25

A horde of footfalls thumped from somewhere in the distance, growing nearer with every thud-thud of synchronized feet. I stared at the doorway of my cell, a gaping maw in the smooth walls hewn from pale bedrock. Were they coming for me?

Goose bumps prickled my arms and I swept my hands up and down them to banish the chill. A few minutes earlier, after Skeiron and Nevan left me alone here, I'd tried to walk out the doorway — only to smack into an invisible barrier. My head still hurt from the impact and the strangely electrical jolt it zapped through me.

I was a prisoner. Nevan had brought me to my cell.

You must never trust me, he'd told me this morning. On this side of the falls had been the qualification. I'd scoffed at the idea because, though he'd confided the details of his bargain with Skeiron and warned me about magical debts, part of me still couldn't accept the reality of it all. Mortals broke their promises every day. No one died from it.

But I might die today. And Nevan might be forced to kill me.

I paced the length of the oval room, maybe a dozen feet across, my body crackling with nervous energy as the thudding footsteps outside receded. Relax, I commanded myself. As if that ever worked. Minutes ticked by in my head, each second pounding like a hammer striking an anvil. I checked my watch each time I reached the doorway, before I spun on my heels and started the circuit over again. Ten minutes bled into twenty, then thirty.

I tried shouting for Nevan. No response.

Forty-three minutes into my incarceration, my feet aching from repetitive impacts with the hard stone floor, I gave up and slumped against the wall.

Had I lost Nevan for good? He belonged to Skeiron, or so the king said. But Nevan had defied his king at every turn since the moment we met — until today. I longed to believe his bargain with Skeiron had weakened somehow, granting him a measure of freedom, but then I flashed back to his vacant face when he shackled me in his arms and abducted me to this hellhole — all because the king commanded it.

Christ, I didn't understand this magic malarkey anywhere near good enough. I was lost in this world.

Weariness engulfed me and I sank down the wall to the floor. Knees bent to my chest, I let my head droop.

Thunderous footfalls reverberated in the corridor, growing louder and sharper, advancing on my cell.

Pushing up onto my feet, I pressed my back to the wall and sneaked a hand under my shirt to rest it on my derringer's grip. Skeiron either hadn't known what a gun was or dismissed it as no threat, since he'd given it no more than a cursory glance. I'd considered firing a shot at the force field in the doorway, but decided I'd accomplish nothing except deafening myself for several minutes. If the soldiers, or whatever they were, approaching now stopped in for a little chat, maybe I could blast holes in their foreheads and at least incapacitate them long enough to escape.

I had two rounds in my gun, having lost my ammo boxes somewhere along the way. Based on the racket out there, I was dealing with more than two sylph soldiers. I inched closer to the doorway to peek outside.

Two by two, the soldiers tromped past my cell door, clad in obsidian armor gilded with metallic ruby streaks. Matching helmets with face shields disguised their faces, and not one of them deigned to glance at me. Maybe Skeiron had tricked all of them into bargains, making them automatons bound to his will.

Nevan had looked like that. Robotic. Dead. I knew what he was, but he'd never seemed inhuman — until today.

Soldiers filed past.

I counted fourteen, every one as tall as Nevan, some taller, and every one of them built like a pro wrestler on steroids.

For once, I was quite happy to be ignored.

As the last pair goose-stepped past, an image flared in my mind — Nevan in his armor. It had glistened with bright colors, with life and light, not the obsidian darkness of Skeiron's army.

I trudged to the center of my cell, turning in a circle, studying the smooth alabaster of the ceiling.

Why hadn't Nevan come when I hollered? He owed me a life debt. That superseded all other magic, according to him, which should've meant he could penetrate any protection ward Skeiron erected around this underground bunker. Yet Nevan ignored me.

He wouldn't. If I called, and if he could come, he'd be here in a flash.

If he could.

I struggled to recall everything he'd told me about life debts. Only another life debt could erase it, and the debt-holder had nearly unlimited power over the debtor. A virtual slave, he'd said, which sounded sexy as hell at the time. He'd cautioned me to never admit to such an obligation or I'd be at the whim of the debt-holder forever, unless they owed me an equal debt in return. Nevan had sealed his life debt to me with his beautiful words of gratitude and he hadn't saved me life since then. No equal debt.

He still owed me. He was bound to me, at my command.

I'd asked how it worked, if the debt-holder simply thought about the debtor would the other person appear, like whoosh, to do their bidding. I remembered Nevan's laughter at my use of the word whoosh, his face full of affectionate humor.

My throat tightened. What had Nevan said after that?

The owed party must consciously invoke the debt and speak the words in the form of a command. Then and only then will the full magical power of the debt be invoked.

Duh. I'd screamed his name, but not invoked the debt. Back in his cave home, I'd told him to take me with him, but I hadn't consciously invoked the debt then either.

I threw my head back, shook my fists in the air, and shouted so loud my throat burned and my voice cracked.

"Nevan, you get down here this instant! You owe me and I command you to poof your freaking ass in here immediately, don't care what you're doing, just get your goddamn self here!"

Breathing hard, pulse pounding behind my eardrums, I dropped my arms to my sides and listened. Waited.

After a couple agonizing seconds, I could take it no longer. "Nevan! I said get your — "

"There's no need to shriek at me, love."

I yelped and spun around.

Nevan leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, head cocked and lips ticking up at the corners.

I wagged a finger at him. "You scared me half to death."

The little smile faltered. "Don't speak of death, even in jest."

A knot inside me loosened at the sight of him, sagging my shoulders. "I finally figured out how to make you do what I want."

With one thrust of his arm, he separated from the wall and spanned the distance between us. His hot gaze liquefied me but he held back, by a degree of inches. His hands floated up, as if to touch me, but flopped down to hang at his sides. "I've been waiting an eternity for you to call me."

"I only figured out how to make it work a minute ago. Doesn't Skeiron have wards? How'd you get through them?"

"I was still within the wards. Awaiting the king's next order."

"Well, you're free of him now." I swung my gaze to the doorway, then back to Nevan. "I saw a bunch of soldiers go by. Is Skeiron preparing for war?"

"A king is always preparing for war. Another sylph might rise up to usurp the throne, as Skeiron did to Notus. Then there are the other elementals and, of course, the troublesome fae."

"No rest for the wicked, eh?"

"Even the righteous must be ever vigilant." He watched me for a long moment, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. "I would have killed you, Skeiron commanded it." He gritted his teeth, unwilling to meet my eyes. "If I had taken your life, I would never have forgiven myself. Lindsey, I — "

"Shut up. I'm not forgiving you because there's nothing to forgive. You were enslaved to his will."

"Until you freed me." At last, he enfolded me in his arms, surrounding me with his strength and warmth and earthy scent. My eyelids closed and I nestled into him, cheek to chest. He threaded his fingers through my hair, stroking my scalp, feathering hair over my neck. "What will you have me do next?"

"If I ordered you to raze this creepy compound, could you do it?"

"Given my life debt, I would be forced to try. However, I am not an earth elemental. I lack the power of a gnome, the only type of creature that might succeed in destroying Skeiron's palace."

"Palace? It's drafty and barren, not opulent."

"You have seen but a portion of it." He kissed the top of my head, and I heard a sniff as he sampled the scent of my hair. "As always, you smell of everything sweet and wonderful."

Propping my chin on his collarbone, I gazed up at him. "What should we do?"

"I don't know. For days, I should've been formulating a strategy, but I could think of nothing outside of you."

"Well… I have an addendum to my original plan."

His mouth compressed. "I imagine I won't approve of this idea either."

"Probably not."

"No more of your schemes. Now that you have freed me from his control, I will confront Skeiron."

"Screw that idea." I placed my hands on his shoulders. "You're a virtual slave to my will, right? So listen up. You will not fight Skeiron unless he attacks you first. That's an order."

He bared his clenched teeth. "Lindsey."

"I mean it. Keep away from Skeiron."

Another voice chuckled from the doorway. "Sage advice from your mortal whore, guardian."

I whirled on Skeiron, fueled by a sudden and irresistible rage. "I am not a whore, you whacked-out son of a bitch."

Skeiron waved a hand, the invisible barrier glittered, and he strolled into the chamber. "You've brought the guardian to me. Excellent." He flashed me a sneer at me and focused on Nevan. "You will suffer for your disobedience, old friend. And you will watch as I strip the power from your mortal plaything."

I seized Nevan's hand. "Get us the hell out of here."

He pulled me into his arms.

Skeiron raised a single finger. "I have your brother, Lindsey Astrid Porter."

Clinging to Nevan, I glowered at Skeiron. "You're lying."

"Ash — that is his name, is it not? — sits in my bedchamber, guarded by my most steadfast follower, Brennus."

"I don't believe you."

He motioned for me to exit the room. "Come. I will show you."

Nevan clenched me tighter.

Skeiron arched a brow. "You may always command your slave to remove you from this place at any time. He clearly owes you a debt of overarching magnitude." He made a disgusted little huff, throwing a sidelong look at Nevan. "What service did she perform to earn such gratitude?"

Nevan squinted at his king, anger flaming in his eyes. I curled my fingers on his chest, scraping my nails to gain his attention. When his eyes flicked down to me, I said, "Let it go."

He acknowledged the command in my voice with a curt nod.

Skeiron strode out the doorway. Nevan gathered me under his arm and led me out into the corridor under the shield of his body.

"You have my permission," I whispered to him, "to get me out of here whenever you feel it's appropriate — once we get my brother."

He gave me a quick squeeze, the only indication he'd understood me. His gaze was nailed to the back of Skeiron's head as the king ushered us down corridor after corridor, and finally, up a sloping passageway. The cold, pale rock of the lower level segued into a rich, brown stone shot through with green veins. The walls were still smooth, but here polished so the oil lamps on the walls shimmered golden light across the surface. The further we traveled, the drier my mouth grew. I sensed… I don't know. Something very bad on the way.

Ash was not here. He couldn't be. My parents took him outside the boundary.

Skeiron shepherded us around a curving corner. We halted in front of a wooden door engraved with symbols I didn't recognize and Skeiron twisted the knob to swing the door inward.

Unease crawled over my skin, pricking like a thousand tiny claws.

There, perched on the edge of a large bed, sat my brother.

Ash swung his head up, training his gaze on the doorway. His face lit up with relief and excitement, and he propelled himself off the bed toward me.

Brennus the raven-man sprang out from beside the doorway, inside the room, to block Ash's path.

My brother hopped up and down, trying to see around the massive shapeshifter. "Zee! Are you okay? Where are Mom and Dad?"

"I'm okay." I tried to move toward him, but instead of letting me go, Nevan inched us both closer to the door. I forced a smile for Ash. "Everything'll be okay, I promise. I'll find Mom and Dad. I'm sure they're okay too."

If I said "okay" one more time, it would stop sounding like a word.

Skeiron nodded to Brennus. The raven-man slammed the door shut in our faces.

Ash shouted to me, his cry muted by the wood. "Lindsey!"

I wanted to attack someone, anyone, or at least beat my fists on the door. It would do no good. Channeling my anguish and fury into something useful, that was a better option.

Confronting Skeiron, I demanded, "What did you do to my parents?"

"They remained on the other side of the boundary." His arrogant smile had me battling not to whip out my gun and shoot him between the eyes. "Your brother's room in the — what do you call such establishments? — in the motel was a few feet within the limit." He gave me look of mock pity. "You see, there is more water in your world than you recognize. The motel lies near a spring which is hidden from view in a remote section of the forest."

Hidden springs? How the hell was I supposed to protect my family when I couldn't see the dangers?

Skeiron's arm shifted. Metal glinted.

He'd conjured a goddamn sword. The one he'd rammed through Nevan's chest.

In a heartbeat, I understood his intention.

Shoving Nevan away, I commanded him with every ounce of conscious effort I had. "Get out of here!"

He vanished, the instant before Skeiron's sword slashed the air where he'd stood.

Skeiron seized me by the throat, yanking me off my feet. "Clever wench. I will destroy him, but first I will drain you of every trace of Janusite magic."

We teleported us away from the room where Ash was held, into a dank and gloomy chamber with rough walls. The air was redolent with the stench of blood and pain.

He dropped me.

I stumbled into a hole, regained my footing, and whirled on the sylph king.

With a flourish of his hand, he summoned another man who emerged from the shadows behind him.

"This," the king said, "is the mage who will extract the power from you. It will be painful, and it will not end until you are dead."

The mage shuffled toward me, his grimy hands outstretched. His stained, red robes dragged across the floor. Scars etched across his face cinched his eyes and mouth into a perpetual grimace.

I snaked a hand under my shirt's hem, going for my derringer.

Skeiron flicked his wrist.

An unseen force hurled me into the wall, suspending me there, my feet off the floor.

The mage shambled to me. He grasped my head in hands that stank of filth. His fetid breath choked me. His purple eyes seared into mine, his irises shot through with a dark light dredged from the depths of the grave. My grave.

He spewed a string of noises, some kind of incantation in a long-extinct language.

A million tiny teeth tore at my brain.

I refused to scream. No way would I give Skeiron the satisfaction. Agony shredded me, from my head down to the soles of my feet, in slicing waves that wrenched my body, but I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists until my nails punctured my flesh. Blackness pitted my vision, the room twirled around me, and I knew I would die here — buried inside the earth, with a skeletal mage sucking my soul dry — unless I mustered the brainpower to save myself.

I longed to call for Nevan, but I could not risk Skeiron attacking him. The fates of two worlds depended on one of us surviving, and with his powers, he was far more useful than I was.

Save the worlds, Nevan, for me.

It was my last thought, as a final wave of magic towed me under to drown.

The mage gasped. His hands flew away from my head and he staggered backward, eye bulging.

My agony relented, permitting me one long inhalation, a breath so cleansing I nearly sobbed from the bliss of it. The ringing in my ears waned and the blackness receded.

The mage lifted one long-nailed finger to me in accusation. On a wheezing breath, he said, "The power, she protects it. She hoards it. No magic of any realm may breach the mind of the Janusite."

Skeiron punched his fist into the wall. Chunks of stone crumbled away to patter on the floor.

My knees buckled as the mage's hold on me evaporated, and I flailed at the wall for support, my hand at last slapping flat on solid rock. Damned if I'd collapse in front of Skeiron.

"You swore to me," the king said, seizing the mage's robes with both hands, "you could extract the power and feed it into me."

The mage sputtered. "I tried, your majesty. But she is neither elemental nor human. A fragment of Janus's essence lives inside her." His pallid face turned sickly gray when Skeiron clamped a hand around his neck. "My liege, it took the combined power of the gods to scatter Janus's energy to the Four Winds. Perhaps they could… "

Skeiron rattled the mage with a violent shake. Spittle sprayed from his lips as he said, "You suggest I appeal to the gods?"

"N-no." The mage mewled. "I tell you what I learn from her, nothing more. Please release me from my bargain. I've done all you required of me."

"Have you?" The king sneered, his tone caustic. "Our bargain was for you to mine the Janusite's power and transfer it to me." Skeiron cinched his fist tighter around the mage's neck, making the man gurgle. "You have voided the bargain. Your life is forfeit."

With a sickening crunch, Skeiron crushed the mage's windpipe.

I winced, shutting my eyes until I heard the mage's body thump to the floor.

The sylph king rounded on me.

Without a thought, without conscious decision, I tore the gun out of its holster and fired both .357 rounds into Skeiron's chest. I'd almost aimed for his head, but I wasn't sure I could hit the target with adrenaline ripping through my veins.

The rounds slammed into his chest. Blood spurted.

He jerked, stumbled away from me.

I opened my mouth to shout, but got out only a squeak.

Nevan appeared beside me. He collected me in his arms and spirited us away. High-voltage shocks racked my body, snapping and crackling around and within us both. This was not the rollercoaster through hell. It was a torment of fire and power that tore at the center of my being.

We landed in the forest. I didn't know where and I didn't care.

Shoving away from Nevan, I said, "Go get my brother. Hurry!"

He shook his head, his mouth a grim line.

"Nevan, I command you to retrieve Ash."

He shut his eyes for heartbeat before zeoing in on me. "I can't."

I beat my fists on his chest. "Save him, dammit. Save my brother."

"Lindsey, I — " His shoulders caved in and the misery on his face stopped me. "Oh, love, I can't save anyone."

I slapped him in the face. He did not move or react. I slugged him in the jaw. "Are you working for Skeiron? Is that it?"

"No."

"Then go get my brother."

"I cannot." His tone was solemn and heartbreakingly certain. "I would retrieve your brother, you know I would, but I can do nothing anymore. I'm prevented from action."

"But this fucking debt overrides all magic. You told me that. You swore it."

"I was truthful but — You must have felt it during our transit. The energy firing through me must have affected you as well." His glowing amber irises had faded into a dirty brown. "We barely made it here. Skeiron stripped my powers."

The seconds ticked by, counted out by the rapid beating of my heart. Re-holstering my gun, I stomped back and forth across the little clearing, faster and faster with each ten-foot circuit, perspiration oozing down my temples.

I should never have let Nevan take me out of there. I should've commanded him to retrieve Ash first, then get me. What kind of a sister abandoned her baby brother in the lair of a psycho elemental being?

Nevan had shown up before I called him and took me away before I had a chance to demand he get my brother first.

"Why did you command me to leave you with Skeiron?" Nevan asked.

"He had a sword. He was about to skewer you again." I kicked a tree so hard the concussion lanced up my ankle into my shin. Dancing on one foot, I cursed myself blue. "You should've taken Ash, not me. He's just a kid."

"I sensed your suffering. You had granted me permission to remove you from the palace if I deemed it necessary, if you were in danger, but I had no power to pierce the ward caging in your brother."

"Did you even try?"

Nevan took hold of my shoulders, rotating me toward him. Despite his haunted expression, a hint of the old confidence sparked there. "We will rescue your brother. I vow it."

A metaphysical bond, more slender than the life debt but still palpable, snapped taut between us. He'd cemented his vow with magic, willingly.

God, I loved him.

And the revelation didn't even scare me. I was in love with a sylph from another world. Maybe it never could work out between us, but for this one day, I'd welcome the experience of loving him.

Hands crossed over my chest, I leaned into Nevan, resting my cheek on his skin. "I am the Janusite. Skeiron brought in a mage to prove it. Turns out I've got a piece of Janus's essence inside me, though nobody seems to know what that means." Entranced by the thumping of his heart, I relished his warmth. "We're screwed, aren't we?"

The sunlight percolating through the treetops speckled his skin with light and shadow. He fastened his arms around me. "Forgive me."

"For what?"

Nevan released the longest groaning sigh I'd ever heard. "I cannot whoosh you anywhere, or conjure anything, or protect you in any manner. I am impotent and utterly useless."

"Bullshit."

He scuffled away from me. "We are far from the portal to your world and the only way back is to walk. Skeiron will have his army searching for us. Leave this place. Quickly. You may make it to the portal before Skeiron catches up to you."

"And what about you?"

"Since I am of no further use, you must leave me here. I have vowed to retrieve your brother and I shall keep my promise."

"Your plan sucks," I said. "I veto it."

He hissed a breath out his nose, eyes squinted. "I am useless."

"You, Nevan, are not in any way impotent, with or without magical abilities."

"Currently, I am but a man. Unable to defend you."

"Oh please." I shook my head. "You are not a man, as you've told me so many times. You're a hot sylph with cool armor and a wicked sword."

"Even if I had my sword and armor, without powers I am — "

"Not useless." I punctuated each word with a thump of my fist on his chest. "I need you in warrior mode, not moping like a fairy."

A small, tight smile stretched his mouth. "Warrior mode is pointless without armor and a sword."

"Maybe I can help you with that."

His smile changed into one of bemused interest. "In what manner?"

"Well, I've got all this power, right?" I swept a hand up and down, indicating myself. "I'm so strong, the mage couldn't suck the magic out of me. I've got serious power."

Nevan got that dubious look again, the one that said he knew I was about to suggest something wacky and he wouldn't like it, but he'd give me a chance to explain anyway. "Janus was the god of doorways, which is why you can open the portal and transport immortals across the boundaries in the mortal realm. Not helpful in — "

"Shush." I took a breath, rolling my shoulders back. "Think. I have Janus's power. He was the god of doorways, yes, but also of beginnings and endings, and of transitions."

"Information I gave you."

"Zip it. I'm not finished."

He mimed zipping his lips shut. Cheeky sylph.

"This Janus guy was tough, right?" I gnawed the inside of my cheek, flipping through the pages of my mental book for answers. "You said Janus was so powerful the other immortals feared him and so the gods banded together to destroy him. But they couldn't get rid of his power, so they scattered it into the winds."

"The Four Winds, which are not winds as you know them. They are both avatars and guardians of energy and magic."

"Doesn't that mean they must've been the ones who put Janus's essence inside me?"

"I suppose," Nevan said slowly. "Not directly, however, since Janus was destroyed eons ago. They must've set things in motion. Why does it matter?"

"They imbued me with magical powers, right?"

"Yes."

"Here's my plan." I paused — not to be dramatic, but because I also feared my plan might be too crazy. "Step one, I make use of my Janusite magic to re-empower you."

From the look on his face, I could tell he really, really wanted to Lindsey me. "I doubt that is possible."

"You're awfully pessimistic at the moment, so I'll go with my instincts this time." I walked straight up to him, bounced up on my toes, and leveled our gazes. "I'm giving you back however much of your power I can, whether you like it or not. The life debt ought to smooth the way."

His arms went limp as he gave a tiny shake of his head. "I've come to realize I cannot stop you, when you've set your mind to a task."

"Smart man."

"Do I want to know about step two?"

I sank back down onto my heels, patting his chest. "Step two, I'm going to give Skeiron exactly what he wants."

Nevan flinched away as if I'd shot him. "You will not surrender to Skeiron."

"I have to. He has Ash." I tugged his hands and he shuffled closer. "Besides, after I've shared my magic with you, I'm counting on you to crash through the wards, empowered by your debt to me. In fact, I hereby command you to rescue me and Ash once I've found him."

"Let us pray the life debt is strong enough for that. What is the rest of your plan?"

"I invite Skeiron to take a jaunt across the boundary with me. If we pull it off, this little field trip will be one Skeiron won't enjoy."

He covered his face with his hands for a second, and then let them drop away. "Your plan sounds exceedingly dangerous — and it requires you to be alone with the king. Even with an infusion of your power, I rather doubt I'll be strong enough to aid you if things should go awry."

I placed a kiss over the scar on his chest. "You are smart, resourceful, stubborn, and brave. With or without magic, you have what it takes to help me defeat Skeiron."

Nevan stopped blinking, his cheeks faintly pink. "I am yours to command."

We stared at each other, unspoken things hovering between us, things we both wanted to express but each held back for different reasons. Or maybe the same reason. Fear.

At last, he said, "Explain to me how transporting Skeiron across the boundary will end anything. You took me through the barrier and I am quite alive."

Okay. Honesty time. "We both know why I was able to take you over the boundary, without even touching you."

"Do we?"

I didn't pull away from him, but I did squirm and start counting the swirls in his eyes. "It's not about sex, Nevan. It's about you. How I feel."

He searched my face, his brow pinched above his nose.

"The point is," I explained, "I could take you over the boundary because we have a… um… "

"Connection." No inflection, no smirk, a simple statement of fact.

I nodded. "My magic was awakened by my desperation to save you. I don't have that connection with Skeiron. If I take him across the line — "

"He will be destroyed."

"That's the idea. He doesn't understand why my powers worked with you. He believes I can take him over the boundary."

Nevan gazed at me with admiration. "You are a genius."

I rolled my eyes.

He kissed my forehead. "I will do as you ask."

"About damn time." I ran my hands over his chest. "I wish I could give you all your powers back. Make you whole again. But I think partway is the most I can do."

He thrust a hand into my hair, angling my face up to his. "I was whole again the moment you looked at me in the forest that first day, when you saw me as I truly am and looked on at me without fear or disgust."

"That moment changed me too." A better confession clamored to get out and I no longer saw any reason not to tell him. "I love you, Nevan."

"I love you, Lindsey Astrid Porter."

He kissed me long and slow, with a tenderness and yearning equal to mine, and I relinquished my body and soul to him yet again, within the confines of this bubble we always erected around ourselves whenever we touched. When our lips parted, I cleared my throat, still feeling the slickness of his mouth on mine.

Energy tingled over my skin, diving under the surface to suffuse my entire being. I crushed my mouth to his again, willing my power to infuse him too. He made a surprised noise deep in his throat, his body tensing and then relaxing.

Metal materialized between us.

I moved back a step, smiling when I caught sight of the armor shielding his body and the sword gripped in his hand.

A rustling, faint but distinct, lured my attention to the woods behind me. An instinct stirred inside me, warning of Skeiron's approach.

"Go," I told Nevan. "Skeiron's almost here, I can feel it. Find Tris, he'll help. Find my parents and Travis. Gather our allies, Nevan."

"I will." He laid a hand on my cheek. "Be careful, my love."

He turned and jogged off into the woods. Despite his armor, he made little noise as he slipped away into the night.

I walked in the opposite direction, into the deeper shadows where the forest canopy thickened. Strange insects chirped, orange specks danced in the bushes and trees, and the moss-like ground cover squished under my boots. I ducked a hand under my shirt to touch my holster. With no bullets, the gun was useless — yet reaffirming its presence comforted me somehow.

A raven swooped down from the trees to land in front of me.

Brennus rose, a rippling, roiling shadow that transformed into a man-like creature. His black eyes locked on me. "You are without your guardian."

"And you're without your king."

The weight of another gaze prickled my skin. I spun to face Skeiron.

"He is my scout," the king said. "But never out of contact with me."

"Does he want to serve you, or do you have something on him?"

"There is no difference." Skeiron strode up to me. "Your guardian will not save you this time."

"Don't count him out yet. You may have stripped his magic, but he's still ten times the man you are."

"He is powerless, no better than a mortal." Skeiron nodded to Brennus. "Find Nevan and kill him."

The assassin morphed back into a bird and launched into the sky. His cackling echoed down through the forest.

Nevan, please, run fast.