These were genetically designed monsters. They weren’t accidents or flukes of nature. They had been made, from top to bottom, specifically to hunt us down—that had become painfully obvious not from the tunnel chase but from their teleportation abilities. In the end, it made sense.

Jinn were creatures of Mother Nature, too. And the very concept of Mother Nature belonged to the Hermessi. The elements and their combined work helped shape many worlds, creating the conditions required for certain lifeforms, including the jinn. Therefore, it made sense that the same Hermessi would then be able to copy these features into other animals.

In this case, the monsters came from crystal eggs, spawned out of pink waters deep underground. Incredibly weird—but not unique. Not unprecedented. I remembered everything. Every little odd piece of information I could get my hands on from across the In-Between. And I certainly remembered the Daughters of Eritopia and their birthplace. The tall mountain with pink waters and the crystal eggs from which they came… Viola included. I’d already made the connection. I just needed a safe minute to tell Phoenix about it, so he’d bring it up with his soulmate and her special sisters. The big girls had some ‘splaining to do.

However, I was a little tied up at the moment, dodging the snapping jaws of three different creatures at once. Whenever they missed me, they got loud and shrill, hissing and snarling as if they’d missed out on the greatest snack ever. I was beginning to think like Raphael on this, that they’d take zero pleasure in feasting on my flesh, but I didn’t want to wait around for them to find out what it was like.

I slid down on my knees and past one of my foes, my sword out as it sliced through its pumped calves. It squealed, then collapsed, helpless as blood gushed out. I’d severed its tendons. It would heal soon enough, so I only had a few more seconds to make that hit count. I turned around and sprang upward like a most athletic frog. I wound up on top of it, my sword crushing its way through the skull.

“Straight to the head, says Tae,” I whispered, then turned my attention to the other two creatures, who were now four. “Where the hell do you crap-bags keep coming from?!”

Looking at what was left of the cave opening, I got my answer. One by one, more of these monsters kept working their way out, clawing at the rubble and dirt until they could breathe again, their beady eyes many and wide as they noticed us. Their delicious reward, if they caught us.

The sound of wings fluttering, followed by a violent thump, drew my attention for one, hot, dangerous moment. I saw Raphael in the middle of a forced landing, his body entwined with that of a creature as he tried to get himself back up. The only way to permanently kill Raphael now was either via pulverizer weapon or via extremely angry swamp witch. The best way to slow him down, however, was to cut off his head. Or rip it off. Judging by the number of wounds he was already carrying, Raphael was creepily close to exactly that happening to him. The monster he fought with was relentless and frustrated, clawing at my Perfect and desperately working its way up to a decapitation.

My Perfect. Sheesh.

I couldn’t help myself. Before my own “pre-assigned” monsters could charge at me, I dashed across the bloodied forest floor and rammed my sword through the creature now straddling Raphael and angrily trying to chomp on his head with one bite.

Another monster’s head rolled past my boots, its tongue out and limp. I followed the trail of blood it had left behind and noticed Riza, panting and sweating, still surrounded by multiple fiends. She was nowhere near done, but I did appreciate her approach. Raphael managed to stab his wounded fiend in the head, then pushed it over and got back up.

“Thanks, hotness,” he said to me.

My cheeks were in flames. What quick reactions I had, whenever he paid attention to me! It was unbelievable—unlike the six more creatures who were already running toward us. They were believable. And palpable. And itching for my flesh.

Back to back, Raphael and I assumed our fighting positions as the monsters got closer. They came in from different angles, but we could handle multiple points of entry as long as we had our weapons and sharp instincts.

“You mean hot mess,” I replied dryly. “Because that’s what this feels like.”

The few seconds we had to get our bearings were exactly the small amount of time I needed to truly take in my surroundings. Our crew was getting tired. One of twelve Brothers had been snatched away from his group and torn to pieces by a pack of creatures. Taeral did his best to keep the others safe, with Eva and Varga’s help. Our vampire-sentry wonder-boy had sustained serious injuries to his chest and legs. They were slowing him down significantly. I didn’t see this ending well for him.

We were still too far apart from one another to perform a safe teleportation. I was ready to leave the last eleven Cerixians here, if that was what it took to save my crew, along with Inalia and Eira.

“Notice how they’re not touching the Hermessi girls,” Raphael said, as if reading my mind.

“These… Shills are programmed not to harm them, I guess.”

“They weren’t at first.”

“The Hermessi probably tweaked that at the last minute. You know they’re here, Raphael,” I replied. He nodded in agreement.

“The wind is stronger. The ground keeps letting these Shills, as you call them, out. I’m not sure what water can do to add to their presence, at this point. Cerix is freezing, anyway.”

“They’re watching,” I said. “The sadistic elemental bastards are watching.”

“Should we get Lumi out here?” Raphael suggested.

I wanted to say yes, but the damned monsters came at us again. There was literally no time to even reach out for help. Our only option was to keep fighting until their numbers dwindled or until we got close enough to one another to teleport out of here.

Eira tried to come forward and help Taeral, but she was blocked by a dozen monsters. They snarled at her but didn’t dare take a bite. It was enough for Eira to move back by Inalia’s side, and they both continued firing their elemental blasts out at them—fire and ice, in crippling rounds. Still, it wasn’t enough. We weren’t getting anywhere like this.

As Raphael and I fought tooth and nail to retain our physical integrity, I caught glimpses of the rest of the crew. The Shills were fast learners, too. They’d already learned Riza’s teleportation pattern across short distances. They were even able to surprise her by appearing in one place shortly before she zapped herself there.

“Riza, don’t!” I screamed as I watched her vanish.

A Shill waited for her in front of an old stumpy black tree. As soon as she appeared in front of it, she stilled. Its claw came out and lashed at her. Herakles was quick to get her out of harm’s way before she could even think of a reaction.

“We should’ve brought Lumi with us,” Raphael said.

“Telluris!” I croaked, remembering the soul link spell. I didn’t have one with Lumi, but maybe one of the others on my team did. “Telluris!” I shouted, hoping the others would hear me loud and clear. “Does anyone have a Telluris link to Lumi?!”

Seconds passed without an answer. It was swiftly followed by a string of curse words coming from Taeral’s direction. “No, I don’t,” he said. “In hindsight…”

“Yeah, well, in hindsight we’re all geniuses!” Herakles retorted.

Varga managed to get away from the Shills for long enough to press the call button on his earpiece. “Lumi! Come in! Lumi, you there? We need help!”

Judging by the disappointed look on his face, nothing came through. This couldn’t end well for us, especially if we had no way of reaching out to Lumi.

“The comms are still down. How’s that possible?” Varga breathed, utterly distraught. He didn’t have time to wallow, and neither did the rest of us, as the Shills continued their feverish attacks.

“It might be these woods, not the underground caves,” I said. “Maybe it’s the trees jamming our communications. Or maybe it’s these freaking Shills, I don’t know! Either way, we obviously need to get out of here!”

“That’s it, I’ve had enough of this crap!” Riza snarled, bolting to the middle of the wide circle we’d formed, each square foot riddled by bloodthirsty Shills. She whispered a series of spells in a language it took me a while to recognize as ancient jinni tongue. She was digging into her personal archive of jinni magic.

Her hands lit up purple, along with her eyes, as the winds intensified around us. The Shills tried to get to her but bumped into an invisible barrier that forced them to keep their distance. They didn’t like that one bit, so they tried a little harder. Each time, however, they failed. And it felt like it was only the beginning, as Riza continued chanting and as nature itself began to react.

“How is that working?” Raphael asked, slightly surprised. “I can’t use any of my elemental abilities.”

“She’s not using anything elemental. That’s jinni magic,” I said. “Old and powerful stuff, the kind they only teach a select few.”

I remembered the ancient scrolls in Nuriya’s personal collection. I knew she’d passed them on to Aisha, as well. It made sense that Aisha in turn would teach her daughter about them. The spells required a tremendous amount of energy and self-control, but they could deliver extensive damage if performed properly. However, they weren’t all swift and instant like swamp witch magic. Some, such as this one, required multiple chants, most likely given their more complex nature—fortunately for Riza, the barrier she’d set around herself was quick to react to potential intrusions, as the monsters kept trying.

The more they did, the harder they were pushed back.

“Riza, what are you doing?” Taeral asked, squinting from the intensifying, gale-force winds that were now pummeling us.

“Slowing them down!” she shouted.

“You’re slowing us down, too!” he said. A moment later, he was on his back, one Shill eager to rip into him. Fire swallowed it whole, courtesy of Inalia. Taeral pushed the beast off him, then resumed fighting the others.

A pulse left Riza’s body. A purple-pink shimmer traveled through a one-mile radius around her. The particles went through the Shills, as well, who stopped for a moment, reasonably confused. But nothing else happened. As soon as she realized that, Riza went pale.

“Dammit.”

“What… What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” she replied. “No time to find out, either!”

The Shills scrambled to get to her. She brought her sword out, a devilish twinkle present in her amethyst eyes. She wasn’t done trying, and I liked her even more for that. Seeing that drive burn in Riza like this… it motivated me to keep fighting, as well. I’d never thought I’d experience combat fatigue on this mission, yet here I was. My knees weakening, my arms feeling heavier, but my heart thumping faster. My resolve stronger than ever.

Several Shills tried to jump at Riza. A bright ultraviolet purple light burst through them. They squealed and moved back, their many eyes reduced to just as many vicious slits, their glares oozing vindictive wrath. Whatever that spell was that Riza had just performed, it seemed to have worked. At least partially. I wasn’t sure.

“What the hell was that?” Herakles asked, equally baffled, just before he shot his crossbow at an incoming Shill. The creature came to a sudden and fumbling halt, the arrow stuck in its forehead. The brain hits were still the most efficient way to take these monsters down—when we weren’t ducking and dodging for our lives.

“I tried something,” Riza managed, blinking rapidly.

“Something?” I replied, raising an eyebrow. I didn’t have time for more, as I fought my own share of Shills. It was never-ending and frustrating, already.

“An old spell! I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I think something took,” Riza explained. Another creature tried to hit her. Instead, it got itself electrocuted by the same purple flash of light exploding from within.

“Yeah, you’ve basically protected yourself from these creeps,” Herakles concluded. “Care to share with the rest of us?”

“Not sure I know how,” Riza said. A grin soon stretched her lips. “But I know what I can do with this.”

Without further ado, she teleported herself across the fighting area, where Inalia and Eira were. As soon as she got there, the Shills went after her. Once more, the protection spell reacted and kicked them all back with what looked and felt like purple lightning. Riza then darted forward and stabbed one of the Shills right in the skull. The others around her roared, desperate to reach her. The purple lightning flashed through them again—and it looked like it hurt like hell.

I heard her cackle before she got up and pointed her sword at another Shill. “I think I’m at a bit of an advantage here.”

She bolted and tackled a Shill. Then another. On and on, she took advantage of this peculiar immunity she’d enchanted herself with. And it was working, in a way. She was able to confuse and kill more Shills, yes, but my heart sank like a chunk of lead when I saw the ground ripple and continue to spit dozens more out.

We weren’t getting anywhere like this. And we couldn’t teleport separately. We weren’t even sure we’d be able to shake the Shills across larger distances. In the meantime, we continued to fight. Riza with her newfound purple lightning barrier. Taeral with his sword and teleportation, still struggling to evade his batch of Shills.

Varga with his injuries, his barrier and syphoning skills. Eva with her snippets of Druid magic and vampire reflexes. Raphael with his sword and his mighty strength, in the absence of his fae abilities. Herakles as the rogue warrior he’d always been, ruthless and savage and remarkably precise with his crossbow shots.

But our comms were down. There was no Telluris link to Lumi, either. And the Shills kept coming. As one of them succeeded in dragging another Brother away from the remaining cluster of injured survivors, and as its fangs plunged deep into his flesh, the dread hit me like an oversized iron hammer—almost knocking the air out of my lungs.

These were resilient sons of bitches.