Terror ran through my veins. The person against the wall was my brother.

My brother who was injured, maybe even dying.

The intense gaze of Raoul's eyes was enough to make me squirm. "How badly are you hurt?" I asked.

He removed his hand from his side gingerly and stared down at the cut. "Not horribly. It's not deep. Just a scratch."

"Let me see." I climbed up onto my brother's leg, trying to get around to his other side. My feet slipped down his pants momentarily before I caught herself.

"Need help?" Raoul chuckled. He held out his hand and leaned toward me, wincing at the movement.

I scowled. "Good to know that even in your injured state you can be as aggravating as you always are." I stepped into his hand, ignoring the blood that stained his skin. "What happened here?" I asked, softer.

Raoul moistened his lips. "The, ah, big things."

"Well, that clears it all up, thanks. Move me over to your side, will ya?"

Raoul did as I asked. "It figures, you know."

I ignored him, transfixed by his side. He was lying when he said "just a scratch." It was anything but. I couldn't tell how deep it was, but the wound was definitely bad enough to cause problems.

I swallowed my fear. I needed to calm down--to not panic. If Raoul had lied, then he either didn't know the extent of the cut or didn't want me to know.

"W--what figures?" I asked shakily.

Raoul grinned. "The one time you're small enough for me to throw you across the room, it's in the middle of a fight."

Obviously, it's not that bad.

Blam!

We jumped, shaken by the explosion that seemed to deafen me. I ducked down and covered the back my head with my hands to protect my neck. Dust and rubble fell from the torn open ceiling, leaving darkness to spread over everything like a sickness.

Blam!

Blam!

Something jerked me to the side. The screech of fear that tried to escape my lips was muffled by me slamming into something hard. The world around me went pitch-black, but I hadn't shut my eyes.

Fuzzy buzzing was the first thing I could hear. Out of the ringing came muffled noises that got louder every time they started.

It was screams. Screams of the broken.

Screams of the dying.

Silence of the dead.

Raoul.

Is he alive?

The black was overwhelming. I felt trapped--blind--hopeless. I had to find my brother. Everything around me pressed in, trapping me in a prison with no bars, just walls.

Then the walls moved.

My heart jumped. I had never been particularly claustrophobic, but it brought in a whole new perspective of the fear once something started closing up on me. Something like a steady drumbeat pounded against one of the walls that trapped me, hitting a steady bum-bum, bum-bum.

Is that... a heartbeat?

"Raoul?"

He was holding me. It made sense--the jerk I felt as the world crumbled around us, the walls around me that kept moving--he was shielding me.

Almost to prove my idea, a crack formed in the black. Light came crashing down on me.

But it's nighttime. Where's the light coming from?

My question was answered as heat licked my face and pressed against my body. Flames finally broke into my field of vision. The orange and red climbed up some of the remaining stone walls of the castle and slithered across the floor. Black smoke rose into the air.

It vaguely dawned on me that my brother's hand was shaking. I pushed myself up through his fingers and stared at him. Dust and small stones spread around his body, covering him from head to foot.

He hacked into his shoulder. "Are you oka--" A fit of coughing cut Raoul off. "Mmh," he groaned. His head fell back against the wall.

I touched his chest lightly. His breath rattled with every exhale.

This isn't good.

A pit formed in my stomach. I jumped up and down on his hand, doing the best I could to tap him.  "Raoul?"

He held up a finger. "Just a second," he rasped. "Can't catch my breat--" He broke off again and doubled over, wheezing and choking.

I bit my lip. I had forgotten about the trouble he had breathing sometimes--whether it came after playing or being in dust or smoke.

There had to something that would help him. He couldn't die--as maddening as he could be, he was not allowed to die. It was just simply against the rules. I needed to get bigger again. Being small was useless.

If I saw Nutcracker again... it wouldn't go well for him.

"Curly!"

Speak of the Devil.

I whirled around and pointed at the wooden boy, who--of course--was human-sized again.

"Make. Me. Grow," I growled.

Nutcracker's eyes flicked over to the growing flames. "Uh, maybe later? Wood and fire don't exactly go well together."

I hopped off my brother's hand. Dry coughs still shook Raoul as he struggled for breath.

"Listen, buddy," I narrowed my eyes. "if you don't make me grow within the the next ten seconds, you won't have to worry about those flames." I thrust my thumb in the direction of the fire. "You'll be burning in a completely different place."

It looked like if Nutcracker could have scowled, he would've. "Yes ma'am," he muttered. He reached inside the two wooden pieces that made up his mouth and pulled out another small bead. "Eat this."

"It came from your mouth!" 

What was he thinking? That is nasty.

Very faintly, Raoul mumbled, "He's made of wood..."

Nutcracker thrust the bead at me. "You wanted it, take it!"

"No! That's disgusting! Your germs are on it!"

"I'm made of wood! I don't have germs!"

Raoul slapped one of his hands against his knee. "That's it. I'm on the last dregs of my life. I'm hallucinating a wooden boy."

I paused, ignoring Raoul. Nutcracker did have a point, but geez. It went against all common sense to eat something that came from someone else's mouth.

"Hey, dying over here," Raoul wheezed. "No big deal. Just forget about me."

I pursed my lips. "Fine," I grumbled, swiping the bead away from Nutcracker's hand. I popped it into my mouth and bit down on the flavorless candy.

Unlike the last time, the effect was instantaneous. I blinked and was taller again. 

Raoul coughed again. "Tha--that worked well."

Smoke from the flames caught in my throat. I choked and waved my hand, trying to move it away.

"Nutcracker--" I cleared my throat "--get Raoul out of here. You can't get near fire, and he's hurt bad enough he needs help."

"I don't--"

I turned. "Do it," I snarled.

His eyes widened. Quickly, he swooped down and grabbed under my brother's arms.

I moved away once Raoul was on his feet. I wasn't going with them--as stupid as it was.

I was going to get in the middle of everything.

"Where are y--where are you going, Clair?"

I moistened my lips. They couldn't stop me. Even if Nutcracker ran after me (like that would happen) I was far enough away I could out run him. There was also the flames that I could run through if I had to, and, as he said, wood didn't do well around fire.

I barely glanced back at the two boys. "I'm finding Mom and Dad. You can't stop me."

Raoul bobbed his head. "Wasn't going to. They went to the left."

What? What happened to the condescending big brother?

I didn't have time to wonder.

"I'll meet you in a little bit!" I cried. I turned around and ran through the rubble, being careful not to trip. There was no way I'd accept the possibility that my parents were dead. No way. Even though I heard the screams after everything blew, they were fine.

They had to be.

I ran through the hallway as fast as I could. The farther away from Raoul's spot I got, the more the sound of steel against steel could be heard.

The throne room.

I bit back the urge to shout for my parents. Alerting everyone to my presence probably wasn't the best idea. I rounded the corner, still running, and skidded to a halt.

I had found the muraes.

I stifled a gasp. Quickly, I hid behind the soot-covered wall and poked my head around the corner.

It was chaos.

It looked as if all the muraes had decided to gather in one spot, and that just so happened to be the throne room. Many of them were dead, but there were enough that they managed to form a circle around the room, trapping those in the center.

I stepped into the room. I squinted, trying to make out who was fighting in the circle.

Oh no.

It was my father and a few guards.

I couldn't understand how they had lasted that long. I could barely see further into the circle, but I made out at least four fallen soldiers.

Panic clawed at my throat. They won't make it. They're all tired, and the muraes don't seem to know the meaning of that word. I have to do something. Anything.

The only thing I could think to do was shout.

I swallowed. It was about to be the stupidest thing I'd ever done, and there was no promise that it'd work. I positioned my feet so I could bolt as soon as I screamed.  "He--"

I was cut off by the press of cool metal against my throat. "Well, looky here," a voice rasped.

My blood ran cold. I balled up my fist and raised it slightly, ready to punch whoever, or whatever, had me.

The blade pressed deeper into my throat. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I lowered my hand.

"Good girl. Now walk forward." The thing pushed me toward the circle.

"B--but what about the muraes?" I finally squeaked. "I can't walk through them."

He pushed me once more. "Too true."

That was his answer?

I didn't have to worry about it for long, though. As soon as my arm brushed against the back of one of the muraes, it froze with a squeak. The squeak alerted all the other muraes to it, and they turned to see what had happened.

I paused. None of the muraes moved. All stood as still as a statue, staring in my direction in awe. They weren't staring at me, which meant...

Who is behind me?

The man holding the knife to my throat pushed me forward once more. I broke through the last group of muraes and came face to face with my father.

"Dad," I whispered. An odd sense of relief and mortal terror ran through me.

Dad's eyes didn't land on me. He glared at the person behind me dangerously. Black blood streaked across his hands and face. His pale blonde hair plastered itself to his forehead, sticky from sweat.

It was then that I noticed he had no sword.

"What are you?" Dad growled. He clenched his fists, shaking slightly.

A chill ran up my spine. I had seen my father mad before, but he had become downright scary.

The person holding me chuckled.  "What am I?"

I jolted forward as he shoved me toward my father. I landed on my knees, hard. Dad held out his hand to help me up. I seized it.

"Are you hurt?" he whispered.

I looked up at my father.

Are his eyes black?

"No. I'm fine."

"Lovely family reunion!" the thing shouted.

I jumped, whirling around to say something unkind to the man who held the knife to my throat.

Except it wasn't a man.

Black tendrils of smoke floated around its body joining together at each shoulder to make arms. It towered over all the muraes by at least two feet. Seven sets of soulless eyes as dark as pitch watched me in amusement.

Seven sets of eyes.

A pair for each head.

I took an involuntary step back. He had seven heads. Nothing could have seven heads.

But still, the seven-headed thing laughed. He used all his mouths that time, sending an echo of chilling snaps throughout the room. "Surprised?" he asked.

"What are you?" Dad growled again. "You're not one of them." He gestured to the rest of the muraes.

The highest head on the creature shook. "Them? Me? A murae? Don't put me on their level. They're just foot soldiers. I'm their leader."

He raised his arms over his head. "Zilif ol ventrae murae!"

The entire group of muraes did the same. "Zilif ol ventrae murae!"

"Zilif ol ventrae murae!"

The chanted the sentence over and over. Soon, their words mingled together, just coming out in a jumbled mess.

My father grabbed my shoulder. He bent down next to me. "Where's you mother and brother?" he whispered.

I shook my head. "Raoul got out, but I haven't seen Mom. I thought she was with you."

Dad bit his tongue. "No. She went to find you."

The shouting grew softer. He stood. "Listen to me, Clair. When they stop chanting, we die. That's how this works."

Die.

I swallowed. I didn't want to die.

"Which is why," he continued, "I'm going to do something. Now you--you need to run as fast as you can as soon as I say so, okay?"

"What are you--"

He held up a hand. "I can't tell you. Just--just close your eyes for me, okay?"

I searched his face. He wasn't lying.

"Clair, please," Dad whispered. "You'll know when to open them."

I let out a slow breath of air and pushed my terror back. My eyes fluttered shut. I felt my father move away from me and toward the murae leader.

The words "What are you doing, boy?" were almost inaudible through the chanting. The scream that followed, however, was not. A tearing sound ripped through the shouts like wildfire.

"Kaique."

Heat erupted around the spot I stood in. My eyes flew open. Everything was on fire. Flames billowed out in the throne room, swallowing some of the muraes with it.

Run.

I darted over a dead murae and sped to the door. Snarls from an animal overpowered the roar of the flames. I wanted to turn around so badly, but an old story my parents would tell me called "Sodom and Gomorrah" played in my head.

In the end of that story, the one who looked back was reduced to a pillar of salt.

Best not to look back.

I grabbed the side of the wall to help me turn faster but immediately ran into something hard. The thing I hit grabbed my shoulders and shook me lightly.

"Let go!" I screamed. I didn't look to see what grabbed me, I just balled my hand into a fist and hit. Hard, grainy wood met my knuckles, splitting them open.

"Curly, stop! It's me!"

I stopped. "Nutcracker?" I panted. "W--what are you doing here? Where's Raoul?"

He pushed me behind him. "Raoul's outside. Where we should be."

"There's a--" I broke off, needing to tell someone what I saw but not knowing how. How could I explain a seven-headed murae to anyone and have them believe me? I stared at Nutcracker with my mouth slightly open. Smoke was clogging up my lungs, my chest ached from running, and I was terrified out of my wits, but I didn't feel done. There was something else I needed to do.

"What is there?" Nutcracker asked urgently. "What'd you see?"

"A murae," I finally whispered. "But it had seven heads."

Nutcracker dropped the hand he held. He pushed me toward the exit. "I'll be there in a minute."

And he ran into the flames.

I stood still, debating. My father had said to leave, but Nutcracker was being stupid. I sighed. Of course I'd have to follow him. Why not? Self-preservation had already been destroyed hours before.

I took off after Nutcracker, wondering how he had managed to get through the fire. Wood burns in heat, as he had mentioned earlier, but apparently not all the time.

The animal noises I heard earlier had stopped. All was silent except the crackling of flames and a faint clang of swords.

I stepped over fallen rocks and bodies, trying my best not to trip. The black cloud of smoke choked me, but I couldn't cough for fear of waving a flashing light saying "Here I am! Come kill me now!"

I climbed to the top of the set of stairs where a burning chair sat. In the silhouette of smoke and shadows, I could make out a jointed, giant, wooden doll, and a seven-headed creature.

A multitude of things happened next. The murae leader thrust his sword at Nutcracker's shoulder, hitting him. Nutcracker cried out and dropped his weapon. The murae kicked the sword away from his outstretched hand and stomped on his arm.

"This is it for you, then, child," it snarled.

"No!"

The first thing I could think of to grab was my shoe. I snatched it off my foot and chucked it toward the murae leader's heads, nailing him in the center of the blob.

It worked. His attention shifted from Nutcracker to me.

What I didn't plan on was him charging at me.

I scuttered back and tripped on a stone pillar. My knees hit the ground.

Crap, crap, crap, crap.

By the time I stood, the murae was on top of me. He raised his sword in the air and brought it down, barely missing me.

"Stay still, you little--"

The murae leader froze. Sticking out from the middle of his chest was Nutcracker's silver sword. He reached his arms and fingered it gently.

"Well, shi--"

And he disintegrated into smoke.

Nutcracker slammed his sword to the ground. "Hashn ol kanyah murae,"  he spat. 

Then everything blew.

_______________________________________

Btw, if, for some reason, there's ever anything about "nurses" in this, it's because auto correct wants to change "murae" to "nurse." So when you start reading about nurses with swords and tentacle arms, it a murae, not a nurse.

Stupid autocorrect...