The last days were a blur for Hewin. Making the camp, sword practice, exercising, finding wood, helping to hunt and cook, brief sleep, packing the camp, moving to another spot closer and closer to Varnutum. And Hewin didn't mind, the hustle helped to keep the nightmares about his dead parents at bay.

"Cross and uncross your wrists!" Falyar shouted at Hewin.

"No, no! Rotate your whole body! It's called the dance of death, not the elbows of death!"

"Better! Now go from horizontal cuts to semi-vertical!

"High-Low and low-high! Keep going!"

"Don't slow on me, boy! Move your hips! That's where the power flows!"

"Remember, it's the first or second strike that should find the target, not the twelfth one!"

"Good! Now do fifty squats, then go clean yourself in the stream."

***

Every muscle on Hewin's body burned. He stood in the stream, welcoming the cold that soothed the aches of hard training. Once his shoulder fully healed, Falyar didn't hold back with the drill.

Hewin liked the bathing part after his sword-fighting routines. Not only because it was pleasant for his body, but it was also the time for exploring his powers.

He cut himself with the Voidsword and felt the familiar pull in the wound on his hand. Luckily, the wound always closed itself quickly. Otherwise, he would be cut to ribbons already. He was watching closely the shadow emerge and he felt the tension of the surrounding tissue. Basically, the pull from the wound wanted to eat away his flesh and Hewin was sure, that if he'd cut a little bit more, that shadow would consume him. Resist the darkness, he reminded himself. But is that my darkness that I should resist or my enemy's? And what's the difference anyway? Hewin mused.

***

Shenian decided the birch at the end of the clearing will make a good target practice. In her mind, the sorrow for Torvin transformed into hate towards the dark puppeteers inside the human bodies. She wanted to fight, she wanted to kill every last one of them. I will avenge you, Torvin, she thought while firing arrows in quick succession. She never considered herself vengeful but she felt that the bubbly and happy Shenian was mortally wounded, perhaps beyond saving. How can Hewin function so well? I am barely standing. But then again, he never really lived with his parents, and I loved Torvin so much! Oh, stop it, This isn't you. Of course Hew loved his parents too..,her chain of thoughts was interrupted by a rustling in the grass.

Shenian spun. Her first thought was that they were attacked. So far, Falyar's plan worked and she needed to use her bow only once on a stray puppet.

But then she saw it. A small black foggy creature that looked a bit like a shadow of a crab crossed with an octopus with hints of dog postures. But that is impossible! They are afraid of the daylight! Shenian was horrified and fired an arrow at it. Her aim was true but the arrow just disappeared in the little monster. The thing did not attack. Instead, it clumsily bowed to Shenian.

What the..., she started to slowly back away from it.

Then Hewin emerged from the forest shouting: "I am sorry, Shen! So sorry! It's me, it's my shadow! Don't be afraid, it is harmless, I think."

Shenian's jaw dropped: "Are you actually insane? My heart almost stopped!"

Hewin caught his breath and nodded apologetically: "I know, I know. I am sorry, I really am. It's just, it obeys me but it also has a mind of its own a bit and it wandered off. But other than that, what do you say?" he pointed proudly at the shadowy creature that was crawling in the grass.

Shenian was pissed at Hewin, but she also felt a hint of the old Shenian, the curious one, awake: "Ok, Ok. It is a bit fascinating. The shape is terrible though. And it ate my arrow!"

Hewin smiled awkwardly and let the creature climb on his paw. Then he put his arm into the creature and submerged it deeper and deeper. Shenian gasped. The creature was as big as beetroot and yet, Hewin's arm disappeared in it up to his elbow.

He took the arrow out, it was covered by ice.

"Now that's something," Shenian observed closely the frozen arrow.

"Yup, it leads somewhere, don't know where but it is terribly cold in there," Hewin summed up.

The wind rose up and ruffled their fur. They both sniffed.

"Do you smell it too?" Shenian asked.

Hewin nodded: "Something rotten."

Shenian looked in the direction the wind was blowing from. "Varnutum is that way," she said, worried.