The scream shattered the silence. Even when disoriented, Frederick recognized his name, and he snapped up while whipping his head around. Likewise, Nicholas raised his ax while sweeping the surrounding area. The icy woods returned to silence, and part of Frederick wondered if he’d imagined help arriving.

A flash of black and bright green barreled into Nicholas. He dug his heels in and swung his ax, but the figure rolled aside before striking the back of his knees. The sudden blow toppled him down, and he jabbed his ax at his attacker as she rose. However, she flickered, and the blade missed her by a hair.

Even without a clear view, Frederick recognized the familiar braid of glowing green threads. 

His suspicions turned out correct when the figure went still long enough to reveal Lian Hai.

Seeing a familiar face, Frederick slumped over and sighed. However, his relief froze at a darker revelation. With Lian Hai here, Nicholas could grab her and enact his nefarious plans.

Grunting, Frederick forced himself to his feet. Nicholas’s grip had loosened enough that he could move with significant strain. Unfortunately, the decreased attention on him came from Nicholas targeting Lian Hai. She’d fought well before, but Frederick feared whether her power could stop him.

Within seconds, Nicholas stood with his ax in hand.

He scanned her. “I see you took the same route as Frederick, splitting off and creating a false identity.”

“Like you know anything about me,” Lian Hai snapped.

She charged, but he sidestepped before grabbing her throat. She kicked him in several spots, each blow produced a sharp thud, and clawed his hands and wrist until left red lines marked his skin. If this bothered him, he showed no sign as he dangled her in the air.

With a pleasant tone that clashed against his brutal actions, Nicholas said, “To the contrary, it is very much my business. I’d say it’s my whole mission.”

“Let me go, you bastard,” Lian Hai snapped, her movements growing faster. “If you think I’ll let you hurt Frederick, you’re dead wrong.”

Nicholas raised her up before slamming her into the ground. A crack rang through the silence, and Frederick prayed it came from the ice shattering beneath her. Despite grimacing, Lian Hai clawed at Nicholas’s arm and lunged for his face. Unfortunately, her movements grew sluggish. Seeing the familiar inky shadow around her explained why.

Between the throbbing pain all over, frigid cold, and growing fatigue, Frederick didn’t stand a chance. However, he refused to back down from protecting a friend. He trudged toward the pair, his steps speeding up as Nicholas raised his weapon.

“Stop!” Frederick called.

Nicholas faced him but kept his ax up. “Oh, Frederick. You should’ve taken my deal when you could.”

He swung downward toward Lian Hai’s neck. Even if Frederick sprinted at full speed, he couldn’t block him or stop the inevitable decapitation. As a last resort, he shot his hand out and willed the ax to fly away.

Blue and green light illuminated the blade, and it stopped. 

Then, it continued inching down.

Frederick’s triumph turned to terror, and he started speeding up when his legs buckled. In his weakened state, he couldn’t reach Nicholas without releasing his hold on the ax. 

From how Lian Hai didn’t move despite straining, she too poured all her power into stopping the ax. That Nicholas didn’t kick her or strike Frederick indicated he struggled to break through their combined defense. 

Unfortunately, the way the ax moved indicated he had the advantage.

Frederick’s hands burning showed that Nicholas’s advantage would turn to a victory soon, and his weakness would be to blame.

Lian Hai glanced at him, and he said, “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

Her eyes widened, and she started talking. Unfortunately, Frederick couldn’t hear her over his pounding head. Nicholas frowned, but Frederick couldn’t tell if his reaction came from anger or confusion, nor did he care.

She repeated her message, enunciating more with each repetition. Eventually, Frederick recognized two words.

“Get down.”

Frederick dropped to his knees with his head on the ground. Had he not, the wall of spectral energy rushing in from behind would’ve sent him flying.

Instead, it slammed into Nikostratos, knocking him off balance and pushing him into the enormous pine tree from earlier. He collided with the trunk with enough force that the canopy shook and sent a torrent of snow falling.

In the distance, a deeper voice boomed, “Nikostratos!”

Nicholas – or Nikostratos – stood once more with his ax in hand. Compared to earlier, when his posture stayed somewhat relaxed, his whole body stiffened. He also set his jaw and squinted while whipping around.

“After all this time,” he called out, “you arrive once I’ve defeated your weaker allies. Show yourself.”

Frederick caught a glimpse of black and a steely glint whizzing past. Then, a loud crack splintered the silence, followed by the heavy thump of the pine tree collapsing. 

It soon disappeared beneath a flurry of metal scraping and heavy thuds. Part of Frederick wanted to watch the fight, but staying would make him a prime target for Nikostratos. First, he needed to prioritize getting himself and Lian Hai to safety. Keeping his head low, he scanned the nearby area for danger.

Footsteps approached. Frederick balled his fists while tensing himself, but a familiar voice made him relax somewhat.

“We need to go while they’re distracted,” Lian Hai whispered. “Can you walk?”

Frederick stood but made it a few steps before his legs threatened to buckle. Lian Hai grabbed his arm, which provided enough support that he could walk without stumbling.

With their walking formation arranged, they entered the woods. The ground grew rougher, and Frederick had to dodge shrubs and boulders. However, he didn’t want to delay, and he suspected Lian Hai thought the same. Although she hadn’t suffered as many blows as him, a glance showed she hadn’t walked away unscathed.

After regaining his breath, Frederick said, “Are you okay?”

“Getting by,” Lian Hai replied. “I’ll fill you in once we get back. The portal’s this way.”

He was about to ask what she meant, but he got his answer when they entered a smaller clearing. At first glance, it resembled a normal patch of snowy grass surrounded by evergreen trees and shrubs. 

However, if he focused with his spectral vision, he detected the barest trace of glowing red energy hovering above the center of the clearing.

Lian Hai sprinted to it, dragging Frederick along. She then reached for the red light, and glowing green threads snaked from her fingertips around it. When the two energies intertwined, they started to look yellow.

“Whoa,” Frederick said. “Where did you learn that?”

“Rigmor taught me how to reopen a portal that’s been sealed partway,” she explained without pausing. “They didn’t want to risk anyone following us through, but if the fight turned ugly, they wanted to give us a way to escape.”

Frederick started nodding but stopped. Several questions swam through his head, ranging from when she developed her powers enough to open portals to who this ‘Ree-mor’ was. Moreover, when had Lian Hai learned to use her powers in the physical world, especially when she’d never managed it before. 

Instead of asking, Frederick said, “I can help. What should I do?”

She shook her head. “Save your energy. You got beaten up badly, and you’ll need all the power you can to recover.”

Before he could object, the now yellowish glow expanded from the size of his palm to a head taller than him. Additionally, it rounded out to create an oval with a hazy center. When Frederick stared through it, he caught glimpses of a familiar woodland lake. 

The commotion behind snapped him back to attention. Shaking the shock away. he stepped through the portal into the familiar woods. Although chilly, the air didn’t freeze his skin and bones. Additionally, the smell of pine needles and fresh water reminded him of his initial lucid dreams when he first traveled to the lake.

He turned back expecting to see Lian Hai behind him, but she remained in the icy forest. From how she squinted out with her eyebrows furrowed, Frederick dreaded what she was planning.

“They should’ve gotten back by now,” Lian Hai said when he asked. “I wonder how things are going.”

“Don’t go,” Frederick said, grabbing her arm. “You saw Nicholas earlier. It took both of us at our full capacity just to slow him down, and who knows how long we could’ve held out. If you go back, you’re dead.”

“And leave Rigmor alone?” Lian Hai paused. “Wait, you called the guy Nicholas. Is he the client you were meeting?”

“Yes. Long story.”

“Same for me. We’ll have to share them later.”

A distant crash made Lian Hai turn. Frederick did likewise, and they spotted the Cloaked Figure sprinting to the portal. A nearby evergreen tree would’ve crushed them, but they jumped aside as it crashed to the ground with a cacophony of crackles. They then tore a large branch off and thrusted it behind as Nikostratos approached. The branch whistled past the swinging ax before impaling into his gut.

Nikostratos grunted, then hissed, “You think you can run forever? We’ll get you eventually.”

Instead of replying, the Cloaked Figure kicked the broken branch hard enough that it dug deeper into his guts, then shoved him into a nearby tree. The branch tips embedded into the trunk and stuck him in place.

The Cloaked Figure reached for their empty dagger holder, froze, and whipped around. When they faced forward, Nikostratos was holding their dagger with a bloody grin.

Lian Hai shouted, “Run! It’s a trap.”

Evidently, the Cloaked Figure thought the same, for they sprinted to the portal. Frederick beckoned Lian Hai over and was about to move aside, but a distant glint made him glance over. Nikostratos had raised the dagger and was aiming it at the Cloaked Figure.

Frederick lunged and yelled, “No.”

Nikostratos threw the dagger at the portal. The Cloaked Figure moved aside so it didn’t land between their shoulder blades. Instead, it embedded itself into their right shoulder. 

The Cloaked Figure grunted but continued running. Despite their underwhelming reaction, Frederick reached through the portal and pulled them through. He was about to ask if they were okay, but they didn’t miss a beat in turning and raising a glowing hand to the portal. 

It shrank. As it disappeared, Frederick glimpsed Nikostratos freeing himself and stalking toward him, undeterred by his bleeding gut wounds.

With the chaos over, all the adrenaline abandoned Frederick, and he collapsed to the ground. He didn’t register Lian Hai kneeling next to him until a hand slapped his face.

“Shit,” she muttered. “Frederick, how bad is it?”

Someone else spoke, and Lian Hai moved. Frederick didn’t have time to ask who before rough hands squeezed his shoulders. Fire erupted inside him, filling his head until he thought it’d explode. He arched his back and bit back a strained scream, but before he could try escaping, it faded. 

“Get up,” a cold voice ordered.

Despite hesitations, he stood. To his surprise, the pain in his head subsided, and his legs didn’t shake.

Now that he wasn’t fighting or running for his life, he scanned his surroundings. They stood in a small grassy field, with Lian Hai’s log cabin and the lake edge a short walk away. Frederick noticed the latter and was about to run, but Lian Hai stopped him.

“It’s fine,” she said. “Rigmor suppressed your aura. They’ll have a harder time tracking you.”

Frederick was about to ask who and what she meant, but a glance at the Cloaked Figure helped him put the pieces together. 

He stepped closer with a hand raised. “Thanks for helping us. I’m guessing you’re Rigmor.”

They stared at his hand without shaking it. “You can say that. Has Lian Hai filled you in on the situation?”

“A little.” Frederick hesitated, then pointed at their shoulder. “We should get you to a hospital.”

“There’s no time,” Rigmor snapped. “They can’t track us yet, but you two won’t stay concealed for long. Once I recharge, I’ll create a portal to bring us away, but for now, it’s best we stay moving.”

They entered the woods. Frederick turned to Lian Hai, who shrugged and followed. Frederick trailed behind a few paces, using the distance to process the situation. First his client had tried killing him, and now this suspicious and vaguely threatening figure had saved him. What was going on?

“My cabin’s back there,” Lian Hai said.

Rigmor shook their head. “Too risky. We should’ve left once we arrived, but I didn’t want to risk Frederick holding us back. How well do you know these woods?”

“Like the back of my hand. I’ve been hiking here for years.”

“Great. Lead the way. I’ll let you know when I can create another portal.”

“Whoa,” Frederick said, speeding up to reach them. “We still need to discuss a lot. How long until we get to that?”

“Once we don’t need to worry about eavesdropping.”

Despite frowning, he couldn’t deny their point. “Can you at least give me a preview of what you’re going to tell us?”

Rigmor turned and stared. “Everything. I’d hoped keeping you and Lian Hai separate would protect you both, but you found each other anyway. Since you’re in this deep, I’ll ensure you don’t die from your own errors or Nikostratos’s forces.”