Page 7 of Compass Points
“Stop it?”was Arie’s only response.“You realize that no one has been able to stop it in any of the villages it has taken so far? No one even knows what happens in the mist! I see you holding your favorite weapon, trying to solve your problems by beating them into submission, as usual, but what can you do against the mist?”
“Gods, Arie,” she said exasperatedly. “Again, not the time. We need to try. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”
If a bear could shrug, he did.“Fine. I’ll meet you at the portal in five minutes.”He disappeared.
That was fine with her. She turned back to see Luc standing in the hallway, staring at the spot on the floor where the bear had just been.
“Do I even want to know?” he drawled.
“Did you find a weapon?” she challenged.
“Yes…wha—”
“No time. I need to grab one more thing from the workshop. Be ready to go when I get back.” She strolled purposefully past Luc into the workshop. She went to the forge and pulled a delicate gold chain with a compass attached off the wall near her workstation. A gift from her mom, her only family heirloom. She wore it always, only taking it off when she was going to spend hours bent over the hot forge. Having stayed up too late working on a new project last night, she’d forgotten it this morning. She refused to hurtle off to the unknown without it. Carrying it felt like carrying her family’s support.
Turning to leave, she felt the same weight of magic she had felt in the clearing. Searching for signs of mist and shadow, she readied to grab her weapon from her back strap as she started to turn to leave the workshop.
Nothing could prepare her as dark mist dropped down through the forge chimney.
“This cannot be good,” she muttered to herself.
The mist billowed out, dowsing the fire in the forge with its thickness and covering the workshop in darkness.
Chapter Five
Rose brought up the sword that she had strapped to her back. What wishful thinking, imagining she could make it off the island before using it.
Her eyes were still adjusting to the lack of light. It was near impossible to discern the mist shadows from the smoke billowing from the interrupted forge fire.
The thick mist took over the room, permeating the peppermint scent. A cold shudder crossed everywhere it touched. She heard motion and felt a figure at her back. Risking a second to confirm, she saw Luc holding his borrowed sword behind her as she continued searching the dark room. The mist swirled around them, providing no form to strike. Back to back, their feet drew circles on the ground, mirroring the mist’s movement.
More mist barreled down the chimney and onto the floor before Rose. It poured out of the forge building into a vaguely familiar shape. This was what they wanted, something solid enough to attack, but she wasn’t prepared for what they saw.
It was huge. Rose had to tilt her head back to see its face. She immediately yanked Luc’s arm so he knew to turn to stand beside her. The mist stacked upon itself from the ground up, legs the size of tree trunks on taloned feet, a body shaped after statues of gods. The mist thickened, crafting a warrior-like creature.
Easily two times Rose’s height, and broad—so broad that if it hadn’t been shaped from the mist, she wasn’t sure how it would have fit down the chimney. Raising its sword of shadow, it moved toward Rose and Luc.
The only hint of color in the room was the beast’s golden eyes. Their focus honed on Rose. The sword that took shape billowed like smoke but swung straight for Rose’s head. She met the shadow blade with her own, and she felt the clash of their swords deep in her bones.
Solid. The shadow sword was solid.
Luc didn’t hesitate. While her sword locked with the monster’s, he plunged his sword into the beast’s side.
The creature of shadow itself could be struck.
Releasing a piercing screech into the dark workshop, the creature finally registered that it had two opponents.
The beast reared back and attacked again. Rose and Luc responded in tandem, alternating who took the blow and who tried to strike.
She knew the moment Luc called his magic, as a new scent of pine and cinnamon burst into the workshop. His earth magic dug a pit into the ground, large enough to hold the creature. This was a classic move of the Suden people, trapping and burying their enemies and leaving them to die in the darkness below the world.
The creature took another step as it moved to strike Rose again. Sure enough, it fell into the pit that appeared beneath its foot. But as the beast fell forward, careening into the depths, shadow wings extended from its back, halting the descent.
The shadow beast could fly. This kept getting better and better.
As it placed itself back on the ground in front of Rose, she defended the next strike from the beast, teeth clenching as she held firm. If Luc’s magic was useless, she had to buy him a moment to get a hit that would count.
Taking a deep breath, she considered her options. Keeping herself and her magic hidden would do her no good if she died. Maybe Luc wouldn’t even notice, tied up in the battle as they were. She didn’t agonize long over it, with imminent death in the form of a mist-born beast looming before her.
