I made it to them and Meeta threw back her cloak. On the run, she handed me a dagger.

I took it, and suffice it to say, I wouldn’t have a problem using it on whatever creatures were chasing us. If I got that chance (which I hoped I didn’t), I wouldn’t hesitate.

But as I took it, I saw she was heavily armed. She had a knife belt on with more weapons. I was still running so I didn’t have it in me to count all the blades she brought, but what I saw made me feel hope, even as I felt shock not only that they were there but that they’d come prepared.

“Where are we?” I asked, still running.

“We run toward Brunskar,” Meeta gasped.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back there.

“But—”

Meeta cut me off. “No talk! Run!”

I thought this was good advice so I kept running.

Until I heard them close in. Loretta cried out and I looked over my shoulder to see one of the bird-headed men had her.

Fuck!

“No!” I shrieked, turned, but Meeta was already there.

She yanked a short sword out of her belt and, without delay and looking like it wasn’t the first time she did it, she cut his head off.

Okay. Maybe she wasn’t Spock.

Maybe she was a Maroovian Russell Crowe-ian type gladiator.

There was no time to cheer, however, the others closed in.

One was close to me and I ducked like I saw Apollo duck when he was in the swordfight back at the inn. His sword whiffed over me and I came up, already thrusting my dagger forward. I plunged it in his gut and he fell back.

“Bad magic,” Meeta whispered, and I turned to her to see her beating back another one.

I also noted the one whose head she cut off didn’t fall even as I noticed Loretta was down, back on her hand, her own short sword raised, fending off a third.

No, the one with his head cut off just stood there as another head was growing in its place.

And worse. Another creature was growing from his severed head!

I had no time to totally freak right the f**k out at this; another one was rushing to attack me.

“Aim to maim!” I shouted. “You cut something off, it grows a new one.”

Alas, Loretta had managed to cut the arm off the one she was fighting and get back to her feet and the severed arm instantly started forming another creature.

I got my dagger in one and he fell back from me only for another one to close in.

“Keep moving toward Brunskar!” Meeta shouted, leading the one she was fighting in the direction we’d been going.

It must be said, I liked her mettle, but we couldn’t see any light through the trees. Even if we were heading that direction, the castle was far away. We couldn’t fight and make it there.

The good news was, I was a total amateur and I could tell these—whatever-they-were—were not real good at this shit.

The bad news was, their arms were longer, as were their swords, and as I fought the one I had on my hands, I noticed two more form out nothing.

“She sends more,” Meeta snapped, sounding peeved.

Just peeved.

Seriously?

Then I felt even more but I couldn’t tell seeing as now I was battling three.

All with one dagger.

We’ll just say I was doing a lot of lunging, ducking, swaying my torso back and rolling through the snow.

My dress was totally ruined.

As were my cloak and shoes.

And I was pretty certain I’d lost a comb along the way.

This all sucked.

What sucked way worse was that I knew we were all dead.

This was because we were surrounded. I couldn’t miss it even as I battled on, breathing heavy, my heart thumping in my chest, my blood roaring in my ears. I heard Loretta’s terrified pants and Meeta’s grunts of effort.

We were surrounded.

They were pressing us in.

I felt Loretta’s back hit mine. Then Meeta’s.

If just one of them got a good swipe in, they could take all three of us out.

We were done for.

I was going to die with two fabulous women who somehow had come to my aid and who I wished I had a lot more time to get to know.

I wasn’t ever going to see Élan dressed for her first gale.

I wasn’t going to see Christophe become a soldier.

I was never going to feel Apollo’s hands on me again. His mouth. See his smile. Take in all the beauty that was him.

I was going to die in the cold and snow of a parallel universe having tasted a beautiful life I knew I’d grown to love but had not allowed myself to trust. Tasted it for a brief snatch of time and then it was going to be whisked away.

“You guys are the freaking greatest!” I shouted, grunting as I lunged forward and got one in the gut.

He fell back.

Another took his place.

“I die with you in my heart, Miss Maddie and Meeta,” Loretta yelled, Meeta’s name ending in a pained yelp and I knew one clipped her.

“We do not die tonight!” Meeta screeched, her voice so shrill, it was like she was trying to make that be by putting everything she was into her words.

I admired her grit.

But she was heartbreakingly wrong.

One of the things did an overhead slice and I caught it with my short blade sideways, but the strength of the slice took me down to my knee. My arms over my head, struggling to hold my attacker’s blade, the rest of me was ripe for the pickin’s.

But if I let go, he’d slice me in half.

I let out an ear-piercing scream of frustration, terror and heartache and his sword disappeared.

He didn’t. He stood before me but he was looking over his shoulder.

I shot to standing and noted both Loretta and Meeta pressing to my back but I heard no grunts of exertion nor did I feel movement.

This was because all of the creatures were looking back.

I was about to start jabbing at random to create a hole in what looked like a six or seven creature-thick wall around us when all hell broke loose.

And by that I mean I heard barking, growling, yapping, snarling and suddenly a line of sight cleared and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Wolves.

All around.

Dozens of them.

No.

More.

Maybe hundreds.

All of them attacking the things.

“Oh my God,” I whispered. “What’s going—?”

I didn’t finish.

This was because, behind the wolves, more of the creatures formed out of nowhere just as a line of wolves ran, scampered or crawled on their bellies through the snow and the now battling-with-wolves bird-men toward Meeta, Loretta and me.

We pressed back to back.

Great.

Bird-men and now wolves.