Tayla laid on her bed as she stared up at the ceiling of her room. She was still wearing her navel officers uniform, she struggled to care about such minor things as a wrinkled outfit. For the thousandth time she reached out to the branch in her mind that should have led to her brother. It was cold and lifeless, sheared at the base and left to wither and die.

  How had she been such an idiot? She had weeks and weeks to reach out and talk to her brother, to try and figure out what was happening and work together. Twin’s rarely went more than a few hours without using the link, and yet they hadn’t even tried to talk. Now they might never get that chance again.

  It felt like her very being had been cleaved in half. She remembered the moment it had happened, she had lost herself to the pain. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Every atom, every fiber, her very mind itself felt like it was violently ripped away from her body. In that agony she fought to hold on to her sanity, if she had wavered for even a moment she might have fallen victim to the fleshchange. Through some miracle she had held on, in the middle of that violent storm that threatened to consume her she had found something to ground herself. A rhythmic beating of some distant drum, it had been the one thing she could hold onto while she weathered the storm. She had lost track of how long it had been since that horrible night, but ever since she could feel the drum in her head even when she closed her eyes to sleep.

  The drum was hauntingly similar to the sound Magnus had made when Tayla had tamed the Krak’un. Though if Magnus was a small marching drum, this other sound was colossal, so rich and deep that it echoed across the heavens.

  “Dee.” She said weakly.

  The skeletal figure of her not so imaginary friend wandered into view. His form was changing bit by bit, now there were patches of veins and arteries hanging loose from his bones. Even without a mouth Tayla knew the man was smiling.

  “How you feeling Taytay?” Dee said with mock worry. No, Tayla frowned. That was creeping uncomfortably close to real concern, which was even more alarming. It meant she was really doing shitty if Dee was showing compassion.

  “I feel like I’ve been lobotomized.” She whispered as her voice croaked out.

  Dee shrugged. “It’s not that bad. I mean, it almost was that bad, but you pulled through like a champ.”

  Tayla’s eyes watered. “They took my brother from me.” Sorrow twisted in her gut as it gave way to blinding rage. “I will make them pay for this!”

  The glow of Dee’s eyes shifted, a strange focus came over the man’s demeanor. “Careful kiddo. You won’t win a fight with the Court, not a clean fight anyways.” There was a weight to his words, a lifetime of history that backed it up.

  “What do I do?”

  Dee paused, he tried to speak but nothing came out. “I can’t tell you what to do. I can push my bindings but the oaths that hold me won’t allow me to interfere too much.” His tone and what he was saying was so jarring that Tayla blinked in surprise. “But what I can say is that you’ll need to ready your people, prepare yourself, and make sure that whatever happens you have those you can trust to aid you.”

  Tayla swallowed a lump in her throat. “Can I trust you?” She asked.

  Dee turned his gaze away slightly. Before he could answer there came a knock at the door. The strange form of Dee vanished into thin air as he disappeared to whatever corner of Tayla’s mind he called home when not harassing her.

  Tayla raised her voice. “I don’t want to be disturbed!”

  The knocking continued again.

  After grumbling for a moment Tayla swung her legs off the bed and dragged herself upright. She stumbled to the door and hit the console without checking to see who it was. She already had an idea.

  Sure enough, the ragged form of Thoren stood in the doorway.

  Tayla sighed. “I said I didn’t want to be disturbed.”

  “I know.” Thoren said as he slid past to enter the room, sitting in a nearby chair with a thud. “I’m not here to disturb you, I’m here to check on you.”

  Closing the door Tayla pulled at her long dark curly hair. Her hands came away covered in oil and grease. She tried to hide her shame as she hoped Thoren hadn’t noticed. “I don’t need to be checked on by you.”

  Thoren pulled back his hood. The man had been- was handsome. Though once clean shaven he now had the startings of a beard, his once bright blue eyes now dull and stormy. His blond short hair was starting to grow out. Tayla realized she was staring as she turned to fiddle with something by her bed.

  Thoren rubbed the stump where his arm had been. For losing two of his limbs the man could get around remarkably well. The peg leg where his other foot should have been didn’t seem to slow him down much at all.

  Tayla was staring again.

  “Tayla, you caused a storm that froze half the nation when your brother was arrested. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you, but as your…” Thoren trailed off.

  “My what? My guest? What should I call the man that showed up out of the blue begging for a place to hide? Do you feel like telling me what happened and where Fel and Phi are?” Tayla was lashing out unfairly, yet she couldn’t stop herself.

  Thoren looked up with a pained expression. “-As you friend. I’m worried about you.”

  “I wasn’t aware that we were friends.” Even as the words left her lips, Tayla regretted them.

  There was a long pause as both of them shifted uncomfortably. Thoren eventually cleared his throat. “We made it to Fulcrest. We spent some time looking for leads, I was under the impression we were looking for those that had stolen from the Nightfather. I thought we were bringing justice to those that would dare use such a weapon against the Court. That wasn’t the case…” His eyes grew distant as he leaned forward on his remaining elbow. “Fel pointed out that the weapon isn’t the issue, the problem is who they planned on using the weapon on.”

  “Who is it?”

  “The All Mother.”

  Tayla’s legs gave out as she fell backwards. She landed against the wall as she slid to the floor. “Saint’s watch over us.” She mumbled. “But how? They can’t reach her-”

  Thoren scowled. “She’s currently in the process of reincarnating.” He reached out his hand and tried to recite a simple chant. Nothing happened. “Something is wrong though, even when the God’s change hosts, their powers are still accessible during the transition. Whatever the case, the power is gone. We fought an assassin in Fulcrest who unleashed a Phorebearer unlike any I’ve seen before. During the fight I lost my arm and leg, but thanks to Fel we managed to destroy the Dragoon before it wiped out the city.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “When I awoke I found a letter from Fel. They mentioned that I would only slow them down and they couldn’t risk any delays.”

  Tayla struggled to take it all in. It all sounded so impossible. She stuttered as she tried to wrap her head around it all. “So, where are they now?”

  “They went looking for the new host. So that they can protect her until the process is complete.”

  Something inside Tayla surged to life. A need to protect her maker. There was an insane part of her that wanted to rally a warband of her people and march all the way to wherever Fel and Phi were to protect the All Mother’s new body. Even if it meant throwing away her own life in the process.

  After a moment the rational side won out as she realized how crazy that would be. Though she had come close to pulling the trigger.

  “That still leaves the question. Why did you come here and not simply go report your findings to the Court?” Tayla said.

  “Fel brought up some good points. The only reason the Nightfather would act the way he did was if he was worried that the Court couldn’t protect the All Mother themselves. Furthermore, the only way anyone could know the All Mother was in need of a new host would be if someone leaked that information, and that means that someone aboard Caelum Prime wants our maker dead.”

  Tayla’s blood ran cold. “There’s no way to know who in the Court wants her dead.” She cursed. “So why did you come here?”

  Thoren turned away. “I couldn’t think of anyone else I could trust.”

  “What about your brothers and sisters back in the Spire? Surely the Stormpriests would be loyal.”

  “As long as there is a sliver of doubt, I can’t risk revealing what Fel and Phi are doing. So I came to the one person I thought would trust me.”

  The two stared at each other. The seconds dragged on as neither seemed willing to break the moment.

  Just as Tayla considered saying something foolish there came a knock at the door that caused both of them to quickly glance away in embarrassment. Tayla motioned for Thoren to hide around the corner as she made for the door. Once again she opened it without checking the screen, it was probably Abigail or Grisha.

  The door slid up to reveal a man in a white robe. Before Tayla could understand what was happening the man reached out and recited a spell. The air howled as it was supercharged with arcane energy. Thoren cried out in surprise, in the same instant Tayla quickly drew one of her pistols and shot the man in the chest as her world was engulfed in a white flash.

  A split second later Tayla found herself outside. The harsh winds of winter hit her all at once as she shivered from the sudden change in temperature. She looked around and saw that she was in the coral highlands. While it was still early in the evening, this time of year it still meant that it was pitch black outside. The highlands were a maze to even those that lived there, Tayla would have little luck finding her way back without a guide.

  Below her was the man in the white robes, he was dead from the gunshot to his chest.

  She instinctively reached for the link only to be met once again with its lifeless remains. With a click of her tongue she reached for her connection with Magnus. The Krak’un shuddered to life at her beck and call. She began to command it when she heard another figure from around a bend. Without wasting time she quietly hid in a nook in the nearby valley wall as she held her pistols at the ready.

  “Where the fuck did she go? Mathus must have screwed up the calculations.” The stranger said in a masculine voice.

  Another chimed in. “You can’t mess up a recall spell, not unless he was interrupted before it finished. They must be around here somewhere.”

  “There was a spike in arcane energy so the spell went off.” Yet another voice spoke up.

  The voices grew closer until they were almost right on top of Tayla. One of them gasped. “Oh shit. I found Mathus.”

  “They shot him? No wonder the recall went off target.”

  Tayla risked peeking around the corner. Just enough to get a glance. The three others were wearing more of the same robes, it hid the rest of their features but from their builds they didn’t look like soldiers. That left an unpleasant idea.

  They were mages.

  Abigail had taught Tayla a bit about the arcane, and what she always stressed was that fighting a mage was never a fair fight. It was like trying to box with someone who had a machine gun, unless you were lucky you would be dead before you got close enough to knock some sense into them.

  The mages looked around, one summoned a ball of energy to fly through the air, shedding light on the area. Tayla saw their features for a moment. They were each human from the looks of it, which meant their night vision was poor. That gave her an advantage to work with.

  Judging by their lack of response to their friend's death, they were professionals. That meant assassins. Tayla leaned her head against the stone. What had she done to draw a pack of magical assassins? Her mind immediately summoned the image of Nel’Dorn. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.

  Tayla glanced back out as she considered her options. She had the jump on them. She could try and kill all of them quickly, but if she missed or they had a barrier she would be a sitting duck. There was no telling if there were more of them either.

  For now her best bet was to wait.

  As one of the robed figures walked forward a kelp snake lashed out. The snakes were ambush hunters that hid themselves by moving like the kelp fronds of the highlands until they could strike. The snake was quick, but as it lashed out it struck a shimmering wall that covered the figure's body, with a sharp crack the snake's head exploded.

  Good thing I didn’t try to jump out. Tayla thought with a gulp.

  She watched as the figure grumbled about getting blood on their robe. They moved over to a nearby stream of water that was flowing from the cliffs above and rinsed their sleeves off.

  That told Tayla a lot about their barriers. It worked like a kinetic shield, stopping anything over a certain speed while allowing slower objects through. Tayla had read about faulty shields that could block everything, including the wearer's own breathing. They usually passed out from carbon dioxide poisoning and died soon after. Anyone nearby could only sit and wait for the battery to die out on the device before it could be retrieved.

  In the distance there were the sounds of alarms echoing through the Coast. Word must have gotten out about Tayla’s disappearance.

  The three seemed to care little about the alarms. It would take hours to search the whole of Navalia, let alone the fields. Hells, it could be days until someone thought to check the Highlands.

  Just as Tayla thought the assassins would move on to another area she heard another group approach. She made out what looked to be seven.

  The odds of her getting out of this were getting worse and worse.

  “Dee.” Tayla said, the word wasn’t even spoken so much as thought loudly.

  “I have to take out the trash. Be back in a couple minutes.” Dee’s response sounded distant.

  Tayla didn’t even want the weirdo in her head, but the least he could do was be helpful right now.

  A raised voice brought her focus back to the group of mages. “Fan out. Use any seeking spells you know to find her. Make sure to stay in pairs.” The voice belonged to a woman, by the way the others responded she must have been the one in charge. Tayla snuck a glance and saw that the woman’s white robe was hemmed with a golden band around her neck. Yep, that looks like a leader to me. Tayla thought to herself.

  The mages began to move in groups of two as they spread out into the branching paths of the Highlands. Tayla watched as each group recited different spells, some summoning animals of light, while others looked around with glowing eyes that no doubt pierced the darkness with ease. One group wandered back to the corpse of the one called Mathus. A woman knelt down and recited a spell while touching the bullet wound.

  Tayla had a terrible hunch as she watched the bullet lurch from the dead man’s chest into the air. It zipped towards Tayla’s hiding spot as it came to a stop beside the revolver that had fired the bullet.

  The two mages readied themselves as they came closer to Tayla’s hiding spot. She tapped into the Tranquility to calm her racing heart. The other mages were out of sight at least, but she would need to act quickly if she hoped to get out of this.

  As the two mages crept closer, Tayla grabbed a bullet from her vest pocket with her dead hand. She channeled a touch of the Nightfather’s gift into the bullet as she gently tossed it towards the approaching figures.

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  The woman on the right instinctively reached up and attempted to catch the slowly moving bullet out of instinct. As her hands wrapped around it the gunpowder inside reacted violently. The subtle change Tayla had made to the gunpowder within caused it to explode without warning. The woman looked at the shredded remains of what was once her hand in shock.

  Tayla leapt out at that moment. She saw the other mage staring at his partner in surprise as she quickly reached out with her dead hand. Just as she came close to the barrier she slowed her hand enough to pass through without issue. She placed her shriveled right hand on the man's mouth and channeled the Tranquility. The mage's jaw froze solid as his skin boiled and blistered from the rapid drop in temperature. He reached up to try and free his encased mouth and was met with a knife to the throat.

  Tayla pulled the dagger away as she grabbed the woman around the neck before she could escape. With slow pressure she sank the blade into the base of the woman’s neck until she grew still.

  There was no time to waste. The explosion would attract attention. Tayla quickly ran in the direction she had seen the least amount of mages move towards. From behind she heard cries from the others as they called out in alarm.

  She looked over her shoulder and saw an owl of pure light flying overhead towards her. She stopped just long enough to take aim as she let out a single round. The owl burst into a bright ball as it disappeared. The mages were casting spells as they shot bolts of pure energy and arrows of ice that streaked behind Tayla. She couldn’t risk turning back now, instead she reached for a handful of bullets and tossed them backwards with her deadhand. They caused a series of explosions that forced the mages to pause in their pursuit for a moment.

  That moment was all it took for Tayla to find a crack in the coral cliffs and squeeze her way through until she found herself in yet another ravine. She wasted no time in running as far as her legs would carry her. She didn’t have to kill all of her attackers, if she could make her way towards the fields, or wait until help arrived she would be okay.

  That hope quickly faded as Tayla glanced up and saw the stars vanish, she felt like she was suddenly ripped from her world and thrown into another. Memories came back to her from the grand hunt, the elder Krak’un had put up some barrier that had a similar feeling, and during the send off the Nightfather manifested a feeling much the same. Someone had put a curtain up to hide themselves from prying eyes.

  Tayla glanced back as she saw a few mages soar into the air on wings of light. The barrier was so they could hunt her without worry.

  There was no time to think, she had to find somewhere to hide. Tayla ran along the cliff wall as she hid from the flying mages. Soon enough she found a hole in the wall that she quickly slipped into. She panted as she tried to think of what she could do to escape from the situation.

  Without warning the barrier vanished. Tayla looked up and could see the stars once more. The flying mages were right on Tayla’s heels as they stopped to share a look of confusion. Obviously the barrier disappearing hadn’t been part of their plan.

  That didn’t stop them for long as they summoned a wicked floating eyeball. The bulbous thing cast its gaze back and forth until it turned to face Tayla with a shriek. The mages wasted no time soaring towards her hiding place.

  Tayla leaned back as she cursed. She tried to think of what to do but she was outnumbered and her little trick wouldn’t work if she couldn’t reach the bastards with her knife. A desperate idea came to mind as she readied one of her revolvers.

  Three mages came to a stop some thirty feet from the hole that Tayla was hiding in, they didn’t seem stupid enough to get closer after what happened to their friends. One of them began to recite a spell, and in that moment Tayla aimed from the darkness and fired a single round.

  The bullet landed right inside the bastard's mouth. The barrier reacted with the same violent force, but this time it pushed outwards from inside the man’s body. There was a sickening snap as the man’s jaw was ripped loose by the explosion. The half chanted spell fizzled as a sickly ball of green light lashed out and reduced another of the attackers to a fine mist in an instant.

  The third mage wasted no time as they screamed obscenities between arcane chants. He unleashed a barrage of magical arrows and bolts that crashed into the cliff as Tayla grit her teeth in preparation for her death. Just as she thought she felt the Nightfather’s breath on her neck she sensed the link nudge at her. The mage paused as a massive shape dropped from the cliff and smashed him into bits on the rocks below.

  The shape stood with a huff as Magnus clacked its jaw.

  Tayla let herself bark out a laugh as she sent a pulse of pure elation to the Krak’un. Magnus waved its kelp blades in joy at being of service to its master.

  The joy was short lived as a bolt of energy struck Magnus along its shell as it slumped to the side.

  The other mages had caught up and were out for blood. Another barrage of arcane lights smashed into the cliff as the mages hurled everything they could muster with the intent of turning Tayla into a fine paste. From the other side of the ravine Tayla could see what looked like a dozen regular soldiers that were obviously there to aid the mages. She had allowed herself to be boxed in.

  She reached through the link to Magnus and saw that while it was stunned, it hadn’t been harmed too badly. The Krak’un let out a huff as it launched a barrage of kelp blades out at the mages. Several of whom cried out in pain, no doubt they were less focused on their barriers as they were on killing Tayla.

  In that moment of confusion Tayla leaned out and unloaded a volley of shots. A few more mages dropped, while one managed to have the wherewithal to erect a wall of shimmering hues to protect them.

  As great as it felt to wound a few of the mages, there were still enough to be a problem. Not to mention the soldiers that were charging her with spears and shields. Tayla took a deep breath as she readied herself for a last stand.

  Just then the soldiers began to scream. Tayla glanced out and saw a group of Krak’un drop from above and rip the men apart in seconds. The mages looked on in horror as the cliff above them exploded. A torrent of water from the lake that sat above the Highlands crashed into them, scattering the mages as they tried to fight for air. As each one emerged from the water they were met with a thresher whip around their neck. A simple flick of the wrist was all it took to relieve the assassins from their heads.

  Tayla burst out from the crack. “Don’t kill the one with the gold on their cloak! I need her alive!” She yelled.

  The Clanless Twins that hung from the walls were almost invisible with their painted cloaks, but Tayla could see them each raise their deadhand as they acknowledged her orders. She turned to the feeding Krak’un to ensure she wasn’t next on the menu. When she deemed them safe she allowed herself a moment to approach Magnus and run her hand along its shell.

  “I owe you my life.” She said.

  Magnus rubbed its shell back and forth against Tayla’s hand as it clacked its jaw in what she felt was joy.

  It didn’t take long for the Clanless to dispose of the rest of the mages and their guards. One cloaked figure approached Tayla and knelt down before removing his hood. It was Ton.

  “My lady. We thank the Nightfather that you are safe.” Ton said.

  Tayla waved for the older man to stand. “I owe you all a great debt for coming to my rescue, and for getting rid of that strange barrier.”

  Ton looked confused. “We thought you were the one that disrupted the barrier.”

  “Regardless, I’m glad you arrived when you did.” Tayla said as she walked towards Ton. She saw something moving from the corner of her eye. A bolt of energy zigzagged through the air intent on boring through her skull. Before she could react Ton leapt out and pushed Tayla to safety, but not before the blast tore clean through his chest.

  The Clanless roared in anger as they turned to find the gold robed woman panting from a crevice she had hidden inside. Before she could cast another spell she was grabbed by a dozen thresher whips that each sunk deep into her limbs and neck. Her robes quickly soaked with her own blood.

  One of the hooded figures stabbed the mage in the neck with a needle that caused the woman to pass out.

  Tayla hurried to Ton as she pressed on the wound and tried to stop the torrent of blood. “Come on Ton! Hang in there!” She cried.

  The hooded figure ran towards Ton with another of the same needles that they had used on the woman. They glanced up at Tayla, their eyes were haunted as they seemed to be trying to come to a decision. Ton reached out and placed his hand on the figure's arm. “It’s okay. She can be trusted.” Ton said weakly.

  Before Tayla could figure out what he meant, the hooded figure stabbed the needle into Ton’s chest. Tayla watched in horror as the older man's skin turned a pinkish hue, his hair absorbing back into his skin as plates of bone moved into their rightful home.

  The man was a Faceless.

  Ton grew still as his breathing stopped. He wasn’t dead, but seemed to be in a state of suspended animation.

  “What the hells is going on?” Tayla said.

  The hooded figure pulled back their hood to reveal their face. “You may remember me more clearly like this.” The man’s face shifted and cracked as it took on the look of a man in his mid thirties, Tayla had seen this face before. It belonged to the stranger she had found on the day of the grand hunt. The same man that had given her the Volburn that she had used to make it in time to save her brother.

  Tayla looked at the other hooded figures. “How many of you are faceless?” She watched the group awkwardly look at one another before each one removed their hoods to reveal the inhuman features of Faceless. “So now what? Do you intend to kill me?” Even as she said the words Magnus inched closer to its master.

  “No. We don’t want to hurt you, we…” He trailed off.

  One by one the other Faceless lowered themselves on a single knee.

  “We wish to serve you.” The Faceless man said.

  Tayla looked at Ton. The man had been faithful and steadfast. “My father gave you all sanctuary here didn’t he.”

  The stranger nodded. “Word spread that there was a place that was safe. Where we could raise our young without fear of retribution. We have lived as Twins our whole lives, learned your ways and made them our own.

  “Just how many secrets did my father keep from me?”

  A crack of thunder sounded above. “We need to hurry. If we are found now we will all be found guilty of treason. What do we do with Ton?” Tayla said.

  The man put his hood back on. “We need to bring him to our clutch, there the broodmother can mend his wounds.” He reached down and gingerly lifted Ton’s body.

  “You have a broodmother? Here?” The thought caused Tayla’s skin to crawl.

  One of the other Faceless approached. “We spotted another group of assassins on our way here. You should come with us until we can get you back to the Keel safely.”

  Tayla looked at the lightning in the sky as it boomed closer and closer. “There’s no need. You all have to leave right now, once Ton has recovered we will have a chance to discuss what will happen next.”

  The hooded man seemed to hesitate. “My name is Albert.”

  “Albert, your Queen gave you an order. Take the captive mage, and see Ton to safety.”

  The Faceless each gave a sharp salute as they quickly grabbed the wounded pair and disappeared into the Highlands without a sound. The Krak’un they commanded lumbered away into the night. Magnus for its part refused to leave.

  Tayla tried to command that beast but it pushed back. It wouldn’t leave her side until she was safe.

  “Thank you Magnus, but I think I’ll be okay. My ‘friend’ is almost here.” As she said the words the bolt of lightning streaked down from the heavens as Thoren materialized beside Tayla. The Stormpriest looked ready for war as he readied the mangled remains of his spear to cut down anyone he deemed a threat. Even as he saw Magnus he raised his hand to strike the beast down.

  “Thoren! Stop!” Tayla stood between Thoren and Magnus. “This is Magnus. He’s bonded to me.”

  Thoren’s jaw fell as he looked up at the hulking shape of Magnus. “Since when?” He said dumbfounded.

  Tayla shrugged. “The same night you snuck into my room looking for a warm bed. What can I say, I seem to have a knack for picking up strays.”

  Magnus nuzzled against Tayla as it clacked its jaw.

  “Okay.” Thoren turned to look at the remains of the assassins. “And them?”

  “Some of them are my handiwork, but most are from a group of Clanless that rescued me.”

  “And where are they now?” Thoren asked. He did little to hide his suspicion.

  Tayla shrugged. “They had wounded, I told them to take the captive back and tend to their wounded. I also figured the strange bolt of lightning in the middle of winter might be a certain Stormpriest that was on his way to save me.” She gestured to the pile of corpses. “Not bad for a damsel in distress.”

  Thoren lowered his spear. “Oh I wasn’t thinking you needed rescuing. I just figured you might save me a few to let off some steam.”

  Tayla smiled. “Thank you for caring. Now, it's dark and there might still be some assassins prowling around so why don’t you make like a good nightlight and walk me home.”

  Glancing at the wooden peg where his leg should have been, Thoren signed. “I can probably make it to the edge of the Highlands and then I’ll have to shift the rest of the way there.”

  “How romantic.”

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing.” Tayla said as she helped brace Thoren’s bad side.

  ◆◆◆

  The job had been simple. Eliminate the Queen of the Black Coast by using a recall spell to ambush her. The spell had failed, and the team had split up to track her down. Dawn’s job was erecting a barrier to keep the Queen from escaping, yet as soon as she had cast the spell something had gone wrong.

  From the darkness came the rhythmic sound of footsteps, with each thud the sound grew closer and closer. Dawn turned to her team and nodded, she watched as Fae and John raised their hands in anticipation, arcane energy danced at their fingertips as they readied their offensive spells to deal with the sudden interruption.

  A silhouette emerged from the shadows, it was too far to make out the details, but they had their hands raised in the air slightly. A sarcastic voice came from the stranger, both overly confident, and overly friendly. “Well, evening friends. That’s a nice little barrier you set up. You looking to commit some sins while having the gods turn a blind eye?” He asked, a toothy grin barely visible through the shroud of darkness.

  Dawn gave the signal as Fae tapped into the source arcana, a crackle of power blossomed at her finger tip as she unleashed a beam of pure energy towards the stranger. For a split second the figure in the dark was illuminated. It was a thin man with fair skin. He was dressed in a long blue robe that was open along the front, revealing a mesh undershirt that covered his torso. He wore leather pants and fur covered boots that came up to his knees.

  While his outfit was gaudy to say the least, it was his face that was the most eye catching thing. It was captivating, not beautiful or handsome per se, but mesmerizing. He smiled with a toothy grin, though it seemed off. His long white hair was tied into a ponytail that fell over his left shoulder, the hair had a slight lilac hue. The worst thing were the man’s eyes. They seemed to be alive, shifting with colors and hues that could never exist in the natural world as they stared through Dawn into the very recesses of her mind.

  Dawn took all of this in in the fraction of a second it took for the beam of energy to fly through the air towards the stranger. The man’s smile broadened, winking as the beam of light bent backwards impossibly. Dawn watched in horror as the beam connected with Fae’s right eye, boring a hole clean through her skull instantly. Fae shuddered as she crumpled to the ground dead, blood and brain matter oozing from the steaming hole.

  Cursing aloud, John drew power and clapped his hands together, holding them in place as walls of force crashed into the stranger on either side, such was the power of the walls that a normal person would be turned to a thin paste. With growing dread Dawn watched as the man seemed unphased, his clothing merely bunching up slightly.

  “John, stop!” Dawn cried out, trying to warn her teammate of the danger, but it was too late, the man waved his wrists outwards nonchalantly. With a sickening crack and a loud wet pop, John’s arms flew outwards from his body, detaching from his torso and liquifying against the cliff walls as they crashed into the stone with enough force to crack the coral lattice.

  John wailed as he fell to his knees, his screams echoed down the ravine as he howled. The man was still approaching, his face now gently illuminated by the lone ball of light they had cast. At the sight of John the man’s face twisted as he pouted. “Come now, I can’t have you interrupting such a touching romantic moment.” He said as he put a finger to his lips and shushed. John’s throat split open like the zipper on a coat, revealing the muscles and bone beneath his skin. One by one his vocal cords unraveled as John was silenced for good. He could only look around, his eyes darting back and forth as he hyperventilated softly.

  Dawn nearly dropped her hands, the man appeared before her without taking a step. “I can’t have you dropping the barrier just yet, I want to make the most out of this.” He grinned from ear to ear as he looked down at Dawn as she began to shake uncontrollably. She mustered the willpower to nod as she fought to keep her barrier up, knowing that the moment it fell she would be killed just like the others.

  The remaining members of the team were frozen in fear, none could bring themselves to try and fight against the monster that laid before them. As if sensing that none were going to raise a hand against him again the man frowned. “Well shit, I can’t harm any of you unless it’s in retaliation. I was hoping to play a bit longer.” The man said, seeming genuinely hurt by the prospect that his game had ended too soon.

  Gregory cleared his throat and spoke quietly. “We’re just hired mercenaries, if you’ll let us go we will never do this kind of work again!” He pleaded frantically. Beads of sweat running down his forehead.

  The man seemed to pause and think on the matter for a moment. Stroking his chin with one hand as he closed his eyes. “On the one hand I could, on the other you did try and kill my BFF. I’m so torn.” He mused aloud.

  “Please don’t kill me.” Dawn didn’t recognize the voice that spoke until the man looked at her and she realized that it had been her own voice, it was so twisted with fear and dread that it sounded like a poor imitation of herself.

  With a shrug the man simply turned and started to leave. “Sure.” He said as he whistled a tune to himself, his figure disappearing into the darkness once more. Dawn felt tears sting her eyes, she heard Gregory sobbing, both of them fell to the ground and curled in on themselves.

  Vince stood motionless, staring at Fae. At the sight of the retreating man his face twisted with rage and anguish as he sprinted forwards, pulling a dagger from his belt as he flung himself at the stranger. The stranger turned with a gleeful smile. As Vince was about to crash into the stranger, the stone beneath the man warped and bent around him as the coral rock formations deformed from some unseen force. Vince collided into the man, accompanied by the sound of fractured bones as the stranger stood motionless from the impact. Vince fell to the ground, coughing up blood as he looked up at the smiling monster of a man.

  Raising his right hand the stranger snapped his fingers, and reality wept in response. The walls of the ravine shook as the world expanded, the scenery that surrounded them flew into nothingness as all around the three remaining assassins was the vastness of space. The stranger's body shifted into pure light, growing larger and larger in scale rapidly. Soon the light was the size of a city, then a continent, within a moment, it was larger than the sun itself.

  Dawn watched the growing light, transfixed by the sheer power of this being. Looking over she watched as layer by layer Vince was unmade. His skin was slowly peeled away like a fruit, then so too were his muscles and tendons, followed by his organs, liquifying into a singular substance before being blown away. The bones were sliced away in cross sections as everything that once made up Vince was undone in a matter of seconds. Until all that remained was the man’s soul, or perhaps his consciousness; in the form of a tiny speck of light. While the rest of Vince was scattered away, the last remnants were drawn into the colossal ball of energy. Vince was devoured, his existence in the end amounting to little more than a snack for this monstrous being.

  Staring at the shining charona of this being that matched the majesty and scope of any star, Dawn had a horrible realization. The energy, the blinding light of this being, was made from millions, if not billions of the same motes of light that Vince had been reduced too. She was gazing into the maw of a beast that had consumed entire worlds, a thing of such size and scope that she was but a speck of dust on its body.

  Willing her magic to work, Dawn seized the only opportunity she saw from this fate worse than oblivion. With a sickening snap, her head twisted around as her neck and spine were obliterated. Her Death was almost instantaneous, almost. As her head twisted, for a brief moment reality returned to normal, and there stood the monster from beyond the stars. Smiling. Behind its eyes were the minds of billions, there was no heart in its chest, just a cored out star that it had crawled into to make a home. This was the end of all life in the universe, the great destroyer, oblivion manifest. This was Chaos incarnate shoved into a hollowed out corpse.

  The thing that wasn’t a man spoke aloud to itself. “Sorry Taytay, I just finished taking out the trash. I see you found yourself some fine company.” The last thing Dawn saw as she died was the vile things skin burst from its body as it walked away as a flaming skeleton.