“Need some help, Ga’briyel?”“No, I can handle them.” He quickly determined that the unconcerned man was the leader of these savages, and he decided to leave him for last.“This should be good,” he heard Dinton whisper with a chuckle, and although he knew that his friend had relaxed slightly, he also knew that Dinton’s sword was still in his hand, as was Tero’s.Frank smiled wickedly at the Asabya and gestured to them with his free hand. “Come on, you cowardly horesons. Come and die.”At the insult, the three underling Asabya rushed him with loud cries while the leader stood back, watching them warily. Perhaps half a minute later, the three lay on the ground, two dead and one groaning in pain with a fatal wound to his abdomen. Frank now faced the last Asabya still standing.“What are you?” the barbarian asked, completely unafraid.Frank reached into his shirt, pulled out his family’s token, and let it drop onto his chest. He was about to answer when an image flashed through his mind—h

“Have you never ridden a horse before?”“No. Please do not let me fall, Ga’briyel.”“I would never let you fall. Just place your hands on the back of the saddle. Hold on tightly, but do not tense up. Relax and enjoy the ride. We are not going far tonight, just another hour or so. You will be fine.”With that, Frank heeled Kumar to a walk and started upstream to join Dinton and Tero.“What do you think they are talking about?”“Home, probably. Although, Sophyra looks a couple of years younger than him, so I wonder how much she actually remembers about their village. After all, he was only six when he left.”Dinton and Tero were tending to last meal as Frank and Sophyra sat together on the ground about fifty paces away, out of earshot of the others. They had traveled upstream for about an hour until the light failed to the point of danger if they continued. They had made camp, and Frank had helped Sophyra down from the horse.“Are you all right?” he had asked when he saw her grimace as

“What about my revenge on the Asabya?”Another low chuckle came from the glow that was once again over the river. “Take it if you wish. Go to Grama as you had planned. As I said, the Asabya are indeed evil, and if you wish to rid the world of them, do so. Just know that they are a minor evil compared to what you will encounter soon.”Frank wanted to ask more, but the glow disappeared, and he was left standing on the riverbank staring out across the water. He growled softly, spun on his heel, and stormed back to the camp. When he got there, he stopped. Dinton had put his sword away and was waking Tero for his turn at the watch. The older man climbed to his feet, rolled up his blanket, and glanced over at Sophyra before putting more wood on the fire. As Dinton settled in to sleep, Tero grabbed his whittling and sat down where Dinton had been. Frank frowned when neither of the men saw him, and he walked back to Sophyra. He grabbed his blanket from where it had fallen and wrapped it aroun

"My lady, sir, my name is Eneith.” She gestured to a pile of fabric on the bed. “My husband told me you needed some proper clothing, my lady, and—” here she glanced at Sophyra’s current garments—“I must say I agree. Those are not what such a beautiful lady should be wearing.” She glanced at Frank with a small smile. “Please take no offense, sir.”Frank cocked his head and studied her curiously. “I am not offended, Eneith, but may I ask you a question?”“Of course, sir.”“I am very good at reading people, and I know for a fact that those villagers downstairs are terrified of something, but I do not get the same thing from you. Why is that?”Eneith’s smile immediately turned into a scowl. “Cowards! They are all scared that if they say anything against Kardag, they will end up like Masym. The greedy fool tried to steal from the man and got caught. If you ask me, he got what he deserved.”“Death?” Frank said. “Is that not a little harsh for stealing?”“Depends on what he tried to steal, d

Thrust and parry, strike and block, spin and step and dance. The fight continued for several minutes, and then Frank managed to make contact. The point of his sword barely scratched Kardag’s upper arm, but the Daitya let out a sharp hiss, once more reminding Frank of a serpent. Blood welled up on the pale skin revealed through the cut robes, but the blood was not red; it was black.“You will pay for that, boy! Enough playing around. It is time for you to die!”Kardag’s strikes abruptly increased in speed and accuracy, and Frank was forced backward toward the center of the room as his sword flashed in the candlelight. It was exactly where he did not want to go, but he had no choice. Kardag’s attack was designed to steer him in that direction, and he had no chance to go elsewhere. The strikes were coming too fast.His right foot collided with one of the unconscious villagers, and he stumbled briefly before regaining his balance. It was enough, however, and the pain that filled him when