We could hear the daeva long before we could see it; a low moaning sound sang through the trees, and the winds sighed in counterpoint. Kalen was quick to disseminate my orders. With the exception of the soldiers already stationed along the way, the rest were to fall back until I said otherwise.

“It sounds like that bellowing could be coming from anywhere,” Likh muttered nervously.

I’d already woven my runes. Chief snorted his eagerness underneath me, pawing a hoof at the soil.

Entering a daeva’s mind for the first time was always a disorienting experience, and the nanghait felt like it had as many minds scrambling for position in its head as it had faces. It was hard and time-consuming, trying to latch on to any one stray thought to find my leverage. Even its view of the world was multifaceted; I could see visions of the Five Rivers, visions of sky across the Swiftsea, visions of the Mithra’s Wall of mountains, and more visions of endless plains. I couldn’t pinpoint its location given the bizarre array of landscapes that collaged together in my mind. It was like multiple daeva minds in one body, each with its own perspective.

It didn’t usually take long to kill a daeva with the Resurrection rune, but I’d never summoned the nanghait before. Now I saw why Mykaela and other Dark asha of the past struggled, why the Yadoshans had more than enough time to spread their own mayhem; it was hard to take charge of a daeva’s mind when a myriad of them existed all in one head and at the same time!

I clutched at Kalen’s sleeve, frantically trying to chase down the wayward, discordant thoughts. “There’re too many of them,” I whispered.

“Too many Yadoshans? There always have been.”

“No. There are too many consciousnesses inside the nanghait. It’s going to take me time to control it.”

Kalen swore. “Which means there’ll be more opportunities for the Yadoshans to get themselves in trouble, won’t it? Likh, we’re going to…” His voice trailed off. “No, wait. I forgot about your wards. Stay close to Tea. You too, Khalad. And by all the festering boils of the seven hells,” he yelled at a few Yadoshans who were stealthily straying, hoping to escape his notice. “Keep away from the woods!”

“Be careful, Kalen, Tea,” Likh pleaded.

“Always.” Kalen marched forward, roaring at the others to remain out in the open, but very few of the Yadoshans were obeying him.

I latched on to one mind and fought to reach another, only to have the one I had anchored start to slide from my grasp. At the same time, the daeva’s moaning grew louder. It was a challenge to corral these runaway globs of awarenesses and still keep an eye out on what was happening on the plain.