I woke to see Rory by the door, sword in hand. The room was faintly lit by the first rays of the blue sun. I rolled out of bed and walked over to stand by him. I pulled my dress over my head, ignoring my undergarments. He pushed me to his left, and behind, eyes fixed on the door.

  “What’s wrong?” I said in a low voice.

  “Something woke me.” He shifted his stance, “but I can hear nothing.”

  Unease prickled the back of my mind.

  “Summer should be preparing breakfast,” I said.

  Rory pulled the door open, his sword held on guard. A spear flashed through the gap, slammed into his chest, and punched out his back. He coughed once and fell to his knees. Blood ran from his mouth.

  I screamed and tried to pull Rory back into the room. A hulking form in the hallway yanked on the spear to free his weapon but only succeeded in pulling Rory into the hall. I saw an expressionless face, and eyes that were as black as a shark’s. The assailant dropped the spear haft and reached down for a dagger on his belt.

  I threw a fireball into his face. His clothes and hair burst into flames, but rather than recoiling, he pulled the dagger and lunged forward.

  The point struck my shield and stopped. I sent another fireball into his chest, this time feeding in a burst of mana. The sphere penetrated deeply and released a nauseating burst of smoke and burning flesh. He lifted his dagger hand to strike again and then collapsed back onto the hall floor.

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  A fireball struck my shield, which shivered on the verge of collapse. I strengthened the construct and braced for the next attack, but the second fireball went low and impacted Rory.

  I yelled in rage. I expanded the shield to fill the entire doorway and began to prepare a HEAT round. Three more fireballs caromed off the barrier while I worked. When I looked up, I saw the opposing Mage raising yet another strike. She had the same dispassionate stare and ink black eyes as her Blade. A silver collar glinted around her neck.

  I slid my shield to the side and released my round. It impacted high on her chest, and her entire upper body disappeared. An arm flew to one side; her head ricocheted off the ceiling and thumped onto the floor.

  The wall further down the hallway exploded. A Mage holding a small shield crashed through the opening and slipped on the blood and tissue of her confederate. She threw up the arm holding the shield to regain her balance.

  Cormac stepped through the gap in the wall and brought his axe down. The edge severed the Mage’s arm, passed through her chest, and exited the abdomen. She fell to the floor motionless.

  He looked down the hall at me. His lips were drawn back in a snarl, and his eyes were wild. Blood spattered his face and chest and ran in rivulets off the blade of his axe. He eyed the bodies on the floor in front of me and lowered the axe fractionally.

  “Are there any others?” he shouted.

  I could not speak. I shook my head violently. He twisted back through the wall and disappeared.

  I dropped to my knees beside Rory. Smoke was rising from his chest and face, and his skin was broken and blistered. I cast a healing spell and pushed in mana in a rush, but the green strands broke, retracted, and fizzled out. He lay unmoving. I tried again and failed once more.

  I raised my head and howled at the sky through the broken ceiling.