The world is on fire and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Explosions ring in my ears, soldiers shout and the dying scream. My eyes close as I try to block it all out. Try to forget what has already happened. But I can’t because this is war. A terrible thing that threatens the living. A primal, destructive power. Unfettered chaos that threatens the very threads that tie us together, that give us life.


    Now darkness has fallen and what was living only a few hours before, are now corpses. The smell of their rotting flesh wafts up with the stagnant air to where I remain crouching. I gag and nearly vomit at the putridness. It tastes of iron and death, ashes and char. A smell that when this is over, I will never forget.


    A shrill scream erupts from somewhere nearby and my head jerks in that direction. I squint my eyes, trying to see through the waning daylight. All I can make out are the silhouettes of things hidden in shadow.


    Something moves in the field of corpses. I watch as the bipedal creature sniffs one corpse and then another. It lifts its snout to the air. My breath catches as I try to remain as quiet as possible, but damn this beating heart! Thrumming in my chest, faster and faster. The creature lowers its head and sniffs around the corpses again. I let out a long breath.


    “N-no-no-noaaaaaaaa!”


    The creature finds a poor soldier who had been hiding among the dead. Its maw grabs the soldier’s arm and tears the arm away! Bones crunch. The man screams as he is eaten alive. That scream turns into a gurgle as his throat is ripped out and then… silence once again.


    My lungs burn as I hold in a breath. Any sound might alert the creature to my presence. Slowly it meanders its way through the field and wanders off when no more food can be found. My breath escapes my lungs. Footfalls echo on the wooden path behind me. I twist in place, turning to the man who now marches in my direction.


    The man with hair the color of a bright red sunrise, visible even in the darkness of the darkest night, crouches beside me. He looks at me with pale blue eyes. There is terror plastered on his face as I’m sure there is on mine.


    “General Ashe Treigha,” he says with an accented voice. “It’s not looking good.”


    I stare at him. Well no shit! After what I had just witnessed and what I’m absolutely sure he heard unless somehow he had gone deaf since the last time I saw him, of course this wasn’t good! Though I could breathe easier now, my heart had not slowed. To prevent myself from going into the panic attack I was sure I was close to, I force myself to focus on that forest green uniform he wore. Sewn onto his left shoulder were three red and blue stripes. They signified his rank.


    “General Ashe Treigha?” he says again. “Are you alright?”


    My throat closes up and my voice comes out hoarse. “Yeah,” I say. In training they told us that if we were ever about to panic, if we felt ourselves starting to hesitate or freeze, we should breathe in and out while counting or doing math. So I did just that. It took me to the count of ten to get my heart to slow and then my breathing became easier after that. I look into his eyes once more. “I told you never to call me that.”


    He frowns. “I know,” he says. “But… not using formal titles here, just doesn’t sit right with me.”


    “Of course it doesn’t,” I say as I let out a long breath. A moment of silence stretches between us as we look around the palisade. I don’t know why I bothered, his eyes might be good in the dark, but mine? Those silhouettes were almost completely gone now as the shadow of night has almost taken over everything. “Malik?”


    “Yeah?” he says.


    “Do you have any children?” I know it was a strange question to ask, especially with us fighting to stay alive, but I needed something… anything to get my mind off of what was happening.


    Malik moves from his crouch to a sitting position, with his legs stretched out in front of him, his back against the palisade and his head tilted toward the sky. I suppose if all we were doing here was waiting, then we could both get comfortable. But I chose to remain in my crouch. I wanted to be damned sure that I could react in an instant, if anything were to happen.


    “I… wouldn''t exactly call them children anymore,” he says. Malik turns his gaze back to me. “I have two sons.”


    Silence falls between us again. An unnerving, unwavering silence that threatens to take us both in its grips and swallow us whole. It lasts for a small eternity and I begin to think he might not continue, but then it gets too unnerving, even for him.


    “One is fighting on the front lines. I… haven’t seen him for a few months now.”


    He didn''t elaborate, but I knew what it meant. It was possible that the two had just been separated because their duties took them apart. It was more likely that Malik''s oldest son had gone missing.


    “What about your other son?”


    Malik sighs. “The other,” he says. “Is somewhere I wouldn’t wish even my worst enemy to be… well… maybe that’s an exaggeration but… the place isn’t good.”


    I want to ask, I really do, but I feel like that might be pushing a little too much for something he probably doesn’t want to talk about.


    “I’ve… I’ve tried to get him out many times over the years.”


    “Where is he that he can’t return home?”


    Malik looks at me. “Ever heard of Aurys Academy?”


    My heart stutters. “Yes,” I say dryly. “That is where your son is?”


    Malik nods.


    “H…how…?”


    “For eight years. He should be… nineteen now,” he says. “What about you? Do you have any children?”


    I hesitate, unsure about how I should actually feel.


    “Do… you think it would be wrong of me to say that even though I have several… there is only one I actually care about?” and that was true. For starters, the other four were not actually mine. Not by blood anyways and they were all grown.


    “No,” Malik says. “I don’t think it’s inherently wrong.”


    “My youngest should be turning eighteen in a couple of months,” I say.


    “So your youngest is becoming an adult? Soon to step out into the world and make their own path.”


    “Only if I survive,” I say.


    For a moment, Malik seems to be at a loss for words. “First of all,” He says. “You… we will survive this chaos and return home to our loved ones and secondly… what do you mean?”


    I shake my head unsure if I should answer that. Eventually my need for conversation overrides my want to stay silent. “My husband… if I don’t survive this battle… Sairya will be taken to Aurys Academy. She is… special…”


    Malik is a kind man. Almost always cheerful, always looks at the glass as being half full rather than half empty and in all the time I have worked with him, never once have I seen him scowl. Until now.


    “That fucking bastard,” he says. “Doesn’t he know what that… school is like?”


    “He does,” I say. “I don’t think he cares. He only wants to make a super weapon..”


    “Our children are not weapons to be used in a fucking war that shouldn’t be happening in the first place.”


    “I know,” I say.


    An owl coos from somewhere above us and then there is the flapping of wings. Malik extends a hand and in the center of his palm a small ball of flame forms, lighting the area and allowing me to actually see.


    “Ashe,” Malik says, saying my actual name for the first time in… well… ever. “In that small duffle beside you, there should be a thin blanket or towel.”


    I nod and open the little bag while also keeping an eye on the small barn owl that landed before us. It begins to shift. The owl’s body becoming longer, the feathers receding, wings becoming arms and the owl’s bird legs turning into human legs. I throw the thin blanket at the man who now stands there, his dark olive skin bare and out there for the whole world to see. And his co… I turn my head away.


    “Thank you,” he says as he wraps the blanket around himself.


    “Honestly,” I say. “In all the time I’ve known you, I will never get used to that.”


    Malik beside me snickers.


    I elbow him hard and cause him to wince.


    “Careful Ashe,” he says in a mocking tone. “I’m holding fire.”


    I roll my eyes. As if I didn’t know that already. “What have you found Nail?” I ask.


    He runs a hand through his long, dark hair and breathes heavily. “I… I found them.”


    Malik is on his feet in an instant. “Really?” he asks. “Where are they? Are they still alive? How many are there? Is my son…?” he chokes up before he can finish the thought.


    “Only one still lives… I… I don’t know if he is your son but… he does have the same kind of red hair.”


    Malik does not wait as he starts gathering our things.


    “Listen man!” Nail says. “I think we should proceed with caution.”


    “But he… if he’s my son. I need to…”


    I stand and walk over to my friend and place a hand on his shoulder. He snaps his head towards me and our eyes meet once more. Before, I knew he was scared. Hell… I was scared. But now… in the depths of his gaze, all I can see is terror.


    “Malik,” I say. “It’s hard, gods I know that first hand. But Nail is right.”


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    “I… I haven’t seen him since… he was missing and they thought…”


    Military law states that all who go missing in action, should always be treated as dead unless they are somehow found. I understood that. Understood his turmoil. This would be Malik’s oldest son and the one he was the closest to. I squeeze his shoulder and pull him towards me in an embrace.


    “I know,” I whisper. “I know you want to find him alive and… if that isn’t him… if he’s somewhere out there among the dead, you want closure. We’ll find that together, alright? But we have to be careful.” any misstep could result in all five of us perishing. As their commander, I would not allow that to happen.


    Malik squeezes me back and though I can’t see his face right now, I know there are tears streaming down his face. “Thank you,” he whispers.


    “Sorry to break up this heartfelt embrace,” Nail says. “But we really don’t have much time here.”


    “Right,” I say as I step away from Malik. “You good?”


    “I think so,” he says. “You just… ya need a good cry once in a while, you know?”


    I did know that. Though most of my tears happen when I am alone. I turned to Nail. “We don’t have much here, just our duffles. Lead the way.”


    Nail shifted back into an owl and took to the air once more. I winced with every footfall we took because the wood we walked upon, creaked and groaned under our weight. In hindsight, wood was probably not the best material to use for our pathways, when we had to deal with creatures who had super hearing.


    Malik stops abruptly in front of me and I nearly crash into him in the darkness. He puts up a hand. “I think it’s… Reynne.”


    “Where?” I ask, squinting my eyes. No good. I still can’t see.


    “He’s a wolf right now,” Malik says. “Down there, heading towards us.”


    There were advantages to having two shifters in your squad. They were both good for scouting and could do so in different ways and in different directions. A light appears in Malik’s hand, revealing a small tawny wolf sitting right in front of him. I gently shove Malik aside and go to kneel before my eldest son.


    “Did you find anything?” I ask in a whisper.


    The wolf immediately begins to shift, but it happens differently from the way Nail shifted. A light breeze picks up around us. Wind we can actually see, white and translucent. It swirls around Reynne. Faster and faster. Rising into the air, up and up until it is at the height he would normally stand. Enveloping the wolf and then… it falls away.


    I stand up to look at the man who was once a boy. He is a foot taller than I am with long, auburn hair tied in a bun above his head. A pair of dark green eyes stare back at me and unlike Nail, Reynne is actually able to keep his clothes when he shifts. The forest green uniform stands out amidst the flame and on his left shoulder, is one red and blue stripe. He looks at me and a soft smile appears on his face.


    “Hello mother,” he says.


    I bring a hand to my mouth as I gasp and then a wave of relief floods my very soul. “Reynne,” I whisper.


    “Yeah,” he says. “I’m here and I’ve been keeping an eye on things.”


    “What have you found?” Malik asks, because even though I likely haven’t seen Reynne for about as long as Malik hasn’t seen his own son, there is no time for pleasant reunions.


    Reynne shrugs and it is so like him to do so. “Nothing,” he says. “Just been keeping an eye on the guy. But listen I… I don’t think he should even be alive. Something bad and I mean bad happened here to wipe out his entire battalion. As a wolf, I could still sniff it in the air.”


    “I didn’t realize your abilities worked like that,” Malik says.


    My son could shift, but unlike Nail he wasn’t actually a shifter. It was the reason he was able to keep his clothes. Reynne was a druid. So his shift is more like an illusion than anything else. Honestly, because of that I also had no idea they would gain animal traits upon shifting.


    Reynne nodded. “Yeah, but it’s complicated.” he raised an arm and Nail comes swooping down to land on it. “I also have to warn you… the man we think is still alive, smells of death. It could be because we are literally surrounded by it, but it felt wrong to me.”


    Malik visibly shudders. “So,” he says. “Proceed with caution.”


    Reynne nods. “He’s this way.”


    An even narrower walkway splits off from the main path we had been taking and into a deep trench. One that I’m sure had been carved out by a team of geomancers who were in a hurry. Some sections were wide enough for all three of us to stand side by side, while other sections would suddenly appear so narrow that we had no choice but to squeeze in sideways.


    The occasional dead body littered the ground, causing us to cover our noses and step around them. They say that you will eventually get used to death after seeing it happen enough times. For nearly a decade, I have been on the front lines fighting this war. More people, both soldiers and civilians, have died to my hand more than I care to admit. I have seen a lot of death, whether it be from someone stabbed, suffocated due to chemical weaponry, blown apart because of a mage’s elemental magic or ripped to shreds because of a lycanthrope. Never will I get used to this.


    We come into a small alcove. Four dead soldiers in total are in the room. Two are sprawled about on the floor, one is sitting, leaning against a wall still holding his bayonet and the last man is still sitting in a chair, seated at a table. Judging from the smell, they have all been dead for a while but… I walk over to the table which has a cup with what appears to have been coffee and a plate of rotting food. Maggots now infested the rations. I close my eyes at the sight and cover my nose.


    “They… it looks like they didn’t even have time to react to whatever… took them out,” Malik says.


    “He’s over there,” Reynne says.


    Crouching in a dark corner of the room, is a man. His arms are around his legs and his head between them. I watch as the man rocks back and forth, back and forth, but other than that rocking, he doesn’t make a sound.


    “It… is him,” Malik says as he steps forward.


    “Careful man!” Reynne warns.


    “But… that is him! That’s my son!” Malik continues his approach.


    I take his arm in a firm hold and pull him towards me. “Reynne is right,” I say. “This seems wrong.”


    A low snarl echoes down the corridor we had come from. Claws scrape against the wooden walls and we hear it splinter. Reynne and I both turn towards the sound, while Nail, still as an owl, takes flight down another, branching corridor. I wince when his agonized cry finds its way back to us and I swear, I could hear the crunching of feathers and bone.


    The man we now know is Malik’s son, moves and the sound that comes out of his mouth is not human. I don’t think it was even a sound the living could make. Malik tenses beside me as he stumbles towards us.


    “Damnit!” Reynne says. “We have to get out of here, he’s already dea-”


    Malik steps back, his eyes still trained on the person who used to be his son. He stumbles over one of the corpses on the floor.


    “Malik,” I say as I extend a hand. “We need to leave now. Take my hand and we’ll deal with this shit later!”


    “She’s right,” Reynne says. “I-if you don’t mind General, I… I think I’ll…”


    “No!” I say, not caring whether my voice is loud enough to carry. “We cannot split up. You heard Nail’s cry, right?”


    Reynne nods.


    “Good, then stay with us and we’ll get out of here together.”


    Malik clasps my hand and I pull him to his feet. In his hand another fireball forms, but this one is not just for light. “I’m going to blast him,” he says. His momentary fear of what we’ve found, gone. “Then, we all need to make a run for it!”


    I nod. “Down the same tunnel Nail went.”


    “Are you sure?” Reynne asks. “We know there’s at least one lycan down that tunnel.”


    “Yes, but there is one down the other tunnel as well. What other choice do we have?”


    “You can summon Keiva?” Malik asks.


    “I can,” I say. “But it will drain what little magic I have left.”


    “That is fine,” Malik says.


    The zombie stumbles closer to us and in the light of his fireball, I can see the resemblance. That olive skin, albeit extremely pale, that red hair and those eyes which are an even paler shade of blue than the man standing before me. Malik sets him on fire and then everything happens at once.


    We sidestep the burning zombie as a lycan crashes through the tunnel we had come. Malik kicks the burning flesh into the lycan! He moves towards the branching path with Reynne on his heel.


    “Keiva!” I shout.


    A dark mist swirls around the floor, our ankles vanishing beneath it and a loud his echoes through the small chamber.


    “Ashe!” Malik calls. “This way!”


    He reaches out a hand and I grab it before being led away. My shadow cat Keiva appears in the mist behind me, facing off with the lycan still in the room. I breathe in. There’s no need to worry, lycans cannot affect most magical creatures. Keiva will be fine with her teeth and claws against the beast.


    We run!


    Behind us there is a flurry of teeth and claws. Hisses and snarls. The table splinters apart and then so does the chair. We hear the growl of a cat and then her teeth snap and bones break. A howl rings out, sending shivers down my spine.


    Our footfalls thrum like heavy drum beats on the bare ground and then on wood as we race down the widening corridor. Light trickles down from an exit ahead. Day must have risen while we were underground. Down here, time had a way of getting away from a person. Malik reaches the stairs with me in toe, Reynne behind and we take them two at a time. We exit to the early rays of dawn, the air cool with morning dew.


    “Shite!” Malik shouts as he shoves me away.


    “Mom!” Reynne shouts.


    We are in the military, but in our small group, all titles vanish. I land on my as but am otherwise fine, my eyes land back on Malik. A lycan’s maw was clamped tightly to his right forearm.


    “No…” I say as my stomach drops. “M-Malik.”


    “It’s… Listen…” he says, his voice in agony. “Y-you and Reynne need to leave.”


    “We aren’t leaving you,” Reynne says as he crouches beside me.


    “Don’t be idiots please. I’ve… already been bitten… and look,” he raises a hand to presumably form a ball of fire which was something that came so naturally to him. Nothing appears.


    Reynne grinds his teeth together. “No, I’ll shift and-”


    “Don’t!” Malik shouts as he shoves the lycan aside. He turns towards the creature which was now leaning against a wooden wall, panting and doesn’t dare turn his back on it. “If you get bitten or clawed, even as a wolf…”


    “That thing is going to tear you to shreds if I don’t help you!”


    I stand and draw a sword from my belt. It might not be very effective against the creature but… we’ve already lost so many friends in this war, I was not willing to lose Malik.


    The lycan leaps as Malik side steps it. He draws a dagger with a black stone embedded in the hilt and thrusts it into the lycan’s exposed back. It screams as it turns back to Malik and snaps with its razor sharp teeth, but Malik is able to keep his distance.


    “Reynne don’t!” Malik yells.


    My eyes go to the tawny colored wolf standing beside me. His hackles up, his teeth bared. Reynne rushes forward, clamping down hard on the lycan’s arm. Even if the lycan hadn’t bit down upon Reynne’s left side, even if the lycan’s claws hadn’t pierce through his soft skin, I knew it was already too late. Because the lycan’s curse isn’t passed through a bite or through sharp, piercing claws. It is passed through saliva or in Reynne’s case… blood.


    The lycan rips him off of its arm and with the shake of the lycan’s head, Reynne is thrown across the room.


    “No…” I say as I find myself unable to tear my gaze away from the limp form of my oldest son. “Reynne…” time has slowed and I cannot move. My whole body frozen in place. I try to move my legs, but they do not respond to my legs.


    “Ashe…”


    I hear his voice, but it doesn’t register in my mind. My ears have closed off, my eyes focused on Reynne’s now bloody, form.


    “Ashe!” Malik yells.


    His voice snaps something in my and I look in his direction. Malik’s eyebrows are furrowed and he is holding the bloody arm which has been bitten. It is too late for him too.


    “Good, you’re looking at me at least,” he says. “Listen to me Ashe. I know you don’t want to think this way, but you are the last one. Only you can escape here and let them know what happened.”


    I shake my head. No! I don’t want to believe it. I… Malik will not die this day, nor will he turn into one of those.


    He looks straight into my eyes and I swear I see his features relax a little. Is that… resolve on his face? “Listen to me Ashe,” he says. Malik’s voice is calm for someone who had been bitten by a cursed creature. “I’m not leaving this place. I can’t. If I leave here, they will kill me.”


    “No… Malik I ca-”


    “You need to seek cover!”


    “What?” I ask.


    Malik kicks the lycan into one of the wooden walls, that dagger still protruding from its back. Some of the lycan’s fur had receded, showing bare skin and the snout was now becoming smaller, reforming into a human’s face.


    “I didn’t say anything,” Malik says.


    “Seek cover!”


    Seconds after the disembodied voice, a hissing erupts around us. Not of any organic creature but…


    “Ashe!” Malik shouts.


    The next thing I know is that I’m lying prone on the ground with my friend lying above me. All precautions aside, his body is protecting mine, but from what?


    “Malik?”


    “Shhh!” he says. “Hold your breath!”


    There was no time to react as a thick, dark green mist envelops us. Covers us and the surrounding area. It lasts so long I begin to think it will never vanish. My lungs begin to burn, tears rain from my eyes. My vision blurs… everything grows fainter… I can barely feel Malik’s weight upon me now… everything grows dark… and then… I feel nothing…