'We've got company!' David called, his voice breaking the sound of Captain Caldwell's strikes against the invisible barrier. Beyond it, they could see Lewis standing motionless, almost frozen entirely.

'I've never seen anything like this. Any ideas?' Edward said, turning to Russell hopefully.

'Hold back the spectres,' he said, pushing Captain Caldwell back away from the doorway to help David and Louise. Edward watched as he began to trace sigils in the air, the barrier shimmering slightly as he moved his fingers across it. 'There's nothing; it's old, ancient. I don't know why it let Lewis pass and not us but it needs a key of some sort or something.'

'Look out!' Louise shouted, her blade swiping through the air close enough to his cheek that he felt the air move as it passed. A spectre screeched as the blade snagged it, sending it spinning through the air.

'What do we do?' Russell asked, conjuring a handful of pearlescent daggers to move around the pair of them.

Anxiety flooded Edward's mind as he glanced through the barrier to see Lewis walking deeper into the darkness. 'I don't know. I've got no idea where Lewis is going or if he's coming back any time soon.' His eyes caught the trail of smoke in the distance as he directed a bolt of fire at one of the spectres harrying David, watching as it burned up in the air with a shriek. 'We can't wait for him; if they're already here, we should head for the temple. He's got the Spiritbound Stone; either he'll catch up with us or find another way there.'

'Allow me,' Russell said. Without waiting for a response, he lifted his hands, exhaling deeply. His breath came as a fog, like on a cold Frost morning. The air seemed to thicken, coalescing with ice as his breath spread, the swooping shadows slowing from their frenzy, freezing in the air.

'That's incredible,' David said, impressed as his lade shattered one of the frozen spectres.

'Really quite simple,' Russell said, as if this were something he did on a daily basis. 'No time to stop and stare if we need to get to the temple.'

Edward let him lead the way, watching him warily. Lewis had mentioned him on a couple of occasions, and Clara had spoken a lot about him, but he still wasn't convinced. Whether it had been his attitude since he had joined them in Oria or something more unnerving, he wasn't sure, but he didn't trust him further than he could see him right now. He glanced at Captain Caldwell, trying to gauge his opinion of Russell, and found his own uncertainty reflected on his face.

Moving at pace, they weaved their way down the broken streets, the trail of faint smoke in their eyeline at all times. Beyond it, the backdrop of the towering lighthouse seemed to cast shadows in all directions. He knew better than to believe that the fire was a coincidence, especially where his brother was concerned. 'Did you know there was a leyline that led here, Russell?' he asked. If Edmund had travelled to Oria in the same way they had, why had he not gone further?

'I had my suspicions. The leylines connect a great many places, many of which have been lost for centuries,' he replied. 'Edmund didn't seem to know though and I wasn't about to share my theories with him, if that's what you're wondering.'

He didn't quite know how to respond to Russell's accusation, opting to stay silent in the end. Although he didn't want to admit it, certainly not to Russell, it had more than crossed his mind ever since they had fled Oria. It didn't offer much comfort, but it did reassure him a little that they could trust Russell somewhat. Before he could propose any more probing questions, there was a low growl from the shadows of a side street.

Peering out of the shadows, a pair of shockingly purple eyes pierced the darkness, focused intently on them. Edward felt something pressing against his mind as his eyes locked with the purple ones. He willed a barrier between them, and he felt a thick pane of glass materialise between his mind and the creature, pushing it back. 'What the hell is that thing?' Louise asked, she too focused on the dark alleyway.

'Avert your gaze,' Russell said quickly, grabbing her by the shoulder and forcing her to turn to the side, although initially she turned her head, trying to keep the eye contact she had taken up. 'It's a Howler Lynx; it feeds on your thoughts and uses that to control you. Edward, help me!'

Before Edward had a chance to do anything, there was a flash of metal as David's blade caught him across the shoulder, tearing his cloak and sending him spiralling in surprise. David's eyes, like those of the lynx, glowed purple as he stepped forward, his blade at the ready. 'You deal with that thing; I'll deal with him,' Captain Caldwell said, stepping in to parry another of David's attacks before it could strike him.

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It growled once more, advancing on them. As it moved out of the shadows, he saw the resemblance to the lynx he knew were common in the forests near where the tower had once stood, except for the deep purple spines protruding from its back. Long, hooked fangs were bared, dripping with something that looked suspiciously like blood. His mind somewhat protected from it, he backed up, trying to somewhat separate himself from the group and divide its attention.

The howler lynx paid him no mind though, instead choosing to barrel between him and Russell, leaping on top of Louise and sinking its fangs into her side as she screamed. With a bang, Russell had his hands out, a spear of ice skewering the creature. On the ground, Louise kicked frantically, trying to throw it off her as it collapsed, jaw still clamped on her. 'Help! It's too heavy!'

The moment it stopped twitching, the purple glow in David's eyes faded, replaced by a look of confusion as Captain Caldwell sent his sword clattering to the ground. Edward rushed over to Louise's side, praising the creature’s enormous jaws open, helping Louise to wriggle her way free from under it, breathing heavily. 'That looks nasty,' he said as he took off his undershirt, tearing it to create a makeshift bandage.

Louise winced as he fastened it around her, covering the wound. 'I'll be alright,' she said, accepting Edward's offer to help her up.

'Are you sure?' Captain Caldwell asked, helping to steady her as she took a couple of steps gingerly.

'I'll manage; besides, I don't really want to stay here on my own in case there's anything else lurking in the shadows,' she said.

Before he could respond, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the street, with two figures hurrying past in the direction of the lighthouse entrance. In the dim light, he barely saw them, although it was enough in that moment that deep down, he knew it was Edmund and George. 'They're here!' he said, letting go of Louise as he tried with all his might to conjure a barrier in the square to prevent them from entering the lighthouse.

The flames that sprung up at his command seemed to be swatted away, beaten down by a gust of wind. 'Go! Finish it! I'll hold them off!' Edmund shouted, pushing George ahead of him as he turned, his eyes locking with Edward's. 'Hello, Edward, this is a surprise. Come to witness my ascension?'

'I think it's more likely your death. Lewis has already beaten him there,' Edward said. Whether or not that was the case, he didn't know, but he knew that if he could make him desperate, he would make mistakes.

'You can't stop him, none of you can,' Edmund said, weaving his hands before him. With a clatter that echoed around the square bones that had lay dormant for centuries knitted together, a dozen or so skeletons taking up blades at his command.

Edward raised his eyebrows. 'He's been teaching you some of his tricks then.' Throwing up his hands, a translucent barrier materialised, stopping the onrushing skeletons in their tracks and staggering them backwards.

'This is just the start; once he returns, I'll be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams. It's a shame you won't live long enough to witness it,' Edmund spat, ribbons of shadow sprawling from his open hands, tearing down the barrier between them and surging towards him.

Before they could reach him, there was a flash of orange light, and they began to burn away, writhing in the air like pained serpents. 'I sensed you were weak from the moment I met you at the castle,' Edward said, a gout of flame spewing from his open palm, driving the shadows back. Edmund didn't respond, throwing up a barrier of his own as he backed away, retreating under a barrage of tiny, flaming meteors.

'You're still too late,' Edmund said. With a swipe of his hand, the barrier he had conjured exploded towards them with surprising force. Edward staggered slightly, regaining his balance just in time to see Edmund race through the archway and into the base of the lighthouse. Before he could chase after him, there was a flash of pale blue light within the room.

He didn't have the chance to move before Captain Caldwell raced towards the lighthouse, his blade flashing through the air in the direction of any skeletons that were within reach. 'Go, make sure you stop him; we'll deal with the skeletons,' David said, pushing Edward ahead of him as his blade sparked against the dented skull of one of the skeletons.

Edward didn't need to be told twice. Ducking under the arm of one of the lumbering skeletons, he raced for the doorway. Behind him, the sound of metal striking bone filled the air as he hurried to catch up with Captain Caldwell. He had barely made it across the threshold when the burst of blue light engulfed him, and he found his forward momentum change to an upward one rapidly.

After spending so long in darkness, the low light of the sunrise was like a blinding afternoon sun. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the change, catching a glimpse of Edmund's cloak disappearing up a rocky staircase and around the corner. As far as the eye could see, they were surrounded by sand dunes, far below the cliff face they stood against. 'Ready?' Captain Caldwell asked.

Edward nodded. The adrenaline had taken over. No longer were his thoughts on Lewis, possibly trapped in the city far below. Now, he was focused on catching Edmund. In his open palm, he conjured a ball of flame. Taking the lead, he raced up the narrow staircase after Edmund, Captain Caldwell hot on his heels.