Gray lay on his side, staring at the cabin wall as the low crackle of a dying fire filled the room. After the events in the village, there had been nothing left to do. No work to be given, no plans to be made. They were simply… waiting. Waiting for someone else to decide what came next.
The air inside was warm enough, though the floor still held a faint chill. Across the room, Adel lay curled up on the couch, her arms tucked beneath her head. She looked for all the world like a sleeping puppy, utterly at ease, as if she had never taken a wound in her life. Her slow breathing rose and fell in perfect rhythm, the small smile on her lips untouched by whatever thoughts might haunt the rest of them.
The others were scattered around the room, either sleeping or pretending to. A quiet had settled over them these last few days. Even Lira, who usually had something to say, seemed to have grown accustomed to the silence.
A knock broke it.
It was soft, deliberate, someone not wishing to wake the entire cabin. Gray rolled out of bed and padded to the door, careful not to step on any of the sleeping forms. He opened it to find Varik standing there, a faint dusting of snow clinging to his coat.
"Still willing to be the sacrifice?" the Kaan asked, smiling as though they were discussing the weather.
The word made something in Gray's stomach twist. Sacrifice. He pictured himself tied to a post while the Pale Maw ripped him apart. His mind whispered, Great choice of phrasing, Varik. Very reassuring.
"Yeah," he said finally.
A guard stepped forward, handing him his gear. The armor had been scrubbed and repaired, every scratch smoothed over. It gleamed faintly in the torchlight.
"You really should not break it again," Varik remarked.
Gray gave a small nod and shut the door behind him. Lira was pushing herself upright, hair a mess and eyes half-closed.
"Who was it?" she murmured.
"Varik," Gray said. "He wants me to be bait for the Pale Maw."
She frowned but didn't argue. Gray moved over to Korr, who was snoring under a blanket. He gave him a shake. "Still want to go?"
Korr grumbled, "No. Let me sleep."
"Sure." Gray began strapping on his armor.
There was a pause, then Korr's voice came again. "Wait."
He sat up too quickly, hitting his head against the low beam above. He cursed and rubbed at the spot. "Just… wait for me."
Gray gave a small smile. "Sure."
A short while later they stepped outside. The air bit against Gray's cheeks. The storm had passed, but a steady cold lingered. Not enough for Frozen Veins, but enough to keep his hands stiff. Their boots crunched over snow as they walked toward the road.
There it was, Gray's truck, parked and looking better than it had in months. Varik stood by it, waving them over. The back hatch was open, revealing an interior restored almost to new.
"I remember my time back in the day," Varik said with a short laugh. "I have not forgotten how to drive one of these."
"Yeah I...doubt that." Gray mumbles under his breath quietly.
Gray and Korr climbed in with a few guards. The back door sealed with a hiss. Unease stirred in Gray's gut, but Varik was one of them. If there was anyone he could trust in this place, it was him.
The engine rumbled to life. The village gates creaked open. Beyond them stretched a wall of fog. The air grew sharper, heavier. A trail of torches marked a path into the white.
As the truck rolled forward, Gray broke the silence. "This mark you say I have. What exactly is it?"
Varik glanced at him in the mirror. "It is not an actual mark. Think of it as a cut on the soul. The Pale Maw's Vyre leaves traces there. That is what makes it a mark."
"How long were you being chased by it?" Varik asked.
Gray and Korr exchanged a look. "We did not even know until it was too late," Gray said.
"Sometimes it happens," Varik replied. "My group was attacked by it twenty-three years ago as i told you. I remember the moments exactly. The beast's laugh. Its eyes. Our vehicle sinking into a frozen river." His voice went quiet. "They were weak. No unique affinities. No talents or royals. We...we were just kids..." His voice went quiet.
Gray looked down, his situation was really similair to what Varik's once was.
However, they had gotten far luckier than he had. He couldn't even grasp what the possible death count Glacierfang had.
Varik coughed slightly before speaking again.
"Yet... only I lived. I do not know why, but I do know this, my life's goal is to kill the Pale Maw. That's it."
'Revenge...' Gray knew all about revenge. In the gutter he made it out of. People would do anything to get revenge. Even if it meant killing themselves. He had seen it, and even experienced it once. It was a dangerous thought.
Korr quickly broke the moment. "When will we get there?"
"We already have."
The truck stopped. They stepped out into a stretch of snow where a small wooden building slouched under the weight of years. Torches were passed around.
"How are we drawing it out?" Gray asked.
Varik gave him a light shove toward a crooked tree. "Walk over there."
Gray obeyed, glancing back. "Now what?"
"We wait."
'Alrig—wait what?! They're going to leave me here alone?'
The engine roared to life. Korr's expression turned almost pitiful before he climbed back into the truck.
Gray looked at them without saying a word. He didn't want to chicken out now but he didn't really have a choice in the matter.
He could only watch from afar as the vehicle rolled away until its lights were faint specks in the fog.
Gray stood alone, torch in hand. The minutes bled into what felt like hours. The cold gnawed at his feet. Eventually, he had been forced to activate Frozen Veins. Despite it using Vyre he'd need in the possible fight ahead.
Just then...
His torch went out.
His heartbeat quickened. Heat flared in his right shoulder, as if something had scored its way across his skin. He drew his sword and turned in a slow circle.
The fog moved. A shadow slipped between it, fast as thought as it moved around him.
The windless air pressed against Gray's ears, so quiet it felt wrong. His breath came slow, the sound almost too loud in the silence. He shifted his grip on the sword, scanning the thick fog.
And then, the shape behind him made a move.
Instinct screamed, he spun just as a blur of white and gray lunged out of the mist. Steel rang as his blade caught the creature's claw mid-swing, the impact rattling every bone in his arm.
The force shoved him backward, boots tearing shallow furrows into the snow until he steadied himself. His eyes rose along the length of its arm, past the corded muscles beneath its fur, to the face.
It was worse than memory.
A towering figure, shoulders hunched yet still dwarfing him, fur matted and spiked with frost. Its muzzle stretched into a grin too wide for any living thing, pale lips peeling back to reveal a forest of jagged teeth. Its eyes, milky, pupil-less, locked on him with a hunger that was almost sentient.
A low rumble issued from its throat, not quite a growl, not quite a laugh. The sound vibrated in Gray's chest, the way thunder rolled before a storm.
The Pale Maw tilted its head. Slowly. Like it was trying to remember him.
It stepped forward, its weight barely crunching the snow, movements deliberate, predatory. Gray took a step back without meaning to, his pulse thundering.
Then it moved, fast.
One moment it was there, the next it was almost on him, claw arcing toward his head. Gray brought his blade up just in time, sparks spitting into the air. The impact shuddered down his spine.
He twisted, trying to counter with a slash to the ribs, but the Pale Maw was already gone, sliding past his guard with unnerving grace. It spun, claws flashing again.
Gray ducked under the swipe, feeling the cold wind of it graze the top of his head. The beast's movements were fluid, not wild, like a killer that had practiced its craft for years.
It turned again, circling him, that horrible grin never fading.
Gray adjusted his footing. "Come on then," he muttered under his breath, though his voice sounded too small in the empty white.
The Pale Maw came at him again, faster this time. The first exchange had been a test. This one would be blood.
Gray spun and parried, the impact jolting through his arms. He slid back, boots scraping across hard snow.
But he didn't have any time to waste as it dashed towards him.
They clashed again. Gray's blade met claw. Sparks flashed. He countered, driving forward, but the beast twisted aside, slashing at his flank. He barely blocked. It was fast, too fast, and its movements carried a precision unlike anything he had faced.
Gray's breath fogged in short bursts. His arms ached. He reached for his Vyre, shadows blooming in his palms, crawling up the length of his sword. He tried to pull in the darkness around him, but the snow reflected what little light there was. No shadows to command.
The realization hit like ice water.
He kept his Vyre on the blade, reinforcing each block. The Pale Maw slammed into him, sending him tumbling across the snow. He scrambled up just as it landed ahead of him, now standing upright. It smiled wider. A sound came, half laugh, half growl.
It lunged. Gray met it head-on, their strikes ringing out into the silence. His muscles screamed in protest. He felt his footing slip. Claws caught the edge of his shoulder plate, tearing metal. Pain bloomed in his arm.
The beast circled now, eyes never leaving his. It feinted left, struck right. Gray blocked but the force sent him stumbling. His breath came ragged. The cold was in his bones.
It raised its claws for the killing blow.
CLANG!
Steel met steel.
Varik stood between them, greatsword locked against the Pale Maw's strike. His voice was calm, almost cold.
"Do you remember me?"