The heart chamber was a place of deep, unholy silence.
The two figures floating before the pulsing black diamond were not just monsters.
They were twisted statues of their fallen friends. Made into silent, eternal guards.
The skeletal Eric stood as an unbreakable wall.
Its ghostly tower shield a perfect copy of the one he had lost. Surface shimmering with the same evil, blue-green soul-fire that burned in its empty eye sockets.
Beside it, the skeletal Rina floated. Hands held out.
But instead of the warm, life-giving green light they knew, a cold, sickly, deathly green energy swirled around her fingertips.
A disgusting mockery of her gentle gift.
They were the dragon's last line of defense.
A perfect, unsolvable tactical problem.
A flawless tank and a non-stop ranged attacker. Both tireless. Both emotionless. Both extensions of an ancient, hateful will.
"So," Lana breathed. A low, appreciative purr in her voice as she spun her staff.
