Chaz aged before my eyes… I could almost see the blood dessicating in his veins. His hair turned silver as we stood there, in shock.

There were rules about dating outside one’s species, but this was ludicrous. The elf was draining his life force, and as she did it, her skin grew darker and darker, taking on a bluish hue. Her eyes were starting to glow when she finally let him go.

She hadn’t noticed the bang of the doors slamming open. She paid no attention to the three of us in the doorway, or the squabbling daemons that still struggled around her. She looked deeply into Chaz’s eyes and whispered something to him.

He turned away and pulled the shroud off Pan. The Laurel was where I’d placed it, gleaming gold and bronze, leaves cunningly worked, shot with silver. He reached out and grasped the Laurel itself.

A sizzling started, like a steak on a hot griddle. Smoke rose from his grip. She was behind him, urging him on… and when he dropped dead at her feet, the Laurel came free in his hand.