Gunshots again. Shouting. Monks with weapons appeared, running from the temple doors toward the main entrance. What was happening there? Who was winning?

  "Faster!" Yuf urged, anxious. "Konrad, don’t drag it out!"

  "Just a moment… Damn lock… No one’s used this gate in years… There!"

  With a loud creak, the massive doors swung open. Beyond them lay a dark tunnel through the several-foot-thick wall, and then—an exit to the outside, toward the red cliffs and the dazzling surface of the bay.

  "Farewell, Konrad," Yuf said firmly. "Thank you. Kairu, you and I go first. Viggo, you’re last—protect the women. Ashley, bring the horses. We’ll try to save the sleigh too. Without food, the forest won’t be kind to us… Let’s go."

  Konrad grunted, scratching the back of his head. He lifted his gaze, squared his shoulders—and in the frost-reddened light, he suddenly transformed. A strange strength emanated from him, a strength that instantly revealed: this man, raised his whole life in asceticism, had learned in a far better school than any monastery.

  "You won’t make it through there alone," he muttered. "There’s a path… It’ll take you right down to the bay, hidden from the gates. You’ll get enough of a head start to cross the lake and hide in the cliffs."

  "Konrad…" Rita began, but the old man cut her off firmly:

  "My dear girl, understand! If you exited on the other side, it’d be easier to go around the lake and slip away north. From here, you won’t get through unnoticed. Every trail passes by the main gate. Dalid, Geonar, and the monks will distract those goblins of yours. I’ll lead you to the beach, then head straight back. No one will see me. From there on, you’re on your own."

  Kairu and Yuf exchanged a glance.

  "No time for speeches!" Viggo snapped. "Let’s get the hell out of here already!"

  "Lead the way, Konrad," Kairu said, gripping the hilt of Alaskrit more tightly.

  The monk darted forward. The others followed, leading the horses by the reins.

  They burst out onto an open snowy platform surrounded by cliffs. There was nothing here to shield them from the gusts of icy wind that raged freely above the bay. Behind them lay the outer wall and the dark mass of the Temple of Tornir. To the left, the Olmaer Mountains towered above. To the right was a long, steep descent toward the jagged ice floes of the Derelzfjord crescent. Konrad ducked down and hurried forward, hiding among tall reddish rocks with icy caps, guiding them along a path only he seemed to know. He stopped often, waiting for the stubborn steeds to descend steep patches, while the men rolled the sleigh.

  The gunshots and cries grew fainter, then fell silent entirely. Only the chilling howl of the wind remained, carrying tiny snowflakes. A blizzard was starting.

  They descended unnoticed, bypassing high rocky ledges that completely cut them off from the main gate and the goblins. The shore of the bay bristled with outcroppings, hills, and sharp, high boulders, offering excellent cover. Kairu had only one concern: how quickly would the assassins reach the shore once they realized the fugitives were retreating? The sleigh would slow them down.

  Downward still. The slopes grew steeper, the rocks sharper. The horses stumbled, the people struggled to stay upright on the winding trail, and dragging the sleigh, constantly threatening to overturn, was especially hard. But they made it. They stepped onto a small snow-covered beach and slowly approached the place where the thin boundary between beach and icy expanse lay hidden beneath the drifts. The temple was left behind, somewhere above. Kairu, Yuf, Joanna, Viggo, and Rita mounted their horses. Ashley settled into the sleigh, Remiz took the reins firmly.

  "Now—speed," said Konrad, slapping one of the Hellsteeds.

  The horses snorted impatiently, stamping their hooves, steam pouring from their nostrils.

  "Go. Aktos’ blessing be upon you. And come back alive. I’ll wait for news at the temple…"

  At that moment, bullets struck the cliffs nearby. Kairu turned, and his throat went dry. They were coming along the rocky shore.

  The "Pythons."

  Assassins from the Desert Lands. The ones who still haunted Kairu’s nightmares, those he first faced that unforgettable night in the Eastern Province jungle.

  The Hellsteed neighed thunderously and surged forward. Kairu barely managed to grab the reins, controlling the horse more with sheer will than with action. Remiz jumped up, whipped his trio, and the sleigh lunged forward, the first to dash out onto the endless icy expanse.

  Konrad froze in shock. Yuf couldn’t believe his eyes either. The rest turned their horses, grabbing for weapons… The goblins were giving chase, riding massive, grotesque orange lizards with short, powerful legs, fanged maws, and long tails.

  "Run!" the monk finally snapped out of it. "Run, damn you!"

  More bullets struck near them—and the horses scattered. Mounted, the assassins moved far faster, but even their lizards struggled to keep pace with the Hellsteeds bred by Professor Petros in his experiments. However, the goblins had one advantage, and it was the muskets in their hands.

  "Go!" Konrad shouted.

  Rita ducked as gunfire rang out. Viggo darted off after the sleigh, Joanna close behind. Several goblins veered off to pursue the sleigh, while the rest charged the others. Rita whipped her bow off her back and drew an arrow.

  "Like hell!" Kairu growled.

  He turned and looked at Yuf. Yuf took a deep breath, pressed his knees into his steed’s sides, and sped toward Konrad. At that moment, Rita and Kairu launched into motion and raced across the bay, while three of the leading goblins drew curved yataghans from their sheaths.

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  Yuf sharply turned his horse, sword gleaming in his hand. He rarely used melee weapons, preferring crossbows and repeaters, but that didn’t mean he was a poor swordsman. Konrad had just enough time to dive behind a rock when the Hellsteed rammed the nearest lizard, and Yuf slashed down at the goblin. The goblin parried, an earsplitting clang rang out. Kairu and Rita turned around and rushed to help their friend, who was being hemmed in.

  Another clang. Kairu leaned low over his horse’s neck and struck forward with a practiced movement, slicing the mercenary’s arm. He looked into the creature’s bottomless red eyes, eyes containing nothing but cruelty, taken to a particularly perverse and grotesque extreme in this body…

  And in that moment, the familiar fury of battle surged within him, and adrenaline boiled in his blood.

  He burst between the two goblins, slashing one of them abruptly and severing his left hand. The little monster roared deafeningly and hoarsely. One of the goblins, coming from the beach, was cutting off the way to the temple, and then Yuf, seeing no other choice, rushed to Konrad, grabbed him under the arms, lifted him up, and helped him climb onto the Hellsteed. One after another, several arrows whistled by, and a lizard under one of the goblins stumbled, began limping, shrieked, and shook its huge toothy head.

  Yuf sent his Hellsteed into a gallop. Kairu spun sharply, dodging two blows from behind—the assassins weren’t about to give up. Rita galloped almost side by side with him, gripping the reins tightly as she switched her bow to the other hand. And the Hellsteeds carried them furiously, using every ounce of strength, straight across the vast, endless expanse of Derelzfjord Bay, into the wild wind and the howl of the approaching blizzard.

  The bay was drowning in a blinding white whirl, the sky turning murky, dark as ashes. Kairu pressed against the sweat-soaked neck of his horse, buried his fingers in its thick mane, and prayed that his loyal companion wouldn’t fail him this time either. And the Hellsteed stretched into a straight line, running faster and faster, its hooves blurring into a continuous flicker... Just ten yards away galloped Rita, pale, clinging to her chestnut horse. Ahead, very close—Yuffilis with Konrad, who were gradually slowing down, then Joanna and Viggo, Remiz’s and Ashley’s sleigh.

  The other side of the bay, lost in darkness, seemed forever out of reach. From the right, five goblins were racing to intercept them, shooting without slowing down. Behind, two more were catching up, having left behind their wounded companion and a slain lizard. Kairu sheathed Alaskrit, grabbed the reins with his sweaty hands; sweat streamed into his eyes, and his heart pounded so madly it felt like it would burst out of his chest, the terror of this hellish speed freezing his body, preventing him from moving.

  Bullets zipped around them and vanished in the whirl of snowflakes. The goblins were gaining. The sleigh was very close, and no matter how much Remiz urged the trio of horses, they could soon tire.

  "Remiz!" Yuf shouted; Kairu barely heard him over the wind’s howl. "Ashley! Abandon the sleigh, mount the horses!"

  Nocturn understood. Behind Kairu, now overtaking the sleigh, he saw how they and the sorceress deftly scrambled onto the horses’ backs, sharply tossing aside the shafts. The sleigh spun instantly and was soon left behind, while the foaming horses, snorting, charged forward with doubled strength. The goblins were nearly upon them, bullets whistling more and more frequently overhead. Kairu prayed and kept his eyes ahead. It felt like the shore was not getting any closer; around them was still the same endless icy plain.

  Suddenly, Yuf swung his leg over the Hellsteed’s back and leaped off mid-gallop… Kairu didn’t immediately realize that he had handed his weapons and pack to Konrad, who now, with unexpected agility, performed feats of horsemanship, managing the horse. And then Lainter suddenly cried out, hit the ice, was left behind for a moment, and then a massive shaggy wolf bounded forward with huge leaps, keeping pace with the others. Konrad, clutching the mane with one hand, raised his crossbow and opened fire. The bolts clattered, the nearest lizard screeched, stumbled, and rolled across the ice, throwing off its rider. Rita shouted something, Viggo ahead suddenly pulled his trophy axe from his shoulder, and hurled it at the goblins. He hadn’t let go of this axe since the expedition, and now it hit its last target: another lizard somersaulted and collapsed to the side, covering the ice with black blood, with a shaft sticking out between its eyes. Ashley and Remiz urged their horses, Yuf roared and charged ahead, Konrad fired in a wide arc, and the enemies began to fall behind—but they were still returning fire...

  Viggo screamed loudly, clutching his pierced arm. Tiny rubies of blood flew into the snow; a few more bullets would have shredded his head had he not ducked in time. Joanna drew her crossbow and opened fire once Konrad had run out of bolts. The gray wolf howled loudly and slowed sharply, limping and stumbling on the snowy ice. The Hellsteeds galloped on at full force, still managing the mad pace of the chase, but their strength wasn’t endless either… And then Kairu lifted his head and, with wild joy, saw that they were almost there. The goblins had fallen behind, firing their last bullets at them. Ahead lay the beach, and the labyrinth of rocks surrounding the slope of the Western Vaimar Ridge.

  The first bullet grazed his thigh, tearing only skin and barely hitting him. Kairu clenched his teeth and squeezed the Hellsteed’s flanks tighter. And then something strange happened. The horse suddenly surged forward with incredible force, leaped into the air, and shook violently, and then Kairu felt himself flying downward, plummeting toward the hard ice.

  Impact. A flash. The crash of gun bolts—and a wild pain surging through his entire body, unrelenting... A scream welled up in his chest, and could no longer stay there, bursting out through clenched teeth… if he even had teeth anymore… And something enormous crashed nearby, tumbling and hammering the ice with hooves in one last spasm.

  It was his Hellsteed. Dark blood gushed onto the ice, pooling in a steaming puddle. Whose blood?.. His? Or the horse’s?..

  A jolt.

  It was Joanna. Her horse had fallen behind the more enduring Hellsteeds, and during the final stretch, she had galloped alongside Kairu, even slightly behind. Somewhere ahead, Rita was screaming, Viggo was shouting, and both were turning their horses, but too slowly, as the blizzard swirled more fiercely and bullets whistled. The girl caught him, and in a dreamlike daze, he marveled at the strength in her slender arms…

  Not a moment of hesitation. He didn’t resist, but he couldn’t help her either as she lifted him and heaved him onto her horse. He tried to say something about his Hellsteed, that they shouldn't leave him behind, that he had just stumbled, it happens, they needed to pick him up and lead him away…

  Then her hands trembled, and only one sound broke through the haze of his concussion. Her cry—or a sob. Short and stifled.

  …The gallop.

  Someone else’s hands, far stronger and rougher. Silence. The rustle of snowflakes melting gently on his face, the taste of blood dripping down his chin, and beneath his jacket. Someone carried him when everyone else had already dismounted, when the whistle of bullets had faded into the wind’s howl and the swirling white mist, through which the cold sun barely shone. And the white infinity of Derelzfjord vanished, giving way to gray stone and cliffs that offered shade and shelter.

  "Alright, listen… I’ll carry him from here, but you go after her."

  "Viggo, I need to be with him… I need to make sure…"

  "Rita, don’t be stupid, okay?! I’ve been trying for years to get used to your stubbornness! This isn’t the Nubel Expedition! Go, get her back!"

  "Then go yourself! I can’t leave him now! You think we’re safe? We’re not! Viggo, we need to bandage him and get out of here, hide…"

  "And I need bandaging too! And so do you! And Remiz! Don’t be foolish, girl! For Aktos’ sake, just this once, don’t argue with me!"

  "Viggo…"

  Silence.

  "To hell with all of you! Fine, whatever, I won’t interfere—it’s not my business, but you, Rita, you’ve got something dark on your mind! Got it?! And I won’t let you! Take him. I’m going after her…"

  Then he lost consciousness.