Henry blinked again. One moment, he had been staring at his younger self, fading into the shadows of the cave; the next, he found himself standing on the snowy mountainside, looking down on the town of Winterfrost below him. The brisk mountain air whipped around him and nipped at his exposed head, the chill biting into his ears and nose; as he took in his surroundings, he saw everyone else around him as well, equally confused and disoriented.

  Arthur and Lyla were looking about wildly, bewildered expressions on their faces; Rebecca was down on one knee, her hand on her chest as Diana knelt beside her to assist; the other members of the militia were in various states of confusion, some as confused as Arthur and Lyla, others maintaining a guarded demeanor with their weapons still raised.

  Henry staggered forward towards them, wading through the shin deep snow, when one of the militia cried out.

  "They're back! Our people are back!"

  Sure enough, a throng of women and children stood not far from everyone else on the mountain, their dazed and befuddled faces breaking into grins and smiles as they reunited with their friends and loved ones. Lyla crunched over to Henry, her brow furrowed so deeply it nearly resembled a trench.

  "I don't understand," she murmured. "I thought... the last I remembered, we were in the mountain. We were about to attack the dragon. And now..."

  "What's there to complain about?" Arthur joined them, shedding some of the armor as he walked over. "The hostages are back, the dragon's probably dead, and we're all here."

  "How do you know the dragon's dead?" Lyla snapped. "We need to make sure."

  "It's the only logical thing." Rebecca limped over, Diana at her side. "The hostages being back means there's no more magic source to draw on. The dragon's gone."

  Lyla's expression remained hard for a minute longer, before it finally softened. "Then my master and all the other knights are avenged." She turned, facing the mountain. "There's still the matter of retrieving their remains. I want to give them proper burials."

  "I'll help." Arthur finally shed his breastplate, allowing his gaudy gambeson to breathe once more. The garment was drenched in sweat, giving the usual ruby red cloth a more muted hue. "Least I can do for a fellow Knight House."

  "As will I," Henry added. "We'll all go."

  The mountain suddenly rumbled, shaking vigorously beneath their feet. The joyous reunion between the missing townsfolk and the militia was cut short as everyone looked up at the peak, which showered clouds of fine snow down on them.

  "Avalanche!" Henry steered Rebecca down the slope, motioning for everyone else to follow him. "Everyone, back to town!"

  Everyone on the slope turned and ran down the mountainside as the peak continued to rumble and shake, with greater and greater blankets of snow beginning to fall down the mountain as it shook. Henry picked up Rebecca entirely and half-ran, half staggered down the mountain, aided immensely by his downward trajectory, as the snow around their feet began to resemble deep sand with the mountain's growing earthquake.

  The squire felt his calves and thighs burn and scream with pain as he continued down the slope, but he ignored it, pushing on as most the other townspeople surged past him. Rebecca wasn't that heavy by any stretch, but his weariness from the battle, coupled with the difficult terrain, led to him falling behind the main group. Only Arthur, Lyla, and Diana stuck with him and Rebecca, as they frantically progressed further down the mountain.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "C'mon, we don't have all year!" Arthur cried. He grabbed Rebecca's arm and draped it around his neck. "Put her down! We'll carry her together!"

  The squire did so, hefting the mage's other arm over his own neck, and together they formed a makeshift chair with their hands that carried her far more quickly down the slope. Henry almost burst out laughing at how silly they must have looked, hobbling like incontinent wretches, had he not decided to look back over his shoulder.

  The mountain was gone. No; to put it better, it had collapsed within itself. The sky-scraping peak that had previously towered over the village was reduced to a mere hill, as the earth itself seemed to swallow the majority of the once-great mountain. The steep slope they had been stumbling down only moments before was now little more than a hump, as a great cloud of snow and dust erupted from the mountain's footprint and rushed towards them.

  "Hold!" Diana threw up a quick ward, enveloping them within a small sphere. The party stopped in their tracks, helpless to do anything else save for Diana concentrating on strengthening the barrier.

  The tide of snow, dust, and rocks washed over them, the thin magic barrier holding back the tons of debris that swept over the dome. A thin crack began to form at the top, causing Henry's heart to skip a beat; however, Rebecca held out her own hands and contributed to the magical defense as well, and the crack reformed and dissolved.

  "Like a goose in the pot..." Arthur mumbled under his breath.

  Lyla elbowed him. "Quiet. Let them focus."

  By now, the debris from the mountain had nearly completely enveloped them, rapidly diminishing the sunlight from outside; Henry could feel his heart rise to his mouth as the snow slowly covered the last bits of the outside world, plunging them into darkness.

  The sudden void almost shook Rebecca's focus, but she maintained her magic alongside Diana's, channeling her energy into keeping the barrier strong. She could feel Diana's own energy melding with hers as they worked together, mage and cleric combining their mana to prevent the dome from collapsing beneath the immense weight of the mountain that had come down on them.

  "Are we still alive?" Arthur's voice was shaky.

  The sound of a smack - not unlike that of someone's head being slapped from behind - resounded within their little bubble.

  "Obviously." Lyla sounded annoyed, but there was an edge of uncertainty to it as well. "For now, at least."

  A small glow lit up the space, dimly revealing the party; Diana's necklace was the source of the light, no brighter than a small candle in the night.

  The barrier was holding for the moment, but Rebecca didn't know for how much longer; already, she could feel herself weakening trying to maintain the dome, her strength ebbing as she desperately continued to pour her essence into the ward.

  "Rebecca." Diana's voice was strained, reflecting their mutual failing. "We can't hold it like this for much longer. We're going to have to channel everything we've got into a single blast."

  The mage nodded. "Got it."

  "A blast?" Henry's voice dripped with unease. "Is that... wise in this space?"

  "The blast will be directed outwards from the shield." The cleric seemed confident, but Henry's doubt lingered in the back of Rebecca's mind. "If it's powerful enough, we should be able to punch right through the avalanche atop us."

  "And if not?"

  "Then Lady protect us."

  The dome began to splinter and crack as the strain mounted; Rebecca struggled to hold on.

  "On my mark, Rebecca." Diana's breathing was more labored. "We'll have to time it precisely."

  A loud snap erupted as a large crack formed right in the middle, snaking its way down.

  "Three."

  The crack grew even larger.

  "Two."

  Rebecca felt a hand on her shoulder, squeezing her reassuringly. Any and all doubts swirling in her mind cleared at once, as she gathered all of her remaining strength.

  "Mark!"

  Digging deep down, the mage released her remaining reserves of magic into the shield, joining it with Diana's as the two magic users infused the shield with their energy.

  All at once, the cracks in the shield disappeared as the dome flashed brightly, before it exploded in a blinding wall of light; whatever strength Rebecca had left her body, as she felt herself collapse and fall back against Henry. The last thing she saw was the brilliant light subside into the warm glow of the setting afternoon sun, before she blacked out.