The dark silhouette moved from the tree stump. Not very tall or burly. Whoever it was, started walking toward me. I put my hand on my hilt, not wanting to draw until I needed to, but staying ready. My hand trembled as I considered the possibilities. Not only was I outside the walls of Mallma, standing by myself, but I had ventured further into the Forest of the Forgotten than I cared to think about. Of course, if this was the Forgotten, drawing my sword would be little more than a false hope of survival.

  The figure turned its head to the side. The potion’s ability allowed me to make out the green shades in her face. Kiri. My body unclenched.

  A smile spread across my face. She looked bewildered but not harmed. When she had disappeared, I thought it was the last I’d see of her. She didn’t recognize me until we moved closer to each other. As soon as she did, she ran forward and threw her arms around me. When she pulled away, we both stopped and smiled at each other for a moment. The elation I felt at her safe arrival faded quickly, replaced by one question--where is the sasquatch?

  I spun slowly, studying every bit of the terrain that I could see. No sign of the beast. “Where is he?” I asked.

  “Gone.” She shrugged. “He dropped me off and retreated into the forest.”

  “Where did he take you?”

  “Away. I would give you more information if I had it. All I can say is we stayed inside the forest.”

  Avian said he took you deeper. Did you see any signs of the Forgotten?

  She shuttered. “A group was creeping through the heavy brush. But I can’t be certain they were the Forgotten.”

  “Will he come back?” I watched her face as she pondered the question. Was she searching for the answer, or thinking of the best way to word her reply? “Are we still in danger?”

  She shook her head. “He showed me a vision of Sani’s people hunting down the sasquatch. While his initial reaction was a desire for revenge on Sani, he let it go.”

  “For all of our sake, I hope he stays away.” I glanced back at the lodge. “Sani might not be as forgiving.”

  “Why did you come out here alone?”

  “The last potion I mixed allows me to see in the dark. The light inside hurt my eyes, forcing me out.” I considered that for a moment. Dante must have known I would have to depart the lodge. He expressed the desire to teach me a lesson, but did he want me to come out here for another reason? Leaves rustled behind me. I spun, half expecting an ambush, but relaxed when I saw Avian advancing. I called out to her. “She’s back!”

  “Who?” Avian asked as she rambled toward us. She stopped and flicked her tongue.

  “She can’t see me?” Kiri asked.

  “Unlike me, she doesn’t have night vision.”

  “Neither do I, and I can see her fine.”

  Avian’s tongue slipped back into her mouth. “Kiri, thank the gods.”

  I squinted at Avian as she approached. “What are you not telling us?”

  “About Dante?” She threw her arms up. “I think you know as much as I do by now.”

  “Not about him.” I paused. “When we first met, you needed me to watch a guard tower that you should have been able to see. Now you can’t recognize Kiri when she can see you just fine.”

  “Don’t concern yourself with my affairs,” Avian said.

  “We’re traveling together, watching each other’s backs. Is there any reason why that would be harder for you?”

  Avian halted, her face twisted in anger. As she glared at me, the anger gave way to shame. She stared at her shoes. “There is a reason the Brigand left me behind.” She kicked a small pebble. “They trained me to throw daggers. I could circumcise a billy goat from two dozen paces without pause. But then I started to miss.”

  “Are you losing your sight?” I asked.

  “Losing? Already lost most of it, but just for things far away. I can see colors and shapes at a distance, but they are blurry. I need to be close enough to touch you in order to make out the features on your face.”

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  “You didn’t seem to have any problems traveling,” Kiri said.

  I remembered when Avian led us through the village. She kept a hand on the buildings, using them as a guide. Her memory, hearing, and sense of smell must have allowed her to function enough to hide her developing issue. But if she was going to continue as a Brigand Assassin, she would need to regain her sight. “You think a wizard can heal you.”

  Her eyebrows raised. “How did you know?”

  “You don’t want to use the portal to return home. You want to go back to Earth and find a wizard.” My eyes widened. “It is also why you kept asking Sani if he was a wizard.” I rubbed my chin. “I’ve seen him heal you and the sasquatch. Perhaps he can fix your vision.”

  She shook her head. “His grandfather might have had the skill. But Sani is still learning. He’ll be able to fix injuries he understands, but nothing as complicated as eye problems.”

  I glanced back at the lodge. “Where is Sani?”

  “Inside. Dante insisted he stay and cook.”

  “Why doesn’t Dante cook his own steaks while he’s waiting for me to come back in?”

  “Huh. I didn’t consider that.” Her eyes widened. “It was his idea that I come out and check on you. You don’t think he is up to something, do you?”

  My heart beat faster in my chest. First, he gave me a potion that forced me outside. Then he convinced Avian to join me, leaving Sani by himself. I couldn’t think of a motive for the betrayal, but at his stage of starvation, I’d be surprised if his mind wasn’t corrupted. “Who knows what he is capable of. Hell, he stabbed me for not drinking a potion fast enough.”

  “He did what?” Kiri asked. “Let’s go check on Sani.”

  I huffed. “I’ll be worthless in a fight inside until the potion wears off.”

  “How long?” Kiri asked.

  I shrugged.

  “Sani might be in trouble. How dangerous is this Dante guy?”

  Avian glanced at Kiri. “He’s a frail old man who is wasting away.” She pulled two daggers from her belt. “I could take him alone, no problem. With the two of us, we can’t fail.”

  Before I could protest, they rushed around the building. I followed but stopped as the door slammed behind them. Chewing my nails, I paced in front of the hunting lodge, keeping the front door in view. Who would have thought I’d be so eager to get inside that awful-smelling lodge? But something about Dante was off. Come to think of it, a lot about Dante was off. But there was something extra, and I feared my friends were in danger, making me want to burst through the door. Not that my being there would make a tremendous difference in the battle. But he was just one man.

  The longer I paced, the more impatient I became. By now, they should have burst through the door, telling me tales of how they quickly defeated the old wigon. Or Sani would come through to tell me we overreacted, and all was fine. But the door stayed shut. The only noises I heard were the sounds of the forest. Just as I considered rushing in with my eyes closed, the bright green faded slightly. I could still see far away, but the details became fuzzy in the distance. After pacing the length of the house a few more times, it dimmed to darkness, the green going away.

  Without further hesitation, I pushed through the door. The stench hit me again. It seemed even worse this time. I didn’t know how that was possible. I weaved through the stacks of garbage, having to backtrack twice after taking a wrong turn. Finally, I ended up back in the center. The deer carcass no longer hung from the ceiling. Even if he doubled his pace, Sani wouldn’t be more than a quarter way through the meat. Did Dante have him move it closer to the fireplace?

  I continued through the garbage maze. The closer I got, the more worried I became. Everything was silent. Nobody talking. I couldn’t imagine Kiri returning and everyone not only stayed quiet, but left me outside to wonder what was going on. I picked up speed on the final stretch.

  As I entered a clearing, the silence made more sense. Sani, Kiri, and Avian were bound and gagged. Each was dangling from the ceiling by a dirty rope, their feet barely touching the floor.

  “Stop right there.” A fire burned deep in Dante’s eyes. “Surrender, and I’ll spare you the pain and humiliation of defeat.”

  I drew my sword and pointed it at the old man. “Cutting you down will take but a moment.” I grinned.

  Avian grunted through her gag. Her eyes moved rapidly as she panicked, something I didn’t expect from a brigand assassin. My stomach turned. Even with her ailing eyesight, she outpaced me as a fighter. How did this frail yaksha subdue both her and Kiri at the same time? My mind raced as I realized her eye movements weren’t panic. She was using them to point behind me.

  I spun, slicing my sword through the air, expecting to block any advancing attack. My eyes widened as I took a staggered step back. Five young men ambled toward me. All were as skinny as Dante. They wore leather masks, which left their eyes exposed, but covered their nose and mouths. All five reached out with twigs for fingers, as if they wanted to grab me.

  “Is this all you got, Dante?” I asked. “I’ll cut through them like they were standing still.”

  Something whiffed through the air behind me. My head surged forward as pain shot from the back of my skull. I spun, raising my sword to block Dante’s staff as he brought it down hard.

  For such a frail-looking man, he moved swiftly. Twirling his staff between his hands like he was marching in a parade. I searched for an opening while ignoring the throbbing in the back of my head.

  All three of my friends grunted and wiggled. Before I could respond, several bony hands grasped at my back, arms, and shoulders. My heart pounded as I realized Dante’s staff play was only a distraction.

  They pulled my arms behind me, forcing me to drop my sword. Their faces pushed against me, as if they were trying to bite me through their leather masks. Dante stopped twirling and set his staff aside. He poured a powder from a pouch on his belt onto his palm. Lifting his hand, he blew.

  My eyes felt like someone rubbed them with hot pepper juice. Everything around me grew dark. I could still feel the apprentices clawing at me and heard every growl permeating their leather facemasks. Struggling to find the words, I spouted, “I will cut you to pieces.”

  “That would be a fancy trick.” Dante chuckled as he wrapped a rope around my wrist and bound my hands. He released me, but his minions kept me in place. I heard the old man struggling to breathe as my hands were yanked into the air by the rope. Soon, my feet barely touched the floor.