A woman dressed in leather armor stood in the kitchen next to a small lantern. A large rack of half-eaten ribs sat in front of her. She looked up as Braxton and the brunette entered with weapons drawn, the cool blue light of his blade clashing with the warm orange glow of hers.

  The newcomer locked eyes with the brunette woman. A small smile began to creep across her face as she wiped grease from her chin. The brunette sighed and shook her head, the tension in her shoulders noticeably dropping.

  “I told you I was going to handle this alone,” Braxton’s companion said.

  The new woman pulled a bone from her mouth and tossed it onto the counter with a hollow clatter. “And I told you that wasn’t going to happen, Izzy.”

  Braxton looked at his neighbor from across the hall, and then the new woman. They were about the same height and build with the same chestnut hair and a similar hardness in their gaze.

  “You two know each other?” he asked, his sword still held low.

  “You could say that,” Izzy said, finally lowering her weapon.

  The new woman looked Braxton up and down. Her eyes lingered on the hairy, bare chest showing through his open nightshirt. “So, this is who you left me for?” she asked. “Looks like I interrupted your special time. I’m sorry.”

  “No…” Izzy said with a hint of frustration. “I just met him. He’s staying in the room across the hall from me.”

  Braxton cleared his throat, feeling the chill of the kitchen floor on his bare feet. “She speaks the truth. We both heard something and came to investigate. My name is Braxton River.”

  The new woman smiled and approached to shake hands, her grip firm and warm. “Camryn Stryker,” she said. “Pleasure. And I see you’ve already met Isabel Baske.”

  Izzy started to say something, but then stopped and looked away toward the dark window.

  “Baske?” Braxton asked slowly.

  Izzy let out another sigh. “Yes, Baske. As in Castle Baske. I told Cammy that I was going to come and handle the situation here alone—family duty and all that.”

  Cammy shook her head. “And like I said, not happening, m’lady. There’s only two of us left. Like it or not, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  “Two of you?” Braxton asked.

  Cammy smiled in the dim light and held up her reddish-orange glowing blade, nearly identical to the one Izzy brandished. “Sisters of the Sun Sword. There used to be five of us. Now, it’s just me and Izzy.”

  “Yes,” Izzy replied, clearly unimpressed. “Just the two of us.”

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  “The two of you are close then?” Braxton continued.

  Izzy let out a huff and looked away again, her jaw tight. The smile faded from Cammy’s face, replaced by a flicker of something painful. “Well, we used to be,” she said softly. “Right, Izzy?”

  The other brunette did not reply. Cammy took a deep breath and forced a change of subject. “Braxton, was it? That’s a fine blade you wield.”

  He held up his magic weapon, its soft blue glow illuminating half his face and casting long, flickering shadows against the kitchen pantry. “Yes, a crystal frost brand forged by the lower mountain dwarves of the northern ice lands. A gift from their chief when I helped rid them of a band of trolls.”

  The smile returned to Cammy’s face. “Very nice. So, what brings you to Misty Grove?”

  He looked over at Izzy. “It would seem I’m here for the same reason Isabel is. It is said that a monstrous presence has been threatening this place. People going missing. Lights appearing in the old castle. The townsfolk have posted a reward. I mean to claim it.”

  Cammy understood and nodded. “A fortune seeker then. Understood. Well, we might as well work together then, right Izzy?”

  Izzy scowled. “The two of you are welcome to do whatever you want. I’m here for duty, not to earn a purse with a few coins in it.”

  Cammy stared at the other woman for a moment, then turned back to Braxton with a playful glint in her eyes. “She gets like this sometimes. I know how to calm—”

  “No!” Izzy declared. “I told you, Cammy. We’re done. Get it through your thick head.”

  Cammy’s face clouded over and her smile vanished. She was about to reply when a piercing scream echoed from the floor above. Braxton and Izzy locked eyes instantly.

  “The innkeeper,” they said in unison, then charged back into the darkness of the tavern.

  “They’re already in sync,” Cammy thought to herself with a bitter, knowing smile as she ran after them.

  “Mariann?” Braxton shouted as he and Izzy raced toward the room at the end of the hall. Izzy arrived first and threw her shoulder into the door. It didn't budge.

  “Allow me,” Braxton said, moving her aside. He braced himself and thrust his bare heel into the wood just above the latch. The frame splintered with a loud crack as Cammy joined them, lantern held high.

  “We’re too late,” Izzy said, her voice dropping to a low scowl.

  The lantern light revealed a grisly scene. Mariann lay dead on the bed—her throat slashed and her torso split open with savage precision. A stiff, cold breeze rustled the curtains through her open window. Braxton moved to the window, his frost blade humming. He glanced into the night but shook his head.

  “The moon is hidden by clouds. Whoever did this is gone.”

  “Who…” Izzy said, examining the deep, ragged wounds, “or ‘what’. These wounds are savage—made by a beast, not a blade.”

  “And so, our adventure begins…” Cammy said softly, leaning out the window. “I’m the only one fully dressed, so I’ll take a look for tracks. Try to put some pants on, Braxton.”

  Before they could object, she slipped through the window and slid down the tavern roof.

  “Be careful!” Izzy called after her, then turned to Braxton. “She’s capable, but too eager. Get your armor, Braxton. I don't want her facing that thing alone.”

  Ten minutes later, Braxton joined Cammy outside. Izzy had already armored up and was using her Sun Sword to illuminate the road.

  “Anything?” he asked.

  Cammy squatted in the dirt, pointing her blade at a monstrous print. It was a foot long, with three distinct clawed toes and a wicked rear claw at the heel.

  “Have you ever seen something like this?” she asked.

  Braxton shook his head.

  “Well,” Cammy said softly, looking toward Izzy. “We have. Devils. Something has drawn them to the castle. Misty Grove has a demon problem.”