Terrin’s hand slipped into hers for reassurance. She glanced up to see if anyone noticed, but everyone else was too focused on the ruffians. Terrin’s face was drawn and solemn, and he squeezed her hand gently before letting go. Despite her fears, she felt better.
A tall man with a long, brown beard and cruel eyes rode up to the front of the group and dismounted, giving them a shiny grin. Some of his teeth had been replaced with gold, and he wore matching chains around his neck. All the other hooligans stepped back a pace, marking him as their leader.
“Hoy there! What brings young people like yourselves to these parts?” he asked roughly. They were obviously outnumbered. The leader’s smile grew. “It’s impolite to ignore someone when they’ve asked you asked a question. We protect these roads from dangerous people. You little darlings should be careful.” There was a menacing edge to his words.
“We’re headin’ south,” Rowan finally piped up as he stepped forward.
“South, eh? Have you paid the southern travel fee yet?” the burly man asked.
“There is no such fee,” Aleah informed him coolly.
“Funny, I thought I heard a wench just talk outta turn, but maybe my ears were playin’ tricks on me.” He glared at her. “There’s trouble brewin’ down in Amora, and we’ve had to up our protection fees to make sure y’all travelers are safe out there. For a group your size, it’ll be ten gold a piece. Eighty in total.”
Even if they wanted to hand the thugs money, Elurra knew they didn’t have enough. They had only a bit of silver left from what she retrieved from the armory and whatever the pirates had. Rowan glanced at Elurra, who shook her head, before turning back to the man.
“We don’t have such an extravagant amount on us, sir, so why don’t ya let us on our merry way?” Rowan replied with one of his charming grins.
Terrin leaned slightly toward Elurra to catch her attention. “Snow, do you remember that one enchantment we joked would make a mean hot potato when we first looked through the spells in Ramer’s book?” he whispered. His lips were barely moving, and his voice was only loud enough for her to hear.
She frowned, trying to think of what he was talking about. They had spent hours flipping through the strange incantations, but Elurra hadn’t always been paying attention to his side comments. The outlaw commander advanced, but he was no longer smiling.
“If you can’t show respect, then I’m sure we’ll coax some out of you.”
“Snow, you have to remember!” Terrin hissed.
She glanced at him to see his eyes full of distress. There was no telling what those men would do to them, and she didn’t want to find out. She closed her eyes and focused her mind, breathing steadily.
Okay, there was wart removal, flame, heat, ice, invisible walls…She flipped through the spells, trying to remember their side discussions. Lightning, force blasts…
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Suddenly, it came to her.
The group of men flanked them, cutting off any possible escape. Her eyes locked on Terrin’s, and she gave him a small nod. His shoulders slumped in relief, and the anxiety in his features melted away. The bandit leader saw their exchange.
“What are ya nodding about, little lady? Got something you shouldn’t?” he demanded.
Elurra took an involuntary step backward, and Terrin moved out in front of her, shielding her with his left arm. The snowflake bracelet dangled on his wrist like a talisman of protection.
“Leave us alone, or you’ll be sorry. You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” Terrin said in a steely voice. His sudden stand surprised everyone, including his traveling companions.
The thug sneered at him. “Look who grew a spine. The toothpick is tryin’ to protect the little girly. How nice.”
Elurra looked over her shoulder and saw the pirates, Kai, and Aleah were terrified. Tristen looked like he was either going to bolt, wet his pants, or both. One of the thugs eyed Aleah.
“Hey cap’ain, look at this one. She sure is a piece to look at,” he said, chuckling greedily. He reached out to touch her face, but Aleah recoiled in revulsion. She backed away from the hooligan and ran into Kai, who rested his hands on her upper arms in a possessive gesture.
“He said leave us alone,” Kai said harshly as he glared at the heavyset man.
Rowan came up behind Kai and rested his arm on Aleah’s shoulder. “Leave ’er alone, or you’ll regret it,” he added. His normally cheerful expression was dark and threatening.
The bandit burst out laughing, and some of the other thugs joined in. “Protecting your property, are ya? Since ya can’t pay your taxes, I guess we’ll have to take her as payment.”
He grabbed Aleah’s arm roughly, and she screamed shrilly as the heavyset brute pulled her close, his hands starting to wander where they shouldn’t. Kai lunged forward and slugged the thug in the face, his fist connecting with a solid thump.
“Let her go, ya scurvy dog, or I’ll cleave ya to tha brisket!” Rowan shouted as he pulled out his axe.
The air filled with the quiet breath of steel against leather as the rest of the bandits drew their weapons with angry yells.
“Snow, now!” Terrin hissed urgently. His lilac eyes gleamed with terror. Elurra shared his fears. They had to get out of the mess before someone got hurt. If Kai died in that exchange, there would be no way to stop the Amorian army from destroying Lur Alava, and if those men stole their belongings, they would have no food, shelter, or money for an inn. They would be as good as dead.
Elurra wasn’t sure what Terrin was planning, but she trusted him. She closed her eyes and searched her memory as Snore and Plague pulled on the nearest bandits. The man Kai punched stumbled back, releasing Aleah as his hands flew to his jaw with a string of curses. Elurra winced. As a prince, Kai would undoubtedly have gone through extensive martial arts training. She was willing to bet the man’s jaw was dislocated or broken. Rowan stepped forward and caught Aleah as she reeled toward him. Kai cradled his right hand, wincing in pain.
Elurra finally remembered the spell and let out a trill to alert Terrin. He gave her hurried instructions, and she nodded before kneeling and placing her hands on the snow-covered road. One of the brute’s companions swung at Kai with his rusty sword, but Kai easily avoided the blow and kicked the large man in the shin, his heavy traveling boots connecting firmly. The man crumpled to the ground in pain. Rowan called to Kai and threw him a knife. The prince caught it expertly and turned to the men facing him. His stance was clearly practiced, and there was a skilled aura about him. The bandits hesitated, but their leader urged them on.
In the chaos, no one noticed Elurra but Terrin. He protectively blocked her from view as she muttered, “Vark maï bok rantak.”[i] She watched in fascination as her hands started to glow and heat up. Her cloth wrappings started to smoke as they burned away.
I hope Terrin’s plan works, she silently pleaded.