Elowen pulled back. She panted heavily. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

She stared at the spiderweb fracture on the shield.

'She blocked it,' Elowen thought. 'Even with mana reinforcement.'

Elowen analyzed the situation. Her combat instincts kicked in.

The girl was strong. Her casting speed was instant.

But her defense was reactive.

'She creates a new shield for every strike,' Elowen noted. 'As shhe changes the angle of the strikes every time.'

That meant constant mana consumption.

Every block cost energy. Every shield drained the girl's reserves.

Elowen smirked. Her confidence returned.

She was an adult. She had a fully developed mana core.

The girl was a child. Her reserves had to be small.

'She will run out of mana,' Elowen decided. 'I just have to keep attacking.'

It was a battle of attrition. And Elowen had the stamina.

'I will wear her down,' Elowen thought. 'And when her shield fails, I will take her skin.'

She laughed internally again. It was a sound of guaranteed victory.

Marcus stood near the table. He watched the exchange.

He saw the cracks in the shield. He saw the ferocity of Elowen's attacks.

He looked at the dragon girl in the corner. Then he looked at his companion.

Conflict gnawed at his gut.

'Should I really leave?' Marcus thought.

He was the adult. He was supposed to protect them.

Leaving a child to fight a maniac felt wrong. It felt cowardly.

It went against every instinct he had as a life coach. As a decent human being.

'If I run, she is alone,' Marcus reasoned. 'If she falls, Elowen will kill her.'

He took a step toward the fight. He didn't know what he could do. Maybe throw a chair?

The voice cut through his mind again. It was sharp. Impatient.

'What is wrong?' the little girl asked telepathically. 'What are you waiting for?'

Marcus froze.

He looked at the girl's face.

She was blocking a mana-whip that could slice stone.

And she looked... bored.

Marcus stared at the little girl.

She stood amidst a flurry of violent strikes. The blue-glowing whip snapped and cracked around her like a lightning storm.

Yet, her expression remained utterly unchanged.

Her eyes were half-lidded. Her mouth was a flat line.

There was not a single drop of sweat on her forehead.

She wasn't breathing hard. She wasn't trembling.

She looked like she was waiting for a bus.

Marcus blinked. The realization washed over him like cold water.

'She is fine,' he thought.

He watched her block three strikes in a second.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

The shields appeared and vanished with effortless precision.

She wasn't struggling. She was annoyed.

'Does she really need my worrying?' Marcus asked himself.

He thought back to the cell. She had broken magical chains with a snap of her fingers.

She had healed the dragon girl instantly.

She had thrown a dragon across the room with her mind.

Compared to her, Elowen looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

'I am the weak link here,' Marcus realized. 'I am just in the way.'

His hero complex was getting ahead of reality.

He wasn't saving her. She was babysitting him.

'What about you?' Marcus asked telepathically. He couldn't help but ask.

The response was immediate.

'You are worried about me?' the girl's voice echoed in his head.

There was a pause. The tone of the voice shifted. It became dry. Sarcastic.

'Should I be happy?' she asked. 'Or sentimental?'

Marcus felt a vein twitch in his forehead.

She was being snarky. While being attacked.

'I am just asking,' Marcus projected back. He felt a bit annoyed. 'It is polite.'

'It is inefficient,' the girl retorted.

Elowen screamed in frustration and unleashed a flurry of chaotic strikes.

The girl yawned. Actually yawned.

She raised a finger. A larger shield popped up and blocked the entire barrage.

'Now quick,' the girl ordered. Her mental voice sharpened. 'Take the dragon girl and run.'

'I will handle the noisy woman,' she added.

Marcus let out a breath. He nodded.

She was right. He had a job to do.

He turned away from the fight. He focused on the corner.

The dragon girl was still huddled there. She had her hands over her ears.

Every crack of the whip made her flinch.

Marcus moved toward her. He kept his body low.

He tried to look non-threatening.

He reached the corner. He knelt down.

The dragon girl peered at him through her fingers.

Her blue eyes were wet with tears. Terror radiated off her in waves.

Marcus reached out slowly.

He didn't grab her arm. He didn't pull.

He offered his hand. Palm up.

"It is okay," he whispered. His voice was barely audible over the noise of the fight.

He nodded at her. It was a firm, reassuring nod.

'Trust me,' the nod said.

The dragon girl hesitated. She looked at Elowen, who was busy whipping a green wall.

Then she looked at Marcus.

She remembered the warmth of his hand on her head. She remembered the feeling of being healed.

Slowly, she uncurled one hand.

She placed her small, clawed fingers into his palm.

Her hand was cold. It trembled against his skin.

Marcus closed his fingers gently around hers. He gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Let's go," he mouthed.

He stood up. He pulled her up with him.

She stumbled, her legs weak. But she stood.

She pressed herself against his side. She used him as a shield against the room.

Marcus guided her toward the door.

They moved silently. Marcus placed his feet carefully on the stone floor.

He avoided the scattered tools. He avoided the bloodstains.

They hugged the wall, staying in the shadows.

Elowen was in the center of the room. Her back was to the door.

She was screaming again.

She was completely focused on the little girl.

Marcus reached the heavy iron door. It was slightly ajar.

He needed to open it wider to fit them both through.

He reached out. He grabbed the iron handle.

He pulled slowly. He prayed to every god he didn't believe in.

'Please be silent,' he thought.

The door moved an inch.

Screeeech.

The sound was high-pitched. It sounded like a rusty nail dragging across a chalkboard.

It cut through the sound of the whip cracks.

It cut through Elowen's screams.

Time seemed to freeze.

The whipping stopped.

The screaming stopped.

Silence filled the room. A heavy, suffocating silence.

Marcus closed his eyes for a split second.

'Of course,' he thought bitterly. 'It had to be a rusty hinge.'

He felt the dragon girl grip his hand tighter. Her claws dug into his skin.

He opened his eyes. He looked back.

Elowen had turned around.

Her chest was heaving. Her hair was messy. Sweat plastered a few strands to her face.

She ignored the little girl behind her.

Her eyes locked onto Marcus. Then they slid down to the dragon girl.

Her face transformed.

The frustration vanished. The anger vanished.

A slow, wide smile spread across her face. It stretched her cheeks.

It was the smile of a predator that had found its prey trying to sneak away.

Her eyes gleamed with madness.

"And where," Elowen whispered, her voice trembling with delight.

She took a step toward them.

"Do you think you are going?"

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