"Purification," Elara whispered from behind the wagon, her hand on her crossbow. She knew what that meant.
The Church purified Scourged men by draining their blood to make Halo stone catalysts. But the Scourged man who went in never came back.
"I am done talking," Kai said.
He shifted his grip on The Scourge. He knew Vane was fast, but Vane was heavy with all that equipment. In the soft mud of the grove, weight was a liability.
Vane sighed, a sound of genuine pity.
"Then the spark must guide you."
He swung the mace.
Kai parried, but the impact was like hitting a falling mountain. The pure light flashed, momentarily blinding him.
He felt his Mark scream in protest as the Church's artificial light tried to correct his internal fire.
The yellow light from Vane's mace seared Kai's retinas. It wasn't a burn of heat, but his eyes felt like they were being bleached.
Kai didn't retreat. He closed his eyes and relied on the resonance. He felt the vibration of Vane's heavy plate armor through the mud.
Vane swung again, a horizontal crushing blow. Kai dropped low, the mace passing so close he felt the ozone of the spark singe his hair.
He drove the pommel of The Scourge into the gap under Vane's armpit; the only spot not covered by a solid gold plate.
The Knight of the Spark grunted, his breath hitching. The impact didn't break the armor, but the Red heat from Kai's Mark seeped into the metal. The gold-trimmed plate began to glow to a dull, cherry red.
'Your light is a hollow lie, Vane," Kai rasped, twisting his blade for a counter strike. "You're just a man in a gilded cage."
Vane snarled, the mask of Holy pity slipping. He slammed his fist into Kai's chest, the kinetic energy of the spark throwing Kai backward.
Kai rolled through the wet leaves, his left arm already damaged from the harbinger screaming in pain.
"Enough!" Elara shouted.
She stepped from the shadows, her crossbow leveled not at a vane, but at the ironwood trees above his head.
"Sir Vane! Look at the bark!"
Vane paused, his mace humming. He looked up and saw that the white bark of the ironwood tree was turning black.
The salt sap was boiling away. The conflict between Kai's red and Vane's Yellow was too much for the Natural Sanctuary, leading to its death.
"We are killing the Grove," Elara said. "If the salt barrier fails, every Ghoul in a ten-mile radius will be on us before the lamps turn purple. Is your purification worth all our lives?"
Vane looked at the blackened trees, then at Kai, who was struggling to stand, blood dripping from his chin.
The knight lowered his mace. The yellow glow dimmed, leaving them in the eerie, natural violet light of the Oros night.
"The Grove's blood is on your hands, marked one," Vane said, his voice returning to its cold, metallic calm. "I will not fight you while the Void beasts watch. But the inner walls are mine. If you try to pass the Golden Gate, I will not be so merciful."
Vane turned and walked into the darkness of the trees, his armor clanking softly. He didn't even glance back at Kai. He moved with the confidence of a man who knew his enemy had nowhere else to go.
Kai slumped against a white truck, his chest heaving. The Red in his shoulder was retreating, leaving behind a cold, stinging rot. He looked at his hand: the fingernails were blue.
"We have to move," Kai whispered. He looked at the dying trees. The smell of the Grove was being replaced by the iron scent of blood and the damp smell of the Void beasts.
"The barrier is gone."
The wagons rolled out of the Weeping Grove. Behind them, the once white trees now weep black, oily sap. The silence of the sanctuary was replaced by the low gurgle of the dead woods.
Here, the trees weren't iron woods; they were rotted husks that leaned toward the caravan like hungry old men.
Kai sat on the floor of the lead wagon, his back against a salt crate. His left hand was still useless, the fingers turned a ghostly blue.
He used his right hand to check the edge of The Scourge. The blade was notched and stained, but the condition was still top-notch.
"The horses are flagging," Joram whispered, his eyes darting to the shifting shadow between the rotten trees.
"They can smell something strange. They know the salt shield of the Grove is gone."
"Keep them moving," Kai said. His voice was a dry rasp. "If we stop, the Void Beats won't just kill the horses. They will wait for the fire in the lamps to die, then they will hunt us one at a time."
Miri crawled over to Kai. She didn't say anything, but she pulled a small, tattered cloth from her pocket.
Inside was a single, dried piece of bitter bark she had saved from Elara's medical kit. She held it out for him.
Kaai looked at the bark, then at the girl. He didn't want to take her last bit of safety, but he knew he couldn't protect her if the void chill reached his heart.
He took the bark and chewed it. It tasted like dirt and was very awful, but the numbness in his chest receded a fraction.
A shape moved in the fog ahead; a Stalker, larger than the ones in the pass. It didn't attack the wagon. It just ran parallel to it, its many jointed limbs clicking against the dead wood of the trees.
"They are waiting," Elara said, her hand tight on the reins. "They know we are carrying the spark. As if they can smell you, kai."
"Let them smell it," Kai grunted. He stood up, using the wagon rail to steady himself. He looked at the blue fingernails of his left hand.
He didn't have enough fire left for a big fight; he had to be tactical about the fight. He had to use the weight.