Miinhart Forest, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

The trek to Shadow Wood was long and cold. In the dark, the forest looked ominous, the trees like skeletal bandits ready to snatch them up and away. Any shadow or shape beyond them looked threatening and — after Annabella related to her their encounter with the Veiled Lady — Stephanie kept glancing over her shoulder, wary that the witch might be trailing them even now. An unsettling silence had washed over them.

Matthew walked beside her, carrying Abby on his back. Stephanie had given the girl her socks to ward off the cold, but Abby was in pain regardless. Matthew was incredibly gentle with her, and Stephanie knew it was because he understood the pain.

Todd and Annabella walked ahead of them with Bethany, Todd carrying a flashlight. Jessie was in the lead — many yards ahead of them, in fact, and tromping through the underbrush like a moody child. Stephanie didn't know what had come over Jessie. She couldn't understand why Jessie had made such a fuss.

"Jessie, don't be so far away, please," Todd said, breaking the silence. He seemed wary about the distance the younger girl had put between them.

"I want to be as far away from him as I can when she strikes," the girl called over her shoulder, her voice pointed.

"I can hear you," Matthew muttered.

"Nighttime is her favourite time to kill," Jessie declared.

Annabella gave a small huff of impatience. "How do you know so much about the Veiled Lady, Jessie? You barely even saw her."

Jessie turned around to face them, walking backwards to manage the distance between them. "I have seen her. Have you got any idea how much I've studied that witch? She killed my mama years and years ago and I promised I'd have my revenge." They all fell silent as the girl faced forward again, marching on with a purpose. After a few seconds of silence, she continued. "Mama had the Death Omen. They wanted her dead. And it worked."

Stephanie saw Todd glance over his shoulder at them. Darkness was falling fast, and the shadows hid his facial expression well. Stephanie knew he was torn. He had taken quite a liking to Jessie — the two were practically inseparable — and she knew he hated conflict. She narrowed her gaze at him, waiting for him to take Jessie's side like he seemed so keen on doing. However, he only looked away and kept walking.

"Jessie," Annabella began, her voice unsure.

"I'm just telling you what I know from experience," Jessie said. "You say she's manipulating us. It's like we're in her little game, you know that? She's following us."

"She's right," Matthew said, stopping them all. "She is following us." He glanced at Stephanie, and she knew. He sensed her. He sensed the Athrii.

"How do you know that?" Annabella asked.

Matthew licked his lips, looking suddenly nervous. Was he intimidated by Todd and Annabella? He seemed to shrink away from their gazes. "I can sense her."

"Sense her?" Annabella scoffed. "How could you—?" She stopped. "Jessie?"

Stephanie turned, searching for Jessie in the darkness. The girl was gone.

Annabella's voice sounded much too loud in the quiet, dark forest. "Jessie, this isn't some game. Stop hiding."

There was no response, and Stephanie barely breathed; suddenly, the girl's warning felt much too real. She looked at Matthew. He looked a bit paler than usual, meeting her gaze with that timid, nervous expression she was already too used to him possessing.

Annabella drew her sword, holding Bethany protectively in her other arm. Todd followed suit, pulling out his shield. Together, they both approached the place Jessie had been. There was a whisper of a breeze, so close that Stephanie felt it tug on her hair. Matthew yelped, stumbling backwards and falling. Stephanie was at his side in an instant, grabbing his arm; he grabbed her hand with a fierce grip, his terror-filled eyes sparking with gold. Warmth surged through her arm, yet it wasn't calming.

"Abby!" Matthew scrambled to his feet, spinning in circles. Stephanie jumped up as well, grabbing his arm. "Abby's gone!"

Annabella backed up fast. "Everyone back to back, right now."

They all obeyed her without a word. Matthew was on Stephanie's left, Todd on her right; she drew her bow, thankful now that she had managed to find it in the mine. She only had two arrows, but she promised she'd make them count. Licking her dry lips, she notched her arrow and raised the bow, waiting to draw it. The trees looked even more haunting. The shadows played tricks on her mind. She fought to breathe evenly.

Matthew broke the silence. "Maybe I should just go," he whispered.

"Matthew," she whispered firmly, "shut up and take my sword."

To her relief, he obeyed, drawing the weapon and holding it in both hands. Together, they all stood silently, waiting for their opposition to strike.

Todd lowered his shield slightly. "Maybe she isn—"

The Veiled Lady struck out of nowhere. Annabella screamed, collapsing on the ground with Bethany, and Stephanie spun, shooting her arrow at the figure who had taken Annabella's place. The arrow froze in midair, coated in what looked like purple electricity, and snapped in half. Something struck Stephanie in the chest with a force that sent her stumbling to the ground. It knocked the air clean out of her.

It all happened so fast, Todd was only just turning, swinging his sword at the ghostly figure. A pale, bare hand coated in Athrii caught the blade. Todd seized as if he had been electrocuted. He stumbled back, his head bobbing like a rag doll's before he fell limp in the grass.

It was over in mere seconds. Stephanie gasped for air, struggling to sit up, only one thought on her mind: "Matthew!"

He was standing still, her sword hanging limp at his side as he stared at the veiled being draped in blue. They were facing each other, just feet apart, two figures frozen in time. Neither made a move until Matthew took a breath and spoke quietly.

"Here to kill me?"

Stephanie stared, wide-eyed and dumbstruck as the Veiled Lady slowly lifted her arm, her hand up, palm toward Matthew. She stayed like that, waiting for his response.

A moment of silence passed. Then, as if accepting his fate, his death, Matthew lifted his own hand and placed it against hers.

The Veiled Lady jerked, practically convulsing as she doubled over — yet she gripped Matthew's hand like a vice, their fingers interlocked. He was clearly startled and tried pulling away, but she held on with a death grip even as she seemed unable to stand. Something strange was happening to her; her skin was shrivelling up, and she was shrinking. With a ragged, unearthly scream, she finally yanked her hand out of Matthew's. Her skin was smooth again, her height returning in an instant. Stephanie heard the Lady gasp for breath as she stared at Matthew, although the veil hid anything that her face might have held. She stumbled back, away from Matthew, and in a whisper of a breeze, she was gone.

Everything was silent for a moment, and then Matthew sank to his knees, gasping. Stephanie scrambled to his side. "Matthew, are you alright?" Her voice was cracking in ways she'd never heard it before.

He looked at her. His face was pale and his lips were trembling, but his irises were fully golden, striking awe into her as she stared. "I'm fine," he said heavily. "She... she didn't hurt me at all."

"The opposite, I think," Stephanie replied, her voice hushed with wonder.

Matthew gave her a wide-eyed, grim look, working his jaw. He shoved himself to his feet. "Check on Todd," he ordered, striding over to Annabella.

Stephanie obeyed, scrambling over to Todd. He was sprawled on his back, blinking up at the starry sky above them, looking completely dazed.

"Stephanie," he said when she looked down at him.

"Todd." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me." He seemed alright.

He grimaced as he struggled to sit up. She did her best to help. "I... how long have I been laying here?"

"Like, thirty seconds."

He rubbed his temples. "Really? Oh." Then he pulled his knees up and rested his forehead on them, not saying another word. She didn't know what happened, but it couldn't have been good. He was shaken up. Looking over her shoulder, she was relieved to find Annabella sitting up as well, holding Bethany tightly in her arms. However, Annabella looked just as pale and as shaken as Todd, and Bethany was in tears.

"She's toying with us, alright," Annabella stated dryly. She muttered a curse before turning to Bethany and doing her best to console her. Stephanie didn't know what to say.

"I found Jessie and Abby. She just dumped them a ways over there." Stephanie nearly jumped at Matthew's calm voice. She hadn't even realized he had left. He was carrying Abby in his arms — she looked just as dumbstruck as Todd and Annabella and even paler than before — and Jessie was beside him looking rather frazzled herself.

"Didn't I tell you guys?" Jessie's voice trembled, and Stephanie realized she was in tears. "Didn't I tell you she'd come?"

"She didn't kill Matthew," Annabella replied sharply. Then, as if realizing how harsh she sounded, she softened her tone. "She didn't kill any of us."

Matthew gently put Abby on the ground. "No," he said quietly, looking around at them with an expression Stephanie couldn't quite read. "But something tells me she got what she wanted."