“We take the fastest Augmenters to the castle, and the others head up to fortify the city,” I explained. “Mahrai, Vesma, and I are the quickest on our feet. With the golem and Flight, we can make it to the castle by dark, if not before.”
“And let you have all the action?” Kegohr asked.
“Faryn and Kumi need a heavy hitter to take the attention off them in an attack,” I said. “You’re the heaviest hitter we have. If I’m right, and Wysaro City comes under siege, you’re the best guy to be there, aside from Xilarion, in terms of raw power.”
Kegohr grunted at the praise. “I get you, but I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” I said, “but it’s the best way to do this. Put it this way: if the worst is true, then Tymo is going to need his head cracked off something, and you’re the best head-cracker I know. I’ll deal you in on any fights we have once I know the guild is safe.”
“I don’t want to raise an alarm around the city if there’s nothing coming to attack it,” Faryn pointed out. “How will we know if this is an empty endeavor?”
“Watch the castle,” I said. “If you don’t see a pillar of flame erupt from it, then we’re in the clear. If there’s a fight, or any sign of demons, then I’ll give you a signal to ready the guild.”
Faryn nodded. “Understood. Kumi, shall we?”
Kumi slung the waterskins over her back. “Right behind you. Be careful out there, husband. I want you back safe and whole.” She skipped up to me, kissed me, and squeezed my hand encouragingly. “The spirits are with us. Your decision was the right one, I’m sure of it.”
Faryn kissed me, and Kegohr offered me a fist-bump. I slammed my fist into his meaty paw, and he gave me a reluctant grin before he turned to leave.
Vesma and Mahrai followed me as we crossed the river and started out across the rolling plains toward Wysaro Castle. A few small villages clustered around the center, surrounded by farmland, and a bolt of trepidation hit my gut. If a demon army already had hold of Wysaro Castle, there was no telling what they could do to the rest of Flametongue Valley.
Mahrai flicked her fingers, and her golem appeared from the earth beside her. The usual bulky minion had shifted its form into something more athletic. The golem stood at around seven feet tall, and its white marble skin caught the light of the morning sun as the last of the stone finished arranging itself into a humanoid form. Long limbs and wide, almost platform-like shoulders stood out on Mahrai’s companion as it crouched beside her. She swung up onto one of the shoulders and motioned for Vesma to join her.
“I can fly,” Vesma said.
“The whole way to the castle?” Mahrai asked. “Just get on. You can soar along if you want to, but if we’re walking into a demonic incursion, you’re going to want some Vigor left over, right?”
“I hate it when you do that,” Vesma muttered.
She clambered onto the golem’s other shoulder, and Mahrai snapped her fingers. The creature readied itself against the ground like a track runner and took off. Its long limbs thudded firmly into the ground and propelled the girls forward as if they were on horseback. I drew into myself, took a deep breath, and attuned myself to the raw Vigor in the environment.
“Now you will take to the skies as I once did,” Nydarth whispered. “Unbound and free.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Flight technique sparked around my feet, fed with the energy of my surroundings. The sun’s heat, the warmth of my own body, even the core of the earth itself was in a constant state of flux. And I could use it all.
My feet lifted from the ground, and I leveled myself out like a bullet. I shot away after Mahrai’s sprinting golem and reached them a few seconds later. Vesma, her face green, clung to the golem’s head as I slowed my pace to match theirs.
“Doesn’t look like the smoothest ride ever,” I commented.
“Sh-shut up,” Vesma managed.
Mahrai stretched comfortably out beside her. “It just takes some getting used to.”
I rotated around to check our progress. A slow trickle of Vigor slipped out of my personal reserves, but thankfully the Vigor around me was more than enough to keep Flight working until we reached the castle.
Mahrai’s eyes combed over me in fascination as I let the power of the technique carry me effortlessly through the air.
“I can’t imagine how that must feel,” she called out.
I shrugged. “It’s pretty good. You never know, you might figure it out yourself.”
Mahrai snorted. “I doubt it. You doing okay over there, Vesma?”
Vesma gritted her teeth and nodded. Our path took us past the edges of Danibo Forest, and in less than an hour, Mahrai’s golem had reached the farmer’s fields near the mouth of the valley. I directed the golem toward the road and gained some altitude to get a better vantage point. I halted a hundred feet in the air and scanned the buildings for any sign of an attack.
The village was a small affair and probably didn’t house any more than a hundred people. Simple dwellings were neatly arranged around a central square of land. An ancient stone well stood out in the center of it. People milled through the village, going about their daily tasks as though nothing was out of the ordinary. A few of the women fled from their washing lines as Mahrai’s golem closed in toward the edge of the houses. I swooped downward, drew level with Mahrai, and waved to get her attention.
“Pull up by the well!” I called to her.
“Aren’t we in a hurry?” Mahrai demanded.
I nodded to Vesma, who looked greener than she had before. The ride on the golem
