Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan

Regin the Warrior

By the time Sonea emerged into one of the main streets, she had collected two more jewelled knives, and, lacking large enough pockets, had stuffed one down each boot. All the Ichani she killed had one thing in common. They were young and relatively inexperienced, especially at hand to hand fighting with another black magician. She wondered if the entire invaders' force was comprised of such people. If so, it would make Akkarin's task so much easier, to say nothing of her own. If it carries on like this, she mused with a silent giggle, I will soon be unable to accommodate any more knives.

The streets were much clearer now and she was able to move more freely. She noticed that more people had retreated to buildings, rather than run for the Fort. There were faces pressed against the windows, looking anxiously out on to the scene below. She stopped and listened. The previously almost constant noise of explosions had stopped. All she could hear was the sound of people shouting in the distance.

Where had Akkarin and the others gone? There were no immediate clues and Sonea was not familiar enough with the town to decide on the most promising area. She looked up for the sun, hoping to settle on a direction, but the inward-leaning stories of the buildings made glimpses of the sky, let along the sun, difficult. She heard the sound of forcestrikes coming from somewhere over to her left and set off in that direction.

There was no one in this part of the town, so it didn't take her long to discover Regin and one of the other Warriors engaged in a struggle with three Ichani. Regin and his companion were standing back to back while the Ichani circled them, all the time sending strikes directly at their shields. Sonea didn't want to reveal herself yet and looked for a way to help without becoming directly involved in the fight. Luckily for the two magicians, these Ichani had not learned to coordinate their strikes, which weakened their attempts to disrupt their opponents' shields.

Sonea spotted a run-down building with broken windows and missing doors which should provide her with some cover. She ran over to it and dodged inside. The staircase was rotten and full of gaps, but she was able to levitate to the next floor. Gaining the window, she found she could look down on the contest below. It soon became apparent to her that the Warrior was weakening and Regin was trying to encourage him to hold on. Then, while she was still thinking about what to do, misfortune struck. The Warrior lost his footing on a loose cobble and as he tried to regain his balance, his concentration lapsed and one of the circulating Ichani took advantage. A heavy strike pierced the shield and the black magician had cut the Warrior almost before he noticed the danger. Sonea received the desperate mental images the dying Warrior sent and she felt with him the fiery cut and the rush of his power as it left him, taking his life with him.

Regin, in the meantime, tried to aid his companion, sending a strong stunstrike but it failed to dislodge the Ichani. The others closed in on Regin, whose attention was fixed on the fallen Warrior and his killer. It looked very likely that Regin would be the next victim.

Sonea stared at the sight below. Through her mind flashed images of all the hurt and slights inflicted on her over the years by Regin. The bullying, the physical and magic attacks, the incitement of others to join in her persecution, the sneering way he addressed her, even now, years afterwards. Sonea was strongly tempted to let events take their course. Regin would be defeated, his power drained and his life ended. It would be a satisfying act of revenge.

The seconds ticked by and she did nothing, other than watch as Regin's strikes began to waver as his plight became more desperate. It would be so easy just to let things just fall into place. The world would be rid of Regin and she would never have to suffer from his attentions again.

Perhaps it was the mental call for help she heard from the man below. Perhaps it was her natural desire to help a Guild magician, but Sonea delayed no longer. She had to save Regin. She summoned up her power and aimed the most powerful stunstrike she could manage at one of the Ichani. It penetrated his shield instantly and the boy, for he was as young as her previous opponents, looked around in astonishment to try to see where the blow had come from. Regin seized the opportunity and attacked with a rapid succession of forcestrikes until the Ichani was down, then with a quick sideways movement with his hands and arm, Regin broke his neck and the limp body fell back, then it was gone as the boy's magic sought for escape.

The rapid change in events frightened the other Ichani and they turned to run, but Regin was faster and caught one of them before he managed more than a few steps. The Warrior broke this boy's neck almost before the Ichani knew it and let the body fall as the stored magic destroyed it. The other Ichani, meanwhile, had disappeared but neither she nor Regin has seen which direction he had taken.

Such a waste of power…..although Sonea knew that Regin had no way of taking the Ichani power, she couldn't help but regret that she had been unable to take advantage of two more deaths. Meanwhile, Regin, in unconscious imitation of his erstwhile opponent looked round to see who had come to his aid. Sonea was well concealed with her shield held tightly around her, so she was not concerned he would find her. She sensed rather than saw Regin's magic stab out in many directions, trying to find the other magician, but she made sure she was completely hidden from him. After a few moments, he gave up his quest and disappeared swiftly down a side street.

Sonea emerged from her hiding place and began to follow in the same direction that Regin had taken. It didn't take her long to see him in the distance. Luckily his scarlet robes made following him much easier. With the loss of one of the Warriors, there were only five Guild magicians apart from herself in the town. Will that be enough? She still had no idea how many Ichani had been part of the attack. She had killed four and Regin two. One had escaped and then there were the sea-borne attackers. How many of them had perished in Akkarin's attack?

She concentrated on keeping Regin just in sight. He seemed sure of his destination and Sonea could only hope the others would be there. She wondered who had taken the decision to split up the party. It must have been Balkan, she thought, Akkarin would not have been so misguided. Whoever it was, it had put the small group of Guild magicians in danger of being picked off, one by one. If she had not intervened, Regin would have been lost as well.

Just as she was thinking this, two more Ichani appeared from a side street, right behind Regin and he was in danger once more. Something must have alerted him, because he spun round quickly, shield in place, and began sending strikes against his attackers. Again the two Ichani failed to act in concert, so their strikes against Regin lacked impact. Their strikes were also weaker, as if they had insufficient power, so the battle was more even than the numbers suggested.

Sonea held back, sure she didn't want to reveal her presence to Regin because she couldn't trust him. She watched as Regin's fighting ability began to outmatch his two opponents. He moved around, so they found it difficult to aim their strikes and he used some techniques Sonea recognised from her time training with Yikmo, which kept the other two off balance as they were unsure where the next strike was coming from. Regin kept up a constant barrage of strikes, wearing down his opponents and manoeuvring them into making mistakes.

Regin finally broke through the shield of one black magician and sprang upon him before he could react, using the same technique Sonea had seen before of breaking his neck. For a moment, the Ichani's fallen form remained on the ground, unmoving in death, then it vanished as the remains of his magic escaped. Like the others Sonea had seen, this one, too, was a boy barely in his teens. Were there no adult magicians among them?

Meanwhile, the remaining Ichani redoubled his efforts to break through Regin's shield. His face was contorted with anger as he sent a stream of insulting remarks directed at the Guild magician. Regin ignored the taunts as he concentrated on keeping the Ichani from getting close to him. Again, Regin's experience began to tell as he forced the boy to keep away from him. It looked as if this battle would soon be over.

Just as Sonea was expecting Regin to finish off his opponent, two more Ichani appeared from another street. She was sure one was the same boy who had run off earlier. He had brought reinforcements with him, in the form of an older, and obviously more experienced magician. Regin was now in serious trouble. He couldn't be expected to battle three Ichani in his own, especially as one was a more formidable opponent. Sonea hesitated, she had to join the struggle, but she couldn't do it as Jalette, nor did she want to appear as herself. Regin would be sure to give her away and then Akkarin would know. Sonea wanted to delay that moment as long as possible.

She remembered one of the young Thieves who used to run wild with them when she was part of Cery's little group, and used her memory of him to change her features until she resembled him. It wouldn't matter if the image was not exact, just so long as Regin didn't recognise who she really was. There was no handy mirror for her to check her features, so she just had to put her faith in her magic and the protection of the Eye.

She stepped out into the street and began to attack the older Ichani. Regin didn't have much time to examine her closely, he simply moved his position to give her better access to the Ichani. Soon the area was alive to the sound of rapid strikes and counterstrikes. Sonea's shield held firm, but Regin's was showing signs of thinning.

Sonea concentrated on the older Ichani, who seemed surprised at her ability to resist his strikes.

Who are you?

Sonea didn't know if it were Regin or the other who was sending. In any event, she didn't intend to reply. She concentrated her strikes on a single spot on the Ichani's shield, hearing Yikmo's voice in her head as though she were at one of his training sessions. Each strike was carefully placed and she was rewarded by signs of thinning. She could hear Regin somewhere behind her, striking at the two younger black magicians, but she could risk glancing round. He would have to just get on with it on his own.

She was jolted by the force of a strike against her shield and the shock of it rocked her backwards. Her opponent was powerful. She summoned up more power to her shield, conscious that the effort of maintaining a different face as well as fight would drain her power more quickly than she would like. She eyed the Ichani, if she could finish the fight quickly, she had a chance of replenishing her power by a large amount. The longer the fight went on, the more power would be lost to her.

She felt the reassurance of the jewelled knife in her hand, although she had no memory of drawing it. Her opponent also saw it and knew the implications. His face darkened and a snarl broke from him as he redoubled his efforts to break her shield. From behind her came the sound of a muffled explosion and a flash of light so she knew that Regin had disposed of one of his adversaries.

Who are you?

This time she was sure it was the Ichani who asked but she continued to ignore him. His question was followed by a series of taunts as he tried to break her concentration. Again, he rocked her with a strike and she almost lost her footing. She began of feel the effects as a weakening of her strength, small now, but she knew she had to finish this quickly or risk a severe power drain. Her mind was scrolling through her Warrior training. Surely there was something she could use. Again, Yikmo's voice seemed to be guiding her as she settled on a tactic he had once taught her.

She allowed her enemy to think she was tiring more quickly than she was and let his strikes begin to force her backwards. His expression reflected his belief in her impending failure as a fierce smile spread across his face. His strikes became more intense as she continued to move away from him.

See, child, you cannot stand against me, the Ichani sent gleefully. I shall enjoy the sweet taste of you when my knife parts your flesh.

Sonea forced herself not to reply and engineered a small stumble as she continued to retreat slowly before him. Suddenly, the Ichani fell into the trap she had prepared for him. He rushed forward to put an end to her, and as he did so, she fell to the ground beneath him, causing him to lurch as he tried to keep his balance. But his momentum was too great and his body fell across hers. She was through the weak spot in his shield in an instant, the knife in her right hand already in position for the first slash. She cut his arm, deeply, and slammed her hand over the cut.

She could feel him grappling for her hand, attempting to pull it away, but the power rush was strong and she could feel it surging through her body, providing the strength to keep her hand in place while at the same time severely weakening her opponent. His frantic movements grew less effective as his life force began to drain away. She increased the rate at which she drew on his power, feeling him weaken faster and faster, until the power surge fell away to a trickle, then stopped.

She pushed his dead weight off her and got to her feet. Regin had killed his second opponent and was watching her. He had made no move to help her and she wondered what was going through his mind. He had seen what she had done, and perhaps he thought she was one of the Ichani. As she stepped towards him, he stepped backwards.

"Who are you?" he asked sharply, "You are not a Guild magician, so where did you come from?"

She was puzzled by his question until she remembered she was wearing ordinary clothes and not robes. He must think of her as a potential enemy. She took a step nearer to him and again he moved, keeping the distance between them.

"If I were you," she said, giving her voice a hint of menace, "I would not enquire too closely who it is who saved your life. You may not like the answer you receive."

Regin's chin went up, "I am not afraid of you!" he retorted.

She allowed a knowing smile to spread slowly across her face, "No?" she asked. "Then come here and take my hand."

Regin hesitated for only a moment, then he bowed slightly, "I thank you for your aid," he said, turned away from her and began to walk rapidly away.

Sonea let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. She had given no thought to dealing with Regin after the battle, and, she admitted to herself, it could have been difficult. This way, she could melt back into the shadows, Regin could join the others with tales of divisions among the Ichani and Akkarin would still be unaware of her presence. A sweet victory, indeed.