Crimson Compass

d by a herd of wild horses, every breath a jagged scrape in his chest. The storm's roar had dulled to a dist

grit. A gray dawn bled through the mist, cast

s lay scattered as if some giant had tossed them in a fit. The wreckage of the skiff mingled with them-splint

, its crimson glow dim but steady, nestled in the sand beside him. The needle pointed inland, unwavering, toward a wall of

ek!" His shouts sank into the mist, swallowed whole. No answer, just the lap of waves and a low, eerie hum that

nder a pile of driftwood, Torv stirred. His beard was crusted with sand, one arm bent at an angle that made Kael's gut

Torv rasped, voice rough as gr

his good arm, pulling hi

as he clutched his ribs. "Los

ed. He couldn't dwell on i

but stubborn, and spat into th

s. "Where that damned compas

ill chasing that curse? A

ough the words tasted sour. "It's

The shore stretched on, a grim graveyard under the mist, and every step crunched bone beneath their boots. Kael kept the compass close, its glow a faint pul

suddenly, stopping s

. Too light for Marek, too steady for Jyn. He gripped his dagger tighter, scanning the

o neck should hold. Empty sockets burned with pinpricks of red light, mirroring the compass's glow. In its bony grip, it c

breathed, stepping b

e steady despite the ice i

ood arm, grinning grimly. "Fig

acked, and it staggered, but didn't fall-those red eyes flared brighter. Torv roared, smashing his oar into another

d the cliffs. They ran, dodging blows, the crunch of pursuit close behind. The compass burned hotter, its ne

k scraped stone. Kael followed, the skeletons' claws raking the cliff as he slipped i

l raised the compass, its glow spilling over the space. Stalactites dripped above, but the floor-smooth, polished-gleamed with carv

Torv wheeze

t pounding. The compass flared, it

beyond, a laugh echoed-low, cold, female. The mist at the cavern's edge thickened, and a figure emerged: tall, clad in a

" he wh

her voice a blade in the dar

ed open, and th