The big warrior was back on his feet, his lips flecked with blood but axe still in hand. He charged the creature from behind, sweeping the big crescent-shaped blade down at the back of its leg. It was a well-judged blow, slipping between two armor plates and biting into the dark flesh between. The rock-thing twitched but didn’t make a sound. Before it could swing around to deal with Harrow, Yora leveled her spear and jabbed for its shoulder. The unmetal blade left a notch in the stone but failed to penetrate, and she had to dance back out of range.

“Move!” Yora said, pushing Gyre past her. “Harrow, get away!”

With an axe in its leg, the creature was a bit less mobile. Gyre threw himself past it, barely outrunning a hammering blow that sent bits of table flying. At the same time, Ibb circled in the other direction, breaking into a run for the doorway. The rock-thing turned to follow, but as it tried to take a step it found Harrow still holding on to the axe buried in its flesh.

Gyre couldn’t tell if Harrow meant to hold the creature in place, or if he was only too stubborn to abandon his weapon, but either way the result was the same. One huge, rocky hand slammed down onto the warrior’s head, smashing it open like a melon against the monster’s armored flank. The other ripped the axe free and tossed it away.

“Harrow!” Yora leveled her spear, ready to charge the thing. Gyre hastily grabbed her by one arm, and Ibb by the other. Between them they dragged their leader out the door.

“He’s dead!” Gyre shouted. “Get out!”

“Fucking plaguefire!” Yora snarled, but she turned to run.

He’d hoped the stone thing might be restrained by the doorway, but the steel proved to be no more of an obstacle than flesh and blood. It burst through in a shower of rock chips and metal shards, coming to a halt in the flat white corridor. Though no eyes were visible, Gyre was certain it was watching them as they ran. The deep voice boomed again, and then the thing was running, slowly at first but picking up speed with every step, like a boulder rolling downhill.

Yora was just ahead of Gyre, and Ibb farther on. Gyre looked up to try to find Kit, which proved to be a serious mistake. His foot caught on a loose piece of debris, and he went down in a tangle. Yora heard the sound and skidded to a halt, then started back toward him, reaching out a hand. The monster’s thumping stride accelerated as it closed.

“Yora, don’t!” Ibb shouted from up ahead. “Go!”