‘Lem,’ Annev said, turning to the six-foot-tall avatar. ‘Take that poker from Brinden. You can keep the hammer, but you need a longer reach. Titus, give your rapier to Therin so you can hold the phoenix lantern behind your buckler.’
The boys looked from one to another, curious at the command. When Titus obediently handed Therin his sword, Lemwich shrugged and stooped for the poker. Fyn stepped over to Annev, pulling both maces from his back. ‘Are we going to rush him?’
Annev shook his head, turning back to Oyru. Across the plaza, the assassin extended both hands away from his body. Tendrils of black smoke streamed up from his fingertips and began coalescing into something solid.
‘Light hurts the shadows,’ Annev said, ‘but steel hurts the man. We need to use both.’
Fyn pointed at Annev’s flaming sword. ‘Looks like you have both.’
‘Yes, but I need help.’
Fyn shook his head. ‘Not from us. I saw you kill those metal monsters all by yourself. I don’t know what you picked up in that Vault, but you’re a hell of a better fighter now.’ The other avatars had gathered around Annev and were nodding in agreement.
Annev shrugged, not wanting to explain that, while the artifacts had helped, his true power had come when he had tapped into the magic within those artifacts. It was something he couldn’t rely on and was only beginning to understand; unlike the Darite magic Sodar had often tried to teach him, this required no glyphs or magic words, just a sense of need and an awareness of the magic he was holding.
‘Two hands are stronger than one,’ Annev said, ‘and what a finger can stop, a fist can crush.’ He looked at each of his peers. ‘I need your help to fight that thing.’
The avatars looked at one another, uncertain, but then Titus stepped forward, the phoenix lantern clutched close to his chest. ‘I’m with you.’
Therin exchanged a look with Fyn and Lemwich then shrugged. ‘If Titus can fight without a sword, I guess I can fight with one.’
‘Thanks, guys,’ Annev said, nodding to his friends. He looked at the other two avatars. ‘Are you with me?’ They slowly nodded. ‘Good. You’re going to herd him towards me. If he runs for the shadows, we may need to fall back, but as long as we keep him in the square, I think we can take him.’ He turned to Titus. ‘I want you to keep the eye of the lantern on Oyru. That should make him vulnerable to everyone else. Understood?’
Lemwich and Therin nodded. Titus grasped the phoenix lantern in his hands and twisted, bringing forth the light and focusing it into a brilliant narrow beam.
‘Where should I shine it?’
Annev looked back at Oyru. The assassin had stepped out of the shadows with a wicked-looking pair of flyssa swords in hand: long and narrow, with a straight back, a subtly curved edge, and a sharply pointed tip, the black blades streamed grey smoke as Oyru spun them. He paced back and forth, squinting in the light, staying close to the well’s dark shadow.
‘Right in his eyes,’ Annev said, studying the assassin. ‘But keep it hidden behind your shield until we get closer. And watch yourselves. If anyone sees something coming out of the shadows – even your own shadow – shout for me or Titus.’
Annev looked to Sraon and saw the blacksmith was kneeling beside Sodar, speaking to him as he checked his wound. He’d removed the throwing star and Sodar was instructing the blacksmith how to bind his injured leg. Annev took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his sword. He concentrated on the flames, imagining them cooler and brighter, then extended his consciousness into the sword: the blue-white spectrum shifted, the blue becoming yellow and the white becoming a near-blinding glare.
‘Follow me.’
Annev ran for Oyru, leaving the safety of Sodar’s ward. The other boys followed, spreading out behind him while trying to match his magically enhanced pace.
Oyru cocked his head to the side, studying the onrush, and stepped away from the well, falling into a crouch with his two long blades held at the ready.
As Annev neared the assassin, he opened his mind and embraced the magic flowing through him, calling on the garments he wore to speed, strengthen and protect him. He opened his eyes wide, drinking in the light and all the details of the scene before him.
When Annev was less than ten feet away, the assassin made his move, dodging aside to engage Lemwich, who had come up on the left. Annev leapt forward, attempting to intercept the assassin and protect the ill-armed avatar, but then Oyru feinted and spun to the right, engaging with Titus instead. The blond-haired boy instinctively raised his shield, bracing himself against the assassin’s impending attack.
‘The lantern, Titus!’
Trusting Annev, Titus fought his natural instinct of self-protection and lowered his shield, shining the bright beam of the phoenix lantern full in the face of the shadow-clad assassin.
Oyru howled, showing pain for the first time as he covered his eyes and backed away from the meek steward. As he retreated, Fyn swung out with his flanged mace, clipping the assassin’s elbow. The Shadow howled again and lunged towards Fyn, trying to stab the avatar with his flyssa, but Titus was ready, blinding him once more.
Seeing Oyru’s vulnerability, Fyn snapped out with his right mace, deflecting the assassin’s blade, then smashed the other into Oyru’s face, hitting the exact spot on which Titus’s lantern was focused. This time, steel seemed to connect with flesh. The black cloth covering the assassin’s face tore away, taking a large chunk of Oyru’s nose with it.
The Shadow Reborn stumbled backward, his left hand pressed to the bleeding wound on his face, tendrils of grey smoke leaking between his fingers. He glanced from Fyn to Titus then turned back to Annev, Therin and Lemwich, looking dazed.
Annev resumed his original position in their half-circle and advanced on Oyru as the other avatars closed in on the left and right, trying to surround the assassin. Oyru began to back away as they drew closer, angling himself towards the small pool of shadow surrounding the nearby well.
Sensing the assassin’s intent, Annev leapt forward, throwing himself into a cartwheel over Oyru’s head as he swung his flamberge down.
The Shadow Reborn ducked and rolled to the right, narrowly escaping the flaming blade before tumbling back onto his feet in front of Lemwich. The ox-strong avatar struck with his iron poker, aiming for the assassin’s head. Instead of blocking the blow, Oyru dived forward, slicing out with his twin flyssas just as Lemwich’s poker crashed into the side of his skull. Oyru twitched, flinching as the metal sluggishly passed through one side of his head and out the other. A spurt of blood gushed from the hole in his face, trickling down into the thin line of his grey lips.
Lemwich stared dumbly at the weapon in his hand then looked up at the assassin. Blood bloomed across his throat and chest, and then Lemwich slumped forward, dead.