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The little girl must have come this way. She could have sworn she'd seen her turn at this corner, but all she was looking at now was an alley leading to a dead-end. Tohru frowned, perplexed. Unless the little girl had the power to pass through walls, she should have found her by now, or at least caught a glimpse of her.

Tohru noticed the little girl shortly after Haru and Uo-chan left with the others. The small, pigtailed form was running down a street, the skirt of her dress flapping against her little legs. She turned a corner and vanished, and in her excitement at finding someone alive in this ghost town, Tohru had taken off after her, intending to bring her back to the caravan. The little girl led her on a merry chase, turning at this corner and into that alley, always keeping several paces ahead of her. She didn't seem to hear Tohru calling her; either that or she was deliberately ignoring her. The chase ended with Tohru leaning against a wall and panting from exertion, eyeing a dead-end street as empty as the rest of the village. There was no little girl in sight.

Tohru shoved damp strands of hair off her face and sighed. Well, this had been a useless exercise. Maybe it was just hunger getting the best of her; it was already long past the lunch hour, after all. Suddenly she stood still as the tiny, niggling thought that had been scratching at the edge of her mind let loose a deafening roar. Silence. It was absolutely silent. She could still hear the voices of her fellow travelers when she was chasing after the little girl. Even the distant cries of the poor caravan leader who was searching for his friends had reassured her, but now, she could hear nothing at all. It was as if everyone had just dropped off the face of the earth.

Fear beat its insistent tempo in her chest. She remembered the path she'd taken, though--it was a bit confusing, but she could still recall landmarks and things like that. She chose a direction that would lead her back to the caravan and had taken one step when she heard someone giggling.

She froze, every hair on the back of her neck standing on end. The high, childish laughter came from somewhere behind her. In what had to be the most difficult thing she'd ever done yet, Tohru took a single, shaky breath and turned around.

The little girl she'd been following was crouching on the ground a few feet away with her back to her. She giggled again, and Tohru's stomach contracted at the sound. Every instinct was screaming at her to run, and for once Tohru was going to obey. She took a step back, and another.

The little girl stood up and turned around. Her head was bent low, concealing her face. She began to move slowly, deliberately toward Tohru, who choked on her own fear when she realized that the little girl wasn't walking, but floating two feet off the ground. The little girl lifted her face--

But there was no face. Only a blackened, decaying mass of flesh where a face should have been. The rotting flesh continued down into the little girl's dress, and a foul-smelling liquid was already seeping into the cloth. The little girl opened what had once been her mouth to giggle again, and two yellow circles peered out from the gap.

Tohru's scream shattered the silence. She turned and ran, the dead girl's laughter keeping steadily after her. From the edges of her vision she could see the village come alive as the missing villagers poured out of the alleys and houses and into the streets. People with heads nearly torn off and limbs hanging at impossible angles, people with the same rotting faces as the dead girl, people who were all grinning in a gruesome parody of joyous welcome while yellow eyes stared out from their mouths. The air grew thick with the stench of death.

Tohru's breaths made thin little squeaks as she fled through the streets, all thought of remembering landmarks drowned out by panic. She glanced around wildly, searching for her companions, and screamed again when a pair of arms caught her around the shoulders.

"Tohru-sama, it's me."

It was one of the Ryuukaman knights. "Touma-san!" she gasped. "The people--they're coming--/they're dead, aren't they?!/"

The knight grimly scanned the crowd of undead villagers and drew his sword. "Corpse wraiths. They enter a body at the time of death and swallow the soul before it can escape. We've strayed too far from the caravan. Stay close, Tohru-sama."

They dove into an alley and out into another street. When a few dead villagers attempted to block their way, the knight cut them down, and the corpse wraiths--black mists with gaping mouths and glowing yellow eyes--shrieked their indignation at being deprived of their hosts as they dissolved in the air. Tohru and the knight came upon two of the caravan leader's guards, both of them sobbing with fear and one still clutching an ivory statue he'd pinched from one of the houses. "Mama said this would happen," the treasure-hunter blubbered. "Mama said so, and I didn't believe her. The dead walking among the living. I didn't believe her!"

"It's not the corpse wraiths that worry me." The knight hacked at another zombie. "Corpse wraiths are scavengers, not killers. Pray we don't run into the ones that did kill these people."

"What about the others?" Tohru cried as she dogged the knight's heels. "Hatsuharu-san, Uo-chan, are they all right?"

The knight gave her a brief reassuring look. "I'm sure they are, Tohru-sama, they're--what in Akkan's name--?"

The crowd of undead villagers fell back to make way for the new creatures advancing toward them. With the wide, hooded heads and tails of gigantic cobras and scaly, albeit vaguely human-like bodies with thick steel armor, the monsters towered over the humans. Giant fangs dripped with greenish venom, and meaty fists wielded swords as long as Tohru was tall. The humans looked into slitted eyes and saw death.

"There're so many of them!" one of the guards wailed. "Hundreds, no, thousands of them!"

"Now here's a familiar face," the knight said in a deadly voice. He uttered a word, and clear, golden light flashed over his left arm, solidifying into a large shield of black steel, with the dragon of Ryuukama emblazoned in gold. Another word, and his sword blazed with golden fire. "These viper warriors have already destroyed several villages in the west. Including mine."

The guards whimpered. The viper warriors continued to stalk them, hissing ominously, forcing the humans to retreat further down the street. More were coming in from the side streets. They were almost completely surrounded. In a convulsion of terror, one of the guards grabbed Tohru and shook her hard. "Do something!" he shouted. "You're the witch, aren't you? Do something!"

Tohru gulped and closed her eyes, pressing her hands over the Sun Stone in her chest. Please! she begged. Please work! Please help us! Nothing happened, not even a flicker of warmth. "I can't do it!" she sobbed. "It's not working!"

"Leave her alone," the knight snapped. "Draw your swords. Prepare to fight."

The trembling guards drew their swords, which rattled in their hands. Tohru moved to give them room, but shrieked and pressed back against the knight when a dead villager swiped at her. The knight of Ryuukama glanced down at her ashen face, then at the army of viper warriors and their undead minions, and calm resolve settled over him. "Tohru-sama."

She looked up.

The knight's face above her own was peaceful. "Don't be afraid. You can still get away. Take these two dolts with you. Follow this street. It will lead you out of the village."

"What are you, crazy?" one of the guards shrilled, overhearing the knight's words. "This road leads straight into the Deadlands! We'll get eaten by monsters!"

"Go," the knight went on, ignoring the guard. "Go to Ryuukama. Save my city."

Tears streamed down Tohru's face when she realized what the knight intended to do. "No! No, Touma-san! We'll all go together! You and me and the others together. It can't end like this!"

"Tohru." His voice cut through her rising hysteria, and the smile he gave her tore through her heart. "Don't be afraid, Tohru-sama. This was meant to be."

She sobbed once, then turned, pulled at the two guards to get them moving, and ran faster than she had ever run before. The knight of Ryuukama gave a tremendous shout, and brilliant golden light exploded behind them, flaring brighter than the high-noon sun. Viper warriors screeched in pain and corpse wraiths howled their fury, and still Tohru ran, not daring to look back.

Touma-san.

Undead villagers staggered before them, attempting to block their way. The two guards swung their swords, yelling for all they were worth, and the corpse wraiths flew harmlessly by. And still Tohru ran, faster and faster.

Hatsuharu-san. Uo-chan. Momiji-kun.

A viper warrior leaped in front of them and swung its sword, but Tohru and the guards simply swerved aside. The viper warrior moved to pursue them, and was instantly vaporized by the wave of cleansing golden light. And still they ran, faster and faster.

Shigure-san.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, the end of the street finally came into view, and the bleak expanse of the Deadlands yawned before them. They flew down the street and out onto rocky ground and open sky. The sun beat down upon them, draining them of what little strength they had left, and still they ran, past gray boulders and black bushes, leaving the ill-fated village and their companions far behind, until the only sounds left were their heavy gasps for breath and the lonely cry of a raven in the distance. They ran until they could run no more, then they fell to the ground and lay as if dead.

It was already dark when Tohru woke up. Every part of her body screamed with pain, even parts she hadn't known could hurt, and it took her several minutes and much groaning to push herself upright to a sitting position. The two guards were already awake, one of them standing with his face turned up to the sky, the other huddled on the ground, his shoulders hitching every now and then. The one standing glanced at her. "What now?"

What now indeed? Laughter threatened to spill out, and she clamped her lips together to keep it in. She was teetering on the edge of insanity; she didn't know what was still holding her together, but whatever it was, the past events had frayed it almost to breaking point. What now, what now? The question tinkled in her mind like a broken musical box. She had just lost everything and everyone she cared for. Haru, Uo-chan, Momiji. Those brave Ryuukaman knights. The caravan leader. And Shigure, back in Mizaka. She couldn't go home, she couldn't turn back, but she didn't have a hope of surviving the journey to Ryuukama alone either. She had nothing--no money, no clothes, no food. And now this man was looking at her and asking her 'what now?'

The answer was simple: She didn't know.

She stared up at the sky with dull eyes. Mother, what do I do now? Her hand drifted up to her throat where her charm necklace lay, needing its comforting touch, but the necklace was gone. Probably torn off her neck during their escape. Her hand dropped, but the weight in her heart was already too great for her to mourn the loss of her beloved necklace. She would have given her necklace a hundred times over for the chance to see Haru, Momiji, Uo-chan and Shigure again.

She had never felt so lost.

"Why didn't you do anything?" It was the second man, the one on the ground. He raised his head, and his eyes burned the accusation into her soul. "Why couldn't you have done something?"

She closed her eyes as the tears began to fall, slowly at first, then faster and faster. "I don't know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?!" The man leaped to his feet. "What's the use of all your magic if you couldn't even save a single fucking life, huh? Useless bitch like you, they should've just killed you in Mizaka."

"Leave her alone," the first man admonished, standing between her and the other. "We're all in the same pile of shit right now, so quit pickin' on her, all right?"

"I'm sorry." The words were her litany, a mantra to keep her mind from flying apart. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Questions pounded at her consciousness. Why didn't the Sun Stone work? Why couldn't she have done anything to save her companions? What were they going to do now? Where would they go? How would they survive?

I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Then, strangely enough, a memory flickered to life.

"Mother, do you think the prince is still alive?"

"Perhaps. The place beyond the forest is steeped in magic. Anything can happen."

The two men were arguing, nearly coming to blows, in fact. A sense of déjà vu washed over her. Didn't this happen before? Oh yes, Haru and Shigure had been arguing over her, too. They had both been trying to protect her, in their own way. Her tears continued to flow, hot as acid. Haru and Shigure weren't around to protect her anymore, and it was all her fault.

"I want to help him. Won't somebody help him, Mother?"

"Somebody will."

They were stranded in the Deadlands, with no food or water or a decent human settlement within miles to beg shelter from. Everybody knew there were monsters in the Deadlands. It bordered the cursed forest, after all. And all they had were two swords, an ivory statue, the clothes on their backs and a magical stone that refused to work. If they survived for more than a couple of days, it would be a miracle.

The important thing is to choose to live.

She opened her eyes. The wind had picked up, and dust swirled around her and the oblivious men. She turned to look over her shoulder. Perhaps it was the starlight playing tricks on her, but it almost seemed as if a woman was standing there, her red-gold hair bright against her white cloak, her sea-blue eyes filled with love.

Your Prince of Snows is waiting for you.

Her mother was gone. Maybe it had been the starlight or whatever it was, but Tohru was beyond caring. All that mattered now was finding the strength to go on. She got to her feet, wincing as abused muscles protested. The two men stopped quarreling and looked at her warily. She wiped her tears away and glanced up at the sky. Mother, please help us now.

It wasn't true she had nothing. She had somewhere to go. She had a reason to live. And whether she liked it or not, these two men, one of whom hated her, depended on her now. She looked at them, and smiled as cheerfully as she could manage. Taken aback, they could only stare at her. "Shall we go then?" she said.

"Go where?" one of them asked suspiciously.

"I thought Ryuukama would be a good place to start." They goggled at her, but Tohru didn't care. Her smile turned rueful when her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding them that they hadn't eaten in nearly twenty-four hours. She looked around and spotted a lizard-like creature crawling on the ground.

"/Anoo/," she began. "I'm sorry dinner is a little late, but how does roasted lizard sound to you?"