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    Lana woke in a simple, bare room on a bed soft enough to make her think she’d slept on a cloud. She stretched her arms over her head and let out a contented sigh. The room was empty, so she got up, pulled on her clothes, made sure all her daggers were in their correct places, and went outside.


    The sun had already risen. A little way off, Wade stood waving his arms over his head, addressing a crowd. Lana recognized many of the faces from the night before.


    Tre sat with his back to a wall, his head hung low. She knew Tre must be feeling a little ill from drinking all that ale the night before, but she hoped he was able to make peace with the fact that he killed someone. Killing was never easy, not even in self-defense.


    Lana stayed clear of the gathering crowd and went to sit by Tre, who had discarded his battered pyromancer''s robes. He was garbed in simple villagers’ clothing in browns and greens, sturdy and functional. It suited him.


    "How are you doing?" Lana asked.


    He peered up at her, eyes red and bleary. "I think I was poisoned."


    She chuckled. "You''re not wrong."


    "What about you? What did the huge woman want?"


    Lana felt her cheeks reddened. "What is Wade doing?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?"


    She shook her head, "What?"


    "He''s forming your army." Tre looked over to the villagers and Wade. "That''s why you''re here."


    Now that Tre mentioned it, Lana saw how everyone in the crowd carried packs and were dressed for travel. Many of them held makeshift weapons at their sides or in their hands. Cudgels, knives from the kitchens, pitchforks, and thick, sturdy sticks. Those with broader shoulders were obviously the lumberjacks, and she saw how they wore heavy axes in leather loops at their belts. Tools made for felling trees and splitting wood could just as easily cleave through men and monsters.


    Among them stood the woman she''d spent the night with. Their eyes locked and a sudden smile erupted on Lana''s face. Her face flushed, and she looked away, not sure how to act.


    A young girl approached and proffered a plate with bread and cheese on it, along with dried meat. Lana peered into a mug and saw that the contents, thankfully, was water.


    "Have you eaten, Tre?"


    Tre visibly paled. "My stomach is unsettled."


    When Lana finished eating, Wade jogged over to her with a huge grin on his face. "Have you seen these fierce warriors? They’re all ready to go! Was waiting for us when I woke up."


    "Where are we going?" Lana asked, draining the mug of water.


    "There are more villagers nearby, just like this one, where the rhinn only have a few soldiers stationed. We''ll go from village to village, liberating them until we''ve gathered enough fighters."


    "And how many is enough?"


    "When we have the numbers to take Vinden back, obviously," Wade replied.


    "Right."


    Wade got down to the ground next to Tre. "How are you doing, lad?"


    "There is something wrong with whatever these people drink, I think," Tre groaned.


    Wade placed a hand on Tre’s knee. "That''s not what I meant."


    "I know," Tre said. "I''d rather not talk about it."


    "I understand," Wade said. "Could you do that again?"


    "What are you asking him?" Lana asked.


    Wade gave her a look. "I''m asking if he''s going to be able to help us."


    Tre looked a little uncomfortable, but he finally nodded. "I can do it. As long as it''s not humans."


    "Good lad!"


    He stood and waved for them to follow. "It''s time to go."


    Wade gave the crowd another, shorter, version of the speech from the night before. He waved a rusted sword in a circle over his head. It was painfully obvious that the man didn’t have the first clue on how to use the weapon.


    They set out with about thirty men and women willing to sacrifice their lives to free Loft from the rhinn invaders. They were also joined with those who didn''t know how to wield a weapon, the spouses and children of the volunteers. There was more to war than just gathering an army. Lana didn’t have any experience herself, but she would have to be an idiot not to think about all the complexities that came with traveling with large groups of people. Luckily, it appeared that the villagers knew how to care for their own by the looks of their ladened packs filled with food and water, clothes for the journey, bedding, and tools used to repair any damaged weapons.


    The next village over was just as poorly defended as the one they just left. Wade and Lana made short work of three rhinn soldiers and then gathered the villagers. Convincing the second village proved much easier. Having Loftians already enlisted to their cause made the others more willing to trust Wade. By the time they left, their growing army was more than a hundred fighters strong.


    They arrived at another village before the end of the day. Unlike the others, they encountered several rhinn soldiers, at least fifteen by Lana''s count. Despite their best efforts, by the end of the fight, one of the villagers was killed. They stayed the night to give everyone time to mourn.


    The tall woman found Lana sitting by a fire. She handed Lana a sweet bun and sat down next to her on the ground. "I’m Amira."


    Lana looked up at her, then to the ground, then at Amira’s face again, before finally resting her eyes on her own boots. "That’s a pretty name."


    Amira placed her hand on top of Lana’s. "You fight well for someone so small."


    Lana jerked her head up and locked eyes with the other woman, who laughed. Amira raised her hands up. They were surprisingly large hands for a woman, Lana thought. Powerful.


    "I’m only teasing," Amira said. "You’re strong."


    Lana didn’t know what to do with her hands. Why was she breathing so hard? She caught herself wondering if Amira could lift her over her head. The thought made her blush furiously. She needed to say something, not just sit there like a dumb lump. Lana opened her mouth, cleared her throat, swallowed, then forced a few words out. "Maybe you should lift me?" No, that wasn’t what she was going to say! "Kiss, I mean kiss!"


    Amira grinned and moved closer. "Perhaps I could do both?"


    By the time they left the next day, at least ten of their men had disappeared in the night. It was expected that people would get hurt and killed, but Lana still felt the sting of the villagers’ worried glances and the sorrow in their eyes from losing a comrade.


    If only Tomford was with them. Then people wouldn’t have to die, at least not from injuries. The tall oaf complained a lot about having to heal his friends, but he never refused. She hoped the Vatner found what he was looking for in Vatnbloet. Meanwhile, Loftians would bleed and die for their kingdom. It was the ultimate price they were willing to pay. Lana was even a little surprised at her own willingness to return and fight for her homeland.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Half a day later, Lana crept along in the dense underbrush, slowly approaching the first real town since she and Wade arrived back in Loft. The town was larger than any of the villages they passed and was occupied by large groups of patrolling rhinn soldiers. Fortifications were erected. Sharpened stakes lined along the small town’s perimeter. Slowly, Lana scouted her way around the perimeter, wasting hours trying to find a weak point. There were none.


    The few humans she spotted inside looked terrified. She wasn''t sure, with their meager army of villagers, if they could free the town.


    The only option was to sneak into the town under the cover of darkness. Lana bit her lip. It wasn''t the best plan, but it was the only one she got. The only other option was to leave the villagers behind.


    "We shouldn''t attack?" Wade asked when she returned to camp.


    Lana shrugged. "Like I said, there are too many of them. We wouldn''t stand a chance."


    "So, we should just leave oppressed Loftians behind?"


    "I don''t like it," Lana said. "But I don''t see how we have a choice."


    "There is always a choice," Wade scoffed.


    "Well, there might be one way."


    Wade straightened and looked at her. "Tell me."


    "I could go in by myself at night and create a diversion. That way, they won''t be ready for you when you attack at dawn."


    He folded his arms and nodded thoughtfully. "I like it. Can you do it?"


    "I said I could, didn''t I?"


    "Right." Wade thought for a moment. "Our forces will attack from the south, striking out from the woods. Just one minor adjustment."


    "What?"


    Wade pointed at himself with his thumb. "I''m coming with you."


    She knew he would demand to join her. "I’ll be quicker by myself."


    "Sure," he said. "But if it''s mayhem and havoc you''re looking for, you need me."


    She sighed, nodding. "Fine, let''s do it. It''ll be dark soon. Will the villagers be ready by dawn?"


    "They''ll be ready. But Lana, one thing."


    "What?"


    "Stop calling them villagers. Once they joined us, they weren''t villagers anymore. They are our army now. Your army, however untrained they are."


    "Fine. Army."


    Tre raised his arm. "Can I join?"


    Wade gave him a long and evaluating look. "Are you sure you''re ready for this?"


    The boy nodded vigorously. "I can do it."


    "Fine. You will join with the others. Use your flames to disrupt archers and set fire to their barricades. Deal?"


    "Deal!"


    By nightfall, Lana and Wade had crept close enough to hear the patrolling rhinn speaking. A small group of five soldiers moved along the barricades, each of them holding a spear and wearing the same leather armor she''d seen so many times before. Six or seven groups kept a steady pace around the small town, and they watched carefully as the first group reappeared before sneaking up over the barricades.


    The darkness hid them. No alarms blared through the night. Just as expected, the streets were almost empty. An enforced curfew meant the humans in the town would be locked away in their homes for the night. That only left the rhinn soldiers, and Lana would see them bleed for their deeds.


    Wade chuckled. All she could make out was his silhouette. "Time to make a nuisance of myself."


    Lana grabbed his tunic. "What, you’re going off by yourself?"


    "You do the killing. I’ll do the destruction." He shook her off and disappeared.


    Lana cursed under her breath but set off in a different direction. If he wanted to go off by himself, she wouldn''t stop him.


    Her own target was obvious. Further down one of the wide, cobbled streets, she slowly approached the only well-lit building in town. By the evidence of the large number of guards milling around outside of the building, she assumed that some sort of commander or leader was within.


    Footsteps echoed nearby and she gave herself a small boost with wind to launch herself and grab hold of the roof’s ledge of a nearby house. She pulled herself up.


    She traversed the rooftops with ease. Jumping from roof to roof didn''t take much effort, even when she had to use her inner tempest.


    Lana was weak compared to many other aeromancers, and an infant compared to Wade in terms of raw power, but the long hours of practice wasn''t for nothing.


    Rhinn patrolled the streets, harassing the few humans out. She didn''t intervene. That would come later. For now, she was after a very specific prey. When she got closer to the building, she realized that there was quite a lot of open space around it, likely the town''s square. She paused, analyzing the distance from where she stood to the roof of the stone building. She might be able to make that leap with a considerable burst of power, but that would leave her in a weakened state. Lana huffed out a breath of frustration. There was no other way. Not with all those guards. It was clear to her now that the villagers, their army, was vastly outnumbered. She and Wade would need to sow a lot of chaos to stand a chance of winning.


    Lana readied herself, took a deep breath, ran, and launched herself from the rooftop. The wind whipped through her hair, and she let out burst after burst to keep herself from falling.


    Her jump fell short of her target, and by the time she realized it, the downward momentum was too much for her to counteract with another gust of wind. Lana smashed into side of the building and barely managed to grab hold of the ledge.


    Lana hadn’t realized how tall the building was and felt a sudden wave of dizziness. She scrambled onto the roof, panting, as she remembered her fall from the giant tentacle in Tyralien. How she felt her bones snap and her organs burst when her body shattered against the ground. If not for Tomford, she''d be dead.


    She forced herself onto her back and gasped for breath. Her body ached from the impact. All she wanted was to rest, but she needed to get into place before Wade started his diversion.


    She did a cursory check of her body. She''d have bruises by morning, but nothing was broken. Peering over the edge, she watched the guards below. Nothing had changed. They hadn’t noticed her, so she scrambled her way to the middle of the roof, where an access hatch would take her into the house. Just her luck, it was locked.


    She grumbled to herself as she looked for another way into the building. Peering down the side of the building, she found an open window. It was a little further than she would''ve liked, but this was her only option.


    Lana gingerly hung from the side of the roof by the tips of her fingers, but it wasn''t enough. Her feet didn’t even reach the top of the window. She cursed her own short stature, took a deep breath, and let go. The tempest inside her strained, and a gust of wind struck her back as Lana dropped. Having screwed up the timing, instead of a graceful entrance, her feet got caught on with window''s ledge and she crashed into the room, landing hard on her head and shoulder.


    Pain flared. "Ouch."


    Lana froze and held her breath, straining to hear if she had alerted any of the guards. She heard nothing and exhaled a sigh. Quickly scanning the room, she realized it was a small library of some sort, or perhaps a study, as the walls were covered with bookshelves ladened with tomes and scrolls.


    She moved to the door, testing the handle. Unlocked. If she was going to make a habit out of skulking around in the dark, she would need to ask Sarien to make her one of those black weapons of his that could cut through any material. No need for lock picks if you could simply destroy every lock in the world.


    She carefully opened the door and peeked outside into a well-lit corridor. Immediately, two guards near the other end of the corridor cried out in alarm. She dashed forward, throwing a dagger at the nearest one. It stuck in his shoulder, throwing the rhinn guard off balance enough that she could close the distance, pull her dagger free, and thrust it home below his leather chest piece and into his gut. The rhinn guard frantically grabbed her hand. Blood spewed out in a red arc when she yanked her dagger out. She ducked down to avoid a spear thrust from the second guard.


    She threw the dagger into the second guard''s face from a mere step away. It drove into his cheek and the rhinn cried out in pain. Lana sliced open his throat and then barreled through the door they were guarding.


    Two older rhinn men stood near an open window on the opposite side of the room, their eyes wide with fright. A third lounged in a stuffed chair in the left corner of the room. His feet were propped up on a stool. A bored expression masked his face.


    "Get her!" one of the older rhinn shouted.


    She threw a dagger at him, but just as it was about to strike the rhinn, a gateway the size of a seagull opened, swallowing her weapon. For a split second, she thought it was Sarien, but no.


    A flicker of movement in the corner of her eye made Lana jump back, hitting the wall. She narrowly avoided being pierced by her own dagger as it suddenly reappeared from another portal directed at her.


    Another gateway opened beneath the man on the chair. He fell through it. Lana looked up, startled to see him dropping from the ceiling. In one smooth motion, he drew his sword and swung for her head in a spinning slash. She pushed herself to the side with a gust of wind, narrowly avoiding a mortal blow. Without stopping, she threw a dagger at one of the old men, and a second at the strange warrior. He easily sidestepped the one flying for his throat and redirected the second one right back at Lana with an even smaller gateway.


    She''d expected as much and while he was distracted, she slid beneath his sword, thrusting her dagger at his calf.


    Lana was sure her attack would strike true, but in the last moment, a gateway opened right where she was about to strike, and her hand plunged through. Pain blossomed in her thigh, and Lana looked down to see her own dagger stabbing deep into her flesh. She pulled back with a gasp, skidding backwards along the floor.


    "Not bad," he said, a smirk playing across his lips. He picked up one of her dropped daggers and held it up for closer inspection. "But not good enough."


    He threw it toward a wall and opened a gateway. She threw herself to the side, avoiding the blade coming at her from above.


    Lana was panting, exhausted, and her leg throbbed in pain. Blood flowed freely from her trousers. If she didn''t bind it soon, she''d be rendered unconscious from the blood loss.


    A loud boom sounded from outside the building. All three rhinn turned at the sound and Lana threw herself through the open window, straining her inner tempest as she flew. She turned to see the man standing by the window. He gave her a small wave with one of her daggers, but he did not follow.