right hand. In his mind everything around him changed hues as he saw the spinning particles and the energy that moved them. Just like he had done when he practiced with the rocks, Jonas concentrated on the energy around them, drawing it into a translucent shield that covered the table in front and above them. He did this in a matter of seconds just as the bolts were fired. They hit the invisible shield, falling harmlessly to the ground. Everyone around them screamed in confusion, looking around trying to figure out what was happening.
Kiln instantly slid his chair out and drew his sword in one smooth motion. The dark haired assassin barreled through the two unsuspecting men and tried to lance Kiln with a sword that he had hidden in his long black cloak. Kiln side stepped the blade easily and flicked his razor sharp edge across the man’s throat. The move seemed casual and effortless, but the result was devastating to the assassin. Blood sprayed from the gruesome wound and the man crashed face first into the table.
As soon as the blades were out, everyone around the three warriors scurried out of the way in panic. Kiln scanned the crowd looking for another attacker.
Taleen had leaped back, drawing her sword just as the man tried to skewer Kiln. She saw movement to her left and pivoted out of the way as a huge axe came crashing down onto the table, easily splitting the wood. She brought her sword down onto the attackers arm, severing it cleanly. The man jumped back screaming, but not before the deadly cavalier reversed her swing and drove the point of her blade into his heart. He fell backwards, disappearing into the frenzied crowd.
In a matter of seconds everyone around the trio had run frantically out of the way, leaving the warriors alone with swords drawn and glistening in the firelight.
Jonas saw the men from the landing stand up and reload their crossbows. There were three of them, but it was still too dark to make out their features.
Jonas quickly looked around for something that he could use against the dangerous crossbowmen. He didn’t have his bow so that was out of the question. Or was it? Jonas saw two of the crossbow bolts that the assassins had fired lying on the ground in front of him. He quickly seized the bolts with his mind, lifting them in the air. He used his telekinetic ability to fling the bolts toward the men who were now leaning over the railing with reloaded weapons.
Jonas focused on two of the assassin’s throats and the bolts smashed into their windpipes before they could fire their second volley. They dropped the crossbows and grabbed the feathered shafts that were buried in their necks. One fell back into the darkness of the landing, while the other fell over the railing to land hard on a table, shattering it into several pieces.
The third assassin got his shot off as his comrades died. The twang of the crossbow was followed by the phhhhhht of the bolt as it zipped through the air. It took Taleen in her right shoulder, causing her to stumble backwards against the rock fireplace.
Jonas didn’t have time to see if she was okay, because four men with swords drawn were running at them. They were all hard-faced men, wearing black, loose fitting clothes. Jonas drew his blades and sprang towards them with Kiln at his side, attacking the assassins with deadly silence.
One man lunged at Jonas with his long sword while the other chopped downwards with a powerful stroke. Both of Jonas’s blades worked independently. One slapped the lunge to the side while the other blocked the downward stroke. Jonas quickly brought both blades swinging back across each other towards the opposite opponent. His razor sharp weapons cut each man in the thigh and they stumbled backwards, bright blood gushing from the wounds.
Jonas silently thanked Kiln for the many lessons on how to fight more than one opponent at a time. It was one thing to face a skilled swordsman, but facing two or three at a time required a totally different skill set, techniques that now were paying off.
Moving forward, Kiln’s left arm snaked sideways, hurling his hunting knife into the throat of the nearest attacker while he engaged the second man with his long sword. The nearest assassin’s eyes opened with shock as the hunting knife buried itself to the hilt just under his chin. He fell