Hump’s heart hammered as he stared helplessly at Celaine. She lay on the ground, her eyes closed, mouth open as she gasped and wheezed for breath, writhing on the ground as if in agony. In her hand she still clutched her Brilliance. The stream of essence connecting it to her chest seemed faint compared to the light of Owalyn, and the angry veins of purple that trailed her legs, arms, and face.

Hump tried to stand from where he lay on the ground, but he didn’t have the strength to move, only managing to prop himself up on an elbow as ice cold burned through him. He was helpless.

Come on, Owalyn, Hump thought. You must save her!

A fire kindled within him as the light of Owalyn continued to grow stronger. He did not recoil from her deadly intent, instead, he clung to it. That piercing, terrifying power of a supreme hunter, that made everything in its presence sense that its end had come was nothing compared to the thought of losing Celaine. It represented something else to him now. Hope.

Slowly, the purple light poisoning Celaine’s veins was pushed back. It descended from her face, and soon began to fade from her limbs. With every moment, Owalyn’s presence strengthened, until finally the lich’s power vanished from Celaine entirely.

Celaine slammed her fist back against her chest, forcing her Brilliance back inside. Her entire body arched as she drew in a long, deep breath, and then her eyes opened, alight with essence.

“Celaine?” Alir called tentatively.

“It’s not her,” Vamir murmured.

The entire group watched on, transfixed as Celaine rose from where she lay, puppeted by Owalyn’s energy. She floated upward, righting as she flew into the air, suspended a foot above the ground. Her arms spread to either side and her mouth fell open, the same light roaring up from her throat.

“I cleanse your curse, Irila, and rid us of your festering presence!” It was Celaine’s voice, twisted by a godly resonance that could only be Owalyn.

Celaine let loose a scream of pure agony as purple streams of essence rose from the ground around her, licking at her feet. Once more, veins of the lich’s power climbed her legs, but this time they got no further. Owalyn’s power laced through Celaine’s body, green light flushing out what remained of the lich and chasing her back into the ground. Hump shuddered beneath that strength. Around him, the others fell to their knees in reverence.

For a few seconds, the godly strength of Owalyn encompassed everything, her deadly intent pushing back even the cold of essence overuse that ran rampant through Hump. Green light burst from the black sludge of the ground like sunrays through dark clouds. It surged beneath them, flickers of purple light amongst it, the two fighting with pure intent. And then as quickly as she had arrived, Owalyn was gone.

Celaine fell from the air, Finnian rushing forward with a howling wind and catching her just before she hit the ground. He held her, still unconscious, as the others rushed to her side, but still Hump was too tired to move. Instead, he fell onto his back, feeling the wet sludge against him as he gasped. With Owalyn and the lich queen gone, the cold hit him in full, like needles piercing his extremities.

Kelec and Eva walked over, kneeling by his side.

“Are you okay?” Kelec asked urgently, looking him over. “I don’t see any physical wounds.”

“I’m okay,” Hump tried to say, but all that came out was a wheezed breath. Gods, he was exhausted. He didn’t know what had drained so much essence so quickly, but everything he had was gone. He tried to reach for his potion pouch but he fumbled the latch, failing to open it. His fingers felt numb—no, he wished they were numb. They just burned with cold.

“Mother’s mercy, what happened to you?” Eva said, taking the pouch and opening it, rummaging inside. “There’re a dozen vials in here.” She turned her head, looking for someone. “Astrid, we need your help.”

The woman arrived and Eva handed her his bag.

“Is there anything that can help him?” Eva asked.

Astrid took out the vials one by one, holding them up to the light before returning them. She stopped on one. “Essence water?” she asked.

Hump nodded, his head heavy.

Astrid pulled out the stopper of the vial and knelt, lifting Hump’s head. She held the vial to his lips and poured slowly. Warm bliss flowed down his throat, pushing back some of the painful cold. He leant back his head, taking a few deep breaths.

“How’s Celaine?” he said quietly.

“Alive,” Astrid said. “Though she’s very weak. Whatever happened, she’d have died if not for you.”

“It was the lich,” Hump said. “I sensed her. She was here.”

“But how could she be here?” Kelec asked. “We saw nothing.”

Hump shook his head. “I don’t know. I just know that it was her. I faced her when Celaine and I travelled here and would recognise her essence anywhere.”

“Finnian, something’s happened!” A woman called Jalu shouted nearby, panic in their voice. She was pointing behind them.

Kelec, Eva, and Astrid all turned to look. Hump pushed himself up into a sitting position, following their gaze.

“Oh no,” Kelec said.

The dead beetles were rising, shrouded in the lich’s purple essence. Their broken limbs cracked back into place, their eyes shone with essence, their wounds were slick with it, even as they continued to bleed. Hump had seen Raise Dead in action before and recognised the characteristics of necromancy.

“Shit,” Hump said. He started to get to his feet when Kelec leant him a hand, pulling him up. Eva handed him his staff. “Finn, the lich queen’s behind this and what happened to Celaine. I don’t know how, but she’s doing all of this. We need to get out of here.”

The man nodded, brooking no argument. He lifted Celaine into his arms. “Vamir, you take her.”

Vamir sheathed his sword and took her, carrying her in both arms.

“Everyone else,” Finn said, “we’re going to fight our way out back the way we came from.”

Hump glanced nervously toward the beetles. Already the creatures were back to their feet and moving toward them. Hump could sense the power in them, perhaps even stronger than they were before, and no doubt far more durable. At the back, the queen beetle rose too, swaying sluggishly from side to side as the lich’s magic took over. He was far from confident that they would all make it out if they faced them now. Not only was Celaine out of action, but the rest of the group were tired, not to mention that the lich clearly had some influence over the region. There were too many unknowns for them to rush into another fight.

It was then he realised that the lich’s power seemed to rise from underground. Hump would need to ask Owalyn about that if she would speak with him, and Ado if not. This must be the strange power the shaman had sensed. They would need to investigate it once they got out of there and try and figure out where it came from, or more importantly, how it attacked Celaine as she received her blessing.

Her soul, Hump realised. She’d brought out her Brilliance and radiated Owalyn’s intent. That could have been what the lich sensed and latched onto.

“Not sure if you noticed this, Finn,” Kelec said. “There’s a bunch of undead monsters blocking the way.”

“Better that way than lost in the maze,” Finnian said. “Hump, can you fight?”

“Not very well,” Hump admitted. He paused. They were running out of time to figure out a plan, but he knew he didn’t like this one. “I think we should consider other options. I have an idea that might be better than fighting our way out.”

“What is it?” Finnian asked, not hiding the irritated edge to his voice.

“This fog is flammable,” Hump said. “Whatever defence the dungeon core had in place to prevent the whole thing going up in flames must be gone with it, so we make use of it. Have Aurora fly up and set it on fire.”

“That will kill us, you fool!” Alir said.

“I’ll shield us all with my magic,” Hump said.

Finnian frowned. “I thought you said you couldn’t fight.”

Hump tapped his staff against the ground. “I have a spell stored in my staff called Sphere of Protection. I can fend the explosion off.”

“Or you’ll get us all killed,” Finnian snapped. “It’s too risky.”

Hump didn’t back down. Finnian might be above him in rank and status here, but he knew a risky plan when he heard it. “We don’t know what powers the lich has, nor the effects she’s imbued these creatures with. If we fight, there’s no guarantee everyone makes it out.”

Finnian paused, and for a moment Hump thought he would argue. “How confident are you that your spell will hold?” he asked instead.

“The spell creates an almost invulnerable shield for five seconds,” Hump said. “At the very least, it will block the initial explosion and the worst of whatever fire remains afterward.”

Finnian looked to Vamir. “Do you trust him?”

“I do,” Vamir said.

Finnian clenched his jaw but nodded. “Then we’ll do it. Aurora, take to the sky. Rain down fire upon my command.”

The dragon swooped her wings and blasted upward. Everything gathered around Hump, and he stepped to the front of the group.

“Are you sure about this?” Kelec asked quietly.

Ahead of them, the beetles were coming closer now. Their feet thudded against the ground, over ten of the giant forms clumped together as they staggered toward them.

“I’m certain,” Hump said. “This is nothing. I blocked an attack from the lich queen herself with this before.”

“You did what?” Kelec asked.

“Tell me when you’re ready,” Finnian said before Hump could answer.

Hump glanced once at Celaine’s unconscious form and resolved himself. He was exhausted, but he could do this much at least. He filled his staff with intent, reaching for the enchantment laid upon it by Isaac, a Chosen of Loften. The glyphs were perfect. They answered him easily—so simple, even Bud would be able to use it.

“I’m ready,” Hump said. “Have her target the queen.”

Finnian looked upward. After a few seconds, he said, “She has the order.”

Above, Aurora flew over them, a dark silhouette beyond the still thick fog. Her jaw opened, and red fire burned in her throat, building rapidly until a raging eruption of flame descended.

For a few seconds, Hump thought his plan had failed. The fog swept back away from the flame as the queen beetle was bathed in fire. There was a flash of red, and then everything caught. Hump waited until the last moment. He watched as rolling fire surged toward them like a giant wave, roaring furiously. The heat seared at his face. It was all he could see.

Hump unleashed Sphere of Protection with a thought. A barrier formed around them, red with the essence of the Tree of Damnation. It surrounded them all in a wall of perfect essence more than an inch thick. Solid and impenetrable—beyond any barrier Hump could form without help. Even just that effort of will was enough for the cold of essence overuse to flare once more, but Hump ignored it, focusing only on what he could do. What he had to do if he wanted to avoid them all getting a face full of fire.

The wave of fire struck with an impact that almost knocked Hump from his feet, but Finnian was directly behind him to hold him in place. There was a thunderous boom, so loud it hurt Hump’s ears. In the blink of an eye the entire world turned to boiling red, yellow and orange as flame surrounded them entirely.

The shield held.

Beside him, Astrid counted down the seconds, shouting so as to be heard over the roaring fire. Each second passed so quickly Hump feared the shield wouldn’t be enough after all, but the fire dwindled as the final second of his spell approached.

The dome fell away as quickly as it formed, remnant essence dissipating into the sky around them. They all stared at the burning world. The beetles were charred husks. The fog had cleared and, in its place, thick smoke was forming, and raging fires were everywhere, the acid-drenched remains of dissolved trees going up like oil-soaked rags.

“We need to leave,” Vamir said.

“The other keepers are coming by dragonback.” Finnian called. “They’ll be here in a few minutes by Aurora’s estimate.”

“A few minutes too late,” Vamir said. “We need to get out of here or the smoke will kill us.”

Finnian nodded, stepping out in front of everyone. “Then follow me.”

Hump took a step in an effort to follow, only to stumble, barely keeping his feet by leaning against his staff. Kelec was there then, putting Hump’s arm over his shoulder and helping him forward. Hump used his staff to help to keep himself stable as they rushed toward where they’d broken into the core, passing the still smoking remains of the beetles. His mask had failed now, and smoke stung at his nose and throat. The maze was on fire, but Finnian wielded one of his storm blessings to put out the fire directly in their path, clearing a way forward.

The journey passed in a blur. Hump just focused on his breathing and putting one foot in front of the other. That was all he could do. They rushed through blazing fires, and the crumbled walls where Finnian had blasted them apart before, quickly escaping the thickest section of the fire and breaking through on the other side. The burning trees faded, and soon they were back to the section where the trees sagged and the leaves were strangely coloured, but still recognisable.

Exhausted and cold all over, Hump barely noticed the heat on the side of his head until Kelec started to slap at him. He hunched over as he realised that he was on fire. A spout of water showered him, putting out the rest of it.

Hump looked over at the caster and thanked both them and Kelec.

“No problem,” Kelec said. “Your hair’s singed though.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Hump said, he dropped to his knees, clutching to his staff where he rested for a moment, trying to cycle his essence and rid himself of some of the cold.

It felt like seconds until the other dragon keepers arrived. Tessa led four more from atop Igni—they had come upon the orders of Owalyn herself

“Celaine is injured,” Finnian said. “Poisoned by the lich’s magic. You must take her with you.”

Hump nodded approvingly. The best medicine would be waiting for her in Drakalyn. She would be safe, and for now, that was enough.

“Hump?” a voice came.

He looked up to see Vamir looking at him quizzically. “Are you alright, lad?”

“Just catching my breath?” he slurred. His vision shook, darkness swimming at the edge. The ground came up beneath him and suddenly pain raged through his hands and feet.

The ice-cold burn of essence overuse.

It was not sleep that took him, but some state in between unconsciousness and pain. Distantly, he sensed Nishari’s worry for him. There was nothing he could do but try to reassure her he would be alright before all sense of reason left him entirely, leaving pain as his only company.