.

  "Alex..." Vral teetered on her feet, staring vacantly off into the distance. Devon's rapier rolled to a stop by her feet. "I don't feel so good..." She took a step toward me, then collapsed onto the ground.

  Sheathing Embermist, I rushed over to her. Pulling her into my arms, she flopped limply against my chest. I felt the air rush through my teeth when I saw her arm.

  It ended at the elbow.

  No bone. No flesh. Just seared tissue weeping clear fluid. Her right arm had been incinerated by Devon's flames.

  Worse, blood poured freely from her thigh as well. Devon's rapier had pierced clean through.

  Sword! Embermist! Please, heal her!

  Embermist's pommel gem flashed weakly. I... can... do... no... more... Its voice was strained and staticky in my mind.

  I took a deep breath. The blade had done enough. You did well, Embermist. Thank you.

  The sword seemed to hum in my mind, but its pommel gem went dark.

  Vral's eyes were halfway closed and rolled back in her head.

  I pulled Vral close and lightly slapped her cheek. When she didn't wake up, I said, "Vral, wake up."

  After a couple of slaps, she groaned. Slowly, her eyes opened. They were dim and sunken. Her pupils were unfocused. "What's a girl... gotta do... to get some sleep?"

  "It's me, Vral. Alex."

  "Alex..." She smiled. "I know an Alex... He saved me... Big dummy..."

  My throat hitched. "Vral, I need you to stay awake."

  She smiled. "He's my boy toy... Have I told you how much I lo..." Her eyes grew more focused, and her lips turned down into a frown. A little fire entered her eyes. She scanned the square. "Alex! Where's the bitch?"

  "Someone came and took her away. That doesn't matter, though. We need to get you to a healer."

  She scoffed, but then the fire left her eyes. "A shame... I wanted to see her head roll..."

  "Me too." I sat her down and shrugged off my pack. Reaching inside, I tore a long strip of cloth from an extra shirt I had in my pack and wrapped it around her thigh to stem the bleeding. She hissed as I tightened the cloth. "That'll stop the bleeding. At least for a while."

  Sweat broke out all over her body. "Fuck, that hurts."

  More bells were ringing now. Over the crackle of flames, I could hear shouts and calls from a nearby street. Someone cried out, "Fire!" A dozen other voices followed.

  I stood up and scanned the area. The cobblestones were completely ruined. All the buildings were either smoldering or destroyed. Elna's shack was nothing but ashes. Nearby, I saw my shield sputtering in one of the few remaining sigils on the ground. It was half-melted into slag.

  "They won't care who did it. Alex, we need to go." Vral's head was bobbing, but she was at least somewhat lucid.

  She was right. If the guards found us like this, I was entirely confident that we would both burn, no questions asked. Especially after seeing the man on the bridge earlier. And, even if they did let us go, Vral wouldn't make it long in prison.

  Think, Alex, think.

  How the hell would we get out of this one?

  The teleportation scroll!

  I scanned the area. My heart was thundering in my ears. If it burned in the flames, we were going to die. Where the hell was it?

  I looked over toward Elna's ruined shack. There! It was barely visible, nestled in the rubble of a shattered wall a dozen feet away. I sprinted on my exhausted, wobbly legs to the thing, wrenched it from the crumbled stones, and sprinted back to Vral.

  Kneeling by Vral's side, I brushed some sooty black hair out of her face.

  "You know what I want to do?" Her voice cracked. A lopsided grin filled her face.

  "What do you want to do?" My hands shook as I tried to unroll the teleportation scroll.

  "I think..." her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she slipped out of consciousness.

  I shook her.

  She gasped, and her eyes met mine. "I'd love... to dance with the dwarves. They always make the best cake..." Her eyes rolled back in their sockets.

  "Yeah, we'll do that, love." The scroll's clasp was being a bitch, so I snapped it in half. Finally, the scroll unfurled. Only then did I remember that I'd never used one before. Looking down at the goblin, I said her name. "Vral. Vral!"

  Her eyes half-focused on mine. "Yes, hubby?" A goofy smile crossed her face. "My man. Mine. I'm first."

  If she lived, she could be anything she wanted to be. "How do you use one of these?"

  "Did you see me? I killed that thing. Stabbed it until it was dead. It tried to hurt you. I hurt it back." She was grinning wildly.

  "How do I use the scroll, Vral?"

  "It's easy. Like a ride on a dragon." She held her arms up in a cone shape, then unfurled them. "Poof!"

  I wasn't going to get anything out of her. "Hold on to me."

  She didn't seem to understand my words, but a warm smile grew on her face when I wrapped my arms around her. I tried to read the scroll. As I did, a huge gust of wind blew through the courtyard. The flames around us doubled in size, follow by a chorus of shouts filled the street nearby. Whoever they were, they were fighting back the fires on another street.

  I read the scroll's words, but I couldn't make any sense of them.

  Let... The... Scroll... In...

  Embermist's voice was like a whisper in the distance.

  Let it in?

  I tried to clear my mind. I could feel the heat of the flames on my skin. Vral's clammy body was twitching in my arms. My hands trembled.

  Focus.

  I read the scroll. This time, words appeared in my mind.

  Would you like to use [Teleportation Scroll]?

  "Yes."

  Please visualize a location.

  The temple needed me. I conjured the image of my room back at the temple. I could almost see it: the stone walls. The wooden furniture. My little desk. The eight-pointed star on the wall. The smell of incense. The sounds of children playing out in the fields.

  More shouting sounded down the street. Some people were yelling at someone named Gareth.

  Light's Hope Temple is not a valid location.

  My heart stopped. If I couldn't return to the temple, then...

  Please visualize a location.

  I pushed the terrible thought away. They were okay. Baelgrim said it. Farvad got away. Renard fought him off. They were safe.

  I searched my mind for anywhere else we could go.

  The hotel in Galden? That didn't make sense.

  Farvad's shop? Not there either.

  Fairview? We didn't know anyone there.

  The grove where we'd met Fluffy's mom? She flew away. Only the crystal statues remained.

  I searched my mind, thinking of somewhere to go. I wished I'd seen more places!

  Tristan appeared in my mind.

  That was it. I had to try to go to her.

  I pictured her in as much detail as I could. Her sapphire eyes, her raven black hair, the way she looked away when she was embarrassed... I needed her now. That's where I needed to go.

  Tristan, Human Priestess, is not a valid location.

  "Fuck!"

  How could I do this?

  An idea came to me.

  I conjured images of the trees on the east side of Llyn. The ones that I'd seen earlier that day. I didn't know exactly what the place looked like, so I filled in the gaps with my imagination.

  I imagined Tristan sitting among their thick roots, listening to the birdsong and writing in the journal that I'd bought her, its green cover resting lightly in her lap. When she saw us, she'd smile her bright smile. She'd smack me for tricking her. Then, we'd kiss and make up. Sophia would be there too, just a few feet away, staying close to her new friend. She'd smile and say something smart when we got there.

  Tristan, Human Priestess, is not a valid location.

  My heart sank. Where could I go? I racked my brain for any other options. If I couldn't get back to Sophia and Tristan, where could I go? The only place I knew well was the temple...

  Farvad's workshop!

  I imagined the musty smell of potions and herbs, the dim light of the glowstones set into the walls, the tangled roots and vines that littered his workbench.

  Farvad's Workshop is a valid location.

  The world bent around us. The fire and smoke surrounding us grew distant. Everything looked like we were inside a fish bowl. As the world bent, I looked down at Vral. She was pale. The cloth I'd tied around her leg was soaked with blood.

  "Hold me tight, Vral."

  She murmured and limply wrapped her arms around my neck. Under her, Devon's rapier glinted in the firelight. I reached down and grabbed it.

  The edges of my vision blurred. Everything started to move slowly. Then, the world twisted, and everything went white.