“I will try, Telantes, but right now I need to hit something.”The Debaduta chuckled. “Another gacha tree?”“No,” Frank said with a grin. “I do not wish to break my hand again.”“All right, then, I will spar with you again. No weapons this time. Just hand to hand.”“Agreed.” Unbuckling his sword belt, Frank propped the scabbard against a tree. “Let us fight, Telantes.” He dropped into a low stance and circled the spirit as the other did the same.“I will not hold back, Anmah,” Telantes said with his own grin. “I apologize now for when I hurt you.”“You are very confident, are you not? Remember who wounded whom more last time we fought.”“It will not happen again,” the Debaduta said, and then he swept a foot out, barely missing Ga’briyel’s front foot. The Anmah laughed and danced out of the way.“Nice try, Telantes,” he chuckled, and then he ducked low, rolled to the left, and grabbed Telantes’ left foot as he passed, throwing the spirit to the forest floor. Telantes hit with a grunt,

“Can you dismount without your hands, Captain?” Kajal asked quietly. In answer, Dinton swung his right leg over the pommel and jumped to the ground. He glared at Kajal without speaking as the other man also dismounted. “I am truly sorry, Dinton,” Kajal said in an almost-whisper, “but Captain Mistri insists that you are bound to a tree. Hand and foot.”“Do not worry about it, Kajal. Captain Mistri will soon come to his senses. I hope. Just do what you must.”“Yes, Captain,” Kajal answered, his frown deepening. “He also insists that I put a guardsman on you. To make sure you do not try to run, he says.”“Fine. Just do it.”Kajal shook his head, but he grabbed the rope around Dinton’s wrists and led him to a tree near the center of camp.“The middle, Kajal? Not the outside?”“The middle, Dinton. Captain Mistri wants to make an example of you. I do not know why.”“It is all right. I know why.”“Will you tell me?” Kajal asked as he pushed Dinton to the ground and wrapped the rope around th

“I can when Yisu gives me the strength,” Frank said as he yanked his sword free, spun in a circle, and neatly cut off Mai Dabo’s head. It flew into the crowd of men standing behind him, and the huge body crashed to the ground. There had to be at least a hundred of them staring wide-eyed and wide-mouthed at the head. Then they turned their gazes to Ga’briyel, and he knew he was about to die. He would take as many of these men with him as possible, though, and without a pause, he let out a wordless cry and threw himself into the crowd, swinging his sword with precision as he did so. He felt it cut deeply into flesh as he heard the accompanying screams, but there were too many men. As he brought his sword back to drive it into a man in front of him, his arm was grabbed, twisted, and he dropped the sword, crying out as his wrist broke. Around him lay more than thirty corpses, but there were twice that many men surrounding him, and he was quickly overcome with men holding his arms and legs

"No, Frank, you cannot hurt yourself. It would be the same as killing yourself." Telantes sighed and sat down on the ground next to his friend. "But I do not like doing this, Sainika. For the rest, could you not wait until it happens naturally?""No! That could take hundreds of years, Debaduta, and I do not wish to wait that long!" The Anmah dropped his head and exhaled sharply. "Please, my friend, please do this for me.""Of course I will, Ga'briyel, if that is your desire, but I do not have to like it."Frank stood up and stared at the clear black sky, the stars sparkling brighter and bigger the higher up the mountains they climbed. "Where is Yisu, Telantes?"Perplexed by the question, the Debaduta stood as well. "Why do you ask, Sainika?""Is He up there in His heaven somewhere? Is He on Duniya? Where is He? Does He truly care what happens to me or anyone down here?""Yes, Ga'briyel, He cares. He cares deeply for what happens to His creation. He grieves every single time you or any

"Let her go!" he shouted as he rushed the creatures. "Torture her more, and I will make sure your babies are tortured as well! Let her go, and I will kill them quickly!""Foolish Sainika!" the Dirack said softly, his claw burrowing closer to Ga'briyel's child. "You cannot kill us all before burning. You will be in more pain than she is, boy!" The creature flung Sophyra to the side where she lay whimpering and sobbing, her hands clenched around the wound that still bled heavily. Frank glanced at her once, and she shook her head at him, her eyes blazing with fury as she stared at the Dirack and then back again at her husband. He wanted to go to her, but then he heard her voice in his head."Ga'briyel, help me, please! Save our baby, my love!"He shuddered, knowing that he could not stop to check on her. Instead, he raced toward the Dirack, and as one, they released a torrent of flames in his direction. He just grinned and ran through the fire, none of it touching even a single hair on h