Dian broke into a sprint that made our little jaunt up the mountain seem like a crawl. I pressed myself hard against Dadan and grasped Dian’s fur on either side of the semi-conscious immortal. My heart dropped into my stomach when I noticed that his blood had soaked through the bandages.

  We flew through the woods and soon arrived at the city. The streets were mostly deserted and we had clear sailing until the king lodge. A group of guards stood around the fire pit swapping stories but they stood at attention at seeing us. The men scurried up to the open gate and set their hands on the hilts of their short swords.

  One of the men squinted at us before his eyes widened in recognition. “What’s happened, Dian?”

  I lifted my head high enough to catch their attention. “We need a doctor quick!”

  The men parted for their prince and the doors to the lodge were flung open. Candlelight cascaded down the steps and the broad silhouette of King Pangberan stood in the doorway. “What’s happening out here?”

  Arian peeked her head out from his right side and her face turned a ghastly white. “Dian! Anna!”

  The color drained from my cheeks and I dropped my gaze to the man beneath me. He had slumped over Dian’s back and didn’t appear to be conscious. Hopefully, he hadn’t heard my name, or perhaps he would think he hallucinated it.

  Dian stopped us at the bottom of the steps where the rest of the royal family met us. Some of the guards, too, hurried up behind us and helped me off Dian’s back. I was so shaky that I was grateful for Arian’s gentle arms as she drew me away.

  Pangberan took one look at Dian’s other passenger and his eyes widened. “Lord Eastwei! What’s happened? How is he like this?”

  “Something happened at the Tianfeld,” I told him as I clung to Arian. “He needs a doctor now!”

  “One of us has already gone for Grandmother,” one of the men assured me.

  “Bring him inside at once!” Pangberan ordered his guards.

  The men took up the task of hefting Eastwei off Dian’s back and up the stairs. We all followed including Dian, though he took a brief detour into his room to clothe himself. Pangberan led the way to the room at the end of the hall and opposite mine. The men carried Eastwei inside and lay him gently on the bed.

  “All of you, grab anything Grandmother might need to tend to his wounds!” Pangberan commanded his troops.

  They bowed their heads and hurried to obey. The king himself closed the door behind them and turned to face me. I stood at the foot of the bed and still clutched onto my friend, whose eyes flickered between her father and me.

  A severe expression fell on Pangberan’s face as he strode over to me. “Who are you and why is Lord Eastwei in such a condition?”

  “This is Anna, Father!” Arian explained as she hugged me tighter against herself. “She’s using Grandmother’s magic to conceal herself!”

  His face turned as red as a ripe cherry. “Why is she concealing herself and what has happened to Lord Eastwei?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and eased myself away from my friend. This was my cross to bear, not hers. I grasped my sides and tried to keep my voice steadier than I felt. “I. . .I heard a sound coming from the Tianfeld these last few weeks. I convinced Dian to help me get there and when we did a fog bank came up on us.”

  Pangberan frowned. “There has never been fog on the feld.”

  The door opened and Dian stepped inside where he shut the door behind him. He leaned his back against the entrance and crossed his arms over his chest. “There was tonight, Father. It was so thick we couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of us. That’s how the creatures almost got us, and how they struck Lord Eastwei.”

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  The king’s frown only deepened. “Lujun sent a man to explain this but I can’t believe it. Are you seriously saying the dead in the Tianfeld rose out of the ground and attacked you?”

  “We’re saying just that,” Dian confirmed as he nodded at Eastwei. “The lord here and his friend fought them alongside us and Eastwei was injured.”

  Pangberan’s humor was still ill as he waved a hand at Dadan. “Then if this is true how did the fog lift? Was it Lord Eastwei’s doing?”

  Dian pushed off from the door and strolled over to the bed. He set his hands on the railing that made up the foot and studied the fallen lord. “I wish I could say. It was too thick for me to see anything. All I knew is a bright light scorched the creatures and they turned to white mist. The fog cleared and Lord Lujun found us.”

  I could feel Arian’s eyes drilling into the side of my head but I didn’t dare turn to look at her. Her father was watching all of us with the care of a hawk watching its prey.

  “You must have done something to disturb the ground there!” Pangberan insisted.

  Dian turned around and leaned his lower back against the footboard. “We don’t have any answers for you, Father-”

  The door swung open and crashed into the wall beside the hinges. Grandmother marched into the room with Lujun at her heels and struggling to keep up. The huge carpetbag in his arm didn’t help him any. She stomped over to the bed and put her hands on her hips. Her sharp eyes studied the patient and she snorted. “He’s certainly gotten himself in trouble this time, hasn’t he?”

  “What can you do for him?” Pangberan asked her.

  Grandmother twisted about and swept her eyes over the company. “Nothing until most of you get out. I don’t need an audience for what I need to do.”

  I stepped up to her and met her gaze. “Please let me stay.” She wrinkled her nose and indecision flickered across her eyes. “Please.”

  The old woman rolled her eyes and waved a hand. “Very well, but do as I say or you’re out. As for the rest of you, get into the hall. Go on! Get!”

  Grandmother stomped over to the others and herded them out of the room, though not before she snatched the bag from Lord Lujun. “I’ll be taking that!”

  She grasped the frame of the door in her other hand as the king and his entourage turned to face her. “When can we expect an update on the lord?” Pangberan asked her.

  The old woman scoffed. “When I’m ready to give one and not a moment sooner!” She slammed the door on his face, nearly smashing his nose into the tough wood.

  Grandmother spun around and marched back to the bed. She dropped her bag on the bed, missing Dadan’s leg by a hair’s breadth, and looked over the patient. Her expression softened and she pursed her lips.

  “What trouble have you found this time, you old fool?” she mumbled as she scooted up the bed. I stepped back and watched her gingerly inspect the bandages. She wrinkled her nose before turning her gaze on my ruined outfit. “So you were there in the feld. What happened?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and recounted my harrowing tale. By the time I was done, there was a strangely pleased smile on her face.

  She hunched forward and rubbed her hands together. “So it’s finally done, is it? Took it long enough. I doubt any battle has lasted as long as that one.”

  “Battle?” I repeated, but her focus had already fallen on her bag. She popped it open and began rummaging around. I sidled up to her to catch her eye. “The battle that happened fifty thousand years ago?”

  Grandmother didn’t look up but she bobbed her head. “Of course that battle! What else would I be talking about?”

  “But how could it still be around? Any of it?”

  She lifted out a vial and studied the contents in front of her face before she put the glass back into the bag. “Don’t bother me with questions when I have a patient to take care of!”

  “Then you can help him?” I asked her.

  “Of course I can,” she mused as she pulled out rolls of bandages, gauze, and vials upon vials of mysterious substances. She lay them on the bed beside Dadan and sat the bag on the floor. The old woman returned her attention to her patient and wiggled her wizened fingers, leading them to crack. “Now then, let’s get him fixed up.”