One of the soldiers stepped forward, and Kai quickly dealt with him. Then the rest of the men jumped in. Multiple bandits attacked Kai at once, and he did his best to fend them off with the small weapon he had. The other three pirates tried to help, but they were held at bay by a few of the other men while the rest focused on Kai. The brutes were not very skilled, but they were strong and large. While Kai was busy, another thug came up behind him and grabbed his arms to restrain him. Kai struggled against the large man, but his grip was like iron. They forced the knife out of his hand, and one of his friends raised his sword, ready to kill the prince. Rowan tried to dart forward and help, but some of the other bandits had their swords pointed at him and the others, ready to stop them if they tried anything. Kai swung his foot up and managed to kick the man's wrist, which sent his sword flying. Enraged, the man punched Kai with a meaty fist, then repeated his attack. Tears streaked down Aleah's face as she screamed for them to stop.
“That’s enough!” the leader of the gang bellowed, silencing them all. The thug immediately stopped his assault. Blood poured down the prince’s face, and his head hung lifelessly. The other bandit dropped Kai, leaving him crumpled on the ground. Aleah cradled his body in her arms protectively and glared at their tormentors. Terrin stepped up to face the gang leader. Some of the thugs started toward him, but their boss motioned for them to stop. Rage replaced his previous anxiety.
“How dare you strike my follower and touch my slave! Don’t you know who I am?” Terrin boomed, glaring at the bandit leader. The man looked stupefied—obviously, he wasn’t used to being spoken to in such manner. The other goons stared at Terrin, readying their swords once again. The men guarding Kai’s unconscious figure turned to see what was happening.
“I am the Guardian of the Isálte family of Lur Alava!” He spread his arms out, and fog gathered around him, seeping out from the ground below.
Elurra’s hands felt hot and sweaty, but she gritted her teeth and kept them pressed to the ground. She could see the heat radiating around her, making the air hazy. The snow underneath her was gone.
“I am the terror of the seas and the savior of the slaves!” Terrin’s voice echoed like thunder, and the clouds of fog billowed around the men’s feet, causing muffled cries of alarm. The brutes’ eyes glimmered with dismay, and they stepped away from the travelers.
“I can fall from cliffs and live! I can sink but not drown!” Terrin cried, stirring the dark fog into a frenzy.
Elurra hid her grin as Terrin’s theatrics took effect. The stones under her hand started to melt, and twigs started to burst into flame as the ground around her dried up. The tiny fires promptly went out, but their smoke added to the rising bank of fog.
“I am tamer of the leviathan and master of the darkness! Even Demons flee before me!” he exclaimed mightily, throwing his arms into the air. Elurra unexpectedly remembered another spell.
“Rowan! Snore! Plague! Drop your weapons!” she grunted urgently.
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Rowan dropped his axe in a startled fashion and backed away from it as if he expected it to explode. Snore gave her a questioning glance before he followed her orders. She mumbled the enchantment and reached up with one hand. A burst of lightning jumped past Terrin, startling them into jumps of alarm. For the bandits, it was the last straw.
They fled into the woods, screaming, “Sorcerer!” The clatter of swords hitting the ground rang through the air, and shrieks of pain escaped the goons whose weapons attracted electricity. Plague and Tristen looked like they were about to start crying for their mothers.
“Those who anger me…die!” Terrin roared. He was apparently fond of the electricity idea because he muttered a spell, and blue lightning jumped from his hands and laced through the cloud, lighting his eerie face.
Elurra decided she’d done enough and stood. To her amazement, black handprints marked the road where she’d been crouched, and her hand wrappings were completely gone. She watched the spell vanish from her skin; a metallic sheen slowly disappeared from her palms. Tristen turned to run, but Elurra stopped him with an outstretched arm. The sudden movement made her lightheaded, and she almost fell over, but she grabbed his shoulder. He staggered under her unexpected weight and helped hold her up. She tried to stand, but she stumbled and grasped Snore’s arm for additional support.
“Did you get hit by lightning?” Tristen asked, his voice shrill. Elurra shook her head, both to say no and to clear her foggy mind.
“The lightning will not hurt you. It is a trick,” she panted under her breath, addressing her terrified companions. Snore wrapped his arm around her waist and held her up. She looked at him gratefully and noticed his eyes gleamed in the flashes of blue electricity. For once, he was wide awake.
“This is amazing,” he breathed.
The gang leader was the only one left, and he looked angry.
“I don’t believe you, swine! We work for Queen Nitiri, and you’re not one of her men, liar. Rot in your grave!” he roared as he charged Terrin.
The brute pulled out his sword as he ran ferociously forward. He moved much faster than a man of his size had any right to, so fast Terrin didn’t have time to move or even draw another breath. The bandit sank his blade deep into Terrin’s heart.
Or at least he intended to, but Elurra quickly uttered the invisible wall spell, and his sword stopped two inches from Terrin's chest. Terrin didn’t flinch, which impressed Elurra. Instead, he glared at the gang leader and sneered. The would-be-thief cried out in disbelief and dropped his sword as he begged for his life. A sudden flash of exhaustion washed over Elurra, but she managed to keep herself upright as she removed the forcefield. Snore glanced at her but didn’t comment. Terrin picked up the captain’s sword and pressed the tip into the man’s neck. With a calm slowness, he bent down to murmur in the man’s ear.
“If I learn you or your gang ever tries to mug innocent people again, I will hunt you down and kill you in the most painful way I can fathom. Is that clear?” he hissed menacingly. The man hurriedly stuttered out an affirmative response. “Good. Additionally, if you really do work for Nitiri, let her know Terrin says hello.” A small smile played across his lips.
“Y-Yes, s-s-sir.”
“I will be watching,” Terrin growled.
The second he pulled away, the criminal bolted for the woods. The spells had dissipated, leaving Elurra and the dwarfs standing alone in the middle of the road with only a bit of mist left to show what they’d done. Aleah was clinging to Kai’s body protectively, and Elurra was grinning weakly, but she knew she would collapse without Snore’s support. The others looked stricken.
“That was fun. Who wants a horse?” Terrin asked, beaming at them. Despite his cheery tone, she could see his hands shaking violently, likely due to a combination of fear, adrenaline, and spell exhaustion.
He is so reliable, she thought with a small smile.