The smell of smoke was heavy outside the workshop. Glancing toward the temple, I saw the orange glow of fire creeping over the rooftop, accompanied by the creaking of wood as the roof burned away. Several smaller buildings surrounding the temple had already collapsed, leaving heaps of crumbled stone and burnt wood, while others were just beginning to smolder. The temple itself was ablaze with hundreds of dancing orange flames and countless plumes of thick black smoke. The sheer heat was shocking. I could feel it from the shop, which was at least a hundred yards away.

  Ro-Saleh followed me out of Farvad's shop and shut the door. "I know how you feel." Someone barred the door from the other side. "You can't let it weigh you down."

  I could just see the spot where my old room had been. The entire wing had collapsed. "So much history... So much knowledge..." I'd only lived there for two years, but I knew how important this place was.

  He sighed. "Buildings can be rebuilt. Once a soul departs, it can never return. It's people that we must protect." His golden eyes glimmered in the evening light. He looked exhausted. "But I understand your words. This place was my home."

  He was right. I shook the sight of the temple out of my head. "What can I do?"

  He smiled at me. "That's the Alex I knew you'd become." He stepped through a cloud of smoke and ash. "Come. I believe we're needed to the north." He slipped away into the trees that surrounded the shop. I followed.

  ***

  At the edge of the treeline, a few yards from the training grounds, we found a recruit sprawled face up on the ground. Next to him, a misshapen creature lay still. I drew my sword and stalked closer to the pair, but when I got close enough, I could make out the recruit's features. He was young and short, with sandy hair and thick freckles. I recognized him from the training fields.

  It was Ennel. He was barely breathing.

  "Ennel!" I sheathed my sword and rushed to him.

  "Alex...?" His eyes opened part of the way. The whites were tinged red. "Well met..." He coughed. Blood fell from his broken lips. "Happy you're back..."

  "What happened?"

  "Lady Varga... holds the catacombs," he rasped. "Sent me... for Renard." A wet cough. "Beast... ambushed me." He shuddered. "Is... Tristan... safe?"

  I dropped to his side. "Yeah, she is." I put my hand on his shoulder.

  "Good man..." He smiled.

  "Hang in there, my friend." Ro dropped down next to me and put his hands on Ennel's chest. His hands began to glow, but it was weak like Na-Ya's had been. The soft light traveled from his palms into the young man, and Ennel's chest filled with air, but his lungs rattled terribly with every breath. Ro cursed under his breath. "It's not enough..."

  "It's going to be okay, Ennel. We'll fix you up."

  Ennel smiled, but a wracking cough shook his frame. More blood spilled from his lips. "It's okay. I know I don't have much time."

  "No. We'll get you to safety." I went to pick him up, but he pushed me off.

  "It's okay." Ennel pushed Ro's hands away next. "Save your strength. I'll be with the Goddess soon, so please, listen to my words."

  Ro looked at me. His face was pained, and I could tell he was trying and failing to speak. The two had gotten close since Ennel'd arrived at the temple.

  I gave the elf a pat on the shoulder and took the lead. "Talk to us. Why were you out here?" A rumble shook the forest, a flash of light illuminated the area to the north, and a heavy boom reverberated through the trees. Distant shrieks and growls answered it. The ground quaked again in response.

  "You were with the Mother. Why did you..." Ro's voice broke.

  Ennel took a pained breath. "Lady Varga told us to find Renard. She's holding the catacombs, but she can't do it alone. She needs him. So we headed out to find him."

  I took in his wounds. The young recruit was bleeding from deep gashes down his arms and legs. A thick gash split his breastplate in two. "Renard's in the shop, but he nearly died in his fight with Baelgrim. He's in no condition to fight."

  Ennel's face dropped. "Then... he can't..."

  I couldn't bring myself to tell him. The truth was clear. Renard wouldn't be walking out of the workshop that evening. It was up to me and Ro. "We'll go to her."

  The recruit perked up a little, but then a sharp wail shook through the trees from the direction of the catacombs, followed by another wave of light. "Go then, and fast. She needs you two." He coughed. "And don't go down the trail. It's swarming with those creatures."

  I shook my head. "Not until we get you to Farvad's shop."

  "No. I'll slow you down." He reached out and grabbed his shield. Pulling it across his chest, he pushed it to me. "Take this. It was my grandfather's. It'll keep you safe."

  I slung it over my shoulder. "You'll use it when you're better."

  "Don't worry about—"

  Disregarding his wishes, I put my arms under his back and knees and picked him up.

  "You don't—"

  "No one gets left behind, Ennel. Ro, go ahead and get the door to the shop open."

  Ro-Saleh sprinted toward the treeline and disappeared. I followed. Behind me, dozens of shrieks and howls filled the air.

  ***

  We were close to the shop, but we were moving too slowly. I'd considered it, but in his condition, I knew I couldn't run with him in my arms. Glancing down at the young warrior, I could see that Ennel's breaths were shallow, and his face was deathly pale. His tabard was soaked through with blood, and his eyes lolled in his head.

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  "Ennel, stay awake. We're almost there."

  He blinked, then opened his mouth. He whispered, "Did you three... figure things out?"

  I couldn't help but smile. It felt like so long ago when the boy had followed me out of the temple wanting to know if he had a shot with Tristan. "We did."

  A large smile spread across his lips. "Good. Treat them right, okay?"

  "You'll be there to see it."

  There was no response.

  "Ennel?"

  The boy's lips hung open. His glassy hazel eyes stared up at the darkening sky.

  My throat caught. I failed.

  "Come on!" I looked up to see that Ro had the door to the shop open. He was waving me over.

  I hadn't realized we'd entered the small clearing where Farvad's shop was. Without a word, I walked past the sun elf, whose face grew tight as I did. Setting Ennel down on the floor of the workshop, the others murmured as I stood back up. My eyes burned. "He's with the Goddess now. Take care of him until we return." Without looking up, I adjusted his shield on my back, left the shop, and walked north to the catacombs.

  ***

  Deep in the forest, we found yet another ruined corpse of one of the creatures. We'd already seen several, along with a half dozen familiar faces from the temple, but this one caught my eye.

  "Ro. Hold a moment. Come look at this."

  The elf walked up next to me. "What do you see?"

  "Does this one look different to you?"

  His face blanched as he took it in. "Horrid things." He looked the creature over, and a deep frown split his face. "You know... I believe you're right."

  This beast, whatever it was, looked far larger than most of the others we'd seen. Part rat, part human, its body was twisted and covered in weeping sores. Half its face was that of a rodent, the other half human, and its back legs were human from the knees up, but below the knees were covered in thick gray, patched fur. Its teeth were a mix of fangs and human teeth blended haphazardly throughout its mouth. Wicked black claws, each of which was covered in thick coagulated blood, adorned the end of each finger on one hand. The other arm had a thin tentacle-like appendage growing where its hand should have been.

  "Disgusting." Ro-Saleh's lips pulled back, revealing clenched teeth. "What happened to this woman is disgusting."

  My grip tightened on my sword. How many innocent people had fallen prey to these things? I tried to take in as many details as I could, but it was nearly night. "It's getting dark. Can you see anything that I can't?"

  "I can try." His golden eyes took the creature in. They swiveled in their sockets as he scrutinized every detail. "The ones we've encountered seem to have mostly canine features, and none were as misshapen as this one is. What does that mean?"

  "Farvad said many animals could be used, but maybe some are easier to use than others?"

  He shook his head. "I have no idea."

  A whimper came from the rat-woman's chest.

  I stiffened. "She's alive."

  Ro moved to her side, sword ready. The creature's chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. Patches of fur had torn free, revealing raw, blistered skin beneath. Her fingers twitched, claws scraping the broken tree she lay on.

  I drew Embermist, but Ro-Saleh held up his hand. "I would know if these creatures have minds. That way, I can decide to whom I'll send my prayers." Moving a step closer to the rat woman, he said, "Creature. Can you hear me?" Ro asked.

  The creature's eyes fluttered open, revealing one pitch black orb with no visible sclera on one side of her face and a brown human eye on the other. Her mouth worked, but no sound came from her lips.

  Ro stepped closer and placed a hand on her thigh. A small amount of light passed from his hand into her.

  The creature's eyes bulged. A soft groan escaped her lips, then two words sounded through her warped teeth: "Please... kill..."

  I knelt at her side. "Do you want to die?"

  She shuddered. "I..."

  I stood up and held my blade against her throat, but Ro stopped my strike with a gesture.

  "Kill whom?" The elf asked.

  "Kill... kill..." The rat half of her face twisted into a snarl. "Kill... you... all..." She convulsed. A guttural snarl tore from her throat.

  "What happened to you? Were you human, once?" Ro's voice was firm but filled with compassion.

  "Hu... man..." She shuddered again, and tears formed in the human half of her face. "I... daughter... husband... lost... please... mercy..." Her words came slower and more spaced out. "Save... me..."

  Ro placed a hand on her chest, but the creature's tentacle arm snapped at him. A needle-sharp barb sprang from its tip. It darted at his throat, but Ro caught it mid-strike. I slashed, cleaving it from her arm. An inhuman shriek peeled from the creature's maw as black blood spilled from the stump.

  She thrashed wildly for a moment, but a dozen of her wounds tore open in her throes. Her face grew drawn, and she fell to her knees. Her remaining hand moved to her face, covering the human half. Tears fell from her human eye. "Husband..." the monster snarled as it pulled itself from the log. Standing on shaky legs, it took a single step toward us. "Killed... him..." It hissed. "Ate... him... filthy... humans..."

  "Rest well, good woman." Ro's sword lit up with golden energy. The bright white-gold light bathed the creature in its divine glow. The rat half of its face pulled back into a snarl, but its human half smiled.

  "Sleep..." the woman repeated.

  Ro's blade flashed. A thin line opened up along her throat. Black ichor splattered onto the forest floor, and her head fell to the ground, followed by her misshapen body. "Let's go."

  ***

  "Howls," I said. They came from every direction—coyote-like, but deeper. Hungrier.

  "We're close," Ro responded.

  We'd cut through the forest, but a large pack of canine-shaped creatures had forced us to go the long way around. As we did, the bodies grew thicker—templars and beasts alike. Some creatures looked nearly human; others were grotesque amalgamations of a dozen different beasts. All showed the same signs of their horrific transformations as the rat woman: sores, distended limbs, jutting bones.

  A tree branch snapped ahead of us.

  "Something's ahead." Ro's golden eyes were fixed on something.

  A shadow detached from the trees ahead—a hulking thing with boar tusks and too many joints in its arms. It charged toward us.

  "Behind me!" I hissed as I pulled out Ennel's shield and Embermist. A second later, the boar monster slammed into me, nearly taking me off my feet. I swung my blade at its head, but the weapon barely seemed to bite into its skin. A thin cut split its forehead, but still it pushed against me.

  I planted my stance and twisted, throwing the beast to the side. It landed on the ground with a grunt, rose to its hooved feet, and spun, but a streak of white cut through the night air. The boar's neck opened up, and its eyes rolled in its skull. It crumpled to the forest floor and stopped moving.

  "Good work." Ro slipped by me and continued forward.

  I followed him, my sword and shield held high.

  A flash of light filled the night ahead of us, then an earth-shattering boom shook the forest. Another came seconds later, so loud I thought the entire world was coming apart around us. When the sound faded, dozens of howls followed. They made the hairs on my neck stand on end.

  As we passed a particularly large oak, I could see light through the trees. In it, tens of shapes were silhouetted. It was hard to make out details, but it was clear they were the same as the others. We slowed and skulked the last hundred yards, jumping from tree to tree, until the graveyard clearing opened before us.

  "Look!" Ro pointed with his sword. At the center of the cemetery, the mausoleum stood encased in a dome of blinding light. The creatures were throwing themselves at it, but every one that touched the sphere of light burned away, falling as a pile of dust and twisted black bones to the earth.

  Inside the glowing shield, in the very heart of the light, floated Lady Varga. Like the sun itself, radiant rays of pure light extended from her body, filling the entire clearing with purifying light. However, cracks had formed on her shield, and whenever one of the creatures struck at them, the cracks spread just a little further, weakening it bit by bit even as the creature burned away.

  "Hurry, Alex. There's no time."

  "How are we going to get through them?"

  Ro shook his head. "Follow my lead, and pray to the Goddess we succeed."

  He slipped out from behind the tree.

  As he did, one of the creatures, a wolf-headed brute with a mangled ear, turned. Its glowing, beastial eyes locked onto us. It gave a chuffing, whimpering growl, and a dozen more of the creatures turned, their eyes glowing in the night. Then, like a switch had been flicked, the rest of the creatures turned. Hundreds of eyes glowed in the darkness. Dripping maws licked their distended jowels as they considered him.

  Then, as one, they charged.