Sulfur burned Swift-River's lungs. She ran.

  Miikka lay crumpled ahead, his small body barely visible through the fog. She gathered him in her arms and sprinted for the cave wall.

  Behind her, henchmen screamed as magma swallowed them whole.

  Amid the pandemonium, Crimson Ruby stood unmoved. His hollow eye socket tracked the specks of light hovering before him.

  "Disperse," he commanded. "Bind yourselves to the interred vessels."

  His skeletal fingers traced patterns through the air. Each gesture directed the corrupted Nodules like a conductor. The fireflies scattered into darkness while Swift-River and Miikka slipped into shadows.

  A creature burst from the darkness. Half polar bear, half tortoise. Zirien.

  Crimson Ruby's neck snapped toward this unexpected challenger. Each ferocious attack threatened his concentration, endangering both his physical form and control over the fireflies.

  Streed's mental warning pulsed through the chaos. Swift-River saved the halfling. Ruby holds tactical advantage. Brothers, we must withdraw.

  Crimson Ruby's damaged wing hung limp, membrane barely attached to bone. His attention shifted from the fireflies. Cold eyes watched his attackers retreat.

  "Fleeing, are we?" Gem-fire erupted from his jaws. The blast struck Iandel. "That's one less pawn in the game."

  The portal snapped shut with a crimson flash.

  ***

  The Nether Vines closed around them like a second skin.

  Swift-River's wings and horns retracted. Her tail disappeared as pointed ears took shape. She shifted back to her half-elf form but kept moving, Miikka cradled against her chest.

  "How bad?" Streed's voice cracked as he supported Iandel. Blood seeped through charred armor.

  "Alive." Swift-River's hands glowed with healing light. She pressed her palm to Miikka's chest, feeling broken bones shift and realign beneath her touch. The halfling's breathing steadied.

  But the purplish mark on his chest refused to fade.

  Zirien transformed from his TeraCon form. Fur receded. Shell disappeared. He knelt beside them and examined the wound, his fingers hovering over the dark stain.

  "Ruby's magic," he said. "Connected to those firefly vessels. There's a larger game at play."

  Miikka's eyes fluttered. "Close to the ground's secrets," he murmured. "But this one's buried deep, mate."

  Swift-River's grip tightened around him. She had seen something in Ruby's lair. Glimpses in the chaos. A shadow behind the shadow.

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  "Ruby's attacks on the Orcs." She kept her voice low. "They're not his own will. Someone else pulls his strings. I saw it in the visions. A figure commanding him." Her jaw clenched. "But the puppet master's identity remains hidden."

  Zirien met her eyes but said nothing.

  "Those corrupted Nodules are the key," he said. "Whatever Ruby's planning, whoever controls him, the Nodules are how they'll do it."

  Swift-River nodded and rose. Miikka weighed almost nothing in her arms. "We need to move. Can this place withstand if I transform?"

  "Not safely." Streed traced a path on his map. "But I know another route."

  They pressed deeper into the Nether Vines. Luminescent flowers lit their path. The air hung heavy with moss and old magic.

  Zirien fell into step beside her. "You fought well today," he said quietly.

  Swift-River glanced at him. Dark circles beneath his eyes. A fresh cut along his jaw. He had nearly died covering their escape.

  "We survived," she said. "Together."

  Neither spoke. Neither needed to.

  They kept moving.

  ***

  Crimson Ruby surveyed the cavern. Bodies of fallen minions littered the ground. Their sacrifice meant nothing to him.

  "Miikka's escape cannot stand!" His roar shattered the silence. "Unacceptable. He is the key I must reclaim."

  A spark ignited within his skeletal chest.

  He kicked a fallen worshipper across the floor and stalked toward Ivory. His talons scraped stone with each step.

  "Miikka's safe return is pivotal," he hissed, driving a wing tip into Ivory's chest. "My domination over the Orcs hinges on it."

  He spun. His gem-encrusted tail whipped through the air, striking Ivory's icy skeleton. She stood motionless. A puppet under his command.

  Darkness ripped through the air. Two figures materialized.

  Brikoris entered first. A long-tailed Tiefling with sharp teeth. Trinkets adorned his horns, jingling with each theatrical step.

  Beside him stood Vardan. His neck tensed as his gaze cataloged every detail of the carnage.

  "Look at this mess," Brikoris said, stepping over a shattered artifact.

  "Late again." Crimson Ruby's skull swiveled toward the sorcerers. "Your loyalty hangs by a thread. Justify this betrayal, or I'll turn you to ash."

  Brikoris sighed. "A slight miscalculation on our part."

  "Foolishness carries a price." Crimson Ruby towered over them. "While you wasted time, Druids challenged us. They disrupted my spell." His spine straightened. "I lost half the corrupted Nodules!"

  "Brikoris, Vardan." The gems in his scales pulsed with dark energy. "Find those Nodules. Your past failures remain fresh. Ensure your actions wipe that slate clean. Begin now."

  The sorcerers raised their arms. Dark energy spiraled around them as they searched for the elusive orbs. They chanted in unison, regaining control of the lost fireflies like shepherds guiding a scattered flock.

  Outside, under night's veil, the corrupted Nodules danced across the sky. They flowed toward distant mausoleums, guided by the sorcerers' will.

  "Tonight, we enact phase two," Crimson Ruby declared.

  ***

  Moonlight cast long shadows across the land.

  A single orb descended toward the royal crypt. Its glow mimicked the light of burning flesh. It slipped through the broken seal where Princess Lyralei of the fallen Moonwhisper Dynasty lay entombed.

  Once beloved for her charitable works and diplomatic grace, she had perished defending refugees during the War of Crimson Skies. Now her elaborate burial chamber would become her prison.

  The orb burrowed into her remains.

  Her eyes flared open. Pinpricks of unholy light pierced the darkness. The crypt echoed with movement as the Undead Princess rose. Decay had not diminished the elegance of her funeral attire, though her golden hair now hung in brittle strands.

  "I awaken at your command, Crimson Ruby," she whispered. Her fingers tightened around her ceremonial scepter. The book of poetry she once cherished fluttered to the ground, forgotten.

  Thousands of Nodules fused with corpses throughout the realm. Their master's presence tugged at the edges of their consciousness.

  "What is thy bidding?"

  Crimson Ruby's hollow eye blazed.

  "Now the real game begins."

  "The Orc tribes," Crimson Ruby projected through the bond. "Bring them to their knees."

  Thousands of undead stirred across the realm. Princess Lyralei's fingers tightened around her scepter. The collective voice of the risen dead echoed back to their master.

  "What is thy bidding?"

  Crimson Ruby's hollow eye blazed.

  "Now the real game begins."

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  Author's Note: This was the first chapter I wrote from Ruby's perspective. Villains are more terrifying when you understand their logic.

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