One morning, Kayla used the excuse of hunting for some deer so she could get some alone time. She had traveled uneventfully with the party for two weeks. All the people were killing her. As she shifted her hand through the air, she parted the water molecules and pulled a black bow and quiver from the vacancy. She moved noiselessly across the dead leaves.

"Kayla! Kayla, help!" Cyrus's voice rang through the trees.

Without responding, she jogged soundlessly to where Cyrus's panicked voice was coming from. She burst into a clearing where Cyrus was being attacked by a burly Villain with a red beard. He was raising his hands to ward off blows from a large silver mace. She aimed an arrow at the mace hand of the Villain and let her arrow fly. It hit him squarely, but not before Cyrus was knocked to the ground with a hefty blow. She raced over to Cyrus and stood over him.

"Cyrus, get off your posterior and help me," she said though gritted teeth as she fended off blows with ice shields. Suddenly, something Cyrus knocked her off her feet with a swipe of his arm. "Cyrus, what are you doing?" she cried. Minions converged on her from all sides and Cyrus was Cyrus no longer. He was a shape shifter. Kayla deposited her bow and arrows in the vacancy and resorted to two ice swords. After much cutting and slicing, she killed all the Minions. She whirled her swords up to block a sword strike from a Villain with black, shoulder-length hair and a scar on his cheek and neck. They parried and swiped at each other as if their life depended on it. But Kayla was obviously winning. She noticed a woman in white with a panicked look on her face as she began a spell. Obviously, the two were in love. Maybe I can use that to my advantage. She jumped sideways and kicked off his chest. He flew into a tree and groaned. "Serimal!" the woman shrieked and ran to his side.

Kayla didn't notice the raven-haired man watching her.


Voshtyr watched the battle incredulously. The girl had bested Anthony, Serimal, and at least twenty Minions. It was time for him to interfere. He entered the clearing as a sinister, black smoke spread amongst the trees, crushing every water molecule. Now, she wouldn't be able to sense where to go. He drew his falchion and a knife slid against his metal arm. A sinister smile snuck across his face as he searched for his prey.


Kayla panicked. She couldn't sense a darn thing with all this smoke. She knew it was magic, as it crushed every water droplet she could sense. She moved quietly over the dead leaves, occasionally glancing down to look for twigs. Kayla pressed up behind a tree and hardly dared to breath. Her two swords were starting to melt. She scrambled mentally to collect the droplets, but there weren't any. There weren't any molecules to part to get her bow. She managed to freeze the swords so they would stay frozen. She tested the sides on the tree. Razor sharp. She peered around the tree and started moving forward.

Suddenly, Voshtyr appeared about three steps in front of her. She ducked his first swing, then jabbed with her sword. It hit a tree and stuck. Kayla cursed as she pulled. She parried another swipe from Voshtyr's sword and yanked her own free. A heavy boot slammed into her chest and she flew back into a tree. Voshtyr leapt forward and did a scissor-swipe with both of his swords. She couldn't duck or dodge, so she transformed her swords into an ice dome that protected her body. He started blasting the shield with balls of black energy. She drew moisture from the ground and added it to her defenses.

"Kayla! Kayla, where are you?" Cyrus shouted.

Kayla's concentration broke as she glanced off into the forest, distracted. She felt the side of her face absorb an energy mass and she lost consciousness.

Voshtyr looked around to the direction where the Hero's apprentice was shouting. He dragged the girl over to where Nieva, Serimal, Anthony, and a dozen Minions were waiting. He cast a Spell of Invisibility as the red headed youth burst into the clearing.


"Kayla!" he screamed. Voshtyr directed a Minion to go around the trees and lead Solberg off course. He took the bait immediately. Voshtyr and Nieva wove their hands in unison and a mass Teleportation spell took place, just as a black Katheni entered the clearing.