Elaine treaded carefully through the dark, doing her best to step quietly through the brown remnants of grass that remained on the less trod paths. Behind her, Joshua flowed through the night like a wraith. She couldn’t even hear his footsteps.

  To the east, the sky burned a hot orange on its edge, the Veil giving way to the day. The air grew thick and humid around Elaine as they hurried through the camp. Soon the sun would rise and there wouldn’t be any more time. Elaine hoped that the information she had was correct.

  They came upon the red tent quietly, keeping to the shadows. Even as Elaine peered through the dim light, she could see the guard’s glimmering mail. There were three in total, sitting on boxes and passing a flask.

  Elaine motioned back to Joshua. The mage nodded and began the first stage of their plan. A small orange flame lit in his hands. Joshua held it close to his body, before releasing it into the air.

  As it floated, the tiny flame became one of many, each one separating from the last until fifty sparks fell from the sky. They found their targets with ease, falling into every nook and crevice that they could find.

  It didn’t take long for the fires to start.

  “Fire!” The three guards jumped at the yell.

  In moments, the entire camp became a frenzy of people fighting the fires. People ran from their tents and filled the entire camp. Fighting the flames consumed them, so no one noticed two people enter the red tent.

  It took a moment for Elaine’s vision to adjust to the darkness. Her hand gripped her hilt when yellow eyes flashed in the dark, but she relaxed when she saw the sarpan was caged. She then turned to Logan’s cage, where the man sat with his eyes closed.

  “Maybe we should just leave you there, if you’d rather relax,” Elaine said as she knelt next to the lock.

  “I wasn’t worried,” Logan said, opening one of his eyes. “I thought you two would make it.”

  “We don’t have much time.” Joshua pulled Elaine away from the lock.

  Ice formed against his hands as he touched the metal. The very air in the tent chilled as he worked his magic. In moments, a harsh crack echoed through the air. Joshua stepped back, leaving the metal covered in ice.

  “You can break it now,” Joshua said, stepping back from the cage.

  Elaine took one of Logan’s knives from her belt and brought the hilt down on the lock. It shattered in one hit, sending fragments falling to the ground. She helped Logan step out of the cage.

  “We’re not going to do that with these, right?” Logan asked, holding up his chained hands.

  “Unless you have a key, yes.” Joshua touched the center of the chain. “We won’t be able to break them until we get out of the camp otherwise.”

  “Great,” Logan said, turning his face away and holding the chain out.

  With a loud crack, the chain was broken. The cuffs would stay on until they were broken, but at least they no longer bound his hands together. Elaine handed over his swords and knives, and in moments, they were ready to escape.

  “Wait,” Logan said, walking over to the sarpan’s cage and kneeling down.

  “We don’t have time to bother with it,” Elaine said, noticing that the noise outside was dying down.

  “Joshua, break his lock and chains,” Logan said.

  “Why?” Elaine stepped in between them. “Why do you want to free this thing?”

  “I want some information from it,” Logan said.

  Elaine took a deep breath as Joshua pushed passed her and stood next to Logan. She couldn’t let the monster free. None of the sarpans could be trusted. The scaly-skinned bastards all deserved slow and painful deaths.

  Elaine gripped the hilt of her sword. Before she could move further, Logan was in her face. His hand pushed down the hilt of her sword to keep it in its sheath. She struggled against it, but he held her still with his other arm.

  “I want you to trust me,” Logan said. “I don’t like the sarpans any more than you, but I need to know something from this one.”

  “You ask that I dishonor the lives of my sisters?” Elaine glared back at him.

  “No,” Logan said. “I only ask that you keep your wits about you. Stop acting like a child and look at the bigger picture. We need to know where the sarpans are. We can’t stay with the caravan any longer.”

  Elaine stepped back, looking between Logan and the sarpan’s yellow eyes. This was too much to ask, there had to be another way to get through the plains. They didn’t have to work with the lizards.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  But, Logan had been right before.

  “Do what you want,” Elaine said, backing away.

  Logan nodded to her, and then moved back to Joshua. They worked quickly, breaking the locks and opening the cage for the sarpan. Elaine narrowed her eyes as the lizard stepped out of the cage. Even bound, it was dangerous.

  “Sarpan,” Logan said, looking up at the lizard. “We will free you from your irons if you tell us where the main force of your army is. We have no wish to fight it; we only need to avoid it so that we can go north.”

  The sarpan looked down at its chains and then back at Logan. For a moment, Elaine was sure that it wouldn’t comply. She was ready for it to try to fight its way out of the tent and into the dawn light.

  “A day’s ride west.” The sarpan said. “Between two ravines a path. Follow it north and you will miss our army.”

  “Release him.” Logan nodded to Joshua.

  Joshua’s icy touch broke away the iron chains that held the sarpan bound. They stood there in a stark silence, the lizard facing down the humans. It could easily try to attack and cause enough havoc to bring the camp down upon them.

  “Goodbye humans.” the sarpan nodded, stepping back and raking a single claw down the tent’s cloth. “We may meet again.”

  The sarpan snaked through the cloth, leaving the three standing in the tent. Outside, the noises had completely died down. Elaine looked behind her and she could see shadows stretching across the tent.

  “It’s time to go, now,” she said, starting toward where the sarpan had cut through.

  They departed from the back. With a little bit of work, Logan procured three horses and some supplies from empty tents. They rode off just after dawn, heading away from the sun. They rode on for the entire day, only stopping to rest the horses.

  It wasn’t until well after sunset that they stopped for the night, building a makeshift camp without a fire. Logan said he was sure that there would still be sarpans in the area, even if the information were correct. Elaine just wished they could have some warmth.

  The plains were different from the forests and grassy hills of Tyra. They were dry and water was scarce across the great expanse. There were no trees for shade in the day, and the only shadows rested in the deep ravines that marred the land.

  Already, Elaine missed the familiar cool air of the lake. At least when they had the caravan, they had smiling faces and good company. She looked back to the east, saying a silent prayer for Jane’s safety.

  “They’ll be alright,” Logan said as he rested back against a rock and closed his eyes. “Carl has a good head on his shoulders, and I wouldn’t want to face down all of his men.”

  ”I know that,” Elaine said.

  “I’m more worried about us than them,” Logan said.

  “What’s there to be worried about?” Joshua asked, leaning forward on his staff. “We’ve made it this far haven’t we?”

  “Through luck alone,” Logan said, still keeping his eyes closed. “There are more than enough times where we should have been dead, and we aren’t working together like we should.”

  “We weren’t trained to be soldiers together,” Elaine said. “My sisters and I were trained to work together. We trusted each other.”

  “Which is my point,” Logan said. “You don’t trust a lot of the decisions I make, Elaine. Joshua keeps so much to himself; I’m not even sure what he’s thinking. I don’t have enough trust in either of you.”

  “What do you want to do about it?” Elaine clenched her fists tight. “Bonds aren’t formed overnight. You can’t build trust in your comrades without being the first to open the way.”

  “That’s why I wanted to say this now.” Logan opened his eyes and looked north. “This is the point of no return. After we head north from here, we really will be in the heart of the plains. After that, there’s only one stop before we head towards Abfall. If you can’t trust the choices I make, or think this is just a game now, you can still go back to Tyra.”

  Elaine wanted to punch him. This wasn’t the time to bring this up. If he had doubts about the journey, he should have said so before they left Nethas. This was not the time to think of running away.

  “I’m not going to give up on this,” Logan said. “I can’t give up on this. You both don’t have anything compelling you. You don’t have an imp hiding in your head. “

  “You brought us all this way, and you think you can just abandon us?” Elaine interrupted. “I will stop the savod, and stop the dark blight that has taken hold of the Order’s heart. I don’t care if I have to go my own way north and destroy the source of these savod myself!”

  Elaine’s breath was quick, and her heart beat hard as she said it.

  “I will not give up on this journey,” she said.

  “These savod are interesting creatures,” Joshua said. “They hold the answers that I seek. I will not give up on this journey either.”

  Logan laughed the deep insane laugh of a man who faced his end with pride. It took a moment for Elaine to recover from the sight as he tilted his head back and looked up at the stars. She wasn’t sure if she should hit him or not now.

  “A knight, a mercenary and a mage, what an odd group we make,” Logan said. “We have to change how we do things, since you both still want to go north. We can’t let ourselves lose if that savod shows back up, or Elaine’s sisters find us again. We have to stand against them.”

  “No more running,” Elaine whispered.

  “No more running.” Logan nodded.

  “That’s all well and good,” Joshua said. “But how exactly do you think we can fight the savod if it finds us. We could barely scratch it back in Nethas.”

  In response, a black aura rose around Logan. Elaine shuddered as the magic crept across his skin. For a moment, she was sure that a savod stood before her, but she knew it was not true. Even Joshua’s eyes went wide at the sight.

  “Talan’s been training me,” Logan said. “She taught me to control the power. I’m not great at it yet. It should be enough, with Joshua’s help.”

  “What do you mean?” Joshua asked, taking a step back.

  “I’ve sensed a change in you for a while now,” Logan said. “It’s almost like the magic you use is the same as mine.”

  “I have been working on my technique,” Joshua mumbled, his face turning red. “I’m not sure what good it will do.”

  “I’m still no use against it,” Elaine said. “A sword cannot pierce its flesh.”

  “Hopefully, our magic will be enough,” Logan said. “If not, we might need a knight to ride in and save us both.”

  Logan stood up and brushed off his pants. He looked to Elaine and Joshua then placed his hand palm down before them. Elaine looked down at it, seeing the tiny scars and callouses that stretched across his skin.

  “So, together,” he said.

  “Together,” Elaine placed her hand over his.

  They both turned to Joshua.

  “Fine.” the mage rose up on his staff, placing his hand over hers. “Together.”

  “We’re missing someone,” Elaine said, looking back to Logan.

  From the shadows, Talan rose up, floating in the air in her dark form. Her green eyes looked from one of them to the next, measuring them with their sharp gaze. Finally, Talan placed her small hand over Joshua’s hand.

  “Together,” she whispered before fading back to darkness.