"Humans fascinate me. Unlike my brothers and sisters, I know better than to underestimate them. They are crafty, resourceful and courageous and now they've been enlightened, much harder to break. -Pazuzu, eldest of the Daemon Lords regarding humanity.

  Leo was floating; he was falling.

  He felt everywhere and nowhere. He was drifting in currents of unknowable providence. In the far distance, he saw a great light. A light that wasn’t a light. Yet he couldn’t reach it; something kept him still. He looked up and down; floating faces and wispy bodies moved around him. His thoughts were slow, sluggish.

  “How strange,” boomed a voice. Leo couldn’t see where it was coming from; it was all around him. “You’re still tethered to the mortal realm. The coil is growing thinner, but your friend is persistent.”

  Leo’s mind was churning. He tried to put the thoughts together. “Who are you?”

  “You know who I am. Time is short. I give you three options instead of two, in honor of your friend. I can send you back. You can stay with me until the final battle at the end of days. Or, if you simply want peace, you can flow to the light.”

  Leo understood little of what he was saying. One thing did stand out. Go back? Images flashed of Elizabeth, of Martin, of all their times together. His memory flickered to life, and he remembered what had happened to him. “I don’t know who you are, but please, if it is within your power, send me back. I’m not finished yet. They need me.”

  “As you wish. Farewell, young Leo. We will meet again when the time is right.” Leo was moving upward. “Do not be afraid, for in the River, you will always find me.”

  Leo saw the sky once more. He gasped loudly and rose. Annabelle sighed with relief. He looked all around him. It all came back.

  He saw Elizabeth and Etheros fighting the daemon. Elizabeth’s guisarme was coated in white dust, and the wounds on the daemon weren’t healing! Etheros had done it!

  Elizabeth charged headlong into the daemon, stabbing at his exposed chest, evading claw swipes with skilled precision. Her eyes showed no anger; she was calm, deadly tranquil. Obitus snapped at her with twisted tusks. She clobbered him with the hilt. The daemon backhanded her away, only for Etheros to cut off the offending paw. The daemon lashed out with its tail, only for a greatsword to block it.

  Elizabeth turned to see Leo by her side. Life entered her eyes again. “You’re alive!”

  Leo gestured behind him. “Annabelle is a gifted woman. You’re lucky to have her.”

  “How is this possible?” grumbled the daemon. “There’s no way that pathetic Shardling bitch could have done this.”

  Elizabeth snarled, stabbing into the boar head’s scalp. The blade latched itself on its skull and wouldn’t budge. Obitus shrieked and tried to crawl away, desperately reaching for the nearby trees. She stomped down on his shoulder and pulled. The boar head was severed with a sickening crack, trailing neck bones and ligament. Life left its eyes, and the flesh dissolved into a necrotic ooze.

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  The remaining wolf head paused and stammered, “O-Obitus? Brother?” Red tears trickled down Velo’s face. “How dare you! How dare you take my brother from me!” The daemon frothed at the mouth. It brought down its claws, only for Leo and Elizabeth to chop them off. The daemon whipped its tail, but Etheros was ready and severed the limb. The beast collapsed, rolling around like a pig in mud, wailing unendingly. A jolt rippled through the daemon, and a brand manifested on its neck.

  “Well, look at that,” muttered Etheros as he examined the mark. It was different from the one on the dread-wasp princess. This brand had a spider with coiling limbs and an inhuman maw surrounding the globe. Etheros muttered a spell, and gashes appeared around the brand. With a wet thud, he removed the skin with the brand.

  Elizabeth kicked the daemon onto his back. She raised her weapon, poised to strike his heart.

  “Wait!” exclaimed Etheros.

  Elizabeth paused. “Why?”

  “We need him alive. He’s deep in our enemy’s counsels,” Etheros said, casting another spell. The open wounds on the daemon cauterized. “Don’t want you bleeding out, do we?” The daemon spat strings of swears. Leo smacked his face with the hilt of his blade, knocking him out.

  “How are we supposed to even bring him with us?”

  Etheros pointed toward a cloud of dust in the distance, lit by glowing white eyes. Etheros muttered another incantation, and the flames blocking their path dissipated.

  “Guerrieri-Monaci. The military arm of the Island City.”

  The riders entered the clearing. They reminded Leo of the temple guards, if more ornate. Indeed, the woman leading them was. Next to her was a single, tired maxime horse, carrying an equally tired and disheveled Petro and Martin.

  “We made it,” wheezed Martin. He was limp. Petro was the only thing keeping him on top of the horse, who merely nodded, panting too heavily to speak.

  The woman strode forward, sticking her bladed shaft into the ground. “Greetings, travelers. My name is Deborah. Gran Maestro dei Guerrieri-Monaci, We have felt your presence since yesterday. You’ve caused quite a stir with these, Maelim.” She looked toward the wounded daemon. “What devilry is this?”

  Etheros bowed. “The fruit of my labor. I am Etheros of Yanneros, Adamite Wizard. I invoked Exodus and hereby seek asylum in the Island City as is my right as a Godshard.” He gestured to Leo and Petro. “They are with me as Godshard-Friends and as my protectors.”

  Etheros turned to Annabelle, motioning her to speak. “I am Annabelle of Tressviae. Guaritore dell’Ordine della Colomba. I invoked Exodus and hereby seek asylum in the Island City as is my right as a Godshard.” She gestured toward Elizabeth. “She is with me as a Godshard-Friend and my lover.”

  Leo scratched his head. “What’s with the ceremony?”

  “The Island City is for Godshards only,” answered Deborah. “The only exceptions are for approved Acolytes or Godshard-Friends. No more than two are allowed per Shard, even if it’s due to Exodus.” She strode forward and tapped the daemon with her shaft. “Is it dead?”

  Etheros shook his head. “Unconscious. We must take him with us as a prisoner.”

  Deborah was shocked. “You expect me to bring a live daemon into the Island City? Allowing the Benelim is already pushing it.”

  “He’s declawed and gravely injured. But that is not all.” Etheros’ eyes simmered. “You are no doubt aware of the blight upon these lands. Of what has happened to so many of us?”

  Deborah nodded, her face grim. “Indeed, you’re not the first Godshard to seek asylum. Not even the first Adamite. There’s even some from the Seerhood among us at present.”

  “All of us carry vital information. Tidings both dire and hopeful. This creature must come with us, for he is deep in our enemy’s counsels. There is much he can tell us.”

  Deborah stared acutely at Etheros. She gave a grim smirk. “Oh, Archo-Maga Magdaline will be thrilled when she sees this.” She turned to the others. “Find something to tie him!”

  Etheros was more than willing to help. He turned a dead tree into rope and a crude sheet through his spellcraft. In short order, the daemon was bound. They shoved a muzzle over his mouth. Deborah looked apprehensive but nodded.

  Deborah was kind enough to give the rest of the Six Strangers steeds. It grieved Leo to hear what happened to Rubert. That was Avella’s horse. Leo sighed. Hopefully, Avella was faring better. Wherever she was imprisoned. Etheros promised to reveal their hatched plan once they got inside the city.

  They rode for the rest of the day; civilization greeted them like a long-lost friend. They surged through a town. Presbia, Deborah had called it. It was a town that formed at the coastline adjacent to the Island City—a holding spot and place of trade.

  The town seemed unaware of any hardship or of the current crisis. Kids were playing in the streets, and the market was lively. Everything was clean and well-kept. The golden light of the setting sun made the whole place almost otherworldly. It reminded Leo of Tressviae. He hoped for their sake they don’t end up like Tressviae as well.