Terrin wished that he didn't have a reputation for facing dangerous creatures and winning. His theory was that a person could only go up against so many bigger and deadlier things before their luck ran out.

“No ant can kill me. I will squash you,” the Demon hissed.

Rowan bristled beside Terrin. He was glad his friend had tagged along. It was a lot easier to be brave when someone stood nearby.

“Is that so? Well this ant ’ere took down one of ya already, single-handed!” Rowan screamed. Terrin winced.

“Rowan, I didn’t want to mention that.”

“Oops,” the redhead said apologetically. “Why didn’t ya wanna mention it?”

“Because now it’ll want to destroy us more than it did a few seconds ago.”

“Oh, fish guts.”

The Demon’s eyes flared to a new level of terrifying. “What do you mean, puny humanoid?”

Well, at least we aren’t ants anymore.

“I killed your subordinate. If you don’t let us through, I will be forced to do the same to you.”

The Demon’s red eyes burned with anger and yowled. Terrin resisted the urge to cover his ears and cower.

“How dare you mock me, cursed one. You are prey to our kind, not a slayer. I will strike you down where you stand, one who carries the mark of death, and I will take all your friends as well.”

“Tha other one of ya underestimated us too, and see where that got ’em? He’s deader than a doornail. We may look small ta ya, but we obviously tougher ta squash than ya think, and yer gonna pay fer lookin’ down on us,” Rowan chimed in before the Demon could advance. To Terrin’s relief, the swirling mass of shadow paused.

“What are you saying, weakling? Are you implying you can defeat me because you defeated Bathen?” Its eyes floated closer to the dwarf. They hovered only a few feet away, darkness billowing around them. To his credit, he didn’t flinch.

“That’s exactly what I’m sayin’.”

The Demon chuckled heartily. The ground below them shook as his rumble resonated through the rocks. For the first time, Rowan looked slightly uneasy.

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“You are fools, the lot of you. You think you are great when you destroy even a lowly foot soldier. How dare you compare me to him? He was a weak coward, destroyed by a few barbarians ready for the slaughter. I am the commander of the Cythraul, the Lord of the Shadows. I have destroyed a million worlds without a thought. I blanket stars with darkness and crush solar systems. When lowly species dread the dark, they do so because of me. I am Tiberius, the ruler of all darkness and death. How dare you imply an insect could even scratch a being like me! Even with the Prath bunker’s assistance, I will not permit your passage.”

To Terrin’s horror, the clouds above swirled and darkened, bathing everything in shadow. The monster’s eyes were the only clear thing in the blackness, and they were a fearsome sight to behold.

“To us, all you foul creatures look the same, yet you claim you’re the most powerful of your kind. Considering that, what makes you think we also don’t have champions amongst us?” Terrin shouted. “You all appear out of nowhere and claim we’re the weaklings, but we won’t kneel over, O Lord of the Dark. I will chase you out of this world with a matchstick if I have to, but I will not let you stay and pick us off as you please.”

The Demon’s eyes burned like the sun, and its body boiled with fury. It bolted toward the small figures, but Terrin already had his arm raised, prepared for the attack. He felt the power flow through his veins like liquid light.

“Yãni quy!” he shouted, the words flowing off his tongue without a thought. A bright beam of light flashed through the air, driving into the Demon. It screeched in agony and recoiled, a wall of smoke and shadow shielding it from another attack.

“You thought you could kill me with a little light? You really are a fool!” it yowled, its eyes nowhere to be seen. Despite the harsh words, the dark clouds above receded, and the shadows lessened, but the sun was still hidden.

“We have to go now, before it recovers!” Snow hissed in his ear as she shoved a few sticks in his hands.

Terrin jumped and looked back to see the rest of the dwarfs gathered behind him, their arms full of sticks. “What—” he started to ask, but she cut him off.

“Use the fire spell! Did you notice how it hovers on the border? It seems like it is unable to cross. Something holds it in Lur Alava. Light the sticks and take Rowan, Snore, and Plague. Stay together. Repeat the spell I am going to say. It will create a protective shield. Focus on blocking it out of your mind, and do not let go of each other. Go!”

Before he could ask any questions, she turned and started giving rapid instructions to Tristen, Kai, and Aleah. She uttered a spell and made them hold out their torches. For a moment, her hands let off a dull red glow, then the branches lit up like candles. Elurra did the same to her own before linking arms with Kai and Tristen and instructing Aleah to hold onto her shoulder. She then uttered a second spell, and a bubble of light appeared around them for a second before becoming invisible. She glanced at Terrin for a moment, her eyes betraying her fright.

She turned to the swirling, dark mass and charged it with a battle cry. The beast engulfed the small group with a laugh of pleasure. Terrin turned back to his clan of scared pirates and mimicked Elurra’s stance so everyone was holding onto each other and a torch before he copied her spell. Fear tingled through his being, but he pushed it aside.

“Run!” Terrin hissed as he advanced on the Demon.