As soon as he started running, the green light sprung to life. It zipped and zapped from space to spot, the soldier following it as best he could. In a panic, he raced past more people, racing in the opposite direction. The green bolt slipped in between the fleeing masses, and Drake followed. He bolted past burning buildings and rubble from the crumbled architecture.

Then the crowd split and he reached the end of the street. In front of him, the green light surged to the center of the town square—the spot where their night had started. It was engulfed in ashes and fire, a throng of trolls lounging and laughing in the bedlam.

The green light said she was in the center, amongst the flames and the trolls. Drake’s blood went cold. Ariana’s spell only promised to find who he pictured. The target didn’t need to be still alive.

“Gigi...” he whispered to the mayhem.

He couldn’t give into despair, not until he knew for sure. He would be entering the river that night and not returning if she were gone. The thought of losing her tore his heart asunder. The sorrow was a pack of predators ravaging a fresh carcass. He ground his teeth. No, she couldn’t be dead. If she were, the trolls before him would pay with their blood, every last drop.

The massive troll in the middle of the mob waved something in his hand. Drake squinted, only seeing a swirl of black hair being whipped back and forth. The green lighting bolt reappeared, zipping back and forth in rhythm with the hand. Rage burst through Drake as his mind connected the dots.

He had to hold back everything inside of him not to let the rest of his power surge forward. If he used his full power, he could end this in moments. Then Gaius and Sargasso would know precisely where he was, and these trolls would seem like a jolly picnic. No, he would need to get creative. Drake walked toward the trolls.

They didn’t pay him any mind until he was about a hundred paces from the pack. The merriment broke, and they all, one by one, turned their golden eyes to the interloper. Drake stood tall, head raised high, and fists balled tight. He counted nine, plus the big one. Ten trolls would be a tall order.

He could not take on that many and still have his teeth in his head at the end of it. Or a head at all. Inspiration struck.

“Hey, little fella, you’re an odd one, ain't ya?” one of the trolls snarked.

Drake stopped. He stood tall and glared at them with rage. “Let her go or die,” he promised.

The big one stopped waving his toy around. “Did a...whatever you are, just threaten me, the Troll King?” it asked.

“Let her go,” he repeated.

“What? This?” The king raised a massive hand. “Mouthy little bitch. Even took out one of my best men’s eyes.” The troll winked and made a gurgling laugh that sounded like boiling acid. “But I think we crushed the fight out of her, aye, lads?” They all began to produce the same terrible bubbling laughter.

“I challenge you, ‘King,’ to a test of strength.”

“You WHAT, mate?” asked the king dumbfounded.

“If I win, you leave and never come back.”

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The gargling laughter intensified. “You are a silly sod. But, I accept.” He tossed Gigi into the rubble, the limp body hitting the stones with a sickening crunch.

“GIGI!” Drake roared.

“Now, settle down, little man, it’s you and me, remember?” the troll grinned.

The Troll King stepped forward. Rippling muscles danced as he flexed. Despite the king’s size, he moved with grace and poise. This one was not like the simple-minded trolls he had taken down already. Drake could see why they followed this one.

“So, little man, what did you have in mind?”

“We join hands and push until one of us can’t push anymore.”

“I like it! Simple. But, little man, your hands are so small. How do you expect me even to hold them?”

“Easy. Put your palms out, and I'll do the same.”

Drake put out his hands and held them up. The massive troll did the same towards the much shorter human. He put his small hand into the palm of the troll's hand. The troll then wrapped his fingers until Drake’s hands disappeared, and all that could be seen was his forearm.

“Ready?” the troll asked. Drake nodded. “Ahh, then goodbye, little man.”

The troll exploded downward with a tidal surge of strength. Drake buckled, his armor barely holding up. His feet were forced into the ground, and slowly, they began to crunch into the earth below. The stones he stood on cracked and splintered as the troll wrenched its hideous force downward.

Drake tried to push back, but the troll was far stronger, even with his magic. All he could do was hold on until the armor began to crack. Then he heard it, the snapping and fracturing of his crystal skin. He drew on the darkness to replenish what was breaking. However, he knew that this cycle would not lead to victory, so he began to whisper.

“You’re stronger than you look,” the troll sneered, “but praying won't help you, little one.”

The soldier paid the troll no mind and continued his chanting. The ground around Drake’s feet began to turn black as dark ichor bled forth. The chanting began to intensify. The black ick spread faster until it covered the ground beneath the two. Drake opened his eyes and began to push back with every ounce of strength.

The troll grunted in surprise. It felt hands, dozens and dozens of hands, on its own now. It looked down. Arms, an endless multitude of them, had grown up under its feet. They were long and twisted. Some curled around the troll's legs, holding it fast. The rest snaked their way to push back on the massive hands.

“WHAT ARE YOU?!” The Troll King shouted.

“Were you the one?” Drake cried. The troll ground its teeth and pushed down harder. “Were you the one that hurt her?” the soldier roared.

The arms underneath the Troll King began to lift it from the ground. Stomping its feet, it shook off the black fingers.

“YEAH, LITTLE MAN, I WAS THE ONE THAT PUT THE BITCH IN HER PLACE! JUST LIKE I’M GOI-”

More hands burst forth, arms sprouting from elbows and wrists until they formed a tree. Each branch pushed up. Each one reached for justice. They jutted forward with a strength Drake did not know he possessed, with rage he had never known. The shadows smashed against the troll’s might. For a moment, the king held his own and bellowed as he forced the shadows down. Then Drake screamed back. He wrenched up with terrifying force.

Finally, a tendon in the king’s wrist snapped, and the Troll King howled in pain. Drake seized the moment and pushed even harder. The king’s hands began to buckle and bend back. Drake pushed until the troll's hands were flat against the wrist. The massive brute was starting to sweat. Its joints screamed in agony, matching his voice.

A moment later, a thunderous crunch echoed through the battlefield. The king's bones snapped like oaks felled by lightning, but Drake kept pushing. The black hands pushed until the troll’s knuckles kissed its forearm. Another crunch of bone rang out in the courtyard, followed by a scream of berserker rage and agony. Drake pulled down with all his might, practically pulling the king’s arms from their sockets. The king collapsed, a castle’s keep broken by siege, his compatriots dumbstruck. They had just witnessed the impossible. The king raised his ruined hands before him, the fists that had brought an entire troll clan to heel, and then he looked in front of him. Drake stood there, almost at eye level with the fallen giant. The king spit at Drake.

“F-uck you and that gob-lin who-”

Drake’s knuckles were in the troll's throat in an instant. His fist stole away its vile words, but he stopped just short of taking its wicked life. They both knew he could have, but he held back. He leaned into the king’s ear and whispered, “Death is too good for you. Long live the broken king.” Drake turned to the rest of the troll gang. “Run,” he commanded.