"Lowell!" Bart's voice rang out, a mix of surprise and relief. He dashed forward, breathing hard, his face pale. Rina followed closely behind, not hurried but urgent. Her expression controlled, tension still visible beneath. "I'm so glad you're alright! You wouldn't believe what I've been through."

  Lowell raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

  "I found him trapped in a chamber with no exits," Rina cut in, her tone edged with irritation. "He says he encountered another nightmare and then..." Her words faltered as her eyes landed on Helena, standing a few paces away. Rina's annoyance finding a new target. "What's she doing here?"

  Helena ignored the question, her focus snapping to Bart. "What did you say about a nightmare?"

  Bart hesitated, but Lowell's nodded urging him to continue. "It was huge, made of shadows, with these... these worm-like things crawling all over it. I barely got away." The words becoming a nervous whisper as he spoke.

  "I know what nightmares look like. Are you certain you saw one?" Helena's tone was clipped.

  Bart met her gaze without flinching, his usual nervous energy replaced in an instant by something harder. "Yes. I'm certain."

  Lowell studied Bart's face for a long moment, then nodded slowly. A nightmare was in the maze, just as he'd suspected. "This changes things." His face darkened, his concern genuine as he turned to Helena. "We don't know if the schism is still open, but if there's a nightmare roaming free, Aleksie and his team are in serious danger."

  Helena nodded, already looking toward the path ahead. "I was thinking the same thing."

  Bart's eyes widened. "Wait, you're worried about Aleksie? The guy who's been cheating his way through this whole thing?"

  "I don't like him, but I'm not about to let him get eaten by a nightmare."

  Rina rolled her eyes, her patience growing thin. "Spoken like a true hero. But that still doesn't answer my question: what's she doing here?" She jabbed a finger toward Helena, her glare piercing and unwavering.

  Helena opened her mouth to answer, but Lowell spoke first.

  "They've lost control of the maze," Lowell explained, his tone patient but firm. "Helena came to get us—and Weston—out safely and try to regain control. We're heading to the source of the interference now, where we think a schism is."

  "A schism!?" Bart's exclamation drew little more than glances from the others before they continued.

  "Is that what's been causing the maze's disturbances? Its erratic behavior?" Rina's eyes were fixed on Lowell, not Helena.

  "Maybe, but Aleksie's meddling isn't helping. He's using a portable terminal to manipulate the maze, creating a direct path to the artifact."

  Rina crossed her arms, the suspicion in her voice clear. "And how, exactly, does another schism just conveniently form in the heart of Dahncrest?" Her gaze swept to Helena, accusatory and unflinching. The rumors circulating Orus all placed the blame on Helena for the incident at Orus, even if the investigation had cleared her of blame. Rina still wasn't convinced.

  Helena's jaw tightened. "I had nothing to do with the Orus schism," she said defensively, "and I certainly have nothing to do with this one. This is your challenge, not mine."

  "Oh, of course," Rina shot back, her own words just as cutting. "Must be nice, always getting a free pass while the rest of us deal with the fallout."

  Helena took a step forward, her frustration finally boiling over into visible anger. "You think this is easy for me? Do you know anything about what it's like to be me?"

  Bart stepped between them, his hands raised in a frantic attempt to defuse the tension. "Ladies, ladies! Can we focus on the most important thing here? Like, getting the hell out of this death maze?"

  Lowell sighed and shook his head. "We're not leaving, Bart."

  Bart's eyes widened. "Did you not hear the part about the nightmare? The swarms of worms, the teeth, the whole terrifying 'deadly predator' thing?" He shuddered, glancing over his shoulder as if expecting the creature to lunge from the shadows. "It could be right around the corner, Lowell. Right. Now."

  Rina's voice cut through the air, resolute. "If you're going to the schism, we're coming too."

  Bart turned to her, his jaw dropping in mock betrayal. "Rina, come on! Not you too!"

  But Lowell saw through Bart's theatrics. Behind the facade of reluctance was a glimmer of resolve. Despite his protestations, Bart had been checking his equipment and tightening straps. Bart wasn't about to leave a schism unchecked, no matter how scared he was.

  He sighed dramatically, throwing his hands up. "Fine. What's the plan?"

  "Helena is attuned to the maze's frequencies," Lowell explained. "She's cutting a path straight to the schism. If we're lucky, it's already collapsed. If not, Helena will seal it."

  "And what do we do?" Rina asked, waiting for his direction.

  "We protect her," Lowell said simply, then smirked. "And if we happen to beat Weston to the artifact, we take it."

  Rina's lips curved into a sly smile. For a moment, she had worried Lowell playing the hero would distract him from the real goal. Maybe she wouldn't have to bury him once the qualifier was over after all. "Just remember what I said: no heroics. We're not in any position to take on a nightmare, especially since Bart barely escaped."

  "If the nightmare shows up, we abort the mission." Lowell agreed, committing to the condition.

  Helena nodded curtly. "If it shows up, we fall back. Can we get going now?"

  Lowell exchanged glances with Rina and Bart before nodding. "Let's move."

  Helena turned and waved her hand, carving an opening in the wall ahead. Without another word, she stepped through, leading the way. The others followed, their collective determination mingling with the tension that lingered in the air.

  #

  The schism hung in the air like a frozen explosion of shattered glass, each fragment glowing with an otherworldly light. Jagged pieces of reality orbited the central rupture, rotating slowly as if caught in some invisible current. Through the gaps between the floating shards, Lowell could see fragments of a misty blue sky, glimpses of whatever world lay beyond this tear in space.

  The pressure hit him like a wall as they approached. His hair stood on end from the energy surging around the anomaly, and even with his limited sensitivity to magic, he could sense the flow of aether and interference. The schism was small, a little smaller than Rina, but its presence dominated the chamber, pulsing with power that made the very air shimmer.

  "It's smaller than I imagined," Bart murmured, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of the nightmare he'd encountered earlier.

  "Size doesn't matter," Rina replied curtly, her eyes scanning the anomaly. "It's what's waiting on the other side that matters."

  Helena stepped forward, knotted staff in hand, her expression calm but focused. "The schism is stabilizing itself by feeding on the maze's energy. Once I start closing it, the energy will reverse and begin to draw everything around it in. I need time. No interruptions."

  Lowell stepped back to give her space. "You're up."

  Helena planted her staff into the ground and closed her eyes. As she concentrated, blocking out everything else, aetheric energy began to ripple around her, the faint glow of her magic building with each passing moment. A low, charged hum accompanied the growing power, vibrating through the air and growing louder as the energy built into a force capable of opposing the schism.

  Her long hair lifted as if caught in an unseen breeze, and sparks danced around her hands and the staff's ironwood core. The schism fought back, its chaotic energy clashing with hers in sharp, staccato bursts that crackled and split the air like miniature explosions.

  "Is it working?" Bart's question was barely audible over the cacophony of magic and energy.

  Lowell didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the schism, the uncertainty gnawing at him. Closing a schism was no small task, especially not for one person. Especially not for a student, no matter how talented she might be. He had heard enough stories to know that Helena was pushing herself to the limit.

  "Eyes sharp!" Rina's warning snapped him back. The wall beside Lowell pulsed once, then fractured into hundreds of cubes that rearranged themselves before dissolving away from the center like dust.

  Aleksie stepped through the newly opened passage, a portable terminal in one hand and a satchel slung over his shoulder. The schism's presence stopped him cold, his eyes widening in genuine surprise. But as he took in Cross Company and Helena locked in battle with the rift, his expression changed. The corner of his mouth curled in amusement.

  "Well, well. Cheating, are we? How unbecoming of you, Miss Cross—and Helena Oxford helping you, no less. Won't the proctors just love hearing about this?"

  "Can it, worm!" Rina stepped forward, her eyes flicking to the terminal in Aleksie's hand. "You're the cheater here, and you know it."

  Aleksie smirked and dismissed her accusation with a flick of his wrist. "Please. What proof do you have? Besides, what I've done is no worse than what you're doing now." He tapped a command into the terminal.

  "Aleksie, wait! Don't—" Bart's warning came too late.

  A series of passages began to open in a cascade, forming a direct line to the maze's edge.

  Then, from the darkness of one passage, something moved.

  The nightmare slunk into view, its form uncoiling from the shadows like smoke given shape. It moved with the fluid grace of a predator finally freed from its cage, each step deliberate and hungry.

  It was exactly as Bart had described. A cat-like form made up of writhing masses of shadow and hundreds, maybe thousands, of worm-like creatures. Similar, in some ways, to the nightmare that had attacked them at Orus, yet different. The worms moved as one entity, bound together by a single malevolent purpose. Its form twisted and shifted with every step, reacting to the fears imprinted in the psyche of its nearby prey. It turned toward the group, its eyes locking on the schism, on Helena, and finally on Lowell.

  Lowell stepped between the creature and Helena, his sword drawn in one fluid motion. The nightmare snarled and lunged without hesitation. Lowell met it head-on, using the flat of his blade to deflect its charge. The impact sent a shockwave up his arms, but he held firm, digging his heels into the ground.

  As the creature pushed against Lowell's blade he felt the magical current vibrating over it. As long as the lethality dampener was activated, his sword would be minimally effective.

  "Lowell, your hit meter!" Bart called out. A single hit left on the meter, if Lowell was hit...

  Bart didn't want to think about what might happen. The rules of the game were still being enforced, and both the hit meters and dampeners they all wore were a liability.

  From the side, Rina hurled a flurry of throwing daggers, each one striking true but bouncing harmlessly off the beast's shadowy form. "Damn this field-dampening magic!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

  The nightmare regarded her momentarily, but she was nothing more than a minor annoyance. Before it was the real prize. A hideous, serpentine tongue shot out, moving unnaturally as if to taste the prey before consuming it. To taste the fear of all the petty mortals surrounding it. To taste Lowell's fear.

  Lowell wasn't going to give it the satisfaction. He wasn't going to let fear control him anymore.

  Thinking quickly, Bart pulled out his aetheric terminal. Before the match had started, he had continued fiddling with the hit meters and dampeners, studying their frequencies and connections. As the terminal quickly came to life, he tapped the top node on the display, a few more strokes and he looked up, holding his breath.

  Every hit meter and dampener in the immediate vicinity went offline. The displays went dark and the magical current flowing across the weapons subsided.

  Bart let out his held breath. It had worked. Relief washed over him.

  It was just in time.

  The nightmare's claws gripped Lowell's blade, and when the dampening field fell, its grip tightened around the sharp steel, slicing deep into its own flesh. Dark ichor oozed from the wound as the creature roared in pain and fury, then slammed its head into Lowell. The blow would have registered on the hit meter had it still been active.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The schism pulsed, its energy radiating in waves that made the air thrum with magical energy. The shard-like fragments of reflective light spun faster in their orbit like a cloud of glass daggers, their jagged edges flashing like a lighthouse beacon. The tear in reality flickered, revealing glimpses of tall grass and an azure sky beyond, as if tempting them with a path to somewhere impossibly distant. But Lowell wasn't focused on the schism. His attention was entirely locked on the abomination whose teeth snapped mere inches from his face, its hulking, amorphous form twisting as it tried to tear into his flesh.

  Behind Lowell, Helena stood rooted to the ground, her ironwood staff planted firmly in place on the stone beneath her feet. Sparks of blue and white energy danced along the length of the staff, coiling like living tendrils around her hands and arms. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she wrestled with the schism, forcing it to begin its collapse. Every movement she made seemed to draw a reaction from the schism itself, as if the rift was alive and fighting her efforts to seal it. The tension between her and the chaotic energy of the schism filled the air, the crackling noise of their clash almost deafening.

  The beast drew back and lunged again, and Lowell met it again with another grunt of effort. Again he blocked its advance with flat of his sword, this time though the force of the assault nearly drove him to his knees. He struggled to keep his footing as the nightmare continued its barrage, transforming its body into a mass of writhing tendrils that lashed out like living whips. One of the tendrils grazed his side, its touch cold and biting even through his protective gear. Gritting his teeth, Lowell shoved back with all his strength, forcing the creature to retreat a step.

  "Helena!" Lowell shouted over his shoulder, sweat dripping from his temples as he braced for the next assault. "How much longer?"

  Helena's voice cracked with strain. "I'm doing my best!" Her hair whipped around her face, lifted by the aetheric energy swirling in the air. The glow around her hands intensified as she poured more magic into the schism, which now seemed to quiver and twist in response. The fragments orbiting it threw erratic beams of light across the maze walls.

  But the schism wasn't going quietly. A shockwave rippled outward, forcing Helena to dig her heels into the ground to stay upright. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the staff, her magic pushing against the rift's resistance in a desperate tug-of-war. The sheer amount of aether she was channeling made her limbs ache, but she couldn't stop. Not now.

  Aleksie stumbled back, his arrogance cracking as he took another step away. His companion stood frozen in place, paralyzed by fear. "What... what is that doing here?" he stammered, his grip tightening on the terminal.

  "Don't just stand there, help us!" Rina's voice was sharp as she hurled another set of daggers at the nightmare. The whip-like tendrils of the creature effortlessly batted the now-lethal daggers away, causing them to clatter uselessly to the ground once again.

  Aleksie ignored her, his eyes darting to the portable terminal in his hand. He tapped a command, creating more openings in the maze, a new exit in the opposite direction of the nightmare. "I'll be taking my leave now," he said, regaining some of his composure.

  "Bart, the terminal!" Rina shouted, pointing at Aleksie's device.

  While the artifact in Weston's possession was the goal of the game, it wasn't the only path to victory. If Cross Company could prove that Weston had cheated, Weston would be disqualified.

  Bart lunged forward, his fingers stretching toward the terminal. Aleksie's eyes widened in realization, and he twisted away, but Bart's hand closed around the device. For a heartbeat, triumph surged through him. They had it. They had the proof.

  Then Aleksie's elbow caught him in the chin, and a subsequent hard push knocked the wind from his lungs. Bart's grip faltered and he fell to the ground. The terminal slipped from his fingers, tumbling end over end toward the schism's hungry maw.

  Aleksie stared at Bart and the portable terminal on the ground. It had been an effective tool in getting him to the artifact. Under the circumstances if he were caught with it Weston's cheating, his cheating, would be exposed, and his team disqualified.

  Luckily for him, an opportunity had presented itself in the form of the schism. A perfect way to dispose of the evidence without implication.

  Helena flinched as another wave of energy rippled outward from the schism, nearly breaking her concentration. She glanced over her shoulder at Lowell, who was straining against the nightmare's relentless assault. The sight made her heart tighten. If she faltered now, she put everyone at risk. She closed her eyes, drawing on every ounce of her inner reserves. The glow around her hands grew brighter, the sparks around her staff now arcing like bolts of lightning.

  "Almost there," she whispered to herself, gritting her teeth as she forced the schism to draw inward. The energy shift began, the outward flow of aether slowing and then pulling inward, drawing everything toward the tear. But the schism fought back, its chaotic will pushing against hers like a living thing. Helena's entire body shook under the strain, but she held firm, refusing to yield to the rift's resistance.

  Aleksie's eyes darted around, taking in the chaos of the situation. Then, as if deciding the nightmare was no longer his problem, he turned to flee. Bart scrambled to his feet, trying to block Aleksie's retreat, but Aleksie shoved him aside with brutal force, sending Bart sprawling backward toward the schism. "Looks like you've got your hands full. I'll just leave you to it."

  Bart crashed to the ground beside the portable terminal, which was already being pulled toward the schism's opening as it collapsed in on itself. Aleksie was beyond him now, he could do nothing to stop him, but if he could get the terminal, that wouldn't matter. He lunged for it, his fingers stretching desperately toward the device just as the anomaly's gravitational pull wrenched it further from his grasp. The terminal was inching itself away from his, slipping from his grip. Worse still, he could feel himself sliding across the stone floor, being dragged inexorably toward the event horizon.

  "Rina!" Bart shouted in panic.

  Rina hesitated, torn between chasing Aleksie and helping Bart, who was now fighting desperately against the schism's intensifying pull. Every second she delayed meant Aleksie got further away with his stolen victory. But Bart was sliding closer to the event horizon with each heartbeat, his fingers clawing at the stone floor as the terminal slipped beyond his reach.

  She cursed under her breath, then turned and sprinted toward Bart without a second thought. "Give me your hand!"

  The terminal was pinned beneath the tips of his fingers, his reach fully extended. He couldn't grab her hand and keep hold of the terminal both. "But the terminal..."

  "Let it go!" Rina's tone left no room for argument.

  Reluctantly, Bart lifted his hand, and the terminal tumbled end over end into the schism, vanishing into the rift. With all of his effort he turned and leapt toward Rina, grabbing her outstretched hand. With a sharp tug, she pulled him clear of the schism's gravitational pull and they both tumbled backward on to the hard stone tiles.

  Behind them, Helena gave a final cry, the shout raw with effort, as the schism imploded. Shards of mirrored light burst outward, refracting the crimson glow at the height of the maze into dazzling, chaotic flashes. The resulting pulse of energy erupted like a thunderclap, rippling through the courtyard and knocking everyone off their feet. The ground trembled violently, and a wave of hot, static-charged air swept over them. The magic binding the walls of the maze frayed and in an instant the illusory boundaries shattered, dissolving into nothingness, leaving all of them exposed under the open sky of the courtyard.

  Lowell hit the ground hard, his sword clattering from his grip as he skidded across the stone floor. His vision swam with bursts of white and red, and the deafening roar of the schism's collapse echoed in his ears. He pushed himself up on trembling arms, his body aching from the impact.

  He instinctively reached for his sword, his fingers closing around the grip. Where was the nightmare?

  The creature had been knocked back as well, the expulsion of energy disorienting it, but it was still there. It let out a bone-chilling shriek, a sound that seemed to burrow into their very cores. Lowell's head snapped toward it, his heart pounding in his chest. The nightmare's shadowy form writhed and shifted as it recovered from the blast, its glowing eyes burning with unrelenting focus. The way it studied them, the deliberate way it moved. It was different from a wild animal. It was disciplined.

  "We're not out of this yet," Lowell barked. He rose to his feet, the wear from his fight with Anzai and now the nightmare showing in his posture as he steeled himself, sword held firmly in front of him. He planted himself between the nightmare and the others. The tension was palpable, and the oppressive silence that followed the schism's collapse only made the situation feel more dire.

  "We're safe as long as we're together!" Bart shouted, echoing Rina's comment from earlier as he helped her to her feet. His voice cut through the tension, rallying the team. Dazed, she nodded in agreement, drawing a dagger.

  Helena slumped on her knees, gripping her staff that was still planted erect in the ground. Her breathing came in ragged, short gasps as she tried to regain control of herself. Sparks of residual energy clung to her hands, flickering weakly as her strength ebbed. She forced herself upright, her legs shaking, and turned to look at the monster. Her eyes widened, and she tightened her grip, readying herself despite the exhaustion that weighed on her like a lead cloak.

  The nightmare took a deliberate step forward, its glowing eyes locking onto Bart with predatory intensity. The weight of those eyes bore into him and he faltered, his confidence crumbling. Rina reached out to steady him. "You good?"

  Bart nodded shakily, though he couldn't hide his fear. "I think so." He glanced nervously at the nightmare, taking an unconscious step closer to Rina.

  For a moment, the nightmare seemed to gather itself, assessing the situation. Its tendrils coiling inward, as if preparing to pounce. Lowell tightened his grip on his weapon, his muscles taut as a bowstring. "Helena," he called without turning, his voice low and urgent. "Can you do anything?"

  "Not yet," she managed, straining. "I need time to recover, just a little more time."

  More time. If only that was something they had.

  The nightmare's body quivered before it began to grow rapidly in size, its shadowy mass growing until it seemed to fill half the courtyard. Its tendrils lashed out, cracking flagstones and sending shards of stone flying. Lowell's sword now looking like a toothpick against the enlarged bulk.

  "Helena!" Lowell shouted, desperately.

  "I can't!" Helena's voice cracked.

  Bart tried to stand firm, to be the teammate they needed, but his body betrayed him. His legs moved without permission, staggering back another step as the nightmare's overwhelming presence crashed over him like a wave. His face went white with terror, and despite every effort to push the thought away, his lips parted in a broken whisper. "We're not going to make it."

  "Stay behind me." Rina's words cut through the terror, firm and resolute as she stepped in front of Bart. Her hands trembled, her body shook with fear, but her voice never wavered. "If this is it, we go down fighting."

  The nightmare reared up, its form towering over them like a living shadow. Its eyes blazed with malevolence, and in that moment Lowell felt the crushing weight of futility settle over him. He had barely held the monstrous form back when it was smaller. Now? If it chose to, it would go through any one of them. He was supposed to protect them. Even if he stayed behind while the others retreated, he had no hope of holding it back. Not that there was anywhere to run to. There was nowhere to hide. The schism might have been an option, an escape route, a desperate gamble that carried its own dangers. But they had closed it. A necessity. The shockwave resulting from its collapse disrupted the maze's field, taking away any cover that might have offered them an advantage.

  He gripped his sword tightly. One of them might be able to escape. Maybe. Lowell's eyes darted to Rina. She was steeling herself against the creature's terrifying presence, ready to die protecting Bart. He could do no less. If there was any chance, any slim hope of giving them a way out, he had to take it. Even if it meant his own death.

  Bart reached out, gripping Rina's arm. "Rina, no—"

  "Shut up and stay behind me," she snapped, her eyes never leaving the nightmare.

  "Holy Mother," Helena breathed, bracing herself with her staff.

  But then something changed.

  It didn't lunge. It didn't attack as they had all expected. In an instant that tense, heart-stopping moment, passed.

  The nightmare's attention shifted, its head turning toward the quad's exits, to the streets and alleys beyond. Its form rippled, like a shudder running through its shadowy mass. The tendrils retracted and it shrank, not much but enough that Lowell and the others noticed. Its focus was elsewhere, as if it were... listening. Or perhaps sensing something.

  A moment of opportunity, for some of them at least, to retreat. Lowell was about to give the command to fall back when the nightmare turned back to them.

  Its head tilted and its muscles tensed. Lowell prepared himself for its attack.

  Then the creature leapt back a stride from where it had been. Previously poised to strike, it was now putting distance between itself and its prey.

  It shrank further, becoming more compact, more streamlined. It was disengaging. Not a retreat though. It was adapting to the situation. But there was something else in its movements now. A hesitation and wariness now accompanied the creature's discipline. Something more than hunger was motivating it.

  The nightmare's eyes locked onto Lowell one last time.

  They held something Lowell had never seen in a nightmare before: consideration. As if it were weighing its options, calculating whether to kill him now and risk itself, or wait for a better opportunity.

  Then Lowell heard it: a voice so soft and distant he wondered if he'd imagined it. The words seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, and the moment the creature spoke, Lowell felt it. The same tightness in his chest that had accompanied the bloodstone's reaction earlier.

  "Soon," the voice whispered, dissonant and alien, yet somehow familiar.

  Recognition flickered in the creature's burning eyes, as if it knew him, as if it had been waiting for him.

  Then the nightmare was gone.

  The creature's form elongated, becoming almost serpentine and centipedal at the same time as it sprouted additional legs and shot away, twisting toward one of the open corridors leading out of Kelleher Quad. With an earsplitting hiss, its shadowy body disappeared into the urban maze of the city beyond.

  Lowell didn't lower his sword, not yet. He stood frozen, watching the direction the creature had fled, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. The oppressive tension in the air began to lift, but the silence that followed was no less unnerving.

  "Did... did it just leave?" Bart's whispered, his grip on Rina's arm loosening as the tension began to drain from his body. Then, realization dawning, he straightened up, his eyes brightening with hope. "Did we win?"

  "No." Lowell's voice was hollow, still fixated on the direction the creature had fled. "No, we didn't."

  "It still ran though." Bart pointed out not wanting to lose the hope and optimism that was building in him.

  "It wasn't afraid of us." It was a simple, blunt, fact. Lowell didn't look at Bart or the others when he stated it. "It would have killed us, but something stopped it."

  Helena sank to her knees, her body shaking weakly as her staff clattered to the ground beside her. "It's gone," she said softly, though she didn't sound convinced. "At least for now." Her face was pale. Something was bothering her, something beyond the seeming finality of the last few moments before the creature disengaged, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

  Rina's hands were still shaking, but not from fear anymore. "It decided we weren't worth the risk."

  Bart's eyes widened. "What does that mean?"

  "Maybe." Lowell said in answer to Rina's statement, finally lowering his sword, "Whatever the reason, it's more dangerous than we believed."

  The echoes of approaching footsteps finally reached them when a group of guilders emerged from the surrounding buildings and streets, their weapons drawn and faces grim with determination. They had arrived too late to help, but their presence was reassuring all the same; a reminder that Lowell and the others weren't alone.

  Rina gave a sigh of relief at the sight of the seasoned guilders. She sheathed her daggers, though her stance remained defensive. Perhaps, Rina thought it sensed the others coming?

  Lowell sheathed his sword. It felt heavier than usual as the adrenaline began to ebb. He turned to face the others, making sure none of them had been seriously injured in the fight. Helena looked exhausted but uninjured. Bart's breathing was uneven, but he was standing. Rina, as always, was hiding just how unsteady she was in the moment.

  "We're not done. That thing's out there now, in the city. We have to warn the guilds and the proctors. And we need to figure out how to stop it before it can hurt anyone."

  Rina nodded, her eyes hard. "Agreed. But first..." She glanced at Helena, then back to Lowell. "We need to rest. No heroics, right?"

  Lowell gave her a faint, tired smile. "No promises."

  Bart let out a nervous laugh, though it was clear the tension hadn't left him. "Next time, can we not deal with scary shadow-monsters?"

  Rina snorted, jabbing a casual thumb toward Lowell. "Not if you keep hanging out with him."

  Helena didn't laugh. She stared at the open corridor where the nightmare had disappeared, her expression grim. "Next time," she murmured, "we might not be so lucky."