Steel blade met chitinous claw with a curious retort that could be heard for miles, and Burke barely registered the jarring impact before there was another. The ice encasing his left arm changed its shape, shifting to meet his needs. One moment it was a small shield narrowly turning aside a blade like hand strike aimed at his heart, the next it was a punch dagger, driving the demon back. He was in the grip of Gold state, and he felt magnificent. Better than he had in years. Strong, a force to be reckoned with, as he had not been since his banishment to the north.

The demon gave ground, dodging aside, and Burke could feel the combat turning in his favor. His skin blazed with magic, chains of runes whipping across his skin at blinding speed, and shadowy tendrils manifested from under the ground, snatching at the monster’s legs, trying to grab it, to hold it, to crush it. Its escapes grew more narrow, and the ice gauntlet became a wedge-shaped tower shield in a blink, shedding a blast of pure force the demon had aimed at him, and then it was a parrying dagger as Burke closed, going for the kill.

Gold state senses couldn’t be surprised. They were too sharp. He could hear like nothing else alive. His vision was sharp, the colors vivid, and he could see for miles. It was these dramatically heightened senses and a long lifetime of training that saved him, though much more narrowly than he would’ve believed. He heard it first. In a fraction of a fraction of a moment, he reacted, countering an attack he couldn’t see, trusting his instincts. The same vicious ringing of steel on the demon’s claw. A second one appeared, attempting to backstab him with all of its blinding speed, but Burke had countered. It was a hollow victory. Over one Winter’s March, he had a chance, perhaps even a slight advantage. Gold State being what it was. Against two? He would be dead in a moment. He roared his defiance and lashed out, driving the second one back, catching a glancing blow on its arm. Perhaps the monster was surprised that he had blocked the attack.

Such considerations were tucked into the corner of his mind, barely acknowledged as he fell into the battle trance that was the pursuit of all lifelong warriors. Burke was fast, and he was precise. He wasted no motion, blocking and countering at the time before turning to catch the next attack from his blind spot. He had never used his magic more intuitively; never fought better; never faced such opponents.

He could feel the action and reaction of the fight playing out in his mind. The future laid bare before him, like some sort of one time war prophet. So he knew he was going to die. He even knew how long it would take for the duo to find their opening, with the way they circled and struck and then circled again. He knew his death would be the prelude to many more.

His men would engage once he fell. Perhaps some were even now considering trying to join the battle they could barely follow. They would die, and then those newborns, who were even now running to join the evacuees, would be after, and that would be it. The villagers would be sheep in an open field, with no protection against wolves gone mad, killing for sport.

The demons were syncing how they fought him. The margins for error became smaller, the windows of time in which to save himself from one or the other shrinking by degrees.

Won’t be long now.

Erin despaired when the second demon arrived, though she couldn’t follow the fight properly, not at the speeds they were moving, not with how often she had to look away in order to keep moving, but she knew in her gut their savior was doomed. She could almost feel the tinge of desperation in the overwhelming magical pressure that suffused the landscape. When they were themselves thirty-yards from rejoining the villages, Liam angling toward them all the while, a man appeared before them. Simply popping into existence. Sigrid pulled up short, and Erin with her. His skin was nearly as pale white as the snow, and his eyes glowed a brilliant shade of aqua blue, like they were lit from within.

“Dragon Blood.” He said, those unnerving eyes fixed on Sigrid. “My subordinate, Serra, has suggested to me that you may have some interest in our work. I offer you a place among us.”

“No.” Sigrid said, without hesitation, and the pale mage frowned. Though Erin couldn’t tell if he was displeased or confused. After a moment, he rallied.

“That’s too bad. You’re going to die along with everyone else here. I thought you wanted to get back to your family.” Erin felt Sigrid stiffen beside her, and she could see a deep longing in her friend’s features. “Once the Commander dies, it’ll all be over.” Sigrid said nothing. She just stared. The clamor of battle, and the undulations of the magic of the combatants rolled over them, making her skin prickle uncomfortably. The man didn’t move, watching Sigrid intently.

“You need me.” Sigrid said, her tone one of surprised realization. “What’s a Dragon Blood?” The man frowned again, and this time it was clear he was displeased.

“You want me to explain… now?” He asked, eyebrow raised, as he looked pointedly over her shoulder. Sigrid’s expression hardened and Erin felt her stomach sink.

“Kill the demons,” she told him, “and I’ll go with you.” He didn’t speak. Just stared at her, his expression blank, but met his gaze evenly. “You can, right?” At this, the shadow of a smirk touched his lips, but he nodded agreement.

“One.” He said, looking over her shoulder again, as if gauging the progress of the fight. “I’ll kill one. The Commander will have to finish the remaining one himself.”

“Deal.” Sigrid said instantly,

“No!” Erin couldn’t believe it, but Sigrid shot her a look.

“Deal.” The man agreed, as if Erin hadn’t spoken at all. He threw his arm out to the side and a long blade of pale metal materialized in his hand, etchings of white flame rolling slowly across the blade. Then his own magic washed over them, joining the fray. Then he popped out of existence, much the same way he arrived.

“You can’t!” Erin rounded on Sigrid, her face flushed red.

“You’d rather die?” She said, her inhuman eyes narrowed to slits, the iris shining a bright, angry red. Erin had nothing. What was she supposed to say? ‘Yes,’ like some sort of petulant child.

“I don’t want you to go.” she told her.

“I don’t exactly like the idea either.” But Erin thought she heard a hint of reservation in those words, like Sigrid was holding something back.

“You believe him, don’t you? That you can get back to your old life?” Sigrid turned her head away, not meeting her eye. Liam caught up with them then, covered from the waist down in snow.

“Who the hell was that?” He asked, trying to pat himself down.

“He-” Erin started to say.

“Someone who came to help.” Sigrid said, cutting her off, giving a small shake of her head. Erin scowled at that.

Why should I play along with this?

[Because she’s your friend.]

Erin said nothing, though in her opinion that was more of a reason not to go along with it, but she wasn’t stupid. She gave Sigrid a hard look, with a promise in it. Sigrid gave her a tight nod.

“Damn lucky then.” Liam said, “If he actually can help, I mean. Those things…” The big man shuddered, and said no more.

Burke could sense the end coming, he couldn’t move fast enough now. They were attacking him too close together, and the Gold State was hard on a body and he had used it infrequently these last years. The Demons were experiencing no such flagging in their power; it seemed to him. A fourth magic joined the mix, and all three of them tensed as they sensed it. Burke could feel the killing intent in the magic, and knew it wasn’t directed at him. In an instant, he was on top of the one in front of him, tying up both of its claws in a two handed strike. He twisted to the side, attempting to dodge the attack he’d left himself open to from behind.

The long-fingered claws of the second demon cracked the armor he wore, and an icy burn rolled through his side. In a normal man, the wound would’ve been fatal, but for him it wasn’t. Not if he had time to recover. The attack had accomplished what he’d meant it to, in tying up both of the demons for half a moment. The fourth combatant entered the fray, and Burke grimaced. Every sharpened sense was repelled by him. His unnaturally pale skin and his magic felt tainted, as if diseased, but no less potent for all that. He appeared in a blur, more rapidly than any of them expected, and a sword that radiated with foul power swept clean through the demon’s neck. Burke didn’t waste a moment, spinning back to the one who’d stabbed him and lashing out with sword and spell. Surprised by the sudden slaying of its fellow, it was driven before him. Burke swept his blade left, then right in a blindingly fast exchange before launching a powerful kick into the monster, sending it tumbling. With a moment to breathe, he took stock of the situation.

The other mage had vanished, leaving Burke to his one-on-one fight with the remaining demon, which he was fairly certain he could defeat, eventually. He growled in his throat as the monster prepared to attack him again.

In the blink of an eye, the tables had turned, and Erin clenched her jaw so hard she thought her teeth would break. One demon was dead, and the blue-eyed man stood before them, hand outstretched.

“Come, I held up my end.” Sigrid looked no more pleased than Erin, but she nodded, and took a step forward. Erin made as if to grab Sigrid by the arm, but the barest shake of Sigrid’s head froze her in place.

“What?” Liam asked. “Who is that? What’s going on?”

“Serra’s boss.” Erin told him through clenched teeth. “He killed one demon in exchange for Sigrid going with him.”

“But-”

“It will be fine.” Sigrid said, stopping in front of the man to turn and look back at them. “Stay alive. We’ll see each other again.” Then she turned away, took the offered hand, and without so much as a sound, they were gone.