Magic slammed into Kevlin and ripped the ground around them. Ceren screamed and pounded on his back.

“Let me go!” she shouted as another bolt struck him next to where her head bounced against his armored shoulder.

Not slowing, he pulled her around and cradled her to his chest. He drank deep from the energy surging through him, pushing himself faster than he’d ever thought possible.

It wasn’t fast enough.

The earth boiled like the surface of a giant cauldron and his feet sank into clinging mud. Thunder crashed in ceaseless waves, drowning out whatever Ceren was trying to scream into his ear. He slogged through the mud, his legs churning and kicking up heavy globs of steaming earth in his single-minded drive to get away.

A shimmering wall of blue-green light appeared in front of him. He had no idea what it was supposed to do and, trusting in the amulet, he tucked his shoulder and crashed into it without slowing.

It flared angrily, but the amulet proved stronger, and he punched a man-sized hole through it.

“Kevlin, you’re mad,” Ceren cried and punched him in the jaw. The blow shocked him out of his panicked sprint and he slowed a little.

Impossibly, the magical barrage intensified. Sheets of multi-hued light shredded the ground and tore the air. Ceren’s hair rose from her head and floated around them as he ran, a dark red halo that tickled his nose. Her gentle perfume masked some of the charred smell clinging to the back of his throat.

So much new magic thundered through his soul that it drowned out his thoughts. Howling with terror, he threw magic back at the sentinels in shapeless waves that lit the clearing in myriad colors but did little to help.

“Kill him,” the leader of the sentinels shouted. “He cannot be allowed to reach that fort.”

I’m really starting to hate that woman.

“I’ll deal with it,” said an excited young male voice.

“Stay out of it, you fool.”

Maybe they’ll kill each other, Kevlin hoped, still running. He could run faster if he weren’t carrying Ceren, but he couldn’t set her down. She wouldn’t last half a heartbeat without his protection.

The earth under his feet surged upward, sending him tumbling through the air and tossed Ceren from his arms. He landed hard. She crashed to the ground nearby and yelped in pain. He crawled over to her.

Just as he reached her, the long, straight trunk of a sapling speared into the ground right behind him and drilled several feet into the earth, quivering from the impact.

Something whistled through the air overhead. Kevlin grabbed Ceren and dove to one side. He hit the ground on his shoulder, and she landed on top of him. They rolled together just as a huge oak tree crashed to the ground beside them, its dozens of branches slashing the earth to dust all around. Wood shattered against his armored back, showering them with fragments and filling the air with the sound of screaming timber.

They clung to each other amid the splintered wood, staring wide-eyed at the branches all around. Any one could have killed them.

A tree. Kevlin struggled to process the reality that the sentinels had really thrown a giant tree that far.

More trees, saplings, and rocks rained down all around, shaking the ground and filling the air with the tortured sounds of splintering wood and shattering stone. Dust billowed up to coat Kevlin’s face with a heavy layer of grime.

“Come on, we’ve got to get away,” Ceren screamed into his ear. She tried to stand and claw her way past the branches.

“Wait.” Kevlin pulled her back down, then shoved her closer to the mighty tree.

“What are you doing?” she snarled, slapping his hands away.

“This is the only cover. If we go out there, we’re dead.” Ignoring her complaints, he crouched beside her. She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

“Stop it and let me concentrate.”

Kevlin formed the image of another bowl-shaped shield in his mind.

Do it, he commanded, then poured the burning energy into it, willing it to be strong, and then stronger.

His body glowed as the magic poured out of him. Ceren gaped as the shield formed, a translucent, shimmering half-sphere of silvery light. It consumed an incredible amount of energy and began swaying drunkenly, on the point of bursting out of his limited control.

Sweat poured down his face. He gasped for breath as he fought to maintain the shield.

Ceren placed a tentative hand on his arm, and he glanced at her. With an awed expression on her face, she said, “You can do it, Kevlin.”

Kevlin was such a sucker for a girl with tears in her eyes, even if she had been treating him badly. He gritted his teeth and held onto the shield. It was like wrestling a greased pig, one he could never hope to control for long.

The glowing half-sphere gave the sentinels an excellent target. Magic slammed into it in bolts, waves of fire, arcing lightning, and forms he couldn’t identify, shaking it and pounding at his mind. It felt like a dozen midgets had climbed inside his head and started beating his brain with hammers.

The shield held, barely. He threw every ounce of willpower into the struggle. A raging headache pounded behind his temples in time with the midgets’ hammers.

Harafin, where are you?

Were he and Ceren being abandoned to die alone? The sentinels would change tactics soon and try something he couldn’t stop. Nothing could save him.

Tia Khoa.

In the vision granted from Savas, the god had suggested he could unlock Tia Khoa’s power, even though he wasn’t actinopathic. That vision was like a half-remembered nightmare, but he might still be able to figure it out. It might save him, but if he followed Savas’ counsel, would he be surrendering his soul to the god?

Would that be worse than letting those betrayers steal the rock?

Something boomed from across the clearing, a sound so thunderously vast that it overwhelmed everything else.

The bombardment stopped.

Something strange was going on. Kevlin imagined the sentinels advancing, hidden from view by the piled debris.

He wouldn’t die like a caged rabbit, so he released the shield and clawed his way up through the tangle. Wordlessly, Ceren followed.

Peering through the highest branches, he could see the sentinels still in a ragged line, pointing across the clearing toward the fort.

He turned, and stared. “By all the gods. . .”

Lit by dozens of torches and an eerie red glow from an unknown source, a gigantic oak tree reared above the fort, its immense trunk rising from the middle of the command building as if it had been planted there.

The huge tree began to tip. Ever so slowly it toppled to one side, tearing the command building apart in as majestic a fall as Kevlin had ever witnessed.

The shrieking of timbers sounded faintly from across the clearing. The crown, which could easily span an acre, crashed onto the southern end of the outer wall and shattered it. The boom of the impact followed a little late, shaking Kevlin to the bone.

“How. . .?” Ceren whispered as she crouched close beside him.

More trees and boulders plummeted out of the stygian sky above the fortress, a deadly rain of destruction that assaulted the structure without warning and without mercy. Cries of panic and screams of pain mingled with the crashing of stone and wood.

The men of Baldev. It must be.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Kevlin swore. He'd sent the miners and woodsmen from town along the top of the cliff while the army advanced along the base. The plan had been for them to rain destruction down from above in the morning. They must have seen the lights from the sentinel’s magic and assumed the attack was starting early.

A shimmering crimson light appeared above the fort and rose until it took the shape of a steeply pitched roof. The barrage of debris struck that light and bounced off, falling to either side of the fort.

How could they sustain such a huge shield? The little one he’d been using had taxed him to the limits. He suddenly felt very small, like a boy with a stick facing a fully armored knight.

A terrible realization struck Kevlin like a physical blow.

“Antigonus!”

That tree had destroyed the command building where Antigonus was held prisoner. Kevlin pounded on the tangled debris in frustrated rage. Everything was falling apart. They had been so close, but he struggled to believe Antigonus might have survived that destruction.

It was all the fault of those sentinels.

Kevlin scrambled from under the concealing branches and turned toward the sentinels, who still stood watching the cascading missiles like children on High Summer Day. His eyes fixed on the woman in the center who had commanded the attack and he growled like an animal, his entire body quivering with rage.

She was responsible. He was going to kill her.

He started forward, but one of the sentinels shouted an alarm, and the group spun to face the forest. Several conjured balls of light that illuminated the area.

The ground began rippling, flowing together into a mound that grew with alarming speed. Within six heartbeats, it reared twenty feet tall and a dozen feet thick. Then the rough column began to shift, forming arms and a head, becoming a giant earthen man standing at the edge of the clearing, glowing faintly green.

One sentinel threw a bolt of silvery magic at the apparition, but the missile deflected away with no visible effect.

“What is that?” Ceren whispered.

“I have no idea.”

Kevlin took advantage of everyone’s distraction to work his way out of the tangled pile of debris.

“Declare your allegiance,” Harafin’s voice emanated from the earthen giant facing the sentinels. Kevlin smiled with relief, although he wasn’t sure why Harafin didn’t just kill all the rogue sentinels.

“What devilry is this?” The female leader of the group called.

“Declare your allegiance,” Harafin demanded again through the earthen giant. “Are you in league with the shadeleeches?”

Someone pushed through the group to the woman’s side. He looked more like a soldier in the dim light, not a sentinel.

“I’ll kill it,” he yelled, his eager voice carrying easily. He raised his hand and blue fire burst to life at both ends of the weapon he held. It looked like a bladestaff.

“Shut up, Nikias,” the woman ordered.

Kevlin groaned. Nikias. He really was carrying the Bladestaff, one of the Six, the weapon entrusted to Hallvarr. They couldn’t be traitors. He refused to believe any of the Six would turn on the empire.

They’d been fighting people who should have been allies.

Apparently Harafin came to the same decision, because the earthen giant collapsed into a formless mound of dirt. Harafin strode out of the forest, flanked by Leander and Gabral. The rest of the company followed in a tight group, weapons held at the ready.

At the sight of the newcomers, the sentinels raised hands glowing with power. Kevlin worked his way around them toward Harafin’s company. If it came to a fight, he wanted to be part of it.

“Hold,” Harafin bellowed. “We are not your enemy.”

“Prove it,” said Nikias. He lifted the burning Bladestaff high.

Gabral raised the Mace, and it too burst into blue fire. “I am Gabral, bearer of the Mace, and I order you to stand down.”

A ripple of surprise ran through the group of sentinels. Harafin halted a dozen paces from their leader and announced, “I am Harafin.”

“Harafin?" she gasped.

“Yes. And who might you be?”

“I am Nikias,” the youth proclaimed. “Bearer of the Bladestaff.”

He lifted the burning weapon high. Flames licked along its silvered blades and reflected off the intricate inlaid silver runes that ran the length of its polished wooden shaft.

The woman who led the sentinels snarled, “Put that out, you fool, before you set yourself on fire.”

“Sorry.” Nikias lowered the weapon and the fire winked out.

Kevlin had circled far enough that he could finally see her pinched features. Calling her plain would be a compliment. Her eyes were too big, making her appear half-crazy.

“I am Wayra, adjutant to the gerent of Il’Aicharen, and leader of this company of Kestrels.”

“What are you doing out here?” Harafin asked.

“We came to save Antigonus,” Nikias said with a wave of the Bladestaff.

“You attacked the wrong group,” Gabral said angrily, pointing at the fort. “The shadeleeches are over there, and you've warned them of our presence.”

“It’s not my fault.” Nikias lowered the Bladestaff. “Wayra said--”

“It is your fault,” Gabral interrupted. “As a bearer of one of the Six, you are in command. You are responsible for the death of one of my men.”

Harafin said to Wayra, “Why did you attack before ascertaining whether we were, in fact, allied with the enemy?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but caught sight of Kevlin as he joined the group. Focusing those freakishly big eyes on him, she pointed. “This man killed two Kestrels tonight.”

“Just returning the favor,” Kevlin responded with a glare.

“Are you a sentinel?”

Kevlin barked a laugh. “Not hardly.”

“Then you are an abomination and must be destroyed.” She raised a hand that exploded into flames.

Kevlin raised his sword, a snarl on his lips. Perfect. Time to kill her.

“Enough!” Harafin thundered. “Wayra, your rash actions have already caused death and a great deal of trouble tonight. Don’t repeat your mistake.”

She lowered her hand. “I demand an explanation.”

“Explanations can wait. Right now, we must take that fort and see if Antigonus somehow survived this debacle.”

“Very well,” Nikias said. “I accept you into our company.”

“What?” Gabral snorted.

“Like you said,” Nikias said with a grin, “as bearer of the Bladestaff, I am in command.”

“What makes you think a boy like you could command me? I am a colonel in the elite guard. You will join my company and follow my orders.”

“I am on a mission for King Leszek. On his authority, I command.”

“And I am the emperor’s champion, commissioned directly by him,” Gabral spat. “So you will submit to me.”

“Never!”

“Stop it, you fool,” Wayra snapped at Nikias.

“I will not. I’m in charge.”

“That does it,” Gabral said. He raised the Mace, which burst into blue fire.

Nikias responded instantly, bringing the Bladestaff around, its silvery blades bursting into fire identical to Gabral’s.

“Stop!” Harafin’s voice cracked like a whip. His eyes flashed with power, and the temperature plummeted until ice formed in the air and fell around their feet in a tinkling cascade. “This will not happen.”

The men lowered their weapons and the fires winked out. Harafin scowled. “Never before have bearers of the Six fought each other in anger, and it will not happen tonight. Should you do so, the consequences would be devastating.”

“Fine,” Gabral said. “Then tell him I’m in charge.”

“Never,” Nikias shot back.

Harafin raised his hands placatingly. “We don’t have time for this. That fort must be taken immediately. May I suggest you both lead your companies in a joint assault? We can come to an agreement on the chain of command afterward.”

With one last angry glare, Gabral said, “I accept your counsel, Master Harafin.”

Nikias looked from one to the other. “So, I get to lead the charge? Great!”

Harafin turned back to Wayra. “Send some Kestrels to flank both sides of the fort in case anyone tries to escape. The rest of us will attack together.”

Pairs of sentinels were dispatched in both directions while Gabral and his captains began barking orders. Most of the other Kestrels collapsed to the ground, exhausted from their efforts to kill Kevlin.

Ceren pulled Kevlin aside and asked shakily, "What happened back there?"

"We nearly died."

"I should have." Ceren stared past him, emerald eyes wide with remembered terror. Her face was streaked with grime and tears, and her hair hung in a tangled mane. In a whisper, she said, "It struck me, the magic. I felt it." She met his gaze. "It passed through me."

"You were touching me, and through me the amulet protected you too." If she hadn't needed him to carry her. . . Kevlin shuddered to think what might have happened.

He squeezed her shoulder. "Why did you come, Ceren? You didn't know you’d be protected. You could have died."

"I had to prove you weren't the only one who . . ." She trailed off and looked away.

"The only one who could what?" Kevlin demanded, gripping her shoulder. If not to help him, why do something so rash?

She shook off his arm and met his gaze. "You're not the only one who can be Cunning."

"What?"

The words came in an angry torrent. "You're just not satisfied being steward, are you? You have to run off into the woods and single-handedly take on a dozen sentinels? You want to be a hero that bad? You want to be Cunning?"

"Ceren, I--"

She talked right over him. "I'm not going to let that happen." She jabbed him in the chest with a finger. "You're not taking it away from me. I was chosen by Antigonus, and I'll do whatever it takes to prove I can do it!"

She spun away, but Kevlin pulled her back around.

"Let me go," she said and threw a punch at his face.

He caught her fist and held it. She struggled against his grip but he said, "Listen to me for a minute. You think I did that because I wanted glory? Because I wanted to take your title away from you? Really?"

She didn’t look away, but seemed a little less sure of herself.

He blew out a breath. "Ceren, if I could give you Tia Khoa and name you steward, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"I don't believe you.”

"Believe what you want. I never wanted any of this." He swung an arm around to take in the fort, the sentinels, and the soldiers preparing for battle. "I hate magic and I don’t trust the people who use it. The last thing I want is another cryptic title from some ancient prophecy only Harafin understands."

"Then why. . .?"

Kevlin shrugged. "I have a job to do." He gestured toward the others. "Those men needed my help. I had the tools to protect them, so I had to try."

Her mouth moved silently, as if she was trying to say something but the words wouldn't come out.

"You look like a fish out of water," Kevlin laughed.

She snapped her jaw closed, but managed a weak smile. "I don't understand you, Kevlin."

"I'm the simplest of men, Ceren."

She snorted. "You're a liar too."

"I need you to believe me when I tell you I don't want your position. We need you." He nodded toward the fort. "Antigonus needs you. He chose you. You’re Cunning. I don't think anyone can take that title away."

She frowned, considering his words.

He added, "I knew a man once who claimed he saw his face in a bloodset cloud. He died the next day in battle."

Ceren frowned. "I don't understand."

"He let himself get distracted. Did he really see his face? I don't know. I don't think it mattered. What mattered was that he didn't focus on the job at hand." He squeezed her shoulder again. "Don't let yourself get distracted, Ceren. You won't fail."

He turned and jogged toward the line of horses.

# # #

Ceren watched him go, her mind whirling and her heart filled with conflicting emotions. She stood for a moment, staring after him, then slowly shook her head.

That is the most complicated man I've ever met.

Indira approached. "Lady Ceren, are you all right?"

Ceren started to say her leg was hurt, but paused, a frown on her lips, because she felt no pain. She leaned down and probed her injured thigh with careful fingers. It felt whole and strong.

"I'm fine,” she said with a smile, and cast another glance after Kevlin. Taking Indira's arm, she headed back toward the trees.

I have a lot to think about.