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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

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hannon looked up. They were slowly crossing the boundary between the outer edge of the storm and the vortex itself. The effects of the storm were becoming less intense as they got closer to the center. The occasional crash of a bolt of arcane energy reminded Ranko just how much power had been unleashed here. Each forceful sound made Kishi lower his head just a bit more as he padded along as quickly as possible without leaving his two companions behind. Shannon could tell by Kishi’s bearing he was not at all happy about the loud noises.

The warriors approached close enough to the body to see it was the petrified remains of a man wearing light armor and carrying a small one-handed mace weapon. He was face-down and the position of his body made it appear as if he had been thrown some distance before landing here. His armor had no markings.

Ranko planted the head of her weapon next to the soldier for support and crouched to look at the ground around him. There were no obvious signs of a battle, at least at this location. The Huntress looked closely at the soldier’s boot-clad feet and then peered even closer. She stood up straight and looked off in the direction of the glowing orb of light. Kishi’s ears perked and he looked in the same direction.

“You notice something?” Ranko asked, then realized Shannon was facing away from her and still couldn’t hear. She stood up and walked around in front of the taller girl. Shannon looked down and Ranko slowly mouthed the words “what did you see?”

“Maple thistles!” Shannon shouted, pointing. “On the soles of his boots!”

Ranko crouched again and looked closely at the soles of the petrified soldier’s boots. Sure enough, even though the boots had been turned to stone, on their soles remained the unmistakable semi-circular scoring pattern of maple thistle husks. Now Ranko understood. Along the north edge of the arena plain they had encountered a stand of desert plants when they first entered the rift. Perhaps this soldier had been part of a group that had followed the same path.

In other words, following the Ajan Warriors.

The three continued towards the steady source of light. As they walked, they passed one petrified body after another. Some were armed with light swords while others had clubs or maces. They all appeared to have been violently thrown from the direction of the light. As the haze cleared, the orb became much brighter. Ranko and Shannon could both see a small shadow standing at its center.

“A Spectrum Deflect!” Ranko exclaimed. “It’s Little Bit!” Ranko motioned to Shannon. The two girls and Kishi hurried over to where the Warrior of the Rocks stood inside the large colorful magical shield generated by the Chronicler’s Lantern.

“Little Bit!” Ranko shouted, making sure to keep her distance from the edge of the defensive sphere. “Are you okay?” Cecilia Daichi stared forward, apparently oblivious to everything. Her eyes looked vacant, and her grip on the golden handle of her magical lantern was causing the skin of her hands to whiten slightly.

Shannon knelt in front of the younger girl so she could see her face more easily. Cici stared straight ahead. She appeared to be concentrating intensely on maintaining her shield, and nothing else.

“Cici! It’s me Shannon!” The Huntress waved her hand back and forth, hoping the motion would distract the Warrior of the Rocks. Cici blinked once. Then twice.

“What happened, Little Bit?” Ranko shouted again over the hum of the shield effect.

Cici turned her head and looked up. Then she finally spoke.

“I saw an angel.”

Continue to Chapter Five