Few fights were fair, and Rami had not neglected this fact when training Ruwen. He had years of experience fighting against multiple opponents, and Rami rarely gave him something as easy as this.
Ruwen struck at the tall female first, feigning a strike to her right shoulder. She shifted her body and raised her arms, preparing to grab his arm and flip him. Instead of striking, Ruwen ducked under her raised arms, stepped behind her, and stood.
Ruwen slammed his left elbow into the back of her head, making sure to strike her skull and not her spine. He didn’t want to kill any of them, but he also wanted to end the fight quickly. It was a delicate balance.
The tall woman went limp, stunned by the blow. Ruwen let her fall and stepped toward the male. The man had half turned to follow Ruwen’s rapid movement, making his stance unstable.
Ruwen kicked the back of the man’s knee, collapsing his leg and throwing him completely off balance. As he fell, Ruwen struck the man’s temple with stiffened fingers, hitting a nerve bundle that would temporarily paralyze the right side of the man’s body. Before the man struck the ground, Ruwen hit him behind the ear with a right jab, using just enough force to black him out.
Leaping to the side, Ruwen turned to face the last of the trio, but the woman had already sprinted away, and Ruwen let her go.
Turning to Pine, he pointed at the tall woman. “Check her palm and take half her minutes.”
Pine stood very still, staring at Ruwen. “Who trained you?”
“A very demanding young dragon and a falcon that can barely fly.”
Pine looked confused but didn’t ask for clarification. “You honor them with your skill. I am thankful you spared me.”
Ruwen nodded and pointed at the woman again. “Take half.”
“It seems wrong to take it while they’re unconscious.”
Ruwen shrugged. “They were warned. Twice. Shade’s first rule: honor is a poison the weak can’t survive. Weakness won’t find your grandson, and these two only have themselves to blame.”
The last comment made Ruwen smile. It was the first “Rule” he’d heard, delivered in Ky’s no-nonsense way in the library on the day of his Ascension.
Pine’s jaw firmed, and he strode over to the woman. Ruwen picked up the man’s hand and read his palm: two hundred ninety-eight. He flicked the back of the man’s head one hundred forty-nine times and then read his own palm.
Ruwen now had two hundred seventy-nine minutes.
Pine stood from the unconscious woman. “I’m over three hundred now.”
“Good. Lead the way.”
A few minutes later they slowed as the buildings ended. A hundred-foot clearing appeared and there were over thirty people meditating. Most were by themselves, but a few were grouped together.
“What are they doing?” Ruwen asked.
Pine looked up into the sky. “Nightfall is coming. Day and night cycle every four hours here. The vipers are more active at night, so many retreat to this clearing to wait the night out before trying again.” Pine’s voice filled with worry. “I really wanted to find him before nightfall.”
“How much time do we have?” Ruwen asked.
“Maybe half an hour.”
“Where is this Journeyman’s clearing?”
“It’s halfway to the summit of Mount Sorrow. But I don’t even know if the Founders spoke with him. He might not even know where to go.”
“What makes getting to the top so difficult?”
“Bewildering mist, vipers, desperate Adepts, snares, terrain, and the whispers.”
“Whispers?”
Pine looked sad. “It’s like the mountain itself doesn’t want you to succeed. It preys on your weaknesses. I love my grandson, but he’s had a hard life, and can be a little hotheaded. I’m scared he’ll be easy prey for this terrible peak.”
Ruwen heard the anguish in Pine’s voice and tried to reassure him. “He’s learned the first twenty Steps, so at least he has the basics.”
“I pray you’re right.”
They moved through the edge of the clearing, Ruwen watching the bamboo to the left, and Pine the Adepts and Journeyman in the clearing to the right.
“You said your name here is Pine, what did that mean?”
Pine shrugged. “The Clan frowns on real names, so our family picks trees instead.”
Pine held out an arm and stopped Ruwen. He pointed to the ground three feet in front of them. A snake sat coiled, its forked tongue pointing like a finger at Ruwen.
“Watch the ground as well. The darkness brings them out of the forest. Only those meditating in the meadow are safe. They’re very aggre—”
The snake launched itself at Ruwen. He took a half-step to the side and grabbed the viper’s head as it passed. With a twist of his body, he flung the snake into the ruins behind them.
Ruwen’s palm cooled, and he glanced down in time to see his counter increase by one.
Pine noticed as well. “The more dangerous the animal, the more they’re worth. But it’s risky to fight them. They can easily damage you for far more than they’re worth. Better to hunt for fruit.”
Ruwen nodded. “Then let’s go. I heard the red ones are delicious.”
Chapter 30
Most of the light disappeared when they entered the bamboo. A soft swishing sound caught Ruwen’s attention, and he looked up. The leaves at the top moved from a wind not present on the ground, and the air smelled sweet and little like citrus. Walking between the trunks was possible, but they were too closely packed to run through. Constant creaks and pops gave the forest an eerie atmosphere.
Ruwen kneeled, picked up a rock, and smashed it into the closest trunk. After a few strikes, the trunk split and water spilled out. Ruwen hugged the trunk, soaking himself.
Stepping away, Ruwen handed the rock to Pine. “The water will evaporate, cooling the skin, and lowering your temperature. Vipers sense heat and this will make us harder to see.”
Pine took the stone. “You can fight and think?”
“I hate snakes almost as much as bugs. So, I learned everything I could to protect myself until Ascendancy.”
“Ascendancy?” Pine asked as he split
