A soft shuffle came near him, and Gavin whipped the staff around. He was rewarded with a sharp crack when the staff connected, and he spun it back around but met nothing.
He jumped toward where he had struck and drove his fist outward, fighting with a mixture of the Noru and Nor styles. The combination didn’t always work well together, but in the darkness like this, Gavin thought this mix would be helpful. He had learned Nor from a master, and it was a style that Tristan didn’t know nearly as well as Gavin did.
His fist connected with something soft, which he suspected was the man’s stomach or perhaps his side. Gavin switched to the grappling style of Harjit. He twisted his legs and flipped his opponent down until he found his head, which Gavin lifted and slammed down as quickly as he could. The man went still. The darkness didn’t fade, so this man wasn’t responsible for holding the magic around Gavin and restricting his enchantment.
That left five.
Perhaps more, though in the darkness, Gavin wouldn’t be able to know.
He jerked his hands around and brought his arms up, spinning the staff. He needed to create a bit of space around him to have a chance to figure out where the others were. Somebody could still sweep out from beneath him and trip him.
Gavin had to try a different technique. He knew the Bongan style fairly well and had worked with it long enough that he was comfortable—and more than competent—with it. These men were all masters, though, so he doubted he would be able to overwhelm them easily.
There were several different sword-fighting styles, though some of them involved more danger than he preferred. He flicked the staff, which connected, but there was nothing when he brought it back around.
Gavin had to figure out the spacing.
He continued to swing the staff and created a tight pattern around him, mostly so he could prevent anyone from getting close enough to him. He felt the wind shift.
Gavin ducked and brought the staff up, catching his attacker with a hard thud and a grunt. He switched his planted foot and kicked as hard as he could.
He heard the man collapse.
There was a part of him that actually enjoyed the fight. Were it not for his need to get to Wrenlow and find out what happened to his friend, Gavin might take the time to savor this fight. How could he not? It was so rare for him to get a good spar in, especially within Yoran. Few he’d faced posed him much of a challenge.
He felt a soft breath, little more than that, and he dropped. He twisted the staff in a quick flick of his wrist, augmenting the Bongan style with a hint of Sudo, and he connected. He followed through, making sure that the attacker was down, which left him with three.
Three men that he couldn’t see in the darkness. Three men he had to find and eliminate to get to Wrenlow.
A soft grunt came through the enchantment.
“I’m trying to get there, Wrenlow,” Gavin whispered. Something swept toward him and he crouched, spinning the staff, but he wasn’t quick enough to strike. “I’m dealing with something here, though.”
He sprang to his feet with the staff and felt it connect. Part of fighting with the Bongan style was turning the staff into an extension of his arm. Gavin had struggled with that aspect of the training. It had taken learning different techniques, including fighting with knives, for him to feel more comfortable using the staff.
Why were there so many attackers skilled at the Bongan style?
Tristan had known Gavin struggled with this.
Was this some sort of test from him? That bastard. He’s still out there, isn’t he?
Maybe he was even here. Gavin wouldn’t put it past him to show up, to use his own connection to power, to somehow target Gavin with it.
There was pressure upon him.
Even though he couldn’t see where it came from, Gavin had trained to fight in the darkness. It was a matter of sensing the shifting wind, the breath of air, the faintest sound, anything that might give him clues as to where his attackers would come from, but he had never felt the pressure around him he was feeling now.
Gavin had never trained to fight with his awareness of magic.
But why wouldn’t he do that now?
He understood the basics of magic. He had felt that power, and he could use it. By holding on to the power within him, letting that energy flow through him, and allowing that connection to build, could he use something within?
He let the core energy fill him but didn’t do anything with it. Gavin wasn’t even sure that he would know how to in an effective way. That was one of the challenges he had, mostly because he had learned how to use that magic in only specific ways. Tristan had trained him to be the Chain Breaker, but not to use the El’aras magic that flowed within him in any other meaningful way. It was part of the reason Anna had welcomed him to the El’aras. Were Gavin truly sensible, he would’ve gone with her. Not only to learn about magic but for other reasons too.
He could feel pressure upon him nearby.
Gavin spun the staff out, whipping it toward what he detected. Something struck him in the back, and he staggered forward just a step, but it was enough that somebody caught him on the arm. He gritted his teeth, fighting back the pain. A blow like that could shatter an arm, but he didn’t think his was broken.
Gavin spun the staff again and focused in front of him—what he needed to find and fight. He darted forward and swung the staff, lumbering a bit more than he would have wanted.
