Leir might have probably talked about his dishonorable victory for much longer, but a loud thud was heard, and the remaining of the celling fell, raising a thick plume of dust.

Everyone flung themselves in different directions, saving from the stones. As the cloud faded, Anya saw a tall, shady figure in the epicenter. He was wearing black cloak, and deep hood hid his face. He looked as though there was nothing but a clot of darkness inside the cloak.

"Who the hell is that?" Eirn asked, watching the figure moving like a shadow gliding over the floor.

Discreetly, the shadow walked across the hall and stopped next to Leir. "You have found the book at last. Good job, my prince."

Anya froze at the sound of the voice. It was him—the fifth guest, who broke into her apartment.

"Be a good girl and be quiet if you want to see the sun rise tomorrow," Tane hissed, and stood between her and the shadow, hiding behind his back.

The shadow continued, "Allow me to deliver the artifact to Kraine, my prince."

"No." Leir rose in his way. "I know my job," he said dryly. "I'll bring the book to my father, Choraun."

Choraun hissed like a snake, but didn't reply. Leir peered in his eyes, his jaws tightening like he couldn't force the words he intended to say up his throat.

After a long second of wordless conversation, Choraun flipped his hood back, Anya saw his face, an unnatural, emotionless mask. Nothing to remember. But eyes... Oh, his eyes were yellow and splintering, it seemed one glace, and his prey would be dead. How could Leir bear that gaze?..

"Very well," Choraun made a vague gesture. "Shall we take care of the public first?" It wasn't a question.

The same moment, Nagal lifted his sword and started toward Eirney. Eirn barely managed to dodge, but stumbled over the piece of a column and fell. The next blow didn't become fatal only because of Nikk, who jumped to his friend's aid and deflected Nagal's strike.

Using the moment, without the slightest regard for her own safety, Anya darted to her father, who was still senseless.

"You brought humans along, Leir." Choraun clasped his gloved hands. Sharp laugher rasped deep in his throat. "Splendid. Charna!" Like a devoted dog, Charna hunched toward Anya, but stopped, once Choraun waved his hand again. "No, wait. I've changed my mind. We'll keep them for dessert. Go play with a white-haired one."

Charna cast Anya a dark glance, and switched her attention to Daphne.

"Dad, are you alright?"

Alexander rubbed his forehead, grimacing. He climbed to his feet and looked around, his eyes still fogged. "Alive, I think." Then he saw the black figure next to Leir, and his face grew ashen. "Oh, no. We're too late."

"You know him?" Nikk appeared near them, panting.

Anya looked at her father. He nodded. "Aye. Choraun is Kraine's right hand. And if you can parley with the fomoires, it's pointless with this creature."

A line of concern lay between Nikk's eyebrows. "Maybe you know how to get out of here in one piece then?"

"The portal," Alexander leveled at the arch on the wall. "It should still be working."

"Open the portal then, I'll retrieve the book!"

The three of them moved across the hall, the clasping of steel against steel accompanied them.

Suddenly, Nagal stood in their way, his eyes wild.

"Even if we wanted to, I couldn't let you go, daitya," Nagal barked.

"I'm not asking."

Anya watched them fight, being drugged away by her father. Tane appeared by Nagal's side soon. "Nikk!"

"I'll deal with them!" Daphne climbed on the pile of shards." Go get the book."

Without hesitation, Nikk darted toward the artefact. He stopped for a fraction of a second, then closed his hands around the shinning cover. He spun around and was about to run, but...

"Nikk, from behind!" Anya cried, but she was late.

Nikk met the yellow eyes of Choraun. The shadow threw his hand up in the air and clutched it into a fist. Like a poppet, Nikk slid across the hall and bumped into the wall, and blacked out. A sequence of stones rushed off the pile in the center, hiding him from Anya's eyes.

Yet, with some mysterious skill, Nikk managed to toss the book toward Anya, and the artifact landed right at her feet.

Oh, hell with the book. "Nikk!" She rushed forward, but Rill stopped her, appearing by her side.

"You can't go to him now. You'll only make it worse." Her face was smeared with dirt, and her sweaty hair clung to her cheeks.

"Are we supposed to leave him to die?!"

"No, he's not dying today, Anya." Rill promised. "We need to take the book and leave. The fomoires will be gone if there's nothing to steal."

Still harboring doubts, Anya reluctantly nodded. She grasped The Book of Fates mischievously glittering in the sun, and hurried toward the portal with Rill and her father.

"To open the dimensional door, we need two adri," Alexander said. Two holes instead of purple stones were in the sockets encircling the arch. "We've found one before you arrived. We still lack one more."

"We have our own," Rill said. "Our bags in the hallway. I'll go get them."

"No, we need the original ones. They're here," he ran his eyes over the dusty chaos of the battle. "Somewhere."

They began to fumble on the floor around the arch, searching anything purple and shining.

Anya still could see the fight. Charaun saw the book in Anya's hands and was determinately making his way over to her, and Daphne was the only one still in his way. His gloved hand was in the air, reaching for her throat, when Leir leaped to Daphne's side.

"I said," he twitched his lips with rage, and lifted his sword offensively. "I'll deal with them."

Charaun gave him a sinister smile. "As you please, my prince." His eyes darted behind Leir's back.

Leir whirled around the moment Daphne made a whoop of triumph and landed her sword in Leir's flesh. He let out a long, howling cry, as the blade pierced his shoulder. If not for the warning, Daphne struck him squarely in the heart.

Screaming and cursing, Leir dropped, rolling across the stone shards, holding his injured shoulder as blood tickled down his arm. His blade cluttered to the ground.

"Too bad," Rill whispered next to Anya. "We need to hurry or there would be no one left alive. There!" She pointed at the distance. "The adri!"

Anya saw it, too. Under the broken marble column was a skeleton, his phalanges curled around the crystal.

"I'll go get it," Anya's father said and rushed across the hall. "See you by the portal!"

"Let's go," Rill tugged at the sleeve of Anya's top and drew her sword. "You guard the book. I guard yo—" Her voice faltered and she began to cough, holding her throat.

"Rill?" Anya stared at her, confused. "What is it?! What—" Anya felt suddenly lighter. It took her a full second to realize her feet were above the ground. She was floating above the floor.

She turned her head and saw Choraun standing not far from them, moving his hand, lifting Anya up.

That's what Nikk felt the moment before he got kicked against the wall, the thought swept over Anya's mind.

Her body was slowly lifting up and up. From above, she could see everything happening in the hall. Tane, hungry for revenge for his friend, was attacking Daphne, who gave him no chances to get to her flesh. Eirney and Nagal crossed their blades on the other end of the hall. Leir hissing with pain and leaning on Charna's shoulder was telling her something hurriedly, glancing at Daphne. And Nikk, still unconscious, was lying among the stones, his shirt torn into pieces, blood gleaming on his temple.

Fortunately, Anya's dad was busy, trying to fetch the crystal and didn't see his daughter soaring above him.

"Pendant," Amarillis gasped between coughing. "Anya, your pend..."

What about it? And then Anya grasped the meaning. Her pendant! The adri Nikk gave her. She squeezed her eyes shut, seeking for the flow of power within the stone mentally. She imaged it overflow her, push down, pin to the ground.

Whether it worked, Anya knew not, but in a few seconds, she dropped to the floor, her chest got right on the metal tome she was still clutching in her hands. The blow sucked air out of her lungs, dimming her vision.

She blacked out for a mere second, then regained the control over her body. Breathe. That felt like icy arrows piercing through her chest. Breathe. Thoughts were muffled, as though someone else was kicking around in her head.

"Are you okay?" Rill rushed to her.

"Did I do it?"

"Almost, something distracted him," Rill admitted. "But it doesn't matter. We're going to get out of here alive."

The two of them darted to the portal, where Anya's father was already waiting.

"Put the crystal in the empty socket," he said and handed Anya a stone. She obediently did so, and her father plunged another one in the socket on the other end of the arch.

Instantly, the crystals beamed from the inside, and, sparkling, began to radiate with energy. The portal glowed, turning to liquid just like in the dream. Space in the arch began to move.

"You won't get away from us," Choraun's voice came from behind.

Folding her arms around the book tighter, Anya turned around. Flames of Charna's hair flashed, revealing her scared face, her mad eyes. Choraun stood beside her, smirking.

"You won't get away," he repeated.

Charna swung her blade over her head. The steel flickered in Anya's eyes like a lightning. Someone screamed. Anya shut her eyes, without realizing Charna could be the last thing she saw in her life.

But there was no pain. Was it over so swiftly?

Anya lifted her eyelids, confused. Blood flooded the floor. Blood... Rill's blood.

"Rill!" she fell to her knees next to the daitian who sprawled on the stone floor, blood pouring out of her chest. "Rill!"

"Today," Rill said in a weak voice, forcing a smile onto her face as her eyes focused on Anya. "Today is not my day, is it? Or... mine."

"No! No, you won't die!

"Every... one dies."

"No! The daitias aren't that easy to kill! Not you! Not today! An adri, we just need an adri..."

"No," Rill caught Anya's shaking hand. "Tell me something... good. Funny. I don't want to die seeing tears on your pretty face."

Anya forced a smile, "What's your natural hair color?"

"Natural," Rill echoed, fighting the urge to close her eyes. Damn it, where's everyone? Where's help? Anya thought, but was afraid to look away from Rill. "Anything's natural once we believe it..." Her eyes fogged and her hand went numb, releasing Anya's finger.

"No, Rill?!" Anya shook her, but the daitian stayed numb. "Rill!"

"I'm sorry, but we have to go," father shove Anya to her feet and dragged to the portal.

Tears obscured the world around her, Anya couldn't see or feel anything beyond sorrow and hatred and fury. She grabbed the book lying in the blood mechanically.

The fomoires will never get it. They will never redeem themselves. The murderers don't deserve forgiveness.

She was a step away from the portal, when she caught the sight of Nikk from the corner of her eye. His scared, desperate expression.

No, she read his lips form.

An iron grip clutched around Anya's arm. And the world spun around, dragging her into the changing dimensional reality.