“Keep going!” Alex shouted behind her. Christi’s heart hammered in her chest, her breath caught in her throat. A loud bellow reverberated all around her, the bull continued its wild rampage through the city of Chrodrift. Buildings crumbled, people screamed and pleaded for their life.

“Please! Help me!”

“I don’t wanna die, Axci above please.”

Those cries of anguish surrounded her, she did her best to shut it out, to ignore it. Yet those horrible sounds persisted.

“Christi! Watch out!” Alex yelled. She turned as the bull charged towards her. It barged into a nearby factory, its gargantuan metal frame causing the industrial structure to collapse. Right in her direction. She raised her hands in an attempt to protect herself. It was a futile decision. 

Her body felt heavy, darkness devoured her vision. She was laying in something wet, something oddly warm. Eight red orbs pierced the darkness above her, they grew in size as they descended. Those crimson orbs provided some form of light, she glanced around, and gathered her surroundings. 

It was a pool of blood. Her breath quickened, as did her heart. This couldn’t be happening, where was Alex? She tried to scream and yet no sound escaped her lips. A warm sensation radiated from her left arm, she begrudgingly looked. 

From her bicep down there was nothing there, her arm was gone. Only a stub of flesh remained that leaked blood. This wasn’t just a pool of blood, it was a pool of her blood.

A ticking sound came from above. From those eight red orbs. Finally, the wait was over. Eight eyes, eight jagged limbs. A spider forged in metal. 

“Prey… Prey…. Kill…Kill…” Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, she was helpless. Alone. Scared.

A crude blade flashed before her, gleaming in the crimson light. Slicked in fresh blood. The ticking quickened, it sounded almost like it was giggling. Was it enjoying this barbaric nightmare?

One singular word rose to the forefront of her mind. 

Monster.

The blade came down hard, impaling her.

Christi jumped from her bed, screaming. She clutched at her chest in a panic. Her chest felt as if it were about to cave in. Every passing heartbeat pained her as she tried to catch her breath. 

As she often did when waking after one of her night terrors she performed her usual breathing technique to help ground her. A sharp inhale, hold for five seconds and a deep exhale. After a minute of repetition the anxiety returned to more tolerable levels. It never truly went away.

“Christi dear, are you up?” Sam’s muffled voice accompanied a knock on her bedroom door. She hopped down from her bed, the cold hardwood cooling the sole of her feet. “Christi dear? Is everything alright?” Sam knocked again. 

“I’m fine! just give me a few minutes and I’ll be out!” she snapped back at him. The room went silent, did he hate her? She shouldn't have yelled at him but he could be so irritating.

“No worries my dear! We’ll be waiting for you downstairs.” The steps of the stairs groaned softly as Sam descended. 

Relief flooded over her. Thankfully, he didn't hold a grudge. Or maybe he was just pretending? Sam was good at that, maybe they were all just pretending? 

Her mind flitted to today’s agenda. Preparation of their assault on Kydin and his mercenaries would begin today. If all went well then Barakat wouldn’t have to worry about the Fheitgr threat anymore. 

So why did that disappoint her? She should’ve been elated, with Kydin and his men gone she could return to her true goal. Avenging Alex was what she wanted, was it not? 

She tied her dishevelled hair into a high ponytail as always. Korill’s pendant hung from the bed, she pocketed it. At all times now she found herself carrying the pendant on her person. She grabbed her cloak and left her room to join Sam, Piotr and Ratchet waiting downstairs. 

↭↭↭

The wind blustered heavily in the Mor Mountains. Kydin trudged towards a cave that offered respite from the powerful gale. The wind continued to howl as he stepped inside the natural shelter. Inside, the men he had stationed at the lighthouse sat inside awaiting his next orders. 

Men laughed and chatted around a set of fires, Kydin greeted each one as he passed. Up ahead was Kartik who sat on a blanket away from the rest. Tools lay strewn around him. Kydin recognised a few. A Hammer, chisel, and a fuller knife among many others.

“Vloek man, stupid thing!” Kartik cursed as he thumped a large ring to the ground.

“Any luck?” Kydin asked.

Kartik turned, revealing a scarred face. He scowled deeply as he looked towards the ring of the bull that he attempted to replicate. 

“None brother, it’s been absolute kak since I started. I’m a wapensmid, not a bloederig mechanic. I’m sorry Kydin, but you’ll need to find someone else.”

Kartik dropped his head, it was obvious the man wished he could solve this conundrum. He was a good man, as were the rest of them. Kydin slapped the man on the back.

“Bah! don’t fret brother. I’ll figure something else out. Thank you for trying.”

“Anything for you brother.”

Kartik left and rejoined a group of men huddled by a fire. Kydin sat alone with the device. He sighed, without this, all of this would be for naught. His prize, his return to Ariva would be derailed. This wouldn’t discourage him however, after all he had endured more than his fair share of misfortune in his life so far. This was merely another hurdle to overcome. 

↭↭↭

“Well done gentlemen, these are really something,” beamed Adriana. 

Twelve converter rifles lay in a large wooden crate upon one of Youbé Port’s piers. Unlike the original converter rifle which was silver in colour, the newly constructed rifles were more bronze in pigmentation. Still they were every bit the same in purpose, to convert the wielder’s mana into high speed rounds to be fired at range. The lining around the handle would absorb the mana, in turn creating the ammunition. Converters weren’t a permanent solution, but they offered an opportunity to level the playing field. 

Abraham grabbed one of the rifles and studied it, flipping the rifle around and staring down the sightlines. 

“I have to commend you lads, this is mighty fine work. Be even finer if you were able to produce us more than a dozen,” Abraham scoffed. 

“A dozen rifles is sadly all we can produce given our limited resources. A dozen in most cases would be considered overkill. Perhaps you’re doubting the skill of your own men?” Sam smirked at the belligerent man. 

Abraham glared at Sam and chuckled,

“I would never have reason to doubt my own men. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the rest of you,” he eyed Christi as he finished his sentence.

‘Gentlemen, while I’d love to stand here and bicker all day, we still have more pressing matters,” Piotr interjected.

“Very well said Piotr,” Adriana nodded towards him.

Abraham smiled, he returned the rifle to the crate. 

“Of course, of course, you’re right. We are brothers in arms after all.”

Adriana smiled and removed a scroll of parchment from her coat. She glanced at Sam.

“If you would be so kind? Adriana gestured towards the open crate. Sam obliged her by placing the lid back on the wooden crate. Adriana unfurled the scroll, revealing a map of Barakat and its surrounding area. 

A X blotched the map just at the base of the Orton River, where it fed into the Farage Sea. 

“Right about here is where the two large Fheitgr boats were first spotted. My scouts informed me this morning that one boat had diverted and ported itself just outside Youbé Port as you can already see.”

Looming in the distance on the horizon was a large ship. Nothing had occurred as of yet but it was an announcement of how bold the Fheitgr were growing. Adriana returned to the map and continued her explanation.

“It’s close enough to allow quick and easy access but just far enough out that it would prove difficult to approach. Our best bet would be to slip in under the cover of night.”

Piotr ran his fingers across the map, tracing from the port out to where the boat had been marked on the map. 

“Approaching by sea quietly is half the battle, any conventional boat that suppresses our approach wouldn’t possess the speed and any boat that does would create far too much of a presence. We’d need to be quick and quiet. We’re not in exactly ideal conditions for an approach like this.”

Adriana smirked and walked to the edge of the pier. Inserting two fingers in her mouth she let out a whistle. A pink streak darted from the water leaping in a graceful arc and plunging again. Finally the sea creature surfaced and bobbed in the water just in front of Adriana. 

Adriana crouched and held out her hand. Its skin was shiny but scaly. Despite its hide being pink, the scales were a light red. A short elongated snout poked Adriana’s hand, black beady eyes gazed up at her. Adriana laughed,

“This here is Tis, one of the many Varog here who aid us with seafaring and transportation in Barakat. You wanted speed and silence, well here she is.”

Christi, Sam, and Ratchet admired the creature. Piotr had read up on the creature, Varog were a domesticated sea animal that could be found along the Farage coast. Strong and quick, they were a sailor’s best friend.

“I thought they had all left when the Creuse disease struck.”

Adriana stroked the affable animal. Tis whistled and clicked as she excitedly bobbed up and down.

“After the Creuse outbreak ended, the town was ruined. We had to outright sell anything and everything of value just to rebuild. We went back to the rudimentary methods our founders had used. That’s when they came back to us, it’s like they knew we needed them.”

“What a fascinating creature, well they’ll certainly be a valuable asset in this operation. Pair that with the rifles and we certainly hold the range advantage,” Sam commented.

“We lure them outside, and keep our distance. Piotr will swoop aboard to mop up any remaining Fheitgr,” Adriana said.

“Putting an awful lot of pressure on him don’t ya think?” Ratchet said with his arms folded.

Piotr waved a dismissive hand.

“If anything it’s better this way, I can make sure they remain outside. The rest is up to our marksmen.”

Sam patted Piotr on the shoulder,

“Don’t worry he won’t be going in there alone.”

Ratchet grunted and shuffled about,

“It’s still a big risk.”

“All part of the job,” Piotr said as he looked towards Abraham. 

“How conscientious,” Abraham chided.

Adriana regarded everyone,

“We’ll strike at nightfall tonight. I’ll let my men know, the rifles will be passed on.”

“We all finished here then,” Ratchet said.

“I believe so. For now, rest up,” Adriana smiled. 

“There’s one more thing I’d like to discuss whilst we’re all present,” Abraham said, stopping everyone in their tracks.

“The girl spoke to Kydin last night, right here on this pier. Were any of you aware of that?”

Christi’s heartbeat increased. He had seen her?

The group turned towards Christi,

“Christi, care to explain?” Piotr inquired. 

Christi turned her eyes to the ground, she couldn’t lie, but what could she do? She felt the icy stares, her fists clenched tightly. 

“He showed up and talked to me briefly last night, yes,” she admitted. 

“Why didn’t you call us or let us know of this Christi?” Piotr asked her.

“I…” she didn’t know how to answer. Why had she not told the others?

“Is this the first time you’ve spoken to Kydin?” Piotr continued. 

“No, we spoke at the beach right after what happened at the pier too.”

Abraham cursed,

“I knew we couldn’t trust her, she could be conspiring against us for Axci’s sake.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, I’ve known the girl for four years. She wouldn’t conspire against us.”

“Then tell me, why has the girl spoken with the man not once but twice? And if she was really not conspiring with him, why did she hide these two meetings from all of you?”

Piotr remained silent, Abraham was correct. He couldn’t refute that. Christi glanced around, she saw the doubt in their eyes. No matter what she said now wouldn’t change that. There it was again, that cold harsh reality. We’re still Fheitgr and they Anrish, Kydin’s words from last night seemed more fitting now more than ever.

“Confine the girl to the house, she’s not to leave until the assault is complete,” Adriana ordered. 

“Hey! We don’t need to go that far,” Ratchet protested.

Adriana looked to Piotr with a stern expression.

“Remind me again what you swore in that square before the people of this town Piotr?”

Piotr remained tight lipped, he trusted Christi, and yet she hid something from him. 

“Say it!” Adriana shouted.

“To protect this town,” Piotr said quietly. 

“Correct, Kydin is our enemy, the girl may not be but we can’t rule that out until further investigation. We don’t have the luxury for that right now. We must do everything to protect this town, confining the girl is a part of that.”

“I understand,” Piotr agreed with her. 

Christi stood dumbfounded, Abraham gestured over a pair of guards. They stood at either side of the girl.

“My men will guard the premises,” Abraham said solemnly.

Christi looked at Ratchet, what she saw broke her. 

Doubt. 

Alex would’ve believed her, he always believed her. She let the guards lead her away, Piotr and Sam never lifted their heads.

The moon blazed red in the dark blue sky, Christi sat on her bed. She withdrew the pendant again, she found herself doing that more and more. 

An explosion boomed in the distance, Christi jumped to the window. Several guards raced through the streets in the direction of the initial explosion. 

The lock on her door clicked, it creaked open. A cloud of smoke enveloped the doorframe. Kydin stepped forth from the smoke, with a blood slicked blade in hand. Splatters of crimson peppered his dark clothing. He smirked at her.

“Hello again, little Vlam.”