Raine had always had a strange sense of Tammy's presence in the back of her mind, a sense that was hard to put into words. She knew that it was Tammy, because... it was always her. It was her the way she had been, with her optimism and her kindness and her restless nature.

She was not prepared for her own internal sense of Tammy's spirit to change, suddenly.

The lot of them were flanking the main invading force, keeping a group of defenders from sneaking past. It had been a very cat-and-mouse game, but it always felt like she was the one being toyed with, even though they were winning, consistently. They had a lot of wins, but almost no kills. Over and over, she got the sense that the enemy was waiting, and she wasn't the only one. The commanders were constantly on edge, wondering when the next shoe was going to fall, trying to figure out where they were missing something in the enemy's plans.

This move from the enemy force, sneaking around to get behind them, was not unusual. They had mostly been probing attacks, seeing if they could sneak by, trying different routes and different magical abilities to conceal themselves. Raine was usually not the only one who could tell that the enemy was close, but she was usually the first.

Raine wasn't really a fighter by nature, although she was getting better at it. She still had an overriding fear whenever she went into battle, a fear that this would be the time her skills and strength failed her. Compared to the rest of her squad, after all, she was inadequate; but they, almost always, showed a sense of unity and respect, even when she failed and floundered her way through combat. They had helped a lot, sparring and giving her excellent advice, and teaching her what they knew of martial arts one bit at a time--which was, collectively, a lot. Warrior clans were much more into that than the conscripts or the citizens of Olesport, and it showed in their ability and confidence.

This time, as often happened, Raine felt awful anxiety about the deployment. This time, however, it was different. She had been depending, to some degree, on her sense of Tammy's soul, which was usually confident and strong, to get her through the hard times. She depended on Tammy, and (she begrudgingly admitted, sometimes) on the God of Eyes, both of whom had faith in her at a time in her life when nobody did. Her link to them both gave her strength, but her link to Tammy in particular gave her courage.

So when Tammy became afraid, Raine was suddenly on the edge of a cliff, just one step from falling into absolute terror. Tammy was a part of her own heart, now, a part of her courage and a part of her soul. With Tammy afraid, Raine felt an overwhelming sense of cowardice bubbling up from deep inside, where it had always laid quietly. She wanted nothing to do with anything that could shake her confidence like this... but she had responsibilities, now. She had a group to look out for. Quickly, she signaled a stop and crouched down, trying to quiet her mind and listen to that voice inside of her. It wasn't quite Tammy's own, more like... a combination of her own and Tammy's, in a strange way.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Unnatural. Black. Danger. Do not face this. Black. Do not let this see you. The voice was like a cold hand on Raine's arm. Cannot use power to sense this. Not friend. Black. Not healthy. Black.

The thoughts didn't make sense, exactly, but they didn't have to. Raine only knew that she could trust them... and that she had to.

So she lifted her head to the team that stood watched her. "Something's wrong," she said very quietly. "Something very dangerous is ahead. Too dangerous."

"A mage, you think?" Nu'an, some kind of very short rodent-like halfbreed who could punch like a ton of bricks and did worse with her warhammer, let her ears flick back and forth. "Monster?"

"I don't know. Something... black." Raine grimaced. "I... don't know why, but I don't want to get closer."

"I'll check it out." Nu'an vanished into the trees, and Raine had to admit that the woman was stealthier than she could reasonably expect anyone to be. But... it felt wrong. The moment Nu'an crossed an invisible line, Raine felt like an alarm had been triggered... or possibly a trap. Tammy's hand on her shoulder held her back, or she might have followed, or called out after her. Instead, she and the other eight in the party remained still and silent, listening.

After a minute, Nu'an came back, and Raine couldn't help but recoil. Something was very wrong with her, and after a moment, she realized the woman had not snuck back. They had all heard her coming.

"Nothing is close," said Nu'an, her voice almost completely natural, as she set her warhammer down on the ground, idly.

Raine held an arm up and backed away. "That's not Nu'an," she warned, but she knew, without needing to be told, that most of the group trusted Nu'an over herself. She was respected, but she was still an outsider. They were a group, and by making this a matter of trusting one over the other...

Before she had more than a moment to think, Nu'an had touched the arm of Emmen, a tall brute who favored a battleaxe heavy enough that very few could wield it without magic. Emmen's eyes, Raine noticed, went wide with shock the moment her hand touched his arm, and from that moment on, he didn't move a muscle. Nu'an smiled, gently, and started to reach towards Raine with her other hand.

"Run," Raine whispered, and turned and fled.

It only took a moment for a body to fly limply ahead of Raine, her ribcage wrecked by a blow from Nu'an's warhammer. Raine pushed her legs as hard as she could, doing everything she could to escape, but she knew, a stabbing fear inside her, that without her... and probably with her, the other seven were doomed to try and fight the possessed woman and fail.

In desperation, Raine started to reach out, hoping and trusting that the God of--

No, said Tammy suddenly. Not safe! Black. Danger, black.

Raine stumbled and fell, but picked herself up and ran. What do you mean no? she insisted. He's a god, and I'm just...

Danger, replied Tammy. You danger, me danger, him weak. Feels... black. Big black. Not safe. Need strong. Find goddess. Find 'other'.

Raine shivered and ran.