Just off the shore, there was some kind of structure made from long pieces of wood that held that raw roughness of a tree branch or trunk. The wood was stacked in rows alternating the direction they faced on each layer. All four corners held a single torch though they weren’t lit. On the right side, farthest from the water, there was a wooden ladder so a person could climb on top. I frowned and slowly made my way down the hill since the pink arrow still pointed that way. There was something oddly familiar about this structure, yet I couldn’t place it.

When I got down to the bottom of the hill, I realized a little ways back from the structure were ruins of what was probably once a stone wall. I glanced around, there wasn’t anything else around. Just chunks of stone left over from whatever stood here before. The pink arrow pointed straight down, which I’d learned to mean stop. So, I stopped behind a section of the wall and crouched down. All right, Lassie. What am I seeing here? The arrow changed to point to my right but when I started to move it pointed down again. I froze. It was strange to give emotions and thoughts to a magical arrow, but I had the strongest sensation to stay hidden behind this wall . . . so I did.

About ten seconds later a dark figure emerged from between pillars of smoke and fire. At first, I couldn’t tell what it was just that it was huge. I reached for my magic bag, fully prepared to dive for my weapons if that thing was a demon. My chest warmed like I sat in front of a bonfire. I gripped the wall and watched. A few seconds later, the figure got close enough for me to make out long white hair and pale skin. I lunged forward then ducked behind a different chunk of stone wall to get a better look.

My heart stopped.

Everest.

That figure stumbling toward me was Everest. For a moment, I thought I was back in that terrifying dream that nearly killed me. But this was different. This wasn’t a dream. This was the past. The Everest coming closer looked younger, though I couldn’t pinpoint how. He carried something large and though his vampire strength meant it wasn’t heavy he was clearly struggling carrying it. Every few feet he stumbled and staggered. His face was grimy and splattered with blood in various colors.

And then I saw it.