We searched and searched through the tangle of dead vines. The thorns cut each of us a score of times, leaving a red trail; proof of our existence.

  The space was littered with the bodies of animals, humans, and hybrids. Asema appeared stoic as she gazed upon their broken husks, but Vekrem… he looked hurt. Sickened in a way that I’d yet to see him before.

  Eventually, Asema crouched low as she whispered, “I think I found something.”

  Vekrem and I knelt next to her, staring down from a hill that overlooked a small enclave. And there, down in the muck, Saise spun her chain-sickle weapon in a whirling death as spriggan relentlessly attacked her from all angles. From what I could see, Saise looked tired, as if she’d been fighting for hours. I took a deep breath and knew—

  She was at her limit.

  “Sai—”

  Vekrem covered my mouth with his hand. “Shh,” he said. “We don’t want to draw their attention. Not yet, at least.”

  I pulled his hand away as I whispered angrily, “What the hell do we do then? Ask them nicely to stop?”

  Vekrem put his hand to his mouth consideringly, but Asema dropped the head of the mace to the ground with a light thud as she proclaimed, “We kill them all.”

  “No,” Vekrem replied, and Asema shot him a savage stare.

  Undeterred, Vekrem scratched the back of his right ear. “There’s no knowing how many spriggan there are. If we make ourselves known now, we could all find ourselves overrun soon enough. Besides, I think I have a better idea.”

  Asema leaned on the handle of her mace, and she seemed to have taken a liking to the weapon. Throwing her hair back, she asked, “Oh, you do?”

  Vekrem smirked, looking back down on Saise, still fighting for her life.

  “Aye,” he said. “That I do.”

  ***

  “This is fucking insane,” I protested as Vekrem moved into position.

  He crossed his arms.

  “I know, I know—‘language.’ Sorry mom.”

  “Well, do you have a better idea?” Vekrem asked.

  “I do!” Asema replied, chuckling to herself. “We leave her and save ourselves. Pretty simple plan; even a couple of idiots like yourselves can grasp it. You’re welcome.”

  Vekrem looked at her crossly, and she gave an exaggerated sigh, waving her hand as if she was done with the conversation. He turned towards the spriggan, who continued to swarm Saise as she spun her whirling chain of death, now barely holding them back.

  I put my arm on Vekrem’s shoulder. “It’s now or never.”

  He smiled. “Then now it is.”

  Asema and I moved to the other side of the killing field, and Saise looked worse for wear. Her tight flourishes became wobbled, her spinning slowed, and she looked to be on the verge of passing out.

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  Just then, a light flashed from the other side—it was Vekrem. Using the same concoction he had when escaping Silverock, he summoned fire into the air, drawing the creatures’ attention towards him. I could hear the faint calls of his screaming, but from the distance Asema and I were, I couldn’t hear exactly what he said. Not even Dragon knew exactly… just that he was in pain.

  The plan worked as a multitude of the spriggan turned and charged him. Asema and I pressed on with the plan. Running at a full sprint, we made our way into the vestige of Saise’s will to survive. As we did, she gave us a quick glance, dropping her weapon as she collapsed to the ground as a wayward lash from a spriggan caught her arm. The creature pulled back, and the chain weapon went spinning sideways.

  As the spriggan went to lay the killing blow—to finish Saise off—I slammed my dagger into its face, just making it in time to stop it. Green blood exploded from the wound as I pulled back, letting the body drop as I turned to Saise. She tried to speak, but was clearly too tired from all the fighting, and as she lifted herself up, she fell back down not a moment later.

  “Useless chitik,” Asema said, catching up. With one arm, she threw the red-tailed woman up on her shoulder, her body bobbing limply. “You wouldn’t do this for one of us, Saise. You wouldn’t do this for a human. Remember this moment when the time comes and you think of betraying us.”

  Saise seemed to consider for a moment, but soon passed out, completely exhausted. Hurriedly, I enacted the next part of the plan. Pulling a lighter from my pocket, I fumbled with the striker, but eventually, I set the ground on fire, using the dried leaves, brush, and thorns—even the bodies of the spriggan Saise had killed—as kindling.

  The fire spread like, well, a wildfire. Small at first, the flame soon grew to a medium size, then large, then enormous as the heat forced Asema and me to retreat.

  “Remember, meet where we discussed,” I called to Asema, my voice just carrying over the sound of the crackling inferno.

  Turning back to me, the light of the fire illuminated against her face, showing the rot on her cheek, which had grown considerably in such a short time.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “To save Vekrem.”

  “That’s not part of the plan.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “And who said I play by the rules?”

  Asema smiled, not offering any additional protest as she turned away and ran, Saise bobbing atop her shoulder as she did.

  I sprinted around the fire, my feet barely able to keep me in front of the flame as it spread throughout the decayed part of the forest. I saw a figure in the distance, silhouetted against flashes of light. It had to be him. Getting closer, I found that I was right. Vekrem had his back against the clearing where the dead, rotted area became lush, green forest, and I could see that he hadn’t wished to bring the fight there.

  At least ten spriggan chased him, and each that managed to get close suddenly burst into flame, writhing on the ground before either succumbing to the blaze or managing to put themselves out and rejoining the fight. I came up on Vekrem’s flank and, as he turned to launch a ball of fire in my face, I raised my hands to warn him off. He turned his cool eye back on the spriggan who remained at the front.

  Pulling my dagger and standing at his side, I said, “Glad to see you’re still in one piece.”

  Looking at him, sweat pouring from his brow, I knew he wasn’t entirely all right.

  “I’m not even going to ask why you’ve come, so… help me push them back?”

  Smiling, I raised my dagger up, pointing it at the nearest spriggan. “That’s the plan.”

  They attacked all at once, and I knew I had a single job—

  Protect Vekrem.

  Using my senses, I was able to dodge and weave through the attacks that came at me. Ones aimed at Vekrem were a little more tricky. For the most part, I resorted to guessing when they would turn from me to him. Above me, flames bellowed and roared out into the air, the world sizzling with each furious blast as the spriggan were slowly pushed back.

  Eventually, we had shoved them all the way back to the enclave and to where I’d started the fire. Vekrem and I at the front, a raging blaze behind, and no other way out.

  Sheathing my dagger, I stepped behind Vekrem, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Burn the fuckers down.”

  I felt Vekrem’s body go taut as he nodded. Then, a fire much stronger than before, burst from both of his hands, engulfing the entirety of the rotted woodlands. He spread the fire left to right to ensure there was no escape from the fiery hell, and, when the deed was done, he let his arms drop, collapsing backwards.

  I caught him before he hit the ground.

  I propped him up with my shoulder, and he was still just able to manage walking on his own. We both turned, stepping away from the fire, which, hopefully, would consume itself before catching the living part of the forest around the rotten clearing.

  “Is she safe?” Vekrem managed to ask, his breathing fast and shallow.

  I thought about making a snide remark, but seeing the seriousness in his eyes, I replied, “Yeah, she’s safe. Let’s go meet them and then get the fuck out of here.”