Piper looked around the battle. It wasn’t going good for Clan Brady. The giants had regrouped, surging forward. Two Shamans, some kind of caster, had joined the battle. The monsters pushed Clan Brady back, up the bald rock slope. The Clan’s fighters held the line, but it was more difficult with the taller giants and the humans on the slope.

She could see Harper, no longer hopping in and out of the shadows, but still dancing around, trying to attack the legs and ankles of the giants. More wounded Clanmembers were being pulled further up the hill where the healers had retreated. Piper looked around, wondering what she could do.

The two Spirit Cannons were silent, empty of whatever it was they fired. The Clan’s Archers kept firing arrows, keeping the giant spellcasters back. Kim Hudson and the few other casters in the Clan fired random attacks, conserving their Spirit. Their attacks were concentrated on the giant Shamans.

Piper felt useless. Her wand’s blast wasn’t doing much to the giants. Her inksummons had all been destroyed. She could summon more but what was the point? What good could they do?

“Pipes.”

Piper jumped, twisting her wand, ready to fire. A hand grabbed it, pushing the wand aside.

“Piper, it’s me.”

Harper was in front of her, appearing out of the shadows. Piper took a deep breath, glad to see her sister.

“Sorry,” she said, looking around for Cerie.

Why hadn’t the fairy warned her Harper was there? Then she remembered that Cerie had gone back in the Codex Band. Her energy had been waning, she needed to reset.

“You need to get up there with the healers.”

“What?”

“You need to get to the top of the hill,” Harper shouted, grabbing Piper’s shoulder, trying to push her up the hill.

Piper shook her head. She was tired, her Spirit Reserves low, but no, she couldn’t leave. She was a Brady. The Clan was as much her responsibility as it was Harpers.

“You too,” she said.

Harper shook her head.

“I can fight. You need to get up there.”

“No, I can fight.”

Harper shook her head again, pointing up the hill.

“Get up there,” she ordered.

“No.”

“Piper, please,” Harper said, leaning forward, her head against Pipers. “Please.”

“Come with me,” Piper said.

“I can’t.”

“Then neither can I.”

Harper sighed, stepping back from her sister. Harper smiled. She looked at the giants then up the hill. Shaking her head, she cursed. Piper’s eyes widened, but didn’t say anything.

“Fine. But promise me that if the line falls back anymore then you’ll go to the healers?”

Piper looked at the lines of Clan Brady fighters. They were about fifty feet away and didn’t look like they were going to be retreating, but she had thought that earlier when the fighting had been in the field. It had turned suddenly, the Clan Brady fighters pushed back quickly. They’d managed to reestablish the line but it wouldn’t hold forever.

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“I promise,” Piper said, not intending to keep it.

Harper looked at her, a small smile. Piper knew Harper didn’t believe her. They were both the daughters of their father and mother. They were as stubborn as their parents. With one last look at her younger sister, Harper stepped into the Shadow Realm. Piper turned back to the battle, launching a blast from her wand.

She had to do something to help.

She knew what she wanted to do and what she had planned, but now that it was time, Piper was scared. At that moment, she wanted her mom and dad. She wanted them to hug her, to tell her it would be okay. They’d be completely against what she was planning. Even Harper would try to stop her. But she still wanted them all there.

There was so much that could go wrong.

Cries of alarm went up along the Clan Brady line. A giant had leaned forward, getting a good angle to swing the club. Most of the fighters had managed to get out of the way, but two had been unlucky. They were sent flying. Piper didn’t know who they were, wincing as they landed. Immediately others ran to them, pulling them to safety, but now there was a gap in the line and the giant was taken advantage. It kept swinging the club, keeping the fighters at bay, taking steps further up the slope.

If the giant managed to do that, so many of Clan Brady’s fighters would be hurt.

Or killed.

She couldn’t let that happen.

Concentrating on her sketchbook, Piper focused on the blueprint. She pictured all the pieces, how they fit together and how they all worked. Ink flowed out of the book, spreading across her body. The first layer, then the second, building upon each as the other pieces appeared. It all formed quickly, the helmet the last piece. She could feel it tight around her head as she was lifted up off the ground.

Her hair was caught up in the ink summon. She knew she should have put it in a bun or ponytail, but it was too late. It was uncomfortable, but she’d deal with it.

Piper wished she could see how she looked. Probably pretty bad-ass. She smiled as she thought it.

Taking a deep breath, she started running down the hill toward the giant. People turned and looked at her, she thought she heard Harper yelling her name, but she ignored all of them. There was a giant to fight.

***

Loch walked out of the tunnel, hand on the side, looking at the battlefield. It had moved pretty far away from the hill, the giants a long line stacked almost two deep, at the bottom of the long slope. Flashes of color, Abilities going off, Skills being used, spells cast, highlighted where his people were.

He started walking that way, wincing with each step. Most of his injuries had healed, but he still hurt, not everything was fully healed yet. He could barely put weight on his ankle. Running was out of the question.

Hobbling, he made his way to the battle, still using the glowing Onyx as a cane. None of the giants saw him. He saw the two bodies to the sides of the hill, one just in front. The three giants that Little River Stone had fought, which had delayed his entrance into the cavern. At least the Sasquatch had arrived. Loch wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Si-Te-Cah without his help.

He could make out the different Clan Brady fighters, recognizing some. He saw Brian, Drew and Davis still righting. Roger and Randy Sager were on one end. He thought he saw the spears of the twins down at the other end. Lights from the top of the slope told him where the healers were. People were being carried up the hill, some coming down to rejoin the fight. More were going up than coming down.

How many had they lost?

He moved closer, trying to decide where to attack. Where would he be most needed?

A giant broke through the line, pushing forward. Loch changed his angle, heading for that one, ready to Activate Windstep, but stopped when the giant was pushed back. It staggered away from the others, something kept hitting it.

The giant was forced back, a solid hit knocking it down. The attacker jumped on the giant’s chest, repeatedly hitting it. Vaguely human, strange tubes on its shoulders fired black projectiles at other giants. It looked like some kind of mech. And it was all black.

Not just black, but made out of ink.

“Piper!,” Loch yelled.