Falena's attention was far too invested in the fight between Lia and Narratha for her to notice Cassandra as she slipped by. The brunette turned around to take one last glance at Milo's remains, which were scattered upon the ground, while the two fawns fought above them. As much as her heart ached for his loss, she could not afford to stick around.

Her eyes rose to Lia, who seemed to be doing a good job of propelling the redhead back as she pushed against her. They stayed locked in place; hands gripping wrists and legs intertwined. Narratha appeared to look as serious as ever as the skinnier fawn directed their ascent. She had to have known that this was not going to be a cakewalk of any sort.

Please, Lia, be careful!

Cassandra continued to run further down the town. She had heard the words spoken by the blonde, revealing the knowledge of where Leta had been placed. If Lia were to lose this fight, the others would surely come for the child. She could not allow that to happen.

Dashing past the toppled tables and chairs that lined the grass, the brunette placed her back against the walls of the nearest house as she prepared to run across the next open space in front of her. There were more lickers out and about; still chasing and killing any poils that crossed their paths. Bodies were beginning to pile up around the area. With more and more joining the ranks of the dead, the creatures would soon begin to narrow in on whatever prey was left – which meant that she would likely have to contend with multiple at once.

That was a guaranteed death sentence.

I need to stay low. Those things are everywhere. There has to be about a dozen left.

One of the creatures was spotted as it prowled along the edge of one of the other houses. Its head loomed around as it slowly crawled along the grass, only snapping to a certain direction whenever a faraway cry would sound off. It seemed poised to run after it, but the onset of another, closer sound, would re-direct its attention.

The window to the house had been cracked open, and the brunette could hear the commotion of a tearful girl inside the dwelling. She already knew what was about to happen when the licker turned its head toward the noise inside; leaping through the glass window, withstanding every laceration that came its way as it barreled through it. The screams and shouts inside heightened to a chaotic assortment of agonized yelps. The monster shrieked as it smashed its way through the occupants inside, dimming the cries out one at a time.

The door flew open, and out came a young man who was covered in blood. He appeared to have sustained an injury to his left arm, as his grey shirt was coated in blood across the shoulder and back. It was only when he had sprinted a few yards away from the home that Cassandra was able to glimpse the mass of skin that hung from his tricep. The creature had struck a good hit.

As he screamed in fear, the predator burst through the door, heavily soaked in crimson. Its tongue jetted forward, piercing through the man's lower back. The penetrating blow split his spinal cord, and effectively shut off all control of his lower body. He quickly fell into shock as the out-pouring of blood rushed down his abdomen and legs, while some of the severed nerves fired off signals left and right. He shook wildly as the licker hurdled closer to him, wasting no time before it slammed its tusk-like claws down onto his chest.

The talons smashed through his torso as if they were cannonballs. The poil could only breathe out a sharp gasp before his life left him, and the licker took its next bite of his heart. Cassandra nervously hid behind the wall of the house nearby. She still had quite a distance to go before she got to the perimeter of the town, but that hardly gave any hope of safety.

These creatures could be anywhere, and she had no idea exactly where Leta had been stashed away. It would take hours to comb through every house, and that was time that she did not have. Retreating to the needs of the now, she could only hope that the girl remained safe while she tried to stay alive.

Watching as the corpse got devoured by the beast, Cassandra turned her eyes to where she had come from; where Lia and Narratha continued to battle it out in the skies. The two fawns had separated from one another, while Falena appeared to be hurling things up at Lia.

The fawn was quick to deflect each object that was sent her way, but Narratha's onslaught kept her attention divided. Cassandra's brow nervously rose as she watched her love fighting for her life up there. There was no telling how this conflict would go, as both women appeared to be evenly matched. She wanted nothing but for it to come to an end.

The licker removed itself from the poil that it had just killed before it began to crawl around the grass, searching for its next meal. Cassandra did not notice until she peeked around the corner again, jolting back when she saw it facing in her direction. She retreated further down the wall, only to fall into a pit of fear as the creature followed her. It rounded the corner and flashed its teeth at her.

I'm going to die! I'm going to die!

She fell into silence as she awaited the inevitable demise that was now about to come her way. The licker took one step closer, but paused as it stood there, hissing into the air. Cassandra remained quiet, too scared to even whimper. That was when the creature turned its head around, scanning for the next thing that could be nearby.

Her heart slowed down a beat or two as she looked on.

Wait…does it even know that I'm here?

The licker crept forward, and Cassandra cautiously inched closer to the edge of the wall, pushing her body against the dirt. The licker stepped over her. She tried to shrink herself as best she could, but there was no way to prevent one of its feet from landing on her thigh. The carnivore stopped in place, sensing for what may happen next.

Cassandra's heart was racing, but she held her breath and played dead. The licker took its foot off of her and continued ahead, uninterested in what it presumed to be lifeless. As another scream sounded forty feet away, the vile animal sped off in its direction like a dog to a rabbit. That was when Cassandra's lungs resumed their intake of air, and the brunette realized the rules of the game at hand.

They can't see. They can only hear.

With that knowledge in mind, she got back onto her feet and slowly began to walk through the open field, keeping a keen eye out for the next one that she would encounter. With all the violence taking place around her, a person who was quiet as hell would surely go unnoticed. She just had to be careful to not create any undue noise, otherwise, the demons would hone in on her presence.

At that point – it was dinnertime for the devils.

Lia had channeled so much energy throughout her body that she could feel her muscles becoming sore. She had hardly ever used this much magic in such a short period, and her limits were beginning to show themselves. Sweat formed along her forehead as she constantly dispelled more and more fields of blue fire at the redhead in front of her.

Levitating in the air was one thing – but expelling blasts and forcefields while she did it was another.

Narratha seemed to be equally taxed from the fight that was well underway. She was just as sweaty as Lia was, but there was no giving up on her part, either. It seemed as though she was prepared to give this battle all she had for the sake of achieving whatever her goal was.

Squared off two dozen feet above the ground, the two fawns floated in a clockwise circle, staring one another down in a rare lull in their conflict.

"Narratha…" Lia's breaths grew heavy, but the anger in her voice in the wake of Milo's murder would not go unheard. "You know not of what you take!"

"Silence!" She screamed back, furious that Lia would continue to defend the man who had brought upon the worst day of her life. "He took everything from us, including you! But, yet…you still stand by his side?!"

"He has suffered, just as we have."

"Not enough!" The redhead straightened out her body, extending her arms at her sides as her palms lit up in blue. She immediately hurled two balls of fire at Lia, but the fawn vanished before they could contact her. Narratha already knew where she would appear next, sensing her invisible energy as it sped from one direction to the other.

By the time Lia materialized, Narratha was already back to swinging her fiery fists at her. Lia formed a close forcefield around her body as the woman's knuckles made contact with it; causing the eruption of a bright flash of blue upon contact.

The murderous fawn would not be tempered by such defense; continuing to batter Lia in the hope that her powers would gradually weaken. The thin woman managed to hold her off with the field she projected, but Narratha's anger rose even further in the face of it. "Break already!"

Lia screamed as she turned the forcefield into a solid wall of energy, unseen to the eye. It barreled at Narratha like a raging dhin, knocking her away and sending her spinning around before she regained her balance. The redhead immediately dispersed into blue particles and re-formed in front of Lia; sending a punch directly into her stomach.

Lia groaned in pain as the intense blow struck her, but Narratha did not relent. She swung again, striking Lia's cheek and nose. It sent several droplets of blood out from her left nostril, but she would not waiver. Narratha was hit with a defensive blast of energy that was fired out from Lia's right hand, tucked at the side of her abdomen as she recoiled from the punch.

Narratha had propped up her own mini-forcefield that shielded her body, but it had its weak spots, and a part of Lia's energy had broken through and pounded her skin, bruising it upon contact. "Argh!" The redhead yelled. "You waste such power!"

She punched Lia again, striking her in the ribs. "You defend those who have stolen your life!" Another punch. A subsequent blow to the fawn's back. "You are a sister to poils!"

Lia's anger shattered the air as her body glowed blue for a fraction of a second before an intense wave of energy exploded and knocked Narratha back once more. She went on the offensive, throwing multiple balls of fire at her as she converged on the dazed and winded killer. "You know nothing of sisterhood! You are a murderer!"

Narratha grunted as she deflected the blasts; missing one that clipped her leg and threw her off balance for a third time.

Lia seized the opportunity and shifted forward, landing on the redhead's back as soon as she re-formed. She grabbed Narratha's hair, yanking on it as well as the large, white fur cape she sported. "This is not yours! You do not deserve to wear it!"

"Shut up!" Narratha yelled back before she dispersed. When her body's particles joined back together, Lia already had another fireball barreling toward her. She shattered it with a quick wall of energy, but catching her breath took a backseat to the emotions she sought to expel. "Those who have worn this cape held no concern of the clothing that has been ripped from my body! I wear this because I refuse to ever allow such acts to happen to me again!"

"You're killing innocent poils!" Lia ascended higher than her, desperately trying to gather her strength back up, as this fight was now beginning to take its toll on her. "We can talk about what they have done to you, but children are dying, Narratha! Children! Do you not care if –"

"Stop talking!" Narratha flew toward her.

Cassandra crept through the outer edge of the town square. The large, circular clearing had been the epicenter of the attack, and as a result, scores of bodies lined the dirt following the attacking lickers. The screams were beginning to die down, as many had either died or already found refuge. Following the edge of the houses, she did her best to stay out of view, even though the monsters could not see.

She was careful to ensure that her feet did not create any additional noise as she navigated the area. It was unknown if the shuffling of rocks or the snap of a branch was enough to send the creatures her way. Her amber eyes fixated on the gored townsfolk around her, mirroring the faraway view of the village she once oversaw. The Lycan siege was brutal, but many of the dead had been dragged back inside the buildings. Lycans were smart, conservative creatures, for what they were worth. They had to have been attempting to ensure an abundant food supply.

These beasts just attacked their prey and left them to rot.

She could not believe how many corpses were around her. The normally green grass and beige dirt were coated in red. The soil sucked in as much crimson as it could, leaving dark mud in the wake of all the bloodshed. Festival-goers who were dancing and cheering just a half-hour ago were now rendered lifeless and pale.

The tears in her eyes clouded her vision, but she wiped them away as soon as they came. She still could not believe how this horrible event had happened and feared how it would end.

These poor people…

She had seen her fair share of dead bodies throughout all her years as a sadist. Perhaps, that was what made it easier for her to walk through all this violence. She knew the smell of blood and rot. The sights of shattered faces and spilled sanguine. Mashed intestines torn from ripped stomachs. While she used to find joy in the suffering of others, that aspect of her was no longer there. She felt an immense sorrow at the anguish that the good people of Acomb had to endure. They were an extension of the goodness that Leta, Lia, and Milo had shown her – and they were suffering right now.

Please, let there be survivors.

She successfully made her way to the opposite end of the town square. There was still no sign of where Leta could be, but she tried to imagine which place Lia would pick. She yearned to be there with her, but it would have made sense for the fawn to have wanted her to be alone.

Lia was a strategist in her ways. If she had stowed Leta away, it had to have been in a place small enough for only her.

"Cassandra!" She heard Vasan call out for her. The brunette immediately turned to see him running across the field. He was not being chased, but her first action was to wave her arms down, shushing him as he drew closer.

"Where is Lia?" He asked loudly. "Where are –"

She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him down onto the ground with her above him. Her lips pressed against his ear, whispering sternly, "Be quiet! They cannot see, but they will hear you. I've made it this far alone. Do not get me killed!"

"Sorry," he whispered back. She could hear it in his voice; the way this massacre had shaken him apart. The man sounded like he was ready to cry. Cassandra understood the need to be with others in such events, as she had seen the maidens of her castle cling to one another whenever one of their fellow ladies was put to death. The killings had to have been something that he had never seen – not since something unimaginable slaughtered his brother and a fawn some years back.

He had witnessed death before, but its repetition was something that he had not gotten used to.

And why should he, she thought?

"Don't be sorry, Vasan. Just stay quiet." She looked up to survey the area. There were several lickers still crawling around the roofs. The rest of the creatures had to be on the ground somewhere, likely still hunting. "Lia is fighting the other two fawns. Leta is somewhere else. I don't know where."

"I saw Lia appear before Hawtow's residence," Vasan quietly mentioned. "It's in the far corner of the town. A tiny little house with one window at the front. She was only there for a second before she disappeared, but if she took Leta, that's where it must be!"

"Show me where that house is!" Cassandra grabbed him by the cheeks as she stared directly into his eyes.

"Yeah!" He nodded. "I can do that! Just follow me, and I will get you there."

"Okay." She let him go. "Just stay quiet. If you see or get close to any one of those monsters, just stand still and do not make a single noise. They will walk past you, I promise."

"What are those things, Cassandra?" He sounded shaky as the shrieks and hisses of the lickers echoed around them.

"They're from my world," she replied. "That is all that I know."

"Why would your world have something like that in it?" He looked back at her, but she could only lower her chin with closed eyes.

"I don't know…"

"Alright…" Vasan looked ahead to where the house was. "It's just beyond these other homes."

Aided by her powers; Narratha threw Lia roughly twenty-feet away from her as the two tussled in the sky.

Lia spun around, narrowly avoiding the roof of one of the dwellings below her. Falena continued to assist her accomplice by hurling debris her way. The various assortment of chairs, tables, and plates acted as a peppering barrage that Lia found herself deflecting them at every turn. The blonde was less of a threat, but her addition did not make anything easy for the fawn.

Using her powers, Lia once again propelled herself higher into the air. She could feel her muscles roaring from the strain placed upon them, but the fight was far from over. The other two fawns appeared to be equally as tired. Narratha's attacks had begun to slow down. She was sweaty and breathing heavily with each throw, cringing from the pain she felt at times. Falena was nothing different. She grunted as she picked up even the lightest of objects from the ground.

A fawn's powers could only stretch so thin, and the winner of this fight would likely be the one who could last the longest.

It had to be her.

Inhaling as deeply as she could, Lia turned her tactics toward dodging and avoiding anything that the duo sought to throw at her. It cost less energy to do so, and if she could exhaust them, then she could overpower them. Narratha's blind anger made such an approach doable. The more she fought, the more frustrated she became.

If the redhead were to deplete her own strength, then the blonde would be easy-picking after. She just had to stay strong in the meanwhile.

The flow of blue magic was forceful as it pushed across her veins. Her heartbeat pressed against the bottom of her ears. Her hands and feet were both hot to the touch, but free from burns. This bird still had its wings, and it would fly until its final feather if it must.

"Narratha!" Lia shouted. "I remember you taking care of the young children when we lived together. What would those kids have said to you if they saw what you were doing right now?"

As expected, she became enraged as soon as she heard that. Narratha winded up her trails of blue fire that coursed around her hands and forearms, preparing to fling them at the fawn across from her. "They have no voices!"

She threw her fire ahead – and Lia dispersed toward the other side of the clearing. Another throw. Another dispersion. She was circling her.

Narratha clenched her fists, as well as her teeth. "Fawns like you silenced them!"

She shot forward, de-materializing as she honed in on Lia. The fawn could sense her approach, but her exhaustion also impeded her ability to evade. Just a microsecond before her body could morph into an assortment of particles, Narratha had already appeared and locked horns with her.

The two fawns hurtled across the clearing, once again pulling and punching at each other as their bodies spun around like a bullet in the air. Lia tried to force a shield against her skin, but it was hard with Narratha's flaming hands counteracting her spells. The redhead's fire burned through her walls, seeking to sear her skin upon contact. She could see the blisters beginning to form in her opponent's palms.

She was desperate.

Lia's eyes caught sight of Falena's mouth widening at the sight of them. The moment she turned her head, she realized that they were heading directly for one of the largest buildings inside Acomb – a three-story townhouse.

There was no time to prepare. Both the fawns smashed through the wall and collided with everything inside. Dust kicked up from the impact, along with the sounds of crumbling stone and splintering wood. Any fixtures or decorations inside the people's meeting place that had been in their path were reduced to a broken mess. Paintings dangled from the walls, overseeing a floor filled with shattered glass.

Blue embers lined the hole that had been put through the wall, while the rest of the place had begun to catch fire. Reeling from the impact, Lia rolled over and onto her side, finding herself falling another two feet before she hit the ground. She could feel a numbness on parts of her skin. Other sections of her were wet and warm. Disoriented for the time being, she tried to rise on her feet, finding that one leg was stronger than the other. Her fingers were lined with flayed skin, but still intact.

She peered down at them, seeing the coating of dust all over her palms. Flakes and peels of dead skin bordered the emerging droplets of red that formed inside them. She had taken quite the throw and was aware that her injuries had to have been abundant. Narratha was not too far away, still hunched over the stone table that they had landed on.

The redhead coughed as she rose, breathing a cloud of dust from her mouth like some otherworldly being. She stumbled to her side, catching herself on her feet but still dealing with the impact in her own way. Ignoring whatever may have happened to her body, she wiped her mouth with the back of her forearm, glaring at Lia with a set of hateful green eyes as lines of blood rained down her forehead.

She grunted as she breathed. When her arm came down, Lia could see her blood-stained teeth snarling at her. "Are you still willing to forgive me?"

"Narratha…"

She unsheathed her sword yet again, preparing to use it to land a killing blow. As great as her powers were, they were nothing if they could not get through Lia's forcefields. But, if her sword could navigate any cracks in her defenses, then it would have been a critical hit. She took a step toward her, using her might to send a wave of energy across the room; clearing a path between her and her target.

"You know that if you do, the deaths of all these poils are nothing to you." Narratha's eyes glimmered with a flash of blue for a second, before they faded back to their natural color. "So…which is it?"

"You think forgiveness means overlooking the actions of those we forgive – it doesn't." Lia caught her breath, coughing as she stood up in defiance of all the destruction her former sister had brought forth. She had not given up her values and nor would she now. "It means we free ourselves from the bindings of them."

Narratha hurled shattered bricks at her, using more magic to carry the blocks across the room. Lia deflected them away, stumbling back closer to the opening in the wall. "Do you forgive that? What if I do it again?! Huh?!" She screamed as she advanced closer toward the woman who had once stood as a prodigy to her and all the others.

Today – she saw her as nothing but a traitor.

"I've felt hate, Narratha." Lia dodged another slew of bricks and boards that were catapulted upon the redhead's will. "I've almost given up because of it. I can see the hate in your eyes. I promise you: it will not go away once this is over."

"Oh, how right you are…" Narratha grinned as she scraped her sword against the ground, crouching down before she swiped it up and resumed her standing posture. "I'd be a fool to try and re-write the past. But, I can always write the future."

With tears in her eyes, still flowing from Milo's death, Lia stood firm as she watched Narratha come closer. "Your life was ruined for other's pleasure, and now, you're destroying lives, for the sake of yourself?"

"You talk too much, Lia." Narratha began to charge.

"I've been told." From out of Lia's body came a large, blue sphere of energy that expanded rapidly. The shockwave ripped through the room, pushing through everything in its radius – including Narratha. The murderous fawn flew through the debris and struck the wall on the opposite end. The strength of the attack did not limit itself to her immediate front, as the walls and roof around her suddenly began to crumble and cave in.

The town hall started to collapse and Lia was just about to make her escape when she felt the sudden sting of fire along her back. "Die!" Falena screamed as she blasted her with waves of blue. The short blonde had materialized inside the room, and her quick attack caused Lia to fall to the floor, coated in the embers of her fury.

Just as she closed in on Lia, Falena found her attention brought up to the compromised structure that surrounded her. In her obliviousness to what had just occurred, the blonde froze as she gazed up at the shattering roof. Mounds of cracked stone dropped from above, expelling dust from their openings as they smashed onto the ground.

Before Falena could do anything else, Narratha shot forward and snatched her before the building could topple. "Idiot!" The redhead screamed as she flew out of the wall's opening; Falena in her gasp. The two fawns made it to the outside world, landing on the ground as the town hall fell.

Narratha was covered in dust, breathing rapidly as she stumbled back. Falena was more energetic, but that did not stop her from pausing at the apparent fury of her companion. The redhead clenched her fists as she released her. "I almost had her, Falena! Now, we have to pull her out! She's probably smashed to pieces!"

"I-I…" Falena stuttered as she looked around. The fawn had been so confident in her actions that she thought she had done the right thing. To see Narratha so infuriated at her came as an utter surprise. "She almost beat you. I couldn't let her win."

Narratha wiped the dust and blood off her shoulders before shaking her hair. Her lips, coated red with blood, could not hide the animosity that thrived in her soul. "I wasn't about to lose…you impulsive fool!" She squared herself off with Falena, jabbing her finger at the rubble as she pointed at it. "Go retrieve her body, now!"

"Yes, Narratha!" Falena nodded without hesitation, her voice mixed with anxiety and urgency. The fawn dispersed as she made her way toward where the fight had just taken place.

As Narratha stood alone, she realized that her sword had still been in her hand this entire time. She balanced the blade along her blistered palm, shrugging off the pain that it created. A small sting was an easy price to pay for such an opportunity. While Lia may have been lost, there was still the option of the other fawn.

She spat out the blood that was in her mouth, wiping her pink lips clean before she set on to her next objective – Leta.

Vasan was still as scared as ever as they made their way closer to the home where Leta had been hidden away. Cassandra could not count the number of times that she had to cover his mouth. The lickers were still all around, keeping a watchful ear for the next indication of their prey.

The man shuddered at the sight of the monsters as they ate away at the dead; dragging the corpses around, or simply dismembering them on the spot. He silently threw up as he watched the head of an elderly man get crushed within the piercing grasp of their powerful jaws.

The poil had already been dead by the time his cranium burst, but the explosion of brain matter was nothing to gaze at. Vasan watched as Cassandra managed to keep a good composure despite the carnage. "How are you so calm?" He whispered.

"I've seen a lot of dead people before," she explained.

"Where? In your world?" His curiosity began to grow, but now was not the time.

"Vasan, I need you to stay quiet! If even one of them hears us, it's over!"

"Yes," he nodded. "Sorry. We're almost there."

Gesturing for him to take the lead with a tilt of her head, Cassandra stayed close behind him as the two continued to crouch and walk through the spaces between the homes. While she had kept her attention on the lickers, part of her had been listening in on the sounds of the two fawns. There had been a large explosion just a minute or two ago, and she could swear that what came next was the sound of a building collapsing. It had to have been them, she thought.

Lia…please be okay…

To imagine that the redheaded fawn had just killed Lia beckoned tears to her eyes. The lack of answers prompted the worst thoughts to emerge in her head. She fought to put them aside. If there was a time for crying, it was later. She had to find Leta and ensure that she would stay safe.

The Hawtow house came into view as soon as Vasan stopped to point at it. "That's it, right over there," he whispered to Cassandra. As soon as they began to move, a licker had shown up atop one of the nearby homes.

The brunette did not utter a single word as she grabbed Vasan and wrapped her hand around his mouth, hugging him as they lowered their bodies onto the grass. Her instincts were sharp, and the way his hands shook mirrored the way the air buckled out of his nostrils. He would have screamed had she not intervened.

With its long tongue swaying around, the licker growled as it climbed along the edge of the roof, before it made its way down the wall. The creature clung to it like a fly, inching its way to the grass before stopping. As soon as it did, its head cocked toward the inside of the house, listening in for anything that was inside.

Cassandra did not let go of Vasan while the beast was still present. After seconds of watching it stand around, it did not indicate that it was going anywhere. They were just fifteen feet away, and with the monster still there, it was too dangerous to move about. All it would take to get them killed would be the smallest, spontaneous noise, and the animal would have lunged at them.

She chose to stay put, hoping that its attention would be acquired soon enough.

Just like the others, this one was bathed in blood. It had to have already done its fair share of killing by the time they stumbled upon it. As the licker crept along the edge of the corner, its body began to disappear out of view. It had to have been checking the back of the house, Cassandra thought. It could have heard something, too. She wouldn't know.

It might still hear us if we move. Damn it. I don't know if we should go.

She brought her lips up to Vasan's ear again, tightening her grip on his mouth as she did so. "Do not make a single sound. If it gets far away enough, we will begin moving ahead."

"Mhmm." The only response he could muster.

"Alright…" Cassandra breathed as she let go of him. The brunette ran her hand down her braided her, taking the moment to worry about Lia. Her lungs kicked as she resisted the urge to whimper. She needed to be strong.

A male voice shouted from the back of the house that was closest to them, "Run!"

Cassandra's heart nearly shot out of her chest. She grabbed Vasan before the man could even react to the noise, dragging him against the wall of the dwelling and remaining there. There was not a second left to form a plan before the licker came barreling back into view; running toward whoever had just screamed.

From the edge of the wall, they could see a set of familiar faces: Bradford and Gerten – the two men who had previously flirted with her. Their once cocky and mighty personas had been reduced to utter terror as they ran from whatever it was that was tailing them. The men appeared uninjured, but it seemed that their bodies did not have much longer before they would be torn apart.

The licker jumped into their line of sight, which caused them to halt and fall back, only to realize that they were heading right back into the danger that they had just fled from. "Where do we go?!" Gerten shouted to his friend.

"I don't –" Bradford could not even formulate a reply by the time the licker's speed proved itself. He grabbed his friend and made a break toward the next house that was across from Cassandra and Vasan. The brunette wanted to call out to them, but she could not risk giving away their location.

Not just that, but if they ran toward them with all the shouting that they were doing, the licker was only going to follow.

The red beast was closing in, and by all measure, the two were as good as dead. Bradford was just about to reach for the door by the time that it was just feet behind them. One lash of its tongue, and it would be lights out.

Gerten's eyelids shot open the moment he turned his head and saw the creature behind him. The licker dashed forward, but blue energy ripped it up from the ground and sent it across the town square. Just as Cassandra's heart felt a wave of relief, she realized that neither of the two men seemed any less frightened.

Wait…oh no…

With her sword in hand, Narratha came down from the sky and lowered her body onto the ground. She grinned madly as she chuckled, having found amusement in the chase. Bradford tried to throw open the door so that they could get away, but the redhead extended her arm and pinned it shut with her abilities.

Bradford tried with all his might to get the entrance to budge, but the fawn's magic greatly outmatched his strength. He was powerless against it, unable to even rattle the opening. Gerten was hyperventilating as he stood behind him, frantically smacking his friend's shoulders as he wondered what was taking so long.

"Open the damn door!" He screamed.

"It's blocked!" Bradford yelled back.

"Scary, is it not?" Narratha giggled as she calmly walked up to them. "To be so afraid, yet, have nowhere safe to hide? Would it be scarier to have what was once refuge, be the place where all is taken from you?"

"Lady, please!" Bradford let go of the door and fell to his knees. Cassandra could see the tears flowing down his cheeks as he begged Narratha for mercy. She wanted to say something, but death would only greet her if she did. "We'll do whatever you want! Food, coin; it's all yours! Please, don't kill us!"

"Hmm…" Narratha smiled as she lifted her sword and placed it under his jaw. "I once met a man like you. You two shared some common features. I told him something similar when I was younger. Bargaining…for what I believed to be the better outcome."

She traced the tip of the blade down his neck. "In truth: he and his friends were the ones to be feared. I'm not as monstrous as any of them were. Is that not merciful?"

Gerten joined in, hoping to sway her opinion, "Please, miss! We don't want to die!"

"Then you must have lived an enjoyable life, if you do not wish to part with it." Narratha's eyes narrowed in on him, as she debated which one she was going to kill first. Those green orbs shifted between both men, their speed increasing as her smile broadened.

Vasan sat there, watching the exchange unfold. He remembered how both of them would often belittle him in front of others. Bradford and Gerten were never kind people. He recalled the many days he spent wishing that they got their comeuppance, but not like this. None of their past actions deserved such a gruesome fate.

Crouched beside Cassandra, all that he could think about in the passing seconds was how much he had helped her. The woman knew regrets well, just as he had. He could see the worry in her eyes. She did not want them to die, but she knew she would be killed if she tried to stop the redhead.

That was when his brother came to mind. He could still smell the blood in the air from the day he and that fawn were slaughtered. The days that followed were the most daunting that he had ever faced, as they began the lifelong series of questions that he constantly asked himself.

What could he have done to save him?

Could he have done anything?

Something about this fawn was not right. Something eerily familiar that he could not discern. She had a sinister poise in her movements; the telltale sign of a mutilator. She was going to slaughter Bradford and Gerten without question – and he was going to be reduced to the cowering mess that he had thought of himself as back then.

History seemed on track to repeat its vicious cycle.

"No." Vasan stood up and moved away from Cassandra; a previously unfelt will of determination coursing through his veins. She tried to signal for him to return to her, but he ignored her sounds, running towards a pile of wood and pulling a long, sharp plank that would suffice as a spear. He tightened his grip around the improvised weapon, glaring at the fur-cape along the murderous fawn's back.

Then he ran at her.

With the spear at his side, Vasan rushed with all his strength, galloping through the grass, closing in on Narratha. Time rebounded; feeling as if it moved so quickly, only to slow down exponentially. He drew in as much air as he could, filling his lungs as he powered his untested frame against the might of a powerful foe.

The spear drew closer toward her – just as she reared her head and locked eyes with him.

A sudden flash of blue broke out – and she disappeared.

"Run!" Vasan stopped and shouted at Bradford and Gerten. "Don't make a sound! The creatures will find –"

Narratha reappeared from behind him, gripping him with her magic and turning him around. Vasan pushed through, as hard as he could, sending the spear at her, but her will deflected it as soon as it lurched forward. Using her powers, she ripped it from his grasp, flinging it across the ground.

Bradford and Gerten instantly made a run for it, leaving Vasan still in her clutches. Narratha only gave him a look of pity before she drove her sword deep into his chest. Cassandra could only watch in horror as it happened.

No!

Vasan choked up as the blade tore through his right lung, slicing the side of his heart and unleashing a cascade of blood deep into his torso. The sword was wrenched out, and all that followed was agony in its wake. She lifted him higher into the air, before she hurled him across the clearing, sending him back from where he had come.

Vasan toppled across the grass, striking the hay-covered ground of a small wooden canopy that had been built around the side of the home where he and Cassandra had been nearby. The brunette was already out of sight before Narratha threw him, and after he was returned to her, she pulled him back into the corner of the enclosure before the redhead could see her.

With a shake of her head, Narratha chuckled before she dispersed again, leaving the area for the time being.

"Vasan!" Cassandra was distraught as she whispered to him. She pulled the young man further onto her lap, gazing down at the extent of his injuries. There had to have been plenty of broken bones following that throw. Narratha had sent him across at such fast speed, it was a wonder that he wasn't already dead. Nevertheless, the damage was done. His chest was covered in blood – more of which continued to spew out by the second.

Deep globs of red trailed down his sides as he struggled to breathe. With tearful eyes, she held him close, resting his head underneath her palm. "Vasan…you idiot!" She defaulted on the dynamic that the two of them shared. In her heart, she knew that he had goodwill, but seeing him suffer such a grievous wound tore at her emotions. "You should have stayed here! I told you to stay!"

He coughed, smiling up at her as he reached for her hand. She took it without question, wrapping her palm around his; watching as their skin began to match in color. The confidence in his eyes would not fade. He had that same look as he did when they first ate together.

The one afternoon in recent years that he had ever been truly happy.

She was the one who had reminded him of how much he was truly worth.

"I couldn't be a coward all my life now, could I?" His final words. Vasan's eyes fell into a glassy stare, drifting away as his eyelids loosened up – his life snuffed away in a blink.

Cassandra's hands trembled as she lowered her head and kissed his cheek. She kept her face where it was, slowly rearing her head forward, gracing his skin with the tip of her nose. He deserved what he had always wanted, and even if in death, she wanted to show her appreciation for the man he was. As soon as her chin cleared him, she broke out into a restrained fit of sobbing.

As quiet as she was, her breaths shook out from her tensed mouth. Tears rained down from her eyes, dripping onto his corpse as her head bobbed against contained wails. She held him as tightly as she could, cherishing the memory of yet another great soul who had been killed today.

You are braver than you ever knew, Vasan…

NOTES:

Rest in Peace, Vasan.

Full chapter notes will be posted on Chapter 35.