Carter hit the water with a huge splash as debris from the bridge rained down around him. A few pieces hit him as he sank beneath the surface.

  “Carter!” Adora’s voice bounced around the cavern in the crisp, cold air.

  She dropped to the stone floor, and spun to back off the edge. As her feet dropped down to nothingness, she braced herself on her forearms and then pushed backward until she hung from her hands which scraped against the broken edges. Her skin stung, and her muscles screamed from being used in this new way as she glanced down to see how far she had to drop – fourteen and a half feet.

  She took a deep breath and let go. The drop felt like an eternity, but only took a split second before she landed in the icy water. The chilly water splashed up over her chest as the rest of her sank in briefly. The shock of the cold jolted the wind from her lungs. She gasped as she spun around, casting her eyes over the area where her husband had hit the water.

  She spotted him under the water, nose nearly scraping the stone bottom, and splashed over to him, churning the surface with her rapid shuffle. His arms were away from his body and drifting in the shifting current.

  She ducked under the surface, not bothering to take a full breath, and slid her arms under his chest and heaving him up above the water with a gasp. The water seemed to resist her efforts as if it wanted to keep him in its cold embrace.

  Water sluiced off his face as the chill air hitting the wet sparked coughing. Partially inhaled fluid shot from his nose and mouth as the fit clutched him. He partially sat up as his lungs struggled to dispel the liquid from within.

  She tilted him to the side to help the water drain out. The water lapped around them, filling the air with its mineral tang from a hidden spring bubbling somewhere nearby. The current tugged at her legs, not strong, but consistent.

  Carter blearily came to, chest and throat burning as his body expelled the cold water. His ribs ached from the impact and the brief seconds his body had been deprived of precious air. His mind wavered between haziness and oblivion, his senses were dull, and limbs heavy.

  Veridian light stung his eyes as warmth spread through his left pectoral, into his chest and then the rest of his body. As the heat went through him, his wheezing pants slowed and deepened into full breaths, his aching ribs relaxed and his muddy thoughts cleared.

  He opened his eyes to find Adora with her arms wrapped around him. Her ebony hair clung to her pale cheeks as water tailed down them. Her pale lips parted as she shivered. She blinked droplets off her smokey lashes as her azure eyes watched him intently.

  A faint swish, like silk slipping over stone, passed through the water as shallow ripples rolled through it. Slow, uneven waves, barely more than a whisper, passed the surface of the water. The measured sounds were enough to raise the hackles on Adora’s neck as she peered through the dim chamber at the bottom of the crevasse. She slowed her breathing as she attempted to figure out what had her on edge while slowly relaxing her hold on her husband.

  Carter kept his eyes on her, watching her expression subtly shift and change. Her eyes narrowed as she shifted her face to the side a bit, like she detected something she barely heard. Her jaw tightened and her throat worked as a whisper came to him.

  ‘Laever.’ As she gave the spell trigger, a pulse of energy washed through the chamber.

  The outline of a figure appeared, then a pale green hand, followed by shining black eyes, revealed like dissolving paint. The magic swirled around them and exploded like glass, ripping away the last of their invisibility.

  The man had stopped in mid-stalk, seeming to be surprised to no longer be invisible. A coal trident was held in one hand. He reached for a coppery medallion around his neck with his free hand, but he froze when Adora lunged up and grabbed it.

  Kelp-like hair lashed at her face as she struggled with him. The cold of his scaled skin sank into her muscles, weakening them.

  He pressed her back with unyielding force.

  She bared her teeth at her assailant as he bent her backwards with implacable strength.

  The bare steel of a sword appeared between the foes and then shifted so the point angled to the green-skinned being’s eyes yet otherwise still.

  “I’ll thank you to cease your attack on my wife.” The words were friendly and conversational, but the tone was detached.

  The stranger moved back, thick arms raised. His movements revealed spines along his forearms and calves.

  “Who are you?” Carter slipped around Adora, interposing himself between her and the other being. “Why were you hunting us?” His sharp voice cut through the crisp air of the crevasse.

  The creature opened his mouth and released a sound like someone gargling rotten seaweed from lungs filled with stagnant brine. The cloying stench which followed was thick, almost tangible.

  “Carter, to your right!” Adora’s warning was sharp, urgent.

  He spun at her direction and slashed his sword in a diagonal to slice into something’s body. The strike was stopped by the uneven flat teeth of a cadaverous manta-like creature that had lunged for his throat. His arms shook from the shock of its impact.

  He kicked the creature off his blade and it backflipped into the water with a splash of icy water. Ripples from its dive broke apart the flow of the steady current. ‘If I’d been a second slower, that thing would know the taste of my throat. A second faster, and it might have had my arm.’ He took a deep breath as he watched the thing intently, flexing his fingers on the hilt of the still unfamiliar sword hilt.

  The unnatural creature undulated in the water, moving winglike projections. Its body was an amalgamation of tattered flesh and exposed cartilage, each of its joints twitched unnaturally as if barely held together. The face was made up of shattered pieces of bone into a mismatched puzzle as was the tail which curled over its back like a scorpion, poised and ready to strike.

  “Trade off with me, Adora. I’ll keep him still while you hammer this creature with your mace.”

  The two glided past each other as if it were a dance they’d done a thousand times.

  The humanoid gurgled again and the manta-like creature paused mid-lunge, its ruined jaw quivered like that of a praying mantis before the ragged wings pushed it in a powerful backstroke. The water churned beneath it as it withdrew to circle its master like a twisted, undead puppy.

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  “He’s protective of that thing, Carter.”

  “I noticed.” He shifted his palm to the pommel of his falchion and used it to move the blade in unpredictable ways, watching his opponent’s shoulders and hands.

  The humanoid moved through the water as if he were on land, shifting his hands on his trident.

  He thrust his weapon at Carter a couple of times.

  “He’s testing your reflexes, Carter.”

  “And he’s seeing the water slows me but not himself.” The chest deep fluid splashed into his chest and face with each sudden motion, He tried to keep the frigid water from his eyes by narrowing them, but it didn’t help that much. “WarPriest, I’m going to try for an opening that going to leave me exposed. Where is that creature of his?”

  “Still circling him, but staying out of his way.”

  “Good. Do me a favor, please?”

  She glanced at him before returning her focus to their adversaries. “What?”

  Carter knocked aside two short thrusts from the green-skinned humanoid. “Don’t hate me for this.”

  He dropped his left hand, drew back his falchion and hacked downward.

  The spearman deflected Carter’s attack and thrust the trident into his abdomen.

  The force rocked him backward, feeling like he’d been hit by a car. Water splashed up from where he went backward. It churned a foamy white before turning pink from his flowing blood.

  He had a split second of only coldness in his stomach before white hot agony shot through him.

  He screamed out as his muscles folded him over the weapon. He then had difficulty getting is breath back as the pain spasmed his diaphragm. His nerves shivered, not sure if he was burning or freezing. Hot blood spurted out around the burning cold trident and his fingers.

  “Carter!”

  Silvery green fire lanced out from her hands after she thrust them at the one who harmed her husband.

  “Burn!” Her throat felt like it ripped as she roared the invective at him like a divine decree.

  Her arms trembled from the magic surging through her, her muscles and veins straining through her skin.

  The air screamed as it ignited before the flames even formed. The sun came down to illuminate the entire cavern in an instant.

  A shockwave split the water, shooting the manta creature into a rock wall which shattered as it burst into a splash of viscera.

  The man didn’t have a chance to scream before he was flash boiled into vapor.

  A slightly lighter area was left on the wall behind where he’d stood.

  A thunderclap shook dust from the crevasse walls.

  Heat lingered in the air as waves of steam roiled from the pool which was now a couple of feet lower. The stench of scorched air coated the tongue. The rocks around them popped and crackled from the change in temperature.

  “Overreact, much?” Carter chuckled before hissing with pain.

  He grimaced as bile rose from the agony. He clutched the remnants of the trident as he collapsed backward. Warm water splashed up around him as he landed on the bank of the stream that led away from the pool of water.

  Deep, searing pain jolted through him. He grew lightheaded as the edges of his vision blurred, turning dark and red. His heart pounded in his ears like a muffled drum. He felt wrong, too light and heavy at the same time, like he was floating inside his flesh.

  “Adora?” He slumped back, the mud sticking to his hair. “Help?”

  ###

  It had been hours since Sera saw another soul on the River Road to the city of Kallas. The rushing waters of the Rio echoed up the deep river gorge on her left, breaking the silence with an undercurrent of low, ominous thunder. A crisp breeze rolled up from the depths carrying the scent of damp earth and mountain water.

  As she crested a low hill, a small settlement came into view about one hundred yards ahead. Perhaps a dozen weather-beaten shacks and hovels crowded around a crossroads where the River Road branches west across the looming stone expanse of Low Bridge. At the road’s edge, a massive statue of a robed figure holding a longsword pointed across the bridge into a craggy spur of the Sepulcher Hills. Two caravan wagons crowded the center of the crossroads, their ransacked contents strewn about the road. Spilt grain from cracked crates mixed with dark stains of dried blood.

  Three humanoid corpses littered the ground nearby, sprawled in unnatural positions along with the carcasses of three horses. A cloud of flies buzzed over the bodies as the sickly-sweet scent of death filled the warm air.

  A half-dozen brutish, hulking humanoids in leather armor and wielding handaxes pick through the wagons, while several companions went door to door, terrorizing the inhabitants of the tiny community.

  The attackers had stooped builds, grayish skin, and coarse black hair, with low foreheads, reddish eyes, and faces of porcine appearance that featured large lower canines similar to a boar's tusks. They also had wolf-like ears that were pointed at the ends. Their armor was of high quality with an emblem of a black inverted funnel intersected by a stylized lightning bolt.

  ‘These are orcs of Lord Drago’s army. I wonder what they’re doing.’

  “What the hells are you doing?” Her strong voice carried down the bridge.

  The orcs in the wagons stiffened and then hopped down with practiced ease. They advanced in a loose formation, their broad shoulders rolling with each heavy step, boots scraping against the stone. Their weapons dangled from their thick fingers, the metal tapped against the leather on their thighs as guttural snarls rumbled from their throats, their blood red eyes locked onto their prey.

  Sera waited with arms folded. She knew what would happen, but enjoyed watching it.

  A breeze gusted up, tugging her curly brown hair outward. It carried the smell of burned wood, and vomit – a potent reminder of the destruction.

  The warriors leered as they closed in—then faltered mid-step. Their brows furrowed, confusion flickering across their rough features before realization struck. Recognition flared in their eyes, sudden and sharp, like a torch igniting in the dark.

  The squad dropped to a knee with precision, and clapped left hands over their right pectoral region.

  An eight-foot-tall humanoid unfolded himself from the door of one of the huts and strode with distance gobbling steps. Dust rose from each stride before settling down as he passed. He had prominent bone ridges above brilliant blue eyes, resembling freshly cut sapphires. His massive bare chest flexed with each swing of his huge shoulders, the motion highlighting the coin-sized bone growths scattered over his mottled grey skin. A monumental onyx-bladed sword rested over his back with a silvery orb in the pommel. As he approached, he took in the scene before him.

  Though her arms were folded across her chest, the woman the orcs knelt before stood with a hunter’s poise. Her worn hide armor molded to her lean frame, battle scarred yet durable still. Dragon scale was able to withstand a lot of abuse.

  Soot black eyes stared at him, waiting to be acknowledged. His spirit jumped within him, begging to challenge the warrior before him. His fingers bunched as his arm strained to reach for his weapon, but he pressed it down. She’d probably destroy him.

  He brought his immense left hand up to slap against his chest in salute. The sharp crack echoed in the new silence. “Lady Sera.”

  She returned the salute. “Your name?”

  “Lans Wyrmdoom, lady.” He relaxed from his rigid stance, dropping his hands to his sides. “What brings you this way?”

  “Lord Drago. As always.” She brushed her recalcitrant hair behind her ear and the breeze tugged it forward as soon as she lowered her hand.

  “Blessed Be He.” The huge combatant’s voice dropped to a near whisper.

  She arched her eyebrow. It was still odd, after all these years, to hear how his soldiers seemed to worship him. Giving herself a mental shake, she asked the goliath her first question. “What the hells are you doing? Lord Drago doesn’t want his troops attacking innocents. It will tarnish his image.” She cast her gaze to the quiet village.

  “Lady Sera, this village had pledged to Lord Drago’s cause a couple of Soul’s Ends ago when food was scarce and assassinated his ambassador after this past Harvest. Master Rorikil ordered their deaths as recompense.”

  “Did he, now?” She cast her gaze over the village once more. “It appears your mission was a success.”

  “We’re still searching for any survivors, milady. Master Rorikil said none were to live.”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  Lans bowed. “Thank you, milady.”

  “What for?” She smirked. “You and your men are coming with me.”

  The Goliath straightened. “Milady?” He tilted his head as he slowly blinked.

  She pointed to the distant city. “We’re heading there.”

  “May I know the reason we’re abandoning Master Rorikil’s mission?”

  She clasped her hands behind her back, near her tailbone. “You’re not. As I said, ‘Your mission was a success.’” She stepped closer to the towering warrior and titled her head back to lock an icy gaze to his eyes. “Am I understood?”

  He stiffened and saluted her once more. “Completely, my lady.”

  She beamed at him. “Good.” She circled her arm as she turned to the road to the city. “Rise and let’s go to Kallas.”