[Phase 1, start.]

  "Culling?" Tom whispered. When I glanced over he clenched Aubrey's hand in his, gripping his hammer with the other.

  She patted his arm with a soft smile. "It will be fine."

  I didn't say anything as I approached, but I could feel that it wouldn't be. A culling was probably the worst news we could have possibly received. All we could hope for was a fair chance. That didn't seem like a distant possibility. So far the system had been mostly fair. It rewards competence, whichever form it takes.

  "Iron, scout the area," I shouted.

  Over by the northern gate, Aya pushed people into position and barked orders at the archers standing in the watchtowers. They clutched their bows nervously as their eyes darted around the treeline. I clicked my tongue. They should have worked more on defence. If we made it out of this, they'd likely never overlook something that important again.

  Iron chirped in alarm. I whipped my eyes in his direction but couldn't see him beyond the canopy.

  "Support me," I said without explanation and held out my arm. Trish lent me her shoulder with a look of disdain, but no actual complaint.

  I activated Iron's Eye with a hard blink, and when I reopened my eyes I took in the view of a rushing sea of trees below. Not too far from Iron, a dark plume of smoke stretched into the sky. A fire. It came from the direction of Martin and Elinor's camp, and it was spreading fast, eating the lush stretch of green like some ravenous beast.

  "A fire is coming," I said, still looking through Iron's eyes. "From the South. Tell Aya to fortify the gate."

  If there's a fire, the wildlife and monsters will need to move.

  Looking down, I confirmed my concern. The canopy shook, and through the gaps between leaves blurry bodies rushed past. A taste of Iron filled my mouth and I blinked again, regaining my own sight.

  Aubrey's wide eyes met mine, filled with concern as she waited for news. Tom had already run off to inform Aya and Tessia of the development.

  "A stampede. I couldn't get a good look at how many there were, but monsters are coming."

  "What do we do?" she asked.

  I thought for a moment, then shouted. "Tom! We need to cut down all the branches close enough to spread fire into the Settlement. Bring only non-fighters."

  He nodded and gathered a group of able-bodied people that still hadn't received any weapons. Elinor among them. Following him, they scampered up the mother tree and then out onto its branches. A wind blew through the settlement, bringing the heat of the wildfire with it, singeing my skin.

  I clenched my teeth, watching as they tugged at the branches near the mother tree with their bare hands. Only Tom had a semblance of function with his hammer. That wasn't going to work.

  "Aya," I shouted, my voice barely loud enough to cut through the clamor of the place and the approaching fire. Yet she turned to me, and I pointed to the trees. "I have to help."

  She nodded without a word and turned to the gate, screaming orders at the panicking troops.

  "You stay here, Trish. Stay with Aubrey."

  Her eyes darted to the gate as she fingered her bow.

  "Trish?!" I shouted, making her jump.

  "What?"

  "Stay with Aubrey!"

  She nodded, then let her gaze drift back to the southern gate.

  Aya would have to understand. She would only slow me down up there. Darting to the tree, I skipped the first few footholds with a leap. The planks rattled under my feet but held as I rushed up to join the others. My head still spun from the loss of mana; it would take another half hour or so for it to recover. Those who hadn't yet climbed out onto the branches made way for me to vault up onto the roof from the window. My sword slid out of the scabbard with the whisper of metal rubbing against leather.

  Though we were far from the fire, the thick smell of smoke wafted over us in waves, traveling with the winds of the forest. I climbed to the canopy and ran along the thick branches until I could hack down what twigs connected the surrounding trees to our home. Thankfully, only the one tree had grown huge; if more had done the same, then cutting their branches wouldn't have been so easy.

  The others did the best they could, but without me and Tom darting around like wraiths, they would have never made it in time, as I'd feared. "This side is ready!" I shouted, sweat beading on my eyebrows. With the surrounding branches cut down, I could see the sky, and the thick plume of smoke rising into it. I could taste the smoke on my tongue. I could feel its sting in my eyes.

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  "Almost done here too, you head on down!" Tom shouted back.

  Below, the fighters stirred into motion, pointing and screaming. I couldn't hear what they were saying with the rolling winds and shouts of the survivors up top. Hurrying back down the crude ladder, the screams of frightened monsters grew louder, and when I finally set my feet onto the earth, I could feel how it vibrated from their approach. They were closing in. Fast.

  Aubrey stood in the middle of the settlement, near our old wind shelter, trying her best to calm the fighters. Trish stood next to her, simply staring as chaos unfolded. I rushed over and grabbed Aubrey by the arm. "Get to the treehouse, you're not safe here," I said.

  She shook her head, eyes locked on the rangers struggling to nock their bows. "I can't. They're panicking!"

  I grabbed her face and forced her to look at me. "Just go. I'll make sure they behave."

  "Brace!" Aya's roar roiled across the settlement.

  I shoved Aubrey toward the tree. "Now! Go!" She nodded stiffly and stumbled toward the ladder.

  "We've got to move," I said to Trish. When she didn't turn to face me, I pulled her by the arm.

  "Let go!" she protested, quickly regaining her wits.

  "Then you better fucking listen! Space out like that again, and you will get skewered by a bolt of magic or torn to shreds by a wolf. You don't want that, take my word for it."

  "I'm not a fighter!"

  I clicked my tongue. She could have given up her bow. "Then you better learn fast."

  Before she could protest again, a violent crack echoed through the settlement, making us stop dead in our tracks. The fighters supporting the gate with their bodies rocked back as if hit by the shockwave of an explosion. Others were quick to take their place but wobbled from the subsequent impacts. Outside, monsters screamed in terror, maybe anger. I couldn't tell why. They just screamed.

  "Nock your bow," I ordered.

  She nodded and grabbed an arrow from the quiver on her hip; it shook in her grasp, and she struggled to put the string into the groove of its butt. I laid a hand on her forearm. "Breathe. We'll get through this."

  How, she wanted to ask. I could see it in her eyes. For once, though, Trish did something completely in opposition to her aloof personality. She didn't question it. Instead, she clung to the words like they were her lifeboat. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

  "Archers, fire!" the tall amazon screamed from the gate. I turned and watched as she pushed her entire body weight against it, gritting her teeth as the wood dug into her cheek and drew blood.

  Martin and Adam fired their bows in tandem; the less proficient rangers weren't slow to follow. The thwump of their taut strings releasing cut through the screams, giving rise to new ones outside of our walls. Trish followed as we hurried toward the gate. I might not have been the strongest of the bunch, but I sure as shit wasn't the weakest. The aid I provided in supporting was substantial, enough to allow both Aya and Carl a moment of rest.

  "Trish," I barked. "Up on the watchtowers. Shoot as much as you can."

  Another wave of monsters slammed into the gate, making those of us pressing against it rock back before we regained our footing. Claws scraped against the other side, and a crack had started to form in the thick timber. It wouldn't last if this kept up. I shared a look with Aya. She wore the kind of cold look only a soldier who'd seen many battles could. The chaos didn't rattle her; it calmed her.

  "We will have to let them inside or meet them outside," she growled through clenched teeth. The veins on her biceps bulged as we pushed back another wave.

  "To scatter them?" I asked, likewise clenching my teeth.

  "To thin the herd."

  I bit back a curse and thought about it. Seeing as our settlement had a circular wall, most monsters wouldn't throw themselves against the gate; only those caught without an option would. The rest would simply avoid it altogether and flow around it.

  "We go out. Separate them like a wedge."

  Staring for a beat, she nodded, took a breath, then screamed loud enough to make my eardrums pop. "Tom! Give us an opening!"

  What the hell is Tom gonna do?!

  The forest answered with a crackle of snapping ropes and a deep rumble, and I learned just what she expected from him. A cluster of massive logs dropped from the canopy, crushing the herd no more than thirty paces from the gate. Dirt sprayed over the wall as monster bones cracked.

  The settlers hadn't been busy building only fortifications, I knew this already, and I was stupid not to realize it. Almost all of the time leading up to today they'd spent building traps.

  "Archers, cover!"

  The strum of strings loosing arrows played at a higher tempo than earlier. I took that opportunity to signal Trish down from her watchtower. She consented reluctantly and stayed close to me as we waited for the order.

  "Chaaarge!" Aya screamed and pulled the gate open.

  Scalding heat washed over us. The sting in my throat became something else entirely, as if my throat was filled with lava. I was hardly the only one to react as the others heaved for breath with grating gasps. But that was the least of our problems. We only had a handful of seconds to prepare before the horde reached us. Aya took the lead, her back looking broad and dependable as she charged toward the surging tide of monsters, backed by a sea of flames.

  I was the second to follow, and judging by the sound of her vibrating breaths, Trish was the third. Then came the others, following us with a battle-ready howl.

  Aya held her spear in front of her body with both hands, like a hockey stick, as she blocked the first two monsters. A pair of Whitehorn deer that were strangely familiar. I slipped past her right side and cut the throat of the larger of the two with my sword; a whistling arrow whizzed past Aya's left side and dealt with the other. From the vanguard, I could see it all so clearly. Rabbits, deer, wolves, not to mention the vast array of monsters I hadn't yet seen. Their information flooded my vision, forcing me to stop using Appraise—just in time to dodge the snap of a wolf's jaw.

  I reacted instinctively by whipping my blade into its gut as it tried to disengage. It whimpered, still far from finished. Magic wolves were sturdier than they looked, but it made one fatal mistake: it tried to retreat when there was nowhere to go. Monsters of all kinds slammed into it from behind, skewering it on horns and antlers before it fell to the ground. The stampede crushed anything that slowed. Clenching my fingers around my sword's hilt, I could only hope I was the exception to the rule.

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