All of Requiem, it seemed, was this pillar of stone, these marble tiles, and a wooden hut between the birches. The footprints of dragons covered the forest floor beyond the tiles, but he could see none of the beasts; if any were here, the cowards hid. Holding his khopesh, he walked between the birches, leaving the column and approaching the hut. He kicked the door open to reveal an empty room. Inside he found five piles of straw topped with fur blankets, a brazier full of cold embers, a few bowls, and a clay tablet bearing the cuneiform writing of Eteer. When Raem lifted and examined the tablet, he recognized the words—it was a tale of the god Sharash and his journeys, a tale Sena used to enjoy.

"Did you engrave these words, Sena, after fleeing me as a coward?" Raem tossed down the tablet; it shattered on the floor.

Snorts sounded from the doorway, and he turned to see Anai gazing into the room. The demon's bloated, vaguely human head sniffed, and her distended body rose behind her, too large to enter.

"The weredragons lived here," Raem said to her. "They fled."

He was walking back toward the door when his boot hit something. He knelt and lifted a wooden doll. Upon it appeared more Eteerian letters, markings that would be meaningless to anyone born in the north. "Mustardseed." It was the doll's name, perhaps.

"Laira's old doll." He caressed its wooden cheek, then snapped off its head. He tossed the broken toy aside and stepped back outside.

He stood before the column, tilted back his head, and coned his palm around his mouth. He shouted for all his demons to hear. "Crush the column! Tear it down."

The creatures descended like insects upon a fallen morsel. They bit at the marble. They clawed. They kicked it, drove horns against it, gnashed their teeth, rubbed hooks and jagged scales.

Not a scratch appeared upon the marble.

"Pathetic weaklings!" Raem shouted. "Topple it!"

The demons howled. They slammed against the column again and again, ten at a time, storming around it, shoving, scratching and biting, yet still it stood. Light fell upon the creatures, and when the clouds parted, Raem saw it above. Even in the blue sky of day, it shone—the Draco constellation, the stars the dragons claimed blessed them.

The demons mewled, covered their eyes, and cowered between the trees.

Raem spat in disgust, walked toward the column, and swung his khopesh.

The blade shattered against the marble. A shard scratched along his hand, and Raem spat and cursed.

"The gods of the dragons protect their column." Clutching his wound, he stared up at the stars and shouted hoarsely. "You will watch, weredragon of the heavens! You will watch as I slaughter all your children."