My legs are sore. I haven’t used them in so long my knees hurt as we ascend the stairs, but I push through. Elena is sitting with my parents and Emilia. They’re looking at something on the ground, talking quietly as she points to something on it.

  Tenley clears her throat. Their heads whip around, taking in Tenley’s small smile then their eyes slide to me. Elena’s face lights up and my parents’ faces go slack as they stand. Everything in me wants to look away, but I hold their gaze. With tentative steps, they walk toward me.

  Dad cups my face and Mom grips my hand. They don’t say anything, but I see the tears they blink away. Mom shakes her head as if she can hear what I want to say. “Don’t apologize. We don’t apologize for helping people.”

  I open my mouth but close it again. Her eyes are hard, and I know there’s no arguing with her. Dad rubs my cheek, wiping away a tear that escaped. “You’re here with us and we’ll always be grateful for that.”

  I nod, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. “Elena?” Her hands twist her shirt and her hair is a mess. I approach her, holding out my hands. She takes them, squeezing. “Thank you, Elena. For everything you did for me.”

  “Don’t thank me just yet,” she says. “I’ve been wracking my brain for the past few weeks, but I haven’t gotten much done.”

  “Tell me what you have.”

  We go to where they’d been sitting, and I see a paper on the ground. It’s a map of the village. Three places are circled.

  We sit around it as Elena starts to explain to me. “That’s us,” she says, pointing to the one of the far right. “That’s where the Beast has been spotted most frequently.” She points to the left. “This is where we entered.” She points to the bottom right. “I’ve been watching the Beast when it comes this way. It doesn’t get closer than ten yards. It just sits and watches before leaving back to the other side. How long it stays and which direction it comes from doesn’t seem to matter other than that it always comes from the village side. Sometimes it stays for an hour. Sometimes it stays all day. One time it came and when it made eye contact with me, it turned and left. I don’t know the pattern here. I also have a list of its strength and weaknesses.”

  She hands me a piece of paper and I see her neat writing in two columns.

  “You got all of this from one fight?” I ask.

  “And a week of distant observation, but yes. It’s not nearly as much as I wanted, but the fight got a bit muddled in my head, and I dropped my notebook. I haven’t been out to get it.”

  “Good,” I say. “What’s this about holy power?”

  “I figured it was probably that,” Emilia says. There’s something different about her. Before her shoulders sagged and her eyes had a far away look. Now she looks sharper. She looks hopeful. “I’ve fought it before. Well,” she sighs. “Ran away and shot arrows at it more like. But it did something similar with me. The arrows seemed to bother it, but I never gave it much thought until now.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “It certainly got its attention,” I say. “Didn’t seem to do much damage and Peggy’s knife did more, though I blessed that directly before we left.”

  “Yes, but that is a weakness,” she says. “It’s only us but think we could get its attention.”

  “And then what?” I ask.

  “We run.”

  “That’s a terrible plan.”

  “It’s what we’ve got right now,” she snaps. “Look, you haven’t been here as long as we have. This is incredibly valuable information.”

  “I’m not saying it isn’t, but we’ll need more than just us to keep it distracted.” I stare at the map, fingers tapping. “Has anyone been over to where it hides?”

  “Talaat,” Dad says. He sits close, our knees bumping into each other. “He was the only person who volunteered to do it.”

  “Did he ever talk to you about it?” Mom asks. “Anything aside from the nightmares?”

  “Not really,” I say. “When we talked, it was more that I talked at him. He said he liked the sound of my voice, so I tried to talk as much as possible.” I close my eyes and try to think. He was almost exclusively in his room, blanket wrapped around him. We watched as his once stocky frame became thinner and thinner. Only one time did he fall asleep around me. He muttered something in his sleep, but nothing I understood at the time. “He said…he said it was wet and oily. And the smell…” I sigh. “Sorry, that’s all I can remember about what he said.”

  “No, no, that’s good.” Mom says. Her brows are furrowed as she looks over the papers in front of us. “Has anyone else explored the area?”

  “I have.” Someone plops down next to Emilia, and I blink to make sure I’m not seeing things. “This radius here is where the smell starts.” She circles something on the map with her finger, but I can’t help but stare at her. It’s like looking at an older version of Vidia. Same bright red hair and smattering of freckles. Sharp grey eyes framed by thick eyebrows. The deep bags under her eyes and smile lines are the only differences. “When the wind picks up it’s hard to pin down, but it’s consistent around here.”

  “Okay,” Mom says. “In which case, our best bet is to make our way out from where we are and keep it near its hiding spot.”

  “We’ll need at least three people,” Elena says. “Long range archers on the roofs to keep its attention while someone on the ground deals damage up close. We’ll need to bless the weapons beforehand.”

  “Three people won’t be enough,” Mom says. “Two kept it distracted, but that wasn’t near enough. Our best bet is to have three archers and three swords.”

  “Our goal isn’t to take it down,” Tenley says. “Even if we were all in top shape, I’m not sure that would work. It’s a wizard behind the scenes so we’ll need another one to even think about taking it down. Right now, we just need it distracted long enough that we can get as many people away as possible.”

  The silence is heavy as the implication settles over us. Not everyone will make it out of this alive.

  We stand, hearts racing and blood pumping. “Alright,” I say, addressing the rest of the room. They look so weak and exhausted. Even with the hope we managed to give them, there’s a layer of weariness over it. “We need three volunteers for this. It’ll be the last attempt to get out of here and the last stand of anyone who stays. I will stay.”

  “I’ll stay,” Emilia says. “We need the power, and I’ve got the long distance covered.”

  “I’ll stay,” Dad says. “I won’t leave you again. Not now.”

  “No.” The person who sat down shakes her head. “You and Lena are the best leaders we have here. You’re the most experienced and the most levelheaded. If anyone will be able to lead everyone else out of here, it’s you two.”

  “But—”

  “Agnes is right, Sav,” Mom says. I can’t hide my surprise, and she musters a smile. “I don’t want to leave you. Not so soon after Peggy, but I can’t deny the logic is sound. We need archers and of everyone here, you and Emilia are the best suited for the job like Sav and I are best suited for this job.”

  “I’ll stay instead,” Agnes says. “I’m the least injured and I’m a close-range fighter.”

  “I’ll stay, too,” Tenley says. “Three is minimum and you’ll want someone watching your back.”

  “Any objections?” Elena looks like she wants to say something but shakes her head. I don’t blame her for not volunteering. She’s young and much more useful to everyone alive.

  Quiet settles over the room, but it’s not as tense. There’s something lighter thrumming under the surface as everyone exchanges glances. “Alrighty then. Let’s get to work.”