And then I was running, Mafdel's hand jerking me along beside her, flat out for the exit to the Crosspath. I grit my teeth against the thudding speed, the violence of the bounty hunter's grasp and gait, the way the sand rolled under my sneakers at this speed and made me stumble.

I felt them coming, the entire Pantheon rising against me, hurtling toward the doorway and my defeat. While I had little doubt Chaos was willing to stand against them, to roar her defiance and allow ...