Page 18 of The Lost Guard's Healer

Just before I meet the Wildman, a ball of fire cuts through the air nearby. It strikes the ground and catches onto another bandit, who begins to yell and convulse as the flames envelop him.

Yes, that’s it, I think. Use your gifts. Fight back. I wonder if any of the bandits have magical abilities.

The Wildman before me throws a punch, but I easily avoid it and twist his arm to snap the bone. I slam my head into his and think I’ve almost knocked him out, but finish him off with a heavy punch to his gut. That drops him cold. No weapons that I can see on him. No time to search him.

I’m relieved to see some villagers are fighting back. Their hunters—the closest they have to soldiers—are fighting with long spears, knives, and axes. Both sides are carrying swords, but I don’t know if they came from the Shanti People or the Wildmen.

Two children are standing and screaming, looking completely frozen with fear. I go to them and usher them towards the tents, telling them it’s going to be okay. I turn a corner to see Aldus is among those on the attack now. He is rushing through a wide path between two rows of tents. A heavy-looking hammer is in his hand and he seems to know how to use it effectively.

A crying woman comes to me and the two children hug her. I yell at them to find cover and stay there. The sight of Aldus makes me think of Galene and Leila. A body is lying on the path with a spear sticking out of their chest, but I don’t think it’s them.

I head back out into the open area, away from the tents to where most of the bandits are. The hunters of the village are doing their best to fight back the Wildmen, but they are far from experienced soldiers. Neither are the bandits, but their wild savagery gives them an advantage over the peaceful villagers.

There she is. Galene. She’s on the ground, pushing herself away from an approaching bandit with an axe held high. I charge at him and snatch the axe as he swings it down. With a quick twist, I plunge the axe into his chest and shove him to the ground.

Galene is shaken, her bright eyes wide and trembling. I pull her up to her feet and she falls into my arms, sobbing into my chest.

I take her face into my hands. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you hurt?”

She shakes her head. It pains me to see her so distraught, her face smeared with dirt and tears.

“Are there any safe places in the village?” I ask. “Anywhere to hide?”

She looks too frightened to understand, but I’m relieved when she nods. “Ah, yes… The Nisshi’s tent. They have a cellar.”

“Round up as many people as you can. Get them in there. Stay hidden. Do you understand?”

Her shimmering eyes draw me in. I cup her cheek to reassure her everything is going to be okay.

“Go. Now,” I say. “Stay hidden. Stay safe.”

She straightens and her features grow serious. The fire and determination in her eyes take me by surprise. She nods sharply and pauses when she begins to move away.

We lock eyes, and in that moment, I feel a swell of emotion between us. Something powerful that takes my breath away. I give her a reassuring nod, and she turns and runs away. I don’t have time to think about what had just happened between me and Galene. I need to save as many people as I can.

I make it a few steps before my legs buckle under me and I drop to the dusty earth. The growls of a bandit tell me someone is coming for me. I pick up a rock as I spin around and throw it into the man's head, knocking him down.

I try to get up, but another bandit tackles me back down. We tumble and wrestle, and I’m surprised at how strong and crazed the maniac man is. I’m used to fighting trained and controlled men with calculated intelligence. This is like trying to pin down a wild animal. But the instant my hands wrap around his head, it’s all I need to snap his neck. He rolls onto his back and stops moving.

His coat falls away to show a knife tucked into his pants. I grab it and throw it at a Wildman chasing down two people. I catch the flash of a spear in time to roll away. It thuds into the earth where my head had just been. As the next bandit charges at me, letting loose a shrill yell, I snatch the spear and throw it at him. The bandit tries to catch it and manages to do so, but not before the spear tip plunges into his chest.

An arrow thuds into the dirt just below my armpit. As another bandit comes and reaches for me, I snatch the arrow from the dirt and thrust it into the crazed man’s throat. He drops limply onto me, smothering me in his unwashed stench.

The earth shakes and trembles. I sit up and turn to see the ground rising across the field. A patch of earth lifts and causes two bandits to fall over. Villagers come with spears and axes and cut through the downed bandits. But they leave their backs exposed and don’t see two more bandits coming from behind. I cry to warn them, but it’s too late. Two of the villagers get knives in their backs while the others run away.

I finally push myself to my feet, managing to stand, and ignore the mud and dirt covering my clothes. That ground had to have shifted from a magic user. They hadn’t mentioned someone with the ability to move the earth.

I head for a bandit who is grappling with a young man when a bright light fills the sky. A charged sphere of blue lightning flies into the bandit and explodes on his back. He’s thrown through the air and lands with his body burning with blue and purple flames. I see with horror that the young man who had been grappling with the bandit had been caught by the lightning, and his arm is burned.

I search for the next person to help, and the next Wildman to attack, and it takes me a moment to realize the fighting is over. What’s left of the bandits are disappearing into the night. Their howls and yells diminish as they flee.

We’re left in the ruins of the burning village.

Chapter eight

Rourk

The loss of Shanti people hangs in the air.

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