Elaine knelt down in the cold snow, keeping her eyes focused on the main gate of the castle. Beside her, Richard and Logan did the same. In front of them, the hound-like savod patrolled just inside the gate.

  “What’s taking them so long?” Richard rapped his fingers against the stone.

  “Be patient,” Logan said, though his hand still clung tightly to the hilt of his sword.

  The ground shook and an explosion rocked Elaine’s bones as he spoke. She recognized the feeling from the depths of her memories. It was like the sarpan black powder that broke through Nethas’ walls.

  The savod at the gate scattered at the sound. In moments, they were rushing across the streets to the west. Elaine slammed her foot down and started after them with Logan and Richard following immediately behind.

  “I told you they would do it,” Logan said as they ran forward.

  They ran through the streets quickly, keeping close enough to the buildings to hide again if the savod came back. Flitting shadows crossed Elaine’s eyes as they pushed to the keep, but a savod didn’t hide in any of them.

  “I can feel the flow of magic now,” Richard said. “The corruption is getting greater and greater inside the keep.”

  “Stop wasting time then.” Elaine started up the steps of the keep, drawing her sword.

  Without a moment’s hesitation, she rushed through the open doors and into the darkness. There was nothing there. White wisps of breath flowed across her eyes as she searched the first room. Surely not all the creatures had run to the Crows.

  Logan and Richard were right behind her, but once inside, Richard took the lead. He held his hands before him and ran his fingers through the air, as if he was pulling an invisible string. Elaine turned to raise her eyebrow to Logan, but he was already doing the same.

  There should have been more of the creatures barring their path. Elaine kept her eyes steadily searching and held her sword close as they walked by the tattered remains of tapestries and decaying chairs.

  Stones clattered across the floor in the darkness of the halls.

  “There’s something here,” Logan whispered.

  “I don’t see anything,” Elaine said, looking left and right.

  “Keep moving forward.” Logan stepped up and pushed Richard into the next room.

  They formed together in the next room, which was the king’s audience chamber by Elaine’s eyes. The savod’s ear-splitting roar rang inside, and they pushed forward until they all stood together in the room’s center.

  “Where is it?” Elaine looked to the door, but not even the shadows moved.

  Again, the savod’s roar rang out. Elaine shuddered as the pressure built in her ears. It sounded so close, but nothing moved in the dim light. The trio put their backs together and waited as again the scuffling sound of claws scraping stone sounded.

  A pebble fell down from above, landed on Elaine’s shoulder, and clanged against her armor. She glanced up quickly, and saw the two points of white light hidden among the shadow. She almost turned away without thinking, but then it blinked.

  “Move!” she yelled, and they scattered.

  Elaine barely jumped forward in time as the entire weight of the savod came crashing down. She hit the ground on her knee, and rolled across the cold stone before regaining her footing. She came to her feet in front of the room's entrance.

  She immediately saw that Logan and Richard were on the opposite side. In between them, the savod stood up to its full height. It was larger than any she had yet seen, at least thrice as tall as she was.

  It was almost like a giant, like the one Astor had smote into the mountainside when it threatened to devour his people. Two long and thick arms hung from its shoulder to the ground, and it had just two squat legs to support it. It leaned forward and the world went silent in its mighty roar.

  Elaine was sure. The truth thudded deep in her heart like a dagger. This creature was too strong to lose so easily. She made the decision without really thinking. Fighting this savod was not the most important thing.

  “Go,” she yelled to Logan and Richard, raising up her sword and embracing the magic. “You have to stop this madness now!”

  Richard turned and started away, but Logan hesitated. He had already drawn his sword and a knife. She could see in his eyes that he was ready to fight here with her. There was something else there. It was trust.

  In the next moment, he turned and followed Richard. Elaine couldn’t help but smile bitterly. It had taken this far in their journey for him to show that trust in her. She very well couldn’t go and disappoint him now.

  “Hey, monster.” Elaine’s sword shook in her hand. “Stop making so much noise. I’m right here.”

  It screamed again, raising up its arms and slamming them down hard on the stone. Elaine took a step forward. Then she took another. The savod closed its maw back to darkness as she approached.

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  It tilted its head to the side, as if it was examining her for the first time. It looked almost like a curious child for a moment. Elaine had to remind herself of the strength of the creature, of how easy its smaller brethren had thrown Elise aside in Nethas.

  It didn’t disappoint her. With a lunge, one of its long arms shot forward. It closed the distance between them too fast. Elaine barely brought her sword up in time. She braced herself as she forced the arm to the side.

  It didn’t do any good.

  The thrust threw her back. Her vision blurred. She hit the wall on her back and fell down on her ass. She caught her breath in her mouth and forced down the bile that threatened to rise.

  Such a large creature shouldn’t be able to move that fast, but she knew that it didn’t matter. She stood, and tightened the grip on her sword. The magic flowed through her muscles and she faced the savod again.

  “You can’t even fight fairly,” she growled, but she was sure it wouldn’t understand.

  It stared back at her blankly, looking between its claws and her. To Elaine’s surprise, it turned away, stepping towards the throne at the back of the room. Elaine ran after it, sure that it was going after Logan.

  It stopped at the throne, reaching down with one of its claws and picking something up. Elaine stopped behind it. She couldn’t understand it. She might attack while its back was turned, but there was no guarantee it wasn’t expecting just that.

  The savod shrunk as it turned back to her, until it was the size of a man. In his hand, Elaine could see the dark sword. That was what it had retrieved from the throne. The savod pointed the blade at her, and for a moment, Elaine was sure she saw its eyes grin.

  “So you can then.” Elaine didn’t smile.

  It wasn’t like all the savod they had faced before. She swallowed her heart and took a stance. The savod didn’t respond to her words, but it didn’t matter if it would. The fight had just become much more dangerous.

  Without a word, the savod thrust the sword with the same blinding speed. Elaine’s arm shook as they made contact, and she parried the blow aside. It didn’t knock her away this time. With a defiant cry, she punched her gauntlet into the savod’s skull, and pushed it back from her.

  She had to admit that it had at least lost something with its size.

  Her punch didn’t have much effect. Before she could regain her stance, the savod attacked again. Metal screamed against metal as she met its sword strike for strike again. A thrust met a parry. A slash met a block.

  The savod was a novice with a sword, but that didn’t matter. Its strength was endless; its body was durable. She couldn’t fight it with just defense. She would need to attack at some point, or it would break her first.

  She saw it then, a hole in the savod’s defense. She struck with her sword, swinging a hard horizontal slash just as the savod raised its own sword high. Magic flared as they made contact, and a bright light burned through the room.

  The savod screamed, but that didn’t stop it. Without a pause, it brought its own blade down, right into Elaine’s shoulder. Her spaulders shook and cracked. Again, her vision blurred as she fell to the side.

  Her sword slid from the savod, locked in her tight grip.

  Elaine regained her composure and stood. She was vaguely aware that her left arm was numb. She looked down at it, and saw the bright red that dripped from her fingers. She tried to move it, but it refused. At least her right hand retained her sword.

  The savod didn’t care about her plight. It struck out at her in her daze. Elaine absently stepped aside as the savod’s blade split the air. The force was enough to snap her back into focus. She still had a fight to finish.

  The savod’s movements were different now. It no longer struck at her with calm. Its strikes were more vicious, as if it had lost some of its control after her sword had bit into it. There was no longer any form to its swordplay.

  Elaine dodged both thrust and slash, keeping her eyes locked to the savod’s hands. Again, she found the hole it its defense and struck. Her slash caught it from above, just after it had finished its own thrust.

  Elaine smiled as the savod screamed. Before she could celebrate, the savod exploded in a hundred dark arms. Her armor shook as she flew through the air. Darkness enveloped her as she landed, and she didn’t know how long it took her to stand again.

  The savod had given up on tactics, on any thought of a fair fight. It was an amorphous blob now, striking out at her with random attacks. Elaine couldn’t stand up to them. Lashing black lines threw her across the room.

  She was jostled this way and that, until she wasn’t sure where she was. Elaine numbly shook her head as the claw raised her into the air. She was as light as a feather. She almost laughed, but her mouth wouldn’t respond.

  An impossible creature faced her, its maw open wide. Elaine didn’t feel any fear; she was beyond it now. She lazily stared back at the thousand eyes that searched her. She didn’t cry out at the monstrosity.

  Let the Veil take her now, her fight was over.

  She let the sword fall, and embraced the pain it had held at bay. Fire raced through her body, and her muscles loosened. Even her teeth hurt, as if a fairy sat in her mouth pushing down on every one.

  “What are you waiting for, monster,” she said, spittle spurting out. “Kill me!”

  She saw it then, one of the multitudes of arms held up a sword, pointing it at her heart. At least she would die by the blade then. The savod brought it in slowly, as if it was actually savoring her last moments.

  The voice was quiet, and Elaine wasn’t certain she had heard it. It might be the delirium that gripped her mind. She might just have imagined it. She closed her eyes, but again the voice called out.

  “This isn’t much of a rescue,” she mumbled.

  “There is nothing left.”

  Warmth bubbled up within her. Though she had dropped her sword away, it was just like its magic. It raced through her muscles, and along her skin. Her pain faded away with it, leaving renewed power where exhaustion once was.

  Elaine opened her eyes, but could not see for the bright yellow light. The savod before her recoiled from it, letting her fall to the ground as it shielded its many eyes. Elaine landed on her feet.

  Elaine touched her chest with her hand, and pulled at the light. A long sword, made entirely from the light formed in her hands. She had never felt that much power before. She was nothing next to it.

  She turned on the savod, and felt pity for it. It didn’t know what it was fighting against. That didn’t mean she would not stop it. She struck down at it again and again, as it melted back to a blob. Each time it reformed, her blade sliced through it until there was nothing left.

  When the light faded and left her, nothing of the savod remained. She fell to her knees in the dark throne room. Her hands shook, but she knew that she was whole now. She had found Astor, inside her heart.

  Behind her, low growls called out. Elaine turned to the entrance, where more and more savod gathered, staring at her, but keeping their distance. They had just seen one of their own struck down. Of course, they would be wary.

  “Can I draw that power again?” Elaine whispered.

  She didn’t know, but she didn’t care either. She reached down and picked up her sword. It would have to be enough. She still had a job to do. She pointed it the monsters and drew up all her courage.

  She would not fall.