The mountain pass remained far behind. Far ahead, a hollow, with a small flag dancing high in the air from its pole, opened.

A cold lump of fear caught in my throat. Kasamarchi squatted next to the baby crocs. “You wait here. When it’s over, you go there.” He pointed at the hollow. “Now, shoo!”

The crocs backed away and, wheeling around, vanished beneath the nearest rocks.

Kasamarchi stood and, casting a glance at the distant flag flapping in the wind, strode towards the hollow. The four Budrahs followed him obediently. I brought up the rear.

The flag grew closer. I could already see that it was violet. Then I made out the Magister’s symbol on it: a black raven in a silver ring, drilling the unwanted visitors with its gleaming eye.

The roadblock was placed wisely. It stood between a mountain ridge that sprawled to the west and a steep cliff over the Ironsea to the east. The next pass was a three-day journey away and was blocked by the same raven that peered at the travelers with its silvery eye on a violet field. It blocked the only road to the North Peak. The small hollow narrowed gradually, forcing the travelers into a bottleneck controlled by guards with crossbows.

“You have a plan, don’t you?” I asked, averting my eyes from the raven.

“I could make one if I knew what kind of animated objects they have,” he said after a pause. “But we don’t know that. So we can only rely on luck. The messenger hasn’t gotten here, so they don’t know that the prophecy has come true, and the Child of Evil entered Crealia. The child whom no one has seen yet, but who is the reason they’ve been stuck on this pass for a month already. They might not even know about Angel. And they definitely don’t expect our Budrahs and hornets.

“It’s just one of hundreds of roadblocks all over Crealia. A dozen soldiers. Some Budrahs and dogs. And a few animated things that will detect our own once we approach. But until that moment, they’ll just see us as just kids who got lost. Stay close to Budrahs—you can hide behind them when it begins.”

“Okay,” I said with dried lips.

The shadow of the hollow’s walls fell upon us, shielding us from the bright sunlight, and the howling wind.

Silence fell.

Kasamarchi slowed his pace, allowing the two front Budrahs to flank him. “Keep up,” he said without looking back.

Fixing my pace, I caught up with the next pair of Budrahs so they could shield me from both sides.

“Don’t look up,” Kasamarchi murmured, marching on.

“Why?”

“The crossbowmen are right there.”

“Where?” I blurted, barely keeping myself from looking up.

“Above us.”

“How many?”

“About five on each side.”

I swallowed a dry lump.

“Move to the right. Under that overhanging rock,” he said. “It will cover us from the crossbows on the right.”

“Okay.”

“See those rocks?”

Things were blurring before my eyes from fear. Keeping my head down, I still looked around and found the boulders lurking in the dark-brown shrubs in the shadows, about ten paces to the right.

“Yes.”

“Move there. Once it begins, jump into the shrubs behind them. They’ll cover you from the crossbows on the left.”

Before I could answer, a strange voice said, “Lost your way, children?”

Startled, I looked around. The speaker’s location was masked by the echo. I glanced at Kasamarchi. He was looking ahead and to the left, where a stocky guardsman stood, backed by two more figures in violet cloaks, a few Budrahs, and a dozen red dogs rubbing against their legs.

They didn’t seem to consider us a formidable enemy, taking far more interest in the strange Budrahs that showed up than the two kids by their side.

Glancing up without lifting my head, I saw the crossbowmen aiming at us from the cliff on the left, the overhanging rock shielding us from those on the right.

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Taking a few more steps, we reached the rocks.

Kasamarchi stopped.

I looked up, meeting a soldier’s stare. The realization swept through my body like an electric shock: Our animated items have sensed each other.

…and time started to turn into jelly.

A click at the back of my head.

My hair falling loose.

Each strand of hair becoming one of the many scenarios flashing across my mind.

None of them had Kasamarchi; I was in charge of all the animated objects alone!

What the hell? Where’s the kid? Will he…?

No. I could not see him dying.

But where is he?

I stared at the unfolding possibilities in confusion, seeing myself giving commands to Asp, Angel, hornets, and Budrahs. I was unprepared for it. So many scenarios flashing before my eyes made my head dizzy. My eardrums were about to burst from the deafening silence.

Enough!

Stop!

I can’t!

Falling into despair, I picked the most appropriate scenario and let time go.

The world jolted into motion.

We all became a single whole.

Kasamarchi and I, we were everywhere…and nowhere.

Asp, Angel, Budrahs, and hornets were now the head, wings, and limbs of a single giant monster.

One.

The guardsman barked, “Hey!” He pointed a finger at us. Falling from beneath his cloak, a heavy ball clanged down to the ground. Rolling a little way over the rocks, it lost its shape, crumbling into a swarming mass that expanded like foam. Then it burst, sending forth a splash of steal-gleaming locusts.

Two.

The two soldiers in the back gestured, summoning their animated objects.

Kl-kl-kl-kl-kl-kl-kl-kl-kl! A giant centipede rolled on the ground and over the rocks like a wave, moving its long, thin legs quickly and smoothly.

Slap. A warty, bony toad leaped on the hollow’s steep wall, its venomous tongue shooting down with such lightning speed I could barely see it.

Three.

The dry snaps of triggered crossbows came from above. Heavy bolts rained down on the rocks with a ringing sound, like deadly hail. Some boomed into the backs of the front Budrahs. One of them collapsed, pressing Kasamarchi down.

The virtual monster fell to one knee, losing its leg.

…and Kasamarchi disappeared. I could no longer feel him.

The monster seemed to become heavier at once and more cumbersome. It took me some time to realize I was the only one left in charge.

Four.

As I moved my “arm,” Angel removed the Budrah’s dead body from the boy.

Waving a “wing,” I sent the hornets up in a buzzing whirlwind.

Nodding my “head,” I heard the rustling of Asp’s webbed wings.

Five.

I saw myself from the outside: a disheveled girl with crazy eyes darting out from behind a large boulder to grab Kasamarchi by the vest and drag him to safety.

The dark, buzzing cloud of hornets filled the hollow, their humming sound ascending to a howl. With mental effort, I tossed them up at the crossbowmen. A series of heavy blows added to this symphony of death, replacing the snapping sound of crossbows.

No more shooters. That makes things a bit easier.

Six.

The guard Budrahs ran at our two surviving ones, the dogs running alongside their hooves like a red cloud.

I moved my “arm.” Angel’s whip fell with a deafening crack. The attacking Budrahs rolled on the rocky ground, breaking their necks and crushing the dogs, their howls and roars resounding in the hollow.

Kicking with my “leg,” I sent Kasamarchi’s Budrahs ahead. They trampled the red dogs with heavy hooves and finished off the patrol’s Budrahs.

Seven.

The dark tornado of hornets devoured the gleaming cloud of locusts, their chirps drowned out by the humming roar.

Asp got stung by the toad’s tongue twice before sinking his teeth into its warty flesh. The monster plopped to the ground between the rocks. After a moment, only a tiny pendant shaped like a leather frog with a ripped head remained.

Eight.

The iron centipede dashed out from beneath a pile of Budrahs’ and dogs’ bodies like a train, heading for our hiding place.

I kicked again. In two giant leaps, our Budrahs reached the centipede and dug their spears into its back. The monster swelled but suddenly propelled its whole body to the side, chopping off one of the Budrah’s legs, like a giant lawnmower, scattering minced flesh all around.

The monster no longer had its “legs,” but my battle rage prevented me from mourning this loss. I just accounted for it, altering my next steps without much emotion.

A nod of the “head.”

Asp soared over the boiling hollow, thrusting his harpoon tail full speed into the wounded centipede’s neck. The monster arched in convulsion with a deafening mortal screech…

Nine.

…and turned into a crumpled, twisted wicker bracelet with a broken clasp. With a ringing metal sound, it rolled on the rocks and came to a stop.

The hollow lapsed into wooly silence.

I regained my senses.

My back rested against the rock, the stone ledge over my head. Kasamarchi stirred by my side.

“Are you alive?” I asked, remembering the heavy Budrah collapsing on top of the boy.

“Yeah,” he said. “It just pressed me down. I remember a clang of crossbow bolts, and then…nothing.”

“Are yours…all right?” I asked.

“Yeah, sort of.” Kasamarchi clutched at his chest. “Angel is all right, but the hornets…only half their number. Do you know why?”

I looked at the visibly thinned pouch around his neck. “The locusts attacked them while you were off.”

Feeling the torn band on my head, I added, “I’ll have to mend Asp again. The toad with its tongue. And Budrahs…three of them died. Poor things.”

“Poor things,” Kasamarchi agreed. “Without them, we wouldn’t have made it through.”

“We wouldn’t have. Let’s get out of here. Can you walk? Hold onto me. Here.”

I helped the boy to his feet. Crawling out from behind the rocks, we looked at the dead bodies around us.

Strangely, this sight stirred no emotions in me at all.

They were here to kill us. Period.

We didn’t linger to bury the bodies—the Creali Guard could arrive at any moment, urging us to hurry on.

Kasamarchi nodded at the surviving Budrah, the baby crocs already rubbing against its legs. We plodded out of the dead hollow.

“You were good at wielding them,” Kasamarchi said casually.

“Yeah. I tried my best,” I replied and, unsure what else to say. I grumbled, “Watch your steps. The metal shells of those…locusts are everywhere.”