It turned its black eyes upon her and lunged, wrenching her sword from her fingertips, leaving it embedded in the Kadoshim’s neck. It ignored that as well, seemingly intent upon Cywen’s death. A hand snaked out and grabbed one of her knife-belts, dragging her closer to the Kadoshim’s sword-tip. Then Brina was there, in the corner of Cywen’s eye, arm raised, and she was shouting something in giantish. Amongst the garbled words from Brina’s lips Cywen heard the word lasair, for fire, then Brina threw something – a vial that exploded in the Kadoshim’s face – and it erupted into fire, spreading in heartbeats down the Kadoshim’s neck and consuming its torso, flames hungry and devouring, the instant smell of charring flesh and burning hair billowing out with waves of heat and smoke.

Cywen threw herself backwards as flames snaked along the Kadoshim’s arm. She slammed onto the ground, saw the Kadoshim stagger away, reeling like a drunkard to crash into a Vin Thalun, the flames leaping onto him and in moments he was a human torch. Both Vin Thalun and Kadoshim collapsed to their knees, screaming, toppled to the ground, limbs thrashing, the Kadoshim stiffening and then going still, the now too-familiar sight of a shadow-demon appearing in the air above it.

So, the Kadoshim are not fans of fire, either, although it’s not the instant victory the taking of a head gives.

Cywen staggered to her feet, Brina nodding with a satisfied expression upon her face.

A slavering, screeching howl drew their attention and they both spun to see a handful of Kadoshim running at them. Brina’s hand frantically scrabbled inside her bag and pulled out another vial.

I thought they were medicines – what has she been up to?

More giantish words issued from Brina’s mouth and she hurled the vial at the first Kadoshim, just a few paces from Cywen now. There was a blinding flash, a concussive explosion and then Cywen was flying through the air; the last thing she saw before darkness closed in upon her was Brina’s face, an expression of profound surprise upon it.

‘Well, what a pleasant surprise,’ she heard a voice say, somewhere above her. She opened her eyes, decided that was a mistake, pain thumping in her skull, and closed them again.

A boot kicked her in the ribs, more pain in different places now, all clamouring for attention.

She opened her eyes again, looked up into a burned face, but still familiar.

Calidus,’ she said, voice hoarse. As she said his name he reached up and tugged at a blackened strip of flesh on his lip, it came away with a soft tearing sound. He grimaced and flicked it away.

‘Indeed,’ he said. ‘And what a pleasure it is to see you again. A feeling that I’d imagine is not mutual.’ He smiled, a ghastly expression with half a lip missing.