Thousands of Creepers crawled over the Queen, feeding her the stolen energy from the salt.
The sound of their vibrating shells was so loud it made Kai's vision shake. His nose started to leak blood, a warm saltiness hitting his upper lip.
"Clear the sides!" Kai yelled at the guards. He didn't look back to see if he did it. He gripped the hilt of The Scourge with both hands until his knuckles popped.
The Queen sensed his heat. The purple mound split open, revealing a row of long, glass-like teeth.
It let out a wave of pure cold that turned the sweat on Kai's forehead into ice.
Kai ran. He didn't dodge the Creepers on the floor; he let them crunch under his boots. A few latched onto his leads, their needle mouths piercing his leather pants.
He ignored the sting. He had one goal: the Queen's open mouth.
He swung the black blade. It wasn't a clean cut. The blade hit the Queen's rubbery skin and struck for a second.
Kai put his weight into the strike, his shoulder, Mark burning so hot it began to char the inside of his tunic.
"Burn," Kai hissed through gritted teeth. He let the Red flow. The blade turned a dull, angry orange.
The purple slime on the Queen started to bubble and hiss. The smell of rotting fish and hot metal filled the cavern.
The Queen thrashed, slamming her heavy body into the cavern wall. Rocks fell from the ceiling, one clipping Kai's temple.
Blood ran into his eye, turning his world red. He didn't pull the sword out. He twisted it, digging deeper into the Queen's core.
With a final, wet explosion, the Queen burst. A spray of cold, purple bile hit Kai's chest.
The vibration stopped instantly. Thousands of small Creepers fell dead to the floor, their shells turning to grey dust.
Kai slumped over, his hands still on his sword hilt. He was breathing in short, shallow gasps. His body felt empty.
The Red had taken everything he had left. He looked at his chest; the purple bile was eating through his leather cloak.
Elara ran forward. She pulled a small knife and scraped the bile off Kai's chest before it hit his skin.
"You are a fool," she said. Her voice was shaky, but her hands were steady.
"You almost let it melt you."
Kai looked at the dead Queen. The white Halo crystals beneath her were starting to glow again, no longer choked by the slime.
"I got the job done," Kai said. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out.
One of the guards walked over. He looked at the massive veins of salt.
"Look at all that Halo Stone. The Church will pay a fortune for this level of purity."
He looked at Kai with a new kind of respect; the kind you give to a dangerous dog that just saved your life.
Kai sat on a salt crate in the life cage. He used a rag to wipe the purple slime from The Scourge.
His hands wouldn't stop shaking. It wasn't fear; it was the Red leaving his system, leaving his muscles cold and hollow.
"Take this," Elara said. She didn't offer a fancy potion. She handed him a piece of raw Halo Stone; the salt.
"Rub it on your shoulder. The miners say it draws out the Void chill."
Kai pulled back his scorched tunic. The Mark was a raw, angry welt that looked like a fresh burn.
He pressed the salt crystal against it. The pain was sharp, like a needle through the eye, but the shaking in his hands stopped.
The salt was acting like a heat sink, stabilizing the curse.
The cage reached the surface. The Mine Overseer was waiting, a fat man in a fur-lined coat.
He looked at the purple bile on Kai's cloak and the blood on the guards' shields. He didn't ask if they were okay. He looked at the salt yield in the second cage.
"The Queen is dead," Kai said, stepping out of the cage. He didn't wait for the Overseer to speak.
"Give us the Service Pass. Now."
The Overseer hesitated, his eyes darting to the guards.
"The paperwork takes time. The Church needs to verify the purity of the vein—"
Kai grabbed the man by the collar. He just used the last bit of his strength to lift the man.
"I don't have time for your papers. The shepherd is in the pass. he is coming to this town. Either give me the pass so I can leave, or I will leave you here to explain things to him."
The Overseer's face went white. He reached into his coat and pulled out a heavy brass coin stamped with the Church's sunburst.
"This is a Merchant's Pass. It gets the wagons through the inner gate. Just…take it and go."
Kai took the coin and tossed it to Elara. He turned toward the town square. The Spark Lamps were flickering.
The purple haze in the sky was getting thicker. The town felt like it was holding its breath.
They found Miri back at the tavern. She was sitting by the door, the Glowing Stone Kai gave her clutched in her lap.
When she saw him, she didn't run to him. She just stood up and exhaled, a long breath of relief that turned to mist in the cold room.
"Load the wagons," Kai told Elara. " We will leave tonight. The salt in the walls won't be enough when the Shepherd arrives. He isn't looking for a nest: he's looking for the Fire."
"The guards are exhausted, Kai," Elara argued, looking at Joram, who was bandaging his leg.
"The horses need rest."
"The horse can rest when it's dead," Kai said. He walked over to Miri and picked up his heavy bag.
"If we stay here, we are just meat in a box. Move.'
As they pulled out of the tavern yard, Kai looked up. On the highest spire of the Fortress of Salt, a single black crow sat watching them.
It wasn't moving an inch. Its eyes didn't reflect the yellow light of the Spark Lamps.