He continued spinning his staff. Surprisingly, he could feel the power from his core reserves flowing out from him, as if it were an extension of his arms.
Then his staff struck resistance.
Gavin twisted and jerked, and he felt somebody fall. He brought down the staff, now filled with the power from within him, and jammed it into the man’s chest. The darkness around him dissipated.
He spun the staff around, and the two remaining attackers were just behind him. Gavin quickly whipped the staff around, catching one man in the head. The other seemed to recognize that Gavin could see again. The man tried to jump back, but Gavin darted forward, filled with the power he now possessed, and caught him in the shoulder. His weight carried through until he crushed the man’s chest and slammed his fist up underneath the man’s jaw.
Gavin jumped to his feet and twirled the staff as he looked around him.
There had been eight attackers. But now there was one more.
A dark figure stood and watched near the back of the warehouse.
He started toward the figure, and a warbled call came through the enchantment. “Gavin? I need you—”
Gavin gritted his teeth as Wrenlow’s voice cut off. He stared at the figure and wanted nothing more than to go after them, knowing that it had to be Tristan.
But he wasn’t willing to do so. Wrenlow needed his help.
Gavin spun toward the door. When he reached it, he looked back toward the figure and could feel cold washing over him, the sensation coming from them.
Magic.
Despite his temptation to go after them, he threw open the door. It was lit too brightly, and as soon as he stepped inside, the door swung closed.
Somebody jumped on him. Gavin grabbed at them, filled still with the power of his core reserves, and he tore them free and slammed them down.
A woman.
She bounded back up, her dark hair and delicate features reminding him of Imogen. She had porcelain skin, and she darted toward him, moving swiftly as if enchanted, but Gavin wondered whether she actually was.
He spun the staff he still held, though he hadn’t accounted for the lower ceiling. The staff smacked into it, and he jumped back just as she lunged toward him. He rolled and crashed into a desk he hadn’t seen. He tried to get up, but the desk was on top of him.
Gavin roared, filled with anger about the attack, about the fact that he had to leave Tristan behind, and about how Wrenlow was in danger because of him.
All of that rage consumed him, and he was left with no choice but to slam the power out from him. As he did, the desk crashed forward away from him.
Gavin bounded to his feet, quickly unsheathed the El’aras dagger, and flung it at the woman. She twisted off to the side and caught the blade.
Balls.
She tossed the blade away and darted toward him.
He dropped, and as she neared, he sprung up, filled by the power of his core reserves. Gavin grabbed her wrist, spun her around, and whipped her across the room. She slammed into the wall and crumpled.
“Wrenlow?” he said into the enchantment.
Where was he?
Gavin looked around. There were a couple of men lying motionless nearby. Had Wrenlow done that? Gavin had been working with him to improve his fighting ability, but he wouldn’t have expected to see that from him quite yet.
It was difficult to see much else. Whereas the warehouse had been an empty space, this room was cluttered. There were boxes stacked all over, many of them blocking his view, and a layer of dust hung over everything. Another table created part of the maze he would have to fight through.
Why fight him here?
“This is stupid,” Gavin muttered.
He jumped up onto the nearest box and surveyed the room. He had to crouch low, and he twisted the ring on his finger that provided light, but he didn’t really need the enchantment. There was enough lantern light throughout the room, though it did cast pools of shadows that would likely lead to finding certain unwelcome surprises.
Gavin vaulted forward, landing on another box. The suddenness of the movement caught one of the other attackers off guard, and they looked up at him. Gavin flipped down, kicked the attacker in midair, and finished by driving his elbow down onto the back of their neck, dropping them completely.
He sprang back up and then began to sweep his gaze around him for any other signs of attackers. There was another fallen man, but nothing else.
Wrenlow couldn’t have done that much damage.
He crawled along the boxes, making his way deeper into the room.
“Wrenlow, if you’re there, I need you to say something so I know where to find you.”
Wrenlow remained silent, and Gavin let out an exasperated sigh. He figured that once he was here, once he uncovered where they were keeping Wrenlow, he would find a way to get through the limitation they were using against Wrenlow and their communication enchantments.
Unless it was El’aras magic.
Tristan, of course, had El’aras magic, and he could use that against them.
Gavin gritted his teeth and jumped forward. All of this because he had been willing to let Wrenlow come out here on this job, because he hadn’t pushed back when his friend had wanted some additional responsibility. Gavin had trained him and had been working with him well enough that Wrenlow might have enough skill, but there was still danger in coming out on any job. That was something Gavin had learned long ago. Any job could pose its own dangers. Any job had risks to it. Even the ones that seemed like they were going to be the most straightforward had the potential for danger, and those were the ones that he had learned to be the most careful about, knowing that if he wasn’t, they might be surprised by something.
His
