A fortnight had passed since Cyan and Selene set out back to Sev Atamnër and so far in their travels, nothing had posed a problem. They hadn't seen any signs of other people nor animals; the landscape remained bare for as far as the eye could see.

Every so often, Cyan would glance back at Selene to make sure she was still there, trodding behind her in layers that she did not need. Though Selene protested, saying the heavy coat and scarves would just slow her down, Cyan did not budge. It would look too peculiar if anyone saw two people trekking through the snow and one of them only wore a tunic and trousers.

Cyan had no complaints about her clothes. She had wrapped the scarf around her face to where you could only make out her sharp green eyes and the black ink of the mark between them.

Despite herself, Selene couldn't help but laugh at her whenever she turned around. Eventually, the elf picked up a handful of snow and chucked it in Selene's direction. She missed.

They moved quickly across the land and soon they reached the border of the Wastes. There was no marking or specific change that showed you were no longer in Valdir, but somehow Cyan knew because she turned around and told Selene so.

This was the most dangerous part of their trip. At the edge of the two countries, monster and beasts of both lands converged in the thick forest because the resources were lush and fruitful. Both of them kept their guards up.

Although summer was at their doorstep, the snow was still piled high in the forest. Most small animals were still slumbering, so it was dead quiet.

"I don't like this feeling," whispered Cyan.

Selene did not respond, she just scanned the forest with her eyes. She saw nothing move nor did she hear anything so she suggested they keep going. Silently, they made their way through the woods, trying to keep up their pace.

Throughout the journey, Selene's mind was buzzing with the possibilities of their arrival. Would Aiden be happy she was back or would he reject her for leaving? What happened during the time she was gone? Did he wait for her or did he continue on his journey without her?

When she returned, she'd have to show him that this had all been worth it. That she hadn't made him break his vow for no reason.

Selene didn't notice that Cyan had stopped walking until she almost ran into her. The elf was perfectly still, her head slowly scanning their surroundings. Her ears perked as she listened.

Selene didn't dare breath.

Cyan's head snapped to her right, her eyes slit. She turned and grabbed Selene, throwing her down into the snow and barely dodging something that whizzed passed them.

"Get up!" Cyan shouted to Selene as she pulled her bow over her head. She quickly fired off a few arrows, letting Selene jump to her feet. She caught a glimpse of their attacker through the trees as it sprinted past. It was incredibly fast, but from what she saw it resembled a panther. Its fur was white, camouflaging with the snow. From its back protruded spikes. Those spikes, Selene quickly learned as it launched several in her direction, were what Cyan dodged earlier. It hissed at them as one of Cyan's arrows hit it in the leg.

It ran behind the tree trunks, making another hit difficult. Selene though of unsheathing the short sword Cyan had given her but decided against it. The beast was too far and too quick to use such a short range weapon. Instead, Selene held her hands out and formed a small ball of Moonfire in them. Then she fired it off straight towards its chest. The panther easily dodged it.

"You can use your magic in different forms than a large ball of fire, Selene," Cyan said as she fired arrow after arrow tipped in black fire.

"I know that!" Selene shot back.

This time when she held out her hands again, she imagined a whip. Her magic obeyed and in a blink, she was sending out a chord of fire through each of the trees around them. She burnt through their trunks and send them crumbling down.

"He's got nowhere to hide now," she said.

The beast growled at them as it tried to crouch in the snow. But it was too large to use the drifts as cover. Realizing this, it decided to run straight towards them and finish them off quickly. It must have been starving to be so reckless.

In one flick of her wrist, Selene wrapped the cord around the cat's legs and sent it hurtling through the snowdrifts. It's legs now covered in frostbite, it whimpered in pain.

Cyan drew her bow back, but Selene placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly shook her head. This animal had submitted, there was no need to keep fighting.

Seeing a chance to flee, the cat stood and limped away into the trees. Once it had disappeared from view, Cyan turned to Selene.

"It will be dead before nightfall with those injuries."

"No. It was born into this cold. If its legs are still able to support it after a blow like that, then it will survive my Moonfire."

Cyan sighed and threw her bow back across her back and said, "You've always had a soft heart."

"Is that such a bad thing?" asked Selene with a smile.

"It is when the enemy can trick you. Now stay sharp. The noise we've cause will no doubt draw other creatures."

Selene let the Moonfire whip extinguish in her hand and drew her two long daggers. Keeping low to the ground, they both trekked through the trees.

Knowing that her clothing would only hinder her movements, Selene shed her thick outer coat and left it in the snow behind them. Maybe it would buy them some time and disorient anything following their scent.

"Do you sense anything?" Selene asked Cyan quietly, knowing that she would notice something long before Selene would.

"No, nothing. I only smell faint trails, and I only hear sleeping mice."

For a moment, Selene let herself marvel at her skills. Without a doubt, if Cyan weren't with her, this trip would have been near impossible to complete.

"Wait," the elf said and held out an arm to stop Selene from walking.

She slowly turned around and stared into the trees behind them, narrowing her eyes as she focused.

"Something is coming. It is not beast nor human."

Selene followed Cyan's stare and tried to see past the snowdrifts and trees. Yet she saw nothing.

"Not beast nor human..." repeated Selene.

Could it be?

"This is no demon. It's an Akiri," she said, her voice suddenly cold.

"An Akiri?"

"They are the result of failed spells. Rebounds, mutations, revival, anything that went wrong. And Icarus hordes them all in his dungeons, which means--"

"He sent it to get us."

"That or this one miraculously escaped and found its way here."

Cyan wasted no time preparing. Her arms burst into black flames, her nails growing to three times their length. Selene followed suit and drew her shortsword, coating it in a layer of her Moonfire. They waited, staring through the trees for any sign of movement.

"Selene. If I fall, you must run. Run all the way to the village if you must, but you cannot stop."

Her words made a panic rise in her chest. What manner of monster were they about to face?

Faintly in the distance, Selene heard a tree crack and fall. Loud, thunderous footsteps began to echo through the woods, shaking the ground at their feet.

"This Akiri is a failed mutation. It seems he is half human, half boar. Ready yourself; he's almost here."

Selene swallowed nervously. There was nothing they could do but wait as this monster lumbered through the woods to them, it felt as if they were counting down. But Selene did not know when they would reach zero.

Through the snow-covered trees, Selene saw a shape take form. It was large, about half the height of the pines that surrounded them. As it got closer, she noticed it was grey and hairless save for a mohawk over its head and down its back. Two large tusks stuck out from its deformed lips, saliva dripping from them. It had four beady eyes, each narrow as it walked towards them. Its hands looked to be huge human hands, but the fingers had been burned together. Brown claws extended from its connected fingers, each long and sharp. Its feet were hooves, and it looked as if someone had embedded iron nails into them, another weapon to use in battle.

Selene tried to stop her knees from shaking but failed. Cyan snarled at the Akiri, her canines longer than Selene had ever seen them. They look more similar to the fangs of the panther they had just faced than her regular teeth.

Selene could not take her eyes off Cyan as she prepared to throw herself at the monster.

If I fall...

A tree crashed to the ground behind Selene but she paid it no heed. The monster was here.

Don't say that, thought Selene.

Before she could say the words aloud, Cyan launched herself at the Akiri with a roar. Selene's hair whipped around her as the elf passed. Selene followed close behind her. She held her sword out and slashed it across the monster's stomach, backing away just as quickly to avoid being caught by its claws.

To her surprise, there was no wound where she had struck.

"What?" Selene whispered to herself.

Cyan jumped over the beast, flipping to land on its back and raised her hands to plunge her claws through its rib cage. Her attack only bounced off its skin. It twisted and reach for her, trying to grab her or throw her off. She jumped off just before it backed into a tree, sending it falling to the floor.

"Its skin is too thick to penetrate," Selene said when Cyan landed at her side.

"No. There is something else going on here. My fire would have burned through to the other side of its body even if I hadn't gotten through the skin with my nails and your Moonfire would have frozen his skin. An enchantment has been placed on it."

"What do we do?"

Cyan shook her head, "We have no choice but to find a weak spot." Then she launched herself back at the monster.

Selene took a deep breath and manifested her whip again. She lashed at the creature everywhere she could, trying to find any place that bled or even formed frost. Yet nothing worked. Cyan seemed to be having the same problem. She blasted her fire at the beast. She even climbed up to its head and tried to burn away its eyes.

She was swatted away like a bug. She went flying through the trees, catching herself on a sturdy branch and swinging up onto it. Selene quickly scanned her for wounds, but she was too far to search properly. So she turned back to the monster, who had set its eyes on her, and growled.

It lumbered towards her, a hand raised to crush her into the ground. She lashed out with her whip, wrapping it around its wrist. Before it could realize what was happening, She dove between its legs, and using its own forward momentum, sent it headlong into the ground. With its hand still wrapped up in the whip, Selene sent her short sword flying for its exposed head, the blade still covered with Moonfire.

Still, it bounced off like it was nothing.

The creature had gained its senses and pulled the hand Selene held down. Her strength was no match for it and it easily dragged her through the snow. Lifting her into the air, it swung her around. She lost her grip on the whip's handle and flew into the snow, rolling to a stop. The Moonfire disappeared as soon as she let go, and its skin looked as if it hadn't even been touched.

Selene didn't know how they would defeat this monster. She didn't even know if it was possible. But she knew if they ran, it would follow. It had already tracked them down this far. No doubt it would continue to do so.

Cyan appeared at her side and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No. Just pissed."

"I haven't found any weak spots," the elf said, her mind racing as she thought of what to do.

Selene flexed her fingers and said, "I have a plan, but you're not going to like it."

Cyan eyed her, waiting for her to continue.

"When I fought the Ursidae, it also had armored skin. But it had one weak spot."

"Its mouth," Cyan finished.

Selene nodded.

"I'll get its mouth open, you kill it when I do," Cyan said. Then she stood and raced towards the creature.

Selene stayed far enough away to remain out of the way, but close enough to fire at the creature when she was needed. Cyan wasted no time in taunting the beast, throwing spears made completely of her fire at its head. Each time it swiped at her with its claws, she flipped out of the way, creating more fiery weapons before she even landed. She was amazing. Selene had never seen her actually fight and she hoped to never be on the receiving end of those blows.

The creature was getting more and more frustrated each time Cyan dodged its attacks. It leaned forward and roared, opening its jaws to show blackened molars.

"NOW, SELENE!" screamed Cyan.

Selene bolted towards the creature, sending out an enormous blast of Moonfire as she ran. She threw everything she had into the blow. The blue flames erupted into the sky, sending them shooting in every direction. It was as if a volcano had erupted from her hands.

Between her flames, she saw the creature writhing in agony.

We found the weak spot!

She pushed more of her power into the flames, screaming as they grew.

When she could no longer hold out the flow, she fell her to knees and let them die. Breathing hard, she stared through the frosted mist.

Her blood went cold.

There was the beast, its teeth broken to shards and its tongue bitten off and frozen on the ground. Yet it still rose. It loomed over Selene, its saliva frozen on its tusks.

Selene jumped to her feet, but she was too slow. It swung one of its legs, the iron nails in its hoof coming straight for Selene's face. The blow would take her head clean off and there was nothing she could do.

A figure jumped in front of her. All Selene saw was red hair before the hoof collided with Cyan and sent her flying into Selene.

They both hurtled through the trees. Selene shielded the elf from the impact of landing, and the wind was knocked out of her.

When she regained her breath, she sat up and turned to her.

"No..."

The snow around her was sparkling gold.

"No!" Selene shrieked.

She rushed to the elf's side and gently touched her. Cyan moaned in pain. She pressed her hands to her gut, trying to stop the bleeding.

Selene's mind flashed back to Jack. How he had taken a blow to his stomach and she could do nothing as he died.

"Don't worry," Cyan said through gritted teeth, "It takes more than this to kill me."

Selene stared down at her, the blood that surrounded her, and her fear changed to anger. Unchecked fury. She felt the ground shake as the Akiri made its way towards them once again. Selene curled her hands into fists and stood. Putting herself between Cyan and the monster, Selene raised her eyes to meet its own.

It made a noise similar to growling, its throat shaking. Selene returned the gesture, curling her lip up and snarling at it.

She had used up a lot of her available magic in that last attack, but it wasn't enough. She had more inside of her, waiting to be drawn out. Long ago, she'd seen a vision of herself standing on before an army. She had obliterated it in one giant blow. That power was dwelling dormant somewhere, and now would be a great time to use it.

Slowly, her eyesight turned blue as she opened the gate between her tattoo's power and her core of magic.

It raised a fist over her, roaring again as it brought it down. Selene raised her hands and manifested a barrier of Moonfire. She layered it over and over again until it was as thick as a shield of iron. The creature's fist collided with the barrier and shook the ground at their feet.

The impact was enough to send Selene to her knees, but she stayed fast. She clenched her teeth and held up the shield with her hands, not letting it gain an inch of space towards them.

But her strength was running out. Cyan was still bleeding behind her and the monster kept coming with its full force. Selene knew that it was only a matter of time until her shield collapsed.

"Cyan, can you move?"

She was answered by a wet cough.

If Cyan couldn't run, then Selene's only option was to lure it away.

Her mind traveled back to the demon man in the woods that had attacked her. He had spoken of the king as if he wanted to take Selene hostage and sending this beast after them was further proof of that. So if it had to choose between Selene or Cyan, it would no doubt choose Selene.

She stared over her shoulder at the beautiful elf in the snow. Her red hair soaked in gold blood and her green eyes alight with cold fury. She would still be able to fight if she hadn't taken that blow for Selene. She would have been able to run.

Now here she lay, her body curled up in pain, all because Selene couldn't move fast enough.

I won't let you die here, thought Selene, I can't.

But no matter how hard she fought or how much she hoped, the creature's hand only fell closer and closer to them.

Selene knew that it was the end when her knees gave out beneath her and she fell to the snow. The shield disappeared and its hand came crashing down.

Selene just had time to throw herself over Cyan before it hit them, but the blow never came. She opened her eyes to see its entire hand severed and steaming a few feet away from them. Selene whipped around to see the Akiri stumbling backward, holding onto its bleeding stump as black blood spouted and coated the snow around it.

A figure appeared over the creature's head, a sword in its hand, and with a single blow. The figure plunged the sword through the Akiri's head. The monster froze for a moment before falling, shaking the ground as it landed. The figure stood atop its head. A man. He pulled out his sword and jumped from the Akiri's head, landing in the snow with a crunch.

"I finally found you," said the man in a familiar voice.

Selene's body froze as she saw who the man was, as she looked into the dark blue eyes she had missed so much.

"Aiden."