"Partner?" Zara's word hung in the air, a fragile bridge across a chasm of uncertainty.

  Alec, still catching his breath from the confrontation with Garth, gave a curt nod.

  "Yeah, partner. Let's get this done."

  Their initial progress was swift, fueled by a shared purpose.

  The air, however, grew heavy with a dry, gritty heat, the silence broken only by the crunch of their boots on the cracked earth.

  Alec’s throat felt like sandpaper.

  He reached for his water canteen, only to find it suspiciously light.

  He uncapped it, a grimace twisting his face.

  A tiny puncture, almost invisible, had drained most of its contents.

  "Damn it," he muttered, tossing the useless canteen aside.

  Zara mirrored his action, her own canteen equally compromised.

  "Garth," Zara said, her voice tight with controlled fury.

  "He must have done this while we were dealing with those… distractions back at the mine."

  Alec’s jaw clenched.

  It wasn't just the thirst; it was the petty vindictiveness of it all.

  That jealous old coot.

  I should have blasted him into next week.

  He took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus.

  Rage wouldn't quench their thirst.

  "We need to find another water source, and fast," Alec said, scanning the horizon.

  The landscape was a brutal tapestry of cracked earth, withered vegetation, and the skeletal remains of long-dead structures.

  It was a masterclass in desolation.

  As if summoned by their desperation, a guttural laugh echoed from behind a cluster of jagged rocks.

  A figure emerged, tall and lean, with a cruel smirk playing on his lips.

  Kraven.

  Behind him, a ragtag band of a dozen or so thieves brandished rusty pipes, scavenged blades, and even a few crude, jury-rigged firearms.

  "Well, well, well," Kraven drawled, his eyes glinting with predatory amusement.

  "Look what the wasteland coughed up. A couple of lost lambs, ripe for the shearing."

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Alec instinctively stepped in front of Zara, shielding her.

  "We don't want any trouble," he said, though his voice held a steel edge that belied his words.

  Kraven let out a bark of laughter.

  "Trouble? Boy, you are trouble. You're walking around with supplies in a land where 'finders keepers' is the only law. And I'm feeling mighty… findy." He gestured to his gang.

  "Take what they have. Leave the scraps for the buzzards."

  The thieves surged forward, a wave of hungry desperation.

  Alec braced himself.

  He was no stranger to a fight, but the odds were stacked against him.

  He parried a blow from a rusty pipe, the impact jarring his arm.

  A swift kick sent another thief sprawling, but two more closed in, their eyes gleaming with malice.

  He felt a sharp sting as a blade grazed his arm.

  Damn, they're relentless.

  He dodged another attack, narrowly avoiding a crude, spiked club.

  He knew he couldn't keep this up forever.

  Zara was a scholar, not a fighter.

  He had to protect her.

  Then, a flicker of memory.

  The surge of power he'd felt in the mine.

  The golden glow that had enveloped him.

  The energy… it's still here.

  I can feel it.

  He closed his eyes for a split second, focusing, drawing on that unseen power.

  He could feel the ambient magical energy, raw and chaotic, but present.

  He reached out with his will, pulling it towards him, a desperate gamble.

  As the next thief lunged, a faint golden aura shimmered around Alec.

  The club connected, but instead of the sickening crunch of bone, there was a dull thud.

  The thief recoiled, his eyes wide with surprise.

  The club was dented, but Alec was unharmed.

  "What the…?" Kraven muttered, his smirk faltering.

  Alec grinned, a feral glint in his eyes.

  "Surprise."

  From the periphery of his vision, he saw her.

  Selena.

  She stood atop a nearby ridge, a silhouette against the harsh sunlight.

  She was watching, her expression unreadable.

  Damn it, showtime.

  A surge of adrenaline, fueled by a potent cocktail of defiance and the desire to impress, coursed through him.

  He launched himself back into the fray.

  He moved with a newfound speed and strength, the golden aura flaring brighter with each parry, each block, each strike.

  He wasn't just defending now; he was attacking.

  He sent thieves flying with empowered punches, their weapons clattering uselessly against his magically enhanced defenses.

  He saw an opening.

  Kraven, momentarily distracted by the unexpected resistance, was exposed.

  Alec focused his will, channeling the raw magical energy.

  Not into defense this time, but into something… more disruptive.

  A wave of distorted energy pulsed outwards from Alec.

  It wasn't an attack, not directly.

  But it rippled through the ambient magic, creating a chaotic vortex.

  The thieves, already on edge, stumbled, their movements uncoordinated.

  A few even dropped their weapons, clutching their heads as if struck by a sudden migraine.

  "Now!" Alec yelled, grabbing Zara's hand.

  "Run!"

  They sprinted, weaving through the disoriented thieves.

  As they ran, Alec glanced back.

  Kraven was roaring in frustration, trying to rally his scattered gang.

  Alec grinned.

  He reached into his pouch, grabbing a handful of small, metal spheres – discarded components from the mine.

  He tossed them back towards the thieves.

  The spheres weren't explosive, but they were magnetic.

  They clattered amongst the thieves' scavenged weapons, sticking to metal pipes, blades, and even the crude firearms.

  The sudden, unexpected weight threw the thieves further off balance, their struggles turning comical.

  Alec and Zara didn't stop running until they were well clear of the ambush site.

  They collapsed, breathless, behind a large rock formation.

  Zara looked at Alec, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

  "What… what was that back there?"

  Alec shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, though his heart was still pounding.

  "Just a little trick I picked up."

  He saw from the corner of her eyes.

  Selena was gone.

  Disappeared into the wasteland.

  He sighed.

  The trust, the real partnership, that was still a distant goal.

  "We are almost at the magic source," Zara said, pulling out a tattered map.

  It displayed a series of intricate symbols, charting the path to their destination.

  "But, if the legends about the wards are true, they are exponentially stronger than anything we have yet faced."

  Alec looked toward the location marked, his expression unreadable.

  "Stronger, you say?"

  "Much."