The behemoth roared, spraying the mist their way. Decaru came to their rescue, shining brightly and creating a shield that deflected the substance away. Chloe hated to think about what would happen if that stuff were to touch her.

  Ben and Gideon continued firing into the cavern, picking off the demons. The behemoth, however, reared onto two feet. When it landed, the floor shook. Its front foot scraped the ground, then it charged them angrily.

  There wasn’t a member of the party who didn’t recoil as the mammoth creature sprinted toward them, apparently unfazed by the light, an impossible creature of incredible bulk.

  There was an explosion of light as Decaru braced himself. As the behemoth crashed into the barrier, pulses of energy surged around them.

  The behemoth retreated a few steps before charging again, lowering its head and trying to break the barrier. Decaru held strong, though Chloe could see that he was struggling against the monster’s power.

  Has Decaru finally met his match? Chloe wondered as she watched the behemoth line up for another charge.

  “Ben, Gideon, switch focus and aim for the behemoth. Decaru needs all the help he can get. Veronica, use your light and aim it at the beast, too. The rest of you, exit the light at the sides and take down all you can. We need to thin the herd and get to those dreyda.”

  Blueballs cowered as another shaking pulse of light exploded on contact. How much longer Decaru had, Chloe didn’t know, but she was sure that even the shaman only had so much energy in the tank.

  “Blueballs, I need you to go supernova, okay? Help the others. Destroy all you can.”

  Blueballs nodded and turned on his heel. He launched straight at an orga that was waiting patiently beyond the boundaries of the light.

  “What are you going to do?” Jessie called.

  Chloe looked at Jessie’s bag and smiled. “I’m going flying, and you’re coming with me.”

  Before Jessie could respond, Chloe had raised her menu and selected the Summon Steed option. Sir Wingsalot’s squawk carried down the tunnel, magnified by the cave. A second later, he landed by Chloe and Jessie.

  “Hop on!”

  Jessie obliged, wrapping her arms around Chloe’s stomach. Chloe’s mind momentarily went back to the pair’s journey across the desert what felt like months ago, the first time they had really been alone as a pair.

  “Go, Sir Wingsalot,” Chloe instructed, sending the terrordaxil soaring.

  They circled above the mayhem, flashes of light pulsing below them with each monstrous charge from the behemoth. The team’s weapons were still lit, slowly draining Chloe’s mana and looking like shooting stars as they smashed and slashed the demons.

  Up high now, they were not too far from the dreyda. The Monster Slayer skill came into effect and highlighted each creature’s weak spot with a yellow diamond-shaped marker. That wasn’t much help, given that the weak spots were still covered by the flesh of the beasts.

  “Got anything handy in that bag of yours?” Chloe called back.

  “Already on it,” Jessie replied. She gripped Sir Wingsalot with her thighs and rifled through her bag as bottles and vials clinked.

  She extracted several small round glass bottles. “I took the liberty of crafting a few of these while waiting for you and Gideon to return from your expedition.”

  She passed one to Chloe, who weighed it in her palm. It was lighter than she’d expected. Inside, she could see a swirling mist that reminded her of galaxies.

  “What do you do with them?”

  “Lob them,” Jessie replied, demonstrating as they passed a weak spot.

  The bottle flew through the air, before bouncing against the dreyda’s soft flesh and plummeting to the floor.

  As it landed, the glass smashed. Immediately, a flash of bright light exploded, obliterating a cluster of demons that had been unfortunate enough to be below.

  “Powerful,” Chloe said, impressed.

  “Just one problem, then,” Jessie replied. “We need to find a way to smash them as they hit the dreyda.”

  “I’ve got that covered,” Chloe replied, an ice shard now hovering in one hand and a satisfied grin on her face.

  The next shot worked perfectly. When they passed the next dreyda, Jessie tossed the bottle and Chloe shot her ice shard in its direction. The shot could have been closer to its target—Chloe had been too eager—but it still had a noticeable impact.

  “These are amazing!” Chloe cried. “How many do you have?”

  “Thanks!” Jessie replied. “Not too many. They take some time to craft, after all.”

  “How many?”

  “Five.”

  “Five left?”

  “Five, including the two we’ve thrown.”

  “Oh…”

  Chloe made a note to be more careful with the next few. According to their on-screen clock, they only had ten minutes to end this mission and defeat the final two dreyda.

  “Come on,” she urged Sir Wingsalot.

  They focused on the dreyda they had just hit, causing another explosion of light and lowering its defenses. Chloe whooped and called down for Ben to help out with a few light-imbued arrows.

  Only, when she looked down, she could see that the team was really struggling now. Decaru’s light was only the thin glow of a child’s nightlight, and the behemoth (although damaged and stumbling slightly) was gearing up for yet another charge.

  “Everyone aim for the behemoth!” Chloe commanded, her voice powerful and loud thanks to the acoustics of the cave. “Bring it down!”

  Tag roared, flexing his chest as he cast Cry of the Valiant. At exactly the same moment, something else amazing happened.

  There came shouts and cries from back down the tunnel, and a moment later, a warrior emerged, sword raised high. Then an elf. Then a dwarf. Before long, dozens of fighters had appeared around the tunnel’s bend. They lined up behind the KieraSlayers, weapons ready, many of them looking at first the behemoth, then Chloe and Jessie in awe.

  The behemoth, unfazed by the new arrivals, smashed into the light once more. A final surge of power went through the cave, and Chloe saw with dismay that Decaru had floated to the floor and was now nothing more than a tiny orb of fading light.

  “Blueballs,” Chloe called. “Get Decaru! The rest of you, attack!”

  Blueballs obeyed, clutching the wisp in one arm as he used his free one to smash demons out of the way. The army surged in, overwhelming the demons. Soon the behemoth was stomping its mighty feet, crushing many players who would respawn in a matter of hours, but taking big hits itself.

  Five minutes left on the timer.

  “Let’s finish this,” Chloe said, her face resolute.

  They whirled back around, launching another glass orb at the dreyda they had just hit. This time the shard exploded the ball right against the flesh and its defenses dropped.

  “Archers! Mages! Aim for the heart!”

  Down below, a group of elves, men and women, sought the heart of the dreyda. They looked around blindly, not sure where to aim.

  Right. I’ve got Dark Vision and Monster Slayer. They don’t.

  “Ben, show them the way!”

  Ben obliged, firing a light-imbued arrow toward the heart of the dreyda. It found its target, leaving an afterburn of light for all to see. The mages and archers unloaded volley after volley at the dreyda, chipping away at its health.

  Of course, their weapons being normal, the damage was slow, but at least it was damage. If Chloe could just lower the defenses of another, maybe they’d stand a chance.

  Three minutes now. Two bottles left.

  Jessie threw another for Chloe to smash. This one was near perfect, causing the shadowy tendril covered body of the dreyda to pulse and writhe.

  Jessie smirked. “Ready for this one?”

  “You know it.”

  The orb flew through the air. Chloe prepped her ice shard, but just as she came to the release, Sir Wingsalot bucked, alerted by a stray arrow that had flown in their direction.

  At least, Chloe hoped it was a stray.

  Chloe’s stomach fell as the bottle dropped toward the ground. Their last hope of finishing off the quest was almost out of reach.

  “Not today.” Chloe grunted, inspiration finding her as she summoned Telekinesis and aimed it at the bottle.

  The bottle froze in the air, inches above a demon’s head.

  She pulled the orb back up and held it next to the dreyda. With her other hand, she tried to summon an ice shard.

  But nothing came. The bottle began to wobble as her mana depleted. Without time to properly manipulate the etheric on her previous spell, and the fact she had imbued several player’s weapons, she had drained every last ounce of mana.

  “Ben! Take the shot!”

  Ben turned his attention to Chloe, giving a small nod as he whipped out an arrow, nocked it, and focused on his True Shot ability. The arrow streamed through the air, just catching the bottle as it began to slip from Chloe’s spell.

  Light shattered in pulses, pushing Jessie and Chloe back. Sir Wingsalot bucked again to accommodate the power, and Chloe found herself smiling as the dreyda’s heart was revealed.

  With a final burst of speed, Chloe soared down and across the field. “Fire at both! We’ve nearly got this! C’mon, soldiers, give it everything you have!”

  Mages shot electricity, fire, water, and earth at both dreyda. Arrows now split between the two creatures. Chloe’s Creature Identification showed the first dreyda at a quarter health, and the second at half.

  Meanwhile, the other dreyda (Chloe still couldn’t get an accurate count) continued to spew demons and orga at the fighters.

  Chloe hovered above Gideon, an arm reaching down.

  “Mana potion. Now.”

  Gideon nodded, tossing up a blue bottle which Chloe quickly glugged, glad to feel its power surge within her.

  “Thanks,” she said, kicking Sir Wingsalot in the side. “Sir Wingsalot, up.”

  Thirty seconds left on the clock now. Chloe could feel her heart race. She gritted her teeth, sweat falling from her brow. Without another hesitation, she closed her eyes, found the rabbit, and put everything she had into her Deic Light spell.

  This time she felt something strange happen—an additional boost. Inside of her, KieraFreya appeared, the goddess synchronizing with the battle mage, flowing her own unique form of power through her. Both were unaware now of the hundreds of monitors, tvs, and displays that had started to glitch and show flashes of static.

  A column of light like nothing she had ever experienced came forth from her hands.

  The timer went to twenty seconds.

  The dreyda writhed, its health draining to almost nothing.

  Seventeen seconds.

  The dreyda gave a final roar before shrinking and disappearing.

  Dreyda: 6/15

  Thirteen seconds.

  Chloe turned her attention to their final dreyda. Everyone’s attacks now soared upwards, although many had died in their valiant efforts to help, so the projectile rate had lowered. Warriors and tanks held the floods of demons at bay while clerics healed. Archers and mages gave their final bursts of strength.

  Ten seconds.

  “Come…on…” Chloe grimaced, her power almost too much for her.

  The dreyda screeched and several tendrils shot out from the other dreyda, aimed at Chloe, Jessie, and the terrordaxil. Chloe focused on ensuring her column hit its heart, watching as the health bar drained.

  Five seconds.

  Four.

  Chloe screamed in a final outpouring of everything she had.

  Two.

  One.

  The dreyda matched Chloe’s cry, the sound enough to make several players clap their hands to their ears. A bell tolled loudly around them as the count indicated the final kill.

  Dreyda: 5/15

  Challenge complete.

  On the ground down below, the demons began to shake violently, disappearing one by one as their nests above faded from the cave. The orga fell to their knees, then crumbled into dust.

  Gold lights appeared across the cavern floor as players rose into the air, bells chiming to indicate their increases in level as the party quest experience was added to each player’s stats.

  And now Chloe, too, was bathed in golden light. She laughed, not quite believing the sudden change in circumstance. One second, she had been exhausted. Spent. Every last ounce of energy used.

  Now she was restored and her level increased. She landed back on Sir Wingsalot and checked her notifications, wanting to see the final outcome of the quest.

  Party quest complete: A Call to Arms

  You’ve done it! You’ve impressed the royal family by removing the threat of the dreyda.

  Working alongside other parties and uniting to destroy global threats takes a lot of work. You’ve demonstrated that you have what it takes to work as a team and save the legendary Killink View from the nightmare of the shadows.

  BONUS: The KieraSlayers have proven their worth, showing exceptional battle camaraderie and spirit. As the team which contributed the most damage to the dreyda, you are the winners of this challenge. Your party reputation has now risen, and you will be in higher standing for future missions and quests.

  Rewards: 20,000 experience to each team member of the party + favor with the city of Killink View + an audience with the king and queen + increased party reputation.

  Chloe flew down to the ground, aiming for Blueballs and Decaru. The toffet came to her with the wisp in his arm, cradling Decaru like a baby. She asked if he was okay.

  I’ve been better, he said, a lightness in his voice.

  Chloe hugged Blueballs, then located the remainder of the KieraSlayers, including Veronica, Huk, Therese, and Leonie. They cheered and jumped together, celebrating a hard fought victory.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  The KieraSlayers had a little bit of time to kill before their audience with the king and queen, so they celebrated in the only way they knew how—

  With lots of drinks and cheer.

  One by one, the Twisted Spire filled with customers. At first, the landlord, Kershaw, seemed disgruntled, not enjoying the fact that he had been woken in the early hours of the morning by Chloe and her friends.

  But as the inn began to fill up and he saw the amount of coin he’d be turning down by not accommodating the group, his mood changed and he found his energy.

  Chloe and Jessie were celebrated as heroes, with many pats on the back—much to KieraFreya’s annoyance—and offers of drinks from other fighters. A large portion of the fighters had logged off after the quest was over, but enough had stayed so that the customers spilled out into the streets surrounding the inn.

  A warrior beamed. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

  A mage laughed. “Right down to the wire.”

  “Where did you learn that stuff?” another warrior asked.

  Chloe answered as many questions as she could, regaling them with tales of the journey of the KieraSlayers. For the players who had only been in the game a few days, the distance Chloe and her friends had traveled and the monsters they had fought seemed impossible.

  She told them of the forest of Fleetwood, spoke of Nauriel and Bahrum, and described the titan and the insects, spinning the stories until all patrons of the inn were enraptured, including Kershaw.

  She was careful to not divulge too much information about the armor she wore or her true mission in visiting these places, and a couple of times KieraFreya pulled her back from an anecdote that might have given the game away.

  Yet even without the added knowledge of a goddess being along with Chloe for the ride, she still made eyes pop and garnered the respect of the other fighters.

  “You must be a really experienced gamer,” a frail-looking dwarf said, sitting cross-legged in front of her.

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” Chloe grinned, catching Tag’s, Gideon’s, and Ben’s eyes. They all knew her experience of gaming was limited to a couple of hours of Candy Crush on her phone and sitting around bored while her ex-boyfriend played Relic Hunter.

  After her stories, Tag and a few other volunteers stood up on the tables and sang. Pitchers of ale and mead were waved in the air as people locked arms and accompanied them, their heads going woozy from the booze.

  Who calls her a fierce one?

  A fierce one?

  A fierce one?

  Who calls her a fierce one,

  Oh, that’s right, we do.

  Her name it was Chloe,

  T’was Chloe,

  T’was Chloe.

  Her name it was Chloe,

  A champion through.

  She fought off the dreyda,

  The dreyda,

  The dreyda.

  She fought off the dreyda,

  And saved the town too.

  For she has no limits,

  No limits,

  No limits.

  For she has no limits,

  This battle mage, too.

  Her name it was Chloe,

  T’was Chloe,

  T’was Chloe.

  And she was a fierce one,

  That’s Chloe, yes you!

  Chloe beamed, flushing red as the patrons swayed and sang her name, raising a glass with every repetition of it. Tag winked at her. Ben sat beside her, stifling his laughter. Even Jessie, Talbot, Huk, and Therese joined in the jollity.

  When the song was over, the patrons jumped off the table and fell once more into excited conversation about their battles. A short while later, they began to file out, blinking in the early morning sunshine. Soon the tavern emptied, leaving only the KieraSlayers behind.

  “Are you heading back to your temple?” Chloe asked Veronica as she stood up and stretched.

  Veronica contemplated. Before the quest had taken place, she had seemed rather prickly toward Chloe, sticking her nose up as if she were better than her and knew it. Now, though…

  Now Veronica seemed to have gained a newfound respect for Chloe. After seeing what she had gone through and what she had given in the cave, and the powers she possessed, she definitely gave the question proper thought.

  “Well, given that we’re all now a part of the same party, I suppose it makes sense that we all stick together, doesn’t it?”