Kane hit the beach running, cutting down the first attacker before his boots had fully found solid ground.
"Marek!" Kane shouted, scanning the chaos for the old fisherman.
"Here!" Marek's voice called from near the ritual circle, spear moving fast despite his age, blood already staining his sleeve.
Talyn and Ottilie broke off in opposite directions, driving into the fighting with the same brutal speed that had carried them through every battle before this one. Senna stayed close to Wren, both women pressing toward the shore's edge where the shapeless thing continued rising slowly from the churning water.
"What is that," Senna said, staring in horror.
"The Deep Hunger," Wren said, breathless with fear. "But not the way it's supposed to look. This isn't natural, Senna. Someone's forcing
