Charmaine woke to the shuffling of feet. Arden had taken to the bed, though now leapt to the wooden floor. She stumbled up, too, glancing nervously about the hut. William stood at attention, eyes trained on the door with Nicholas a couple steps to his right.

“There’s something outside,” William said with a brief glance over his shoulder at her. “I know I heard—”

The roof collapsed in an explosion of dust, snow, and growls. Charmaine cursed when one of the beams caught her in the stomach. The hit drained the breath from her chest. Gasping, she lay there sputtering for air and nails tearing at the beam.

Through the dust, a sinewy torso of a serpent-like abomination slithered inside. Yellow eyes flashed, fixated on a dark figure in the mist, Arden, based on the abrupt movement and flash of a blade slicing at the creature. Then William cursed and another crash reverberated through the hut.

Charmaine struggled against the weight pinning her to the floor. With the dust settling, she caught sight of what remained of the front door. A portion of the wall had caved in. Another of the snake-like beasts lurched within, a long scaled body standing on six muscled and clawed feet. They weren’t the beasts that grabbed them. These were yet another new monster intent on ripping them to shreds.

The one Arden battled against caught his arm in its teeth. The abomination slipped from the roof with the fae kicking in its grasp. Nicholas surged after them, rose light encasing his figure and leaving William to fend for himself.

“Fuck!” Charmaine pressed her feet to the floor, trying to use her waist to lift the beam. It groaned, barely shifted, then slammed her onto the floor.  A vein throbbed in her temple. William battled, sliding left and right to avoid a dangerous snout riddled with too many teeth. Unlike the last, these beasts were scaled black as night and their spine lined by spikes. Its long body shattered the east wall. Charmaine raised her hands to shield herself from the falling debris.

The snake lunged at William. He pivoted, but not fast enough. The weight of the snake sent him hurtling into the remaining wall. His head hit the bricks hard. He plummeted, then cursed when the monster trapped his leg between its teeth. William grabbed the beast’s snout. His spell made the monster’s jaw go lax to release his leg, but the beast slammed its forehead into his chest. The wall behind him cracked and he groaned. Charmaine’s fingers came to flame. She sent a wave of fire at the beast. Yowling, it released William and slithered back. The fire had done little more than encourage its anger. 

Snapping wide jaws, the snake gave Charmaine a look, one that chilled the blood in her veins. Its yellow gaze shifted to William, as if it had enough intelligence to understand Charmaine was trapped and it could come back for her later. If that were the case, they were in even bigger trouble. The grumps were the only beasts that thought without a Shadowed Disciple’s control. If a monster as large as this could think of its own free will, Charmaine couldn’t fathom the destruction it would bring.

The monster’s muscular hind legs prepared to jump. Panic and fear should have surged within her, but instead she felt rage. Something unbridled, hotter than the fire at her fingertips, turbulent as deadly storms far at sea. She wouldn’t let that monster kill William. She wouldn’t die out there, either. They went through too much. They deserved a life after this, a better one, and she’d tear apart any bastard in their way.

Setting her hands against the beam, she shoved the wood off with a scream. The beam rolled across the floor, startling the snake. Charmaine summoned the fire within her, the boiling rage continuing to eat at her skin and mind, and shot all of it in a violent blast. The raging heat caught flame to the beast. It reared on its four back legs, shrieking in agony.

Charmaine sent another ball of flames and another. Whining, the beast stumbled into the remains of the village. Its tail snapped wildly, shattering homes and leaving blood in its wake. Then it fell to the snow, hissing and withered, scales shattered and the skin blistered beneath. Dead. She stood over the corpse heaving, fingers twitching and the rage still boiling.

“Charmaine,” William called. Hearing her name, her true name, from his lips settled the anger to a dull throb in the back of her mind. She hurried to the remnants of the hut where he leaned against the exterior wall. Blood seeped through his torn uniform around his leg. Charmaine carefully peeled back the cloth. The injury wasn’t as bad as she feared.

“I count at least six puncture wounds,” she said. 

She eased William inside, though there wasn’t much left. He took a seat in the surviving chair and pressed a hand to his leg. She watched the blood slow then stop all together. The wound didn’t heal as easily as the others. After healing everyone over these days, lack of proper food, water, and rest, exhaustion settled beneath William’s eyes and atop his slumped shoulders. The wounds didn’t close entirely and he gave in, deeming that enough.

“Could have been worse,” he said with a hand pressed against his chest that took rapid breaths. He offered her a teasing smile. “Adrenaline is no joke, particularly yours. Remind me never to piss you off.”

Laughing, she leaned forward for a deep embrace. William’s warmth always eased her. The torment of training ended because of him. Charmaine hadn’t lived her life as a woman prior to the draft either, but among frightened and lonely teenage boys, wrath was rampant. They took that anger out on those they deemed different, and Charmaine stood out no matter how she tried not to. They saw her as too soft, too kind, too effeminate and strange, so the torment became a daily occurrence. Beatings and cruel remarks all stopped because a surprisingly small boy a full year younger than her started a fight. 

“When they hit you, make them regret it,” William always told her. Charmaine thought he meant to hit them back even if it was a losing battle, but over the next week, the boys that taunted her suffered mysterious illnesses. Things that made them utterly miserable. William never admitted to anything, but Charmaine understood. People like them, those who stood out among the terrified youth, would meet horrendous fates if they didn’t incite terror in return. So she never questioned nor demeaned William for his choice of actions, no matter how frightening because, deep down, she wanted them to hurt, too.

Once Charmaine released him, William glanced about the quiet village to ask, “Where did those pointy eared assholes go?”

“I don’t hear anything. Either the beast is dead—”

 “Or it killed them.” William smiled.

“Don’t smile while saying that. It isn’t proper.”

“None of this is proper, and if I find a little joy in their demise, what’s so wrong with that? They’d dance in our blood if they found us dead.” He stood with her assistance and the two meandered out of the house.

Charmaine never fought too hard against William’s distaste towards fae. He had plenty of reasons to hate them, more than most. She wasn’t so fond of them either. They always gave her a sense of deep discomfort. The first few years of war passed by without issue. Fae and human armies hadn’t completely integrated yet. They worked together by sharing intel and separating tasks, thus staying mostly apart. But the closer they came to the Dread Peaks, the more the armies intertwined. Seeing fae on the daily was normal, which meant she saw their constant mistreatment. Stepping into their path was the last thing she wanted to do. However, working together has always been better than working apart. The war was proof of that. Together, humans and fae did more in the last five years than decades apart. Many didn’t want to admit that. Sometimes, neither did she, but she wanted to go home. Not the home where she was raised. Her father never welcomed her, no matter who she feigned to be. Her mother though, Charmaine could find them a better place to live after serving all these years. No longer would she wear a fake persona for a bastard father or the military forced upon her. She and her mother could buy new gowns from the market and giggle over fresh pastries in the city. They’d have a life better than before. If fighting with fae meant the start of a better life, then she would put on a smile and deal with them.

“Should we wait here for them to return?” Charmaine asked.

“We’ll search around the village first. They might have gone through with leaving us.”

Charmaine bit the inside of her cheek. William made mention of it earlier in the washroom. They agreed she would suggest taking the first watch, then wake William next. That way he got some sleep, but he’d stay awake to ensure the fae didn’t run off. Though she considered the possibility, she had hoped it to be a lie.

They searched the side of the house first for tracks. A path of blood, debris, and footprints led them a little ways into the woods. Trees had been ripped from the roots. Scorch marks scarred the earth. Melted snow made the terrain muddy, then through the broken trees they found Nicholas and Arden investigating the corpse of the downed monster. Nicholas had the book out again, though he tore his eyes away for a moment to inspect them.

“They survived,” he snorted. “Your resilience is becoming impressive.”

“No thanks to either of you,” said William. “You could have returned after slaying the beast.”

“We could have.”

The look William passed her said enough; he wanted to kill that damn fae. Charmaine couldn’t blame him. Neither were very good company. Every hour that passed, they vexed her a little more, too.

“What have you learned from the beast?” Charmaine asked. She pressed a hand to William’s back, guiding him towards a nearby boulder. He attempted to argue that he was fine, but one stern look from her had him sitting. What he needed most was a full night's rest, all of them did.

“They are not one of Fearworn’s creations,” Nicholas replied. He snapped the book shut to slip into the black blouse he scavenged from the village. “None of the anatomical drawings match.”

Charmaine and William shared looks of concern. She passed the monster another glance, taking in the long body that, when standing on its legs, made a towering debrak seem small.

“If it is not a creation, then he has summoned another beast from the dark plane,” William said.

“And for it to be one of that size, the Shimmer has expanded.” Charmaine shivered and it had nothing to do with the snow. “There could be even more new monsters among his ranks.”

“And thus more to experiment with and on.” Nicholas’ gleeful smile didn’t go unnoticed. Neither did Arden’s. Charmaine bit back the urge to shout at them. An unusual thought for her. She never liked raising her voice. Her father always raised his voice. She sought to speak in other ways, but the fae were testing her patience.

“We must keep moving. Fearworn must have sent these monsters. He knows we’re alone out here and he wants his book.” Nicholas tapped his chest. “We must return to the encampment before we come face to face with Fearworn himself.”

“Book or not, that is unlikely,” William argued. “Fearworn has rarely shown himself. It’s how he has managed all this so long.”

“Yes, but once he realizes sending monsters after us isn’t working, he may come for us himself.”

Charmaine hated the prospect. Then Nicholas and Arden stepped past them, heading into the woods.

“Where are you going?” she called.

“We can’t afford to dawdle,” said Arden.

“But William is exhausted. We all are.”

Nicholas pivoted, a teasing glint to his eyes. “Shall I carry you then, darling?”

William raised a middle finger resulting in the fae snickering.

“Keep up little mortals.” Nicholas waved a finger, gesturing for them to follow. “You wouldn’t want to be left behind in the deep, dark woods.”

The shadows devoured Arden and Nicholas’ silhouette, leaving William and Charmaine among the debris and dead. She cast the creature another glance, overwhelmed by the power still visible in its lifeless body. Strong muscles that could tear apart caravans. Razor sharp teeth to gnaw bones. And a tough hide that sabers would do little against, that a clip of bullets may not stop.

“How do they know where to go?” She mumbled, watching William rise from the boulder. He shambled after their rude forced partners with her in tow.

“There’s no telling with them. We could be going in circles,” he bit.

“As unpleasant as this all is, I will try to view this as useful since we can bring all this new information to the Generals. They must hear of this. They must prepare.” She said that more to make herself feel better than another. William probably guessed that and nodded.

“You are right. At least we know this now rather than too late,” he muttered.

At least, they hoped it wasn’t too late.