swords.
A low hum settled deep in Shanti’s gut. From it rose the spice from the Joining. Power simmered as Cayan went completely tranquil. A moment later, tiny sparks of fire burst through her body.
He was preparing to fight. He’d found the officer.
“We gotta move!” Shanti yelled, letting Rohnan and Sonson clear out the Graygual running at them. “The officer is bound to have reinforcements. Cayan will be overrun.”
23
Cayan walked slowly toward a man slightly shorter than himself. Dressed in black and with seven red stripes, this Graygual would be one of the best.
“Who are you?” the man asked in a rolling accent.
“You must know, if you are speaking my language.” Cayan watched his eyes. The way he moved. He was jerkier than the warrior from outside the Mugdock village, not as graceful, but he held his sword the same. His footwork followed a similar path.
A concussion of sound rocked the foundation of the building. Through the opened window men screamed right before a furious roar shook Cayan’s bones. The officer did not so much as flinch. He did not even look toward the strange and new sounds. His focus was complete.
It would also be his detriment.
“The Being Supreme has been looking out for you since you took the Inkna town. He is highly intelligent and so far ahead of you.”
“Then why don’t you have better defenses?” Cayan thrust. The Graygual blocked and danced to the side and then at a diagonal back to him, creating an attack. Cayan blocked and followed the same footwork, advancing. Fast and clean, the Graygual wiped his sword through the air, took the block but then swung back, trying to catch Cayan on the backswing. He was ready. He jumped back and immediately peeled away to the side, blocking the next thrust and creating distance.
The Graygual was stronger in his footwork. That was not the way forward.
“These are better defenses. Tell me, how did you get in?”
Cayan rushed forward, hard and brutal. He thrust, felt his sword battered away, and then threw his fist. The Graygual’s head whipped back. Cayan swept with his blade, catching air. The Graygual had dropped and rolled to the side. He was up a moment later with a red patch on his cheek and sober eyes. He hadn’t seen that coming.
Welcome to a real fight.
Cayan didn’t let up. He rushed again, using rough sword work, messy but effective. He clipped the Graygual’s sword, then slashed through his shirt, before pivoting and kicking hard. His boot hit the Graygual’s thigh, and the follow-through of his body knocked the Graygual’s legs out from under him. He fell on his side, his sword out, ready to block. Cayan kicked his hand instead, then brought his sword down. The Graygual rolled just in time, getting the blade across his back.
He kicked his legs up then out, rocking his body up and landing on his feet. He took five fast steps before he recommenced the fight.
“Where were you trained?” The Graygual’s voice was devoid of emotion, but Cayan could feel his incredulity.
“I come from a long line of warriors.”
A shock of pain blanketed the room. Cayan knew this would happen, which was why he’d saved his strength.
He felt his men drop to the ground outside the door.
The Graygual’s eyes twinkled. “Alas, even warriors must bow to the Surchine.”
Cayan let go. He threw off the control he’d been fighting with since Shanti had begun fighting. Almost without warning, a surge of power, so pure, so raw it brought tears of pain to his eyes, roared through his body. It bubbled out, filling the room with a force unlike any other. Through Shanti he felt all the others, including the huge force of the Shadow Lord. More power dumped into him, connecting him and making it grow. It swirled and expanded, rushing in his ears and pounding through his body. The unwieldy force whipped around him, half flirty with Shanti’s power sharing his body, and half a brutal, destructive thing that would tear down everything in his sight.
He sent a blast of warning to Shanti. He could contain this, but he couldn’t direct it. Once it was out, he was at its mercy. She would have to control the flow.
Too late now.
Another slap of pain hit him, making him take a step back. Anger rose, aggravating the power stuffed in his body. The door burst open, revealing two Graygual standing in front of three Inkna.
“You have no idea what you are up against,” Cayan said, straining.
“Actually, I