The hound couldn’t see them, yet, but it was sniffing at the air. A howl sounded from the left, quickly followed by two more.

  Dario suppressed a curse, picking up a pebble and tossing it onto a rooftop on the other side of the street, creating a bit of light there as he did so.

  The dog's head snapped around, but it didn’t run off. It moved slowly and cautiously, continuing to sniff at the air. The beast looked almost like a ghost as it moved, thin strings of white Ki wrapping around its long, spindly legs and torso.

  He forced his breathing to slow down, watching carefully to not step on anything that would make a noise as they moved along the shadows of the street. But then, the subtle breeze turned into a soft gust of wind, carrying their scent straight to that ghostly dog. Dario had to suppress a groan as its head snapped around again, nose twitching and eyes searching.

  The dog’s eyes finally locked on them, its chest swelling as white Ki swirled into its lungs, a pale mist that built as it drew a long breath. Dario’s eyes widened, recognizing the swirling pattern from the trashgoats.

  “Incoming!” he shouted, clapping his hands over his ears before the beast let out a shrieking bark that echoed down the street. He ducked low and blasted a flash of light in its face, cutting the howl short, but the other dogs were already coming in fast, claws skittering over the stone road.

  They fled the snarling dogs, screaming and digging their palms into their ears with each Ki-fortified howl that rattled their skulls. Dario risked a glance over his shoulder just in time to see the next dog’s chest balloon, but now the Ki was different, thick and cloying.

  He cursed, diving to the side as the beast hacked up a glob of sticky white Ki that splashed across the ground like a glowing puddle. Nika vaulted over the pool, but Dario slipped, his boot skidding straight into it. “Oh come on!” he gasped as his foot stuck fast, arms windmilling wildly. He tried to yank free, but the white Ki held him like tacky syrup, fear bubbling up in his chest as the dog bounded closer, jaws snapping.

  Before it could pounce, Nika was there in a blur of dark Ki, fist smashing down like a sledgehammer. The dog dropped with a choked yelp, Ki dispersing into fading wisps. She grabbed Dario by the leg with both hands and heaved him free of the disgusting pool.

  “Move!” she barked, already sprinting for the open square in front of them, broken dome visible over the buildings ahead. Dario scrambled after her, legs wobbling and cursing as his left foot stuck to the ground with each step. They burst into the wide space together, breathing hard, only to skid to a halt.

  In the ochre glow and scattered shadows of the dome, nearly a dozen more beasts waited. Dogs padded in slow circles, low growls rumbling in their throats, while a few cats prowled along the ruined walls, claws glinting with faint red Ki.

  Circling around a smiling Uso, who waited far back in front of the Cupola, were five black beetles, their impenetrable black shrouds silently moving around them. One of his inky tentacles, gleaming as if covered in dark oil, gently stroked the back of one of the beetles.

  “Beautiful, are they not?” His distorted voice thundered through the open square, seeming to fill the entire space with its horrible sound. “With just a bit of your help, little Clays, we can soon share their beauty with others. Then we can spread and create even more brothers and sisters!”

  Dario’s heart hammered in his chest. He shot Nika a desperate look. “Plan…C?” he wheezed.

  “There is no plan C,” Nika said with a frown.

  “Exactly. It means we run,” Dario hissed, eyes flicking rapidly around the square.

  “Trying to run from this many is futile," Nika noted coldly as her eyes moved over the beasts. "If we kill enough of his precious minions, he will come at us and then we can execute plan B.”

  He muttered a curse when he saw the unmovable determination in her eyes, but he also knew she had a point. His lungs were already burning and the dogs would just sniff them out and run them down. With that weird sticky Ki, it would just be a matter of time until he got caught.

  Their eyes met briefly, Nika giving him a quick nod.

  “Use everything,” she said, and then she exploded forward.

  One of the dogs behind was readying another glob of sticky Ki in its throat, so he sprang into action as well, swerving left while casting a blinding flare to throw off its aim. It yelped, shaking its head wildly, but the two dogs behind him let out low, rattling growls while a pair of beetles came scuttling behind, black shrouds cloaking them in darkness. He glanced back, heart hammering as he saw the dogs spread out, flanking him wide to cut off escape.

  They’d catch him for sure if he followed Nika’s trail. Instead, he was forced off course, heading for one of the many collapsed buildings that was still passable. Hopefully he’d be able to lose some of the pursuing beasts in there before coming back out.

  He hit the ground rolling as a glob of white Ki splattered where he’d been a heartbeat earlier, the splash leaving strands of sticky energy over the stones. A beetle came for him, mandibles snapping, but he skidded past as he flared a burst of light into what he thought was its face.

  The dogs were too fast and too many, smart enough to close ranks around him. He would need to kill or cripple at least one of them to have a gap to run through. So he drew his second-to-last arrow with shaking hands, Ki shimmering faintly along the shaft. He feinted right, then leapt and whirled left, letting the arrow fly. It punched into a dog’s chest just as he blinded the others with more bright flashes of light. The yelping beast dropped, but the others were not far behind so he made a mad dash straight for the doorway.

  Meanwhile, Nika was moving like a phantom, already ahead of him and weaving through snarling dogs and globs of white Ki splattered over the cracked stone floor. The terrace rose ahead of her, a huge ceilinged walkway lined with cracked pillars that supported the many upper levels of the building above. Beetles scuttled forward, heavy black shrouds absorbing her blows. He watched how she pulverized an overly brave hound with a downwards blow and kicked the beetles aside to clear her path, eyes doubtless scanning for Uso, who still didn’t seem to be moving.

  “Parasite!” she called out to the massive demon. “I have more stories to tell! Come and listen!”

  Dario stumbled through the shattered doorway right as she dashed for the terrace, entering a ruined living room choked with dust, shattered stone and splintered wooden beams. He grabbed some vine cuttings, tossing them across the floor as he gathered his plant Ki and pushed it out. Vines burst forth behind him, creeping blindly up along half-collapsed beams. The hound, hot on his heels, went down in a tangle of creepers, but two beetles crawled through, the vines not managing to snare them in time.

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  He shot to the open window on the other side, but then stopped in his tracks as two cats came crawling in through his intended exit, hissing as their eyes locked on him. With nowhere to run, he backed away as he spread his Ki to the few openings that were letting light into the room. Cold despair took hold of him as the sharp stone of the wall pressed in his back.

  He had a moment to reflect that he still needed to find a name for this technique, before he flexed his Ki and the room went completely dark. He lunged right, diving over an approaching beetle and rolling over the ground.

  His heart sank as he noticed the cats trailing his movements, then twisted to the side to dodge an incoming slash of red Ki. Was it the sound? Or could they just see this well in the dark?

  Cats approached from either side, driving him into a corner where he wouldn’t be able to dodge anymore. His despair grew as his eyes searched for an escape, knuckles white around his dagger, when he noticed a bit of black Ki bubbling up from his chest. For some reason, it looked and felt the same as the shroud of the beetles…

  His eyes widened with realization and he let himself sink deep into that feeling of despair. His back was against the wall, there was nowhere to run. The beetles’ shrouds were impenetrable and the cats too fast and dangerous. They were going to kill him. He needed to use everything.

  Black smoke billowed out from his chest even as the despair felt like it was pulling him down into cold and dark water. But still there was a spark of resistance in him that never flickered out. He was going to get out of here. There was no other option.

  Paws swiped at him, but right before the red claws could tear through his chest, he clamped down on the despair and pushed the dark shroud out in front of him, compressing it into a thick shield. He let out a breath as the claws were stopped, then lunged forward, cutting the tendons of a cat’s leg.

  He dashed past as it whined and fell, making for the window as he hurriedly grabbed his one remaining snare trap. He could already hear the sounds of fighting from the square, animals screeching and Nika shouting, then he tossed the trap behind him and dove through.

  ***

  Nika danced through the storm of teeth, mandibles and claws, breath measured, each step deliberate. The path she’d taken was marked with cracked stones and crushed bodies. Her eyes flicked across the square, cataloguing threats with cold precision: three dogs rushing in, two cats prowling, and behind them, Uso’s disgusting bulk, still hanging back near the Cupola.

  She counted the distance to the terrace steps - fifteen meters, cluttered with rubble - then traced two possible routes, each flawed but viable. A hound lunged, but she pivoted to the side, letting its momentum carry it past.

  Side exposed. Off balance. Open for half a second.

  Nika brought her knuckles down behind its shoulder blade and was rewarded with a satisfying crack of bone, Ki dispersing as the beast crashed limply to the ground.

  Another glob of white Ki whistled past her ear. She slid low, one hand brushing the ground, muscles coiled and ready to move. The howling’s dissonant shriek rattled her teeth, but she forced her thoughts to remain clear just a moment longer. Her eyes caught a cat creeping along a broken pillar, claws glowing faintly with crimson Ki. Its tail flicked once before it leapt.

  As another cat moved in for a swipe, she remembered the text of her boron-bound book exactly: heaviness arises from the certainty of mass; imagine the mountain’s pressure and the endless canyon’s pull.

  A thin sliver of ivory Ki carrying the aspect of heft extended from her foot and onto the cat’s paw. The limb slammed into the ground as if chained by the stone beneath. The effect only lasted for a heartbeat, but it was enough, the cat’s momentum shattering as it stumbled and fell. She was on it in an instant with a quick yet devastating blow to its neck.

  But the use of heft still strained her mind; even pinning a single paw felt like wrestling a mountain. She could not yet afford to split her attention beyond one precise application at a time.

  Pain flared along her side as another cat took advantage of her extending to kill its kin. She twisted, avoiding a deeper wound, but blood welled up warm against her skin. Her mind coldly logged the injury, estimated its severity: superficial, muscle intact, bleeding manageable. Ignore it. Focus on the goal.

  A pair of beetles skittered close, black shrouds swirling like ink in water, Uso not far behind. She darted back, weaving through the terrace’s pillars, pale blue eyes pausing on the weakened sections. From the corner of her vision, she spotted Dario diving out of a building, followed by the snap and blast of air from one of his traps triggering. Good - they would need to coordinate on this final part. Collapsing one of the pillars too soon would give their scheme away.

  Backing away from snapping beetles, she called out to Dario, who was rushing toward her with another hound nipping at his heels, just a few strides away from the first pillar.

  “Executing plan B in five counts!”

  She dashed deeper in, to where three pillars stood close together, one tucked close against an inner wall, the other two facing the square, holding up the higher floors. These three were critical. But Uso was moving slowly, seeming to enjoy the show. She would need to draw him in.

  “I care only about creating value for the clan,” she whispered through gritted teeth, too quiet for anyone else to hear. “I don’t begrudge my parents a single thing about my upbringing.”

  A strand of Ki appeared from her chest, swirling in front of her, its auburn color marking her words as lies. Her stomach twisted, but she pushed down the awful implications, embracing the anger that boiled up instead.

  “Hey Uso!” she called out, sensing how he locked onto her with predatory intent. He was already humming about delicious lies. “Let me tell you something about the Houjo clan!”

  His form unfolded like a spider emerging from its lair, each movement of the long black claws smooth and eerily controlled. The old man’s desiccated corpse, which she thought of as the parasite’s center, was lifted up off the ground as the many claws carried it forward, dark brown tentacles slithering along the ground.

  “Yes,” the monster rumbled as it scurried ahead with unsettling speed, reaching the ceilinged walkway faster than expected. “Tell me your stories!”

  “If there’s one thing that you should remember about the Houjos,” she said as a flare of red Ki replaced the auburn cloud and she took hold of it, wrapping it around her fists with great effort.

  “It’s that we hold a grudge. NOW!” she roared as her arm struck out at the innermost pillar, shards of stone exploding away as it came down.

  She saw Dario’s working take hold, dressing her in shadows as a ball of light exploded in front of Uso right as he was coming at her. Her Ki moved from her hands smoothly into her legs as she leapt, flying to the side, landing in a roll that turned into a sprint. Uso growled as she darted past him.

  A quick glance to the left showed Dario sprinting out from underneath the ceilinged walkway, eyes wild and arms pumping.

  Nika dove forward, Ki moving from the legs back into her arms and she stretched both as if she were a soaring bird, Ki-fortified hands slicing through the weakened parts of the two final pillars.

  BOOM!

  Dario’s explosive trap went off, destroying yet another pillar. The ones she’d just cut through shifted, before an ominous rumbling announced the collapse of the entire structure.

  The building’s integrity had already been compromised in a way that made it lean subtly forward, so when the pillars collapsed, it was like cutting the feet out from underneath the giant and the whole formation came crashing down.

  The crash was deafening, loud enough even to drown out Uso’s furious roar, but neither of them had the time to look back, running as fast as they could to get clear from the falling stones as Uso and several of his cursed beasts were all buried together.

  Dario came up beside her, gasping for breath as he ran. With his pack and clothes torn and soaked with sweat, skin covered in dust and dried up blood, he did not look like he was about to break out in song.

  “Am I going crazy?” he asked in between heaving breaths, “or did you see a damn bear in one of the side streets?”

  “...I have not seen any bears,” Nika said, craning her head to look up at the spire that would lead them once more up to the roof of the Cupola. “Let us hope that for once, your eyes are mistaken. Shall we?”