Venn stared at the spot where Reyn had disappeared. The bubbles were slowing, getting smaller, drifting apart. Soon there were only ripples. Then nothing.

  The lake was perfectly still.

  ?That's not good,? Rast said as the silence of nature enveloped them.

  It was such an understatement that Venn almost laughed. Or screamed. She wasn't sure which. Her friend was gone, pulled under by something that didn't even have a name, and all her teachings were useless against deep water and whatever called Greenlake its home.

  Turnip hopped to the water's edge, chittering in what sounded like confusion. The rabbid pawed at the water, then backed away, ears flat. Even the murderous rabbit seemed uncertain.

  ?We need rope.? Rast limped back and forth along the shore. ?Or a boat. Or maybe if we can find a long enough branch...?

  ?She's gone,? Venn whispered. ?It's been too long. No one can hold their breath that long. She’s… gone.?

  But even as she said it, something felt wrong. The water wasn't just still. It was too still. Like the lake itself was holding its breath.

  The water began to bubble. First one. Then two. Then more followed.

  Not the gentle bubbles of released air. These were violent, aggressive. The water started to boil, it seemed.

  ?What's happening?? Rast stepped back, hand going to his sword.

  Then she felt it. A familiar prickle along her spine, the same sensation she’d felt in Rivier when Reyn had lost control. The air itself seemed to grow heavy, charged with something that made her newly earned ring grow warm on her finger.

  ?Rast,? she said as she backed away. ?We need to move back.?

  ?What? We can’t just leave her!?

  ?Trust me. Move back. Now.?

  Venn knew. She'd seen it once before, in Rivier, when Reyn had lost herself to the Rage completely. It had been terrifying, and the terror creeped back in the back of Venn’s skull.

  The water turned pink.

  Then Reyn erupted from the lake.

  She came up screaming. Not a human scream, but something primal that made every instinct scream 'run.' Good Deeds was in her hand, the blade seeming to pulse with its own fury. Water streamed off her, tinged pink with blood that wasn't hers. Her eyes were completely black, no white showing, like pools of a starless night.

  The creature followed, hauled up by its own tongue which Reyn held wrapped around her arm like a rope. It was massive, frog-like, with too many eyes arranged in clusters and a mouth full of teeth that belonged in an ocean predator, not a lake dweller.

  Reyn brought Good Deeds down in an arc that opened the creature from mouth to what might have been its throat. Pink blood sprayed in a fountain. The creature shrieked, trying to retract its tongue, trying to escape back to the safety of deep water.

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  But Reyn held on. She yanked the creature further onto shore with strength that shouldn't have been possible even for her. The creature was twice, no thrice, her size, but she handled it like a child's toy.

  She grabbed one of its eye clusters and pulled. The sound it made was wet and terrible. Then she was on it, Good Deeds temporarily forgotten, using her hands, her teeth, her nails. Tearing. Rending. Taking it apart piece by piece.

  ?We need to move,? Venn said, remembering Rivier. ?She won't recognize us. Won't recognize anyone.?

  ?We can't leave her alone like this,? Rast protested, though he'd gone pale watching Reyn tear into the creature.

  ?We don't have a choice. In Rivier, she nearly killed me when I tried to help. She won't know us right now. We're just... movement. And movement is enemy.?

  That was when Turnip joined in.

  The rabbid launched itself at the creature with a war-cry that sounded like pure joy. All pretense of being a harmless pet vanished. Turnip's teeth, all of those terrible teeth, found the creature's flesh, tearing chunks with enthusiastic violence. The rabbid moved like Reyn moved, with that same terrifying joy at violence.

  Together, Barbarian and Rabbid tore into the creature with a savagery that made Venn's stomach turn. This wasn't fighting. This wasn't even killing. This was complete annihilation, destruction so thorough that soon it would be hard to tell what the creature had even pretended to be.

  The frog-thing tried to retreat to the water. Reyn grabbed it, hauled it back onto shore, laughing. The sound of that laughter made Venn's skin crawl. She drove Good Deeds through what might have been its heart. Then through another spot. And another. The blade came away pink each time.

  Turnip had found something that might have been an organ and was shaking it like a dog with a toy, spraying pink blood in wide arcs.

  ?Back to the inn,? Venn said firmly, grabbing Rast's arm. ?We need to warn them and barricade us in.?

  ?How long does this last?? Rast asked as they backed away slowly, carefully, making no sudden movements.

  Venn watched as Reyn continued destroying the obviously dead creature. ?I don’t know.?

  They made it halfway to the inn before Reyn's head snapped up, tracking their movement. Her black eyes focused on them with an attention that preceded violence. Blood dripped from her chin. Her expression wasn’t hers anymore.

  ?Don't run,? Venn whispered. ?Back away slowly. No sudden movements.?

  ?This is insane,? Rast muttered, but he followed her lead, moving with careful, measured steps.

  Reyn watched them for a long moment. Then Turnip chittered, drawing her attention back to the corpse. Or what was left of it. The rabbid had found a new piece to play with, and Reyn seemed to decide that was more interesting than the two figures carefully retreating.

  They made it to the inn, barred the door, and Venn immediately addressed the handful of patrons.

  ?Everyone stays inside,? she announced. ?No one goes near the lake. No one even looks out the windows.?

  ?What's happening out there?? the innkeeper demanded. ?We heard screaming...?

  ?The creature is dead,? Venn said. Which was true. Had been true for the last ten minutes of carnage they'd witnessed. ?But the one who killed it is... She needs time to calm down.?

  ?Calm down?? someone asked.

  Another roar echoed across the lake, followed by the sound of something large being thrown against something solid. Repeatedly.

  ?Yes,? Venn said. ?Calm down.?

  ?Is that normal?? Rast asked quietly, standing beside her at the barred door.

  ?Reyn told me about the Frenzy after Rivier. They train their whole lives to avoid this state. The Frenzy is what happens when all that training fails.? She peered through a crack in the door. ?In Rivier, she came back to herself eventually. Collapsed from exhaustion. But she'd been fighting it the whole time. This time...?

  ?This time she's not fighting it?? Rast observed.

  ?No, I think she's embracing it.?

  Outside, they could hear splashing. Tearing. The wet sounds of continued destruction. Then, surprisingly, singing. If you could call that growling, wordless melody singing. It was hauntingly beautiful.

  ?What do we do?? Rast asked.

  ?We wait,? Venn said. ?Hope she exhausts herself before she runs out of creature to destroy.?

  A chitter at their feet made them look down. Turnip sat there, absolutely drenched in pink blood but looking enormously pleased with itself. The rabbid was carrying something in its mouth that Venn decided not to look at.

  ?At least the rabbit's happy,? Rast said weakly.

  Turnip chittered agreement and began grooming itself, spreading the pink blood around rather than removing it.

  Outside, Reyn's song continued, punctuated by sounds of violence that were becoming almost rhythmic. Like she was keeping time with destruction.

  The sun finished setting, painting everything the same red as the blood in the water. The locals huddled together, whispering prayers to whatever gods might be listening. Rast kept his hand on his sword, though they both knew it would be useless if Reyn decided to come to the inn.

  And Venn stood at the door, waiting, remembering Rivier and hoping this time wouldn't be worse.

  Though from the sounds outside, it already was.