We all stood in silence for a few minutes, just taking in the relief that came over us all now that the monster was dead. I sat down on the ground and just breathed for a while, then I stood up again, reaching out my hands and calling all my summoned creatures to me. The Magma Apes, the Frostbreath Cougar and the Flora Whelp all moved toward me.

“Well done, everyone,” I said quietly to them, before dispersing the summoning spells and reabsorbing them.

Belinda sagged and leaned on my shoulder, and I put an arm around her to keep her from falling. Astrid had returned to her humanoid form and was sitting on the ground, her teeth bared as she examined a wound in her leg. Selena, who had also returned to her regular form and regained her clothing in the transformation, was standing over the corpse of the cobra. Slowly, she holstered her pistols and looked up to meet my eyes.

“That,” she said heavily, “was a near thing.”

“Too near,” I said, nodding. “It had us on the back foot for too much of that fight. We did well, but we’re going to have to prepare harder and train intensely if we’re going to fight together and win in the future.”

“You’re right,” said Astrid through gritted teeth. “Any closer and that thing would have had my whole fucking leg off. I don’t think even Kyrine would be able to create a health potion to make that regrow. Look at this!”

We all came forward to look. She had been caught by the last burst of the monster’s venom, and it had sprayed her leg, burning through her boot and scoring the flesh.

“How painful is it?” I asked.

“Painful enough,” she grunted. “Selena, have you got something for this?”

Selena reached into a pouch at her belt and drew out a little blister pack of pills, which she tossed to Astrid. Astrid crunched two of them between her teeth, looking relieved almost immediately.

“Kyrine does a good line in painkillers,” she explained. I crouched, looking closer at the wound.

“It looks sore, but not too dangerous,” I said.

“I have a healing potion in my belt pouch,” Astrid said with a grimace.

I looked to where she was indicating and flipped open the pouch. Inside was a healing potion. I took it out and lifted it to Astrid’s lips so she could drink from it.

“It won’t completely heal me,” Astrid said, “but it’ll prevent the degenerative effects of the venom from getting the best of me. Come on, let’s get the core out of this fucker and then get out of here.”