replied, his voice tense, as he quickly donned his helm and reached down to grab his new bow. He gripped the bone handle tightly and planted six arrows in the ground next to him. “Put out the fire,” whispered Jonas as he moved toward the flames.
“No! Whatever is out there can see in the dark, but we can’t. Leave the flames; the light might hinder its vision,” Kiln said as his eyes sought the threat. Jonas and Kiln stood alert, looking for the danger that was surely near. “I don’t like this, Jonas. I can’t hear or see anything.”
“I know. It is near, I can feel it,” Jonas whispered as he hunted for any signs of an attacker. Suddenly his chest flamed again and some intuition within Jonas told him to look up.
A shadow flew at them from the darkness, completely silent, its long leathery wings making no noise as the deathly form came at them like a falling stone. Jonas quickly grabbed an arrow and had it flying at the beast just as he dove to the side, out of the way of the attacking demon. The arrow struck the beast as it landed in the flames, sending sparks and a shower of burning embers into the air.
Kiln had seen Jonas’s move and flung himself blindly away from the fire. Both warriors rolled backwards, leaping to their feet, their silver swords glistening with magical energy.
Kiln’s long sword was also a magical blade, a priceless weapon that he took from the hands of a dead Sharneen chief. Kiln told the story one night to Jonas as they sat by his warm hearth. Long ago he had been challenged by a Sharneen chief, a chief of a tribe that was feuding with the tribe he was living with. The Sharneen rules are simple, accept the challenge and fight to live, or decline the challenge and be stoned to death as a coward. Kiln accepted the challenge and defeated the warrior, raising his status within the tribe and giving him weapon rights to the slain warrior. Kiln explained to Jonas that there was nothing more valuable to a Sharneen than the weapons that they collected in combat, and that one’s wealth, position, and power as a warrior was measured by the amount and quality of weapons that he possessed.
Kiln held the weapon in front of him, the blade glowing green in the pitch black. The blade was unique as the shape was not common. The base of the blade was narrow and its length curved slightly like a scimitar as it came to the tip. It was thin and as long as a long sword but the Sharneen weapon was as strong as any infantry cutting blade. The Sharneen blade smiths were some of the best, and that, in combination with the magic of the blade, made the sword nearly indestructible.
The demon sat on top the burning coals. The flames were now extinguished and the red hot coals did nothing to the creature as it leered at them with its red glowing eyes. Jonas had landed to the demon’s left and had come up gripping both his swords before him, their twin curved blades glowing bluish in the dark night. Jonas had dropped his bow in the grass and his arrows were scattered on the ground in front of him. The demon swung its bulky head back and forth before stopping and locking gazes with the young warrior. The beast’s long dark wings were held wide, the sharp bony points hovering menacingly before them.
“Finally, I get to kill you,” hissed the demon, its words barely recognizable as it spoke through its tooth filled jaws. Its deep voice sent a chill through Jonas as he looked at Kiln to his left.
Jonas recognized the look on Kiln’s face; he had dropped into Ty’erm, the mental state that prepared his mind and body for battle. Jonas quickly calmed his beating heart and entered into the state of Ty’erm as Kiln had taught him. His nerves calmed and his senses became enhanced. His breathing slowed, and he could hear his heartbeat. His senses were now so acute that he could pick up the subtlest nuances of sound or movement.
“You did not kill me at Finarth, and you will not kill me now,” Jonas answered the demon. He was gaining confidence as he prayed to Shyann and as he felt the warmth of magic flow into his body. He smiled inwardly, feeling strangely at ease, knowing that