Because her sword was held high, Cole went at her low, lunging at her legs. His claws raked across the surface of her armor, grinding shallow gouges into the smooth metal. He tried to catch her ankle in his teeth, but she danced away, and the sword swished down, opening a wound along his shoulder and down his side.

Morgassa prepared another blow, but Callista, in the form of an African buffalo, plowed into her, horns lowered. The white knight spun and fell to one knee as the buffalo rumbled by. Then Dalton, in the shape of a bull, smashed into her with his wide horns. Stunned, Morgassa fell to her hands and knees.

Mira, in the form of a ram, rose up high and then bashed Morgassa with a mighty blow from her curled horns. Dropping her sword, the white knight jounced away from the impact. Skye, in the form of a bear, and Jace, in the form of a huge wolf, charged in.

Cole heard tooth and claw grate against steel. Then Morgassa heaved the wolf aside and lunged for her sword. Turning, she lopped off one of the bear’s paws and stabbed her sword at the animal’s chest.

Leaping between bear and knight, Honor knocked the thrust aside and pressed toward Morgassa. As the white knight defended herself from Honor’s attack, the bull approached from behind and lost a horn when Morgassa dodged the charge and chopped downward.

Cole’s shoulder and side were on fire. He could feel a large flap of skin hanging loose. The white knight was facing away from him. Enraged, he ran for Morgassa, even though his injured foreleg had lost some of its strength. He sprang at her while she fought off Honor, but he got smashed out of the air by her shield.

Cole felt dazed after he landed. Did Morgassa have eyes in the back of her helmet? She had defended herself perfectly even though he should have blindsided her. The bone-jarring blow had worsened his injury. He wanted to find a place to hide away, so he could recover. A shallow cave would serve. Cole wasn’t sure if that desire came from his feline instincts or his real feelings. Was there a difference? He was a mountain lion. The transformation might have come from a mask, but he hadn’t damaged a costume. Those were his nerves on fire. That was his blood spilling to the ground.

From all directions, figments and changelings pressed toward them. Minimus and the other knights turned to ward off the horde. The Rogue Knight frantically swung Verity to disperse the onrushing figments. The battleground where Morgassa fought the animals became an island in an ocean of enemies.

Next to Morgassa, Honor looked almost as small as Minimus. Honor fought with grace and precision, blocking all attacks and keeping Morgassa on defense much of the time.

In the form of an eagle, Twitch swooped down at Morgassa, barely dodging her blade when she whipped it at him. He lost some feathers but appeared to have taken no serious damage.

“Surrender,” Honor urged as she fought. “Stop sending your people against the knights. You’re killing them!”

“Submit,” Morgassa and her horde replied. “You slay your own, for you will soon join us, as all must join us.”

Cole watched as the wolf and the ram attacked Morgassa together from behind. “Watch out,” he called, worried for Jace and Mira.

As he feared, Morgassa whirled right before they arrived. She slashed the wolf across the chest, and it fell with a whine. Deflecting the ram’s horns with her shield, she turned the attack toward Honor and danced away.

Morgassa had a few dents and scratches in her white armor, but as Cole watched, the blemishes disappeared, and the knight grew a little taller. “Join me or perish!” Morgassa and her horde cried, their voices frenzied. “No more warnings!”

The chanting hurt Cole’s ears. After testing his claws against Morgassa’s armor, Cole knew how tough it was. How were they supposed to defeat her if she could repair it at will?

The knights slowly gave ground, collapsing inward. They had all dismounted, and their horses fought at their sides, wildly stamping and kicking. Despite their tireless effort and great skill, the enemy force was too great. Weapons bashing, stabbing, and chopping, the knights fell back, shrinking the clearing and leaving behind drifts of bodies. Dalton charged around the inner edge of the clear area, using his remaining horn to punish the changelings who slipped past the knights.

The knights no longer fought to wound. They were battling for their lives. Cole noticed that the fallen changelings stopped smelling infected. At least death had freed them from Morgassa’s control.

Morgassa closed on Honor, who was now using all her abilities to resist the enormous white knight. The Rogue Knight turned from the attacking horde and raced to Morgassa. Callista and Mira moved to take his place, brutalizing the changelings with horns and hooves.

Cole tried to rise, but pain seared down his leg and across his side, forcing him to fall flat. Not only had his wound torn open wider, but he could feel broken bones grinding inside.

For a moment, the Rogue Knight and Honor attacked Morgassa together. The white knight held off one of them with her shield and the other with her sword. Then she kicked Honor to the ground with one long leg, and turned her full attention to the Rogue Knight. Each swing he deflected looked capable of knocking him off his feet, but it was a sharp blow from her large shield that finally succeeded.

Jace was down. How badly was he hurt? Cole’s heart raced. Okay, the wolf was still breathing. Skye shambled to her feet, hiding her damaged paw, and lumbered toward the white knight, looking more like a cub by comparison. Morgassa struck her down with a fierce slash, then turned to finish Honor.

Cole had to do something! Honor was going to die! His other friends and the knights were distracted by the mass of attacking changelings. Growling softly, Cole wrenched himself to his feet and charged, fireworks of pain exploding in his injured side. He lacked the power to jump, but he went for Morgassa’s legs.

The sword hissed down, biting into his back, then Cole felt her metal boot crush his side. His vision edged in darkness, Cole stared in horror as Morgassa stepped away from him and raised her sword to finish Honor.

“Stop, fiend!” Callista shouted, her voice amplified. The buffalo was gone. The Grand Shaper now stood in her true form, arms raised.

Extending a hand, Morgassa conjured fifty blank figments and sent them to attack Callista. The Grand Shaper waved her arms in reply, and a pair of grim giants appeared, head and shoulders taller than the white knight, each gripping a long iron bar. Charging the figments, the trolls bashed the group into nothing with confident swipes. At first this surprised Cole, because figments were intangible, but then he decided that the giants must be figments as well.