He trusted her.
She led them out to an enormous cavern, their walkway suddenly becoming a bridge over a vast emptiness. The bridge was wide enough for three horses to walk abreast, but there was no railing. The bridge simply ended. A wrong step would be a last one, here.
A faint blue light emanated somewhere below. Brandt approached the edge, glancing over. Far below them another bridge crossed the chasm, ending in a room that was the source of the light. As Brandt peeked over, he saw a group walking across the bridge toward the opening.
The Lolani women. Kye and Jace accompanied them. Brandt could just make out their features from his position. Beside him, he heard the soft clacking of stones. He held out his hand to stop Azaleth from launching his deadly projectiles. Azaleth frowned, and Brandt whispered. “The governor has the strongest stone affinity I’ve ever seen. By far.”
The Etari warrior still looked confused.
Brandt pointed to his feet. “We’re standing on a stone bridge.”
Understanding dawned on the younger man’s face.
Brandt pointed to the other end of their bridge. Somewhere on the other side there had to be stairs to take them down. “We need to hurry.”
Tired as they were, they ran.
They entered a large room with a spiral staircase. Brandt charged down the stairs, taking them as fast as the light of his torch allowed. Down and down they went, diving deeper into the bowels of the earth.
Brandt came out into yet another chamber, completely dark except for the light of his torch.
A soft grunt of effort was Brandt’s only warning. He brought his sword up, taking a strong blow across the blade. He managed to keep from cutting himself, but just barely. The torch was cut out of his hand.
Then he saw them, the remaining Lolani warriors coming out of the shadows. Behind him, Azaleth and Alena came to a quick stop. Azaleth stepped to Brandt’s side. The wolfblade appreciated the gesture, but he’d rather have the extra space to fight. Ana brought up the rear, tossing her torch into the middle of the room, hoping to provide slightly better illumination.
He didn’t know how he survived the next ten heartbeats. His sword spun and deflected, driven entirely by instinct and reaction. Azaleth engaged the warriors on his side. The Etari was a skilled sword, but his shorter blades were a hindrance against the Lolani’s heavier steel. When the invaders paired up, Azaleth couldn’t get close enough to attack.
Brandt’s sword was longer, and that additional length kept him alive through several passes, but he couldn’t turn the table on the warriors. Their skill was superior to those he had fought earlier. The best, it seemed, had been saved as the last line of defense.
Ana joined the fight, pulling one of the three swords away from Brandt. The fight became more fair, but even Brandt couldn’t quite turn the tables on his enemies. Whenever one attacked, the other kept their sword pointed at him, preventing him from closing.
Brandt lost track of the number of times he crossed swords with the Lolani without effect. He was unharmed, but his party hadn’t killed a single Lolani standing in their way.
He was unharmed.
The fact struck him as odd. No fight went this long without a cut.
He yelled, pushing his two opponents back a few steps with a flurry of strikes. Then he disengaged, giving himself a chance to think. Beside him, Ana and Azaleth still fought, their movements light and easy. Alena hung back, keeping herself out of the way.
None of them had been injured, even though outnumbered.
That wasn’t likely.
Of course.
The Lolani weren’t fighting to win. They were fighting not to lose, to keep Brandt and the others from getting past them. He saw the dark outline of more stairs on the other side of the chamber. These Lolani were fighting a defensive battle, and they were skilled enough to hold Brandt and the others off indefinitely.
Alena noted the same. “You need to run,” she shouted over the clang of echoing steel.
His gut sank. Memories of Kyler, Ryder, and Lola flashed through his thoughts.
“No,” he yelled. “We fight together.”
If he left, it would leave the other three without their strongest warrior. Against these five Lolani, it was as good as sentencing them to death.
One of the Lolani fighting Azaleth landed a strong kick to the Etari’s stomach, driving him back. Those two warriors disengaged as well. A moment later, Ana stepped away from her opponent. The two sides stood facing one another.
Brandt could guess his opponents’ minds well enough. Their ambush hadn’t killed anyone, but fighting or not, they delayed the imperial warriors. That was all that was required.
He got the sense the Lolani across from him were very pragmatic.
“She’s right,” Ana said. “You have the best chance of stopping them. You need to get past them. We’ll hold them here.”
Alena stepped behind him, extinguishing his cut torch with her foot. The room darkened.
Brandt turned to Ana. “I’m not leaving.”
“You must.”
She was right. They all knew it.
But he couldn’t leave them. Brandt looked around the room, searching for some answer. He couldn’t stay, either. He was their best chance of stopping the Lolani from opening the gate.
But it meant leaving his command behind yet again.
Ana must have guessed at his thoughts, because she stepped closer. “I’m not going to run again, Brandt. I’m where I need to be. It’s time for you to do the same.”
It wasn’t her words that convinced him so much as her tone. He heard the peace in her voice, the commitment.
Their eyes met, and he nodded.
What else was there to say?
Alena spoke. “Can you kill the torch in the middle of the room?”
“Yes.”
Across from him, the Lolani shifted. From the expressions on their faces, they didn’t understand what Alena said, but they sensed the plan being hatched against them.
“Do it when you’re ready to leave. Run past them.” Alena turned to their Etari ally.
