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he Warrior of the Rocks finally reached her Lantern after scrambling off the small platform of ice Alanna had conjured under her feet. She gathered the handle in both hands and stood up just as Ranko managed to get far enough away to avoid Alanna’s relentless offense.

The Winterdancer heard Cici’s voice and turned to face the new attack. Alanna began to move her hand in a circle before her as if brushing raindrops from a window.

Cici’s teeth chattered in the sudden chilly breeze, but she persisted long enough to call upon the power of the Chronicler’s Lantern. Her right eye flashed brilliantly and the light from all eight lenses shifted to a deep, luxurious violet color.

“By th-the power of the Crystal T-T-Terrane! The Amethyst L-L-Lens of S-S-Sleep…”

The Warrior of the Rocks shivered as she stared at her own reflection. She realized too late that the mirror-like disc of ice Alanna had conjured in mid-air between them would protect the Winterdancer from the Lantern’s attack.

As the soft purple cloud surrounded her, she also realized the same disc of ice had reflected Cici’s sleep spell back at her! Her eyelids suddenly became so heavy she could scarcely stand. If she could just call upon the Emerald Lens, she could heal… stay awake…

The Warrior of the Rocks sat with her Lantern in front of her and yawned mightily, then fell over and drifted into unconsciousness as she exhaled the word “Emerald” too quietly to summon the power of the Green Lens of Life.

“Hey! Snow Girl!”

Alanna snapped back to face her only remaining opponent. This time, however, there was no hesitancy in Ranko’s bearing or determination. The Warrior of the Storms’ attitude had changed completely. Before, she was fighting to save her friend. Now Ranko was fighting to win.

The Crimson Champion slid her helmet back on and brandished her warhammer before quickly approaching the battle again. Her heavy plate greaves clanked against the hard-packed Earth and visible arcs of electrical energy began to circle the head of Thundercaller.

The Warrior of the River charged, sprinting a half-dozen steps before cartwheeling into a series of hand-over-hand spinning flips. Ranko timed her parry perfectly. Alanna somersaulted forward and brought her weapon down in a blinding-fast power strike, the Quarterseeker and Thundercaller slammed against each other, violently blasting pieces of ice and discharges of lighting in all directions.

This time, however, the Warrior of the Storms had the initiative and the balance to counter. She drove the flat edge of her warhammer’s head down, narrowly missing Alanna’s dodging right foot. The impact of the hammer disrupted the rocky ground and a tremor shook the Earth.

The Winterdancer flipped backwards to avoid the explosion of sonic energy, and a deep rumbling sound echoed under the ground. Pieces of clay and broken rock showered both of the combatants as the Warrior of the River landed lightly, spinning her staff and snapping it into both hands behind her back. Alanna knew that the Warrior of the Storms was like a block of iron when she fought defensively. She would have to find a way to get her opponent off balance again.

Continue to Chapter Nine

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ight!” Shannon shouted into the silence. Ranko dove out of the way and the Warrior of the Night’s target cleared. She spun the silver talon on her right hand to the back of her fingers and reached for her quiver. The Huntress gathered two arrows at once and leaned the sleek bow to her right for a transverse shot.

The first shriek pursued the Warrior of the Storms to its right just as the Huntress expected. Kishi roared sharply, and the other monster hesitated as it turned to confront the big cat. The two monsters were now far enough apart for the Warrior of the Night’s double attack. Shannon lifted her black longbow level with her eyesight and turned as she fired, casting the first arrow into one shriek’s throat as the second pierced the center of the other monster’s back with a fierce thumping sound. Two lifeless stone figures crashed against the ground.

Ranko smiled and made a victorious fist. Shannon smiled back. The warriors couldn’t leave their guard down for even a moment, however, since the two girls knew shrieks always roamed in large groups. It was unlikely that Sai Jarthius would allow so few to roam without at least one lesser minion. It was the foul duty of the lesser minions to control Jarthius’ beasts and also to “turn” those the shrieks defeated to the will of the Cryptic. The fact these four were acting alone was a telling sign that perhaps Sai Jarthius wasn’t nearby.

Kishi was busy peering down the hill at the broken remains of the first creature, partly to remind the Huntress to recover her arrows and partly to make sure the fiend didn’t suddenly come back to life. Ranko also stood at the edge of the hillside, looking intently into the distance at the empty expanse of windswept rock to the right of the arena. The Warrior of the Night pulled the last of her arrows from the stone remains of the defeated creatures. Ranko wasn’t completely sure, but she thought she could see a large number of motionless bodies strewn around the single glowing orb of light.

“Alright, Kishi, we’re going to make for that light and see what’s up,” Ranko said. Kishi took his place alongside the two girls as Ranko motioned to Shannon and indicated the light. Shannon nodded, and the group slowly made their way down the hill.

The wind began to subside somewhat as the small company entered the wide flat circle of smooth rock that surrounded the huge stone arena. Ranko was tense. For all she knew it was more dangerous now than before. Neither of the two Ajan Warriors had any idea what had happened or which side had been victorious. Something incredibly dark and hideous had emerged from the arena, summoned by the Cryptic himself. Who ultimately confronted it and the outcome of the battle were two questions for which there were as yet no answers. As far as the Warrior of the Storms was concerned, another round of that battle could begin at any moment, and she was determined to be ready for anything.

Ranko brandished Thundercaller and slowed her pace as they gradually approached the first of the bodies lying on the ground.

Continue to Chapter Four