A greenish hue of hazy light glowed from a crystal buried into the wall of a damp, muddy cavern lined by roots.

  “I can see it taking over. Not long to wait now,” gargled a giant toad marked by swirling red and black patterns. Human-like limbs bent by the toad’s froggish joints protruded from its body, and its hide was lined in jagged knots of hardened flesh. Licking its fat, moist lips, the toad sniffed the air.

  “Let me go,” Arix said, squirming against roots that cuffed his arms and legs to the cave wall.

  “Sorry, but no can do. Don’t worry, though; you won’t be around much longer. I can smell it.”

  “What do you want with me, monster?”

  “Your mana core, of course. Such a delicious rarity. Once it has been fully possessed, that is. And to think, that little brat almost exorcised you of it. Luckily, he didn’t know what he was doing and left enough traces of the invasive fiend clinging to your core that it’s managed to regrow itself. Now, I just have to be patient and wait.”

  “What do you mean, possessed?” Arix looked down at his chest.

  “You’re lucky I enjoy playing with my food. I normally wouldn’t bother to answer a brat’s questions. But yes, you were possessed. What did you greedy brats think would happen when you opened the door to the mystic planes searching for power? Well, your presence didn’t go unnoticed, and a certain fiend chased you down and caught hold of your core. Anchoring itself in our world.”

  “So, this fiend, he’s like your master or something?”

  “What, no!” The toad laughed hysterically. “Dumb brat. I don’t even know the stupid fiend. However, he will give me what I want. When the fiend completes its possession of your mana core, there will be a small window of opportunity where he is weak like a child—like you. And that will be my chance to snatch what I am deserved.”

  “To snatch what? What are you planning?” Arix asked, desperately pulling against the roots.

  “Your core. I plan to consume it,” the toad licked its lips. “You see, I’m what those bastards call a demi-demon. But not for long. When that bastard invader completes the possession of your core, I’ll eat it. Consuming your demonic core and, in the process, ascending to real demonhood.”

  “Y-you g-gonna eat my mana core?” Arix stammered, his lip trembling.

  “Don’t worry so much, brat. Once the possession is complete, you won’t be around to experience the feast. Or anything for that matter.”

  ***

  Groaning and pushing away the heavy tome—Ghouls of the Night, Kal slumped onto the table and ran his hands through his hair.

  “Nothing. I can’t find a single fiend that makes sense.”

  Kal had found all kinds of fiends that might have been what he was looking for, but ultimately, they either didn’t fit the bill well enough or were too powerful to have gone unnoticed.

  “This is hopeless. I can’t just keep going around in circles while Arix is out there somewhere with who knows what,” he moaned.

  If only Daedrik were in town to help, then again, what would he do if he discovered that Arix had been possessed?

  He didn’t want to find out. Nor did he want Daedrik to start poking around his own core again.

  “I need a tea or something,” Kal murmured, rising from his chair and stumbling back into the kitchen.

  A flick of his fingers and a magical gust of wind was all it took to light up the hearth’s embers, and Kal placed the kettle atop it.

  He had previously tried heating the kettle by warming it with magical energy through his hand, but he sent it flying through the air when the metal burned his skin.

  Do I just go back out there and hope for the best? What would that achieve? I couldn’t even see where those things scampered off to last time.

  Sighing, Kal removed the bubbling kettle and poured the water into a mug where he had placed a teabag. Blowing on it, he took a careful sip.

  That’s it; Kal’s eyes lit up. What if he could chase them down? He had practiced with his Mana Whip enough to become competent in it. Using the spell to pick things up and even complete some mundane tasks. It had proven useful, but not limited in its application. He wondered, however, if he could use it.

  I could hear them running through the undergrowth. Maybe, if I’m fast enough, I could use my Mana Whip to follow them.

  Kal mulled over the thought for a moment. Based on what little he knew, it wasn’t really much of a plan and was unbelievably reckless. There were at least two fiendlings capable of casting first-circle spells and whoever their master was. But the alternative was either getting help from Daedrik somehow or waiting until he managed to figure out something better. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how much time he had, if any.

  If something were to happen to Arix while I’m sitting here with my thumb up my… No, I can’t let that happen.

  Kal sighed, knowing that it might already be too late.

  Chilling the tea through the mug with a flash of cooling magic, Kal gulped it down and ran out the back door. At least he didn’t have to worry about Ellie being with him this time.

  Charging down the path into the woods, compressed dirt, and rock were quickly replaced by long grass and undergrowth. Without pause, Kal bounded over rotting trunks and under thick growth until he reached where he and Ellie had come.

  “Where are you, you little bastards,” Kal called out, cupping the sides of his mouth. “Not scared of a little boy, are you?”

  “The kid’s back, Wort. Whaddya think we do now?”

  “I can hear you,” Kal shouted. “Show yourselves.”

  “We warned ya. We gonna have to tell the bossman now. Ya gonna be in trouble, ya know that?”

  “Come on, Bougie, quit speaking,” the voice hissed. “Bossman gonna be pissed if we don’t tell him.”

  Over there.

  Kal zeroed in on where the scuffling leaves sounded and summoned his shadowy, incorporeal whip. Fling it out, he lassoed a tree branch high above that arched over where he heard the voices and pulled.

  It would have been nice to practice what he was about to do, but Kal didn’t have time for that. The shadowy whip held tight as Kal kicked off against the ground and swung forward in a ball, whizzing through the forest.

  “Look, Bougie. The little bugger is after us,” sneered a shoulder-height figure in the thick of the forest.

  Kal spotted the outlines of two little figures. They looked up at him and pointed, but he barely had a second to read their features as the arc of his swing sent him sailing overhead.

  “Shit,” Kal gasped and canceled the spell. Instantly, the shadowy body of the whip evaporated.

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  Unfortunately, he couldn’t dispel inertia—and there was a tree.

  Leafs smacked across his face and body, slowing him as he flew into the giant, bushy oak, snapping thin branches as he went.

  “Think he’s dead, Wort?”

  “Dunno. Poke him.”

  Coughing up a mouthful of leaves, Kal bounced up to his feet and swung around to catch two wide-eyed, humanoid lizards with huge, flicking moist black orbs for eyes.

  Reflexively flinging themselves backward as if they were cats attacked by cucumbers, the two geckos burst into a frightened sprint.

  Shit, they’re quick!

  With his score disappearing into the forest, Kal was forced to take chase without thinking.

  Almost losing them, he crashed through thickets and leafy bushes with his arms held out to shield his face.

  Catching the shake of a bush, Kal pursued. A leaf floated to the ground, and he swung right, charging through shrubs until the forest gave way, and he found himself by a gently foaming creek lined by smooth rocks.

  The sound of a foot splashing through water sent him twisting to his left. He caught the shadow of a form making its way around the bending stream as it disappeared behind the forest.

  Gotcha!

  Ignoring the tightening in his chest and shortening of his breath, Kal pushed himself to run faster.

  Turning the bend, he caught the two geckos covered in freckled green and orange scales as they pulled back roots covering a man-sized hole in the side of the creek bank.

  “Look, Wort, he caught us.”

  “Let bossman deal with it. Come on,” the other lizard said, waving for his pal to follow him into the burrow.

  Thick forest met sharp rock, creating a natural barrier, but Kal wasn’t to be dissuaded, hopping into the creek.

  Ignored the ankle-high water soaking through his boots, he waded forward with a determined scowl.

  “You’re not getting away from me,” Kal mouthed, taking a second for several deep breaths as he drew his hatchet.

  “Aagh,” he grunted, thrashing into the roots and chopping them away. Stepping inside, darkness blinded him, and he had to take a second to refocus. Stepping deeper until the sun's brightness at his back had dimmed behind a bend of earth held together by thick roots, his vision began to adjust. Still, he could barely make outlines.

  Stumbling forward with his hands extended, Kal made his way through the dirt tunnel until he spotted a hazy, green light against the wall.

  Houndish giggling sounded further ahead. What’s waiting ahead for me? Pausing for a second, he scanned for mana sources.

  Four… two weak cores, but demonic in nature. Another… it’s strange. It has demonic corruption, but it isn’t? Hmm… and the fourth.

  Kal’s eyes widened as he felt the humbling presence ahead. It screamed at him as if it demanded obedience. Commanding him to fall to his knees and yield to it.

  He took a step backward, shaking his head and squeezing his hands so tightly into fists that blood trickled down his knuckles.

  Arix is in there, he reminded himself and clenched his jaw. There was no room for cowardice. This was his time. His second chance.

  Fighting back his terror, Kal ran forward—toward the hideous laughter.

  The green glow grew brighter, filling the chamber beyond with a hazy light that lined the walls and figures beyond but hid their features.

  “There he is, bossman,” one of the geckos said, pointing at Kal. “Told ya he followed us.”

  “What do you mean he followed you here? I need concentration, you dumb bastards. The possession could happen at any moment.”

  “Possession?” One of the geckos crooked its head.”

  A giant toad stood eye-to-eye with the two geckos; its bulbous form was several times their size, held up by human-like limbs.

  Kal shook his head in disbelief, unsure how such a massive creature even fit in the dirt burrow. It would have had to squeeze through the tunnel, its massive form taking up a good sixth of the large cavern they stood in.

  “Fucking huge,” Kal mouthed.

  “You two idiots deal with the little brat,” the toad sneered, turning back toward what Kal realized was Arix, cocooned by roots. “If that fiend breaks through while distracted, we’ll have much bigger problems.”

  “Eh?”

  “Whaddya mean, bossman?”

  “Just shut up and do as I say, dumbass.”

  “You heard him, Bougie. Quit complain and help me out.”

  Fiend breaks through? Kal realized that the dominating presence wasn’t coming from the geckos or the toad but from Arix. Wh-what have they done to him?

  “You bastards are going to regret this,” Kal shot foward.

  The two geckos separated, dashing in opposite directions at incredible speed before turning back toward Kal, charging from both flanks.

  With the flick of a wrist, a shadowy whip flung out, wrapping itself around a root above. Kal swung into a ball, dodging the geckos' lunging attacks by inches and forcing them to skid to a halt before slamming into one another.

  Swing across the chamber, Kal threw himself into a kick, spearing straight into the toad’s back, just below its head.

  “ACK!” The toad spattered and staggered forward. “Who dares interrupt me?

  Rolling back to his feet, Kal summoned a Mage Bullet.

  “Good for nothing, IDIOTS!” The toad swung around, sending debris raining down as the walls and ceiling crumbled against its form, forcing Kal to abandon his attack and dive out of the way.

  “I’ll eat you—and then your little friend,” the toad gargled as it shuffled toward Kal, squeezing itself through the chamber.

  Its robbery maw opened, revealing jagged spikes within its otherwise smooth and wet mouth, but stopped short of Kal as it was met by a burst of steam.

  Shaking its head and recoiling, the toad let out an agonizing screech. “Little brat,” the toad wailed. “You burned my skin.”

  “Bossman?” One of the geckos crooked its head. “What’s happening to you?”

  “He ain’t no bossman,” the other shook.

  “You broke my channeling,” the toad growled. “You’ll pay for that, brat!” Sneered, the toad patted down its burned flesh and shot foward again.

  Kal rolled, dodging the giant toad my inches. Roaring in frustration, the toad shuffled to turn, hampered by the tight quarters of its own burrow.

  “Bossman changed,” the gecko shook its head. “It’s a ruse, Bougie. This monster has tricked us.”

  “What now, Wort?”

  “I’ll eat you—I’ll eat you all,” the toad sneered as it shuffled after Kal.

  “Eat this,” Kal growled in return, sending another wave of steam bursting out as the toad caught up to him.

  “Raaaggh! It burns, it burns,” the toad shook its head, wailing as it clawed at its bubbling skin. “Painnnn.”

  “I’m not done,” Kal panted. “Don’t like heat? Try this.” He was just about out of mana, but Kal wrapped his hand around the sphere in his pocket and dove forward, channeling the last of his mana into it as he punched it through the toad’s weakened flesh.

  “Burn,” Kal muttered, bouncing back as he harnessed the sphere’s stored mana, commanding it to erupt into flames.

  Like a geyser erupting, flames engulfed the wailing toad. Desperate to extinguish the flames, the toad justled against the walls and ceiling of the burrow for a short moment before stilling with a gradually fading whistle.

  Panting, Kal dizzly fell to one knee. He had used too much mana in that exchange and could barely keep himself standing, but the demonic energy surrounding Arix was only growing stronger.

  “I’m here for you,” he said, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to his feet.

  “Kal, is that you?” Arix said weakly. He was pale and damp. His eyes fluttered between open and shut.

  “It is. Take it easy. I’ll get you out of this,” he said, pulling on the roots, but they didn’t budge, at least not in Kal’s weakened state.

  He could see the otherworldly fiend wrapping its greedy hands around Arix’s core, and he knew there wasn’t much time left.

  Placing his hands against Arix’s chest, Kal closed his eyes and delved within.

  He had no mana, but he wasn’t sure he needed it. He could feel and see the demonic energy flowing all around him, like crimson ribbons of power whipping against their surroundings.

  Reaching out, he took hold of Arix’s core with his incorporeal form and fought back the fiend that was so close to consuming him.

  Arix jerked forward, moaning.

  “Hang in there. I almost have it.”

  It wasn’t like before. The fiend fought back, resisting him. It had more power now, but something about this felt natural to Kal. It wasn’t like spell casting or even awakening his core. Arix’s mana core sang to him, calling him toward it as if he had the power to possess himself.

  “Away, demon!” Kal roared and forced himself through its core. He heard a snickering and then a crying that distorted as the fiend’s echos warped into screams reverberating through his mind, and finally, the beast retreated. Agonizing howls consumed him as he followed the fiend. Kal wasn’t sure how or why it had survived the first exorcism, but he wasn’t about to take chances a second time.

  In his mind’s eye, he saw it. A fiery red marble of energy separated from Arix’s core, and he mentally took hold of it.

  Using pure magical potential from his own core, he forced his will upon the clinging fiend, crushing its partially formed figure into a tiny marble of demonic power and pulling it free from Arix’s body.

  Gasping, Kal released Arix and fell backward, a dizzy blur coming over him as he fought to remain conscious.

  “Is it alright?”

  “Maybe give it a poke?”

  “Stay away from him,” Arix weakly shouted.

  Kal barely felt the poke as he drifted off into unconsciousness.