Brandt gave Azaleth a skeptical look, then glanced to Alena. She nodded. “I’m more a hindrance than a help in a fight.”
He made the decision quickly. “Fine. Stay out of sight. If the worst comes to pass, maybe they’ll forget you were here.”
Alena didn’t think that was likely, but she nodded. If it made him feel better, who was she to take that from him?
The three stepped out from behind the boulder. Alena thought she saw a rock pass back and forth between the Lolani and Azaleth, but they were prepared, and his Etari techniques wouldn’t work. Swords were drawn, and the fight would be decided with steel.
Alena watched from cover for a few moments. Brandt was one of the best swordsmen she had ever seen. In her years with the Etari, she had seen any number of strong warriors, but Brandt’s skill was something beyond those. Even the Lolani, strong as they were, fell back before the speed and accuracy of his blade.
She turned back to the wolf, her natural curiosity too strong to be ignored. The soulwalker was still in there, but the wolf had gone perfectly still. Alena assumed Azaleth’s errant aim had shattered the animal’s backbone.
Her curiosity pulled her forward. She took one hesitant step, then another. When she came within three paces the wolf snapped at her and growled, but it couldn’t move its legs. She stepped around it until she was near its hindquarters. She took another step, growing more confident that it couldn’t attack her.
Alena squatted down next to the wolf, laying her hand on it. She couldn’t say why she did. Curiosity, perhaps, or something deeper.
As soon as her hand touched the wolf’s pelt, she felt her.
The soulwalker.
The sensation was unfamiliar to Alena, but when she touched the wolf, the world unfolded like a flower before her, lines of interconnectedness spreading throughout the land. For a few heartbeats, she swore she could see the web with her eyes open.
One strand of the web was stronger than the others, more vivid to her senses. It ran from the wolf to the caves, deep within.
An invisible hand shoved at her, pushing her away from the wolf. The web between her and the wolf flared to life for a moment and she fell back, the connection severed.
But something still lingered, a knowledge she felt deep within her bones, an awareness she’d always had but never noticed. She blinked, catching movement in the corner of her eye.
One of the Lolani guards lay unmoving on the rocks, and another collapsed as Azaleth cut deep across his stomach. Her friends appeared to be winning, even though she saw several cuts on Azaleth’s arms. They would be fine, she hoped.
Alena turned back to the wolf. She steeled herself and put her hand in the wolf’s fur, grabbing tight.
Her world shifted again, the web reappearing. The attack came faster this time, a wave of pressure washing over her. Alena grimaced but imagined rooting herself like a tree. The wave passed.
For a moment, her mental landscape was silent. She still felt the Lolani soulwalker’s presence, quiet and ominous somewhere in the distance. There was a third presence, completely unfamiliar. She turned to study it, reason failing her.
She allowed herself to approach the final presence, noticing a white-hot pain radiating from it.
It was the wolf.
In agony from Azaleth’s weapon.
Alena’s heart went out to the beast, and in that moment, the Lolani soulwalker attacked again.
This time, Alena was even more prepared. She felt herself rooted, then used those roots to push against the soulwalker. She knew how the attack felt and responded in kind. But while Alena couldn’t be moved, she couldn’t budge the other woman. She breathed deep, trying to push harder, but to no avail.
A faint warmth spread through her abdomen, gradually growing in intensity.
Her gatestone.
She focused her will on the stone, letting her inner energy flow through. As soon as she did, a new well of power opened itself to her. Effortless energy.
Still engaged in a mental battle, she gently shoved at the Lolani soulwalker. The other presence disappeared as quickly as she could snap her fingers. Alena hadn’t expected that. Now it was just her and the wolf.
Tentatively, she reached out and touched the wolf’s presence.
Her world shifted wildly. She was lying on her side, needles of pain stabbing up and down her body. Colors weren’t what they should be, but the smells, the smells were richer than anything she’d ever experienced.
Alena tore herself away and let go of the wolf. She still felt that invisible web, but her awareness was her own. In front of her, the wolf let out a whimper.
Alena drew her knife across its throat. Better it not know pain any longer. She wiped the blade on the wolf’s fur and sheathed it. She looked up and saw Brandt finish off the last of the Lolani.
The other three stood there, victorious and tired. They had hiked quickly all day, only to fight in vicious combat. But none of them knew what she had just been through.
Looking at Brandt, she suddenly felt ashamed. This skill was something similar to what had destroyed him for years, which still haunted him today. The Etari looked upon it as a curse.
She wouldn’t tell them. What happened would never be repeated.
Azaleth motioned for her to join them, which she did eagerly. Her companions appeared tired but whole. Azaleth had taken the worst of it with a cut on his left arm and one on his back. Fortunately, neither were deep.
Brandt looked up to the cave. “We’ve killed over half their warriors. We need to find the rest before they can complete whatever ritual they plan. I’ll take the lead.” Without even leaving time for an argument, he walked up to the cave mouth and disappeared inside.
Ana looked worried, but she squared her shoulders and followed him.
Azaleth walked with her to the mouth of the cave. Brandt and Ana stood inside, each holding an ancient torch. They were shuffling forward, torches
