Chapter List

hannon was distracted by Kishi’s paw, and set about to at least try and lessen the pain for her companion. She busied herself with a salve she carried with her to protect wounds from dirt and mud. Kishi stood patiently, one paw raised and a “dog taking a bath” look on his face.

“Alanna and Talitha went that way,” Cici said, pointing. Ranko closed her eyes and sighed. The youngest Ajan Warrior was pointing right through the arena.

“Have you been here the whole time?” Ranko asked. Cici nodded.

“The big monster was fighting and then it started this way but…” The Warrior of the Rocks’ voice trailed off.

“But what?” Ranko asked, kneeling down next to Cici.

“It was scary.”

“What did you see?”

“It was a bright light and it hurt to look at it. I could see her wings way up in the sky and she had jade on her arms.” The younger girl gestured grandly with both hands as she spoke. “She stood between me and the monster but I still put up my shield because nothing can get past it.”

The edge of Ranko’s grin rose slightly listening to Cici brag about her Lantern’s powers even though she was trying to be serious.

“The monster fought with the angel and then a big circle of light happened. My shield got all bright and I couldn’t see past it. After I could see again, everyone was gone and I was all alone.”

“What you did was very brave, Little Bit,” Ranko said, smiling.

“Really?” The Warrior of the Rocks asked in a hopeful tone.

“Yep. You faced the biggest and baddest the Cryptics could throw at us and look who’s left? The Warrior of the Rocks!” Ranko put her gauntleted hand up and Cici gave her a high five.

“I’m worried about Jessica,” Shannon said loudly. “So far I haven’t seen any sign of her and I know she was on our side of the arena when Jarthius started his rituals.”

“I haven’t seen Jessie since the sky got all dark the first time,” Cici said with a worried look. “She said she wouldn’t leave me.”

Ranko felt a pang of regret. It sounded exactly like something Jessica Hoshi would have said before a big fight. She desperately wished they hadn’t all been separated before the attack. Ranko wished she had been there to protect her friend.

Shannon surveyed the gentle grade leading down into the low flat area in the center of the arena plain. Even though the sunlight was fading, Ranko expected no trouble finding the others with the group’s directional and tracking experts to help. The supernatural detection abilities of Cici’s Lantern wouldn’t hurt either.

The Warrior of the Storms biggest worry was firepower. Without Alanna and especially Jessica, the Ajan Warriors were vulnerable. Ranko hoped they could slip past whatever lurked in the arena without alerting anything nasty, especially anything in large numbers.

Continue to Chapter Six