Calum tore the lyre from his back and raked his fingers across the strings. They shuddered, vibrating so hard the wood itself seemed to hum. The air compressed, folding into a visible pulse before detonating outward and slamming into the troll.

  The troll reeled, just a single step back.

  Then the amulet at its neck flared. Golden light thickened, smothering the sound. The melody bent and dulled. Celeste joined her brother, her voice rising to meet the threat, but the stronger their song grew, the brighter the amulet burned.

  The troll touched the necklace. The air snapped. Whatever pressure it captured rushed back.

  All three of us were slammed by sound. My ears popped. The impact should have broken me. Yet, most of the force was absorbed by the suit.

  The troll stepped forward.

  Its shadow rolled over the siblings, swallowing them in darkness.

  “Move,” I told myself.

  I pushed myself up and ran.

  I dove toward the mountain troll’s flank, my fingers tightening around the hilt. Above its heels, thick restraints encircled its ankles, dark and heavy, iron. I couldn’t see a rune, but I knew it was there.

  I drove the blade in point first. The black steel bit into the restraint just as the troll stepped forward. The sudden movement tore me off my feet. I clung to the hilt as I was dragged upward, muscles screaming as the weight of the creature pulled me clear off the ground.

  Its foot loomed high over the siblings.

  No!

  I clung to the hilt and ankle, forcing the blade down, muscles screaming as I fought the weight of the iron. The sword shifted under my grip, angling itself as I drove it home. Metal shrieked. Sparks burst as the edge tore deep and bit into flesh.

  Pain jolted up the troll’s leg. It roared and lurched back, the raised foot slamming down short of its mark.

  I was flung aside, the world spinning as the road rushed up to meet me. Thud!

  Behind me, the torn iron restraint fell away, crashing into the dirt and skidding to a stop a hair’s breadth from the siblings.

  The troll stamped, snarling, blood already darkening its ankle. It looked around in fury, searching for the source of the pain. And found nothing.

  Still unseen, I lay where I had fallen, every muscle shaking. The blade cooled in my grip, a faint pulse running along its runes, steadying me just enough to think.

  How the hell do I kill this thing? I thought.

  A direct assault would get me crushed.

  One mistake and it would squish me like a bug.

  I needed to be clever. Then I remembered the other Troll…

  The Dopler.

  That was one heck of a plan. One last stupid idea. But for that I needed to get close. Too close.

  You bloody Idiot Sean…

  Massive, bloodshot eyes swept the clearing, the troll’s head turning slowly as it searched for whatever had attacked it. Further down the road Mud shifted. A head broke the surface as Amelia dragged in a ragged breath, the movement hauling Rob up just long enough for him to gulp air.

  The sound drew the troll’s attention.

  “Damn it,” I breathed.

  I didn’t think. I shouted. “Oi dick head!”

  The sound tore out of my throat, raw and desperate, cutting across the clearing. The troll snapped toward me at once, irritation flashing across its twisted features. But again, saw nothing. It snarled in frustration and ripped the club free from the road, stone cracking as it wrenched it loose, then hurled it towards the voice.

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  I dove.

  The earth shifted beneath me as the weapon tore past, clipping my shoulder. Pain exploded up my side, white and blinding. The suit took the worst of it, but only just. The force still drove the air from my lungs and left my arm numb as I hit the ground rolling, fighting to stay conscious.

  Blood filled my mouth. I spat and forced myself up, legs shaking.

  I tightened my grip on the sword and moved, eyes scanning for weak spots.

  I grinned through the pain and changed course.

  The moment its foot slammed down, I lunged and drove the blade as deep as I could beneath the massive toenail. The steel bit into something soft. The troll shrieked, pain tearing out of it as I ripped the blade sideways, shredding soft flesh.

  For a heartbeat, it worked.

  The creature staggered, its balance faltering, its roar breaking into something raw.

  Then a shadow swallowed me.

  A giant hand closed around me and plucked me from the ground. The pressure crushed the air from my lungs, ribs grinding as I was hauled. I drove the sword hard against its grip, the edge biting into flesh. Blood welled. The troll flinched, irritated more than hurt.

  It lifted me higher.

  Massive blood shot eyes locked onto me, trying to see the invisible, while the road spun beneath me.

  I guess this is close enough.

  I tried to laugh. It came out wet. I coughed and spat blood onto the gash in its hand, then hurled the blade at its face. The throw was stupid and weak. It bounced off its face and fell away uselessly.

  I felt it immediately.

  The cool energy vanished. My invisibility ripped away, leaving me bare and shaking. Only the runes sewn into my suit held, dim and strained, barely keeping me intact.

  The troll rumbled, a low, pleased sound, savouring the moment.

  I smiled back.

  I fought against his grip only to press my bare hands against its skin.

  I had made this choice. Whatever came next was on me.

  Pain.

  My vision went red. Tendrils tore through my blood. For the first time, I didn’t resist. I let it take me, rushing through my veins like a flood wreaking havoc.

  Agony beyond anything I had known tore through me. My muscles locked. My body convulsed. I tried to scream, but there was no air left in me.

  The hand holding me jerked.

  I was lifted higher and flipped upside down, blood roaring in my ears as the world spun.

  I would like to say I felt fear.

  But there was no space left for it.

  Pain consumed everything. My skin burned, then burned hotter. The curse surged with a violence that eclipsed every time before, heat flooding my veins, my heart hammering as if it meant to burst from my chest.

  And then I did the one thing I told myself I wouldn’t do. I let it out.

  All at once, it poured into the troll.

  Its pupils dilated.

  With the curse no longer contained, it moved with my pulse, flowing out of me and into the monster that held me, binding us together for one terrible heartbeat.

  The troll stiffened, a shudder running through its frame as if something had suddenly latched onto its heart.

  The troll’s skin rippled. Beneath the stone and flesh, something writhed. It tried to roar, to fling me away, but its body betrayed it. Blood refused to answer muscle. Ligaments locked. The massive form began to tremble as red tendrils burned beneath the surface, coiling and tearing their way through it from the inside.

  I clung on as the curse burned through me, filling every hollow place before spilling outward. It had grown stronger in the sword’s presence, contained. Now it broke free all at once, like a dam giving way.

  The troll gasped.

  Its grip loosened and I dropped, slamming into its cheek. Stone scraped skin as I slid, fingers scrabbling uselessly until my bloody hand caught on the necklace at its throat. My weight tore it free. I bounced hard off its shoulder, then its arm, my head snapping back before I hit the ground in a bone jarring thud.

  For a heartbeat, the world went silent.

  The troll roared, clawing at its own flesh as red tendrils writhed beneath the skin. It staggered.

  I quickly found my sword. I dragged myself toward it on elbows that barely responded, grit scraping my skin. My fingers closed around the hilt and relief hit me hard and fast. Not healing. Just enough to stop the shaking and keep me in the fight.

  I put on Ricky’s face and forced myself upright. Pain everywhere. Something felt wrong in my side. No time. I spotted the shattered necklace and lunged.

  Black steel devoured it.

  Then Celeste’s voice cut through the chaos.

  It rose clear at first, pure and strong, then wavered as she fought to keep it steady. Calum joined her on the lyre, the strings shuddering beneath his grip. The sound frayed at the edges but held. It did not crush the troll. It wrapped around the creature like invisible chains.

  The ground rumbled again.

  The mountain troll sank to its knees, clawing at its own face, fingers gouging into stone and flesh alike. I could not tell if it was the song tightening its grip or what I had done from within, only that the creature was no longer in command.

  Rocks slammed into its head in uneven arcs. Amelia stood braced on the road, shoulders sagging, hands trembling as she let loose the stones. Rob was beside her, blood smeared across his cheek, breathing hard as he hurled whatever he could find.

  They looked wrung out, held upright by stubbornness alone.

  I took a moment. My vision swam. The road tilted. I forced it to stop.

  Hooves thundered from behind me.

  Brent and two riders burst into view, mounts lathered and faces set. Arrows flew at once, sinking into the troll’s neck and jaw. Brent didn’t slow. He leapt from the saddle mid charge, a slender rapier flashing into his hand, and drove it into every gap he could find, climbing up its massive chest plate as he stabbed at any gap in its armour.

  A stone smashed into the troll’s face. Three more arrows sank into its throat. The creature shuddered, colour draining as its massive body sagged then crashed to the ground.

  “Shit,” Brent called, breathless. “You kids alright?”

  I tried to answer. Tried to take a step.

  The road slipped out from under me, and I went down before I could stop it.