Gingerly, Rezira sets Noli down on her wife’s body. It’s surreal to try to make sense of what I’m seeing. Noli—the Noli I know—is sitting on the stomach of an elf woman, who is breathing slowly and quietly even as I watch.

But it’s unmistakable who that body belongs to. She’s dressed in a whimsical green gown, sprinkled with a design of little yellow birds and tree branches. Her braided hair is as white as clouds, her skin a warm brown, and even like this, a gentle smile pulls at her lips.

“This is very strange!” Noli signs, looking down at herself. “Have I always had such a big nose?”

“I think, perhaps, that’s just the perspective.” Zyneth chuckles.

Rezira isn’t smiling. Her face is drawn as she turns to the rest of us. “I’ve kept her stable this long, but my magic won’t last much longer. Maintaining this circle across such a distance was… trying. Kanin.” She looks at me. “The sooner we can do this, the better.”

Sure. No pressure.

Echo, help me make another spell list, I say. Sever Bond, Mana Stowage, Core Bond. I pause. Actually, stick Bond Trace to the beginning of that, too.

[Affirmative,] Echo says. [Compiling requirement list.]

[Bond Trace | 10 Mana: Available]

[Mana Stowage | 50 Mana: Available]

| Spell circle: Unavailable]

| Target Arcanum: Not Specified]

[Sever Bond | Mana: Specify Target]

[Core Bond | 30 Mana: Available]

| Target Foci: Not Specified]

| Spell circle: Unavailable]

| Null Arcanum: Substitution Available]

Void Check:

[Void: 90%]

Okay. So we’re looking at two spell circles and a whole lot of mana. Bond Trace isn’t strictly necessary, but it will help me see what I’m working with. It’ll also mean that I’ll summon the predator slightly earlier than I’d prefer. But I need to get this right on the first go, so I have to stack as many odds in my favor as possible.

I gesture for Attiru. “Spell book please.”

They rummage through their bag, then remove Vessel Construction. They bring it over to me, and I help direct them to the right pages.

“Two circles?” they ask. “That might be tricky.”

Rezira comes over to look too. “I don’t think I’ll be able to layer these on top of my circle: It will break the lines. We might have to draw these separately and move Noli between them.”

“That’s okay,” I sign, pointing to the circle for Mana Stowage. “This one for Noli.” I gesture for Attiru to flip to the second circle, for Core Bond. “This one for…” Er. Also Noli. I gesture to her body instead, hoping they get the picture. “One for each.”

Rezira rubs her chin, frowning. “That might work. We won’t have room in here, though. And I’m not sure our chalk will work outside.”

“Don’t need chalk,” I sign. “Just need lines.” The void is the key ingredient, but I’ll need lines to trace, be that with chalk, string, or whatever else they can come up with.

“Let’s just use the garden, dear,” Noli signs. “The soil should be soft enough to trace these circles in. The peas will grow back.”

“Will that work?” Rezira asks me.

It feels weird for them all to be deferring to me like this. Like they actually expect me to know what I’m talking about. “Yes.”

“Then let’s go.” Rezira shoulders her way back outside. “Well, come on! We haven’t got all evening.”

Under Rezira’s direction, her yard is slowly transformed into our battlefield. The garden picket is removed, Attiru and Zyneth set about smoothing the soil and tracing the circles, and Noli and I sit in the windowsill, watching it all unfold. Rezira keeps coming back to ask me clarifying questions, but I think she’s really only coming over to check on Noli.

“Don’t worry,” she tells Noli as Zyneth and Attiru are checking the circles one last time. “I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

Noli shakes her head. “Don’t worry about me. When the predator comes, you should stay back here: out of its range, but close enough to heal anyone who needs it.”

Rezira grimaces, clearly opposed to this idea, but she doesn’t argue.

“That should do it,” Zyneth says, heading over. “All that’s left is to move everyone into position.” Everyone largely being Noli and Noli’s body. He nods to Attiru. “Do you have a weapon?”

“No,” they say. “Though I know some plant-based spells. I mostly use them for creating my maps, but I should be able to use them offensively as well.” They pause. “Theoretically.”

Zyneth unsheathes the two lightning blades I’d seen him fight the nightbanes with. Now, however, they’re not sparking with light and electricity; the knives are merely solid black, from hilt to blade. He flips them around and offers the handles to Attiru.

“They’re enchanted daggers. I hope you won’t have to use them, but if you activate your attunement, they’ll do most of the work.”

Attiru gingerly takes the blades, and I can’t tell if it’s the blades that are making them nervous, or Zyneth. “Thank you. But don’t you need something to protect yourself with?”

“As I will be focused on keeping Kanin supplied with the magic he needs to perform his spells, my hands will be preoccupied.” Zyneth quirks a smile. “However, I’m plenty capable without those blades regardless.” An image of him flash frying all those bonefangs pops into my head. Yeah, no kidding.

Rezira looks around the group, her mouth pressed into a thin tight line. “We all ready then?”

Attiru nods, holding the daggers carefully, and steps back into the position we’d decided on. Rezira scoops Noli up, taking her over to the first spell circle for Mana Stowage, and carefully places her on the ground at its center.

“You ready for this?” she asks.

“Of course!” Noli signs. “Not that I haven’t enjoyed this adventure as a clockwork toy. It’s been very, er, enlightening. I’ve seen the whole world from a completely different angle. Literally!”

Rezira chuckles softly. “Not everything has to be a learning experience, you know. Some things can just suck.”

“Well,” Noli signs. “It sucked a little less with Kanin to keep me company.”

Rezira reaches a finger out, and Noli touches it. “This’ll work.”

“I know.”

Then Rezira stands and heads into the house, where the blue light flickers out. A moment later she reemerges with Noli’s body. The faint smile she’d worn when talking with Noli is gone. “Quickly now,” she says, carrying Noli’s body over to the second, much-larger circle and laying her at the center. “Now that I’m no longer keeping her body in stasis, I don’t know how much time we’ve got.”

Zyneth holds out a hand for me. “Ready?”

“Yes.” I have to be. I step into his hands, and he carries me over to the circles, setting me on the ground between them. He crouches nearby, hands hovering over me at the ready.

Attiru is standing behind us, blades in hand. They squeeze Zyneth’s daggers, and a sheen of vines sprout from between their fingers, twisting around the blades to elongate the weapons into two swords covered in a lattice of glinting, red thorns. Their face is determined, but there’s a tremble in their bad arm. Rezira had patched up their injury with some magic, but it clearly isn’t completely healed. Or maybe the tremble is from memories of the predator.

Rezira takes up her position behind Attiru, blue light pooled into both her hands, hanging back but ready to jump into action as soon as she’s needed.

Zyneth is watching me, attentive and alert—waiting.

And Noli. She waves encouragingly to me from her circle. “It will be different this time. I promise.”

You know, I believe her.

I check my spell list one last time.

[Bond Trace | 10 Mana: Available]

[Mana Stowage | 50 Mana: Available]

| Spell circle: Available]

| Target Arcanum: Not Specified]

[Sever Bond | Mana: Specify Target]

[Core Bond | 30 Mana: Available]

| Target Foci: Not Specified]

| Spell circle: Available]

| Null Arcanum: Substitution Available]

Alright, Echo, here’s what I’m going to do, I say. I need to get targets for each of these spells associated in advance so I don’t have to worry about specifying what I mean when I need to activate the spells in the moment. I want to target Noli’s soul for Mana Stowage, her Core Bond spell for Sever Bond, and her body for the Core Bond spell.

[Spells readied,] Echo confirms. [Required mana for Sever Bond spell: 95.]

Mana Check on Zyneth, I say next.

[Mana: 580]

Fuck, more math. Okay, so if it’ll be 95 for the Sever Bond, 10 for the Bond Trace, 50 for the Mana Stowage, and 30 for the Core Bond that’s…

[185,] Echo says.

What the fuck. You could have been acting as my calculator this whole time?

Echo does not deign to respond.

Okay, so 185 mana total. And I’m starting with 50, plus the bonus 10 Zyneth gave me. Which means Zyneth only needs to give me 125—a fraction of his reserves. Okay. We should be good.

I signal to the others. “Ready.”

They nod back.

I point at Zyneth next. “Don’t stop your magic.” I’ll need to get all these spells off as quickly as possible.

“I won’t,” he says.

Okay. Then there’s nothing else to do but do it.

I summon the Attuned void and layer it over Noli’s spell circle first. The shadows move more quickly this time, like they’re getting used to my direction—or maybe I’m getting used to them.

I tense in anticipation of the pain that will come with hitting 100% Void. The last two times it made my glass crack and sent a phantom pain through me similar to a headache—which is some real “The Boy Who Lived” bullshit. But the pain is the least of my worries.

Once I start the first spell, there will be no turning back. Things will move fast—it’ll all be over in under a minute, or it’s all going to go to hell. Or possibly both.

I’m under no illusions. I can’t imagine everyone that’s about to face down the predator will make it through unscathed. I just want them all to make it out alive.

Whatever gods there are in this world, if any of you are out there, now would be a great time to lend us some blessings.

I give it a second, and when no divine intervention takes place, I activate Bond Trace.

Noli’s soul leaps into clarity before me. My glass cracks, and I wince beneath the stab of pain. Even Zyneth flinches as the void begins to leak from my vial, staining the air.

“Here we go,” Rezira says.

If anyone else replies, I don’t hear it, because in the next moment the predator’s mind is crashing through me.

I focus on Noli. The threads of magic winding through her, sewing her soul to her toy body.

The predator grins, stretching into reality, eagerness and hunger and triumph pounding through me.

But I can’t think about that, I have to be quick. Mana Stowage is next. The spell takes 50 mana, and I’m down to 40. Even as I watch the stat it creeps up to 41, 42, 43—but Zyneth isn’t going fast enough. Instead of looking at me, his head’s craned back at the predator, eyes wide. It’s swirling like living ink into the air, growing larger every moment. I shoot a piece of signing glass at Zyneth’s hand, pricking his finger. Faster. Faster!

Zyneth starts, then mana floods through my stats. Finally! I hold my spell at the ready. 47, 48, 49—

“Shit!” Rezira cries.

A blood curdling scream splits the air, filled with hate and anguish, as Tetara barrels into the clearing. Her eyes are orange, her skin glowing with the tell-tale sign of being Enraged, and her ax is drawn.

Saru steps up beside her, drawing her bow. “I advise you all to stand down.” She knocks an arrow and draws, leveling her weapon at me. “This kill is ours.”