CHAPTER SIX

Jin rode Scorpion at an easy pace. At about midday, she crossed the Opalescent Road as it ran between the Imperial City and Marwin in the northeast. She remained long enough to refill her water skins at a fountain and give Scorpion the chance to drink.

This span of the road was frequently travelled. Settlers were pushing deeper into the interior of the Miracle, and the Aleesh legion required steady deliveries of supply to the forces garrisoned in the Imperial City. To avoid anyone who might carry word of her to the wrong ears, Jin forsook the easy path in preference for overland travel.

She would return to the road now and again, three times a day on average. The crystal fountains that dotted the road every league were the most reliable source of clean water. Many of the fountains no longer functioned, the ancient theurallurgic artifices damaged beyond repair, but the majority of them still sprayed a steady stream of cold, purified water into their stone basins now that groundwater had been restored.

Jin took Scorpion a league away from the highway when she travelled, checking her progress against the glittering line of the road in the distance. She kept her pace at a steady trot throughout the mornings, slowing to a sedate walk after the sun reached its zenith. In silence, Jin continued onward.

The unbroken landscape felt eternal, as if a hundred years of travel wouldn't be enough to see its end.

Why did I come here? Jin asked herself. To hide?

She frowned. Hiding suggested she was ashamed of what she did. No, it'd been necessary. If there was anything to be ashamed of, it was that she failed.

There were surely other places Jin could have gone, anywhere in the Five Kingdoms. There were many remote corners of the world where Jin could remain anonymous, where the eyes of an assassin wouldn't be recognized. Instead, she remained near to where her face and deeds would be most likely to be remembered. The Miracle had been remote to start, but more and more came every week. Jin's self-imposed isolation was becoming less isolated.

I've been here too long, she decided. Once I'm through in Marwin, it will be time to move on.

It came as an annoyance that she was reluctant to make the decision. Perhaps there yet remained a part of her that didn't want to be separated from her sky woman. But the sky woman was gone. Enfri Page was gone. Enfri the Yora First Summit stood in her place. The woman Jin Algara once loved became a Dragon Empress, and the woman who loved Enfri was now dead.

Jin Algara was dead. She'd made certain of that, because as long as Jin lived, there was no hope of stopping Shan Alee.

The shaking returned, and Jin could no longer pretend it was from adrenaline.

"Scorpion," she whispered.

The horse's ears perked up, and without needing her direction, he turned his head away from the road and sped up his pace. Scorpion ran just shy of a gallop, mindful of his rider's increasing instability in the saddle. Jin held on and felt her head swim, trusting Scorpion to see her to a place of safety.

Jin didn't know how long she clung to Scorpion's back. When he finally came to a stop, it might've been minutes or hours later. Jin could no longer track the passage of time. The only things she was aware of were the tremors coursing through her entire body, the icy chill in her veins that also burned like fire, and above all, she felt the need.

Dropping from Scorpion's saddle, Jin collapsed onto the grass. She panted and tried reaching for her saddlebags. Too weak, she dropped back down onto her stomach. Her hands searched desperately inside the leather pouch tied to her belt, but she should've known better. It was empty, had been for months. There was nothing left to sate her need.

Jin whimpered, fearful of what she knew was coming. She prayed for it to be merciful, to take her Beyond while knowing it wouldn't. Jin would linger, because if the need hadn't killed her already— killed her before Jin destroyed the foolish girl who dared to love an empress— it wouldn't do so now.

This was her punishment. Her body enduring long after her heart and soul were dead was to be Jin's damnation.

She tried to open her eyes, but the light burned too brightly for her to see. Jin crawled, unsure of where she was crawling to. Eventually, even that exhausted her, and Jin rolled onto her back. Panting and wheezing from the pain, Jin lay on the grass and waited for the oren withdrawals to pass.

It should have killed her by now. Jin had no explanation for why she was still alive. Before her, no royal assassin had ever survived longer than three days without taking the oren. Perhaps Dashar, but he was a blood mage; the sustaining spells woven into his blood could likely store up a month's worth of oren if he needed it. Jin had no such protections. Even without blood magic, she managed to go five days between doses before she forsook the oren entirely. She gave all she had left to Josy, hoping that the need would end Jin's betrayal of Enfri.

She'd expected to last longer than five days before the oren killed her. Jin knew death wouldn't come easy. However, she had hoped it would end her before she was forced to see the look of betrayal on Enfri's face. Before Jin had no choice but to draw her blade against the woman she held more precious than any other.

"Why did I have to live to see?" Jin mumbled.

Jin was wrong. She was ashamed.

The rage in Ban's eyes, the fear after Jin drew his blood. He'd known Jin could kill him with a thought, and still he kept on the offensive. The righteous anger of a paladin could never abate. Krayson's disbelief. For whatever reason, he'd been more unwilling to accept Jin as his enemy than any of them, as if she'd provided proof that all he believed in was wrong. Reyn, who had never shown Jin anything but understanding and kindness, her pain as Jin struck her down with a thrown dagger was seared into memory.

Jin dreamt most of all of Enfri and her eyes. From shock to pain, from pain to anguish, from anguish to resolve. The dark cloud of the previous emperors passed within her eyes, and when it left, the sky woman was gone forever. Jin wished with all that she was that she wouldn't have lived to see it.

"Seize her."

Jin felt her heart tear itself to shreds. She fled from those accusing eyes, deep into a forest of mist-cloaked trees.

She walked beneath thick boughs as the mist swirled around her. Figures formed within the mist, bare apparitions that held to a semblance of form as they beckoned to a lost princess. She felt another figure ghosting her footsteps, not one of mist but of shadow. Jin didn't dare turn to look. She felt its presence like the smothering weight of a filth-sodden blanket around her shoulders.

Coming to a stop, Jin felt it approach. Its mouth at her ear. She felt the hot stench of its breath as it opened a maw lined with rows of cracked and rotten fangs.

Ahead, through the forest, the misty apparitions fled from Jin and the stalking fiend. Their intangible forms swarmed away through the trunks and branches, until they swirled around a distant figure. It was a woman, her face obscured by a hooded shawl of raven feathers. She was armored in a hardened leather cuirass that left the pale skin of her arms and abdomen bare. A loincloth fashioned from a wolf pelt hung from her waist. Hide and fur adorned her wrists and feet, small bones and teeth worn as jewelry. From the shadows within the figure's hood, Jin felt the piercing gaze of her eyes.

Brown eyes, the color of mud made from ash and the blood of slaughtered generations.

Jin startled awake.

The pain had left. The withdrawals passed until the time they would come again. Jin was left exhausted, breathless, her throat dry, and her heart hammering in her chest. She reached a hand to her heart and was surprised to have it land against her, not on the resting head she'd grown accustomed to finding as she woke. Not even the spot of drool that would be there if she was the second to wake in the morning.

Jin held her hand over her eyes and grimaced.

A velvety muzzle pushed against her cheek, and Jin groaned as she opened her eyes to look at the horse accosting her. Scorpion nudged her face again and blew out his nostrils. The hot blast of his breath stunk of grass, and Jin would be lying if she claimed it was completely unpleasant.

"It has passed," Jin murmured while stroking Scorpion's nose. "Still alive, my friend."

Scorpion gave a relieved whinny and plodded off to continue his grazing.

Jin sat up with difficulty. She pawed at her forehead to wipe away the cold sweat beading on her brow. Once the world around her stopped spinning, Jin opened her eyes to take stock of her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was the sun on the eastern horizon. It was after dawn, meaning her episode had taken her through the rest of the day and into the next. At least. Twice before, she'd had episodes that lasted longer than a full day, and she didn't realize how long she'd been senseless until she compared her calendar against those of travelers.

She was parched, but her hunger didn't seem to be that of more than a lost day. Jin was doubtful she'd been out longer than that, but even so, she now had an additional reason to seek out civilization. Jin was running low on willow bark, and by her count, it was coming close to her cycle. If there was one trial worse than oren withdrawals, it was facing monthlies in the wilderness.

Jin was unsure if the cramp in her abdomen was a lingering pain from her episode or the onset of something else. Either way, she retrieved one of her last strips of willow bark from her saddlebags and stuck it in her mouth. Jin gnawed on it as she retrieved rations and set about building a campfire to make breakfast.

Scorpion had brought her to a watering hole. A pool of shallow water was nearby, surrounded by reeds and cattails. There were two acacia trees, both large and healthy. A small herd of arkathons drank from the far side of the pond and paid little notice of Jin and her horse. The Miracle had so far proven a benefit to the ugly reptiles. They seemed to appreciate the sudden abundance of grass and water along with the lack of competition.

Jin kept a wary eye on the tall grass around her. If arkathons were gathering, scale lions might not be far. Perhaps even a scorch kraken. Jin had only seen one of those since entering the Miracle and didn't relish the thought of slaying another. Scale lions weren't so rare, and they didn't hesitate from attacking interlopers in their territory. Whenever Jin found signs of them, she preferred avoidance to confrontation. In her career as an assassin, she fought scale lions exactly twice, and both times resulted in life-threatening injuries.

Jin gathered dry grasses for tinder and cut a few branches from the trees. Manifesting a spark with her sorcery set the small fire alight, and she soon had a pot of water bubbling over the flames. She tossed in a handful of dried beef, a few sliced roots, and wild vegetables to make a thin soup. It took a good deal of boiling to soften the meat, but Jin eventually got something that approached edible.

Hungry enough to eat anything, Jin wolfed the meal down in short order. Afterwards, she cleaned her pot and utensils in the pond and returned them to the saddlebags. Beyond hunger, Jin also wanted to get moving to make up for lost time. She couldn't plan for when or how often the need would strike, so she couldn't waste more time than she already had.

There was a little trouble when she tried mounting Scorpion. Jin frowned at the obstinate horse in consternation before realizing her error. Sighing, Jin took off his saddle and gave him an extra thorough brush down. Picking through Scorpion's coat, she sought out any sores from wearing a saddle too long. Jin was thinking of walking alongside Scorpion the rest of the day, but he appeared just as eager as she was to start moving again.

By Jin's measure, she was nine days of easy travel from Marwin. Those ruins were relatively close to New Sandharbor and the airspace patrolled by the Arcane Knights. Jin would likely have to proceed more slowly the closer she got to Shan Alee, but she believed she had the time to spare before her self-assigned deadline.

There was a small river ahead, cutting down from the western slopes of the Dragon Roost Mountains. Before the Miracle, the water would've been lost into the sands. It now continued in a wandering course towards the southwest until it fed into the inland sea that appeared beside the Imperial City.

Jin wondered off-handedly if anyone had named these new bodies of water in the past three months. She felt a smile creep onto her face when she thought of Deebee studying ancient maps to discover the names the sea and rivers used to have. Jin wouldn't put it past her and would honestly be shocked if Deebee didn't.

The smile faded. Jin imagined what would happen if she came upon the Storyteller again. It wouldn't be a happy reunion. Deebee once called Jin her daughter of the heart. At the time, Jin was overcome with gratitude. She returned that love. But...

In the end, I also betrayed Deebee, Jin thought. I betrayed them all. My friends. No, more than that. They were my...

Jin felt her soul stir, and she ruthlessly crushed it back into dust. It was important to make certain that part of herself remained apart from her. What was dead could never come back.

Not because it was impossible, but because it couldn't be allowed.

She rode until nightfall. As the sun sank beneath the distant Li Lung Mountains in the west, Jin spotted something ahead to the north that she'd been hoping to find before long. A collection of lights shone in the falling dark. A settlement lay ahead on the shores of the river.

It was a collection of two dozen buildings on either side of the river. A low, stone wall surrounded the settlement, passing over the water with spellwrought arches. There were tall gatehouses at two different points along the wall, at the northeast and southwest. Most of the village was built around two large buildings on the river shore, a mill and a forge. Both had large waterwheels that clacked at a steady rhythm. The chimneys all poured out thin plumes of smoke, and clouds of steam billowed forth from a handful of boilers. The steamworks were for powered tools around where a few buildings were still being constructed.

The hour was likely past the time anyone would be willing to barter. Nevertheless, there would likely be a spare bed or at least a dry pile of straw someone would be willing to give her in exchange for a few scubs. Jin could resupply, listen to the latest news from the east, and learn the extent of Shan Alee's expansion into the Miracle.

There were risks with making contact. Few among the settlers didn't know the name of Princess Jin Algara, and the settlements saw frequent visits from the Arcane Knights to check in on their wellbeing. There could be a white dragon, their Quartz Knight, and an entire crew in that settlement at the moment. If the gossip Jin had so far acquired was accurate, the Pearls, Smokestones, and Ambers also made the rounds to Miracle villages. Furthermore, the goodfolk would more than likely be wary of a lone stranger. Her last encounter with humanity proved that bandits were operating in the area.

Precautions were necessary.

Jin dismounted Scorpion half a league from the village. She undressed and placed her armor in packs before taking out a change of clothes. Her sword was sequestered away into a holding spell, within easy reach should it be needed. The first thing Jin put on was a pair of gray leggings that, to this day, she had no idea of where they came from. Jin assumed it was another mixup with the legion's washerwomen, like the one that vanished her favorite green blouse. Jin settled on a black linen blouse with a row of brass buttons. Lastly, she pulled her hair back into a loose tail and covered it with a shawl.

Mere clothing wouldn't be enough to go unrecognized, so Jin manifested a transmutation. She'd learned this spell by observing Enfri's alchemy. Jin first changed her hair from black to red, then her eyes to dark brown. A darker eye color would conceal her slit pupils. As far as Jin could tell, changing skin tones wasn't inside the capabilities of this spell, but fair skin wasn't so uncommon amongst the settlers. She imagined that with her above-average height she would be assumed to have as much Gaulatian blood as Althandi.

Jin did up her buttons as she walked Scorpion to the village. She tried to imagine a fitting story for why she'd be out alone in the frontier, with a Gaulatian warhorse no less. Deception and subterfuge had never been among Jin's strengths, but she'd been given a fair amount of training in those fields. Royal assassins seldom had the benefit of being able to work openly, so it was a vital skill set to have.

"Is someone out there?" a voice called from ahead. The village had watchmen at the gatehouses, and one of them peered from over the top of the wall with a hooded lantern held up beside his head.

"Aye, Goodman," Jin replied. She disguised her voice by speaking in a higher pitch and using a rural Althandi accent. Jin didn't trust herself to affect a Gaulatian accent without sounding a fool. "Hoping to find a place to bed down for the evening, maybe trade a little come daylight."

The watchman took one look at her before sagging in relief. "Sure thing, lass. Give us a moment to unbar the gate. Been some trouble with ruffians as of late, so your pardon if we seemed a bit unneighborly."

"Not at all," Jin assured him. She led Scorpion up to the gate and came to a stop. "Had a run-in with a few just the other day."

"Winds, you alright?"

"Can't rob a girl what they can't catch." Jin patted Scorpion's neck.

The watchman chuckled. "Good on you, lass. A moment and we'll have you inside where it's a mite safer."

Jin listened to the sound of a heavy spar being taken off the inside of the gate. A moment later, it swung outward several feet and just wide enough to bring a horse through. She saw a pair of washed but weary faces peeking out, and the watchman from earlier beckoned for her to come through.

"Best not to dawdle, lass. Some of those cusses are maybe watching. Been a band of them hanging about."

Jin led Scorpion through and affected an expression of concern. "Are bandits that bad this way?"

"Well, there's bad and then there's bad. No one's been knifed yet, thank the winds, but the longer they're out there, the more desperate the bastards'll get." He spat off to the side. "Not like there's much for them to take off us. As you can probably see, we're still just getting our start."

"Last I came this way, this village wasn't here. What's it called?"

She stopped just inside the gate while the two watchmen barred it again. The one doing all the talking was a middle-aged man, Althandi, with a black bowler hat and a handlebar mustache. The other was younger, perhaps in his late teens, and wore a trilby. The youth had a thin build and furtive manner.

"Ain't have a name as of yet," the older man said. "Still deciding between Waterbend and Millforge."

Jin glanced to the two buildings sporting waterwheels. "Didn't think to hear Althandi village names out in the Miracle. Most are going Aleesh."

"Aye, and maybe we ought do the same, but most of us come from about the Spired City. After the disaster in Westrun, a lot of our trades dried up, so this frontier is something of a godsend for us. Only a handful of us what have any Aleesh in them, and they're all half-breeds at best. That'd be Goodman Miller and his family. Fine folk, they are." He finished setting the bar in place and turned around to face Jin. He blinked when he noted how she was a hand taller than him. "Winds, lass. I took you for Althandi by your tongue. You of southern stock?"

Jin smiled kindly. "Eastern, actually. Ma came from a Gaulatian village. Rosewater, near the border with Rook. Pa's as Althandi as anyone."

The watchman pressed his hat to his head and bobbed a quick nod. "Apologies, lass. No offense meant."

"None taken. I'm Casswyn. Casswyn Jeweler." Jin held out her hand.

He took her hand in a firm grip and shook it. "Pleasure, Casswyn. Name's Conrad Priest. This here's my nephew, Alton."

Jin cocked her head slightly. "Are you clergy, Goodman?"

Conrad shook his head. "Nah, but the amount I'm asked, I ought look into it. The wife is the holy one of the family. Used to follow the Lord of Bones up until... well, you know. Now she's come looking for a new dogma. Figures there ought be a few popping up here and there in the Miracle once folk start moving in. Might be we'll start seeing signs of this river's god before much longer. Until then, she just checks in with the local spirits to make sure they don't much mind us settling here."

He sent Alton back up to the gatehouse and offered to take Jin somewhere she could get some rest. There wasn't much in the way of accommodations, but there was an extra futon or two lying around that someone would be willing to roll out beside a hearth for her. When she mentioned that she could pay, Conrad wouldn't hear of it.

"Don't be worrying about that, lass."

"Please, call me Cassie."

He pressed his hat down again. "Aye, that I could. We're not so poor off that we need to go charging a lone girl for guest-rights. If you have sommat to barter as you say, that's more than enough for us."

"Mostly coin, but I have some steel tools you might find a use for. Mason tools, a lumber saw, a few knives." Jin neglected to mention that all those came off a wagon whose owners were murdered.

"Millers and the Smiths will give you good trade for that." He nodded and gave her a good-natured smirk. "No gems, Goodwoman Jeweler?"

Jin giggled. Winds, but when was the last time she ever giggled? It was uncomfortable. "Pa's the jeweler. I just like the name. Makes for a prettier handle."

"Well, I won't be arguing against that. This pa of yours here in the Miracle?"

Jin shook her head. "No, I came with my betrothed. Then as soon as we got our charter, he decided he was better off chasing after the skirt of some Nadian hussy. Didn't much feel like doing his laundry anymore."

"Winds and storms, the blustering lout," Conrad gasped. "Hope you gave the fool a piece of your mind over it."

"Oh, I did. I mentioned the knives, didn't I?"

Conrad gave a hearty laugh. "Well, I'm sure he deserved everything what you gave him. That mean you're heading back east?"

"I would like to, but the Horde could be reaching as far out as Rosewater by now. Don't suppose you've heard anything?"

"Bits and pieces. They've been saying the Marcels been holding the walls at Parnaia. And Her Majesty sent some of her dragons to hold the lines with them. Winds blessings on the young empress. She's a goodhearted one."

Jin maintained her smile. "As you say."

"That tuck about her people— the old empire and whatnot— hard to believe in any of that. Don't see a kindly young lady like Empress Enfri getting up in any of that slaver evil. Not in a thousand years."

That much was true, at least. For now. Even the most ardent of assassins would agree that the bond forgers began as something beautiful. Inwé was a healer who saved humanity from the proteurim empires at the beginning of the last era. But it wasn't Inwé who whispered into Enfri's ear. Not anymore. It was Shoen, the Dragon Emperor who murdered more people than any other monster in history, who was the constant presence in her mind.

Jin had already seen the influence he had over Enfri. More than Jin thought Enfri would be willing to admit to. No one else saw it, because no one else looked for it. But Jin saw, because she'd given her oath to seek it out. Seek it and stop it.

Better to remain blind, Jin thought. Before long, more of them will see.

It became difficult to conceal her maudlin mood, but Jin managed to keep up the cheerful face of a traveling young woman. She continued to offer a false persona, giving details of a past that didn't exist and practicing her atrophied skill of casual flirtation. Jin doubted Conrad would think her especially charming, but he was pressing his hat to his head more and more often as they walked. Maybe she wasn't as hopeless at that sort of thing as she assumed.

I did not think I could manage flirting with men, Jin thought, somewhat impressed with herself. Women though. I feel I can hold my own, flirting with women. I imagine it is easier if there is an actual attraction present.

"Forgive me if this sounds odd," Jin said, "but I just wanted to be sure I'm not muddled. It's the Sixth of Flame, today?"

"Aye," Conrad confirmed. "Not odd in the least. Gets easy to lose track of the days when you're out here in the middle of nowhere."

"As you say. Do you expect Arcane Knights soon?"

"Would be a blessing, but no. In another few days or so, maybe. We had the honor of hosting Lady Kolbat herself and the Corsair not a week gone. Can't rightly say what brought the Lady of Pearls to our corner of wilderness, but we were certain to give her and her crew a proper welcome."

Conrad brought her to a cottage where an Althandi woman was tending to a stable of cart horses. After introducing Goodwoman Tenya Thatcher to Casswyn Jeweler, Conrad took his leave, citing the need to get back to Alton and the gatehouse.

"Thank you again, Goodman Priest," Jin said in farewell. "Winds' blessings on you."

"And on you, Cassie," he replied. "See about holding onto that saw tomorrow. I've a good rod and reel to trade. You might find a use for it along the river. Slim pickings, but some trout are finding their way into these waters"

Jin perked up. She was longing for a trout after weeks of thin soup. "I'll hold you to that."

Tenya was little older than Jin, maybe twenty-five. She was unmarried and an orphan. Remarkably pretty, with a fetching mole at the corner of her eye and a delicate build. She came to the Miracle with her three sisters, all younger. Tenya was happy to stable Scorpion with her horses for a night.

Jin couldn't help but notice, but as she was taking Scorpion's saddle and bags off, Tenya had eyes on her backside.

Leggings, Jin cursed herself. Should have gone with a skirt.

"How long will you be staying?" Tenya asked as she brought Jin inside the house.

Jin bent to lay a knife against the doorframe before stepping all the way inside. "Only until tomorrow."

"You're more than welcome to stay longer." She gestured to Jin's shawl. "Feel free to take your hair down."

Jin complied and lay the shawl across her shoulders. "I may stay longer. If the weather turns."

Tenya walked her into a living room where a hearth fire burned warmly. "The girls have all already gone up to bed. I could roll out a futon, but if you'd like-" Her eyes traced down Jin's body before coming back to her face. "-you could take mine. I don't mind a futon."

"I couldn't possibly," Jin said. Alarm bells were sounding inside her skull. "I wouldn't want to kick you out of your own bed."

Tenya arched an eyebrow. She may as well have suggested they share the bed. Jin was starting to feel especially warm under the collar. When Tenya brought a futon out of a closet and lay it down in front of the fire along with linen bedding, there was no mistaking it to be an accident how the top three buttons of her blouse came undone.

Jin was mortified at herself. Not only was she unable to look at Tenya directly, but her cheeks were turning the same shade as her disguised hair.

Ah, now I remember, Jin thought with sudden clarity. I absolutely am not allowed, under any circumstances, to flirt with women. I am incapable.

"Would you like something to eat?" Tenya asked. Her tone dropped half an octave, and she came a step closer. "Something to drink?"

Jin shook her head. "No, thank you. You're too kind."

Tenya's coquettish smile was as far from innocent as a smile could be. "Well, if you change your mind and feel you need... anything... my door's right there." She pointed down a short hallway. "I leave it unlocked."

Jin swallowed. She'd come across forward women before, and she certainly didn't think less of them for it. Winds knew, when your courting preference was for other women, you often had to be blunt. That said, Jin had never met someone who came charging out of the gates as aggressively as Tenya Thatcher. Jin was honestly impressed, almost as much as she was intimidated.

Tenya turned to leave, heading for her bedroom. Once she was gone and out of sight, Jin let out a quiet sigh of relief. Winds, but her heart was racing. She couldn't remember the last time she was the object of such... blatant regard.

Or rather, she could, and thinking about that caused something inside to wake up when she wanted it to stay dead.

Jin removed her blouse and lay down on the futon. Perhaps it was paranoia, but she set a warning ward around her bedding. It would wake her from sleep in the event of an unexpected visitor. Between her poor rest during her episode and the long day's ride, Jin dropped immediately to sleep.

At once, she found herself in the misty forest again. As before, the ghostly apparitions danced around her before fleeing from the shadowed fiend. It was upon her again, its mouth opening wide inches from her neck. The woman appeared as she had the last time. A hooded shawl of raven feathers, barbaric garb, and a wolf pelt loincloth. Piercing, brown eyes.

One thing was different. She approached Jin. The woman seemed to be so far away, and yet Jin could hear the word she spoke clearly.

"Rise."

Jin trembled, and the fiend beside her brought its fetid fangs closer to the flesh of her neck.

"Rise, my daughter. You must stand."

Jin startled awake, and the night air outside Tenya's home was filled with the roar of flames and goodfolk screaming.