Lena scowled when she saw that there was another arrow scratched into the dirt, pointed toward Moonfang. She kicked the ground, erasing the arrow.

"Who does she think she is?" Lena asked bitterly.

"Who?" Bradley inquired.

"Tirin. She deliberately led us into Thronis's territory and almost got us killed, and then she thinks she can just put another arrow pointing somewhere else and get us in even more trouble."

"Wait, she did that on purpose?" Alexis said. "Evil! Why do the coolest magic people creature dudes have to be evil?"

There was a sudden irritated hiss. They all turned to see Tirin perched on a nearby boulder, slightly crouched.

"Not evil, just bored," Tirin snarled. "Humans don't come along very often. And they shouldn't. I was just trying to clean up you pests." She wrinkled her short nose and stuck out a forked tongue, looked down at Will, and then smirked. "At least it looks like I nearly succeeded.

Will's hand went self-consciously to the bandages around his middle. "Look, we're not trying to cause any trouble."

"Celebrant summoned us," Bradley explained.

Tirin jumped off the boulder and flitted to a tree. She stuck the claws on her toes into the bark to keep herself up and used the claws on her fingers to scratch out another arrow. "Then you'd best not keep him waiting." She flew off, her metallic wings humming rapidly.

"Why should we trust you?" Lena asked. "You almost got us killed."

Tirin stopped in midair and turned around. "Let's just say I made a deal with someone who has…reasons to see one of you. Before sunrise tomorrow, the small boy will meet the dragon king."

"You made a deal?" Alexis repeated. "Who with? And why do they want to see us? The way you're saying it, it doesn't sound good. What are you trading it for? Did you like promise to get us there in return for them letting you kill us? Cus that would not be good."

"Who would make a deal like that?" Will said skeptically.

"No one," Tirin sneered. "That's not the deal. The deal I did make is none of your concern." She looked each of them in the eye one at a time. Her voice lowered. "But you are half right. Before tomorrow morning, all four of you will be dead, and I will have had nothing to do with it."

She flew away. Lena glanced at the arrow Tirin had carved into the tree.

"Should we follow her?" Lena asked.

Will pulled out his bow, ready for any sign of danger. "Do we have a choice?"

"It doesn't matter anyway. We're almost there," Bradley said. He started in the direction Tirin had flown off in.

Suddenly, a tiny flash of light caught Lena's attention. She turned around and then, seeing nothing, shrugged and followed Bradley.

XIXIXIX

"Burgess is a much better last name than Blaskenjoom, don't you think?"

Lena smiled and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you like that creep."

"He's hot!" Alexis argued. "And he's an archer. Archery's cool."

"Whatever. I think he can hear you."

Alexis paled as she glanced at Will. He was stepping over a large rock a few feet in front of them, talking to Bradley.

"Why do you say he's a creep?" Alexis asked.

Lena pushed a tree branch out of her way. "No reason. He was trying to flirt with me earlier."

"No!"

"Don't worry, he's all yours. I told him I'm taken."

"By who? Bradley?"

Lena jumped off a little ledge onto the dirty ground. "Something like that."

Will stopped, causing Lena, Bradley, and Alexis to all bump into each other. He winced slightly, his hand going to the wounds across his belly, then straightened and lifted his bow.

"What's the matter?" Bradley asked. "Did we lose Tirin's trail?"

Instead of answering, Will cautiously nocked an arrow. Nobody spoke.

Lena looked around, listening for the sound of any approaching danger. There was none.

Suddenly there was a small flicker of light in front of them, exactly like the one Lena had seen earlier, just barely noticeable. Lena gasped. Will fired his arrow directly toward the flicker, which had immediately disappeared.

Expecting the arrow to fly and then fall, hitting nothing, Lena was shocked when it stopped in midair. The arrow broke into splinters, the arrowhead shattering, as if it was being chewed up in an invisible mouth. Alexis started to scream, but was silenced by Will clapping a hand over her mouth.

Don't make a sound, Will mouthed silently, gently pulling Alexis as he slowly stepped backward. Bradley and Lena followed, careful not to step on any twigs or dry leaves. The flicker reappeared, staying still long enough for Lena to see it as an ice-colored eye before it flashed out of sight.

Will took his hand off of Alexis' mouth and put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be silent. He took one more step back and gingerly pulled another arrow from his quiver, making sure it didn't clack against any of the others. Lena held her breath as Will loaded his bow, aiming directly at the spot where he had last seen the flicker.

The eyes flashed into view a few feet away, and in that split second Will redirected his bow and fired directly at the flash.

"Run!" Will shouted, grabbing Alexis by the hand and jumping off the rock they were standing on. Lena followed with a slight yelp.

"Bradley, come on!" Lena called. Bradley stood frozen, staring at the arrow Will had shot. It was lodged in a seemingly dismembered silver eye several dozen feet above the ground. Lena jumped up to grab Bradley and pull him to safety, but soon found herself paralyzed as well.

"Don't look at the eye!" Will yelled as Alexis screamed Bradley's name.

Lena fought to close her eyes. The floating arrow lowered a bit, and Lena felt a cold, wet, scaly something against her front. It went around her body, in constant motion, finally flicking off her face. The eye moved back up.

Oh gosh, it licked me, Lena realized. Suddenly her paralysis was weakened, and she found herself able to close her eyes. She reached for Bradley's hand and gripped it tight, remembering stories of when her mother came to Wyrmroost.

"Leave us alone," Lena squeaked. "We don't want any trouble." She winced mentally at the fear in her voice.

The eye did not answer.

XIXIXIX

Bradley stared at the floating disembodied eye, which was leaking a creamy fluid from where the arrow had pierced it.

"So this is the great Bradley Hutchinson," said a low, rasping male voice. "I expected a man more foreboding than this scrawny rat, given the identity of your father."

Unable to move his lips or even think straight, Bradley said nothing.

"Not only do you stand in shock and fear before an old, blind thing, but it would seem that the bravest in your company is a little girl, younger than you are," the voice pointed out. Bradley was vaguely aware of Lena's hand around his and her voice trying to shout at the dead eye.

"It has been so long since I have allowed a human, or anything for that matter, to hear my voice. I had nearly forgotten how unpleasant it is to speak. Fortunately, I will not have to do so for much longer."

Suddenly, another arrow flew, and another dead eye appeared where the arrow stopped. Bradley was instantly able to move.

"Run!" Will cried. "Bradley, you've gotta get out of here! Run!"

"Wait, I can't leave you guys!"

Another of Will's arrows bounced off invisible scales. Lena pushed Bradley away from the pierced eyes and towards the base of the mountain. "Run, Bradley. You have to make it to Celebrant. We don't. Go!"

"You'll get killed!"

Lena unzipped her sweatshirt and pulled out her horn, gripping it like a sword. "Like I said—we don't have to make it. Now go! Run!"

"But—"

"Run!"

Lena began stabbing blindly at her invisible foe. Will was firing arrows seemingly willy-nilly, occasionally sticking into flesh or scales that turned visible when punctured, but usually just bouncing off of missing. Alexis was scurrying around, throwing rocks and sticks in the general direction of the floating eyes.

"Run, Bradley!" Lena ordered one last time.

Bradley took a final look at his friends fighting an impossible enemy, then turned and sprinted toward his destination.