The Shrine of the Withered Bloom? It sounds like something related to nature, or a cycle, death and rebirth.

  “And how can we open it?” I asked.

  Jerome didn’t answer immediately. C’mon, we don’t have time to waste.

  Then his remaining eye shifted, locking onto Mary.

  “She can,” he said. “The roots didn’t explain how. Just that… she has what’s needed.”

  Mary stiffened. I saw her go as stiff as a board. We exchanged a look, brief but loaded.

  “Because I can heal?” she asked quietly. “Maybe it’s… meant for a healer? A trial, or something like that?”

  She tried to sound rational, but fear crept into her voice anyway. I couldn’t blame her. Being singled out by a thinking parasite wasn’t exactly comforting.

  I was about to reply to her, when the forest answered for me.

  Six eldir came from the trees, roots already coiled thick through their bodies. Apparently someone didn’t take my refusal well.

  “There are too many!” The man shouted needlessly.

  I moved on instinct.

  Arcane Sense flared to life, snapping the world into sharp relief. I forgot to keep it active again, a mistake I couldn’t allow myself to make continuously. Still… focus. I multicasted my barrier at the same time, the familiar pressure blooming behind my eyes. Then my hand went to the grimoire.

  I didn’t hex only the Eldir this time.

  I hexed the roots too.

  The spells sank in, malicious and invasive. I felt it gain power as my intention aligned with it, bringing them down, making them squirm. All six creatures screamed as one, collapsing in jerking heaps while the roots inside them writhed and spasmed.

  Good.

  I layered Drain the Accursed over it. I couldn’t reach all of them, but the closest two lit up in my senses as their life force tore free. The strain was brutal, but I held it.

  If this parasite wanted to force my hand, fine.

  Every monster it sent would become a whetstone for sharpening myself against.

  I fed the stolen vitality straight back into my spells. Arcane Sense got a boost, suddenly strong enough to show me precisely the tangled knots inside each body.

  “There,” I barked. “Chest, upper right side. That’s the core.”

  Melissa didn’t hesitate. Her ray charged up and hit one eldir square in the head. Not a little ray anymore, but a thick beam, burning through the ribcage in steady pulses. Three of them went down under her fire before I finished the two.

  Mary was struggling with hers, the spear hitting the wrong place or glancing off thrashing limbs.

  “Mary,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “I have an idea. Try to coat the spear with your golden barrier; it should help.”

  She staggered back, eyes wide, breathing hard. For a second I thought she wouldn’t try.

  Then she did.

  Golden light slid over the whole spear, forming a thin, perfect film all across it. For a moment it looked like a divine artifact in her hands, despite the plain appearance of the weapon.

  She thrust.

  The scream that followed wasn’t just from the eldir.

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  Black smoke poured from the wound. The roots shrivelled, then ignited, burning from the inside out. Mary stumbled back, leaving the spear lodged in the corpse as it collapsed, motionless.

  The light faded.

  “Oh my god,” she gasped, bent over and shaking. “I’m not made for this. Please don’t make me do that again.”

  I stared at the dead thing, then at her. Defensive skill or not, that had been devastating.

  “Of course”, I said. “I’ll handle them. You and Melissa protect yourselves and Rhea. I just wanted you to get some levels.” I hesitated. “But Mary… if you're offered an offensive option later, think about it. You don’t have to take it. Just… consider it.”

  She nodded weakly.

  The last of the eldir I was draining went dry. I released the spell and turned back to Jerome.

  He was still sitting where he’d fallen, staring at the bodies like they might get up again.

  “How…” he whispered. “Those things are over level thirty. At least. How did you kill them so easily?”

  “They’re weak to my magic,” I said. It was true enough.

  I offered him a hand. “I’m Elias.”

  He took it, still dazed. “Jerome. Thank you. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

  “Well, we could use your help,” I said, pulling him to his feet. “We're going in now. If we wait too long that monster is going to focus on the group and while our people are no slouch I’ll prefer if they faced the least danger possible, and that means forcing that monster to send most of its minion to us. You don’t have to fight, but can you guide us to the shrine, or the monster?”

  Jerome nodded.

  “Yes,” he said. “I can.”

  His voice shook, but there was clarity in it now despite the shock.

  “It’s not far,” Jerome said. “The roots keep pulling me that way. I could feel it when I got close.”

  He swayed, then caught himself before he fell.

  “Can you move?” I asked.

  “Yes. I mean—yes,” he said quickly. “I’m just… not in any condition to fight. I have no weapon, and whatever they did to me, I don’t feel recovered yet.”

  “It’s fine,” I said. “You don’t need to fight; just show us the way.”

  I turned to the others. “I’ll handle anything that comes at us. Mary, Melissa, stop anything that gets within ten yards. Rhea, stay close. If you see a good spot, we can think about preparing your ritual later.”

  Melissa met my gaze, jaw set. “Don’t worry. I can keep them away now.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rhea blurted. “I’m still a burden. I’ll—I’ll look for a good spot and get my achievement, I promise.”

  I bit back a sigh. “Don’t worry, we’ll manage. Just keep your eyes open.”

  She nodded, still tense, and we moved.

  I took point, slower this time. This part of the forest had changed. Not just thicker, but older in a way that pressed in on you, like being watched by something evil. Arcane Sense confirmed it immediately. There was a strange energy everywhere. Layered, overlapping the normal life flowing in the trees and plants around. But wrong. Like scar tissue that never stopped growing.

  Mary stayed close to my side. I didn’t need my senses to feel how tight she was wound.

  “You did good back there,” I said quietly, eyes forward.

  She let out a short, humourless laugh. “I stabbed a monster, and it burned from the inside out. That’s not my definition of good.”

  “It was an enemy,” I said. “It’s us or them here.”

  She didn’t answer, but she didn’t pull away either.

  Jerome led us deeper, visibly shaking now, but still moving.

  Then my senses caught it. Signals everywhere. Closing in. From the sides. From behind.

  “We’re being surrounded,” I said. “If they attack, cover the rear. I’ll clear the front.”

  Fear rippled through the group, sharp and immediate.

  Before I could say anything else, one signal dropped fast from above.

  I looked up just in time to see it.

  A mantis-like thing burst from the canopy, big as a labrador, wings buzzing, its body shaped like a warped flower, petals slick and pink. It dove straight for Jerome.

  Arcane Blast caught it mid-air and slammed it back on a tree, cracking its carapace. It righted itself with a shrill screech and tried again.

  Too slow.

  I saw the knot of roots inside it and sent an Arcane Dart straight through the weak point.

  It died before it hit the ground.

  I barely glanced at the notification. If this was the root thing testing us, it was doing a terrible job.

  Anger simmered low in my chest. Not fear. Not even concern for the group. It had forced my curse awake again. Dragged me back into this mess just when I’d started to enjoy a moment of quiet.

  I pushed my senses harder.

  More signals above us.

  I hexed them without looking. As the roots inside them spasmed, bodies dropped from the trees. Two came down too close, and I blasted them aside before they could crush Jerome or me.

  I syphoned lifeforce as they died, careful with it. I didn’t know how deep this went. I fed the energy into my senses and into precise darts, punching through root cores one by one.

  Eight monsters fell in seconds.

  Then nothing.

  They were still there, just too far away from my range. Watching. Waiting.

  Fine.

  The next wave could come whenever it wanted.

  “Where to?” I asked.

  Jerome stared at the bodies, then at me, eyes wide with something close to disbelief. He pointed, slightly to the right.

  “There.”

  I nodded. “Let’s move. We’re burning daylight, and I want this to be finished before dark.”

  20 chapters ahead!