Relia led the way onto the Cantina’s covered patio. By now, the sun was a red sliver of light over the jungle, and the buildings cast long dark shadows over the town square.

  “What’s the plan?” someone asked from behind her. Relia held open the wooden door, and Arturo followed them out. His black hair was shaved on the sides, and several inches longer on top. A pair of tinted goggles rested on his forehead, and a red scarf hung loosely around his neck. He also wore an absurd amount of tech, from guns and grenades, to other stuff she couldn’t name.

  Relia normally went for guys with a bit more muscle, but this look totally worked for her. The Cadrian accent didn’t hurt, either.

  Fire flashed at the edge of her vision, and her gaze darted back to the square. Right, priorities. Some of the townspeople huddled in groups around the fountain, while others sported angry red wounds on their foreheads.

  Where were those guards by the gate? Why weren’t they helping? Then again, guards weren’t always fighters. Juan looked tough enough, but he was just one guy. Relia counted four Apprentices down there.

  “We need a distraction,” she finally said.

  “No problem, spira.” Arturo pulled out a small device that looked like a grenade.

  “What’s that thing?”

  “Anti-mana pulse.” He tossed the device between his outstretched hands. “AMP for short. It neutralizes most mana—even mana in someone’s channels. Leaves ‘em dazed for a few seconds.”

  “Perfect!” She flashed another smile and offered her right hand. “I’m Relia, by the way.”

  “Arturo Kazalla.” He reached out and clasped her wrist.

  Akari cleared her throat as she followed them outside. “You two done flirting? Cause it’s time to work for our dinner.”

  “Right.” Relia yanked her hand back and shuffled her feet. “Give me a minute to sneak down there?”

  Arturo nodded, and she climbed down the right side of the balcony. The hill had a steep slope rather than a straight drop, and she trampled several terraced garden beds on the way

  And of course, Akari followed her down.

  “You should lie low,” Relia said when they reached the bottom.

  Akari snorted. “And leave you with some random guy just ‘cause he revs your engine?”

  “I’m serious!” she snapped.

  “Me too.”

  Relia snuck around the side of a brick building and waited for Arturo’s distraction. “These aren’t like the Martials. They’re Apprentices like me. One stray technique, and it’s lights out for you.”

  “Everyone else is hiding.” Akari made a broad gesture around the city. “I’m not gonna be one of them.”

  Darn it, this was all wrong. They should be in Korelden City right now, training in the safety of a classroom. Akari shouldn’t have to face real opponents for years. But Relia saw her point; classrooms were a luxury these people didn’t have. Either they fought, or they cowered in the shadows while their friends got hurt. And anyone who hid would never improve themselves.

  “Please?” Relia tried one last time. “I can’t focus if I’m worried about you.”

  “Then focus harder.” Akari pointed to the town square. “You told him one minute, remember?”

  Relia kept her eyes forward and cycled her mana. “Just stick to the Golds, okay? Leave the Apprentices to us.”

  “Deal,” she said with a quick nod.

  Arturo soared over the square a second later, propelled by a burst of fire mana from his jetpack. He dropped his grenade near the fountain, and all the fire faded to orange mist. The Grevandi staggered to their knees in the same moment, and Arturo shot several rounds from his pistols.

  One bullet struck a Grevandi in his shoulder, and Relia flooded her legs with mana, sprinting to close the distance. She dodged several civilians as they retreated and pressed her palm to the wounded dragon’s windpipe. A burst of pure mana shot out from her hand, and the impact snapped his neck back.

  Fire soared past her face as his friends recovered their mana. Darn it—they were fast. She’d gotten rusty against the Martials, but those easy fights were long behind her now.

  Relia threw up a shield and deflected their attacks. Arturo shot several more bullets from the rooftops, and the fight began in earnest.

  ~~~

  Akari snuck around a fruit stand while the Gold dragons surrounded their remaining prisoners. One even grabbed a girl by a handful of her black hair. Her scream echoed off the buildings, and he pressed a hand to her throat in a silent threat.

  Seriously? Hostages? Why not just twirl their mustaches while they were at it? Not that these guys had any hair. Thick green scales covered their faces and scalps, and their golden eyes watched the fight unfold. And of course, they all had matching tattoos on their foreheads and hands. What was the point of that? Some evil club with mandatory membership?

  Oh well, she’d find out later. The dragons kept their eyes on the fight, and Akari crept behind the fountain. From there she approached the nearest dragon, slid her Martial blade from its sheath and slammed the weapon into the small of his back.

  Was this a cowardly move? Hell yes. But it still beat hiding in the bar.

  The dragon screamed, and Akari yanked her blade free with a spray of blood. The other Gold rounded on her and shot a flaming Missile.

  Akari ducked to the side, using her victim as a shield and making herself small behind his muscular frame. The Missile knocked them both to the cobblestones, and she squirmed to get free.

  The other Grevandi loomed over her as he prepared an orange Missile between his clawed fingers. His mouth opened far too wide when he smiled, more like a raptor than a human’s.

  Shit. Akari hurled a pure Missile at his arm, disrupting his aim at the last second. His attack hit the fountain, and stone fragments rained down around her face.

  Akari pulled her legs free from the wounded dragon and ran for cover. Another fireball struck her calf, and she stumbled forward. A wave of pure agony ran up her leg, and she couldn’t contain her scream.

  She cycled mana to her legs and dodged two more fireballs as she scrambled into the alley. From there, she spun around and drew her Martial pistol. Her opponent reached the alley’s mouth behind her, and she squeezed the trigger.

  A wall of fire mana formed between them, melting the bullet in midair. Akari unloaded two more shots and got the same result.

  She scrambled backward, launching a pure Missile from her left hand. This arced over the shield and struck the back of the dragon’s head, but he barely seemed to notice the impact.

  Her opponent dropped his shield and closed the distance with blinding speed. Akari shot two more Missiles, but they broke like water against his armor.

  Talek. She was useless without a proper aspect.

  The dragon thrust out a scaled arm and seized her by her wrist. His clawed fingers squeezed and twisted, forcing her to drop her handgun. He drove a knee into her stomach, and the ally blurred around her as she doubled over.

  He wrapped his other hand around her throat and threw her hard against the wall. His claws dug into her skin, and she couldn’t breathe.

  Relia was right; she should have stayed in the stupid bar.

  Akari kicked her attacker’s stomach, but he angled his body away. She shot a Missile from her chest, but he shrugged it off. Her vision went dark around the edges, her lungs burned, and her body went limp.

  ~~~

  Mana flew across the courtyard as Relia traded attacks with the Grevandi. Fire Missiles soared past her face, and she felt the heat on her skin. She wove her own techniques between the gaps, but the dragons held their ground. Smoke wafted off their scales as they Cloaked their bodies, and their channels shone with lines of molten light.

  She almost missed the Martials right now. They’d been ruthless, but at least they couldn’t punch through brick walls, or launch themselves ten feet into the air.

  Arturo flew down on his jetpack, landing beside her. “Get back,” he shouted. “Toward the alley.”

  Relia followed him between two buildings as a sand storm swirled around the courtyard. It gathered in a massive brown tornado near the fountain, almost as tall as the chapel.

  They had a sand artist in their ranks.

  Two more Grevandi followed them into the alley, while another circled around to the other side. Arturo stood at her back with his pistols, while Relia kept her eyes on the two in front of her. Her closest attacker raised his hands, and fire blossomed in the half-light of the setting sun.

  Then he kicked off from the sandy cobblestones, launching himself forward like a bullet from a gun. Too reckless. He’d probably been the toughest guy in school, solving all his problems with brute force.

  Relia shot a burst of pure mana from her palms, forming a horizontal disc in front of her. She launched it straight at her opponent, aiming for his knees.

  The Grevandi slowed his charge but he was too slow. His knees collided with the disc, and he stumbled forward like a drunk brawler. Relia Cloaked her legs and leapt to the right. She kicked off her other foot and hurled her body sideways into the dragon.

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  They slammed into the alley’s brick wall, and her opponent raised his forearms to protect his face. Relia threw a punch at his stomach, but he blocked her arm and hurled her backward with surprising strength.

  On second thought, she shouldn’t be surprised at all. Dragons were far tougher than humans, and this guy outweighed her by a hundred pounds.

  Orange mana flashed to her right as a second fire artist joined them. Relia formed a shield around her hand and swatted the attack aside. The first dragon seized the distraction and drove a fist into her stomach. The air left her lungs in a rush, and her back struck the brick wall behind her.

  The dragon punched her again, moving in a blur of fire and green scales

  Fine. If that’s how you want to play.

  Relia flared her life mana, and her stomach shone with a burst of green and gold. All Cloaks strengthened your body, but hers was purely defensive. And when she focused the power to one muscle, that muscle could rival an Artisan’s.

  The Grevandi punched her stomach again. This time, he shattered several bones in his hands. His jaw opened wide like a crocodile’s, stretching halfway to his ears. His scream sounded like a dying bird.

  Relia shot a pair of pure Missiles from her palms, sharp as needles. One took her opponent in the thigh, slipping between the gaps in his armor. The next Missile pierced his left eye as he fell.

  “That’s two down!” she shouted to Arturo.

  The other Grevandi conjured a wall of fire mana that filled the alley from edge to edge. The light was almost blinding in the darkness. Even from five feet away, Relia felt its heat like a massive oven.

  She kept up a barrage of Missiles for good measure, then she glanced back at her new friend. Arturo seemed to be holding his own against the other dragon —far better than she’d expected from a random boy in a small town.

  The fire Construct faded to mist, and a sandstorm filled the alley.

  Oh no.

  She formed a shield, but it was like stopping a river. The sand swirled around the gaps, and it stung her eyes before she could close them. Other pieces found their way into her mouth and nostrils. Relia cycled life mana to her face, but that proved as useless as her shield. There were no injuries, just pain.

  Fire Missiles flew through the storm. One struck her shoulder, while a second singed her left ear. Even as she healed the wound, the scent of burning hair stung her nostrils. She stumbled and fell on the cobbles, still blind from the sand. Then a pair of hands pulled her to her feet.

  “Hang on to me,” Arturo said. Relia struggled to her feet and put her arms around his shoulders. She’d seen him fly over the town square, so she knew what came next.

  A burst of fire mana shot out from Arturo’s jetpack. Relia didn’t feel the heat of the blast beneath her. She just felt the wind on her face as they flew upward.

  They landed on the roof a second later. Relia stumbled on the uneven surface, catching herself on the clay tiles. Her eyes still stung from the sand, but she was no stranger to pain. She cycled her mana and forced herself into a combat stance.

  “Here.” Arturo pressed a bottle into her right hand. “Wash your eyes with this.”

  Relia held open her eyelids and poured the cool liquid over her face, blinking rapidly until the pain subsided. The sand came out easier than she’d expected, almost as if it were evaporating. The liquid also smelled like mint—probably some sort of alchemy.

  “Thanks,” Relia said as she passed back the bottle.

  Arturo nodded as he clipped it on his belt. He wore his scarf over the bottom half of his face now, and a pair of dark-tinted goggles covered his eyes.

  She grinned at him. “At least one of us came prepared.”

  Arturo shrugged, and his eyes seemed to smile behind his goggles. For a second, it looked like he might reply.

  Then an orange Missile struck his temple.

  She whipped around to see the fire and sand artists climbing onto the roof. Arturo slammed into the clay tiles and rolled down behind her. Relia Cloaked her legs and leapt after him. Her other hand flew backward and formed a quick shield.

  Arturo fell off the roof’s edge, but she grabbed his wrist at the last second, holding him over the twenty-foot drop. A nasty red wound covered one side of his face, spanning from the center of his forehead to his left ear.

  Relia forced life mana into his channels, and fresh skin grew over the burn. At the same time, she flooded her upper body with pure mana, tripling her strength, and hurling Arturo back onto the roof.

  By now, their enemy had crested the peak. Arturo unloaded several bullets, and Relia formed a wide shield above their heads.

  More mana flew back and forth as they exchanged techniques. Arturo kept the fire artist busy, and Relia focused her attacks on the sand artist. Better to deal with that one sooner rather than later.

  The Grevandi woman raised a shield of stone mana, shattering Relia’s Missiles like broken needles.

  Okay, so she was a stone artist. A stone artist that could also move sand. Unless the sand was actually mana this whole time?

  Relia got her answer when her opponent raised a palm, conjuring a cloud of sand from thin air.

  “Cover me!” Relia brought both hands to her face and formed a helmet-shaped Construct around her head. Then she Cloaked her legs, kicking off from the gutter toward the roof’s peak. Her helmet only shielded the front of her head, but her momentum kept out the sand.

  Arturo shot a hail of bullets, forcing both their opponents on the defensive.

  Relia slammed into the stone artist, but it was like hitting a brick wall. The woman knocked her back and raised a steel machete. The blade flashed down in a vertical arc, glowing silver with metal mana. Relia caught her opponent’s wrist and sent a pure Missile into the woman’s stomach.

  Then a third Grevandi joined them on the roof.

  A storm of fire and stone closed in, and Relia defended herself in a panic. Two against one. She had better training, but that wouldn’t save her. There was a point in every fight where numbers trumped skill.

  A stone Missile struck the back of her head. She staggered forward, cracking several roof tiles beneath her weight.

  Explosions struck her eardrums as Arturo rushed to her aid. One bullet hit the fire artist’s leg, and ice mana spread out from the wound, freezing the limb in place.

  Huh. She’d never seen a bullet do that before.

  Relia scrambled back to her feet, but she was too late. The stone artist hurled a solid projectile toward Arturo. The boy tried to dodge, but it struck his heel and he slid off the roof.

  Both Grevandi turned back to Relia, smiling like a pair of raptors.

  “Don't hold back,” Elend’s voice echoed in her head. He’d encouraged her to train her aspect to its fullest, but she’d resisted. People feared life mana, and for good reason. If she wanted to, she could kill a person and make it look like an accident. It didn’t help when the Cult of Trelian ran rampant around this continent, doing that exact thing.

  Relia had always sought to prove her critics wrong, and she’d never used those techniques against a living person. Not even the Martials. But this wasn’t some school game with an audience. This was a real fight against dangerous opponents. She’d underestimated them several times already; that couldn’t happen again.

  The Grevandi cycled their mana, preparing Missiles of fire and stone. Relia leapt forward, putting herself between them.

  Steel caught sunlight as the stone artist raised a blade toward Relia’s throat. She ignored the weapon as she darted forward, slamming a palm into the woman’s chest.

  Stone mana formed over the dragon’s sternum. That would protect her body from most attacks, but not this. Relia’s aspect lacked speed and power. But up close, she could send the Missiles straight into a person’s body, slipping past Cloaks like water through a net.

  Her mana found the dragon’s heart, the same way she might heal a wound. But instead of healing the dragon, Relia squeezed.

  The woman widened her yellow eyes, and her blade clattered against the roof. Her mana stopped cycling. Her body went stiff as an iron rod, and the force of Relia’s palm threw her back.

  Fire flashed on her left as her next opponent raised a flaming fist. Relia ducked the strike and slammed a palm into the man’s right knee, releasing another life Missile.

  The dragon drove a fist into Relia’s jaw, and half her face went numb as she flew back. But he was too late. Her mana found the bones in his knee, and she squeezed with all her mental might. Her opponent’s leg snapped like a tree branch, and his leg buckled in the wrong direction.

  Relia turned her gaze to the last Grevandi who hurled two flaming Missiles over the roof. She dodged the first, knocking the second aside with a quick shield. Then she fired three pure Missiles of her own—one directly at her target, and one on either side of him.

  The Grevandi dodged the center Missile, jumping straight into the next one’s path. The sharpened mana struck his chest. More tiles cracked beneath him as he fell, joining his friends in the street below.

  Relia sank to her knees on the roof’s clay peak, feeling waves of relief wash over her. The iron ladder shook a second later as someone joined her. She spun around, readying another Missile in her palm.

  “Woah!” Arturo raised a hand as he crested the ladder. “It’s just me!”

  She dropped the technique, reabsorbing the mana back into her channels. Had he seen her use her aspect against those Grevandi? Probably not. Even so, guilt twisted at her stomach.

  Tactically, she’d made the best choice. Those dragons had her surrounded and outnumbered. She could have died if she’d held back. So could . . .

  Akari! She’d almost forgotten.

  Relia forced herself to her feet and ran to the other side of the roof. The sun had finally vanished below the horizon, and the street light illuminated the square below. She spotted two dead dragons in the street, but no sign of her friend.

  Relia almost called out to her when another motorcycle approached on the west side of the square. The engine chased away the silence, and the light reflected off the surrounding buildings.

  “Just one more,” Relia muttered. “We can take him—”

  “Shit,” Arturo cut in. “Run!”

  No sooner had he spoken that a fireball shot out from the newcomer’s hand. This one shone far brighter than the others, and Relia threw up both her hands, pouring the last of her mana into a full shield.

  It wasn’t enough. The Missile struck the corner of the building and the roof crumbled beneath their feet. Even her shield shattered from the Missile’s power, fading into clouds of pale blue mist.

  Arturo grabbed her wrist as she fell, but his other hand missed the roof by several inches. His jetpack shot a burst of fire mana—this slowed their fall, but it wasn’t enough to keep them airborne. Relia Cloaked her muscles as the ground rose up to meet her. They collapsed into a heap at the building’s base, and their new opponent approached.

  Relia didn’t bother with her Silver Sight; she already knew the truth. This was an Artisan, a full rank above her and Arturo.

  The newcomer smiled like a shark as he stepped forward, gathering fire in his green palms. When he spoke, his voice was like gravel and thunder. “So you’re the troublemakers in this town.”

  “That’s us.” Arturo raised his pistol at the dragon and squeezed the trigger.

  The Artisan’s hand moved in a blur, and he caught the bullet between his fingers. A few tendrils of ice spread down his scaly hand, but they barely reached his knuckles before they faded to mist.

  Two whips of fire shot out from the dragon’s palms an instant later. Relia gritted her teeth as the mana surrounded her, binding her hands to her waist. The world spun in a blur of black and orange as he lifted her off the ground. The heat stung her skin, and she struggled to heal her body.

  It was no use, of course; she’d drained her mana in the last fight, and all her injuries caught up with her. Now, she could only grit her teeth as the fiery tendrils squeezed her body, growing hotter by the second.

  “I wouldn’t do that, lad.”

  Hope flared in her chest, and she looked up to see Elend step out from an alley across the square. Two more figures followed him. Kalden held a bloody dagger in his right hand, while Akari clutched his left arm for support. She looked wounded, but still in one piece.

  The Artisan stiffened at the sight of Elend, but his smile settled back into place. “You’re still an Apprentice, old man?”

  “I have my tricks,” he said with an easy smile.” Let them go, and you won’t have to see them.”

  The dragon conjured a ball of flame between his clawed fingers. All the while, Relia floated in the air beside him, still caught in the whips of fire mana.

  Elend raised a hand, but he formed no defensive technique. Relia glanced back and forth between them, unable to quell her uncertainty. She didn’t worry about Elend’s skills, just his raw power. Apprentice mana couldn’t hurt an Artisan, and those cuffs reduced Elend’s power by ninety-nine percent.

  In some ways, that made him as weak as her. And while the world of mana arts held many secrets, fights like this came down to basic math in the end.

  “Last chance, lad.” Dream mana flowed out from Elend’s outstretched palm, too faint to see without Silver Sight.

  “You’re bluffing, spiro.” The dragon tensed his muscles and pushed his fireball forward. But rather than hitting his target, the orange mana froze in midair.

  Elend’s whole demeanor changed in that moment. He took on a martial stance, his eyes narrowed like a hunter’s, and the smile faded from his lips, replaced with a look of pure focus and determination. She’d never seen him like this before.

  Then again, she’d never seen Elend face a true enemy. When Grandmasters fought, Apprentices like her ran for cover. Preferably to a whole different city.

  The flaming mana drifted back to the Artisan’s outstretched hand, then his arm bent at the elbow, aiming the fireball toward his own face.

  They struggled for several long heartbeats, locked in a battle of wills. The dragon’s muscles shook, and his eyes widened as he strained to twist his body away from his own mana. He couldn’t even Cloak his body or raise a shield; Elend wouldn’t let him.

  The Artisan’s arm moved faster, like a puppet on a string. Panic chased away the last of his confidence as he struggled to fight back. Inch by inch, the fire moved closer to his face.

  Her master had been gentle with the Martials, but not here. The dragon’s hand reached his windpipe a second later. The fireball tripled in size, and his head exploded like a melon.