Maylia climbed down off of my back and sat down on the large solid Presence box that I had made to keep Jessica, Josh, and Evangeline out of the foot deep snow.

“I need to rest.” Maylia admitted and swayed a little.

I nodded and knelt in front of her and took her hands. “You did great holding us up there for so long, so just relax and let the rest of us take care of checking on the people of the city.”

Maylia put an arm around Jessica and leaned on her heavily to hold herself up.

“Keep her warm.” I said to Jessica and looked at the nearby building that one of the garglemacers had smashed into looking for food. Kara and Steven had killed it and left it there, and I could see several people were trapped inside because of it. “Diofra, get your healing spell ready.”

We ran over to the carcass and I stored it in my bag of holding. It really was a lot smaller than the full-size one, so its weight was also significantly less. Once it was out of the way, I used my mother's Light sword to cut and clear away any blocking debris, as long as it wasn't supporting a load of some kind.

Diofra and I went inside the rooms to gather the people up and put them in one of the safer rooms and told them what had happened, then checked them for injuries. There were only bruises and scrapes, so I used Mana Presence Heal and Diofra cast her healing spell, which fixed them right up. They thanked us and we left at a run to head to the next place that had been attacked.

*

“I knew it would work.” The Goddess Chaiya said happily as she appeared in the blue area that Maleketh resided. “Even with him borrowing your powers near the end, he saw the importance of working with my emissaries.”

Maleketh didn't correct her misunderstanding, or told her that he was actually there to stop her from stealing his follower. “What do you expect to happen now?” He asked instead.

“He's going to drop that ragtag group of his and join my emissaries to complete my quest, of course.” Chaiya said, as if she was talking to a child that didn't understand how the world worked.

“You really do have tunnel vision, don't you?” Maleketh asked.

“What are you talking about?” Chaiya asked.

“You'll see.” Maleketh said and then shrugged. “Or maybe you won't. In either case...” He turned to her and his calm and jovial demeanor disappeared. “You tried to steal my follower.”

“Wh-what? No!” Chaiya said with wide eyes. “I didn't! I was only...”

“I felt you trying to sever his connection to me.” Maleketh said and let his power out and his hair floated as if he was under water. “Charming him is one thing. I could allow that, since it would be superficial and wouldn't change his beliefs. Trying to overwrite my blessing with your own, though? That I won't allow.”

“Maleketh, I wasn't... I thought that...” Chaiya stopped trying to explain and frowned. “I need him!”

“And I don't?” Maleketh asked as bolts of Presence Lightning flowed over his hands. “You have millions of followers on hundreds of worlds that you control. I have one world and barely an eighth of the population believes in me.”

“That's because of your stupid non-interference policy! You let them choose to forget about you!” Chaiya said. “You should have used your powers to influence...”

“I tried that once, remember?” Maleketh asked. “It worked for a while, and then... the power faded just as quickly as it had raised. On a cosmic scale, anyway.”

“You didn't do it right, that's why! Look at my Order. It's still going strong, and it's been thousands of years! I get new followers every day!”

“But at what cost?” Maleketh asked. “They are almost like drones in a hive. They barely have any original thoughts and follow you blindly. All they want to do is serve you, because you overwhelm them with your powers.”

Chaiya squinted her eyes. “Hunter said almost the same thing.”

“Yes! You understand that, don't you? He had a similar thought to mine.” Maleketh said. “Amazing, isn't it? A mortal being able to think on par with a divine being?”

“No, it's not amazing. They are our creations. They shouldn't aspire to think like us.” Chaiya said.

“Ha ha.” Maleketh fake laughed and absorbed the Presence Lightning and stopped his hair from floating. “He's not aspiring to be anything like that... and you're missing the point.” He said. “It's their potential to reach that pinnacle of the mind, not them actually reaching it.”

Chaiya shook her head. “You can't let them get out of hand or think that they don't need you.”

“Sometimes they don't need us.” Maleketh said. “They can live perfectly happy lives and not have to devote themselves to a powerful being that they believe lives in the heavens.”

“Now you're speaking nonsense.” Chaiya said. “If you believe that, why are you fighting so hard to keep Hunter? Just give him to me and...”

“I let him live two lives already without interference and I only interfered this time because of you.” Maleketh said. “Now that I am personally involved, I won't let you take him and make him into another one of your drones.”

“Fine.” Chaiya said, slightly angry. “Don't expect any more information from me.”

“You mean you're going to stop popping in to see me at random times?” Maleketh asked. “You're not going to bother me with information that I didn't ask for?”

Chaiya huffed and put her hands on her hips. “You're going to regret speaking to me like this.”

Maleketh waved his hand in dismissal and she started to fade.

“What... wait... I'm not done speak...” Chaiya's words were cut off as she was expelled from Maleketh's personal space against her will.

“Okay, Hunter. The dice are cast.” Maleketh said. “Let's see what comes up. A pair of ones for an epic loss or a pair of sixes for an epic win, because every other result is meaningless.”

Maleketh walked over to a seemingly random spot and the table formed with the mirror on it. He watched as Hunter gathered the carcasses and helped the people of the city that had suffered from the attacks of the creatures.

“What's funny is, I don't know which one will be for the best, or even which one to root for.” Maleketh laughed. “Isn't that great?”

*

By the time I picked up the sixth carcass, my bag of holding started to get really heavy. Since I knew there were a couple dozen more of them scattered throughout the city, I had to go and drop them off. Since the queen wanted the full-sized one, I figured leaving them in the castle courtyard would be fine. If she decided that she didn't want them, I could always pick them up again later.

“Keep healing, Diofra. I'll be right back.” I said and ran up to the castle. As I came closer, I saw a huge hole right where the castle's emblem used to be on the front of it. “No.” I said and used Presence Hands to open the front doors and ran as fast as I could through the castle and up to where the damage was. I followed the smashed walls and a trail of blood down a hallway and through three different rooms, until I came to the queen's personal chamber and saw the wall where the door used to be, and the wall had been smashed through.

“AFYNE!” I yelled and darted into the room through the hole and was stopped by the carcass of a garglemacer.

“Hunter!” Afyne said. She and Milly were tucked into the corner behind the queen, who had a glowing green sword in her hand and her clothes were torn and ragged. I tried to pick up the garglemacer and heard a man moan. I eased it back to the floor and walked around it to see the front paws of the creature were buried into Evus the guard's armored chest plate. His sword was buried into the creatures heart, which meant he had killed it.

“Don't move.” I said and knelt beside him to examine the damage.

“Hey, I understand what you meant about... fighting to the death to save someone... and not just fruitlessly throwing my life away.” Evus said and coughed up blood.

I closed my eyes and used Presence and mana to cover his external wounds and stopped the excessive bleeding.

“I'm glad you understood the difference.” I said and touched his shoulder. “I'll be right back with a healer.”

“It's... too late for that.” Evus said. “I can feel the claw... in my heart.”

“I know.” I said. “You should be fine if I can get Josh up here.”

Evus closed his eyes. “This was... a valiant death.” He said and took a shallow breath. I moved my hand to his forehead and used Presence to put him into a deep sleep. His breathing evened out and I shared my pain reduction technique with him.

“Rest easy, Evus. You'll be fine.” I said and stood as I turned to the queen. “I'll be right back.”

The queen nodded, so I opened the window with Presence Hands and jumped out. A heard a girl's scream for only a second and I used the Levitation technique to slow myself down just before I landed on the ground, which was the same technique that god had used when we fought the giant snakes. I then used Mana Presence Run and ran back down to the docks where I had left Jessica and Maylia.

“Hunter, what's wrong?” Maylia asked when I stopped in front of her.

“A garglemacer attacked the castle.” I said and picked Josh up and tossed him over my shoulder, then I was gone before Jessica could say a word. I was back at the castle and ran up to the right floor a few moments later. The queen's eyes were wide as I appeared in front of her and dumped Josh onto the floor. She didn't say anything, though. I knelt and gathered Presence to my fingertip and poked Josh hard on the forehead and shoved my Presence into his head to force him to wake up.

“Wha...” Josh jerked as if I had poked him with a sharp stick. “Ow! My head!” He said and rubbed his forehead.

“You've got a life to save.” I said and pointed to Evus.

“By the Goddess!” Josh exclaimed and rolled up onto his knees and crawled over to him.

“One of the claws is in his heart.” I said. “The lung and the kidney damage isn't as important; but, I can't heal massive damage like that.”

“What's he covered in?” Josh asked.

“My Presence.” I said. “Start healing him.”

“I can't. I'm tapped out.” Josh said. “I always am after summoning the Goddess.”

I reached down and grabbed his wrist and dumped my mana into him. “Is that enough?”

“Y-yes.” Josh said and started to use his healing ability.

I used myself like I had with Allirynn and funnelled the healing through my body and into Evus through the connection I had made with him. I watched as Evus' wounds started to close over and I used a giant Mana Presence Hand to pick up the dead creature. Evus jerked from the movement, because his leg was caught under the carcass as well. I shoved the carcass aside and pushed as much healing into him as I could take from Josh.

“W-wait... that's... too fast.” Josh said and started to breathe heavily.

“His heart needs it or he could die.” I said and eased the flow of healing energy when Evus' heart finished filling in and his chest started to close over. “Okay, there we go.” I said and absorbed the Presence I had used to stop the bleeding and then used a Presence Hand to take off his armor chest plate to let the healing energy clear up the superficial wounds. The armor was useless now anyway, since it was dented and torn by claws. I shared more mana with Josh and his breathing went back to normal.

“I shouldn't be surprised to see so much damage healed.” The queen said and I waved her to come over. She stepped close and I gently held her hand. She took in a deep breath as the healing energy covered her and all of her scratches and budding bruises faded away in only a few seconds.

“Afyne? Are you hurt?” I asked and let the queen's hand go.

“No; but, Milly is.” Afyne said and the two girls came over to me.

“Young majesty.” I said and took Milly's hand. She had the same reaction as her mother and took a deep breath as her bruises faded away.

“Thank you.” Milly said for the both of them.

“You're welcome.” I said and let Josh's wrist go.

“Yeah, you're welcome.” Josh grumbled.

“Don't be condescending.” I snapped at him and let Milly's hand go. “I could have healed her myself.”

“Why didn't you?” Josh asked.

“You were already using your ability, so why waste it?” I asked and looked at Evus. “I think I'll let him sleep this off.” I said and pulled part of the damaged rug over and propped his head up on it.

“I think that would be best.” The queen said. “Plus, we can get at Gavell's body with the creature out of the way.”

“What?” I turned and looked where the creature used to be and saw the crushed remains of the court attendant. “Oh, no.” I sighed. “He was standing by the wall, wasn't he?”

“He jumped in front of the creature to try and distract it.” The queen said. “It worked... and it didn't.”

I nodded. He proved what I had warned Evus the guard about. I thought. Sacrificing yourself without ensuring the safety of your charge first was always a mistake.

“Emissary, can you do anything for him?” Milly asked Josh.

“No, I'm sorry.” Josh said. “If I had been here when... maybe I could have. I can't do anything now.”

Milly nodded as tears formed in her eyes and she walked over to Gavell's body and sat. Afyne went with her and they held each other as Milly mourned the man that had been her guardian all her life.

“Did any of the creatures escape?” The queen asked.

“I don't think any got away; but, Sam is the monster expert. You should have her meet with some of the court mages and see if they can look for more of the things.” I said and stood. “I need to drop off the ones I have in the courtyard with the adult one, then I'll bring the rest over.”

“Very good.” The queen said and waved at the one at the side of the room. “Take that one, too.”

“Yes, your majesty.” I said and picked Josh up by his collar and stood him on his feet, then I walked over to the carcass and shoved it into my bag of holding. “Josh, let's go.”

“But...”

“Let's. Go.” I said, and he followed me out of the room.

“We can't just leave the guard on the floor like that.” Josh said as we walked down the hallway.

“That guard pretty much gave his life to protect the queen.” I said. “He could stay on the floor in that room for the rest of his life and she wouldn't take it as an insult.”

“That's not the point.” Josh said. “He's laying in rubble and...”

“Don't be stupid. They want privacy to mourn.” I said and led Josh down the stairs. “Evus is going to be asleep for several hours, if not for the rest of the night. He won't be bothering them.”

“That's not what I meant.” Josh said. “He should be in a bed and have a real pillow under his head.”

I laughed. “At the moment, he doesn't care where he's sleeping. You could hang him upside down from the rafters and he's not going to wake up.”

“You're really an asshole, aren't you?” Josh asked, and I laughed again.

“You don't get it. There are things that matter a lot in this world and there are things that don't.” I said. “Right now, where Evus rests his head while he's unconscious doesn't matter. The queen and her daughter, who need time to mourn a man that they've known for years, if not for their whole lives, does matter.”

Josh went quiet and we left the castle out through a side door to enter the courtyard where the full-size garglemacer was. “Wow.” He said, then went over to it and started to examine it. “It really is a dragon.”

I ignored him and dropped off the carcasses of the smaller ones beside the large cage. It only took a few moments, so I tapped Josh on the shoulder and waved to the exit. He nodded and kept glancing back at the cage as we left. Once we were outside, I picked him up and tucked him under my arm and ran.

“HEY!” Josh yelled and tried to struggle. I was tempted to smack him for throwing me off balance as I ran, then changed my mind. I arrived back at the spot I had left Maylia and Jessica and dropped him next to his still unconscious wife. “Thanks for being gentle.” He said, sarcastically.

“Anytime.” I said. “Maylia, are you rested enough? I could use a hand.”

“I'm sure I can manage.” Maylia said and stood. “Should we split up or...”

“No, we stick together.” I said and took her hand and shared my energy with her. She smiled and we ran towards the next spot that had a dead creature. We took turns storing each one and we ran back to the castle to drop them off when we couldn't hold any more. I had the bright idea to ask the healers in the castle to spread out in the city to give healing to those that needed it, and they agreed and left the castle in pairs to search with us.

*

“Hey, you're awake!” Steven said as he carried Kara over to Josh. “We need some healing here.”

“The last one hooked my calf before we could kill it.” Kara said.

“Sure.” Josh said and healed her in moments. He couldn't do anything about her torn pants, though. “There you go. Good as new.”

“What about the people?” Jessica asked.

“What people?” Steven asked.

“The people being attacked by the baby dragons.” Jessica said. “Don't tell me they're all dead!”

“What? No.” Steven said. “We thought Josh was unconscious, so Kara healed the few of them that she could. The rest...”

“The both of you need to come with us.” Kara said.

“We can't leave Evangeline.” Josh said.

“I'll watch her.” Imiryl said and started to absorb the ice and snow around the solid Presence box.

“I don't know...” Josh started to say.

“Do I need to give you my word that she won't be harmed?” Imiryl asked, a little exasperated. “Will you trust me then?”

“All right. We'll be back soon.” Josh said.

“Good luck.” Imiryl smiled. “I hope you can heal them better than you did me.”

Josh sighed and he, Steven, Kara, and Jessica left to find people that had more serious injuries.