Kevlin limped toward the mountain of debris that had been the keep. How could anyone have survived such a disaster? Even with Indira’s help, was it possible?

Heat shimmered above the still-glowing rubble and forced him to slow. Drawing closer was like walking into a giant oven, and soon sweat dripped down his face. Dust hung heavy in the air, obscuring his vision. Smoke choked him and ash irritated his throat.

He didn’t have enough magic left to cool it down. The little power left to him barely kept him on his feet.

Indira couldn't hold out for long, so they had to find Ceren fast. Even shielding his face, he couldn’t get to within ten paces of the debris.

“Hold,” Harafin called out, raising a hand toward the rubble.

Silver mist congealed out of the air, thickening until Kevlin could barely see the mound. It settled over the smoking ruin and the red-hot stones hissed like a giant, angry cat. Clouds of searing steam billowed up, forcing Kevlin and Drystan back.

The wind picked up, and within a few heartbeats it whipped his clothing and nearly knocked him to the ground. It cut through the clouds of steam, and in less than a minute, the air cleared.

“It is still hot,” Harafin warned, “but it should be passable if you use caution.” The old sentinel retreated and leaned against the broken wall.

“Thanks.” Kevlin and Drsytan approached the mound, followed by more soldiers as the word of Ceren’s plight spread. The rubble shifted and rolled treacherously underfoot as they scrambled up. Drystan left Kevlin near a section of unbroken gable and moved on, scampering across the rubble like a deer.

Kevlin circled the gable and caught sight of a partially intact piece of roofing. It looked like part of the central tower. He extended his sense and slipped them under the closest edge to probe the cavity underneath.

Ceren.

“Here,” Kevlin yelled to the others. He clawed away the debris so he could worm under the edge and into a pocket of air underneath.

Ceren lay inside, unmoving. He called her name, but she made no response. He crawled to her, wiped the grime from her face, and placed a finger on the side of her neck, feeling for a pulse. It beat, but only faintly.

As impossible as it seemed, she still lived. The plucky noblewoman didn’t seem hurt, but she also didn’t respond when he shook her. She clutched the hilt of her broken sword so tightly that he couldn’t pry her fingers loose.

No one else could fit under the rubble to help him retrieve her. The effort of passing Ceren’s limp body to the others left him trembling with exhaustion. Jerrik finally managed to get one beefy hand on her mail shirt and drag her free.

As soon as he saw they didn’t need his help, Drystan ran for Leander’s hole amid the rubble. Gabral followed him, and the two disappeared from view.

Kevlin stared after the colonel. “Didn’t he fall into the river?”

“He came back.” Jerrik lifted Ceren into his arms and carefully picked his way back across the rubble, with Kevlin following as best he could. They bore her from the shattered enclave and lay her down next to Indira.

Kevlin dropped to the ground between the two women. Indira was panting, her cheeks flushed and hot. He stroked her face gently with one hand and her eyes fluttered open.

“We found her. Ceren is safe.”

Indira closed her eyes again with a great sigh of relief. Someone brought over a couple of cloaks with which Kevlin covered both women. He didn’t have the energy to move, so remained seated between them.

Indira slid her warm fingers into his free hand. He was content to sit beside her like that. His thoughts moved sluggishly. He tried to make sense of everything, but failed. He couldn't even decide exactly what he felt for Indira.

Ceren was safe. Despite how confusing she could be, he cared for her. They’d shared danger and a common goal. He didn’t want to lose yet another companion today.

Indira’s hand in his felt so good it made him nervous. Even covered with sweat and with her hair matted to her face, she was achingly beautiful. He couldn’t fight the attraction any longer. He would get to know this gentle healer and let tomorrow decide how deep his interest grew. He wasn’t even sure she’d welcome his attention.

Well, he’d find out.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Antigonus was dead. A heavy weight of grief settled over him. Under Tia Khoa’s influence, it had seemed right that Antigonus was dead, but he couldn’t understand how. Too many things had changed, and all the emotion had been burned out of him.

Harafin knelt beside him and placed a hand on Ceren’s forehead. He closed his eyes in concentration, and Kevlin felt Harafin molding magic.

Several heartbeats later, Harafin sat back. “She will be fine with a little rest.”

Indira smiled and closed her eyes. In seconds, she started snoring softly.

“What just happened?” Kevlin asked Harafin.

“You connected with it?”

“Aye.”

“Choices were made today that will shape the destiny of the empire.”

“I don’t understand.”

Harafin smiled ruefully. “Neither do I, but we will. We must.”

The sentinel climbed to his feet and gazed out over the valley. “We will speak again soon.” He headed for Ah’Shan, who had been dragged out of the enclave and lay unmoving under a cloak.

With his ears still supernaturally sharp, Kevlin clearly heard Harafin say to himself, “Two hundred years of study, and still we walk in darkness.”

# # #

Leander paused just inside the huge, vaulted cavern. The soft light from the silver runes on the walls gently illuminated the slaughtered halimaw.

Nothing moved. The cavern appeared empty. Leander strode to the carcass of the monster and sighed. “May the light grant rest to your soul. Goodbye, my friend.”

The sound of running feet spun him back to face the passageway just as Drystan and Gabral charged into the room. Drystan said, “We came to help.”

“Then come,” Leander said. “But Tanathos is mine.”

With the two men flanking him, Leander ran for the doorway in the far wall. As they entered the square passage, Leander raised his hammer and it burst into blue fire to light the way. They pounded up the spiraling passage until it emptied into the rough cavern under the volcano’s cone.

High above, a stone rattled. Several seconds later it clattered to the floor nearby.

“He’s up there,” Gabral said, pointing up the shadowed cone.

Leander leapt for the stairs and took them three at a time.

# # #

Tanathos stepped into sunshine high on the northern slope of Mount Il’Aicharen, where the air bit into his exposed flesh with icy fangs. At this altitude, winter already held sway.

Snow clung to the rocks and lay in drifts on the narrow ledge that led toward a small, round stone observatory with an open roof. The building clung to the edge of a fold in the mountainside. Low clouds hung around the mountain below, obscuring its base. Several peaks of the smaller Stratton Mountains pierced the clouds to the north. The cone of Mount Il’Aicharen reared yet thousands of feet higher.

The shadeleech glanced back into the darkness of the passage. A clatter of stone echoed up from below. Someone was chasing him.

The temptation to wait for the unknown pursuer, rip their soul from their body, and consume their life force held him a moment. But fortune had turned against him, tarnishing the glory of his name with defeat. It might be Harafin. He couldn’t take that risk.

He pushed through the drifted snow while icy wind tugged his crimson robes, trying to dislodge him and send him tumbling a thousand feet to his death. He managed to cross to the observatory without incident.

The one-room structure protruded from the face of the mountain, a single wide window on the far wall looking out over nothingness. He stepped to the window and stared down the steep slope. The ground fell away in near-vertical tiers. Scrub brush and twisted trees clung to the slope amid the boulders and snow. It was a harsh, barren landscape.

No path led down the mountain.

A guttural shout of animal fury spun him back to the narrow path. A man carrying a flaming hammer hurtled out onto the ledge, followed by two others.

Servants of Ophisurus knew and feared that indomitable old man.

Leander, the Hammer Stalwart.

# # #

Howling with the need to crush his enemy, Leander charged onto the narrow ledge and plowed through the snow despite the precipitous drop. His eyes never left his quarry.

Abaval. Trapped.

The shadeleech raised a hand, and the snow whipped into a blizzard. Leander never slowed, but dragged his hammer along the cliff face to keep from straying off the ledge. The creature of darkness could drop all the mountain’s snow onto the path and it would not stop him.

Justice would be done.

Vengeance would be dealt.

The blizzard dissipated when he’d traversed halfway across the ledge. Abaval stood not a hundred yards off, both hands raised to cast another spell.

Leander snarled. Nothing the shadeleech conjured would stop him this time.

Tanathos threw his hands wide and shouted a word of power that whipped away in the wind. Stones high above the ledge shifted and cracked. Snow slid down, and then the boulders. More stones shifted, and within seconds a broad section of slope began sliding down.

“Look out!” Drystan shouted as the ominous rumbling grew.

Leander tore his gaze from his hated enemy. Raising his hammer, he channeled magic to form a slanting shield above his head.

The stones thundering down slammed into the shield, and the impact nearly drove him to his knees. He held on as the stones bounced off, tumbling out over the edge and plunging down the steep slope.

Step by step, he pushed forward through the landslide as tons of rocks cascaded down on either side. The entire face of the mountain shuddered, and he had to clutch at the cliff wall to keep his feet. Snow and dust billowed around him, turning the scene into a surreal nightmare.

Rubble piled up on the ledge. He couldn’t both hold the shield and clear the path, and was forced to halt. The landslide only lasted half a minute, but every heartbeat seemed to drag on forever.

It finally began to ease. Through an eddy of the icy wind he caught a glimpse of the observatory just as Tanathos leaped out the window.

Hardening the air in front of him like a plow, Leander cleared the path, and a minute later stumbled into the observatory. The small, circular structure stood empty.

He peered out the single window at the steep, barren slope. Tanathos was gone. Blackened vegetation, shriveled by the shadeleech’s power, stretched down the length of the mountain until low clouds obscured it.

Leander didn’t hesitate. Backing up a couple of steps to get a running start, he raised his hammer high. It again burst into blue fire.

“Justice will be done.”

He ran forward and dove out the window.