Axel jogged through the woods along with nine other mercenaries. Sirius, their Scout with a short compact body and red hair, was just ahead of him. She tracked as they traveled through the undergrowth, and she suddenly stopped. Axel raised his fist in the air to alert the others to slow down. He was breathing hard as they were running nonstop for most of the day. He had a square jaw and serious eyes. He was an older man who had lived a life as a legionnaire, an adventurer, and now a mercenary. It was late afternoon, and the sun was starting to set. We will be losing light soon, Axel worried to himself.

  Sirius knelt on the ground and chuckled. “Clever, they have set traps.”

  Axel nodded and replied, “That means they are near.”

  He slapped down his golden helmet’s visor, which was shaped like a grinning skull. His fellow Grinning Death Guard mercenaries did the same, and the forest echoed with the sound of metal clicks. Axel readied a curved sword in his right hand, and he kept his left hand free for Rune casting. Because they knew they were going to be running quite a bit, he and his fellow mercenaries equipped light weapons. I hope we don’t have to face anything in heavy armor, Axel thought to himself. They were given some information on their targets, and Axel knew that one of them was an Ironfist Rune caster. If she used Stoneskin, their swords would not be as effective. That’s why Axel had a short mace tucked into his belt along with a dagger for a backup weapon.

  “Fan out,” he ordered the others.

  Sirius nocked an arrow on her Rune-covered short bow. The other Grinning Death Guard were armed in a similar fashion with bows, one-handed swords, and axes. For armor, they wore their full helm with a golden skull for a visor and a dark purple padded jacket and pants. Some were equipped with small round shields and bucklers. To his left, a cloud of red, greasy energy erupted and engulfed two of his colleagues.

  Sirius cursed. “They set more traps!”

  Axel knew what it was. The Affliction aspect, he thought to himself. The two mercenaries scratched themselves as if they were covered in stinging wasps. They moved around erratically in different directions.

  “Fools, It’s not real!” Sirius hissed.

  But the two mercenaries continued to scramble about as if they were on fire. To them it was very real and their minds were afflicted with madness.

  “Activate your defenses,” Axel ordered.

  He tapped his skull face plate and completed the glyphs with his fingers. The simple Mind aspect spell strengthened his Will. Some of the remaining mercenaries, including Sirius, did the same.

  “Where are they?” Axel wondered as he scanned the forest through his visored helm.

  A dozen meters in front of them, a young girl appeared from behind a tree. She was small with dark, narrow eyes and a wiry athletic build. Her black hair was cut short, and she had the face of a fighter with a flat nose and a scarred cheek. That’s Jeze! Axel thought with excitement. They finally found their quarry! Jeze completed a series of gestures, and the pile of dirt in front of her transformed into stone fists that launched at them. A few of the missiles thudded painfully into the Grinning Death Guard. The two afflicted mercenaries were knocked out. That leaves eight of us, and we have just started! Axel worried to himself. Sirius immediately fired an arrow that passed right through Jeze to thud into the tree behind her.

  “An illusion!” Axel cried.

  The image of Jeze faded away, but the pile of dirt continued to form into stone fists that launched at them. Several of the hard missiles were deflected by raised shields, and others shattered into the trees. Axel ducked as a few soared overhead, and he scanned the area. She has talent! He thought to himself. For her to be able to attack from different angles, but their targets had to be nearby! Axel tapped his helmet, which was etched with Rune chains underneath, and he formed the final glyphs in the air and Shaped his Mind aspect to expand outwards. I found you! He thought as his Mind touched theirs.

  “Fan out and attack that area!” Axel cried and pointed to a clump of bushes and trees.

  The mercenaries charged the location. On the way, they blocked and dodged the barrage of stone fists. Emerging from behind the tree to meet them were their two targets. The two women had the athletic bodies of seasoned adventurers. The taller one had pale white skin and eyes that were black pits. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wielded a long double-edged sword with a red tassel attached to the pommel. That’s Lady Kalina, a former Amber Guard, Axel recalled from his intel. The shorter one was the one from the illusion. Jeze, adventurer-ranked. Axel remembered. She wielded a battle axe in her right hand and a sword with a golden crossguard in her left.

  The mercenaries attacked with brutal efficiency that could only come from training and experience. Axel felt confident that this job was finished. Easy money, he reflected with a grin. Even if one of the targets was Adept-ranked, there was no way they could escape. It was eight versus two. What happened next caused Axel’s eyes to widen and his jaw to drop.

  “What in the hells!” He cried.

  Kalina moved supernaturally fast. In a blur of speed, she weaved in between her attackers and sliced with her sword. In an instant, three of Axel’s colleagues were on the ground, bleeding and incapacitated. Luckily, Sirius was a good shot with her bow and knew enough Rune magic to accurately fire an enchanted arrow that exploded on contact and sent Lady Kalina flying onto her back. That left three Grinning Death Guards to face Jeze, who hooked a shield down with her battle axe and sliced with her sword, which cut through armor as a knife through butter.

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  “An enchanted blade!” Axel wondered, but he had never seen a sword cut that sharp before. This bounty just got richer! He thought to himself with a wide grin.

  The two other mercenaries forced the young woman to jump away and flee, but they were quick on her heels until the area was covered in complete inky Darkness. Axel snapped himself back to the task at hand. The mercenary tapped a Rune-covered Channeling tool that hung at his waist and completed the final glyphs of the Light aspect to dispel the inky black away.

  “Where did they go?” Sirius growled. She had her bow nocked and readied.

  Jeze couldn’t have run very far. It was impressive how quickly she was able to Summon and Shape the Darkness aspect, but she was hiding among the nearby trees. Axel healed the mercenary that was cut by her blade. The three resumed their search as Sirius and Axel stood back. It was only a matter of time before they found Jeze. The concern for Axel was Lady Kalina. The pale woman was on her back just a moment earlier, and now she was gone! Axel closed his eyes and tapped again into the Mind aspect to search for them. He found Lady Kalina, but she was right next to him!

  “Gah!” Axel cried as he scrambled to draw his sword.

  Kalina’s pale arm snaked out and grabbed Axel by the neck. He felt his life force get sucked from him as fast as a howling gale storm. With shaking hands, Axel was barely able to switch from his sword to his dagger, which was more suited for close range. He sliced her arm and his eyes went wide when he saw that instead of blood coming from Kalina’s wound, there was black ichor that sizzled and closed the cut in seconds. Meanwhile, Axel felt his life force get sucked from his body.

  “What are you?” He whimpered.

  Sirius shot two arrows into Lady Kalina’s side. Her body shook as the arrows thudded into her chest. Axel stabbed weakly with his knife as his life force was being depleted at a rapid rate. Lady Kalina dropped him and tilted her head to look at Sirius.

  “Die!” The archer growled and shot another arrow.

  Kalina dodged with superhuman speed. Sirius rapidly reloaded her bow. Lady Kalina blurred as she charged to close the distance, and Sirius fired another arrow. The pale woman jumped out of the way as the arrow thudded into the ground. Clever move! Axel thought from the ground. Sirius was not aiming for the pale woman but aimed for the ground with an enchanted arrow that exploded. The force sent Kalina soaring once again through the air. A boulder struck Sirius from the side and knocked her out cold. Shadows fell away like water to reveal Jeze a short distance away. The three remaining Grinning Death Guard were near, and they charged her. Axel gasped for breath as his vision blurred, and he slumped over to join Sirius in unconsciousness.

  *****

  Jeze parried, dodged, and weaved to avoid the three attacking Grinning Death Guard mercenaries. She struggled to find Mastery, where she could blend her Rune magic with her weapon fighting but failed as her three attackers kept up intense pressure. None of them over-committed, and they patiently prodded their attacks that tried to force her to expose an opening. Jeze tried to Summon the Darkness aspect but was interrupted in order to parry a thrust with her sword and hooked a shield bash to the side with her axe.

  “A little help here!” She called out.

  “Good steel is only forged through intense fire,” Lady Kalina replied.

  Jeze cried out as a sword pierced her shoulder armor. The pain sparked a fiery necessity within her and she batted aside another thrust. With extreme focus Jeze Summoned and Shaped the Darkness aspect into a globe of inky black where she was able to escape her blinded attackers.

  One pursued her as the other two were temporarily distracted by the sphere of Darkness. The mercenary attacked with sword and shield and used his larger size to pressure her. The two collided, and their weapons tangled with each other in a bind. They were now grappling, and the mercenary attempted to sweep Jeze to the ground, but she had wrestled many rounds with the powerful Frostsworn. With decisive skill and body control, Jeze avoided the throw and broke free. As she escaped, she landed a hard blow with her axe that caved in her attacker’s skull mask. The mercenary dropped his shield and weapon and gripped his face as he fell to his knees.

  Jeze kicked him in the head and knocked him down but was ambushed by the remaining two. In a furious exchange of parries, chops, slashes, and thrusts, Jeze was injured several times. Her armor was torn, and her blood flowed freely from several cuts. Jeze partially ducked a sword and took a glancing blow to her helmet that threw her off balance. She was quickly grappled and slammed to the ground with the wind knocked out of her. The two Grinning Death Guards were poised to deliver their death blows to Jeze but were distracted by a fast-moving Lady Kalina. The pale lady rushed them in a burst of supernatural speed, where they frantically tried to protect themselves. Kalina’s sword flashed through their defenses to land vicious wounds to their bodies, and in moments, the remaining two mercenaries were gasping in pain on the ground and bleeding.

  With a savage snarl, the pale woman pounced on one of the attackers and grabbed him by his neck, where she absorbed his life essence. The mercenary shook as his energy was drained from his body. His legs twitched helplessly, and he gasped in pain.

  “Lady Kalina!” Jeze cried.

  The pale woman glanced up with her black pits for eyes. Kalina had a fierce grimace on her face, and with tremendous effort, she pulled herself away from the mercenary. The man fell to the ground, shivering. Lady Kalina let loose a shrill scream into the air. Jeze felt the fury and rage within that howl, and she backed away. Lady Kalina’s chest was heaving, and after a moment, she regained her composure. With a deep sigh, she turned to Jeze.

  “I have it under control,” she said.

  “Do you?” Jeze growled.

  Lady Kalina smiled. “I do, and the fact that they are still alive is proof.”

  The pale woman tilted her head in thought and added. “Breathing helps. This is very interesting.”

  Jeze arched an eyebrow and asked, “And your hunger?”

  Kalina answered, “Sustained, for now.”

  Jeze retrieved her pack and pulled out her Life aspect channeling tool. With gritted teeth, she formed the glyphs in order to Shape her wounds close. Not as good as Mikal, but this will suffice, Jeze thought to herself. Lady Kalina twirled her fingers and then tilted her head.

  “Huh,” she said.

  “What?” Jeze asked.

  “It’s really hard for me to cast Rune spells,” Kalina answered softly.

  “How?” Jeze asked, but after a moment’s thought, she knew the answer.

  Rune magic required perfection. Perfection in body movement and in mind. If Lady Kalina’s mind was filled with revenge and hunger, then she lacked the focus needed to channel her Will. Jeze felt sorry for Lady Kalina, and she came over to rub the pale lady’s shoulders.

  “I am saddened. The price for my enhanced speed and durability is that I may never feel the ripple of magic through my body,” Kalina observed.

  “You fought off the hunger. You can probably learn to control your Will with more practice,” Jeze said.

  Kalina smiled gently at her and then turned at the sound of one of the Grinning Death Guards.

  “I think he was the leader,” Jeze pointed out.

  “We should ask him some questions,” Kalina said.