Anad stood looking down the path into the woods, then glanced back at the line of Regulars and wagons. “We’ll have to go on foot from here,” he said. “Are you sure this is right? The bridge across the Okenlock is right over there,” he added, pointing down the road where the heavy wooden bridge was visible. Another day, two at most, would bring them to Okenfort.

“We go this way,” Gevar replied, though she spared a look at the completely enclosed wagon near the front of the procession. While she’d gone in several times during the multi-day trip, she’d never let Anad go in with her.

What’s in there? It must be the device she’s using to follow the clock.

As if looking at the wagon prompted it, the small back door swung out and a Regular in a white uniform crawled out. She quickly closed the door behind her, glaring at the others around her to make sure they didn’t see inside, then quick-stepped over to Gevar.

“Something the matter?’ Gevar asked, the new scar on her face and the way it pulled her skin exaggerating her scowl.

“Mediator,” the Regular in white said with a wince and a small bow. “We’ve lost the signal.”

Gevar ran her index finger along the length of her scar while the Regular fidgeted under the scrutiny. “I must have misheard you,” Gevar said quietly.

“I’m sorry, Mediator,” the Regular said without lifting her eyes. “We’ve tried everything we could think of to find the signal again, but I’m afraid it’s gone at the source. They must have discovered the clock and destroyed it.”

Gevar brought her cane up and put it under the Regular’s chin to lift the woman’s face to look at her. “There’s no chance to pick up the signal again?”

The Regular shook her head ever so slightly, the pressure under her chin bringing her up to her tiptoes. “No. We don’t think so,” the woman said, though she struggled to get the words out through teeth forced shut.

“Gevar, you’re hurting her,” Anad said quietly. He’d get in trouble for second guessing his commander in front of the Regular, but he couldn’t stand by in front of the blatant abuse.

“Destroy the sensitive,” Gevar said, her cane dropping out from under the woman’s chin so quickly the woman stumbled forward and would’ve fallen if Anad hadn’t quickly reached out to steady her.

The woman gave Anad a quick nod of thanks, then head down, looked at Gevar again from under her eyelashes. “Destroy?” she asked meekly.

“The sensitive was connected to that clock and that clock alone. It’s useless now,” Gevar said, her attention back down the path.

“But…” the Regular started.

“Do not make me repeat myself,” Gevar snarled, hand again on her scar.

Anad looked at the blanching Regular and then back to Gevar.

What’s going on? Why would she be so upset about destroying some machine? A lot of effort put into it?

“Yes… right… right away,” the Regular said, still pale, then gave a quick bow of her head and scampered back to the wagon. As her hand reached for the small door, something seemed to occur to her, and she walked over to one of the other Regulars nearby. A few quick words and the man unsheathed his sword, handing it to the Regular in white, and she returned to the wagon. A deep breath, like she was steeling herself for something, and she opened the small wagon door and climbed inside.

It’s not a machine. It’s a person. Gevar… what have you been up to?

“Gevar, this isn’t like you,” Anad said. “None of this. Back in the capital, you…”

“You think because we slept together, that you know me?” she said quietly, just for him. “Anad, I’m nearly twice your age. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, weathered Sir Junithar’s… outbursts, and still I haven’t earned the title of ‘Sir’ yet. Do you know why? For no other reason than I was born a woman. This plan, though, it will shatter expectations and vault me to the upper echelon of the Mediators. That is all that matters.”

“You…” Anad struggled for the right words, the coldness in her voice was so different from the warmth as she’d mentored him, and especially from the last year they’d shared more intimately. “You… looked out for me. Even before we… became closer. When I joined, I didn’t know anything or anybody. You took me under your wing. Taught me everything I know about using a sword.

“You said you loved me,” he practically whispered, his voice near to breaking.

“And now I wonder if those words were misplaced,” she said, voice as cold as ever, and she didn’t even look at him. “You’ve disappointed me. All that time and energy I put into grooming you. I needed a strong supporter, one more skilled with the Trance than anybody else. Somebody to fight so my gift wasn’t wasted burning out in the Trance. I thought that was going to be you. At least for a few more years.

“Such a waste of my time.”

Anad stepped back like he’d been slapped. “All this time…? The time we spent together, the feelings I thought we’d shared? And… what? I was… a sacrifice to you? You were going to burn me out in the Trance and turn me into a Black Eye?”

“A sacrifice? No, dear Anad,” Gevar said, finally turning to look him in the eye. “A shield. And you were the perfect choice. What were you when they brought you to me that day? A lost orphan with a hero complex. A child craving the power to protect somebody. Anybody. You should be thanking me. I gave you all the things you ever wanted.

“The strength you desired, and the person you needed to cherish.

“And still you failed me.”

Anad blinked, ice spreading through his chest, and he opened his mouth, but no words came out. What could he say to that?

Have I really been such a fool?

“I… you…” Anad started.

“Mediator,” a voice interrupted, and the Mediator from the tunnels approached. “We’ll be ready to enter the woods shortly.”

“Excellent work,” Gevar said, methodically standing her cane down in front of her and resting both hands on top of the pommel, then looked at Anad. “Mediator Kalesin has taken your place at my side,” she went on, nodding at the man who stood up straighter. “He understands his role.”

“At your… side? What?” Anad asked, but the smug look on the man’s face spoke volumes. Anad had been completely replaced. How? How is this happening? What did I do wrong?

“You may return to the unit I allowed you to form and join us on the mission. If nothing else, you’ve earned the chance to regain your honor. If you prove yourself, I’ll consider allowing you to rejoin my regiment,” Gevar went on.

“Regain my…?”

“Dismissed,” Gevar said, pointedly turning from Anad to face Mediator Kalesin. The other man let his eyes linger on Anad for the briefest second, the corner of his lip rising, and then he turned to face Gevar as well. “As soon as everybody is ready, we’ll move out. Anybody who can’t keep up will be left behind.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Of course, Mediator,” Mediator Kalesin said, but his eyes went back to Anad. “You’ve been dismissed, Mediator.”

Anad’s left hand clenched around his cane, and his mind played out thrusting his sword straight through Kalesin’s grinning face. But… Gevar’s hand was on her sword hilt, and the hint of lemon-yellow tinged her eyes, as if she expected him to try something. After everything they’d been through, would she really draw on him?

Yes. Yes, she would.

Anad spun on his heel without a word and stalked towards where Tory and the unit Gevar had allowed him to make waited for him. Black and white uniforms blurred as he passed, but the eyes stood out crystal clear, following his every step. Judging him.

These people who should’ve been his peers – his allies – looked at him like an outcast. Like he didn’t belong.

He needed to belong.

When did things go so wrong?

Anad stopped as it hit him.

Tel. Everything fell apart when I saw you. This is your fault. Yours and that sorcerer’s. When I…

Somebody screamed.

Anad, like the others around him, looked in the direction of the unexpected sound, then involuntarily took a step back as a mass of spike-limbed forms burst out of the treeline. The manic creatures slammed into the tired Regulars like an avalanche, their spikes punching through chainmail like it wasn’t even there, and bloody bodies quickly stained the road.

What?! What are they doing here?

But he didn’t have time to ask questions as men and women died screaming in front of him.

Out came his sword with a sching, pure silver light streaming around the blade like smoke, and time slowing to a more manageable level as he embraced the Trance.

A shield? She thought me a shield. No. I am the blade.

Anad darted forward, a Regular in front of him falling slowly through the air, the poor man’s eyes wide with fear as one of the monsters bore down on him. Across came Anad’s blade, deflecting the spike meant for the man’s heart, and Anad followed up by slamming his cane-sheath into the side of the creature’s skull.

From experience, the blow wouldn’t stop the beast, but at least it would slow it down enough to save the man’s life, and Anad quickly set his feet to take on the next creature. Like the first, it practically hung in the air, both spikes leading as it leapt towards the line of surprised Regulars, and Anad lunged in. Once, twice, three times, his blade slipped between its ribs to puncture vital organs, then he swept by in an esquive, sword-edge gliding across the thing’s throat.

Blood lazily spilled into the air, drop by drop escaping the monster’s neck, and Anad finished his spin by bringing his blade across the back of the beast’s knees, crippling it. Gravely injured and without its inhuman mobility, the gathered Regulars should be able to finish it off, or at least stay alive, so Anad pushed on to his next opponent.

A spike lunged for his chest, slow thanks to his deep hold on the Trance, and Anad parried it aside with his cane-sheath while slightly turning his right wrist. Sword already low from hamstringing the last creature, Anad brought his blade straight up in a vicious arc of silver light, parting discoloured flesh from crotch to chin. Though the bones resisted the edge of his blade, everything softer split apart and spilled onto the ground as Anad stepped aside and the creature stumbled past, the silver afterimage still hanging in the air.

Three down and…

Pain lanced through the side of Anad’s head from drinking so deep of the Trance.

Already?

A spike shot towards his face.

Anad backpedaled, cane just barely parrying aside the spike as the world sped up. His counterattack, little more than an awkward flail, nicked the monster’s cheek, but did nothing to slow it down, and another spike came swinging around.

Not good.

His sword and cane were both out of position and his back leg was set in place by bad footwork, so he did the only thing he could – lowered his head and shouldered forward.

Pain seared a line across his chest, though his tuxedo absorbed the worst of it, and his face collided solidly with the monster’s collarbone at the same time his shoulder slammed into its chest. Like getting hit with a metal bar, Anad’s vision went black, and his legs turned to jelly.

Not… like… this. The… Regulars…

Anad grabbed on to the fleeting Trance, not has hard as before, head already feeling like a split melon, and jerked his right leg under him. If he went down, who would protect the others? His chest fell on his own knee for support as he bent double, and he rapidly blinked his eyes to fight back the encroaching darkness.

Two pallid legs lined with blue veins stumbled backwards out of the corner of his vision, and Anad set his cane in front of him for support. He was basically in an extended lunge position with his back completely exposed, and the only reason he wasn’t dead was because the thing had been pushed away by their collision.

He couldn’t stay like that.

Pouring energy into his sword, the silver light flared wide around the blade at the same time the pallid legs started moving in his direction again.

Now!

Anad pushed up off the cane and his right leg while swiping his sword up and around in a wide arc. The creature was just out of reach, but the silver light hung in the air like a floating wall of mercury at shoulder-height between them, so perfect Anad could see his reflection in it, and the creature’s legs paused. Taking advantage of the distraction, Anad let the momentum of his swing pull his right side around as he pivoted on his left foot, then simply leaned forward, shoulders dropping.

Gravity pulled at him like a desperate lover while his face passed mere inches in front of the mirror-like surface, the legs on the other side still motionless. As soon as his head dropped beneath the bottom of the light, he pulled hard on the Trance, wincing at the pain, and snapped his right leg forward. Slamming his foot on the ground while dropping his cane, he took the hilt of his sword in both hands, blade practically exploding with silver light, then lunged under the light and up.

Apparently mesmerized by its own reflection in the hanging light – Why? It doesn’t have eyes – the slow-motion creature didn’t even react as Anad brought his sword around in a brutal uppercut. While his previous slash had hardly nicked the bone, this time, his blade tore through skin, muscle, and bone with equal ferocity.

Anad’s sword carved up through its chest as he rose, ripped apart its neck, and then exploded straight out of the top of its skull, a curtain of silver perfectly bisecting the creature. It stood awkwardly for a heartbeat extended by the Trance, like the hanging silver was just a trick of the light, and then its two halves fell in opposite directions.

Which was also exactly how Anad’s head felt, and the Trance slipped from his grasp as he staggered to the ground, the silver light around him dropping like water to vanish in a blink. He managed to catch himself on his hands and knees, but there was no strength there, and no chance of grasping the Trance again. The pain was just too much.

This is your fault too Tel. I never would’ve gone into the woods and pushed myself so hard if…

“Protect the Mediator!” a familiar voice shouted, and Regulars’ legs quickly surrounded him as he blinked to stay conscious. “Finish that one off!”

“Tory?” Anad croaked.

“Take a breather,” Tory said. “We’ve got this, and the… whatever these things are… already seem to be falling back.”

Falling back?

“They’re retreating?” Anad asked, forcing his eyes to focus while scanning the ground for his cane. He was going to need it.

“Yes, Mediator,” Tory said. “Looks like they realized they can’t take on this many Mediators, and the Regulars are regrouping. Looking for this?”

The bottom of Anad’s cane appeared in his field of view, and he gratefully took it, sliding his sword in, then braced it on the ground. With both hands on the cane, Anad pushed himself to his feet, taking a quick breath to steady his legs, then stood straight.

Tory was right, the battle was already almost entirely over, with Regulars and Mediators just left to finish off the few monsters still on the ground.

“Between you and me, you did all the heavy lifting,” Tory said, nodding to the four monster corpses Anad had left, then knowingly along the line of troops. “You took down twice what all the others combined managed to do.”

Anad surveyed the damage, and Tory seemed to be right. From where he stood, he only saw two other monster corpses. Understandable, considering how tough the things were to kill. If he hadn’t fought them in the woods before, he likely would’ve still been trying to kill the first one he’d encountered here.

And, miraculously, he didn’t see a single dead or injured Regular.

Anad blinked. There had been dozens of the monsters, if not more. The wood line had practically exploded with them, and yet…

“Where did they go?” Anad asked, the pain in his head finally subsiding a bit and strength returning to his legs.

Tory pointed off to his left. “Down the road and across the bridge. Moved damn fast too. What were those things?”

“They…” Anad started.

“Oil and torches,” Gevar shouted as she stalked past with Kalesin are her side. “I want that bridge in flames. Now!”

“Gevar, what are you doing?” Anad asked, not caring what the Regulars thought about him questioning her openly. “That’s the only bridge across the Okenlock for hundreds of miles.”

“Exactly,” Gevar said. “We can’t have those things at our backs while we’re dealing with the sorcerers. They’re probably allies. What are you waiting for? Fire!” she shouted, glancing once more at Anad and the way he leaned on his cane. “Pathetic,” she whispered, then stalked off towards the bridge shouting more orders.

“Can she do that?” Tory asked Anad quietly. “Burning that bridge down will cut off one of the major trade lines between Okenfort and Bastion.”

“I don’t think she cares about that right now,” Anad said, staring at Gevar as she walked away. “More importantly,” he added, looking back at the line of troops, and specifically at the Regulars who seemed to be looking for something. “I want you to talk to the Regulars. Find out if anybody is missing.”

“Missing?” Tory asked, looking around. “Now that you mention it, I don’t see Sanny. Where did she get off to?”

Anad looked back across the bridge. “Just find out. Take somebody who can count with you.”

I hope I’m wrong about this.