I chewed down on a mana crystal. Mana slowly started trickling down my throat.

  I gulped and looked up to see a blanket of white appear out of nowhere and cover everything in the distance.

  I sniffed. That wasn’t normal. This fog slowly heading towards us wasn’t a mana ability. Mana was rooted in the world. You could feel the cold or heat from mana-cast spells. This fog didn’t prickle or dampen my skin. That meant it was created from essence.

  A cold shiver ran down my spine. I began to realize how badly we had erred in our judgment.

  The specters we had just fought were not barricading the door we had entered through; they were holding the Damned back.

  And now I knew they were also being led by something else. Something was beginning to act.

  Ilya looked at me and turned back to look in the direction I was facing. She squinted and frowned.

  I knew she couldn’t see the Damned in the distance. Even I couldn’t see them. The essence fog rolling in from the other side obscured everything in that direction. But my soul could feel them.

  The cold, damp, wet sensation of the Damned and the burning acrid smell of the Thorgs. And with the increasing proximity, I knew they were coming this way.

  “Are you sure, Voss?” Ilya turned back to me and asked. “Because I don’t hear anything. My wind magic usually picks up sounds before I see them. And I assure you, brother, there is nothing there.”

  That was interesting. I knew Ilya used wind to carry sound to her, but I didn’t know she continuously used her magic to scan her surroundings. But that didn’t mean there was nobody there. It just meant the Damned were camouflaging their presence.

  And that meant we were dealing with Adolescent Damned. Just like Baz and Esni. The two Damned that could transform. Combined that with the fog, it meant we were in trouble.

  “I am sure, Ilya. We need to retreat,” I finally said.

  Ilya wasn’t convinced, but she shrugged casually and looked at Grek. “Grisslow, find us a way back to the ballroom.”

  I looked at Grek and then at Ilya. “What do you mean, find us a way? Doesn’t that door lead to the ballroom?” I pointed at the door we had exited.

  Ilya shook her head. “No. Every castle, fortress, or place that uses displacement magic randomizes its exits and entrances. That is the best way to keep assassins and saboteurs out—or in. It also makes it impossible for guests to wander off into a place they are not allowed into.”

  “So that door…?” I started to ask.

  “Leads to an underground river, my Lord,” Grek answered my question and looked at a parchment in his hand. He winced and looked at us. “My Lady, My Lord. We have a problem.”

  Ilya raised an eyebrow. “Come on then. Let us hear about this new problem, Punisher Captain.”

  Grek sighed. “All the ways back out to the keep are beyond that fog.”

  We all looked at the fog in contemplative silence. Finally, Ilya asked me, “What is that fog anyway?”

  “It’s essence fog,” I answered and explained. “It is created by something far worse than a specter.”

  Ilya paused. “What is worse than a specter? Another type of ghost?”

  I remained silent. I was not ready for this. My soul was digesting essence as fast as it could, but I needed time.

  “Voss?” Ilya shook me and said, “Focus!”

  I shook my head and looked at the fog spreading towards us. “It's essence fog. A weapon used to dull senses and paralyze prey. Which means we are dealing with something that can cast with essence. And there is only one creature I know that can do that and work with specters. A Wraith.”

  Grek hissed. “A Wraith?”

  Ilya looked from Grek to me. “What is a Wraith?”

  “Wraiths are casters. Only they don’t use mana. They use essence. They cast spells and then allow their minions—in this case, specters—to finish off their prey,” I explained.

  “And we just killed the specters.” Ilya sighed and asked, “So, now what is it going to do?”

  “It’s already doing it, Ilya. It is trying to paralyze us.” I shook my head and turned back to look at everyone. “I am not strong enough to fight it. And you all aren’t either.”

  Ilya frowned. “I have a blooming mana core. Give me an hour or so and…”

  I frowned. “It’s not about your mana. Mana is in the body. This affects your soul.”

  Ilya gritted her teeth. “I am really beginning to hate this soul business.” Ilya turned to look at Grek. There was urgency in her voice now. “Grisslow, if not out, where do we go?”

  Grek gulped. “The other way, Your Grace. Towards Shazed Voss’s throne room.”

  Ilya cursed. “Blight! We are not ready to take on the soul spirit. We barely have enough mana to stay on our feet.”

  Grek looked at the encroaching fog and said, “Your Grace, I am not saying that we enter his throne room. I am saying we retreat towards the general direction and away from the fog.”

  Ilya sighed and in a sarcastic tone asked, “So the choice is death by fog or death by the creature commanding these undead beings?”

  Ilya exhaled loudly. “Fine, lead us away from the fog.”

  Everyone turned and began running away from the fog. I stayed back for a few seconds more. I needed to know if I was right. I looked up.

  Wraiths liked to fly over their enemies' heads and attack from up above. But not like specters. Specters were, for a lack of a better word, mindless. They were filled with anger and hatred and attacked anything that invaded their territory. Whenever they used essence, they threw soul fire.

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  Wraiths were more tactical in nature. They planned and attacked when the enemy least expected them to.

  The fog spread towards me. My eyes drifted downwards to eye level. I saw something.

  No, that wasn’t a Wraith. I strained my eyes and my senses.

  Wet, damp cold tried to cover me like a blanket. That was the sensation Damned larvae left. And then I heard it. Scales shifting. The sound of hoofed feet hitting the floor.

  And burning yellow fire in sockets looking at me through the fog.

  A breath caught in my throat. My mind recalled being slammed into a wall. My ribs breaking and being slowly broken down piece by piece by an Adolescent Damned who had almost killed me.

  And now, I wasn’t just dealing with Baz. I was dealing with a pack of Damned.

  I pushed the feeling away with a snarl. What was wrong with me? I wasn’t a child. I was the Silent Hunter. I gritted my teeth, turned around, and began running away from the fog.

  Yes, I wasn’t as powerful as I had been in the dark waters, but I had hunted fully grown Damned before. And if I didn’t have the power to fight them, then I would use guile.

  My eyes looked at the doors spread out on both sides of the arched ceiling for an answer. Nothing gave me an answer so I looked ahead. Grek didn’t move towards any of the doors to the side. He ran towards the largest door standing tall at the end of the archway.

  I looked back and saw the fog envelop the fountain and horseman statues we had been standing near. And then, a Damned raised something in his hand.

  “Down!” I shouted and dragged Ilya down with me.

  The punishers ducked instinctively and a ball of fire shot past our heads.

  “Curses!” Ilya muttered and with a hand gesture used a gust of mana to speed up our steps.

  “Save your mana, Your Grace. You will need it soon,” Stone tried to stop Ilya.

  Ilya ignored Stone’s protest and looked back. “Voss, if that fog is so dangerous, then how come it is not stopping the Damned?”

  “They are Adolescents!” I shouted back and elaborated. “They know how to use essence to shield themselves and their party.”

  Ilya spun around and flicked out her sword. Next moment we all heard a ringing of metal on metal. I saw a knife sail past us and looked back.

  The creatures inside the fog had locked onto us and were pursuing us.

  Ilya flicked out her sword and slashed. A wind blade shot into the fog, deflecting a crossbow bolt towards the side.

  “Grisslow! We are not going to make it to the door!” Ilya shouted.

  Grek looked left and right. He ran ahead for a few steps and took out the parchment from his pocket. The punisher looked at the map for a second and then took a sharp right turn.

  “This way!” Grek sped up.

  “Where are we going?” Ilya asked.

  Grek gave Ilya a pained smile and answered, “To the Mana Basin.”

  “What!?” Ilya screamed. “Have you gone mad, man?”

  “There is no other way, Your Grace,” Grek stated emphatically.

  “There has to be. If you go there you will all die!” Ilya screamed at the running man.

  Grek nodded. “But you will be safe.”

  Ilya opened her mouth to argue but Stone cut her off. “Your Grace, it is our job to keep you safe.”

  Whily nodded. “Also, who knows, maybe you can drag us out of there before we succumb.”

  “What is a Mana Basin?” I asked.

  Ilya growled. “It is a mountain basin where mana gets trapped. They are naturally occurring zones of dense mana.”

  Grek continued, “Most living things can’t survive there. Mana poisons their organs and kills them. I don’t think the Damned will follow us in the Mana Basin.”

  “They will,” I growled and asked, “Is there no other way?”

  Grek shook his head. “Your Highness, even if they do, in the basin you will be able to regenerate mana quicker and fight back.”

  “Mouth.” I spun around and deflected a thrown knife with my vambrace. I glared back at the horned creature that had thrown the projectile weapon and continued running.

  “This is the only way,” Grek responded.

  “What about the other doors?” I asked while turning back.

  “They are like the doors we are going to enter. They all lead to various places in the Voss Range. Or…”

  “Or?” Ilya asked while creating a wind blade in her hand.

  “Or they are dead end traps.” Grek exhaled.

  I frowned. “I don’t like this, Mouth.”

  “There is no time to argue, Your Highness.” Grek stopped in front of a door and pointed at it. “We can all die here or we can go through.”

  I hesitated.

  Ilya took in a sharp breath and shot another wind blade back into the fog. We all heard a grunt and a scream followed by curses.

  Ilya turned back to me and sighed. “I am not going to let them die. And neither are you.”

  I looked at Ilya and raised my eyebrows in question.

  Ilya grimaced. “I don’t see any other way, Voss. But I am not going to let them die. We are Manaborn. You and I are going to take in as much mana as we can. And we are going to keep it away from the punishers.”

  “Your Grace. To do that you will need to concentrate only on the mana, you won’t be able to fight,” Stone protested.

  Ilya turned to Grek. “Grisslow, does your team have stabilizers?”

  “Yes, of course.” Grek nodded. “But they won’t last in a Mana Basin.”

  Ilya snarled while looking back. “Oh yes they will. I have a blooming core which is almost out of mana. What do you think is going to happen when I start sucking it in?”

  Stone shook her head. “Your Grace, we are your bodyguar...”

  I created a large spike of ice in my hand and deflected a bolt away from Stone’s face. This time the blade didn’t deflect. It got stuck in my spike. Stone looked at the tip of the metal blade that had cut through my ice and paled.

  “We are out of time,” Grek said and shouted, “Everyone in now!”

  Whily took out a star-shaped amulet with needles protruding from the tip of its polygon and stabbed it in his chest with a pained cry. He opened the door and rushed through. I staggered. Mana rushed into me and I breathed in like water.

  Stone stabbed herself with her own star and jumped in behind Whily.

  I looked beyond the door and saw a wide basin spread out in front of me. In the distance, snow-covered mountain peaks loomed like sentinels in the morning orange dawn. Dark gray clouds parted revealing a bright golden star shining down through the overcast sky.

  “Starbright’s Star. That’s a good omen,” Grek whispered.

  Ilya snarled at Grek. “Get in there, you crazy bastard.”

  Grek nodded and stabbed himself with the star-shaped amulet and shot into the breach.

  The wind blade in Ilya’s hand started to screech. She turned to me and shouted, “You too, brother.”

  I nodded and crossed the threshold. Ilya shot the screeching wind blade into the fog and half-jumped—half-floated—into the basin. Her hand clawed inwards and the door behind us closed with a bang. She turned and ran towards the punishers.

  “Voss, grab the punishers!”

  I looked back and saw the punishers stumbling as they ran away from the cliff face with the door. I started moving towards them and saw Whily fall on the rocky ground. I ran towards the man and lifted him up on my shoulder. And then caught Grek who had started swaying on his feet.

  “What do we do?” I asked Ilya.

  “Let’s get them away from the door.” Ilya took off. Her long strides ate up the distance. She grabbed the fallen Stone in a swift motion and carried on.

  It took me a handful of minutes to catch up to her. By that time she had almost made it to the other end.

  “And then?” I asked in a shout.

  “Then I start sucking in as much mana as possible!” Ilya turned to me as soon as I caught up and said, “You will need to do the same.”

  “What about the Damned?”

  “Well, brother, you like to fight strange creatures.” Ilya smiled. “When they come through, you can use all the mana in the basin to do that.”

  I frowned. “What about you?”

  Ilya gently leaned Stone’s prone body on a cliff wall. I dropped Grek and Whily next to Stone. And looked at the stars on their chests. Each end of the stars had started to glow yellow.

  Ilya frowned. “I will be in the air guiding all the mana towards me and away from them.”

  Ilya nodded at the punishers. “You see those stars? They are trying to burn mana. If they go red… They will die.”

  I looked at Ilya and smiled. “You want me to fight alone this time?”

  Ilya rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Yes, brother. Go ahead, this one is all yours.”

  I looked at Ilya and shook my head. “I thought you wanted to punch something to take out your frustration.”

  “Life works in mysterious ways. Now get to it. Start gathering mana in your body and push it towards your seed.”

  I gave Ilya a blank look. “Umm… I don’t know how to do that.”

  “What!?”

  “Ilya, I focused on using essence.”

  Ilya gave me a death glare. “What do you mean you focused on using essence? You are a Manaborn!”

  I shrugged helplessly.

  “Blight and curses, Voss. What have you been studying?”