Hump groaned as he woke, bleary eyed and hurting all over. There was a pressure on his neck, and before he could figure out what it was, slobbering licks coated his face.

“Nisha, stop!” he cried, pushing her down.

She lay on his chest, staring into his face as Hump struggled to breathe. Gods, he’d done it again. Chosen truly would never know how good they had it to be able to fight and not experience the agony of essence overuse. For a few seconds, he lay there feeling sorry for himself, going over the last few minutes of what he remembered.

Celaine. He sat up sharply, suddenly fully alert.

“Relax!” came a voice. It was Celaine’s friend, Eva, sitting next to him, lounging back in a wooden rocking chair, whittling away at a wooden block. “You’re back in Drakalyn. A few fingers short, but you’ll be alright.”

“Fingers?” Hump’s stomach dropped—it really had caught up to him. He raised his hands, turning them over and frowning. “They’re all there?”

Eva exploded into laughter. “Your face! Wow. Okay, your fingers are fine too.”

Hump stared at her aghast. “How could you do that to an injured person?”

She tried to stop laughing but didn’t do a good job of it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think, it just came out.”

Hump glared at her. “Brilliant. I take it from your cheerful mood that you’re either completely insane or Celaine’s fine?”

“She’s doing better than you,” Eva said. “She woke up yesterday evening feeling a bit worse for wear—it’s morning now, so you’ve been out about sixteen hours.”

Hump let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back into his bed. It was a lot more comfortable than what Vamir had given him. He stroked Nisha as he felt her worry through their bond, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I’m glad,” he said. “Is everyone else okay?”

“Nobody died,” Eva said. “There’s a few broken bones, and Finn’s face is covered in blisters.” She laughed. “He’s looking very sorry for himself.”

Hump snorted. He couldn’t help himself.

A sly grin spread across Eva’s face as she leant forward in her chair, watching Hump knowingly. “I thought you’d be pleased to know that.”

Hump hid his amusement quickly. “Oh, I would never be happy about another person’s suffering…”

“Of course, of course,” she said. “Finn is a bit of an arse though, isn’t he?”

Hump considered his words carefully, not wanting to truly badmouth him. “Let’s just say, we don’t get along.”

She chuckled. “As if you need to tell me that. Finn hates you. Doesn’t like seeing another man so close with his Celaine.”

“Well he’s got nothing to worry about from me,” Hump said. “We’re just party members.”

Eva raised an eyebrow and gave a long nod. “Sure. If you say so.”

“What are you doing here anyway?” Hump asked.

“I agreed to the morning shift.”

“Oh, well thanks,” Hump said.

“You protected me from the dungeon guardian and saved Celaine. As far as I’m concerned, I owe you a great deal. All you’ve got to do is ask.” A long silence hung between them and she groaned, rising from her chair. “I feel awkward now, so I’m going to go.” She gave Hump a friendly punch on the shoulder that was far too hard for an injured person.” You wait here. I’ll go see if Celaine or Vamir’s about.”

“Appreciate it,” Hump said.

She started to walk, then whirled back around. “Here. Made this for you.”

Extending her hand, she handed him the wooden carving she’d been whittling at. It was a small man with a giant head sleeping in a bed, with a little dragon on their lap. Hump frowned at it, then at Eva. “Thank you? I think.”

“You don’t recognise him?” she asked. “It’s an extra tiny you!”

Hump couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh come on! I’m sick. Show some sympathy. And why’s my head giant?”

“How am I supposed to know why your head’s giant?”

Hump furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. What had he expected?

“Anyway,” she continued, “Really do appreciate you not letting me get covered in acid flies too. I’ll see you later.”

Alone in his room, all Hump looked at the wooden carving again and started to see some resemblance.

What are you thinking? He thought to himself, putting the carving on a small table beside him. She really was a strange woman.

He lay back in his bed and stared up. A lamp dangled over his face, formed of six heartstones. It was close enough to his head that he wondered if it was medicinal. At the very least, it had to be expensive.

***

Celaine arrived twenty minutes later and at least from her outer appearance, she didn’t seem to have any lasting injuries. Nishari rushed over to her, scurrying around her legs and making excited whining sounds. She flopped onto Celaine’s feet, rolling onto her back as Celaine laughed and rubbed her belly.

When she reached the rocking chair beside Hump, she picked up the wood carving. “Oh, it’s a tiny you! Wow. Eva’s improved since I left.”

“What do you mean she’s improved?” Hump snapped.

“It looks just like you.” She held up the carving next to Hump’s face and laughed. “She even added Nisha. That’s adorable.”

Hump rolled his eyes. “Keep it if you want.”

She smiled. “Maybe I will. How are you feeling? You’re looking better. Every time you overuse your essence you turn blue—it’s scary, in truth.”

“I’m alright,” Hump said. “Whatever medicine they’ve given me seems to have worked. I feel like I’ve recovered quickly.” He gazed up at the lamp of heartstones. “I might need to take this thing with me. I think it’s helping.”

“You just like it because it looks expensive,” Celaine said.

Hump turned to her, affronted. “Have you got a better idea?”

“It’s your first time being this tired since you achieved Soul Manifestation. It could be that. Or the Spirit Well technique you’ve been practicing.”

Hump nodded. She had a point. “Either way, I feel much better already. I don’t know how the lich drained me of my essence so quickly though.”

“I heard about that,” Celaine said. “Seems you saved me again.”

A grin spread across Hump’s mouth that he couldn’t control. “I’m making a habit of it.”

“No complaints here,” she said. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“You too, Celaine. When that lich took you… I really thought I’d lost you.” Hump took a deep breath and sighed, staring dead ahead of him as even the memory of that fear sent a pang of pain through his chest.

“It was close.” Celaine gripped his hand and squeezed it.

She released it after a few quiet seconds, but he felt better for it. A year of near constant company had made them strong friends.

“Bud would have cried once I told him,” Hump said, releasing the tension. “He’s a big fellow, but he’s also a blubbering softy.”

Celaine smiled. “Let’s try and avoid that then, for either of us. I’m not even sure what I’d tell him if you didn’t make it.”

“Just that I died heroically and looked dashingly handsome as I did it. And make sure to add that I saved a bunch of terrified people in the process.”

Celaine snorted. “That’s helpful.”

“I try.” There was a pause between them, then Hump added. “Do you remember much?”

Celaine sat back, rocking her chair and turning her gaze up to the ceiling. “I think so. I remember receiving my blessing from Owalyn—I felt great. Amazing even. And then the world turned black. The next thing I knew, I was in a black space. There was a green fire at the centre that I think was my soul. I had a moment of clarity where I realised this was just how you described the gorger’s attack on you.”

“It sounds just like it,” Hump said. “Was the lich trying to get in?”

“Not yet, but a presence arrived soon after. It…” she shook her head, thinking. “It’s hard to describe. She almost melted her way into my space, like boiling water poured all over me. It was painful, terrifying. I fought back with everything I could, but it was overwhelming. I felt my connection to Owalyn vanish and the presence closing in on my soul, when another presence arrived. You.”

Hump’s heart raced as he realised just how close it had been. The lich really had been targeting her soul, and from the sounds of it, the lich would have won.

“The two of you fought,” she continued. “I think I heard your voice, but I couldn’t tell you what I said. You pushed her back, forcing her back out of my space, and then Owalyn arrived. The pain washed away, and so did you and the lich. After that, I woke up back in Drakalyn.”

“Have you noticed any adverse effects since?” Hump asked.

She shook her head. “I’m tired, but I feel normal. Perhaps even stronger than before now that I’ve got my next blessing. You haven’t asked about that yet. I take it your book recorded it.”

“It did but I haven’t looked yet,” Hump said. “Before that though, there’s something else. Owalyn called the lich Irila. She was terrifyingly strong, and I wondered if there might be a connection between the two. Have you heard the name before?”

“Never.”

Hump frowned. “It might be worth asking around a bit.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Ado and some of the Dragon Keepers are investigating her method behind the attack,” Celaine said. “They’re still in the forest searching for clues. There’s going to be a council meeting this evening which you’ve been invited to.”

“I have?” Hump asked, surprised. He’d gotten the impression he wasn’t welcome to such events.

“Seems you made quite an impression yesterday,” Celaine said. “And Ado speaks very highly of you, which carries a lot of weight. Will you come?”

“I will. I’d like to know what they find.”

“We should sort your hair out before then,” she said. “You look like you’ve dipped your head in a chimney.”

Hump touched his head, feeling the harsh ends of singed hair. “Is it that bad?”

Celaine nodded. She stood, patting the rocking chair. “Come sit here. I’ll cut it for you.”

Hump raised an eyebrow. “I can cut it myself.”

She laughed. “What, are you shy? It always looks like you cut it yourself when you do it.”

Hump pressed his lips together. “Okay, fine.”

He grabbed his spellbook as he sat in the chair, opening it on his lap. Celaine popped out of the room, returning with bronze spring scissors. As she got to cutting, Hump opened his spellbook.

BLESSINGS

Relentless Pursuit

Description

Become an unstoppable force of the hunt, marking your chosen target to perceive even the faintest traces of their presence, identifying their weaknesses, and resonating with their being. Imbue projectiles with the same intent, so that when the attack is released, it is guided by an otherworldly force, homing in on the weak points to deal devastating damage.

“It’s a strong blessing,” Hump said. “Strong and terrifying—I like it.”

“It’s perfect,” Celaine said, stopping just to glance at the description on the page. “That’s about the sense I got for it too. I could have used it in that dungeon.”

“I wonder what the limits of a target are. Could you use it to track down Bud and the others?”

“I’ve only used it on people nearby so far,” she said. “It’s almost like I can see a trail where they’ve been, so I don’t think it would work unless we found a location Bud had been recently.”

Hump nodded, only for Celaine to tug his hair. “Ouch!”

“Sit still,” she said. “I almost chopped your ear off.”

Hump swallowed. “What is it with you and trying to chop parts of me off?”

“Just don’t move and you won’t have to find out.”

“Brilliant.” Nisha watched them curiously from the floor. “You bite her if she does anything, okay Nisha?”

A playful trill escaped her, and Hump smiled, only for Celaine to tug his hair again.

“Still!”

Hump clenched his jaw, biting back a curse. “I barely even smiled.”