Claire followed Elysia down a set of narrow, spiraling stairs, the vivid imaginings of her own mind rising once again as she pictured the worst. Elysia shoved aside a heavy wooden door that lead them outdoors.

The night was cold, but Claire hardly noticed. The inner courtyard in which they now found themselves in, was in complete chaos and demanded all of her attention.

Shouts rang out through the moonlit darkness, sharp, indistinguishable cries full of outrage and fury. Elysia let out a rage filled cry of her own, which caught Claire entirely off guard. The fae woman seemed more a fierce lion in that moment than majestic queen of the faeries.

"The things I am going to do to Jarrah when this is over," she hissed violently. "Stay here, girl."

Before Claire could say a word, Elysia leaped into the fray, disappearing moments later.

Claire, uncertain, remained hunkered in the archway, eyes sweeping the courtyard for some sign of Alek or Draz.

Unable to see them, Claire began to grow anxious.

What if they were hurt somewhere, or in trouble?

It was time she stopped letting other people do the fighting for her, it was time she stepped up and took control of her fate rather than allowing it to drag her along with unfettered abandon. She wasn't sure how, but she was going to bring Sevik to his knees.

Easing out of the archway, Claire ran along the length of the wall, eyes continually scanning the area for signs of her friends, as well as any sign of trouble potentially heading her way.

Finding another doorway, and another set of stairs that leading up to a tower, Claire ducked inside and began to climb.

By the time she reached the top she was breathless and had a stitch in her side, but it proved to be worth the trouble. From her new vantage point, the courtyard spread out before her and she could see the thick, shifting darkness surging through the other combatants.

Shades.

It didn't surprise her, not when Sevik was involved.

The shades were not the only combatants it seemed. There were fae as well, no longer garbed in the white but dressed in darker, earthy tones that made it harder to spot them as they rushed through the shadows to engage with their former kin.

Her eyes moved towards the far end of the courtyard where she saw a glimpse of fire flare up briefly before fading.

Draz she thought, a feeling of relief sweeping over her.

Alek had to be with him, she was sure of it.

Her feeling of elation was quickly replaced by one of despair. How in the world was she going to get across the courtyard? There had to be dozens of shades between her and them, not to mention the fae. For all she knew they still thought she was guilty and would cut her down the moment they saw her.

Turning full circle, Claire's eyes landed on a door opposite from where she stood. Moving to it, she pushed it open and found it lead into a narrow hall that ran the length of the wall. If she could follow it all the way around, she could get to Draz and Alek without having to risk the battle raging below.

Feeling confident, Claire closed the door behind her and made her way as quickly as she could down the long length of the wall. At the far end was another door, beyond it a small room with yet another staircase. Like before, there was another door that lead out onto the next piece of wall.

Claire didn't linger, didn't stop to reconsider her actions for if she had she might have decided to wait out the fight in the safety of the tower room. Instead, she moved with purpose, never wavering in her resolute desire to reach her companions.

As she passed through a third similar set up of doors and stairs, she caught another glimpse of fire erupting into the air, illuminating the darkness in with a deep red glow before fading. She was much closer now, nearly on top of him.

When she reached the fourth set of doors and stairs, Claire started to go down instead of continuing onward. As she neared the bottom, however, she heard a heavy, repetitive thudding sound. Slowing her steps, Claire peered through the darkness towards the door which shuddered beneath an unseen assault.

Deciding it wasn't worth the risk, Claire began to retreat back up the stairs. She was halfway to the top when she heard the wood crack and splinter before the sound of it exploding inward echoed towards her.

She didn't wait to see who, or what, came through, assuming it to be shades or enemy fae. Instead she scrambled towards the top of the tower, her feet slipping on the smooth stones in her haste. She was nearing the top when she heard a scratching, skittering sound not all that dissimilar to a shade. When she looked back, however, it wasn't a shade she saw emerging from the darkness of the stairwell, but a grotesque, humanoid creature that looked equal parts man, animal and machine.

Whatever it was, it hadn't come alone and as Claire retreated towards the door on the opposite side of the room, two more similar, but distinctly different creatures staggered in behind the first.

Fumbling with the latch, Claire was horrified to find it was locked.

Despite their human like appearance, they were far from it. As the leader slowly shuffled forward, passing through beams of moonlight shining in through the window, Claire saw matted tufts of grayish brown fur covering a majority of its body which seemed a frankensteined mismatch of limbs, some human, some very much not.

Tubes and wires seemed to be growing from the creature's shoulders, arching up and over one another, twisting in erratic, seemingly nonsensical way before plunging back into the creature's body at various points along its spine.

As it lifted it's head to sniff the air, Claire saw its face, which had seemed almost human like from the front, was elongated and snout like. The skin was a mottled, sickly gray that reminded her of leather left too long in the sun and its eyes were a cloudy, milky white that gazed unblinkingly towards the ceiling..

Then there was the smell. As the creature made its way into the middle of the room, Claire was hit by an overpowering scent of rot, decay and general uncleanliness. For a brief, startling moment Claire was reminded of a dead rat she had found behind some props at the theatre. They'd been cleaning out an old storage room when she had unwittingly come across it. The smell had been unbearable and she found this particular smell to be on par.

It wasn't until the thing lowered its head and stared right at her, that Claire realized the thing couldn't actually see her. Its gaze lingered for only a moment before moving on, its nose twitching as it continued to sniff the air.

Realizing the other two had shuffled after the first and left the door to the stairs free of obstruction, Claire knew that her only chance of escape would be to make a run for it.

With slow, silent steps, Claire kept her back pressed firmly against the wall as she eased away from the door. The rat creatures continued to sniff the air, shuffling carefully as they searched, Claire presumed, for her.

She was halfway back to the stairwell when her toe hit a stone and sent it skittering across the floor. The sound was deafening, at least to Claire, who held her breath and watched with mounting horror as three heads simultaneously swung in her direction.

A low hiss escaped the gaping, tooth filled maw of the leader and it rushed forward with a speed and fluidity that caught Claire entirely off guard. She dropped to her hands and knees, the sound of claws scraping across the stone overhead indicating just how close she had been to being skewered.

A scream was logged in her throat and Claire was struggling to keep it from erupting as she crawled across the floor towards the stairs.

She was halfway there when something thick and whip-like slammed into her and sent her sprawling across the floor.

A screeching sound followed the attack and Claire could see the three creatures lumbering towards her, arms outstretched, some bearing gnarled, half human hands, the leader sporting long, razor sharp clawed appendages.

The scream finally force itself out, echoing off the stone walls in shrill, high pitched waves. The rats shrieked in response, stumbling back in surprise and fear.

Seeing this as her chance to escape, Claire forced herself to her hands and knees and then her feet as she bolted towards the stairs. She took them two at a time, nearly falling twice but never slowing down. Whatever those things were, Claire had a feeling it wouldn't be long before they were in pursuit.

On the ground floor, Claire wanted to put as much distance as possible between her and the creatures and so she once again ran along the length of the wall, searching for a nook she could duck into while she reconsidered her options.

It didn't take her long and as she slipped into the small space she took a moment to regain her composure. At this point, she had no weapon, nothing to fend off attack should someone, or something, see her as a target.

It was frustrating because even from her current position she could see Draz through the others, he was only yards away, but reaching him seemed impossible.

As she watched him, she realized that something didn't seem right. She could see Draz, even if it was only glimpses, but she had yet to see Alek at all.

Had she been mistaken to assume the two would have stuck together?

Fear, cold and fierce, gripped her as Sevik's word rose to taunt her I'll be back for you my love, once I've killed everyone you hold dear.

Where was Alek?

A break in the fighting gave Claire the opportunity she needed to dash forward. As she did, she tripped over the body of a fallen fae in her haste. Claire looked down to see what had caused her to stumble and averted her eyes almost immediately to avoid looking into the lifeless pair gazing up at her.

Scrambling past the corpse, she burst into the small circle where Draz and some other fae were fending off shades and fae alike.

Claire assumed they were fae that had gone rogue along with Jarrah, and continued to fight, unaware that their leader had been removed from the battle.

There were no signs of the strange creature she had seen in the tower.

"Claire!" Draz cried, looking surprised as she joined him. He pulled her away from the front lines of their defense and into a slightly quieter alcove. "Where is Alek?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" She said, gasping for breath.

"He's not with you?" Draz asked, looking worried. "When we realized we were under attack, he went to go break you out. How did you get out?"

"The cards," she said simply. "I never saw Alek!"

Draz cursed under his breath.

"What are we going to do? We have to find him!" Claire insisted, her eyes shifting back towards the courtyard.

A shout from beyond drew Draz's attention back towards the fight.

"Wait here for now," he said before returning to aid the fae.

Wait here? Wait here?

That was the best he could offer? Claire knew that he was doing the best he could, but waiting wasn't an option for her.

She had to go find Alek on her own.

But how? She had no weapon, and no fighting skills even if she did have something to fight with. She was going to wind up getting herself killed trying.

That's when a thought dawned on her and Claire reached into her pocket to pull out the cards.

"Alright, cards," she said, trying to sound confident. "You've never failed me before, don't fail me now. I need to find Alek, but I need a weapon first."

The cards were quiet, as cards had a tendency to be, and Claire found herself growing frustrated. Why was it that they helped her without asking, but when she made a desperate plea in order to save the life of the man she loved, they ignored her?

"Please," she cried in frustration. Without warning, the cards flew from her fingers as though jerked away by an invisible force. The cards hit the floor and shot out in every direction. Claire would have thought nothing more of it if it hadn't been for the fact that they all seemingly landed face down, well, all but one.

Reaching down, she plucked the lone card from amidst the others and regarded it closely. It was a picture of a long, thin sword and across the bottom two words were written.

"Winter Fire," she read aloud.

As soon as the words passed her lips, the card began to grow warm in her fingers and the words began to glow. There was a bright flash of light prompting Claire to raise her free hand to shield her eyes. When the light faded, Claire was no longer holding a simple card in her hand, but the sword itself. The hilt was smooth against her palm and felt natural even though the only sword she had ever held was a prop sword she'd found in the dressing room one rainy afternoon.

The feeling of familiarity with the weapon was unsettling. It seemed to Claire as though she had spent much of her life with that blade in her hand. It wasn't just the weapon, but the power that seemed to surge from it into her, starting with her arm and working its way through her entire body.

It gave her an overwhelming sense of confidence, as if nothing could stand in her way so long as she had that sword in her hand.

"Thank you," she said to the cards who responded by vibrating against the stone floor and then gathering together to form a neat stack once more. She scooped them up with her free hand and tucked them back into her pocket before turning towards the battle..

She had to find Alek.