Jen battered the last statue of the most recent wave off the wall and paused for a few seconds’ rest before the next line reached the top of the wall. She and Marie-Bell had been fighting nonstop since the pale warlock was driven off the day before, almost twenty-four hours of continuous running and smashing. Kat helped as she could, but the sorcerer couldn’t increase her stamina with internal soul force so she was forced to rest every three or four hours or risk collapsing. Even with her prodigious strength, Jen was approaching her breaking point. A nice long nap would do wonders, but there was no way she could leave the wall for that long.

Beside her Marie-Bell looked as bad as Jen felt, her pale skin making the dark circles under her eyes stand out even more. Swinging that heavy hammer and wearing mail, even with enhanced strength, had to have turned her arms into limp noodles.

“You okay?” Jen asked.

Marie-Bell nodded. “No sweat. I could do this all week.”

Jen grinned.

A shining blue head popped up over the wall and Jen hit it three times in a heartbeat, sending it crashing to the ground before she moved on to knock the next one off. You’d think falling sixty feet to the rock below would at least damage them a little, but as far as she could tell, aside from a little dust, the crystal demons were in perfect condition. Marie-Bell hadn’t dared use enough power in a single strike to destroy one again for fear of not being able to continue the defense.

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They finished clearing yet another wave and Marie-Bell said, “She’s up to something.”

Jen looked where the paladin pointed. The warlock stood at the rear of the pass, a large black sphere on the ground beside her. What was that supposed to be?

“Kat!” Jen shouted.

The sorcerer flew up from where she’d been napping at the foot of the wall. “What?”

Jen nodded out toward the warlock. “What’s she doing?”

“Can’t tell. The sphere isn’t dense enough for an attack.”

If Kat had more to say Jen couldn’t listen. The next wave reached the top of the wall and she set about knocking them off. Halfway through the battle Kat sent a blast streaking up into the sky. Jen risked a glance, nearly getting gutted for her trouble. The black sphere sailed over the wall, untroubled by Kat’s attack.

Jen bashed the construct that tried to tear her open off the wall.

“It’s full of ghouls,” Kat said. “A dozen at least.”

A blast shook the air, but Jen didn’t dare turn. “Go help Kat.”

Marie-Bell’s hammer sent a demon to the ground. “Are you sure? It might take a while to hunt them down.”

“Less talking more hunting. I’ll handle the wall.” Jen accelerated, further draining her depleted soul force. She cleared the wave in five seconds.

More explosions mingled with the crash of Marie-Bell’s hammer. Jen had never fought ghouls, but she assumed a sorcerer and a paladin could handle them. If they couldn’t the three of them were in trouble as there was no way Jen could go help, not unless they were willing to sacrifice the outer wall.