He also swore when he realized what they were.
Stones.
“Find cover!”
His warning came just in time. Stones zipped toward them, launched with blinding velocity.
Against lesser warriors, the attack would have been devastating. Kyler used his own affinity to bend the rocks aimed at him harmlessly away.
Ana dodged, dropping to the ground gracefully as the stones passed overhead. Ryder put the wagon between him and the bandit, and Lola and Brandt used their swords to protect themselves, slapping the projectiles out of the way.
The bandit burst into the open. He was clothed from head to toe in dark fabric, with only his eyes and hands visible. He carried two long knives, already drawn.
The bandit’s first attack focused on Brandt. He led with one long knife, almost wielding it like a sword.
Brandt used the longer reach of his own sword to deflect the knife, then stabbed at the bandit’s chest. His enemy might have an inhuman affinity for stone, but Brandt was clearly superior with the blade.
Or so he thought.
The bandit’s attack proved to be a feint. The ground under Brandt shifted as a slab of stone rose underneath his feet. Brandt’s stab missed high as he was thrown up and back.
Brandt became light, but he knew, in a moment of terrible clarity, he’d been bested. The bandit darted in with the same knife Brandt had just been so proud of deflecting.
Lola’s blade flashed in the late afternoon sunlight, and the bandit was forced to use his second knife to defend. Steel rang against steel and the bandit was knocked sideways.
Right at Ryder, who had leaped over the wagon and joined the fight with his own two knives, shorter even than the bandit’s.
Brandt’s opinion of the bandit’s skill quickly changed. Ryder was one of the fastest two-handed fighters Brandt had ever found in the empire.
The bandit matched him strike for strike, even with the longer weapons.
Lola, Brandt, Ana, and Kyler moved in. No matter how strong a warrior the bandit might be, the difference in numbers couldn’t be overcome. It was only a matter of time. Brandt was eager to bring this villain to justice.
Kyler sounded a warning. “Brandt!”
It wasn’t in time. Brandt steeled himself, but the large stone that had been underfoot a moment ago crashed into his back. He landed flat on his stomach, gasping for a breath that refused to come.
Brandt struggled to his feet, the world twisting violently around him. How could the man focus enough to use his affinity while fighting off five wolfblades?
The sound of wood creaking against wood was his only answer.
Brandt turned to see the wagon leaning over, threatening to crash on top of them all. Stone rose underneath it from the other side.
Ryder had already disengaged, and Ana and Kyler were moving away.
Only Lola hadn’t noticed the danger. She’d be crushed under the wagon in less than two heartbeats, but she only had eyes for the bandit’s retreating back.
Brandt sprinted and tackled her, getting both her and him out of danger just as the wagon crashed over on its side.
Screams came both from within the wagon and from the horses harnessed to it. Brandt looked up, ignoring the noise, just in time to see Ryder get pinned under the same stone that had slammed into his own back just moments ago.
It was the first time Brandt could remember seeing Ryder stuck in place. The man was a human tornado in a sword fight.
Brandt guessed he wouldn’t have a chance at lifting the stone with the bandit forcing it down, so he attacked the bandit directly. Kyler, with his stone affinity and sheer physical strength, was Ryder’s best hope for a physical rescue. Brandt just needed to give Kyler the time and space to work.
Ana entered the fray from another side, a thin sliver of water under her control. She lashed at the bandit’s face, hoping to distract him while Brandt made a fatal cut. Ana wasn’t a strong sword compared to the others, but her water manipulation made her powerful support in combat.
The bandit sent two small stones toward Ana. She dodged, but the attack broke her own focus, giving the bandit time to meet Brandt.
Brandt had the advantage of reach, but the bandit willingly gave up ground, and with the two long knives, his defense was impenetrable. Brandt kept waiting for the bandit to make a mistake, for the heat of battle to carry him away, but his opponent remained unflappable.
In a moment, Brandt was joined by Lola and Ana. They pressed the bandit back, but even the three of them couldn’t execute a killing blow. It was only when Kyler came in with his giant hammer that the bandit seemed to consider them a threat. Whoever he was, his affinity and his martial arts were beyond anything Brandt had ever seen.
The bandit threw up a wave of small stones. The act of affinity lacked the bandit’s earlier control, but made up for that lack with sheer intensity. Brandt and the others were forced to defend themselves, providing the bandit with enough time to turn and run deeper into the woods.
Brandt looked back at the wagon. Its goods had been strewn over the road, but both merchant and wife appeared unharmed. Ryder grimaced as he moved, but the wolfblades looked healthy otherwise.
His choice was simple. He had no particular desire to help the smuggler more than was necessary, and he refused to be beaten by anyone. “After him.”
The five wolfblades gave chase. The bandit ran straight to the west. Brandt guessed he was heading for the mountains a league away. Once there, the wolfblades’ slim advantage would melt like snow under a burning sun.
They couldn’t let him reach the mountains.
The bandit moved lightly through the forest, his feet barely tapping against the ground. The wolfblades followed suit.
Brandt fell behind. Lightness required a calm manipulation of internal
