They wrapped the unconscious woman in blankets to keep her from freezing before they reached…wherever they were going. Jen’s window opened into an alley so they went out that way, leaping down from the second floor with no trouble. The Cold River bridge was north of the city, maybe half a mile past the gate. Jen had only ridden over it once during her previous posting to Valcane.

They raced through the quiet streets at half speed; Jen didn’t dare try full speed with the injured woman over that distance. The timing worked out well. Most people were inside eating their noon meal. Those unfortunates who had to work outside in the cold went in to warm up, leaving the city a ghost town for half an hour, plenty of time for Jen’s team to pass through.

The north gate stood open and they ran out, the two guards standing beside a burning brazier not giving them a second look. The dirt road beyond the city was clear of snow thanks to the nearly nonstop traffic coming and going from the port. Talon and Alec accelerated to full speed and zipped back to make sure no one was following them. Jen and the others ran on, the bridge waiting only a minute away.

The Cold River bridge was a tall, arched thing of fused stone and steel wide enough to accommodate two wagons side by side. The ravine it crossed wasn’t especially wide or deep, but the chill of the river made fording a dim prospect. Even in summer the mountain streams kept the river frigid; at this time of year it was frozen solid.

“Stay here, I’ll call if I find anything.” Jen skidded down the side of the ravine to the river bank. Fine gravel crunched under her feet when she hit bottom.

She jogged over to the base of the bridge. The engineers had fused the legs to the cliff face. Even with her enhanced vision Jen couldn’t tell where the cliff ended and the bridge began. She also couldn’t find where this secret whatever was. Why couldn’t the woman have stayed conscious long enough to tell her something useful?

Jen studied the striated stone, mostly gray with a few streaks of pink. Nothing stood out. When she ran her finger over it looking for a seam she came up empty. After five minutes she’d covered the whole area under the bridge and found exactly nothing. Had she misunderstood the woman’s message? Was there a place named Underbridge she didn’t know about?

“Shit!” She looked across the frozen river at the far side of the ravine. There was nothing for it, she had to check. At least the river was frozen so she didn’t have to swim.

The river ice felt as hard as stone under her feet as she made her way to the far bank. She slid sideways, caught her balance, and continued on. Jen reached the other side with no further trouble. Her breath steamed into the air as she searched. Every second reduced the woman’s chances of surviving.

The stone on this side matched the bank. Jen ran her fingers over the rough cliff face. There had to be something. If she couldn’t find anything she didn’t know what she would do.

There!

Something gave under her fingers. She pressed harder and a hand-sized section of stone pressed inward. A catch popped loose and a stone door swung in on concealed hinges.

Jen threw a fist into the air in silent celebration. On the opposite side Rhys and Edward had seen her success and begun their descent into the ravine. She had no idea what they’d find, but the cave had to be warmer than out here. Rhys crossed the river first, the woman cradled in his arms like a child. You wouldn’t think it to look at the grizzled old veteran, but he could be surprisingly gentle.

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Movement caught her eye. At the top of the ravine six figures in long, dark coats stood staring down at them. They looked like cousins of the goons they’d killed at the villa. Jen put her fingers in her mouth and blew a piercing whistle. Both her men looked her way. She pointed up at the bank.

Edward readied his maul. Jen gathered her legs and poured soul force into them. She leapt, covering the width of the river in a single bound, to land beside Edward.

She glanced back at Rhys. “Keep going! We’ll handle this lot.”

He nodded once and continued toward the cave.

Jen drew her sword. Edward grinned beside her. “Think this crew will be any tougher than the bunch from this morning?”

“I hope not. I want to finish this and have a real talk with that woman. And where the hell are Talon and Alec?”

Edward shrugged, his already huge shoulders even larger as he poured soul force into them. “Beats me. Maybe they got lost.”

“It’s only a mile and a half to the bridge and there’s a road. How could they get lost?”

Another shrug. The six thugs slid down to the bank and halted about fifteen feet away. They rolled up their sleeves, revealing the black ravens. As one they dragged their thumbnails across the tattoos. Blood welled and the black ink came alive.

Midnight flames danced along their arms. Several threw back their heads and howled, in pain or ecstasy Jen couldn’t say. The black flames reminded her of the dark power that flowed from the gauntlets of the armored attacker.

“Be careful.”

Edward grunted. “Reminds me of those goblins we fought.”

“Yeah, only my brother isn’t here to help us this time.”

“Ha! We can manage without the kid.”

Jen wished she shared his confidence. The battle with the armored man had shown her how strong her opponents could be. If they weren’t careful they might end up dead.

The gang members had gotten themselves under control. Black flames surrounded their hands, ran up their arms, and burned in their eyes.

They pulled short swords from hidden sheaths in their coats. The flames flowed from their hands down the blades.

Jen clenched her sword and drew deep from her core. Soul force flowed, accelerating her perceptions, and strengthening her body. She raced forward at ten times her normal speed.

She swung at the center thug. He leapt back and the two beside him thrust at her sides. Jen spun and slashed, gashing one across the thigh.

The ground shook when Edward’s maul missed its mark and struck the bank. She didn’t dare spare a glance to check on her subordinate. Her original target darted back in, his swords thrusting high and low, fast as rattlesnakes.

But not as fast as lightning. Jen drew more power and vanished. She appeared an instant later behind her opponent and hacked his head off.

The others gave her no chance to celebrate. Three of them attacked her at once. Jen used every trick she knew and all her speed to keep clear of the darting blades.

Damn, they were quick.

Two came in from her left, their blades lunging toward her chest. Jen spun away from them and hammered the right-hand attacker with the side of her blade.

He staggered left, his weapons tangled with one of his partners.

Jen thrust her blade through the first thug’s back and continued on into the second’s chest. Before they died her opponents twisted, yanking the sword from her hands.

Unarmed, Jen retreated before the third man’s furious assault. She wove through rapid-fire thrusts, some missing her by inches.

She needed her sword.

Her opponent knew it too. He kept between her and his dead companions. It was a standoff.

He lunged, swords leading. A length of wood flew down between his legs.

Her opponent stumbled, his swords lowered for an instant. Jen hardened her knuckles and punched him in the side of the head, caving in his skull.

She spun and found Edward standing over the crushed remains of his opponents. He threw her a little wave as if to say see, we didn’t need Damien. She smiled, appreciating the gesture.

Alec landed beside the dead man and collected his staff. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Jen retrieved her sword and cleaned the blade on one of the dead thug’s coats. Talon skidded down to stand beside Edward, the gauntlets still tucked into his belt.

“Where have you two been?” Jen asked.

Talon jerked a thumb toward the bodies. “These guys had friends. We just killed another four of them. Tough bastards. They put up way more of a fight than the bunch from the villa.”

“I noticed.” Jen led the way across the ice at a brisk walk. She wasn’t certain she had enough soul force left to jump it. If the others hadn’t gotten back when they did, the fight might have been a lot closer. “Let’s see if Rhys has her patched up yet.”