"I can tell him what?” Frank asked as he held a chair for Sophyra. She sat down with a small smile on her face, and he took the chair next to her.“What your abilities allow you to do,” Dinton said as he pushed the platter of food toward his friend.“Why do you ask, innkeeper?”Frank waited until Sophyra had filled her plate, and then he pushed his own plate aside and pulled the platter to himself.“I hope you two got as much as you wanted, because this will be gone shortly.”“Oh, do not worry about us, my friend,” Tero chuckled. “We are fine.”“Good. So, Hearda, what do you want to know?”The man was looking at everything in the room except Ga’briyel. “I just thought…”“Thought what? Speak, man.”“I thought that you being what you are, good captain, that perhaps you might possibly be able to rid us of our problem across the way.”“What I am? And what is that?”“An Anmah, good sir. The stories say that Anmah can do wondrous things.”Between bites, Frank said, “Well, I do not know abou

Two nights later, the four riders sat their horses on the top of a rise overlooking a verdant valley in which was centered a medium-sized town nearly a hundred and fifty leagues northeast of Difeld. From their vantage point, they could see a hundred or so buildings positioned in concentric circles around a town square. The roofs of the buildings of Grama were all red slate tiles, and most of the buildings looked to be made of wood. A few were built with stone, but not many. About three quarters of the buildings were small enough to be personal homes, but the rest seemed to be businesses or official buildings. The homes were situated in the outermost circles with the larger buildings within a lane or two of the square. From their vantage point, Frank could only see one building that was more than a story tall, and it filled almost the entire east side of the square. Cobblestone streets ran between the circles with one broad road cutting them in two, running east and west. Around the to

“An Asabya slave,” the Debaduta responded just as softly. “He managed to run away from the town, but he is being followed by four men, and they will be here shortly. They will kill him for running away. You must protect him! He is needed!”The last three words were said emphatically, and Frank looked at the Debadutta, surprised to see the spirit’s eyes blazing almost as brightly as his own.“Needed for what?”“For…” the Debaduta said, and then his head snapped up as he gazed upstream. “They are coming.” He slipped behind a large gacha. “I cannot help you. You must protect him yourself.”Frank sensed the evil in the men coming toward them, and he snarled as he covered the distance between himself and the boy in a few strides. The boy jumped to his feet at his approach, crouched to flee, but Frank held out an open hand.“Do not be afraid,” he said quietly. “I will not let them hurt you. Get behind me and stay hidden.”The boy’s eyes went wide, but he immediately did as Frank bid. He scu

“Who is this, Frank?”Anmah had the boy get down and did not fail to notice that Mathi’s eyes were once again on the ground.“Head up, Mathi,” he said, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder, feeling the trembling. “No more looking at the ground. Not with us.”“Yes, sir,” Mathi whispered, and he slowly raised his head.“This is Mathi,” Frank said to the others who were now all standing. “He ran away from the Asabya, and I saved him from them. They were going to kill him.”Sophyra nodded sadly and knelt down in front of the boy. “Mathi, you are very lucky. Captain Mistri also saved me from the Asabya, and he is a good man. So are his friends, Captain Sekara and Captain Rabina. They will keep you safe like they keep me safe.”“Truly? They will not hurt me?”“Never!” Tero said, stepping forward. “We would never hurt a boy.”“I...I did not mean…” Mathi stammered, his eyes going wide.Tero forced himself to calm down. “I know you did not,” he answered. “I am sorry I snapped at you.” He loo

“This is not a choice! You are asking me to sacrifice a friend for the world! I cannot do that!”You must.“I cannot.” Frank fell to his knees and wanted to cry, but a sensation of peace drifted over and around him, and he took a deep breath.You must. The voice drifted into silence, and Frank slowly stood. He looked back at the camp to where his friends were sleeping. Dinton, his best friend and the brother who had replaced the one he lost; Tero, who had become something of an uncle to him; Mathi, coming into a camp full of strangers and trusting them completely; and Sophyra, his heart. He could not imagine losing any of them, but he knew that there was more than one life in his hands. If he did not make the choice to lose one of them, the entire world could be destroyed.He walked back to the fire and sat down with his legs crossed and his sword across his lap. He stared at it as he traced one finger up and down the blade. His father had given it to him on his twelfth naming-day. It