It had gone so well that once Rio and Wendy had returned, they each insisted she lead at least one exercise a day for the soldiers.
Talise dropped her fist from high in the air, which served as a signal to her soldiers. They all took their stances and then punched their palms forward to blast out fireballs. Maybe the promise of a nearing battle helped, but their technique improved every day.
Even Tempest could create decent fireballs now. Her fire shaping still paled in comparison to her water shaping, but she could manage the basics.
Not hiding the pride bubbling inside her, Talise put both hands on her hips. “You have all improved greatly. These fireballs will serve you well in battle. Now, let’s practice earth shaping a rock to knock someone out.”
It felt strange to teach at times. Not just because she hadn’t done it in so long, but also because of the journals Wendy had thankfully retrieved. She and Tempest had found eight of Kamdar’s personal journals, and they also found three of Eben’s. Since they had been traveling so much, Talise hadn’t had enough time to find out if the journals contained the information she needed. Preferably, they’d explain how to use the amulet without dying. But a part of her still feared wielding the amulet at all.
Eben had taught her a little too well about how completely the amulet could corrupt. Becoming as powerful and as cruel as Kamdar was a nightmare that visited her often. Even with her greatest care, using the amulet might whittle away at her humanity.
Once Wendy and Tempest had returned, Talise stuffed the journals into the trunk containing the amulet and Aaden’s dagger. She carefully kept herself busy enough that she never had time to go through them.
Wendy would start badgering her about it soon, but for now, ignoring the problem of the amulet seemed like the best idea.
“Everyone, hold your hand at this angle and then move it down as quickly as possible.” The soldiers followed her command immediately. “It takes a fair amount of muscle to knock someone out with just your hand, which is where the rock comes in. But before you can use the rock, you have to fully understand the technique.”
Hands sliced through the air as her soldiers practiced.
At the back of the group, Wendy appeared and raised one finger. Talise nodded and quickly moved on to the next part of the lesson. Most of it involved practicing. Once she demonstrated the technique, everyone could continue while she went to speak to Wendy.
With her feet properly grounded, Talise reached out her earth shaping senses to find an appropriately sized rock for the demonstration. “Remember,” she said while levitating the rock toward herself. “Earth shaping comes from the feet. You must feel the earth shaping through them before you start. Then, reach out your senses and treat the rock as an extension of your arm.”
From a distance, some type of horn sounded. The noise brought a flurry of terror through her middle. Not wanting to get frightened over nothing, she glanced at the back of the ranks once more. Perhaps this was what Wendy had wanted to speak to her about anyway.
Her best friend’s widened eyes and clenched jaw did nothing to assuage Talise’s fears. Before another thought could enter her mind, an arrow with a burning flame at the tip soared through the camp. It landed in the soil right between the feet of one of her soldiers. Loud whoops erupted from the same direction as the arrow’s origin.
Shouting broke out, coming from the guards patrolling along the edge of their camp. They warned that members of Kessoku had arrived to attack. Their warnings did little good since the attack had already begun.
Several more fiery arrows rained down while Talise ordered her soldiers into defense formations. Rio appeared from nowhere, directing the soldiers and tasking a small group with retrieving weapons from the storage tent. In the chaos, she had lost sight of Wendy.
Kessoku appeared next.
Only two squads appeared from behind the mountain ridge where they had been hiding, but that didn’t mean more weren’t coming. With black tunics and pants, the gold-stitched symbol of three interlocking circles stood out on their chests. They continued to whoop and shout, as if the noise might provoke fear in their enemy.
Each Kessoku formed a ball of fire over his or her palm before using the fire to ignite a cloth ball at the end of an arrow. The cloth must have been dipped in oil or some other igniter because the flames burned bright and hot.
Their flame-tipped arrows rained down, but the soldiers weren’t the only victims. Two arrows landed on a canvas tent, setting it to flame immediately.
While her soldiers began fighting back, Talise rushed toward the tent. She pulled water from the air with each step. By the time she reached the tent, at least two other tents had been hit as well. Heat from the rising flames caused a sweat to break out on her forehead.
Now her shaping mattered more than ever. Since she hadn’t created the fire with her own shaping, she couldn’t control it with her shaping either. Instead, she’d have to use other methods.
Water droplets pooled together when she shaped them from the air. She sent them splashing onto the tent. Just when most of the fire had been put out, someone crashed into her from the side.
Even after being knocked down, her hands immediately rose to attack. How had one of the Kessoku gotten to her so fast?
But of course, they hadn’t. “Come on.” Claye yanked her off the ground while checking over his shoulder three times in two seconds. “We have to get you out of here.”
A sound rumbled from the back of her throat. “I’m not leaving.” She stepped away and managed to shape enough water from the air to put out the rest of the tent, but the fire had crawled through it now eating at the interior.
Maybe using earth to smother the flame would work faster.
Claye slammed into her once more. This time he pulled her hand as he moved, so she wouldn’t fall to the ground again. It didn’t seem possible that he had enough strength to force her anywhere, but here he was doing just that.
Even when she tried to turn around or jerk her hand out of his grip, he only pushed harder and held on tighter. Behind them, heat surged as another tent went up in flames. Her head jerked back to watch, which prompted Claye to grab her around the waist.
In the mountains where they’d been camping, there were plenty of ridges and dips to hide behind. He must have had a place in mind because no sooner than he grabbed her around the waist, the ground dropped out from under them, and they started rolling down a short hill.
He gave her no time to compose herself once they reached the bottom, instead forcing her behind a very large tree.
She knew her teeth were bared by the time he turned to face her. “Get out my way, Claye. I’m going back.”
He dug his feet in the ground and leaned over her, taking advantage of the six inches of height he had on her. “You need to stay where it’s safe.”
Pounding his chest with mini punches seemed like an appropriate response. “But those are my people. I’m supposed to fight with them.”
“You’re too important for that.”
Now her jaw dipped, which was definitely outside her control. Her voice lowered too, apparently of its own accord. “I don’t want to be too important.”
“Well, you are.” He glared at her still, but his voice had taken on that indescribable softness that always sent her stomach into a fluster. “And it would be a lot easier for people, me particularly, if you could just accept that.”