Howl appeared next to them, his coat a little singed. “Bloody jinxed us again, Unlucky.”

“Deal with the forktongue,” the Lord Protector commanded. “That thing must die here. I don’t want it anywhere near the Capital.”

“Yes, my Lord,” came the chorus of homunculi.

Switchswords unfolded. Orders clamoured among the men. Screams and fire demanding attention.

The forktongue hounded over one of the carriage roofs, screaming with its victims.

A small unit of homunculi rounded up the passengers. Another took Mahala and her father. The rest stayed behind and began to circle the forktongue.

Mahala’s eyes couldn’t keep up with the homunculi. They flickered in and out of her vision, cutting and firing upon the forktongue. The scales were thick and were blown off chunks at a time. The creature shrieked in pain. Mahala winced but Luck ran with her as if deaf to the chaos.

The glowing hot sky tore apart.

A second giant forktongue crashed in front of them. Knockdown and the Lord Protector disappeared in the rubble.

The gust threw Mahala off her feet. Luck shielded her from any debris.

It had wings. Giant wings that covered the sky. A single flap blew away the rubble. 

Luck leaped to his feet, switchsword out. Blood trickled from his head.

The giant forktongue hurdled off the train, injuries so deep, Mahala could see bone. In one last desperate shriek it spat fire in all directions, the forest around them lighting up orange.

It collapsed. 

Knockdown and her father teleported out of the forest. His hand was over his eyes.

“It’s boxing us in!” she heard him yell.

Two more homunculi jumped the winged forktongue. It spun so fast, the gust of its wings knocked Mahala down again. It landed on all fours and its tail lashed out at her. Luck grabbed her. She felt the force of the tail and then nothing.

Luck landed on one knee, having teleported the two of them to her father.

Her father dragged her to her feet. Knockdown was still blind. Luck got between them and the forktongue.

“Run!” her father barked as he pushed her forward.

She thought she heard Luck scream. Her head jerked round. It was Howl in the winged forktongue’s teeth. It bit down. His body shuddered once and went limp.

It dropped him and pounced forward.

Luck was in its way. Frozen.

“Luck!” Mahala cried.

Luck jolted.

The winged forktongue snapped its jaw wide open. Knockdown landed on its snout, the switchsword exploding the side of its face. Half its mandible blew off. The creature stumbled and knocked Luck aside.

Her father was next to it. Teeth closing around him.

She tackled him. Its dangling mandible missed her father but caught her shoulder, pulling her to the ground. Fire coursed down her arm. Something physically wormed through her punctured skin. She screamed. Another explosion.

The forktongue’s tooth pulled out of her as switchswords forced it back.

She screamed again.

“Milady!” someone yelled.

Her head rolled to the side, her father staring back. She couldn’t see what face he was making with the mask in the way.

I’m infected.

She didn’t know what face he was making.

She remembered the mountains of dead infected, the begging dockworker and ‘He should’ve just run it over.’

“She is now a monster,” she heard a sweet voice whisper.

A dark circle glittered around her father’s neck. Something else stared at her with webbed fingers and salt in their breath. An omen. Death was coming for her.

Mahala rolled over and scrambled to her feet. She sprinted into the burning forest. Fire licked at her clothes. She didn’t care how badly the heat scorched her.

She didn’t want to know what her father would choose. Would he have ordered the homunculi to execute her? 

Blood roared in her ears. She might’ve heard her name behind it. 

Her chest burned, but there were flames. Something started digging into her body - or out. She struggled to tell the difference.

Her legs gave out and she hit the ground hard. The new pain scorched worse than anything that came before.

She gasped for breath in an airless inferno.

“Please! PLEASE!”

She didn’t know who she was begging to.

Her organs melted holes through her. Her body twisted left and right, outwards and inwards. Chest split open and reformed over white-hot coal where her heart should be. Another plea, but her mandible tore from her skull. Any screaming eaten away by the forest pyre around her. Nothos did not save her. Her father couldn’t have saved her. Luck—

Everything went dark.