Alex’s eyes widened as he stepped in front of Emily.

  “Dammit, it’s too soon!”

  Emily watched as flames surged forth from the abyss, rising to consume the city. Air and steam hissed violently as water vaporized almost instantly. The lower sections of the city began to warp and groan, the structures buckling under the intense heat as the fire made contact.

  Then the barrier sprang into action.

  The wall of translucent energy contracted and reshaped itself, extending downward to blanket the entire city. It cascaded into the gorge, smothering the fires below. A thick, glowing shield enveloped the area, holding back the relentless flames and preventing them from advancing any further.

  Emily peered down through the shimmering pane of force. Although the city was protected, the flames showed no signs of abating. They continued to climb higher and higher, licking up the gorge walls until they reached the underside of the bridge.

  From her vantage point, Emily spotted Sam’eth’s forces retreating to the ledge. That must have been the reason for the cheers she’d heard earlier. Lorthil, mistaking the retreat for a victory, had pushed their forces further onto the bridge.

  Now they hung suspended over a molten abyss, the metal below them glowing like embers.

  A portion of the shield remained over the bridge to protect it, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Only those with red bridges had some way to endure. Those that didn’t began to fall like flies. Emily watched the loss of life in horror.

  Sam’eth had chosen the nuclear option.

  Then the sound of splintering glass began to echo out from all around them. Cracks began to appear on the city-wide barrier, and the screen looked about ready to fail. But then there was a dull echoing thud from deep in the city’s core, and a huge wave of source came from below them. Emily had been getting better at sensing source, but one would have to be blind to not sense the power rushing up around them.

  The shield drank it in, but the power didn’t last all that long. There was a brief burp, and the sudden influx died out.

  “Blast it all, they...” Alex growled.

  Emily tore her eyes away from the repairing dome in time to see Alex’s pale face.

  “What did they just do?”

  “They emptied the Well,” he said coldly.

  Emily realized the implications a second later and swallowed. The shield looked to be fixing itself rapidly, but then a catastrophe hit. A beam of negative light hit the barrier at its weakest point. There was the briefest flicker of resistance from the dome before it shattered. The attack continued toward the upper campus and crashed down there, erasing a good portion of the towers and sending a resounding crack through the landscape. The defining sound was followed up by the collapse of distinct buildings.

  Emily’s eyes narrowed as she made out Juest’s tower crumbling. Turning to the battlefield, she searched for the man himself and saw he was on the bridge holding the flames back in order to protect his men. The hole in the shield began to leak flames, and the temperature around them climbed rapidly. Their only saving grace was that the spell cast by the Red Cardinal seemed to be nearing its conclusion, as the flames were receding. That last attack had to be from the Black Cardinal and from the looks of things they'd been planning this for a while.

  The shield finally failed, whatever force had been holding it together was damaged in the attack, unraveling before their eyes. As the flames cleared, Emily could tell less than half of Lorthil’s forces remained. Sam’eth had timed it perfectly, and when the war cry erupted from their side, Emily knew it was over.

  “Alex, how long do you think they can hold the bridge?”

  Alex was still staring at the destruction, his face pale. Emily clicked her fingers in front of his face to get his attention.

  "Alex!" she said urgently.

  “I—half a day at most. Anything beyond that, and we’re pushing it. The golems should hold, so most of their defensive force will be intact.”

  Suddenly, a scream pierced the air nearby. People, rooted to the spot by the horrors they had just witnessed, were now snapping out of their stupor. Panic spread like wildfire. The bustling street transformed into a scene from the apocalypse as screams of terror filled the air and the crowd scattered in all directions.

  Alex grabbed Emily by the collar and dragged her inside the stables. At some point, Kael and the others had stepped out of the stable to assess the commotion, but they quickly retreated to take refuge from the chaos. A merchant cowered in the corner of the room, trembling. Kael tossed his coin purse at the man without hesitation.

  “Everyone mount up—we’re leaving!”

  Emily had to give credit to the Wandering Fangs; they didn’t hesitate. Kael’s command set them into motion as they scrambled toward the stalls, quickly saddling their beasts.

  Emily headed for one of the Galendmares. While she had never saddled one of these creatures before, her experience with wolves gave her confidence. Alex came over to check her buckles, nodding in approval when he found them secure.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked, his voice steady but his eyes uncertain.

  Emily rolled her eyes. “Are you? At this point, the fastest way out is up.”

  Alex frowned at her response. “Will we even make it through there?”

  Emily shrugged. “We don’t have much choice now, do we?”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Alex bit the inside of his lip and shook his head as he mounted up. Their group was down to eight, but each rider had secured a second Galendmare to their saddle. Emily, uncertain about riding while towing another beast, opted to ride alone. She knew the way and would lead the charge.

  Once everyone was ready, one of the men pushed open the stable’s large doors. The street outside was still chaos, though the crowd had thinned to about half its earlier size. Stalls were overturned, and debris were scattered across the cobblestone road.

  Taking the lead, Emily whistled sharply, her piercing tone cutting through the din. Anything to grab attention. She cracked the reins and urged her mount forward, charging into the streets. People turned at the sound, scrambling out of the way as the powerful creature galloped forward. Behind her, the thunder of hooves echoed off the cobblestones as the others followed close on her heels.

  The first step was to navigate to the lift. This, however, turned out to be harder than they’d initially thought, thanks to one problem: looters. Desperate people roamed the streets, attacking anyone who dared to pass by. Their group was targeted several times simply for having mounts. Unfortunately for the looters, desperation did little to make up for their lack of skill. Their attempts were clumsy at best. Emily quickly put an end to them by using a low-powered Lift spell to send them flying. After that, most of the attackers thought better of trying their luck.

  But then they encountered a blockade. This one was far more organized and was clearly not set up by the city. It appeared to be the work of its less savory inhabitants. About thirty individuals had dragged carts into the road, creating a barricade to block anyone from advancing. Emily yanked her mount’s reins just in time to stop it from attempting to leap over the obstacle.

  A man emerged from the mob, a wicked smile curling across his face. Emily cocked her head at him.

  “Well, well, well,” the man drawled. “Look what we have here. If it isn’t the redhead. Did you miss me, darling?”

  Emily narrowed her eyes, her lips twitching into a faint, humorless smile. “Very much so,” she replied coolly. “If I remember correctly, the last time we met, you extorted a fair bit of money from me. Where are your friends?”

  Her gaze swept over the group, scanning for the men who had blocked her during Alex’s prison break. She couldn’t see them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t hiding nearby.

  “Who knows?” the man replied with a shrug. “But let’s not worry about them. You’ve got me all to yourself, sweetheart. I promise I’ll be gentle. Now,” he said, his voice hardening, “dismount and hand over your valuables. The men can piss off—I don’t care—but you stay, darling.”

  Alex and Kael’s eyes narrowed at the man, their expressions darkening. They clearly recognized the threat, but something in the way he carried himself gave him confidence that bordered on arrogance.

  Emily turned to the Wandering Fangs, raising a hand to forestall the violence. “Guys, stop,” she said firmly. “I know these men. They’ve probably got more people hiding in the shadows. Our best bet is to comply. We’ll meet up later at the discussed location.”

  Alex shot Emily a ‘What the hell are you doing?’ look, but before he could voice his objection, she slid down from the Galendmare’s back. As her feet hit the ground, she stumbled, steadying herself with a hand clutching her chest. The man’s grin widened at the sight.

  “That’s it. You know how this is going to go, woman,” he sneered, his eyes roving over her body with dark intent.

  Emily nodded, her bottom lip trembling as if she were fighting back tears. Slowly, she reached up and tugged one shoulder of her traveling tunic down, exposing a sliver of skin. Emily stumbled closer, making herself as meek as possible. This not only drew his eyes but also most of the surrounding men. That meant that when Emily was in place, no one expected the blood scythe to explode from her feet and cleave through a dozen men.

  The blade bisected through bone and muscle, causing the men to collapse before they even knew what had happened. There was one exception to the rule.

  Frustratingly, her main target had bent his torso just in time to avoid the strike. His eyes widened as the blood moved to coil around Emily.

  “Dammit, you…you’re. Gods, I knew it was too good to be true—”

  The man got hold of himself and took a step back. “They’re from the Weeping. Kill them, now!”

  Chaos descended on the streets. Kael and Alex were suddenly right beside Emily. However, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Emily triggered her blood mantle and wrapped herself in a vital shell. As she did this, she kicked Alex in the hip, sending him to the side.

  A knife appeared from thin air attached to a hand that scraped against Emily’s neck. Fortunately, it could do no damage with her mantle in place. Alex, on the other hand, ducked into a roll and completely avoided the two sets of knives coming at his head. Emily turned to attack, but the hand faded from view.

  “Cheaters!” she cried as she whipped several bloody wires out in all directions

  Her cords never caught anything, but they did help buy her some time. Several projectiles came at Emily, which she blocked with her vital shell. Kael swatted the attacks out of the air and wrapped a large amount of vapor around himself.

  “We don’t have time for this!” he shouted.

  Spinning his spear above his head, he slammed it down, creating a ripple of power. Six invisible men stumbled back, their skills failing, and their forms shimmering into view.

  Emily smiled as their faces showed shock. Too bad for them it was the last expression they would ever make.

  Emily lashed out in all directions, grabbing hold of them. She then picked them all up and brandished them as clubs, smashing them against the ground first and then against their allies.

  The life force from those she’d killed earlier began to trickle in, forming a dozen bolts. They shot out at incredible speeds, killing another six or so.

  Alex jumped up from his roll and charged into the front line. He slashed out at anyone who even looked like they had some fight in them, maiming people left and right in a brutally efficient fighting style.

  Kael was not far behind.

  Emily smiled as she stepped toward their leader.

  “Right. Now, I want my money back.”

  The mouseish man looked at his dying companions as a deep sense of fear settled in his eyes.

  “I didn’t know you were— Here, take it!” he stammered, throwing a small sack at her feet. It jingled as it landed, but something didn’t sound right.

  Emily lashed out at it with a whip of blood. The sack tore apart in an explosion of coins and something that looked like a confluence orb.

  Emily’s eyes narrowed as she saw his face twist into a snarl. She had just enough time to put up a screen before it went off.

  The concussive blast sent Emily flying back along with Alex, but Kael absorbed the blow and kept moving.

  Seeing his men would not be able to hold out much longer, the man turned to flee.

  However, this was not an outcome Emily could accept. She had been charging life force into her blood for a while now, and as she landed, she let loose a spear. The thing had enough power behind it to take down a bruin, so when it hit the human body, it didn’t leave much to the imagination. A basketball-sized hole appeared in the man’s chest, and he hit the ground face-first.

  Emily shook off the daze from the concussion and stood up, drawing in all the surrounding life force.

  A glance around showed that not a single person had escaped. By the end of it, Kael had taken care of the remaining fighters.

  “People, we need to go,” he said, but there was a strange light in Kael’s eyes.

  Emily glanced over at the rest of the Wandering Fangs and saw that they had only half drawn their weapons, never needing to get into the fight.

  The three of them had taken out over thirty people in a minute or less.

  Kael was looking at them funny for a good reason. In such a short time, they had both become abnormally strong. It was just that Kael was only now noticing it.

  Even so, they couldn’t afford to linger. After collecting what they could, they moved on. Taking the lead once more, Emily guided the group toward the lift. However, as they approached the massive metal construct, she spotted an issue.

  The lift loomed ahead, but its runes weren't glowing—a dead giveaway. The city’s infrastructure had relied on the Well for power, and now they were cut off from the grid.

  Blood points: 347