The valley looked astonishingly peaceful in the rays of the setting sun. The forest parted slightly on the slope, opening up a beautiful view of the neighboring hill. In the lowland, the dense thickets sometimes thinned out, allowing to see a dark line of water, a stream flowed there. On a low hill, a couple of kilometers away, a clearing was visible among the trees. Light smoke was rising out there.

  “Oh, finally we're here!”

  Lilum exhaled as she ran with a mixture of relief and irritation. The girls ran out to the edge of a low cliff. It seemed that the base of the hill had weakened here at some point, revealing an almost vertical rocky cliff.

  “Not out the wood yet,” Tally remarked. “We have to get down and...”

  “Awesome, I knew we could handle it!”

  They both regarded Rosa with tired looks. She had been suspiciously quiet for the last half hour, clearly showing that strain had got to her too.

  “At least now we won’t get lost,” Gebbi added.

  “There’s always the chance to slip past,” Tully said dryly.

  “How? It’s right there.”

  “You managed to turn yourself around when I found you.”

  “What?”

  Gala at the sight of the clearing pressed her hand to her chest.

  “Oohh…”

  There was a suspicious note of sadness in her tone, but Rosa took it in her own way.

  “It’s all right, see?” she said sympathetically. “We will get you back safe.”

  “Oh, I…” Thea cut herself off and smiled stiffly. “I’m so grateful, really…”

  A distant noise, akin to something falling through the branches, make everyone got on guard.

  “I thought we had lost them,” Lily said grimly.

  “If it’s the Surge, we don’t have a chance,” Tully answered evenly. “Let's go.”

  They quickly moved on. The cliff stretched in both directions, but it seemed that a little bit away the hill curved downwards, and perhaps even turned into a gentle slope.

  “I hope we can get down,” Lilum muttered.

  Her hopes for a reasonable and balanced approach for travels in the forest were destroyed – the omnipresent wall of trees made navigation impossible.

  “Everything is fine,” Rosa assured happily.

  Confidence of Rosa Rubin, as garthian already knew, was based exclusively on her innate optimism. Lilum felt that if she frowned even harder, her face would stay cramped forever.

  A sharp flash to the side attracted attention. Above the camp – from the slope one could even see some buildings, or tents perhaps? – rose up a bright green flare.

  “Well, it's nice to know someone reached the goal,” Lily said tartly. “Even if it wasn't us...”

  “Stop complaining,” Gabby grumbled. “You're not the only one who's going to get bad marks.”

  “Is that supposed to calm me down?”

  “Anything to shut you up.”

  Diamas gasped at that attitude.

  “How dare you?!.. I'm not even slightly!..”

  “Both of you shut up.”

  Tally stepped in front of their group, gesturing to the others.

  “Look.”

  The girls all lined up on the cliff, looking down with sad expressions.

  “Yee-aah...” Gabby scratched the back of her head.

  Instead of a gentle slope, they found that the cliff curved. Lay before them a nearly vertical wall of about ten meters high. Descending here without a safety rope would be suicide.

  “Maybe we can climb?” Rosa suggested. “We weren't run up and down the wall for nothing.”

  “Absolutely not!”

  Everyone looked at Lily. She turned away, while blushing furiously, and with an effort summoned a confident expression.

  “I... I mean, it's going to be so long and dangerous! We are being chased, what if...”

  A short, low growl interrupted her. It sounded not that far.

  “We're definitely being chased,” Tallia observed. “We need to get out now. Either we're trying to shimmy down, or...”

  The growl was repeated. It was hard to tell if it getting closer or not, but it was definitely close.

  “Oh, no...”

  The whisper was unexpectedly desperate. The hunters looked back at Gala, who was staring into the forest with unseeing eyes.

  “No-no-no...”

  “Gala?”

  Rosa wanted to take her hand. But she resolutely retreat and stepped away.

  “I'm sorry, I know you wanted to help. You simply... You were kind to me, but...”

  Her incoherent speech got even Lilum and Tally filled with unease. Suddenly, Gala looked at everyone with a firm gaze.

  “I can't put you in danger anymore! Please, run!”

  Rosa raised her hand in shock:

  “What?”

  But Gala Thea had already rushed past her to the edge of the cliff.

  “S-stop!..”

  But it was too late. The ginger-haired girl rushed to the cliff with overwhelming speed – and with a powerful push launched herself into the air! Only to plummet down like a rock.

  “Nooo!”

  Rosa rushed to the edge.

  “No!”

  The second scream came from Gebbi, who lunged after Rosa, grabbing her at the last moment.

  “She just…” Lily breathed.

  Gala somersaulted halfway through the air, with amazing agility and grace, – and crashed onto the rocks below.

  “Gala!”

  “Jumped.” Lily was shocked

  Rosa, along with the others, watched in shock as Gala fell to all fours near the edge, then rose to her feet without the as match as a hint of trouble and dashed into the twilight of the forest.

  “How?” Lilum said in low voice.

  “A resonance, I suppose,” Tally said dispassionately. “Don’t say you didn’t suspect it. She’s probably a resonant, with her endurance, and her composure with the shadows…”

  “Why didn’t she just said so?” Lily demanded. “I mean… Simply say it!”

  Onyxson just shrugged.

  “If she didn’t say it, then it had to be that way,” Gebbi said absently.

  “I’m just glad she didn’t kill herself,” Rosa uttered miserably. “What we going to… Oh no!”

  She pointed her finger down, jigging on the spot.

  “There’s something there! There!”

  There were blurry dark…

  “The Shadows! They’re chasing her!”

  “She was trying to distract them from us?” Lily mused.

  “She’s acting like it’s…” Tally cut off the thought. “No, that’s ridiculous.”

  Sisters looked at the companion.

  “What is it?” Rosa tilted her head, puzzled.

  They were interrupted. The pair of squat, kind of smallish shadows appeared from the undergrowth, white eyes on the long black snouts glowing against twilight of the forest. More flyers appeared on the branches, as if from thin air.

  “Great, more beasts.”

  Gebbi formed both of her crossbows and, having interlocked special grips, cocked them with a powerful stroke.

  “Stop.”

  Tally was in no hurry to attack. All the shadows froze nearby, as if in anticipation. And finally, out of the twilight a huge mass of darkness appeared...

  “Oh no...” Lilum breathed out.

  “If she was trying to save us...” Tally said grimily.

  “She was wrong,” Gebbi finished understandingly.

  “It’s enormous,” Rosa drawled, awestruck.

  The giant ducked his head, softly gliding under the low branches of the trees. Considering that the low branches of most of the trees here were between three and five meters high, the creature was the size of a truck. The dog-like features were slightly blurred in the strange anatomy of the shadows, making the creature to be simultaneously skinny and massive. The tail was waving as if in on invisible wind. From the hulking nape of the neck two gracefully curved, slightly segmented tentacles emerged, somewhat reminiscent of insect legs. They ended in spikes.

  “No bother, we'll finish him off.”

  Gebbi stepped forward sternly. The giant ducked, letting out a low, trembling growl.

  “Don't talk nonsense!” Lilum squeaked. “He'll just rush us! On the edge of a cliff!”

  “She's right, we need to...”

  “Jump.”

  Rosa turned sharply and ran to the edge.

  “Are you crazy as well?!” Lily said apprehensively. “Jump?! We'll kill ourselves!”

  “No, if you jump wisely! Come on!”

  The giant hurried them up. The tentacles lashed out at the targets, at Tally and Gebbi, who were standing closest. Jumping to the side, Gibiska let an arrow. The explosion rumbled like thunder, causing Lily to let out startled yelp. The shadows, howling, scattered into the undergrowth, and the giant backed away with a roar.

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  “You’re gonna kill us all!”

  “Yeah, true that...” Gebbi breathed out. “Then jump!”

  “But we won't!..”

  “I can lower you if you want, Diamas.”

  Tally looked at her almost indifferently. Lilum let out a ferocious growl and stamped her foot.

  “No need!”

  “Then jump.”

  “Rosie,” Gibiska commanded busily, “you’re firs... Ow-aaah!”

  They turned to see the very end of Rosa deftly giving her beloved sister a right proper kick in the butt, throwing her off the cliff magnificently. Gebbi chaotically fell down with an indignant scream.

  "They're both crazy," Lily said, dumbfounded.

  There was an explosion and a slam on the rocks from below.

  "Lily!"

  In panic, Lilum startled away from her savior. The giant straightened up and ominously tensed up. The roar sounded insulted.

  "I’ll do it myself!"

  Taking a deep breath, Lilum closed her eyes for a moment.

  “Come on... you can do it...”

  A fragile platform of ice appeared at her feet, right in the air above the cliff. Lilum stepped onto the ice with an empty face, and the platform moved down.

  “Tally!”

  “Go.”

  Rosa opened her mouth to object, but was met with a surprisingly cold, even somewhat threatening stare.

  “Just don't die,” she blurted nervously.

  And Rosa jumped down, forming the scythe on the fly – literally! The air accepted her, depriving of all support. Suppressing a moment of panic, she arched her entire body, and as if cutting the weapon into the shadow, she crashed the blade into the rocky cliff.

  “Oaaah!”

  Tearing out a mighty sheaf of sparks, the weapon bounced off, throwing her to the side. Rosa somersaulted and repeated the maneuver. This time the blade entered some crack, but flinched off. However, it was enough. Rosa deftly jumped onto the stone.

  “Ghyaah!..”

  “Lily!”

  Lilum flew by in a strange pose. A scream right at her ear made her lose concentration and the platform evaporated. Automatically manifesting a piece of ice out of thin air, Lilum clung to it like a child at sea to a float, and slowly drifted down to the ground.

  Rosie raised her head to see a blurry silhouette break away from the cliff top. A thin chain rushed to the extended rock, and wrapped around it.

  “Woah!”

  Tally flew on the chain like on a rope, and skillfully kicked off the cliff. The chain broke off, but the girl was already jumping from ledge to ledge, like a mountain goat.

  “Are you okay? Diamas?”

  Gebby ran up to her partners. Lilum slowly rose from the grass, red as a boiled lobster.

  “We will never talk about it.”

  “But...”

  “Ever!”

  Tally jumped off the rock and walked up to them so calmly it like they were having a stroll. Rosa jumped to the ground, and, losing her balance from the impact, waved her arms like a windmill.

  “Oi, Tally!”

  She turned around, Rosa ran up to them.

  “How do you do it?” she demanded. “Did you lot see it? She just... And then she was jumping like... it was amazing!”

  Tally responded the adoring gaze with merely a shrug.

  “Nothing of it.”

  “Of no, it’s ‘plenty of it’," Gibiska remarked. “You never said you had such skills. By the way...”

  Rosa with a squeal made a break for it.

  “How dared you?!”

  “I just wanted...”

  “I nearly broke my neck!”

  “But you're absorbing...”

  “Silence!”

  “Ghyaaah!..”

  Rosa waved her arms desperately, trying to free herself from the merciless grip on both ears. Lilum exhaled tiredly, adjusting her clothes.

  “Couple of logheads.”

  An outraged roar was heard from above. The shadow stared at them ominously, pacing along the edge of the cliff top.

  “Oh yeah, that's right!”

  Rosa made an obscene gesture towards the giant, causing Lilum to make a displeased grimace. Then she suddenly returned to her senses.

  “Gala! Quickly, we...”

  “We don't know where she ran off to,” Lily interrupted her.

  “I saw the direction,” Tallia intervened. “Let's go. I think she's heading towards the camp. That's for the better...”

  A sharp hum began to grow loud from the distance.

  "That's definitely bad news," Gibiska shook her head.

  A second later, a heliwing flew overhead at full speed. Rosa squealed with joy.

  "No! No! It is good news! Hooray!"

  She rushed in the direction of the flight – at the same direction where the camp should be.

  "Come on, come on!"

  Lilum exhaled tiredly, and they all hurried in suit.

  "She needs a button to turn her off..." she muttered.

  "I've been dreaming about it all my life," Gebbi grunted.

  To her surprise, Lilum suddenly let out a silvery giggle. Then she caught herself and sheepishly pretended that she’s merely clearing her throat. Gebbi bit her lip, holding back a smile.

  The forest parted, revealing a narrow shallow stream. A dozen rocks were sticking out above the water. Rosa immediately skipped over them to the other side. There she turned around in anticipation, clearly watching Tully…

  The ground shook slightly under her feet.

  “Oh no…”

  Gabby sharply turned back, where the cliff was still visible in the gaps between the trees and…

  “I can't believe this!” Lilum exclaimed.

  Blows were heard around them, as if someone was pounding the ground with a hammer somewhere nearby. A powerful stomping.

  “What is it?” Rosa drawled.

  The giant was the answer – beast charged into the clearing, a sharp roar by the shadow’s vibrating voice went of in waves, echoing hundreds of times around the hunters.

  “I can't believe it! He just jumped off after us!”

  Lilum threw up her hands in frustration, as if they were being pursued by a stupid dog, and not a giant monster. The shadow charged forward swiftly, aiming at the closest victim.

  It was Gebbi, and she bared her teeth fiercely, putting both hands in front.

  “I don't think so!”

  The arrows sank into the creature's hide and exploded in flaming bursts. The shadow roared, visibly thrown backwards.

  “At least we're not on the cliff anymore, where you'll just explode us along with the monster,” Lilum grumbled, hurriedly groping with her hand for the blade’s cell. “Oh no! That was the last one! I don't have!..”

  Diamas felt cold inside, realizing that her already depleted resonance had lost its last support. She was powerless...

  Rosa rushed past her, crossing the stream again.

  “Calm down! We need to finish him off!” she exclaimed, spinning her scythe. “Since he's so stubborn!”

  “Or he'll just trample us.”

  Tally appeared next to her. No one could tell when and how she was using her resonance, she was just that stealthy.

  "We have to cut him down," Onikson finished.

  "Totally fine by me!" Gibiska coked her crossbows with a stroke. The shadow considered them with a harsh gaze of white eyes, then paced a bit at the distance, crouching in predatory manner. The creature was clearly assessing.

  "I'm going in!"

  Rosa lunged forward, Gibiska lowered her hands – it was dangerous to shoot explosives, instead she moved to attack also. Tally formed her pistols and opened fire. Shots fallowed by the ice shards – Lilum discovered that her strength was not yet completely exhausted.

  The bullets barely grazed the creature, the shadow unexpectedly dexterously, almost unnaturally so, slid from side to side, approaching Rosa. She spun around, turning her scythe into a ribbed ring of blades. There was a scrape, and Rosa gasped with confusion, jumping back. The tentacles plowed the ground where she had been a moment ago.

  “Heee... deflected it!

  The voice was drowned out by Gibiska's roar, a wave of fire hit the monster, causing it to jump away. But the shadow didn’t retreat, merely dodged the fire. Gebbi tried to get closer, but the creature suddenly jumped sideways – clearly easier than such a hulk should have – and unexpectedly lashed her with its tail. Gebbi tumbled to the side with a scream, where she fell to the ground.

  Rosa, howling, rushed towards the shadow, a powerful blow went into thin air, the shadow launched forward, like it planned to trample her over, but the girl jumped away...

  “It won't work, he's too fast...”

  Lilum glanced sideways at Tallia. With tension on her face, she changed her pistols for twin blades. Then for a long curved sword.

  “You’re not sure you can hold him off,” Lilum guessed, then exclaimed: “We need a plan!”

  “We need to get those two out…”

  Tally rushed forward. As she ran, her figure suddenly dissolved, as if becoming transparent, Lilum immediately lost sight of her. A pair of ice spears aimed at the shadow, but unexpectedly thing just parried them – with the slash of its tail. Rosa jumped back from the swing of it claws, Gibiska managed to smash the shadow in the side, but the creature simply jumped back and the huntress barely dodged the clawed tentacle that slashed the ground.

  Tally appeared right under the enemy’s belly, a powerful lunge thrust the blade between the shadow’s ribs, like an awl. The creature roared.

  “Get away, back!” Tally shouted.

  She dissolved again, or rather became translucent, but now her figure was somehow almost completely visible. She jumped back from the attack and ran after Rosie and Gebbi.

  Huntresses gathered together again, the stream babbling behind them. In front of them, the giant crouched to the ground, emitting a low growl. His eyes seemed to glow brighter than before. The tentacles on his back were energetically twisting in the air, obviously ready for any surprise.

  “We need to slow him down,” Rosa whizzed out. “I can’t hit the body…”

  “Neither can I!” Gebbi spat in frustration. “Not enough time to get a proper smash.”

  “I think…” Lilum began.

  Rosa suddenly perked up and interrupted.

  “I know! I’ll hold him off.”

  “Don’t even think about it! You’re ju…”

  “Quiet, both of you!”

  A shout from Lilum made everyone flinch. The shadow was pacing in front of them. Tally watched it’s every movement, subtly changing the position of the blades in her hands. They measured each other – the shadow and the hunter.

  “We're falling back, Tallia, you too!”

  “Got it.”

  The sisters, however, got annoyed.

  “What? We’re not running away!”

  “Yeah, he’s still...”

  “We're retreating beyond the river,” Lily snapped, then glanced back. “Or whatever this is. When he’ll get to the water...”

  “Exactly!”

  Rosa danced joyfully in place.

  “That's right, you’re...” She caught herself. “But are you sure you can do it? You're tired, you can't totally waste yourself...”

  “Oh, shut up and go already! Get!”

  Rosa slapped Gebbi on the shoulder and rushed to the other side. Her sister followed her automatically. Lilum, jumping from stone to stone carefully, moved after them. The shadow let out a roar and rushed towards Tally, its tentacles moving menacingly. She silently turned away and quickly skipped across the stones to the other side.

  Lilum stretched out at the edge of the water, decorously placing one leg over the other and raising her hands in an elegant gesture. The blade returned to its sheath, her eyes carefully following every movement of the monster. The shadow froze on the other side.

  “Oi, black-mug!”

  Gibiska repeated obscene gesture that Rosa made at the cliff. Amused sister snorted with menace. The Shadow straightened up, measuring rude little brats with a disdainful look.

  “Do you think he didn't bough it?” Rosa remarked.

  “Maybe this is below his dignity,” Gebbi shrugged.

  “Ummm...” Rosa thoughtfully tilted her head sideway. “You have... stupid tentacles? And a dumb snout.”

  The shadow froze for a moment. Then giant simply turned around and trotted away. Gibiska froze, dumbfounded.

  “We are definitely below his dignity.” She shook her head ruefully. “Can't blame him.”

  “What?!” Rosa shook her scythe over the head in frustration. “You come here, you black-ass shits!”

  The shadow turned sharply and, with a short, powerful run-up, jumped. The sisters froze for a moment, then rushed to the sides.

  “Get away!..”

  “Lily!..”

  The white-haired huntress didn’t move an inch. At the very moment when the giant stretched out in the air above the water – one mere moment – Lilum sharply arched her entire body, as if in some kind of dance, and threw her arms into the air.

  A wave of ice shards shot upwards and crashed into the giant. The shadow roared, twisting in flight, a black haze from its wounded flesh hanging in the air. The giant let out a sharp roar, and fell to the ground sideways, though mostly on the other bank, but still touching the water.

  The tentacles lashed out hair away from Lilum's feet – Rosa knocked her to the ground like a sack. Then in an instant was on her feet again.

  “Waste ‘im!”

  The sisters attacked like crazy. The tentacles crashed into Gebbi's steel fists, but she stubbornly charged forward, raining blows into the creature's side. The shadow tried to get up, but Rosa slashed him across the muzzle. Shots thundered right above Lilum's head, urging her to get up.

  "Maybe that will do it..." Onyxson drawled.

  "No, he’s!.."

  Lilum waved her hand. At the last moment, the shadow managed to dodge the ice that greedily crunched at his paw. The giant jumped backwards. The tail crashed into Rosa, sending her into the mud on the bank of the stream. Gebbi roared, but her lunge was in vain, the shadow jumped away.

  But now the giant was standing in the water ankles deep.

  Lilum got into a pose again –leg behind leg, hands in a position – and as if alive, the ice moved up the monster's legs. The shadow roared and jerked, but could only tear away with a crack its front paw. The tentacles lashed around – Rosa was already on her feet, trying to find an opening to strike. Gibiska struck the air, without reaching the beast – a wave of fire burst out, aimed right at its muzzle. The shadow jerked again with its entire body.

  Lilum could feel her resonance failing. As if like the creature was sucking her strength out. Maybe it was this long – so very long – day. The front paw broke free. Rosa recoiled from the snapping maw. The shadow struck with its paw…

  And Rosa slashed it with her scythe on the move. A black haze hung in the air. Rosa let out a victorious cry, Gebbi assisted her, moving closer to finish off the creature…

  The tentacles rushed to intercept her. The shadow tore itself out of the ice with a powerful jerk. Lilum swayed with a groan, for a moment it seemed like she had actually seen the stars. Gibiska blocked at the last moment, but was still thrown backwards, and she fell to the ground. The shadow snapped with its jaws, forcing Rosa to jump back and turned to Gibiska. The tentacles tensed and rushed at the victim...

  A short strike cut one in half. The creature roared and recoiled, but Tally was already at the giant's head. The blades slashed across the eyes, once and twice, and then she abruptly jumped away from the snapping maw. More and more haze swirled around the shadow. The giant roared...

  “Tally!”

  Rosa lunged forward, but it was too late – Tallia screamed and fell to the ground, barely avoiding the sticky mud. The tentacle’s stump whipped around like a water hose under pressure, only what flowed from it was darkness. Lilum called her resonance with a tense groan, and with a crack the ice again clasped wet paws of the monster.

  Gibiska rushed towards him with a roar. The best swung its paw, but Gebbi deftly hit it with her fist, knocking it away, then unleashed a powerful barrage of blows at the shadow’s body, each hit responding with a bright flash of flame. The giant fell into the water, causing a splash of droplets, there was hissing sound, and steam rise into the air.

  Lilum let go of her ice, and it dissolved into nothing. She sank helplessly to the ground.

  “Just finish him oooff!” garthian pleaded loudly, casting all her dignity aside.

  Rosa gleefully complied with the request, raising her scythe in a mighty swing. Three circular blows tore black smoke from the giant's flesh. A dark figure rushed past – Tully thrust her blade into the creature's body on the run. The shadow roared, twitching its limbs, but in vain. Gibiska, without reducing the pressure, was turning the shadow into a total mess. Rosa took aim and swung:

  “You're done!”

  The blade voracious flashed in a lonely ray of sunlight and fell on the shadow's neck. There was a wet crunch – the creature's head fell off the body. Gebbi kicked it with a roar, causing it to fly way off.

  A tense silence hung over the clearing. Only water flowed along the stream bed trampled into a mud puddle. Then Rosa took a deep breath.

  “Waaaah!”

  Gebbi threw up her hands.

  “Whooo!”

  Breaking off mid-note, the sisters let out a painful, exhausted breath. Then they laughed hoarsely. Lily just shook her head.

  “I can't believe we survived,” she whizzed out.

  “Yeah we did!” Rosa gave it a thumb up. Then she caught herself and looked around quickly: “Tully!”

  The dark-haired girl came out from behind the shadow’s hulking corpse.

  “Tully, are you all… rigth?

  “It’s fine,” she answered evenly. “I'm a little beat up, but...”

  Tallia cut herself off. Then looked at her companions carefully.

  “Ummm...” Rosa drawled, puzzled. “Tulllyy...”

  Tallie's face became sharp. She abruptly flattened her ears.

  “Blast it...”

  Because top of Talia Onyxson’s head suddenly grew up a pair of fluffy triangular ears. Torn off by the giant's blow, hairband was now lost in the mud.

  When she heard a deep, sharp breath, Rosa looked around in confusion. Lily was on her feet, a blade in her hand, her eyes bulging – and sharp, almost panicked breathing. She really did look like she had seen a ghost.

  And then, with a deafening crunch, about twenty ice spears grew around her, angular and horrifying, covered in chaotic, razor-sharp by the look of them, edges.

  “What are you?..”

  Rosa reached her hand out – and ice shot at Tally like deadly stream.

  “Wha’re you doing?!”

  The sisters screamed together as the water exploded into splashes. Rosa rushed to Lilum – to somehow hold her back, to calm her down... Gibiska rushed towards Tally.

  But it was too late. Tallia had melted without a trace, off into the night forest.