“Don’t kill my mistress!”

Antigonus spared a glance at Haisyl as she dropped to her knees beside him, her face lined with worry and her hands clutching at her skirt. He knew her soul. She was innocent of guile and most surely terrified. She would have to wait, though. His strength was fully tapped and he barely held on.

Excruciating pain throbbed in his chest where Bajaran’s cursed dagger had struck. The dagger might have been removed, but the taint of its evil magic remained undiminished. It tore at his flesh like a living thing.

That dagger could kill in seconds with a simple scratch, and only reflexes honed from a century of fighting shadeleeches had staved off death for a time. Still, it required a staggering amount of power to contain.

Imprisoning Rhea had cost him dearly and his wards had slipped, allowing the curse to expand its hold. It ate at the flesh of his chest, gaining strength while weakening the area to the point where the original wound could burst open again at the barest touch, like a rotting melon.

The sacrifice had been necessary, for he needed to question Rhea. Was her love a lie? Who was that Masego she called master? Given a little time, he could free her of her master’s influence.

Ceren crouched beside him, her eyes darting from Rhea’s cocooned form to the battle against the stalwart. It was a testament to her discipline that she maintained her post instead of throwing herself into the fray as she clearly wanted.

“Please,” Haisyl begged. She grabbed his shoulder to get his attention.

Under the bandage, the wound broke open. Pain spiked from the torn flesh all the way down into his lung. He gasped and nearly lost control of the two spells.

“Get away!” Ceren cried and knocked Haisyl back.

“I didn’t mean it.” Haisyl scurried back, then ran toward Rhea’s hovering form.

Antigonus closed his eyes against spasms of pain as he struggled to calm his mind and control his racing heart. The relentless curse exploited his temporary weakness, expanded its hold, and tore at newly exposed flesh in his chest. He barely had the strength to reinforce the walls containing the curse. The sacrificed flesh burned in unimaginable agony as the curse eagerly consumed it.

Rhea strained against the weakened crystal prison, and the air surrounding her began to fade from pure white to a light gray. Her hand twitched, looking large and deformed through the prism-like air. Last night, she had claimed reluctance in obeying her new master, but her actions belied her words.

“Can you hold her?” Ceren asked. “Or kill her?”

He needed answers, but if Rhea escaped she might kill them all.

“I cannot.”

Ceren nodded. She was Cunning, so he expected her to understand. The prophecy was clear. Without Strength and Cunning, he would fail. It was being proven in ways he had never expected, so he felt doubly glad he had chosen his companions wisely.

“You must do it,” Antigonus said.

Her expression grave, Ceren rushed toward the crystal prison. Haisyl was already pounding against the glowing light. Each blow sank a little deeper. The prison was failing.

Ceren drove her sword into the crystallized air, opposite Rhea’s heart. It sank deep, but slowed just short of contact. Antigonus lacked the control needed to create an opening for her blade, so she would have to cut through.

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Ceren pressed harder, and the blade inched forward till it pierced Rhea’s blouse. Blood stained the pearl silk as the sword drove half an inch into the captive's chest.

Haisyl shrieked and shouldered Ceren aside. The sword remained embedded in the crystal prison.

“Get out of my way,” Ceren cried as she climbed back to her feet.

“No,” Haisyl shouted with tears streaming down her haggard face. “Why do you want to kill her?”

“I don’t want to kill her. I have to.” Ceren knocked Haisyl aside and reached for the hilt of her sword to drive it home.

Antigonus moaned in pain and lost control of the magic.

The prison shattered.

Shards of magical crystal knocked Ceren backward. Rhea landed gracefully on her feet. Her eyes blazed green with power.

Antigonus could do nothing. All of his strength was focused on shoring up the walls of magic around the curse. He needed a few seconds.

Ceren did not have that much time.

Rhea pointed at Ceren as she snatched up her fallen sword. "I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

She flicked her wrist as if brushing away a fly. An invisible force threw Ceren over the wall of fire. She tumbled into the tall grass on the far side of the clearing.

Antigonus groaned and opened himself to so much magic that his body burned. The power roiled his very soul, threatening to burst all constraints and destroy him in a catastrophic wave of devastation.

He held on. Barely.

The risk was extreme. Another moment of weakness or a heartbeat of hesitation and the magic would break free from his control and annihilate him. It would probably level the forest for miles around. The air crackled with flashes of magical energy, arcing like mini lightning bolts.

It would kill him eventually, but for the moment he could leverage that new influx of strength. Antigonus sealed the walls around the curse and centered his mind. His eyes flashed with white light, and blood stopped oozing from his wound.

His senses turned preternaturally sharp until he could see clearly in the wan light. The scent of raw earth mingled in his nostrils with smoke and crushed grass. The coppery tang of blood and the reek of sweat from the men fighting across the clearing overlay everything. The seductive aroma of Rhea’s hair tugged at his heart.

“Mistress.” Haisyl beamed as she dropped to her knees at Rhea’s feet.

“You did well, Haisyl.” Rhea spared her a glance. “Now, hide until I’m finished.”

Haisyl scampered away into the darkness.

Exulting in the clarity of his enhanced senses, Antigonus turned his gaze on the three men still fighting. He had done well in choosing Terach to fill the role of Strength. Most men would have succumbed to the power of the stalwart by now.

A brilliant light, visible only to sentinels, surrounded the servant of Savas. Its intensity testified to how deep the man had succumbed to the will of Savas and been imbued with his patron god’s battle prowess.

Antigonus’ breath caught in his throat. The very same multicolored aura of power surrounded the one called Kevlin.

Remarkable.

The man was no stalwart, but there could be no mistaking the glow of Savas’ power. No one received such an endowment without first dedicating their lives to Savas and becoming a stalwart.

Not unless Savas had a reason for claiming them.

Behold, Light will fill a vessel not of power. The favor of Gods shall declare him and their enmity shall hedge up the way.

The obscure lines of prophecy leaped to mind and set Antigonus' heart racing. Could Kevlin's involvement be more than happenstance? Was the entire expedition based on incorrect assumptions?

He could not afford to get distracted. Antigonus buried the questions and focused on Rhea again. Only after dealing with her could he contemplate other matters.

Rhea raised both hands, and fire erupted all around him, crackling as it licked at his clothing and scorched his exposed skin.

Antigonus twitched from the searing heat, but quickly cast a counter spell and pushed the air away from his body, creating a glowing void through which her flames could not pass. He reached out with fingers of power and pulled. The tall grass nearby wilted, and the earth dried to dust as he drained the moisture from it and used it to extinguish the flames.

Time to finish this.

Antigonus surged to his knees and threw both arms wide, his face glowing like a beacon. With a voice that shook the clearing, he bellowed a single word of powerand unleashed the magic hammering within his soul.

Wind ripped through the forest behind Rhea and drove a blizzard of splintered branches into the clearing. It whipped the airborne missiles into a whirlwind that enveloped Rhea. She screamed and convulsed under the onslaught. The fire wall fluttered, then winked out altogether.

The insane wind raged through the clearing, clawing at everyone, ripping grass out of the ground and hurling it into the air with the stinging debris. From within the depths of the cyclone, Rhea screamed again, visible only as a vague shape amidst the madly tumbling vortex.