“You don’t remember?” Jorick sat down cross-legged next to Evin. “Bet did say you hit your head pretty hard. …”

“Bet?” Evin asked. “Where is she?”

Jorick shrugged. “Off in the ruins somewhere, preparing.”

A flash of Bet casting a great spell appeared in Evin’s brain.

He shook his head. “How did we escape?”

“Well,” Jorick said, “Bet and I fought off the gnolls, then found a passage and dragged you through it. The next thing I knew we were up here and the gnolls stopped chasing us.” Jorick shrugged again. “I’m not quite clear how we managed to escape, but I’m glad we did.”

“Marten …” Evin muttered. There was something he was supposed to remember about Marten, something important …

A grinding of gears. A flash of green. The memories flitted through Evin’s brain for just a moment.

“He’s …” Jorick began, then swallowed. “He didn’t make it, Evin. I’m … I’m really sorry. I tried to hold off the gnolls, but—”

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

Evin started, then twisted around to see Bet heading toward them. Despite their subterranean trek, she seemed none the worse for the wear. Unlike Jorick and Evin, her clothes weren’t stained with mud or blood, and her long coppery hair seemed as pristine as ever.

Producing a strip of dried meat from her satchel, Bet smiled and sat down beside Evin. “Here, you should eat.” She shoved the meat into his hands. “We’ve got a long day’s walk ahead of us.”

Evin took the meat, staring deep into Bet’s eyes. Some memories churned within his mind. Flashes rose to the surface of his thoughts: his eyes opening after seeing Bet cast a spell that disintegrated dozens of gnolls; saying something, screaming something at her; Bet looming over him, lowering a wand that glowed with magic toward his head …

And though the memories were hazy at best, he knew they were real, and he was sure whatever they meant, it wasn’t anything good.

“Evin?” Bet asked, tilting her head.

“I just told him about Marten.” Jorick scrambled to stand beside Bet. He turned back to Evin. “Do you need some time alone? I mean, I don’t really know what to do, but—”

Evin shook his head. “No,” he said. “No, I’m … I’m fine. There’s no time for mourning. We still need to find my parents and your father. What are we going to do now?”

“The villagers were taken away by the gnolls again,” Bet said. “Remember, the chimera wanted them brought to it as its prisoners. We’re going to follow their trail.”

“And this time we’re actually going to save them.” Jorick offered his hand, and Evin got to his feet with a groan. His head felt woozy, and he struggled to stand.