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uch tableware is expensive. I’m sure you understand. My glasses are my business, you see. Perhaps we can come to an agreement? Business is hit or miss these days. I have just the thing here. You’ll be right as rain.”

Reina waited for the multitude of words to subside, much as she might wait for the last glops of sludge to fall from an empty well bucket. Enken’s nose wrinkled as he wondered how anyone could hear the man over the sound of his moustache.

The proprietor held up a short, wide glass as if for auction. “My price for my finest glassware is one copper monarch.”

Unfortunately for the proprietor, naming a price in the presence of Reina of Kulnas was like dangling a canary before a starving alley cat. She approached negotiations like a mongoose. The outcome was never in question. Only the speed and direction of the decisive strike.

The end of the Vicereine’s staff punched the wooden floor of the tavern, making a hollow sound. The very moment those between the door and the proprietor realized she was coming their way, spilled drinks and at least one overturned chair marked their escape.

As Reina slowly walked from the door to the bar, the patrons gave her considerable deference. Her robes scathed the floor. The sound was both unpleasant and ominous. She used her staff as a mountain climber might use a pick.

As hard as he tried, the proprietor still couldn’t see more than Reina’s chin until she reached the bar and raised her head slightly.

“I am not in the habit of paying for simple reagents. Perhaps I can conjure what I need.”

The proprietor’s skin began to crawl.

“Now to the best of my recollection, conjuring a fine drinking glass is a rather complex spell. It requires a living component.”

Reina’s voice lingered over her words, as if she were savoring her advantage. Her eyes met his.

“To complete my work I will require five human teeth.”

The proprietor slammed the base of the glass down on the bar and held on to it as if he were trying to recover from a wave of nausea. A nervous tick was causing his right eye to flutter, and his upper lip curled involuntarily. He pulled his hand away as Reina reached for the glass.

Enken looked over the Vicereine’s shoulder, then moved a chair to make room next to her.

“I will be quick about my business,” she said, taking the glass in her pale hand. His eyes rose, and a fresh wave of sickness overcame him as looked into the face of the jawless skull atop Reina’s staff.

The Vicereine examined the glass carefully, then turned slowly to one side and tossed it lightly into the air. Several people in the room jumped at the shattering sound. The proprietor closed his eyes and muttered to himself.

Reina’s eyes focused on the shards scattered around her feet. She identified the largest piece of glass on the floor, then brought the full measure of her powers to bear, gathering the flickering light from the room and altering it. She reached beyond the physical realm with her mind and one by one, she adjusted each dim beam of light to pass through the broken shards of glass and reveal what was beyond her sight.

The glass shards darkened, and clouds passed through them. Reina was looking down on an ocean at night, with each shard showing a different region of the water. Enken frowned, and then his eyes widened in recognition. A three-masted wooden ship.

“They are underway,” Enken said.

Reina’s mind reached deeper into the darkness, and the ocean faded. When her vision re-focused, she could see six people standing on the deck of the ship. One held a colorful jeweled Lantern. It’s light glowed through the broken glass and brightened the wooden floor of the tavern.

“If we do not reach the Gray Coral Strand in time to greet them, they will not survive,” Reina said quietly.

The Vicereine reached into her coin purse and drew an object from it carefully. She placed a crown-emblazoned silver coin on the bar. A month’s wages for a tavern keeper.

“My apologies for the mess.”

The patrons watched with a combination of dread and curiosity as the dusty-robed woman made her way back to the door and waited for Enken to hold it open. The proprietor finally exhaled as the last of her robes passed the edge of the doorjamb. Enken followed her outside.

Nobody spoke.

Continue to Chapter Seven

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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