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Lily found Maude’s loathing stare crouched on the rooftop across the street. Much to Lily’s relief, the specter screamed in frustration, spinning in place as the onslaught from Maude’s men increased above.

The handler was distracted. It must’ve released its hold.

A solution came to Lily then. One almost as reckless as baiting Caiven into a tunnel.

Kill him, she mouthed.

Maude’s eyes widened.

The specter had no friends or foes, as dangerous as a wild dog on a leash. Their original plan was to kill the handler last, but without its restraint, it wouldn’t answer to anyone. In the chaos, nothing could end the specter’s rampage if the handler was dead, unable to stop it from being an asset until it was all that was left.

Maude clenched her jaw, nodding tightly.

Lily dove to the displaced carriage and pressed her back to the wood. She quickly ripped off her jacket, dropping it where she stood, and forced her voice past the knot in her throat. “I surrender!”

The noise came to an abrupt halt.

“I’ll stop if you don’t hurt any more of my men!”

“Show yourself!” a garbled voice yelled back.

Lily fired a quick glance to where Maude was, but she had disappeared. Lily stepped out into the open with her hands raised. The specter, arms overhead and grasping the ledge of a window, froze and tilted its head toward her.

Swallowing, Lily never took her eyes off of it.

The monster abandoned scaling the building and fell, shaking the ground. It crawled toward her on all fours.

A voice came from the group of Reatian soldiers. “Hands up, Wraith.”

Lily stiffened, flicking her attention to the light of four ghosted weapons. “I want you to take me to the boy.”

They ignored her, muttering to themselves as they approached cautiously, even with the specter hovering over her. Lily avoided meeting its empty eyes. This close it smelled of sweet rot and rusted metal.

Which one was the handler? Their armor looked the same. There was no obvious variation.

Damn it all.

I’m counting on you, Maude.

Lily ran. In the next instant, a thick hand wrapped around her waist, digging its claws into her abdomen. She cried out as the specter squeezed, lifting her in the air. Clasping her eyes shut to avoid its face, Lily scratched at the metal, searching for an inch of flesh as the ghostsoil pierced into her skin.

“All I was told was to keep you alive,” the Reatian soldier said. “Give me any more trouble and I’ll break your—”

A single bullet rang through the air. Teeth tight, Lily opened her eyes, seeing one of the five soldiers fall to the ground. The specter stopped abruptly.

A second shot echoed across the street, followed by the lead bullets of Maude’s men. The specter spun with Lily still in its grip. She kicked and clawed at it, finally finding a tender spot near its elbow. It wailed, dropping her in the noise. Air rushed from her lungs.

“Get a hold of it!”

“Don’t let—”

Screaming filled the air as the specter took out its rage on those closest to it. Lily rolled out of the way of its rampage and rose to her feet. A sharp pain tore through her abdomen, and she collapsed to her knees.

Shit. Her ribs were bruised, cracked at worst.

Lily pulled the pistol from her hip, stumbling far behind the carriage at an angle. At this point, there were no shots being fired as the specter ripped apart those closest to it. Lily straightened, aiming the gun at the heap of metal and flesh. She fired once.

It recoiled off of its back plating. The specter spun toward Lily, releasing sounds she thought may have once been words. A severed arm dangled from its fist. Painfully, Lily rose up, stumbling to the side. The specter curiously followed the sound. Lily angled until she was directly behind the carriage, and the specter’s massive head was peering over it.