Blood-archer takes off running. I take off after him, the others gaping at me or turning towards the falling squire as they give cries of their own. Blood-archer turns into a gap in the wall and sprints into the temple, his sandals slapping the mosaic floor as he heads towards the rear. I realize his intention as I reach the gap and enter after him, watching in dismay as he races past the block of weathered white stone once used as an altar towards the small, dead-looking grey tree rising up out of the floor at the rear of the temple.

My bare feet slide as they strike dead leaves littering the mosaic floor, but I catch myself from falling and dash after him, the boy easily outrunning me as he reaches the grey tree. He doesn’t hesitate; he grabs one of the skeletal branches and in a moment vanishes from my sight. As I reach the center of the temple my eyes adjust to seeing both the real world and the grey.

Around the grey tree the Shadowlands are strong but weaken several yards away, the young man’s gestures moving at a seeming frenzied pace in the altered time of the Shadowlands. I’m almost to the stone block when I see movement from the corner of my eye: a Shadow Raptor, far off but closing fast. Blood-archer sees it too, but only faces it…and closes his eyes.

I can’t create a portal since the weak spot between the worlds already is one, but only let myself move from one realm to the other. Time for me is matching time in the Shadowlands and the Shadow Raptor’s slowing down but still flying fast, aiming for Blood-archer as I draw Master from his sheathe then leap for the stone block. 

Master is in my hands as my foot slaps stone, the other pushing off a moment later and I’m fully a part of the Grey. The Shadow Raptor has no hair or feathers but only grey skin covering its body, and as its wings flap down its bony head is directly in front of me. I slash at its eye and the black blade rips through bone, the eye erupting in dark ichor.

The Shadow Raptor screams, its wing slamming into me and knocking me aside as the creature hurtles itself back into the air, its only thought for the moment on escape. I let go of Master as I hit the ground, its surface absorbing the impact as I roll several times and stop, disoriented a moment before holding out my right hand and whispering, “Revertere.” 

Master’s leather bound hilt slaps my palm and my fingers close around it as I stagger to my feet. I look up at the featureless sky. The Shadow Raptor is high above me, its screams still echoing among the bare hills, but as I watch, it levels out its flight and begins to circle as if searching.

Blood-archer has dropped to his knees beside the dead tree, its branches now tendrils of grey mist that move to follow my progress like curious serpents as I run up in front of him. “Get on your feet now!”

He gives me a bleak look as he stares up at me. “Leave me alone. I want to die here.”

I grab him by the hair. “And face your sister’s wrath? I don’t think so.” Wrapping my fingers tight around the hair of his scalp, I pull Blood-archer to his feet and drag him towards the ghostly stone block marking the place where the two worlds merge. In the real world Blood-archer is stronger than I am, but we’re in my country and he’s got no choice. His hands feebly try to push mine away as I pull him along.

Above us the Shadow Raptor screams in a harsh voice, “Ghostdog, I want your death!” Blood-archer stops fighting and begins running with me as I hear the rush of its wings behind us, the stone block now abreast of us and losing its ghostliness as we pass it by, Lady Sword-Son, frozen in the center of the temple, is being held back by her large squire as I let go of Blood-archer and run full out.

The Shadow Raptor is upon me, the tips of its claws shattering two of my armor’s back plates as it screams in triumph…