"Now, now, Kassenia," Ghulen said, inflecting his tone as though speaking to a disobedient child. He held his knife in two fingers as he splayed his hands wide. "Be a good little mercenary and do what you're paid to do."

"Now, now, Ghulen," she replied, shaking her head. "Be a good little sicko and cut on yourself for a bit."

"Hm... an unexpected layer of depth I'd never even thought to look for," he muttered to himself. As he spoke, the hired muscle inside slowly crept towards the door, hands twitching towards weapons. Ghulen wondered how many of them Kass could take down before they got to her.

"Try me," Kassenia said, half-drawing her bow and swinging it about. "First person to move gets to do their best dying bird impersonation."

"Bird?" Balmos said, brow furrowing.

"Fletchings, you idiot," Ghulen said, not taking his eyes of Kass.

"Whatings?"

"Nothing, Balmos." Ghulen slowly set his knife on the ground and stood back up, casting a glance at Balmos. "You know he's a Venger; he'll sense and react to what you're doing faster than you can do it."

"Lets see if he can sense an entire quiver as it flies his way," Kass said, the bow swinging towards the huge, skin-lifed warrior. She nudged Avani with her knee. "Run girl, run. Now."

Avani stumbled and landed on her knees with her legs splayed out, still staring vaguely at Hassani. "Amma?"

"No, Avani," Hassani said, tears streaming. Ghulen desperately wanted to lick those tears off her face and savor the taste, but didn't dare move less Kass fletch him. "Do what Kass says. Run now, amma will find you later."

"Is amma!" Avani said, rising to her feet.

"Damn you, girl, get out of here," Kass hissed, pulling her bow fully taut as the warriors inside fanned out and moved slowly towards her. Only Balmos moved away, but towards the hefty axe he'd laid against the overturned wardrobe.

Kass's arm quickly began to shake against the pull of the bow and sweat beaded down her face.

She backed towards the doorway, shooting Hassani a pained look. "Sorry, Hassani. Did what I could."

"No, don't go," Hassani hissed, futilely plucking at the ropes binding her with her fingernails and rocking the heavy chair.

Kass startled and almost fired as someone touched her arm from the hallway outside.

"My pardon," a soft voice said from outside. "Perhaps I might be of assistance."

"By the Ascen," Hassani mouthed as the speaker slipped into view. "Deia."

Hassani's master looked especially frail standing in front of the lanky, scarred Kass, the fragility reinforced by paleness of skin and a slight tremble. Ghluen wasn't sure if this tiny person in their fading red-orange robes was male or female. A shaggy-haired Vale Legionnaire stood beside them, holding this Deia up as if they were too old or infirm to walk unassisted.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Ghulen said, the first hint of annoyance tinging his tone.

Deia pushed away from Johine, walked in, glanced around briefly, and drew a sword from a tall wicker basket half-hidden by an array of half-hung robes and coats. The Legionnaire and Kass exchanged a scanning look before apparently deciding they were on the same side and returning their vigilance to those in the apartment.

"I am a sword with no past or future. I am the killer of the Unkillable Swordsman, Keeper of the Keeper, and teacher of the Pale." Deia glanced at Hassani and nodded, her voice barely audible as she finished. "Bury below my home."

"Enough of this," Ghulen said, knees bending as he slowly dropped back down towards his knife. "Kill them both!"

Roaring, Balmos and the thugs charged. Kass's bow twanged, dropping one of them, but the others had had time to gather chairs and end tables to use as shields. Her arrows thudded into the cover as Deia stepped out to meet them.

In spite of illness and age, Deia's movements epitomized efficiency and deadliness. A man threw a chair at her. Deia sidestepped, lunged, and sliced the man's wrist open. Another man dropped his stool and immediately caught an arrow in the chest from Kass. A third kicked the stool towards Deia and swing his own sword. Deia neatly stepped over the tumbling stool, redirected the slashing blade with a tap, and drove a sword point into the attacker's eye in a single, subtle motion.

Then Balmos was there, thundering towards Deia with his axe raised. Somehow, he twisted and ducked two rapidly-fired arrows, the projectiles passing so closely they trimmed a strand of hair and nicked his tunic. Deia stopped moving completely as he rushed towards her, as if accepting her fate and suddenly resigned to a beheading by Balmos.

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At the last possible second, Deia turned, the axe missing by a finger's breadth and scraping off the stone floor. Balmos staggered past, wheezing. When he turned, the axe fell and cracked a swath of white clay floor tiles. His fingers scraped at the sword hilt jutting from his sternum, his look puzzled. Then he looked up at Deia. The sword master bowed to him respectfully, and they both collapsed in unison.

Kass had retreated through the doorway, shouts and grunts echoing down the stone. Ghulen crouched down beside Hassani the entire time, finally rushing forwards and scooping Avani up as he ran through the door. The nearly collided with him in the doorway, the man's spear bloody.

Ghulen responded first, swinging Avani in the way as the man stabbed at him. Jerking his spear aside cost him his life as Ghluen drove his long knife up through the bottom of his chin, then ripped it out the side of his neck.

The man fell in the doorway, clutching at the ruin of his throat.

Hassani screamed and hurled herself sideways, something in the chair cracking as she hit the ground.

Ghulen paused in the door and smiled. "Rega is at the One-Eighth finishing off the Mother and ending this pathetic war as we speak. We'll see you there. Say bye-bye to amma."

Avani waved dreamily. "Bye amma. C'ya at da' on' ates."

Screaming incoherently, Hassani thrashed and tossed, ripping and tearing a the ropes in the grip of sheer fury.

Outside, Kass sat slumped against the hallway wall, spattered with blood. Her sundered bow littered the floor in several pieces. Two of the thugs thugs lay sprawled lifelessly about her while another crawled away clutching at a profusely-bleeding leg.

Ghulen glanced down at her as he hustled down the hallway, hefting Avani over his shoulder.

"Ghulen said. "I'd love to sit here and watch you die, but I must be off.

"If that's foreplay, you've got a lot to learn," Kass said, grinning, then wincing.

"I don't believe in foreplay. If even part of that blood all over your is yours, you're done for."

"Not a large enough part, sorry to say," Kass said, tracing her fingers along several long scars. "Kass is an expert at almost dying."

He reached for the Aze Blade still strapped to her back. Kass grabbed his wrist with surprising strength and clutched a long knife in her other hand. "I'd love to watch you die, but I'd hate to rob Hassani the satisfaction. Touch the sword and I'll settle for maiming you and waiting until she gets out here. By the sound in there, she just broke the chair and will be out here in a few seconds."

Ghulen froze for a moment, then, as Avani began to squirm and whine, he twisted free and run down the hall.

"I'll be back to settle this."

"No need," Kass called, coughing. "I'll be gone by the time you get back."

Ghulen wondered how she meant that as he raced up the stairs, fearing Hassani had indeed broken free and would come after him.

He'd planned all of this out, complete with backup plans and escape routes. The streets still lay mostly empty, though he heard faint screaming from the docks. Rumors of demons assaulting the Thornspire filled every whisper he'd heard the last day or two; though the Ancients tried to suppress it, he'd seen some of the bodies in Annalis. Maybe the first wave had been the Rags attacking, but he doubted they'd stuck around to chew bodies down to bones.

As he rushed down the stairs into the linehouse, he shouted to alert the crew of linemen he'd paid to hang out there for just this eventuality. They lurched into action as they saw him, rushing to the trolley and scrambling up its sides as he threw Avani aboard and jumped in after.

Trolley travel had never been fast, but with Hassani likely hot on his heels, it barely seemed to creep into the overcast muted light. Ghulen noted with some annoyance the linemen had allowed a refugee or bum to sleep in his filthy robe on one of the trolley benches. The lean man looked dark and refined enough to be Kin, but his rough hair and general lack of cleanliness said otherwise.

"No!" he heard shouted from back on the stack. He smiled, grabbed Avani's hand, and dragged her to the back railing.

Hassani had found him - probably due to that traitor Kass telling her about his plans. The Aze Blade gleamed white in her hand and a single angry swing completely shattered a massive section of the linehouse's wall. "Not when I'm this close."

Ghulen leaned against the railing and waved genially towards her. Avani plunked down beside him, her legs dangling through the bars as she peered down at the water far below.

More screams rose on the wind from far below. Ghulen glanced down to see dark, asymmetric, slimy shapes slither from the waters onto the docks far below, their bodies rippling and undulating unnaturally. From his reserve, Ghulen just shrugged. So demons were real and present. He'd worry about it when he got to Broadcliff on the far side.

A popping, rumbling sound echoed out as a huge crack marring the huge white dome topping the stack slowly grew; yet another reason to be leaving Jaxestack. Neither being an immediate threat - so long as the dome's collapse didn't sever the trolley line, anyway - he turned his attention back to Hassani.

"Look forward to seeing you again in the One-Eighth," Ghulen called. "Wave to amma!"

Avani looked her way and waved, smiling.

Hassani fell to her knees, weeping.

"I can't do it any more," she said, shaking. Straining, Ghulen could barely hear her over the wind and the dome's death rattle.

"Don't be sad," Ghulen shouted. "We'll be together again sooner than you think."

"Think again," a deep, melodious voice said from within the trolley.

Ghulen turned in time to catch a punch to the face and a knee to the gut. Before he could reach his knife, the figure clutched him about the knees, hefted, and dumped Ghulen over the railing.

As he fell, he laughed, surprising himself peals genuine laughter. The water rushed towards him and he grinned, delighted to experience that last, final rush. Dying.

The crack as he hit the water drove the wind from his body, shattered bones, and laced his existence with pure pain. He embraced it, relishing each second of agony.

Then a dark creature possessing a single vertical slit for an eye and too many mouths rose from the waters. A spiky tentacle wrapped about him and he screamed with terror as the thing pulled him close and began to devour him alive, bit by bit as though savoring him as long as possible before his wrecked body could hold on no longer.