On the rooftop, Thegn gives his wings a mighty flap, extinguishing any of the remaining flames on and around him. They hurt something awful. He brings them around to get a better look. It’s just about what he thinks. Most of the feathers have burned away. What were once shiny and glorious wings are now simply a pair of charred appendages sticking from his back. Disappointed, he slowly shakes his head and rolls his shoulders. He feels the bone and muscles in his back shift under his skin as his wings detach and puff into ash.

Twisting his head to one side, he cracks his neck. The sick smells of singed hair and the burns in his cloak overwhelm his nose. Even with his mouth closed, he can taste the foul stench.

Well, young one. It looks like they did, in fact, learn a thing or two since last time.

Thegn scans the rooftop. He can hear the grunts from the horde on their way up. “Oh shut up, rodent. You didn’t see it coming either. Now keep a tight hold. This isn’t over.”

Yes. Regarding that …

Thegn swivels his head to look at his shoulder. It doesn’t look good. What was once a coat of meticulously well-maintained clean white fur on the albino rat is now a mess of darkly singed fur and darker charred skin.

Caffiel sees Thegn’s reaction and shows his teeth in his closest approximation of a smile. Looks that good, huh?

Thegn returns to looking straight ahead. The blood seeping from his burns has already started finding its way to his right hand, shaping itself into his scythe. The dust is settling at the partially demolished building where the girl and the monkey crashed. He can just make out her silhouette standing at the center of the destruction.

There’s a long pause, but he finally responds to the rat. “You’ve seen better days. Will you recover?”

Caffiel shifts his weight on Thegn’s shoulder, whimpering a bit. Difficult to tell. This body isn’t much more resilient than its terrestrial counterpart. You’re cut off from the Karui, so your backup—and a healing technician—isn’t likely to arrive any time soon.

“Options?” From the corner of his eye, he can see that his scythe is almost fully reformed.

Although I can keep the gate open, I doubt you have the energy to rebuild your wings. We can’t do this fight on the ground with the Umbrati here. Although she’s likely weakened as well, it would be a long slog and she’s already at risk of getting discovered.

The rat pulls itself a bit forward, as if whispering in Thegn’s ear.

Even without wings, it’s possible that you and I may still be able to escape, but that leaves the girl alive. She’d have to kill off what’s left of the horde’s raid party to guarantee that word doesn’t get back. To be completely sure, she’d need to end the whole town. Do you trust she can do that?

“Not on her own.” Thegn sees her silhouette falter and drop to a knee. The shapes of her recently formed upper arms dissolve into the thin dusty haze. A monkey-shaped outline of the second sigil rests on her shoulder. Around them both, individual grunts begin to crest the rooftops. The din of hissing and growling floods his ears.

Well then, young one, it seems that your options are pretty sparse. I think you know what needs to be done.

Thegn regards the rat. “What’s this now?” He catches a meaningful nod from Caffiel, as if the rodent is giving him permission. Slowly, it dawns on him what’s being suggested. “The sacrifice? No. No, we’re not in that tough a spot.”

It will give you more than you need to—

“Not an option!”

Thegn slams the butt of his scythe down with enough force to crack the rooftop at his feet. An uncomfortable silence settles between them. The scratching sound of grunts climbing the sides of the building he’s standing on gets louder as they ascend closer to him. He never got that chance to regroup. This is the most he’s had to exert himself in nearly a decade. If he could just find a second or two to think; the other three were always better at improvisation.

Finally, Caffiel sounds in Thegn’s mind. Well, if you have a plan, you’re going to need to execute it soon.

Thegn sighs, readying himself. “I have a plan. But I’ll need some time to prepare. Think you can handle that?”

Absolutely. Take as much time as you need.