Summer 4997, 20 Doumoth 

Shon caught sight of a glitter of gold. Ryuuko squawked, leaping from his shoulder and darting towards the figure falling from the Church's open doors. 

Lily...

She looked terrified, reaching for Ryuuko. Then she fell into the earth. 

Ryuuko hissed, diving but finding only solid ground where Lily had vanished. An illusion? It clawed the earth and Shon drew his sword. The others followed suit, unprompted, looking around for whatever had set Shon and his familiar off. They hadn't seen...

"Defensive formation." Tristen barked.

Shon growled and resisted running forward, instead falling back to stand to Tristen's left, Alena to his right, Ranito and Oswall in the middle, and Ebonwing behind. Tristen led the way, the team moving as a unit. "The Church," Shon told Tristen, nodding towards Ryuuko, who was flying in tight circles outside the open doors, "Lily came out, then vanished." 

"Idiot woman," Oswall grumbled, "What's she even doing here?" 

"So much for having time to snoop..." Ebonwing added, then hissed, "The Guards."

Shon glanced back to confirm. One of the two gate guards came off the wall to the road, short sword drawn, the other stayed above and leveled a bow. They might just be suspicious of the team suddenly drawing their weapons, but Shon doubted that was the case. 

His eyes were forced forward once more as Ryuuko squawked again, then dashed back for them, and Tristen whispered, "What in all the Heavenly planes..." 

Two figures in long robes, one white and the other black, exited the Church side by side. The one in black robes had skin as white as fresh snow, the one in white was as deep black as Shon's hair. They both shined in the light from the Church, like polished stone... 

"We were starting to worry..." a male voice came from the dark Warlock,

"That the Firewyrm had failed in her purpose..." a female voice sounded from the white one. 

Lily... Shon growled. Were they trying to imply that Lily was in on this trap? Luring them here?

Tristen pointed his cudgel at the strange Warlock pair, "In the name of Saint Giorgos and the king of Daanlin-"

"Your hypocrite god has no power here," the male said,

"He has no power at all." the female added. 

Tristen stood tall, taking his weapon in both hands, purple light beginning to glow from out of his armor as he gathered his magic and his strength, though he didn't rise to their bait and attack. 

The two continued in their alternating speech,

"Rejoice,"

"for you have fulfilled your purpose,"

"and are needed no more." 

The female raised a hand, then snapped her fingers. 

Something whistled and Shon pivoted around Ebonwing, catching the arrow fired from the Guard behind them. It wasn't the only projectile though. Ebonwing and Tristen both grunted in pain, and Ranito managed to raise a magical shield in time to stop another few bolts of purple magic. Alena lit the night with a spell of magical light, and Oswall let slip some of his most colorful curses.

Shon's eyes went wide as he finally saw. At least two dozen robed men and women surrounded them from the abandoned buildings lining the streets. Some stood on the thatched roofs, some leaned out of second-story windows, and a few laughed in open doors and the alleys between buildings. All prepared their next barrage of spells.

"Fall back!" Tristen called, pointing towards the nearest building. A Warlock cackled from the window above. 

Ryuuko flew in first, leading the way for Alena, followed by Ranito, then Oswall, and Ebonwing. Shon and Tristen backed up to the door side by side, covering their retreat and taking a few more magical bolts that stung and smoked where they struck. Such magical missiles were impossible to dodge, but they also didn't do too much damage... assuming one wasn't hit by more than one or two at a time...

A few of the Warlocks cast more dangerous spells, lightning, and rays of fire. Shon dove into the building, dodging those, and Tristen followed, slamming the door closed behind him. 

It was a shop, empty and covered in webs and dust. Ranito cast a quick spell, swelling the wood of the door and making the frame groan under the pressure. Oswall was nowhere to be seen, though his whereabouts were quickly deduced by the sounds coming from the floor above. He reappeared at the head of the stairs, wiping his daggers clean and cursing as he brushed a burned spot on his left arm.

Alena rushed to heal him, then saw to Tristen and Shon. It was Ebonwing that whispered the question Shon was thinking, "... the townspeople?" 

Something slammed into the door, making it crackle with purple electricity, distracting him even from those concerns. 

"There are too many of them," Oswall said, ignoring Ebonwing's question. He placed his back against the wall and tried to peek out the window, then jerked his head to the side just in time to avoid another arrow, this one wreathed in black flame as it came crashing through the glass. 

"Shit." Os cursed, trying to stomp out the fire but falling back as it did nothing to extinguish the black flames that in turn spread to real fire on the wooden floor. The room filled quickly with smoke, too much for that one fire alone. The team covered their mouths and noses, and Ranito pointed to the wooden ceiling. More smoke and sparks fell between the planks. 

"Out the back," Tristen ordered, leading the way but waiting inside as the others ran past him out of the building. Its burning thatched roof lit the night in flickering light brighter than Alena's spell.

Oswall sprinted ahead of the rest, leading the group another street deeper, away from the fire, and into a single-story house. "We can't fight them all!" he said, slamming the door and leaning against it as Tristen dove in. The small home at least looked like it had been lived in recently, with furniture and even a dirty pot still on the cook fire.

Tristen pointed at the doors at the rear of the home, "Clear the area," he ordered. 

Shon started for the door. Behind him, Alena asked, "But where are the people?"

Shon opened the door, revealing the answer to her question. A human, or something that had once been human, lunged at Shon. He managed to raise his arm in time that the undead bit down on his forearm instead of his neck, and took its head from its shoulders with a swipe of his sword.

The body fell, but the jaw didn't unlatch. Ebonwing ripped the head from Shon's arm as Alena rested a healing hand over the wound and Tristen smashed the still-writhing corps and then head with his blessed cudgel. The white smoke of the zombie's soul drifted free of the body and Oswall spat to the side, "Bastards." 

Alena folded her hands in prayer and Tristen dropped to one knee to rest his hand over the poor citizen. "They've signed their own death warrants..." He looked up, meeting each of their eyes, "There is no need to be careful." he told them, "We'll tear down the entire city if we need to." 

Magically amplified voices seemed to radiate from the very walls, alternating male and female,

"You may try to hide,"

"Where is your honor?"  

"But you are surrounded,"

"The hunter becomes the hunted..."

The voices faded like an echo, and Oswall snickered. The team looked as one towards the Rogue, who drew his daggers, grinning, "Surrounded they say..." 

Ebonwing met his smile with one of her own, "Hunter to hunted they say..." 

"They aren't moving as a team," Alena said.

"They're spread out..." Ranito added. 

Tristen stood with a single determined nod. He swiped his hand through the air, "If it moves it dies. Clear us a path." 

Oswall waited for Ebonwing to finish her transformation into a panther, then for Alena to rush forward and bless them while Shon found the back door and opened it a crack. Ryuuko hissed as they snuck out, the stealthy hunters blending with the shadows of the dead city's dark alleys.

Shon glanced at the little dragon on his shoulder, mentally asking, How many?

Ryuuko lifted a clawed hand, three talons raised higher than the other two, and whistled. "Go," Shon ordered. Ryuuko whistled again and flew out. 

Shon returned to the main room in time to hear Ranito whisper to Tristen, "Not all of us are as capable as they are. Even with a muffle-" 

"We don't need to be," Alena interrupted, "we just need to get out of the city and gather reinforcements." 

"They'll be gone by the time we return." Shon said, then added, "we need to get out of the trap to fight another day." and find Lily... Wherever she's been taken. There was no way she'd knowingly lured them here. She'd been so afraid...

Tristen nodded in agreement, opening his mouth only to be interrupted by the Warlock voices again, speaking in unison, "We've found you..." 

The building began to shake. 

Tristen ripped the door open and grabbed Ranito by the robes, throwing him out onto the road. Shon dove for Alena, bracing his shoulder against her armored chest and lifting her off the ground as he ran from the house. It crumbled behind them, Tristen barely making it out in time. 

The Paladin ground his teeth, pulling Ranito to his feet again, and leading the way around the rubble. He tried to lead them deeper into the city, passing the corpses of two Warlocks, one with a slit throat and the other mauled from behind.

At the next turn, they were met by two living Warlocks. Shon double-stepped past Tristen, cutting one down before they could cast, while Ranito blasted the other aside with a lightning bolt as they ran.

Something rumbled.

"Stop!" Tristen's order carried the command of magic, and Shon stopped moving before his mind could really register what his body was doing. The buildings to the right and left shook, falling sideways into one another. Alena grabbed Shon by the closest thing she could reach, his hair, and tugged, pulling him back, though he was still struck by falling brick on his trailing leg. 

Shon bit back his curse, forcing the pain down, and Alena hurriedly healed him before his blood could do much more than stain his pants. Shon grunted his thanks and Ranito sighed, "What would we do without you?"

Alena managed a grin, but Tristen pulled them both to their feet, "I think we all know that, Archmage. Let's go." 

No more Warlocks came to block their way, but more buildings collapsed, or fires erupted from the ground, forcing them to turn. 

"We're being herded." Ranito gasped.

"Back to the main road." Tristen agreed in a growl, "Alternate shields." Ranito and Alena nodded in understanding, and Shon took over leading the way. Back to the main thoroughfare, and the waiting Warlock leaders. 

Because who else could these two be? Behind Shon, Ranito must've been thinking the same. He actually chuckled, breathing heavily as he ran, "I... suppose... we should... be... flattered..."

"If they want to end this here... then so be it," Tristen muttered, as they returned to the light of the road, the shop still burning, now behind the black and white Warlocks, casting them in dark relief as they walked casually closer. 

"Two are missing..." the male mused,

"Dead." the female stated. 

"They can't know that," Tristen whispered as if trying to reassure the others, though it sounded more like he wanted to reassure himself. 

Shon risked closing his eyes, focusing his senses on his bond with Ryuuko. He would know right away if the familiar were hurt and would've been incapacitated if it had died. He looked through the dragon's eyes in time to feel it down a Warlock in an upper window with its stinger in his neck.

The others? Shon asked, and Ryuuko sent him two new images. One of a shadow melting from one to another, a Warlock stumbling out of the second and into the road, gripping her neck as it spurted blood from between her fingers onto the dust. The other, an elongated shadow of a cat as it lept from a roof to collide with the shadow of a person raising its hands in defense. Scarlet blood colored the black and white shadows shortly after. 

Shon opened his eyes, whispering, "They still hunt." 

Tristen let out a sigh of relief, raising his cudgel a fraction higher, while Alena whispered another prayer. 

That prayer turned to a spell a breath later as more magic missiles twisted towards the four of them. Translucent shields emblazoned with the sun of Soleil and emitting their own light appeared around and above them in a dome. The missiles exploded into sparks of light without reaching them and Alena flinched at the impacts, but the spell held. 

It couldn't stop physical attacks though. Two arrows flew out from the gate behind them as the traitor guards let loose. Shon spun his sword, deflecting one and catching the other in his right hand. He pivoted, tossing the arrow back the way it came and following at a run close behind. The thrown arrow took the guard that fired it in the neck, Shon's sword took the other. 

"Just the casters then..." Ranito whispered, starting a spell, then spreading his arms wide, pointing one hand each at two different Warlocks to either side.

Alena dropped the shield.

Rays of fire shot from the Archmage's fingers to strike the Warlocks. One fell back into the building she was in, the beam continuing through her body and out the roof. The other screamed as he tumbled from his own roof, the beam taking him in the shoulder. He crashed to the ground, landing on his head and breaking his neck.

At the same time Tristen took a lightning bolt to the chest, throwing him back. Alena raised the shield once more, gasping at the effort the spell cost her. 

"Focus on those two," Tristen gasped, one hand to his chest as he healed his wound, the other pointing his weapon at the two alien Warlocks, their skin like stone. 

Ranito had already started casting his next spell, his eyes glazed, but at Tristen's order he nodded, "Shon..." he said, holding his hand out, a ball of sulfur and guano resting in his palm, "try to dodge this time. Miss Alena, don't drop the shield." 

Alena bit her lip and Shon snatched the spell component, sprinting out the shield towards the Warlocks. He managed to duck another spell from the side, twisting around and between the leaders. They didn't bother to try and dodge or even block his sword swing, the blade cutting into the black robe but ringing off the white marble skin beneath. 

They seemed amused. 

"You, we would rather not kill..." the white female said,

"Just in case," the black male finished,

Shon lept away, they were now between him and Alena's shield. He met Ranito's eyes. 

A billowing ball of fire exploded from the ball Shon had dropped, consuming the Warlocks and stretching out far enough to catch the nearest two buildings alight, the other Warlocks within screaming in pain.

Shon lifted his sword, angling it to shade his eyes, and could see the shadows of figures in the flame. They laughed. 

The fire died, but all it had consumed were the leaders' robes, leaving them naked, their stone skin hardly singed.

"Amusing," the female said,

"Pointless," the male finished. 

"Gods..." Shon breathed. They grinned at Shon, their backs to the others, to Tristen. 

The Paladin's empowered cudgel came down on the white Warlock's head, the two-handed blow forcing her stumbling forward. Gray blood splattered the road with white chips of stone.

She spun on Tristen, showing Shon the back of her cracked head. Her arm swept as she went, her fingers trailing a black and purple tentacle that struck the Paladin across the face. But he'd hurt her. They could be killed...

The black male casually took the white female's hand. Tristen fell back into the shield, reaching up to heal his face with a flinch. The Warlock's wound closed, healing quickly. The male let her go, then pointed at Shon. 

"Prove your strength..." he said,

"And the strength of your god." the female finished.

The moans of the dead joined the roaring crackling of flame as the city citizens joined the fray. Focusing on Shon, now alone.

***

Alena watched in horror as the undead began to swarm. But was quickly reminded that Shon was the best of them in pure combat. He dipped between and around them, his shining sword a dancing partner of destruction, taking heads and limbs with each swing. She had to have faith in him, in all of them.

The Warlock pair turned their joint attention back on the three of them in her shield. Where were Ebonwing and Oswall? Had they managed to down enough of the other Warlocks? Were they injured? Ebonwing could heal herself if necessary, but Os...

A heavy crossbow bolt sprouted from the white Warlock's black eye, splashing more of that strange gray blood through Alena's shield. Again the male Warlock reached out, touching the female's arm and the bolt popped out, the wound rejecting the projectile and healing once more. 

With his free hand, the black Warlock shot a tentacle through the air. It elongated, stretching and thinning, wrapping around Oswall's neck as he tried to take aim from a nearby roof. Oswall choked and the Warlock pulled, whipping the Rogue down and trying to slam him into Alena's shield. Oswall passed through, but the tentacle was stopped, dropping Oswall coughing to the ground, his neck raw and bleeding.

"Ranito!" Alena called, dropping her shield and rushing forward. 

The Mage cursed but raised his own magical shield before more than two magic bolts from leftover Warlocks could strike at them. How many more were there?

Alena slid to a stop beside Oswall at the edge of the shield, her hands already glowing with healing energy. 

He coughed, then gasped, "They bleed..."

"And they heal..." Alena said.

Close, far too close, a male voice said, "Your magic... is a problem." 

Oswall scrambled back with a curse and Alena tried to pull away as a stone hand grabbed her wrist like a vice. Struggling against his grip was like trying to fight a statue.

The onyx Warlock pulled Alena out of the shield and up, tugging her right up to his chest. "So young..." He breathed in her face, his breath neither hot nor cold, just an unliving breeze, "How much pain have you felt in your life, young one?" his black skin turned reflective like a mirror, then he caressed her cheek like a lover.

Alena screamed. 

*** 

Lily couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Panic overwhelmed her rage as she fell. Getitoff getitoff getitoff! She tugged on the snake collar with all her might, trying to burn it, melt it. Her power didn't come to her call. Her fire pounded in her body with her heart, but wouldn't manifest. The collar squeezed tighter, pinching her fingers to her throat. 

The momentum of the fall carried her out of the portal in the ground and into the air. The collar loosened, and she gasped for breath, twisting in the air and falling again to land on all fours like a cat. She took in huge gulping breaths, her entire body trembling as she coughed and wheezed.

"You shouldn't... shouldn't have gone, Firewyrm..." a nervous voice spoke behind her. 

Lily spun to her feet, scooping up the staff that had fallen with her. The Warlock stumbled back, his eyes wide. What did she look like to him? Her vision seemed covered by a red haze as she glared through loose golden hair. "Take it off!" she snarled. He shook his head. Lily reached out to burn the Warlock.

The collar tightened again. 

An entire early life of conditioning had taught her not to fight, to pull in her fire, control it. She did so without thinking, the collar loosening again. But the entire second part of her life had taught her that she didn't need her fire anymore. 

Lily swung her staff in both hands, more like a club than the graceful weapon it should be. It slammed into the side of the Warlock's head with enough force to throw him to the side, hitting his head again on the wall before he slid down, leaving a streak of scarlet blood on the stone as he went. 

"Miss Lilly! What-" a new voice cut off with a gasp and Lily spun again, but it wasn't a Warlock this time. It was the Cleric of Lune. She was all the way back in the Central Talon?

She grabbed the Cleric by the arm before he could pass her to the Warlock, "Can you get this off me?" 

"I..." To his credit, he took a moment to look closely at the collar.

I might let this one live, she thought. 

But then he shook his head, "That's arcane magic, I'm sorry." 

Lily cursed, letting him go and making to continue down the hall, muttering to herself, "I need to get back to Goldflow..." 

The Cleric knelt by the Warlock -who groaned- and signed in relief before starting a prayer. His hands began to glow silver for healing as he asked Lily, "Goldflow? Is that where everyone is?" 

Lily stalked back. Jerking her staff to bring forth its blades, she speared the Warlock through the chest. He curled around the staff, clutching the wood for only a moment before going limp.

She whipped the blade clean, splattering the Cleric's stunned face with blood, then banished the blades again. "Everyone?" she asked.

The Cleric gaped like a fish, his jaw working ineffectually before he spluttered, "I can't find anyone. Everyone but the most deranged, and even a few of them, are gone."

Lily reached down to grab him by the robes, pulling him up to her face, her panic returning in force, "Everyone? The ones who can gate-"

"Gone." 

"Gone..." Lily repeated. Were they all at Goldflow? Attacking the team...

Shon... 

Lily let the Cleric go and started running, stopping at every door to slam it open, searching for someone, anyone. She made it all the way to her room. But it too was empty, Rose and her Journeyman back in Halakon. Probably fuming over what Lily had done. Stupid Stupid Stupid. They had used her. Planted the information so she would lure the team into their trap. 

She had to get back there. Had to help, to fight. Lily made it to the Archmages' rooms. They wouldn't risk all of them, would they? The first three rooms were empty, the fourth had straw sticking out the bottom of the door. 

Lily slammed it open, then froze. The room was full of chickens. Nesting boxes lined the walls ten or more high, and hens of every shape and color scraped and pecked at the ground around a tall stool in the middle. Tolinar was... perched... on that stool. resting his chin on his knees and sitting on his heels like a damn bird. 

He looked up at her entrance and grinned, "Oooo you got a new necklace! I like it. very pretty. Matches your hair."

Lily sprinted in, grabbing him by the robes and shaking him, "Can you get it off?" 

He continued to grin, swaying limply with her shakes, "I suppose it doesn't go very well with this particular outfit." he said, then reached out to touch the snake's head where it bit its own tail.

It let go, hissing like a real snake as it slithered down Lily's front and curled into a tight spiral on the ground. 

Lily jumped back with her own hiss and melted it into a puddle of gold and rubies. The chickens panicked, feathers and straw flying everywhere. 

"Please don't cook my chickies," Tolinar whined. With a growl Lily pulled her fire back, extinguishing it and preventing it from catching more of the straw alight. 

"I need to get back to Goldflow," She practically shouted, grabbing Tolinar again, "Can you teleport me there? Please, I-"

"Nope." he shrugged, and she barely resisted throttling him, "I can't open a gate. It would be really convenient if I could! Can you imagine how many more chickens I could save?"

She snarled, letting him go and turning for the door to keep searching. He called after her, "There's no one left here who can." She spun and Tolinar shrugged again, "The Nin's took most of them on their supper secret mission, and the rest they sent off to the other Talons." 

Lily's legs shook and she nearly collapsed. Dropping her staff and resting her head in her hands, she tried to think, but couldn't. Other thoughts kept intruding on her attempted plans. They had planned for this. They took all the teleporters away and left one capable Warlock behind to cast the spell to bring her here, trap her here. How many had they taken with them to Goldflow? Enough to overwhelm the team...? 

"Shon..." She whispered, running her hand through her hair, pulling it, and closing her eyes, trying not to cry. 

"Your mate?" Tolinar asked from far to close. 

Her eyes shot open, his nose was nearly touching hers. She stumbled away, tripping over a stray chicken and nearly falling on her backside. Tolinar didn't seem to notice.

He lifted a finger to tap his lips in thought, "We can't have him dying... No no, that would ruin everything..." he met her eyes, and for the second time, seemed serious. His voice lost its child-like tone, growing deeper, "What would you do to save him, Firewyrm?" 

The answer was simple, "Anything." 

He cocked his head, looking like a rooster with that spiked hair, though he was still serious, "Would you put your faith in the gods?"

The gods? Lily hated them. But she hated the Warlocks too. "I can work with those I hate," she answered. 

He cocked his head to the other side, "Would you kill the Master Archmages? Put an end to all the progress they used to create you?" 

"They're already dead," Lily snarled. They were dead the second they considered attacking Shon. And sealed it when they'd collared her.

Tolinar giggled, mad once more, "I wonder if they know yet?" then he hurried forward, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the room, "Come on, I have someone you need to meet." 

Lily managed to kick her staff into her hand as she passed it. Spinning and sheathing it again, she ran behind him, confirming, "Can they get me to Goldflow?" 

He let go of her too-hot hand, shaking his fingers out and rubbing his palm against his robes, but skipped with an innocent, "Yep!" Lily sped up, urging him to hurry. 

The mad Archmage took her through a side door to the room with the statues of the seven original gods. They appeared behind the Platinum statue of Yoryuu and continued to run around the outside to another door behind Lune. 

Lily furrowed her brow at it. How had she missed it in her explorations? It was near the large ornate doors and should lead to the room beside them, whose door was in that hall. The only door that room had. 

Tolinar hummed as he reached for the handle and pulled it open to reveal... another door. He knocked on this second door, but Lily was in too much of a hurry to be polite and pushed past him to slam the door open.

Beyond was a library... a library with windows. They were in a circular room, the size of one of the outer Talon towers, but instead of only taking up one floor, this library took up five. Rows of shelves and catwalks shot off of the central spiral stairs that led all the way up to a trap door in the ceiling. The stars of the moonless night shone through five layers of windows at each of the four points of the compass. 

Two Warlocks -an elderly male and younger female- at a table just to the side of the stairs jumped in surprise at Lily's entrance. Tolinar leaned past her to wave at them, "Hi Patrich! Elen! I brought the little fire dragon! She said she would help us. Lily, welcome to Little Central."

Lily was in too much of a hurry to be awed by the library. She ran at the Warlocks, slamming her hands down on the table, rattling the bottles of ink and making them jump again, "I need to get to Goldflow." 

Tolinar continued talking, "This is the only permanent portal in and out of Central..."

The elderly man, Patrich, shook his head, "It's too late. The Master Archmages have made their move."

"... you may be wondering how we keep such an entrance safe! It's quite fascinating..." 

The woman, Elen, sighed, "Killing two birds with one stone. They are throwing all our allies at the kingdom, hoping they kill each other." 

"... We move it! The entire tower! Every month." Tolinar leaned over the table to wave his hands in front of Lily, grinning like he expected her to be impressed. She might have been, if she could care. 

"That's why I have to get there!" Lily shouted at the two over Tolinar. 

He finally joined the actual conversation, "Her mate is one of the kingdom men," Tolinar said, raising a finger with his point. 

The woman cursed, but the man shook his head again, "We can't lose one of the ties. If any of the wyrms fall..." he continued to shake his head, then sighed, "Another can be chosen, the wyrms can't be remade." 

Lily slammed her hand on the table again, "Another can't be chosen. Won't be! He is mine!" 

Elen blinked at her, then rested a hand on Patrich's arm, "Both gold and red mate for life..." 

But he waved her off, "She can't mate at all..." 

Lily growled, her loose hair starting to lift with her rising heat. The Warlocks started to sweat, "If you won't get me there then I have no more need of you than I do of the Nins..." 

"I'd do what she says if I were you." Tolinar said, "Remember Shaloon?" 

Both new Warlocks swallowed, exchanging nervous glances. Elen spoke first, "You... You will help us? Stop the biological research?" 

Lily threw up her hands in frustration, her heat continuing to billow out from her and rattling the papers, "That's what we've wanted for years! You fucking people wouldn't talk to us!" 

"We couldn't risk-" Elen tried, but Patrich interrupted, 

"We?" 

"Rose and I." Lily snarled,

"The Waterwyrm." Tolinar clarified, and for once Lily didn't snap at the use of the title. 

"Send... me... NOW!" Lily started between clenched teeth and ended in a shout. 

Patrich stepped back, "You must live..."

But Tolinar hopped in place, clapping his hands and smiling, "She could use that! Neither the Nins nor our allies want her dead."

"Do it Patrich." Elen said, "have faith." 

The old man mumbled something in draconic -a prayer?- then threw his hand to the side, summoning a black-bladed weapon. A halberd. Lily had never seen that type of Warlock weapon before. He slammed the butt on the ground then reached for the piles of papers, running his fingers over what Lily had only just realized was a very detailed map. 

He muttered some more, nodded, then cut a hole in reality.

Lily made to run through it, drawing her staff, but he blocked her path with the halberd, "You can't defeat the Master Archmages unless you separate them. They must be far far away from each other. It is better not to fight them at all. Do you understand?"

Lily met his eyes, then jumped on his weapon and dove through the portal. 

***

Alena screamed in agony and the Warlock cracked. 

Fissures appeared in seemingly random places across his naked body. Across his scalp, spilling gray blood down his face, to the left of his chest exposing white marble bones, and at the fold of his left hip. More cracks bled on his knees, elbows, and hands, and a half dozen other places. His right ankle crumbled and gave out from under him, but he managed to find his balance. He blinked, disappearing and reappearing again beside the white Warlock ten feet back. 

She didn't touch him, but he started to heal anyway and was soon shaking his foot out, good as new. 

Alena crumpled, blood running down her face and out her armor, soaking the ground below. 

"Vicar!" Tristen's call came out a croak, his voice cracking. 

Oswall was dragging her back into the shield, and out of the shadows of the alley, Ebonwing appeared as a bird, swooping down and transforming as she landed to help. Tristen ran to stand between her and the Warlocks, bracing himself to defend against another attack.

It didn't come. 

"So they do live." the white Warlock said.

"Not much longer," the black countered, "Their healer is gone."

The white nodded, "It is only a matter of time." 

They exchanged silent looks then called in unison, "How much longer do you think you can shield them, Mage?"

Ranito grunted, and Tristen risked looking back. The Archmage was sweating and trembling, but the spell held. 

"Finish this," the black shouted, waving a hand. 

The white continued, "We must go..."

"to the Firewyrm..." the black finished. 

The Firewyrm... she was the one who told them to come here... Tristen ground his teeth. He couldn't see Shon anymore, but he could hear the man fighting in one of the narrow alleys. He'd lured the zombies into a bottleneck. But Shon wasn't a Paladin, he couldn't destroy them. 

A Warlock ran out of the Church, gasping and carrying a black dagger. She drew a circle in the air with the blade, producing a portal filled with stars. The stone Warlocks didn't even glance back at the team before stepping through. 

The portal dissolved into ash... and another appeared ten feet above it.

The Firewyrm roared as she appeared, landing and sprinting right up the side of a wall to a window holding another Warlock. She slammed her staff into his stomach and launched him up and over her shoulder before kicking off the window cill to land with a sickening crunch on his neck.

No one attacked her.

"Tris... I..." Ranito gasped, then collapsed with his shield, his magic spent.

Immediately magic bolts of fire and lightning flew their way. Passing through a ring of fire. The fire couldn't block the magic attacks, but then the Firewyrm roared again, rattling the glass in its windows.

"ENOUGH!" she screamed, wings of fire erupting from her back and spreading out to light the nearby shadows, revealing more Warlocks. Her eyes glowed scarlet. A monster...

A dragon. 

The Firewyrm jerked her staff in the air, blades appearing at the tips, then she spun it before her, stopping with blade rested firmly on her own neck. 

"Firewyrm NO!" one of the Warlocks screamed, their terrified voice coming out a shriek. 

"My name is LILY." she screamed back in answer, then continued in a strange language, something that sounded like a threat. 

Tristen watched in shock as the Warlocks each sought out another, meeting their eyes, then slinking back into the shadows. He caught glimpses of portals opening, but more importantly, no more attacks came. The fire surrounding them died. 

"Tris! Help me." Ebonwing pled desperately. He turned to see Oswall removing Alena's breastplate. Blood soaked the left side of her gambison, exactly where the Warlock had cracked. Ebonwing removed Alena's helm, tossing it aside and resting her glowing green palms on Alena's face. Her head wound from over a year ago had reopened...

But it wasn't the worst wound, "Tris!" Ebonwing called again. He fell to his knees summoning his healing magic. He was relieved when Alena flinched from his rough healing. If she flinched she lived.

Shon could take care of himself... Lily would help him. 

"Slow down Druid, she's overheating," Tristen ordered, slowing his own healing and trying to focus on the worst of the wounds, her side and her hip in particular... 

"She's lost too much blood," Ebonwing moaned.

"I got it," Oswall said, reaching for Alena's bag and pulling out a series of boxes. He ripped the top off each until he found what he was looking for and pulled out a red vile. He lifted the potion to her lips and called to Ranito, "Help us old man, there's salve in here for the shallow ones."

The exhausted Archmage stumbled closer but did as he was told, taking the salve and slathering it on the superficial wounds as Oswall revealed them by stripping Alena down to her shift.

She was sweating all over, and started to shiver. "Hold on Al..." Ebonwing whispered, but also pulled away, repeating Tristen's earlier observation, "She's overheating, we can't-"

"She's what? Overheating?" the Firewyrm's voice. Tristen opened his eyes to see Lily standing over them, looking with horror down at Alena.

"We have to risk it, Druid," Tristen snapped at Ebonwing, ignoring the firewoman. She would be no help in this, "I would rather lose her from trying too hard than not trying hard enough."

Ebonwing nodded, bringing her shaking hands back down and closing her eyes, "Slow and steady..." Tristen whispered, "I don't want to lose her at all..." 

Above them, Lily breathed, "Overheating..." then ran. 

***

Shon had to have downed most of them by now... It was a small city, nearly a ghost town even before the Warlocks... So why were there still more undead coming? He'd heard a roar, but couldn't stop fighting, couldn't stop moving. He'd earned over a dozen new scars, bite and claw marks shredding his shirt to reach the skin beneath. 

Then, from over the moans of the dead, he heard his name. "Shon!" 

Lily...? She was here? But she'd vanished...

He managed to catch a lunging zombie by the jaw as it tried to bite him, ripping the jaw off and turning to throw it at another getting too close. He hit it in the eye and a moment later they were burning.

Gods... every time he saw her he'd thought he'd never seen something so beautiful. Every single time. This time was no different, but this time she was desperate and afraid. She ran past the burning bodies, grabbing his arm and pulling him back towards the road. 

"Alena. You have to help Alena." Lily gasped, tugging him. 

That scream... Shon ran. Past the bodies and past Lily, racing for where the entire team crowded around one member laid out on the ground. He slid to a stop, what could he do, he didn't have divine magic, he couldn't...

"She's overheating," Lily said beside him, pulling him down and towards the prone Cleric.

Shon dropped his sword and gently moved Ebonwing aside with a whispered, "Move." He sat at Alena's head, then pulled her up to lean against his chest. With her head -nearly as hot as Lily's with fever- pressed to his neck, Shon wrapped his arms under hers -careful to avoid the wound on her side- and rested a cold hand on her neck making her gasp, though weakly. He stretched his legs out to either side of hers, trying to touch as much as he could to cool her. She said ice baths sometimes worked... he reminded himself, praying it would be enough this time.

It was incredibly intimate. He looked up, meeting Lily's eyes. She nodded, then sighed, dropping with relief to the ground. 

"Cuff her." Tristen barked and Shon flinched, but couldn't move. 

Oswall looked up in shock, "Tris?" 

"That's an order, Staff Sergeant." He growled, still focusing on Alena.

He looked up at Shon for only an instant and Shon saw the truth. He needed to order it, if he didn't he would lose his blessing and his ability to heal. 

Damn, you Giorgos... Shon cursed the god. He wanted to look away, but couldn't. His eyes found Lily again. She held her hands out, fists closed, wrists up. 

"Do it. We need to talk."