The portal dropped them in the outskirts of a rural village somewhere in East Nepal. Mount Everest and the rest of the Mahalangur-Himal mountains loomed in the north, the snowy peaks rising above the low horizon. They went on forever it seemed, piercing the clouds as they reached for the heavens. The thick, menacing fog surrounding the base of massive mounds of earth slowly made its way outward.

Makaela swore she heard whispers coming from the fog.

She stiffened in the cold, her body trembling slightly as she listened. They beckoned her forward, urging her to disappear into the haze. For a moment, her mind went blank. She took a step forward—

"Makaela? You alright?"

Snapping out of her daze, she faced Karin, swallowed hard, and nodded.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." She took one last look at the fog. It was silent. She suspected it always had been.

"If you say so," the silver-haired girl said. "Come. We need to move."

Makaela glanced at the sky. The sun was sinking like a ship into a black ocean. Within minutes, it would have disappeared behind the mountains, gone for longer than she would've liked. A cold breeze ripped through the air, tearing through Makaela's coat. Shivering violently, she tightened the wooly material around her and grit her teeth.

Snow danced in the air around her. The crisp wind rifled through her black curls. Her teeth chattered as she rubbed her gloved hands together. Even with her winter gear and the weather enchantments on her robes, the climate was proving to be fearsome. Clearly, magic couldn't solve everything.

"Where exactly are we?" she asked while spitting snowflakes from her mouth.

Ismael checked his map as he rubbed his bald head. "We're in a village called...Kimathanka? I think that's how you say it." He tucked the map back into his coat. "It was the closest settlement to the bottom of the mountain we need to climb."

She nodded.

Kimathanka was a modest village. There about fifteen houses in total, along with a few community buildings. Most seemed to have been built out of mud bricks with either sloped pieces of sheet metal for roofing or straw thatching. The place seemed to have ignored the growing world around it, opting to remain in the past.

There couldn't have been more than three hundred people in the entire village.

Makaela smiled. It reminded her of the small town in the south of France she was born in. While she had limited memories of her time there, as she was moved to House Lumai's central headquarters weeks after she her birth, she knew it was a wonderful place full of magic, community, and love.

Her mind flashed back to her unfortunate return to the village.

The smile on her lips faded.

That was the day she met Minerva Moreau, one of the last remaining members of her house. The woman helped her get in touch with Lumi. Then the Shades ripped the woman away from her—just like everything else they had taken from her.

That was the day her Nightling was born.

As she and her group began making their way to the other side of the Kimathanka, she could hear the demon faintly whispering in her ear. Clenching her jaw, she forced it down.

It had taken control of her once before. She wouldn't let it happen again.

"The map says the mountain begins at the other end of the village," Ismael explained, his eyes fixated on the scroll in his hands.

Nodding, Makaela took a look around the settlement as they passed through.

Ismael and Han spearheaded the group, waving and greeting villagers as they went about. Most waved back and spoke to them in their native tongue. Makaela had no idea what they were saying, but Han and Yama seemed to.

"Nepali," Yama said.

"You're Nepalese?" Makaela asked.

"Born and raised."

A few villagers smiled as they went by. She spotted an elderly woman carrying a pitcher of water into a hut. Two small children shuffled alongside her, their tiny bodies covered with furry garments, making them look like little bear cubs. One of them caught her eye and gave her a toothy smile.

"This place seems nice," she said while waving back.

"I concur," Ismaela said with a nod. "Nepal is one of my favorite places. Aside from Tibet and parts of China."

"I've never been to China," Makaela revealed.

Ismael smiled. "After this is all over, you must accompany the monks and I on our yearly trip to Zira's shrine. It is truly magnificent."

"I'd like that."

Karin rolled her eyes. "No, you wouldn't. Trust me. It's a total snooze fest."

Yama snickered. "Of course you'd say that. You don't like anything."

The girl's cheeks reddened. "Not true!"

"It kind of is," Han quipped. He quickly averted his gaze elsewhere to avoid coming under fire from her glare. "Remember our last trip? You wouldn't stop complaining."

Makaela laughed.

Karin pressed her hands against both ears and stomped ahead of them. "Blah, blah, blah. You don't know what you're talking about."

Up ahead, Ismael stopped to ask a villager for a direct route to Mount Chamlang. According to the map Madame Alizeh supplied them, their search for the tower would begin there. Boasting one of the highest peaks in the world, it was likely Lumi's tower was built near the very top.

Makaela wasn't sure what to expect once they found it.

What was the next step? What were they do once it was found? And what would happen if they came across Shades—or even Thorian himself—at the tower?

All of those questions repeated inside her brain, bouncing around like the remnants of an errant spell. She didn't have an answer for any of them. Though, she supposed things might become clearer the closer they got to the completion of their quest.

"This way," Ismael said upon returning to the group. He was pointed off to the left. A grassy hill watched over the buildings below. A stone path led up the valley and out of the village.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk from where they were standing.

Makaela groaned. Her feet were already starting to ache.

"Don't tell me you're getting tired," Karin teased. "We just started."

"I'm not." Huffing, she continued forward.

The quintet of magicians made their way toward the trail. As they moved farther into the village, the houses grew sparser and further apart until there was more grassland around them than the actual village. Pieces of a broken fence stood out in the tall grass. She heard the rust-coated gate creaking ominously.

Ravens flew overhead above, squawking as they took off for the hills. Makaela froze.

A breeze rippled around them, carrying over the land like a ghost. Her entire seized up as a chill snaked down her back and stopped at her tailbone. Her senses suddenly went on alert as she stopped in the snow.

Her companions stopped as well, concerned looks on their faces.

"What is it?" Ismael asked.

"Are you okay, Makaela?" Han rushed over to her while rummaging through his infinity container. "It's a little early to be getting frostbite."

"Maybe it's hypothermia," Yama suggested.

Swallowing hard, Makaela shook her head. "It's not that. I can't explain it but—" The Illumio throbbed with golden light on her finger. Her eyes widened.

A warning.

She felt her stomach shrink as it tried to climb up her throat.

"We need to hide."

Karin gave her a perplexed look. "Huh? Hide from what?"

"Just do it," Makaela hissed.

The five of them immediately took cover behind a few boulders sticking out in the grass. As they hid behind the large rocks, puffs of black smoke appeared a few yards ahead of them. Magicians clad in flowing robes darker than the blackest night sky emerged from the shadows. Silver animal masks hid their identities, but Makaela didn't need to see their faces to know who they were.

"Shades," she whispered.

Her companions pressed their backs to the boulders they hid behind, holding their breath and trying to make themselves as invisible as possible.

Makaela did the same. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her heart racing in her ribcage.

How did they know we'd come here?

She carefully peeked around the rock. There were six of them. She recognized two of them. Amora and Delsin. Knights of the Black Lotus. They were some of Thorian's most trusted Shades and formidable casters.

Cursing quietly, she watched them from her hiding place.

The Shades wandered around, their heads on a swivel.

"Where are they?" one of them asked.

"Thorian said they'd be here," another whined.

Amora shook her head at them. "They're here." The girl continued to look around. "I know it."

Makaela dropped back down behind the boulder. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she tried to come up with a way out of this predicament.

The Shades were right between them and the path to the mountain. She could try shadowjumping them away, but she had never moved more than two people at a time. She also hadn't practiced that skill in some weeks. Now definitely wasn't the time to experiment.

Running for it wasn't the best of ideas either. The stretch of grassland between them and the trail was longer than she would've liked. With not much to use as cover, they would be easy targets for the Shades.

That only left one option.

"We have to fight them," Makaela told her group.

Han paled. "F-Fight them?" He wrung his hands. "Are you sure about that?"

Yama rolled her eyes at him. "Don't be a wuss, Han." She cracked her knuckles. "We can take them."

Beside him, Ismael nodded at Makaela. "I fear she's right. I don't see any other way out of this."

"Fine by me," Karin said. She retrieved the Andhis from the satchel hanging from her shoulder. The force of a powerful storm swirled within the silvery orb. Lightning crackled within its glossy, translucent surface. "I've been dying to try this thing out."

Makaela took one last look at the band of Shades. Taking note of their positions, she began devising a plan of attack. They would have the element of surprise, but only for a few seconds. They needed to make those seconds count if they wanted to escape the fight with their lives.

After explaining her strategy to the group, they nodded and prepared to carry it out.

Heart beating like a drum in her chest, Makaela took a few calming breaths as she counted down in her head. The world slowed around her. Soon, all she could hear and feel was the cold wind against her skin.

She held up her hand, her fingers spread out. With every passing second, she dropped a finger.

Then she closed her fist.

Yama sprung out from her perch first. With a piercing battle-cry, she swung her arms around her body like a human tornado and unleashed several crackling bolts of white lightning toward the Shades.

All of them shadowjumped away but one.

The lightning bolt struck them in the chest like the point of a spear. A cry was ripped from their throat as they were flung backward. They hit the floor with a heavy thud, smoke rising from the black fabric of their Shade robes.

They wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Attack!" Amora barked at her magicians.

Makaela rolled out from behind her cover and directed a blast of light magic at the nearest Shade. They blocked it with a shield charm before throwing a spell of their own. She dodged it, watching as the stream of lime green light sailed harmlessly wide.

Elsewhere, Han zipped along the snowy grass on a gyrating ball of compressed air. Gusts of wind flew from his hands, keeping the Shades at bay and preventing them from throwing any attacks his way. No one could get near him.

Nearby, Ismael and Karin worked in tandem, using a combination of lightningweaving and storm magic from the Andhis' as they forced a pair of Shades backward.

Sucking in a breath, Makaela narrowly sidestepped another spell aimed for her head. Whipping her head toward the Shade, she scowled and formed the sequence for a light shard barrage. Within seconds, dozens of glinting shards of light hovered in front of her. She swiped her hand and sent them at her target.

They managed to avoid most, but a few found their mark in the Shade's chest. Gargling on their blood, the dark magician dropped to the ground. Their mask clattered onto the dirt beside them. A red river streak down the side of their mouth as they laid in the grass.

Makaela turned around and sprinted at another Shade that was battling Yama.

She never made it. Her body went weightless for a moment as she flipped in the air. All the oxygen vanished from her lungs once her back hit the grass. A hole had been burned into the shoulder of her coat where the spell hit her.

Moaning in pain, she rolled onto her stomach. Her back ached so much that she thought it had been lit with flames. Lifting her head from the grass, she saw Amora gunning toward her.

Uh oh.

Climbing back to her feet, Makaela swiftly conjured up a golden shield charm just in time to deflect a blasting spell to the sky. It exploded in a plume of orange and red light before raining down like fragments of a Chinese firework.

Amora removed her mask and sneered at her. "Nice to see you again, Makaela."

"I wish I could say the same, Amora."

The two of them circled each other, hands ready and poised to cast at any given moment.

"I should've known you'd betray us," the girl spat. "It's just who you are."

That stung a bit.

"You could've joined me," Makaela said. "Your brother saw early on the type of monster Thorian is. It's about time you realized it too."

Amora snorted. "My brother is a coward."

"You know, I felt sorry for you. I thought there might have been some hope inside you," Makaela countered, her words equally as venomous. "But you being here right now tells me you can't be saved."

"What do I need to be saved from?"

Makaela summoned a spear of light. She threw it as her answer.

Amora batted it to the ground. Spinning on her heel, she jumped up and directed twin blasts of shadow magic at her adversary. Makaela raised another shield charm, but Amora's attack shattered it instantly.

Makaela dropped to the ground with a cry. Her left arm stung as she felt the dark magic ravaging the skin of her shoulder and upper forearm.

"My father said you've been training in Tenzin," Amora said as she stalked toward her. "I couldn't tell."

Growling, Makaela got back to her feet. She released a guttural yell and charged the girl.

She didn't use magic this time. Instead, she simply tackled Amora to the ground and attempted to elbow her in the face. The Shade caught her arm and threw it skyward. Her fist then sailed upward, catching Makaela in the chin. Seeing stars momentarily, Makaela brought her own fist down onto Amora's lip.

Blood immediately spilled from where she made contact. It splattered across Makaela's knuckles, staining her dark skin.

Amora sputtered, her eyes wide with surprise. Chest heaving, Makaela remained on top of her.

"Go on then," Amora grumbled. She spat her own blood onto the grass. "Finish me off."

Makaela raised her hand, preparing to summon a killing spell.

But as she looked down into Amora's eyes, something prevented her from tapping into the dark vitalae surging through her veins. She couldn't bring herself to end the girl's life, no matter how much she may have deserved it.

She had killed before. Many times, in fact. Back when she was a Shade. Back when her Nightling was in control.

Even now, she could hear its voice in the back of her head, urging her to finish her kill. But she wouldn't. She was done being one of them. She was done letting it control her.

Breathing heavily, she lowered her hand.

Amora scoffed. "I knew you didn't have it in you."

"Yeah, you're right," she replied.

Before the girl could say anything else, she pressed a stunning spell into her chest. Amora remained there in the grass, her body stiffer than a board.

Exhaling, Makaela got back to her feet.

As she turned her head to find Yama and Delsin dueling each other. The battle seemed to be evenly matched; both were exchanged spell after spell, charm after charm. Neither had the upper hand.

Yama swung her arms around, summoning another bout of lightning. But just as she was about to unleash it, Delsin began performing the sequence for a killing spell.

Makaela's eyes widened.

"Yama, watch out!"

Her warning came too late.

Yama abandoned her lightning-strike attack and drew for a shield charm, but she was too slow. Delsin's spell collided into her midsection, rocking her entire body.

She fell to the grass without a sound. Her eyes remained open, unblinking. Lifeless. Her irises, which were once a bright silver, had dimmed to a dull gray.

Makaela stifled a sob with her hands as tears welled in her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled as she stared at the woman's lifeless body.

Delsin removed his mask and grinned, admiring his handiwork. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I was almost worried for a sec, there." He faced Makaela. His smile widened.

Her shock was quickly replaced by anger.

Before the Shade could react, she had leaped through the air with the help of her Nightling abilities. She swiped her hand across his neck, her now elongated nails tearing clean through his flesh.

He fell to the ground, clutching his sliced throat.

"Makaela, let's go!" she heard from behind her.

She barely heard their words. They weren't that important to her. All of her attention was on Delsin, who was crawling away from her while pressing his hands against his bleeding neck. She could see the fear rolling off him in waves.

He was afraid. Afraid of death.

Good.

She took a step toward him. Perhaps Amora had been right. Maybe she did need to finish the job.

Just as she was about to pounce on Delsin, another shout sounded behind her.

"We need to move! Now!"

Her mouth twitched. Clenching her fists, she forced herself to calm down and to keep the demon within her at bay. It had started to creep into her mind, loosening itself from the heavy chains she fought so hard to keep wrapped around it.

It almost won.

Almost.

Shaking her head, she turned and ran toward Karin and Ismael.

They had made a run for the path. Han was barely conscious, his arm draped across Karin and Ismael's shoulders as they lugged him along. Makaela could see a purple bruise growing down his arm. She blanched.

He had been hit with a spell. A nasty one, at that.

In Karin's free hand was the Andhis. The silver orb had opened like a blooming flower, the storm within unleashed and wreaking havoc on the remaining Shades in the grassland. Lightning struck from the dark clouds, keeping the dark magicians at bay as Makaela's companions made their escape. She shadowjumped, appearing in the shadow of a tree next to them.

"Nice of you to join us," Ismael said with a labored wheeze as he continued to pull Han along.

"Yama..." Makaela's voice broke.

Ismael nodded gravely. "I know. But we cannot dwell on that now. We must escape, or her death will be in vain."

Nodding, Makaela wiped her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder. The Shades remained below them, unable to follow due to the angry tempest Karin left in their wake. The storm was getting bigger. Angrier. The clouds were thicker than fog and crackling with white lightning. None of the Shades dared pass through or shadowjump.

"How'd you do that?" she asked Karin as they continued up the path toward the mountain.

"No clue," she replied. "I just...held it out and it opened."

"The Andhis' is protecting us," Ismael explained. Sweat glistened off his bald head as he struggled to hold up Han. Makaela took over for him, taking the man's arm around her neck. "It is semi-sentient, much like the Illumio. Like how your ring warned you of the Shades, the Andhis' protects its wielder."

"Well, thank the skies for that," Makaela said breathlessly. She glanced down at Han, who was mumbling unintelligible nothings as they carried him. "What happened to him?"

"Delirium," Ismael answered. "One of the Shades got him with a poison charm. It hasn't fully set in yet, but we'll have to make a stop if he's to be treated."

"What'll happen if he isn't."

Ismael didn't respond. His silence was enough of an answer.

Makaela cursed loudly. Her voice echoed down the hill.

Her plan hadn't worked. It was supposed to get them out of that situation safely. The exact opposite had happened. Yama was dead. Han was close to death.

And now that had six Shades on their back.

As if this quest wasn't hard enough.

"We have to keep moving," Ismael said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover."

Makaela nodded. He was right. She readjusted Han's arm over her shoulders and surged forward through the snowy ground.

Their journey just got a whole lot longer.