The light moved in strong, bright waves, the Blade gulping it down, the mind-shattering hunger starting to fade. Stathis could feel her own strength returning, able to feel the ground beneath her, a pain still in her stomach. She was able to reach up, her hand fumbling through the air, her fingers encountering something solid – the hilt of the Blade, solid and prsent! She grabbed it, pulling it upwards, feeling pain grate through her as it slid forth. And beyond there, a whimpering, starved fear, gibbering and frantic.

Shhh. A little more, and then you can rest. And see your siblings again. But you need to help me first – can you manage that?

She pulled again, her eyes filled with darkness, details slow to return. The deep, pitch-black sky above. Her armour, broken in several places, stabbing into her body. Blood, hot and clagging, not yet dried around her wounds. But there was a weapon in her hands, and movement was starting to return, as the Blade was slowly pulled free, every movement burning through her body, making her want to just stop and rest.

A cry of pain – not hers. Janaxia? No, Semari. A brutal bone-crack and a yelp. Vision was returning now, the only light from low fires, grasses burning themselves out, unable to sustain a long burn.

The Blade slide free, Stathis gasping, feeling loose wetness in her belly. She could feel the Blade pulling at her, trying to draw her into itself, her arm hitting the ground with a heavy thud, her head turning to look into it. She could see a dim reflection of her own face, worn and tired, the cracks in the dark metal distorting her features, as she reached out and touched it with her other hand. The metal of her gauntlet screeched as it touched the edge, the metal cutting through it. There was a faint pain in her finger, the wetness of blood as her skin was cut, oozing over the Blade.

It sparkled with light, before getting drawn into the metal, and for a moment Stathis saw other faces there, faded and drawn, other souls that had been devoured. ‘You don’t want to be hurt anymore, do you? I won’t do that to you. Just help me now, and then you can rest if you want. And I’m sure Hakara can find a way to feed you without killing anyone.’

It made a whining groan, shifting in her hand, trying to cut more deeply, trying to drink more deeply. But there were lines of light between the cracks of the metal, as she slowly sat up, feeling every wound, the slight movement making her head spin.

‘Shhh, just a little more.’ She laid her palm against the Blade, wiping it across the metal, trying to think calm thoughts. As she moved her palm downwards, it smoothed itself, the metal getting polished and honed, cracks and crags vanishing. The hilt changed, the rough-edged metal softening, getting covered with feather patterns. ‘You don’t need to please me! But thank you.’ Energy flowed back from the Blade into her, and she felt her wounds starting to close, the searing pains in her body fading away.

Her vision cleared, letting her see the circle of destruction they were fighting in. Semari was wounded, both her arms shattered, barely holding on. Janaxia was pinned on the ground, trying to fend off her attacker.

Stathis shook her head, trying to push away the tiredness, feeling the Blade pushing at her, wanting more, despite the energy flowing into it edging into visibility.

‘You still want more? Well, let’s see what we can do.’

Stathis raised the Blade, feeling the energy throbbing from it, more than it could consume at once. She shook the tattered remnants of her shield off her arm, taking the Blade into a two-handed grip, trying to shape it into a useful form – long and slender, single-edged, the hilt curving around her hands protectively.

And then she charged – she let her wings erupt from her back, the light blasting back the darkness, jumping upwards and letting her momentum carry her forward. She could see Janaxia’s blood, deep gouges scratched into her body, her clothing slashed and damaged.

Her enemy barely had time to react, trying to raise an arm to protect themselves. Stathis sliced through it, muscle and bone barely offering any resistance, the limb flying aside as Stathis severed it with a single swinging strike. With them on top of Janaxia, she couldn’t risk stabbing down, for fear of hitting Janaxia, but she swung again, hearing the Blade hiss through the air. The power it gave her! Every swing was empowered, creating ripples and draughts of air, strong enough she was almost sent tumbling before adjusting to it.

They rolled over, dragging Janaxia with them, still scratching and gouging, who was trying to defend herself, without much success. Stathis swung again, slicing a chunk out of their back – the wound was a black burn-scar, heat flash-flaring into them.

‘Take back what should be yours! From the one that hurt you!’

The Blade leapt in her hands, surging forward, suddenly hard to control, eager and enthusiastic. Calm down! Let me help you! It twisted again, slicing towards Janaxia, Stathis barely able to control it. No! She is not your foe! And you wouldn’t want to upset your sister, would you? I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you.

‘How are you not dead? You should have given up when you had the chance. But now I will make your ending slow and bitter. I will break you, body and soul, driving you into the darkness in which I’ve had to dwell.’

They had dragged Janaxia upwards, the two of them now standing, Janaxia wounded heavily but still fighting. Semari was fading, barely standing, both her arms shattered, as Stathis raised her sword. Light blasted out, brilliant and blinding, already-warped skin cracking and peeling under its assault.

‘Hold on, just a little longer!’

There was a painful crack, Semari attempting to push an arm back into place. ‘You owe me big for this!’

‘I’ll do what I can. But we just need to survive first! Vrintar, ready to go?’

‘I endure, and the flame of my soul still burns.’ Although Vrintar’s voice was weary, she still had her weapon, heat guttering and billowing around her as she spoke. ‘I have pledged to fight until the last, and I shall!’

The dome of light around Stathis stretched upwards, becoming a pillar, a high column stretching up into the heavens. It shattered through the pall of darkness, blue sky visible above.

They hissed, skin cracking and peeling, the rune-marks fading from their skin as it burned. The Blade howled in Stathis’ hands, wanting blood and souls, twisting again, bucking in her grip.

‘One last push then!’

They had one hand around Janaxia’s throat, the other scratching at skin, more blood trickling down onto Janaxia’s chest, soaking into her clothing.

‘You won’t negotiate, will you?’

‘We are far past that, child of light! There is nothing but blood and bitter ruin now – as I have been served, so shall I make you eat!’

Janaxia groaned in pain as the claws shoved deeper into her, but her eyes were clear, meeting Stathis’, as she gave a slight nod. One of her hands was resting on the Book, still strapped to their waist, fiddling with the clasp.

Now!

They screamed in sudden pain, Stathis surging forward, propelling herself with her wings.

‘Duck!’

Janaxia managed to break away enough to throw herself to the ground, giving Stathis an opening. The Blade cut the air, edge shining brightly, the impact running through Stathis’ arms. A massive sear-scar marked their chest, the Bell visible within their chest. Stathis reached for it, but they danced backwards, one arm over their chest, the wound slow to heal. Stathis could see shards of shining darkness within their flesh, black metal embedded within their skin, some of it turning to dust in the light shed from Stathis’ body and the Blade.

Janaxia rolled away, coming to her feet, the Book in her hands, pages ruffling without any wind. Her hand came up, encased in a gauntlet of black steel, fingers flickering through a spell. Black spheres appeared on her finger-tips, before shaping themselves into a single-handed sword.

Stathis didn’t relent, the Blade supernaturally light in her hands, thrusting of its own will forward. More of the shards seethed upwards from within their body, getting pulled through their skin, fading into dust in the air.

They charged at her, claws high, trying to skip past Stathis and strike Janaxia. ‘No! That is mine!’

Skotadi is no-one’s but her own. And I have known her rather longer than you. Begone from this world! She threw her weapon, the length shortening to a knife as it flashed through the air, digging into cracked and broken flesh, before vanishing and another appeared in Janaxia’s hand. Stathis met their charge, levelling the Blade and using its length to keep them at bay, jabbing with it.

Can you…?

The Blade responded to her command, shaping itself into a spear, the spear-head barbed. It sunk into flesh, Stathis twisting it to make it dig into skin, rending and tearing, barbs holding it deep. They tried to reach for her, but the spear was too long, Stathis pushing forward, forcing them backwards.

She shoved again, driving it deeper into them, more of their blood oozing out. They hissed and screeched in pain, their arms not long enough to reach Stathis.

‘You will not stop me!’ The skin on their face was almost completely burned away now, the light hurting them beyond what their regeneration could heal, their body bulking up, arms lengthening. Stathis twisted the spear, jerking it back out of their body, ripping their skin more, before willing it to turn back into a sword, mentally murmuring encouragement as it took on a two-handed form. ‘All your blessings, your power, all the gifts given you… I will kill you again!’

Stathis blocked a swipe, the Blade having enough power of its own to absorb some of the impact, stopping her from being knocked backwards. It was still sloughing off some of the excess magical energy, brilliantly bright, revitalising Stathis as it flowed into her. With sweeps of the Blade, she kept them back, using the full length of it, jabbing and twisting. Even with their wounds, they were fast, too fast to pin down.

They hissed again as they danced backwards, their body growing, as bulky as Vrintar, but with longer arms, long enough to reach down to their ankles, long enough to reach Stathis even over the length of the Blade.

Fingers twisted, a dark glow coming from their chest, as a dark figure appeared behind them, a hulking, demonic form. Janaxia started to chant, Skotadi’s voice audible beneath Janaxia’s. Lines of black energy formed from nothingness, appearing around the figure, binding it in place. More colour started to appear over its body as it was summoned, Stathis still swinging and jabbing.

They lunged at her, claws stretching outwards. They came down against her armour, scratching at a pauldron, shearing through the metal with ear-splitting shrieks, overpowering Janaxia’s chanting. They couldn’t get any leverage to penetrate though, despite their attempt to lean into the attack. They dodged backwards before Stathis could counterattack, evading Stathis’ attempt to shear off the limb.

Wings, thin flesh between long pale arches, erupted from their back, flapping and setting up gusts of wind, sending ash and dust flying through the air, stirring up the flames Vrintar had left. They jumped, taking to the air, Stathis following with her own wings.

‘Keep everything under control down here!’

The Blade at least seemed light enough it wasn’t dragging her down, but the greater size of the weapon made it unwieldy compared to what she was used to.

Could you…?

The Blade shrunk down, changing itself into a long sword, although the hilt-guard and the off-side of the weapon were now edged with feathery patterns.

Thank you. After this, we can have a proper talk, I suppose.

The light moved with her, the column of light tearing apart the darkness, all the way towards the blue sky. She had to stay close, trying to keep them in sight, not letting them vanish into the darkness. Beneath them, the estate looked destroyed, some of the buildings on fire, others already destroyed, the research lab demolished from above. They flew higher up, everything below fading away. They were fast, braking suddenly to slash backwards at Stathis.

Stathis just barely managed to block in time, the two of them slamming together, Stathis trying to break away as they hurtled downwards, their weight dragging at Stathis. The Blade shifted into a dagger, Stathis cutting and slicing, hacking through skin and bone. Stathis aimed for their chest, trying to cut them open, feeling flesh slice apart. The Bell shone forth, gleaming out from beneath skin, and they broke away themselves.

By the time they circled back around, the wound had healed, but their skin started to burn again as soon as they came within the boundary of light. What would it take to kill them!? She reached down to her hip, making the Blade turn into a poniard, shoving it into the top of the bottle, through the cork.

I don’t think this can hurt you, but let me know if there’s any problems.

It made a vague murmur, sounding drowsy.

Don’t fall asleep on me! At least until this is over.

Mrhh.

They circled around, both trying to gain the advantage over the other, Stathis willing the Blade into a lance, the tip gleaming with moisture. Without being able to see the ground, it was like they existed in a bubble, with nothing else other than the blue sky above. Despite their crackling, peeling skin, they didn’t try and flee, their eyes fixing on Stathis. Their wings swept, propelling them upwards, Stathis moving to follow them.

She pushed her wings hard, managing to gain height above them, levelling the lance and then dropping down, leading with the lance. It stuck into them, the force of the impact threatening to wrench it from her grip, but she kept it held tightly, slamming down into them.

They hissed back, scratching at her, clawed fingers rending through armour, jabbing into her skin. She felt pain erupt in her shoulder, but didn’t relent, even as they tumbled downwards, locked together.

The ground started rushing up from beneath them, but the area around the wound throbbed, their veins growing hard and red. Their breathing was faster now, eyes looking glazed, fighting off the poison now coursing through them.

They smashed through the treeline, branches whipping against Stathis, thwapping and flicking against her face, blinding her for a moment, before she hit the ground.

The impact hurt, rattling her around in her armour. But the lance was still embedded, Stathis making tines spread out, keeping them impaled. They were slower now, gasping and panting, Stathis leaning onto the Blade, driving it deeper into them.

‘What have… you done to… me?’

‘A gift from Zarazonnia. It looks like it’s more than even you can deal with.’ The black dust-beads were thick and heavy on their skin now, like sweat, oozing out from their flesh, solidifying and falling to the ground.

Eat!

Mrh? The Blade sounded drowsy and vaguely annoyed.

And then you can sleep.

Mrh!

It stabbed forward of its own will, moving with startling speed. Stathis sliced to the side, cutting them open again. Before they could react, she stepped forward, reaching into their chest, feeling her arm protest and ache. But they were slow now, and she reached into their open chest and grabbed the Bell, yanking it out.

‘No! That’s mine!’ They tried to reach out, but their limbs were shaking and trembling, barely moving. Stathis could hear a vague murmur that sounded like Armoniki, a distant thanks rumbling through her mind.

‘You should have asked for help! But this destruction, all this death… You deserve nothing more.’

Their body was starting to fade away, even their regeneration unable to keep up with the poison. How long it would last, Stathis didn’t know, but it would be best if it were ended fast. She wrenched the spear backwards, cutting through skin and bone, before transforming it back into a sword, the weapon that felt most natural in her hand.

Stathis swung the Blade, the movement swift and brutal, slicing through their neck, severing their head. It flew through the air, features contorted with hatred. Their body collapsed, skin and bone flaking away, rapidly melting away into nothingness, leaving nothing but a smear of blood and more of the gritty, black dust.

The light faded from Stathis, her energy fading, strength ebbing away. Her hand refused to release its grip on the Blade, the weapon somehow adhering itself to her gauntlet.

The darkness around Stathis snapped, peeling away, a warm and bright sun shining through, blasting away the enchanted pall.

Hssss…

Stathis turned around, seeing Janaxia stumble through the trees, suddenly able to see properly. She looked exhausted, her clothing ragged and covered with leaves, burrs and dried blood. She took a wing-assisted jump-glide towards her, Janaxia squinting against the sudden light but smiling as well, before grabbing her and taking flight.

She squealed in surprise and delight, before burrowing into Stathis’ arms, making herself comfortable.

Is it…?

‘It’s over. And I think we deserve a rest.’ Stathis flapped her wings, hoping that she would be unseen against the now-bright light. Beneath her, the full scale of the damage was apparent – the sea around Saltstone was thick and murky, choked with blood and bodies, the estate a burning ruin. On the horizon, she could see the dark columns of an army, banners of blue and gold flaring in the sudden wind caused by the return of the sun. ‘And they can deal with any clean-up. We’ll come back and have a long conversation with everybody else… but we can do that later.’

She flapped her wings, feeling Janaxia’s arms tighten around her, causing stub-shards of armour to jab into her, as she gave Janaxia a kiss on the top of her head, feeling the warmth of her hair and body.

I suppose those three will need some more lessons as well. Skotadi says thank you as well, but she is resting for the moment. And the Blade may need some special attention.

‘Hmm, and a name. I wonder what it will look like?’

I just hope they take after Skotadi rather than Armoniki.

There was a disgruntled chiming sound, the Bell vibrating gently in admonishment.

Well, you could dress up a little more.

The Bell chimed again.

‘Can we maybe get away from here, first? To somewhere we can get a bit of a break?

Certainly! Hmmm, there is a smugglers port some distance east of here. I’m sure they could be persuaded to transport us somewhere suitably warm, for appropriate recompense. And some time to recover from our wounds would be pleasant.

‘I’ll let you do the talking. I just hope having saved the world gets us a discount!’

I’m sure a few strategic threats will, if nothing else. Ah, down there – it’s in that cove. Although, first…

Janaxia leaned upwards, putting her face in front of Stathis’ and kissing her on the lips, pressing herself tightly against Stathis, her body soft and warm, hair billowing. She gave a pleased telepathic murmur.

‘Well, I hope that won’t be the last. And that the ship has a nice big bed.’

Janaxia looked at her, face slowly turning as red as her hair. Mmmm, that’s certainly forward of you!

‘Well, it’s going to be a long journey! We may as well entertain ourselves. And if these three are mostly recovering, then we don’t need to watch them.’ She kissed Janaxia again, dropping downwards. ‘So we should make the most of it, before we got found and have to deal with a whole lot of everything.’

Mrhmmm. Yes, I suppose this should be viewed as something of a rest-break. But an enjoyable one!

The sun shone down on them, as Stathis held Janaxia close, already dipping towards the smuggler’s cove.