Chapter Forty-Eight: Plan Z

Tiana’s decision to keep me company on today’s march likely saved her life.

I was more thankful for her presence than I could put into words, though from the look in her eyes I caught every so often something told me she knew it. It wasn't enough to snap me out of whatever pit I felt like I was sinking into, but that wasn't her intention. She kept me talking. Thinking. Helped keep my mind from spiraling down whatever rabbit hole was trying to suck me down.

Rhallani shot me a glance every so often, but the looks were more worried than angry. I kept trying to think of what to say that might help her understand why I'd reacted the way I had, but it was difficult to do without straying far too close to topics that would weigh me down too much to be useful if something happened. I knew she would want to know what was bothering me, just as Serena and Noelle would, but in order to have that conversation I needed to figure it out myself, and by the time noon rolled around I was no closer.

It started with a tremor. A shake I barely felt through the soles of my boots. Then a stronger one. I saw a couple of the other caravan guards exchanging glances, and I knew they'd felt it too. Then, almost in unison, every horse pulling a wagon grew skittish. The caravan came to a stop when the two lead horses started freaking out and Korey had to jump down—Pierce shadowing him so closely I'd have known something was up if I wasn't already on edge—to calm them.

Then another tremor started. It began to grow stronger, and then [Horde Slayer]'s stats slammed into me.

I didn't stop to think. I conjured a tendril on me and each of my girls, then I threw myself in front of Tiana. She yelped when my chest slammed into her, one arm wrapping around her shoulder and the other conjuring a sword.

Then the ground a few feet away exploded.

Whatever it was moved almost too fast for me to make out. It had a long, gray body about the size of a dog with leathery skin stretched tight over what looked like armor plates made of bone. I saw no eyes, but its mouth was open while it flew right towards where Tiana had been standing a moment ago. It had four massive teeth up front that I instantly knew were more than strong enough to snap bone, maybe even steel, with hundreds of smaller teeth in rows behind them. It's jaws snapped shut with a jarring clack just before it twisted, already readjusting in midair.

I pushed Tiana behind me and struck, but my blade bounced off the bony plates without even breaking the skin. Both of our tendrils shot out, but Tiana's met the same unrelenting armor built into the creature. Mine found a spot behind its shoulder where there was a gap, and dark purple blood spurted out.

The thing shrieked, then curved in midair. It twisted away from us, then slammed into the ground and burrowed into the dirt like it was water and vanished. Shouts along the caravan told me that the one that had attacked us wasn't alone. Everyone seemed to be dealing with one or two. Pierce had thrown one to the ground and was stomping on it, Lana was clutching her shoulder while Yen stood over her with a shield in one hand and a mace in the other, already slamming a second one out of the way. Flames billowed from Rastra's palms to give them space, thankfully pointed away from the wagons.

I snuck a glance behind to see Zoey fighting off two more with her greatsword while Reese peppered them with arrows. They both burrowed into the ground and she whirled around, ripping the carriage door open and yanking Vivian out before pushing her up onto the roof.

Another rumble and I spun to catch the same creature. Its jaws snapped shut over my sword, snapping the steel like it was a toothpick, and I had to slam my tendril into its side to knock it away. But, once again, it wasn't aiming for me. It was after Tiana. Why that was, I didn't have enough information to be certain of. What I was certain of, was that I needed to make sure the rest of my household was safe.

"Stay close," I commanded Tiana.

She nodded once and I ran towards where I'd last seen Rhallani. Serena and Noelle I trusted enough to handle themselves, but Rhallani still hadn't gotten any offensive or defensive skills, and without formal training she'd be in the most danger if one of these things tried to go after her.

When I found her, she'd hopped up on top of our wagon. My tendril was whipping around her angrily while Serena, Noelle, and the golem faced off against more of the little monsters. Several of them stood on short, thick legs while they tried to get to the wagon, but they found no opening. Serena's skill to aide her in hitting weakpoints already had a dozen of them bleeding, the dark purple blood standing out against the pale gray skin. Then, as I watched, one of them launched at Noelle.

Spectral ravens dove to slow it before she stepped into the attack. She swung her axe, and when it made contact a lion's head the same color as her ravens erupted from the blade and sent the thing sprawling. She was on it a moment later, sinking her axe into a gap between plates around its neck, and the thing went still.

Her armor was up, but I didn't take the time to admire it. It was the same spectral material as her guardians, and its shape was of a lighter steel armor with fur lining the pieces. They covered most of her, leaving her upper back unobstructed, but weren't as large or thick as plate armor might be. That was about all I saw before I turned towards the poor golem.

It fought valiantly, but the creatures were already swarming it. Six of them were latched on, their powerful teeth ripping chunks out of the stone and steel wherever they found purchase. I ran towards it, but before I could get there one ripped the golems arm off and threw it aside. It had barely touched the ground before two of the monsters were on it, fighting between themselves to rip the arm to pieces. Another crunch sounded and the golem fell to one knee, its leg bent at an angle. It never stopped fighting, and it never stopped trying to put distance between itself and the wagon.

Rhallani was shouting something, but I was already moving towards the golem. I conjured more tendrils and a warhammer, then started trying to knock the beasts off what was left of the golem that had done so much to protect us. They were ripping it apart, so as soon as I cleared enough of them away I slapped a hand onto the golem and banished it to my storage.

I was expecting the beasts to then turn on me, but the moment the golem was gone they all turned and disappeared into the dirt. No sooner had they all vanished than I felt a sharp spike of fear come from behind me. Even without looking, something about the way it felt in my gut told me that Rhallani was the source. Then an ear-splitting shriek pierced my eardrums.

My stomach plummeted. I was already sprinting back towards the wagon, wrapping my tendrils around my legs to give me a boost on top of the sharp spike in Agility from [Predator's Pursuit], and hurled myself towards where one of the creatures had managed to scale the side of the wagon and sink its jaws into Rhallani's forearm.

She fell back, off the wagon, and hit the ground hard with the thing on top of her. The scream cut off, which made every muscle in my body clench. The color seemed to fade away from the world and my vision blurred at the edges. Time slipped away, and then I was standing over Rhallani. I felt a dull stabbing in my chest when, without even stopping to think, I used Soul Essence to conjure up five tendrils. Two on me and one each for Rhallani, Tiana, and Serena.

Like I was watching it happen from outside my body, Rhallani's tendril hurled the creature away with a force that was far beyond what my normal tendrils were capable of. Noelle was on it in an instant, her tendril latching out and wrapping around the things neck, giving her an opening to strike it over and over until she'd shattered one of the plates at its shoulder.

Then I was there. My tendrils skewered the thing, somehow finding a way deep into its body, then they yanked apart. The beast was ripped in half, purple blood flying, and its parts landed a good twenty feet from one another. Its front half twitched and writhed a moment before going still, but I was already running for Rhallani with Serena on my heels.

I scooped her up to check the damage, but thankfully her scream had only been cut short because the fall had knocked the wind from her lungs. Her breath came in short, guttural gasps while she tried to refill them while she cradled her mangled arm to her chest. The creature had snapped its jaws shut over the control bracer she never went without, and the resilient, magical metal it was made from was probably the only reason she still had a hand. It was dented and crushed, and under it her forearm was torn and twisted, the bones visible in more than one spot.

Before I could even call for Serena her hands were in my vision, wrapping around Rhallani's arm on either side of the injury. I touched the bracer, banishing it to my storage so it wouldn't restrict the healing. My ears were  ringing with rage so badly it took a moment for me to realize that Rhallani was trying to say something, her wide, tear-filled eyes locked on mine.

"E-e-etherwyrms,' she gasped, "blind, b-but can sen-sense magic." She groaned through clenched teeth, pointedly keeping her eyes trained on the sky and away from her arm. "They-they eat mana, they're drawn to it. Artifacts. Mages. O-other than that they're—" she cut off with a groan of pain, "stupid, really stupid."

I nodded, then I was moving again. "Stay with her!" I commanded whoever was behind me, not checking to see if they were listening.

Magic. Mana. That's why they were after mages. I'd covered Tiana, and Yen was shielding Rastra and Lana. Serena was still more fighter than mage, but she was quick enough and smart enough to take care of herself, plus she had Noelle to back her up. I already knew Vaze and Jezal had storage that would suppress the magic of their goods and materials, so I wasn't worried about that. Our wagon was now the most protected thanks to the collection of fighters around it, so they didn't need me as well. I had to think of where else they'd be attacking.

Vivian.

My feet were already carrying me towards the back of the caravan before my brain had even made the connection. These etherwyrms ate magic, and she was wrapped in the stuff. I expected to feel the pull of fear at any moment from her, a peppy noble that had likely never been in a life or death situation like this, but it never came. Not even when I rounded the last of the wagons towards her carriage and saw Zoey and Reese holding off nearly a dozen of the etherwyrms.

Then the ground rumbled again, harder this time. I stumbled, then felt my Primal surge. Alone the etherwyrms wouldn't have been strong enough to trigger [Giant Killer], which meant there was something else here. The rumbling stopped, then a single sharp tremor shook the earth underneath me. The ground under the carriage cracked and both Reese and Vivian had to grip the roof to keep from tumbling off.

Fire crystals. There was a box filled to the brim with magic built into the floor of the carriage, and something had taken notice. I didn't so much as break stride, using my tendrils to push off the ground. I hit the front of the carriage and scampered up it. Vivian's eyes widened when she saw me, but I still didn't feel a trickle of fear come from her. Reese, on the other hand, was pulsing with the low, steady fear of someone who was aware they were in a bad situation but had the training to work through that fear.

I scooped an arm around them both, throwing them over my shoulders, and used my tendrils to hurl myself clear of the carriage. Only then did I feel the smallest pulse of fear from Vivian, but it was gone just as fast. I hit the ground hard but kept my feet, taking a few steps before reaching out for both of my passengers with a tendril each. I felt over their bodies as respectfully as I could manage when faced with certain peril, searching for magic.

Reese was simple. Twenty arrowheads that radiated magic in one of the two quivers on her back, an enchanted dagger sitting across the back of her waist, and an enchanted set of bracers. I used my tendril to scoop them all up, ignoring the angered cry that came from her when I did. I used my empowered tendril to toss her away from me, giving her more than enough hang time to orient herself in the air and land nimbly on her feet. Then I tried to do the same to Vivian.

Fucking Vivian.

At first I was relegated to stripping her to her smallclothes and dealing with the fallout after. Better to be embarrassed than chewed on by monsters with teeth that can cut through steel. But a quick pass over with a tendril and I realized that wasn't going to be an option. Everything she was was magical.

Everything.

Her tunic, her boots, her pants, the belt that held her pants up, the studs in her ear, the piercings in...other places that I was trying very hard to pretend I hadn't noticed, and even her underwear. Rhallani was going to be incredibly jealous. But, more than that, when a tendril brushed against the skin of her neck that had been revealed as her—you guessed it, magical—scarf went flying, she had magic roiling beneath her skin. The angry, hard to control kind that I'm sure smelled like a fucking buffet to the etherwyrms.

She writhed in my grip, yelling something, but my brain filtered it out. I was already sprinting towards Zoey. If Reese had been equipped, then she would be too. She saw me coming, her look of surprise turning into one of anger when she saw her charge flailing on my shoulder, but I didn't even give her a chance to ask.

I slammed my empty shoulder into her. She was strong, but the extra Strength and Agility from [Horde Slayer] coupled with my momentum meant I won the collision. She fell back with a grunt, and I came away with her massive blade that must have carried a dozen enchantments and a faintly glowing metal bracelet. I dropped a non-magical sword from my storage next to her so she wouldn't be defenseless, but I barely slowed down as I sprinted away.

I didn't banish the borrowed items, though. I swapped Vivian to my off shoulder and held Zoey's sword in my good hand while one of my tendrils carried everything else like the world's strangest bandolier. I felt Vivian's fist hitting my back with a surprising amount of force, but I ignored the pain and took off parallel to the caravan. When the first etherwyrm erupted out of the ground, lunging for us, I used a tendril to swat it away and kept moving. After the second, third, fifth, and seventh all lunged at us, Vivian stopped struggling so much and held on tight.

There were more shouts, but they were lost to the intense rumbling as whatever had decided to snack on the carriage started gaining on us. [Horde Slayer] and [Giant Killer] both peaked. Reasonably certain I'd drawn off the bulk of the wyrms, I cut away from the caravan. Just in time, too, as the ground behind us erupted just when I changed direction.

The sun was blocked out when an etherwyrm ten times the size of the rest shot out of the ground like a breaching whale, jaws big enough to swallow me whole snapping closed less than a foot behind my head while it twisted and writhed in the air, trying to maneuver back towards me. Vivian screamed shrilly, but I couldn't help but notice that her scream wasn't accompanied by any fear that my ability could sense.

Already my legs were starting to burn from all the extra weight I was hauling and the speed I was hauling them at. My feet kept slamming into the ground, each step putting more distance between us and the caravan. Between the big fucker and the people I cared about. But as fast as I might be with [Horde Slayer], the giant burrowing wyrm was faster.

The ground cracked, and I knew I'd run out of road. I used the empowered tendril to throw Vivian away as the giant etherwyrm erupted underneath me. I managed to hook a tendril around either of its massive jaws, using them to hurl myself back just before they snapped shut with enough force that I felt it in my bones. My other tendrils lashed out at its face, but it had no eyes for me to aim for.

It wrenched its head and yanked on the tendrils, sending me hurtling towards the ground. I impacted hard and was immediately fighting off a swarm of the smaller ones. I swung Zoey's sword and runes on the side lit up. I felt a drain on my mana, but they cut through the armor with ease and I killed two of the wyrms with a single strike. Thankfully, with the sun at its peak, [Release the Darkness] had boosted my Strength enough for me to swing it easily. My empowered tendril was strong enough to wrap around one and slam it down hard enough to break its neck, especially with the boost to my Primal from [Giant Slayer].

I killed six in rapid succession, but I'd only split the group. Vivian was still radiating magic, so more than a few went for her. I cut my way through the ones coming at me, managing to reach her just before the first of the wyrms. I cut it down, too, reaching out with a tendril and pulling her close enough to wrap an arm around just in time to dive to the side and avoid the big one lunging for us both once again.

Consequences were only something I'd have to worry about if I survived, and I wasn't going to be able to protect Vivian and fight the big bastard at the same time. Throwing caution to the wind, I conjured two more Soul empowered tendrils, this time at Vivian's waist. I gave them the command to shield her and shoved her away at the same time jaws closed around my shoulder.

My tendrils kept the thick teeth from snapping anything, but it still hurt like a bitch. My empowered tendril stabbed through its core and hurled it away, but it hadn't even landed before another was on me. I killed two more with Zoey's sword, feeling my empowered tendrils whipping violently behind me. The jarring vibrations that traveled up them told me they were making contact.

Then the big bastard was back. I managed to escape its jaws, but it didn't dive back down. It hit the ground and twisted, and a gray plated tail as thick as my waist slammed into my side. The empowered tendrils were busy ripping apart the smaller wyrms, so only my normal tendrils were there to cushion the blow that knocked me off my feet. I felt ribs crack and the world spun, but my tendrils never stopped striking out. One of the empowered tendrils hit something that had no give, and I realized it was pushing against the oncoming ground to slow my hurtle towards the earth into more or a crash landing.

A down Zaren was a dead Zaren, so I scrambled to my feet before my breath had even come back from the blow. The big one was lumbering at me with quick, if clumsy, movements while the others all crawled over each other to get to me. Over the beast's shoulder I saw Vivian watching me with wide eyes while the empowered tendrils I'd given her twisted in the air, making a dead zone that not even the wyrms could cross.

I had to think. Rhallani had given me what I needed, I just had to put it together. They were blind, they ate magic, and they were stupid. They clearly had some kind of blind sense, and if they ate magic they must be able to sense it. But if that were the case, then why didn't they turn on one another when they fed? Maybe something about their physiology hid the magic in their gut while they broke it down.

I desperate plan formed, and I didn't hesitate to put it into action. I banished Reese's quiver and Zoey's sword into my storage and charged the wyrm. In my storage, I suddenly had a decent idea of what her arrows did. Many of them carried standard enchantments to improve sharpness and durability of the arrowhead, more than a few of them with barbed or serrated tips that would serve my purposes perfectly. A handful had more powerful enchantments, two of which I was fairly certain meant the arrowhead would catch fire when shot from a bow. I factored that away, too.

The big one snapped at me, but I used my empowered tendrils to keep from becoming a tasty snack and spun to the side of its jaws. I drew out several of the barbed arrows and slammed them into the giant's body. With how massive its armor plates were, finding the gaps was much easier than its little brethren. I slammed three of the barbed arrows into the gaps, causing it to roar in pain and indignation, each arrow a few feet apart. That was about as far as I got before I had to dive away to keep from getting slammed by that damn tail again.

When I got to my feet, I saw that my plan was already working better than I could have hoped. One of the smaller etherwyrms had sensed the arrowheads I'd left behind and decided they were a tasty enough consolation prize. It launched at the giant, its teeth snapping and front legs digging while it tried to burrow its way to the tasty magic beneath the armor. The beast howled and twisted, slamming the smaller wyrm down and crushing it underneath one of its tree trunk sized legs.

And they always said Bennet was the smart one.

I took a breath, ignoring the feeling of grinding bones in my ribcage, and hurled myself back into the fray. I'd dance close enough to stab another two or three arrows into its hide. The serrated ones didn't stick quite as well as the barbed heads, but they did what I needed to. Before long, the smaller wyrms started providing me the perfect distraction to dash in and leave another arrow behind. But I could feel my tendrils thinning, even the empowered ones. I conjured a few more regular tendrils to help protect me and what I hoped to be a final empowered tendril, once again feeling the pain as the Soul Essence was pulled out of me and shaped into my magic.

After I'd sunk nearly ten arrows into its hide, it finally realized that standing on the ground probably wasn't the best idea. it disappeared, burrowing into the ground and snapping the shafts off the arrows protruding from its hide. One or two of the smaller wyrms dove after it, but the rest turned back towards me. I couldn't banish all the magic items I was carrying just yet, so I resummoned Zoey's sword and dove back into the small horde of etherwyrms.

I took out another handful before the rumbling announced the giant's return. I tried to move, but two of the wyrms chose that moment to throw themselves out of the ground just where I'd tried to dash to. I tried to reorient and dodge them while still getting out of the big one's way, but I was too slow. Jaws erupted out of the ground and closed around me, catching one of the smaller ones in the process. I tried to push out of its mouth, but I only got half way before they snapped shut.

All my tendrils wrapped around my midriff to keep me from getting cut in half, but the force of it still drove all the breath from me. A pained grunt was the only sound I could manage to get out while I pushed back against the jaws that were crushing and grinding me. Blinding pain ripped through my torso, but my tendrils were still able to keep me in one piece.

This wasn't exactly how I saw my plan going, but I could work with this. Assuming it didn't manage to snap my spine, of course, but I could still feel my legs so I knew it was intact. For now. I summoned all of the boom-gas spitters Elisa had left with me and threw them into the beast's gullet, activating each one. I tossed two of the arrows down for good measure, banishing all the other magic items I had on me, and the wyrm's throat started to constrict. It swallowed the spheres just as they started to spray along with the arrows and I shoved against the jaws again.

The throat started working, trying to draw me in, but the jaws still held me firmly in place. I conjured another empowered tendril on one of my legs and commanded it to attack. It started lashing out inside the etherwyrm's mouth, and in seconds my lower half was drenched in the thick purple blood. The beast howled and spat me out, my tendrils the only reason I didn't break my neck upon landing. I tried to stand, but while it hadn't severed my spine it had done plenty of damage. My legs refused to cooperate, which meant all I could do was crawl away while it bellowed and roared, slamming its feet on the ground.

But however my shadows appeared to their senses, the arrowheads were the more tantalizing snack. Most of the smaller wyrms latched onto the giant one's side, trying to get to the tantalizing treats I'd jammed below the surface. It slowed the monster down, but it still only had eyes—senses?—for me. It lumbered through the wyrms gouging into its armor, thrashing and throwing them around hard enough to injure most and kill the rest, but its momentum never stopped coming at me.

I kept pulling myself away just before an arm looped under mine, dragging me to my feet. Vivian looked up at me with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, her normally perfect hair now a tangled mess. "You're insane!" she said, though she laughed when she did.

I didn't really have the air to spare for a witty retort, so I just gave her as eloquent of a grunt as I could manage while she hauled me away. I was under no illusions that the little wyrms would be able to kill the big one, but the more damage they could do to it the easier it would be for me to finish it off once my legs started cooperating again.

But she could only drag my ass so far before I felt the heavy footfalls behind me. They suddenly picked up speed, and with a resigned breath I pushed Vivian away from me once again and turned to face the giant wyrm barreling down on me. It tried to turn towards the beacon of magic that was Vivian, but momentum was not its friend. Most of its hide was drenched in thick purple blood, which meant it probably wasn't as nimble as it was used to. All it really managed to do was angle its maw towards her while it dove at me, which meant when it snapped its jaws back towards me the side of its head smashed into my side and once again sent me sprawling ass over teakettle.

The tendrils tried their best to protect me from the blow, which meant they weren't quite fast enough to keep me from slamming into the ground hard enough to rip my shoulder from its socket. A pained grunt slipped past clenched teeth, and it was all I could to to roll over and look at the wyrm. It turned away from me, towards Vivian, and in my state there wasn't a damn thing I could do to get to her. What I could do, though, was get its attention.

I drew the cursed blade from my storage. It felt happy to see me, but it still seemed tired. An all too familiar bone deep exhaustion radiated from it. The second I pulled it from my storage, the wyrm froze. Then, when I clicked open the latch, its head whipped towards me. Along with the heads of every other wyrm in the vicinity.

Oops.

I knew I was in no state to draw it, so I waited until the beast had taken a few more steps before closing the latch once more. Some of them seemed to pause, but they all kept coming at me. When I once again banished the sword to my storage with a mumbled apology, several of them paused, but not the big one. The big one was pissed. It resumed its limping charge, and I knew I only had a few more seconds to figure out something to keep me from becoming kibble.

But I'd forgotten that I wasn't the only one who could strategize. Seven blue bolts arced from somewhere out of my vision and slammed into the beast, each one hitting the same spot one after the other in rapid succession. The first one cracked the armor, and each one after that widened that crack further. Then, in a golden blur, Serena slammed her spear into the exact spot with an [Exalted Rush]. The armor caved like ceramic and her spear punched into its side, sending out a spray of purple.

The wyrms around her all turned to sink their teeth into the shiny new magic source that had appeared, but Noelle was only a half second behind her. The Malachai's axe was a blur of silver steel and spectral blue energy while as she cut her way through the wyrms to protect Serena while my priestess wrenched her spear free from the beast's side.

When I tore my vision away from them I saw Tiana and Reese both standing a good fifty feet away. Reese was loosing arrows faster than anyone I'd ever seen while Tiana shot more spells that were eviscerating the wyrms that were so nicely grouped up for her. Zoey was cutting her way towards Serena and Noelle with half a sword, the other half likely having snapped from the natural armor of the etherwyrms. Another of the blade chipped off, and she shot a dirty look towards me.

Giving up on trying to stand, I tapped into the tendril at Serena's waist. I used it to summon Zoey's sword and chuck it towards her, and she caught it with a surprised look that melted quickly into a grin. Then she was tearing through the etherwyrms with a laugh that could only be described as maniacal.

I turned my attention to the big wyrm, trying to find the air to tell them what I'd done, but I still couldn't get my lungs to cooperate. Not even when I saw the green gas leaking out of the hole Serena had punched in its side. I used the same trick to send Reese's quiver and its remaining arrows back through Tiana's tendril, then I took direct control and tapped Tiana's side right where the gas was leaking out of the giant wyrm. She looked to where I was laying, cradling my once-again-fucked arm, with worry in her eyes, but I shook my head and jerked my chin towards the giant etherwyrm.

Bless her cleverness, it only took her a second to put it all together. She pointed, saying something to Reese, and the archer nodded. She drew her arrow and released it in a single fluid motion, and the arrowhead sparked on its way to its target. I took control of one of Serena's tendrils, using it to pull both Noelle and Zoey to her, then yanked all of them to the ground just before the arrow hit.

Reese's arrow exploded with a small pop, followed by a violent WHOOOM when the gas in the etherwyrm's stomach all ignited at once. The explosion ripped it in half, sending chunks raining down on the battlefield. A chunk of armor embedded itself into the ground next to me with enough force that it probably would have killed me if it hadn't missed, but I didn't have it in me to react. I took a peek at the others, but if any chunks had come close to hurting them then my tendrils took care of things.

With the giant wyrm dead, all that was left was cleaning up the smaller ones. I took a few deep breaths—well, as deep as I could, at least—and used the support of my shadows to push myself to my feet. They had things handled, so I simply walked to what was left of the giant wyrm doing my best not to pass out. Something during the fight earlier had caught my eye, but I hadn't had the time to think about it until now. The plates around its neck were scratched and worn, and when I looked at the bodies of the smaller wyrms around us it was the same.

All of the sudden, standing was far too much effort. The world pitched and swayed under my feet, and it was all I could do to make it to the beast's head and sink down on it like a chair before I passed out. I used one of my tendrils to reset my arm, using the pain to sharpen my mind enough to keep unconsciousness from washing over me, then I leaned forward with my elbows on my thighs and just listened to the fighting going on around me. With my tendrils helping them, it was easy enough to take care of the rest of our attackers.

Eventually [Horde Slayer]'s effects vanished. The fighting didn't last much longer, and I took a moment to look over my status.

[Health: 123/210]

[Mana: 61/140]

[Soul Essence: 51/100]

Shit. If me running off to go solo wasn't bad enough to put me in the dog house, then me undoing pretty much all the recovery we'd managed so far would. Suddenly, the weight that seemed to sit on my shoulders felt that much heavier. A small part of me wished I'd pass out from my injuries just so I wouldn't have to have the conversation I knew was coming, but no such luck.

I'd barely had the thought before I heard heavy footfalls coming closer. I could feel a set of my armor growing close, and something about her gait told me it was Serena that was practically storming towards me.

"What was that?" she demanded.

I didn't answer. I didn't have an answer. Not one that wouldn't make her angrier, at least. All I did was force my eyes open, my eyelids feeling like sandpaper against them, and look at her. A film of wetness covered her eyes, her brow was furrowed, her fists were clenched, and the skin around her slightly downturned mouth was tight. She was not happy with me.

Whatever she saw in my eyes seemed to take a little of the wind from her sails, but not much. "Why are you so determined to throw yourself into the most danger every time we get into a fight?"

I was sure I'd like the answer to that question even less than she would, so I elected to ask a question of my own. "How is Rhallani?"

Her jaw set. "Rhallani's fine. It'll be a few days before her arm is healed, and she's more than a little perturbed by what happened, but she'll be okay. She's as angry as I am that you ran off again, all by yourself." Then, quiet enough that only I could hear her, she said, "without us. Why, Zaren? Do you not trust us to fight by your side? Are you so determined to protect us that you forget we can protect you, too?"

I couldn't hold her gaze. My eyes fell, and when I saw Tiana walk up to put a hand on Serena's shoulder with a concerned Noelle in tow, I turned to fix my gaze on the ground in front of me. My ribs ached, and where the wyrm had chewed on me throbbed painfully. It felt like an eternity before I found my voice, and when I spoke it was rough and scratchy.

"Plan Z."

There was a beat of silence. "What?" Tiana asked.

I sighed, which quickly proved to me a mistake when pain shot through me. I didn't so much as flinch from it, so I doubted any of them noticed. "Plan Z. Bennet invented it, though Sandrel came up with the name." I waited for their response when I realized what I said did very little to actually explain what I was babbling on about. "When shit hit the fan, we always fell back on plan Z."

I heard them moving and Serena dropped to her knee in front of me. She grabbed my hand and a skill coursed through where we were touching. A different skill than her [Healing Embrace], but I felt my health ticking up regardless. A hand gently touched my shoulder, slipping across to the nape of my neck to sink into the hair there. I knew it was Tiana's, especially when Noelle's hands wrapped around one of my own.

"What's plan Z, Zaren?" Tiana asked softly from behind me.

Already, I regretted bringing it up. "When things went sideways and it looked like we were going to lose, I was to find the biggest, meanest motherfucker on the field and cause chaos. Draw as much attention as I could. Do as much damage as I could. Cause chaos. Lure the worst of the threat away from our troops and survive until the others could come up with something to turn the tide and win the fight. Pretty sure Bennet was just joking when he first mentioned it because he thought the idea was funny, but when we almost died a few times and plan Z helped us survive each time we finally adopted it as a strategy."

"Rolar hated it," I continued, "but at the end of the day I was just too damned hard to kill. Being the bait never bothered me much since I was just glad to feel useful for once, but we used that strategy time and time again right up until the war was over. Either they focused on me and the others were able to move and plan, or they tried to ignore me and go after our people, which gave me nice juicy targets to rip apart. It was the default for so long, that when it popped out of the ground I just..." I trailed off with a shrug, not really sure where the sentence was going and far too tired to try and figure it out.

Serena turned her glossy emerald eyes up to mine with. "You aren't in a war anymore, Zaren."

My gut twisted. "No? You sure about that?" When she frowned, I pulled my hand from her grasp. Noelle's, too. A brief hurt flickered across Serena's expression, but I just pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the way the world pitched for a moment when I did. Tiana's arm fell from my shoulder and I missed their touch desperately, but I just turned and walked towards what I'd seen earlier.

I gave the beast's head a swift kick right where I'd seen the worn and scraped armor on either side of its neck. "Look there, tell me what you see." My tone came out angrier than I meant, which surprised me. I hadn't even realized I was angry until that moment.

Serena's frown just deepened, but Tiana crouched down to look closer. "It's weathered. Scraped away, almost as if—"

"A collar sat there," I said. "Look around at the others, and you'll find the same. I've never heard of these things, which means I doubt they're native. Someone collared them, brought them here, and let them loose."

Tiana stood slowly. "Why would someone do that?"

"Why would someone lure blightwolves so far north?" I countered. "Why would someone hatch a Valax queen and broker a deal with her to make sure she remains unnoticed long enough to become a real threat? They're causing chaos. Strife. Killing innocents until the capital is forced to send forces north, away from whatever I'm sure they've got brewing in the south or let things up here fester until they're too out of control to rein in."

Tiana paled, and Serena was looking back and forth between the wyrm and I. "You think someone else is doing what you did? Sending all this north as misdirection?"

That was exactly what I thought, but it wasn't what had me so angry. Not by a long shot. This was a standard tactic that we'd adopted to fit my unique skillset of simply refusing to die. No, I was angry about something else. Something I couldn't put into words.

But Tiana could. "You think Allura is using you in the same way, don't you?" she asked, her voice painfully quiet. I didn't answer, but that in of itself was more than enough. "You're wondering if she didn't bring you back to cause so much chaos that your enemy is forced to waste resources on taking you out while she works against them somewhere else."

That was exactly what I thought. Once upon a time, I wouldn't have had any issue with that. But if that was the case, then today Rhallani had gotten caught in the crossfire. We were working on a much larger scale than back in the day, and if I was the bait then that meant everyone around me was in danger. Could I afford to keep them nearby if I was going to be constantly stumbling from one deadly fight to the next? I knew caring for them put a target on their back, but this was a whole different level.

But all I could do was shake my head. "There's no way to know for certain, so there's no point worrying," I lied. I was sure I'd spend the next few nights thinking myself in circles about just that. I turned from them towards where Vivian and her guards were conversing quietly out of earshot, and a part of me wondered if I'd said something I shouldn't have and she might have overheard it. The rest of me was simply too tired to care right now.

Dimly, while I walked towards them, I was aware I hadn't mentioned my newly dismal Soul Essence pool, but from the weight of their stares on my back I selfishly decided I'd keep it to myself for a little longer. I had no desire to sit through the tongue lashing I no doubt deserved just yet. Instead I made my way to Vivian's group hiding my limp knowing full well that Serena would be looking for any kind of injury and not wanting to worry her any more than I already was.

"Sorry, I didn't really have a chance to explain," I said, returning their items to them.

Zoey didn't work very hard to hide her glare, but Reese took her equipment back gracefully. "Lady Vivian told us what happened. Clever. You owe me some arrowheads, though," she said, the amusement in her eyes telling me she wasn't serious.

But I nodded all the same. "Send me the bill, I'll compensate you for it." Then, to Vivian, "sorry about manhandling you back there."

It was hard to tell since she was still flushed from the whole situation, but I thought she might have blushed. "Oh, not at all. You certainly saved my life, and I'm hardly going to be upset for that! Now I really hope you take me up on my offer later."

I inclined my head, ignoring the raised brows from her companions. "Seems the least I can do. Let's head back before the others start to worry."

I started first and the others fell into step beside me. Tiana wrapped her arm around one of mine and Noelle took my other hand in her own, but Serena walked with stiff shoulders ahead of us.

Was I shamelessly using Vivian's presence to keep them from asking the questions I knew were burning at them? Yes. Yes I was. Did I feel guilty about that? Abso-fucking-lutely. Toss it up on the pile of all the other shitty feelings I've got rolling around inside me today. What's one more, right? I was sure I'd have a very fun conversation when we all laid down to sleep tonight, but maybe I'd be able to put some of these frantic thoughts bouncing around in my skull into a light that actually made sense.

Wouldn't that be nice.