Helen grabbed Drake’s arm, ready to pull him away, but he covered her hand. “It’s only an illusion of a haest. That’s still really Nicholas.”

Helen tried to relax in the face of that news, but couldn’t. The next man in line was already doing that shimmering thing, and when he stopped he was a sludge monster. “What’s that called?” she asked Drake in a pathetic squeak.

“A kajmela. She’ll probably throw in a sgath or two as well. Don’t worry, it’s all just special effects. Gilda’s showing off for you.”

Helen doubted that a woman as powerful as Gilda would concern herself with showing off to anyone. Certainly not to Helen, who appeared to be afraid of her own shadow.

The next man in line turned into a furry wolf-chimpanzee mix with glowing green eyes that spooked her down to her toes. “Is that a sgath?”

Once the last man had turned into a hideous monster, Gilda lowered her hands and said to Helen, “This is what you will be expected to do, child. Judge well whether or not you are able.”

Angus drew his sword, which was apparently the sign for the monsters to attack. The furry sgath charged in on all fours, heading straight for Gilda.

Angus stepped to Gilda’s right side, planted his feet, and squared his shoulders with his blade raised. His sword reflected orange flames and Helen had to fight to stay calm. The flames weren’t hot, so maybe they were just an illusion, too.

Helen latched on to that thought and convinced herself to believe it. Slowly, some of the residual panic started to fade and she was able to breathe easier.

Angus’s expression was serene, but his body was poised to strike. “He’s going to kill them,” she said.

Drake was still holding her close and his hand smoothed over her hip in a gentle caress. “Gilda’s magic protects them. Don’t worry. None of them will be hurt.”

Three sgath leapt toward Gilda. She flicked her hand once, as if shaking water from it. The sgath slammed into an invisible barrier and bounced off.

There were four haest and they covered the distance more cautiously. They spread out, making odd clicking sounds. Two charged Angus while one more moved toward Gilda. Angus tried to angle his body to put it between the haest and Gilda, but the two things lunged at him with those long, transparent fangs and he had no choice but to defend himself. His sword swung in a deadly arc that lopped off a foot of all four fangs.

The haest gave off frantic clicking sounds, but didn’t relent. They pressed him harder, lunging with their insectoid heads, keeping his sword busy parrying their attempts.

The haest nearing Gilda hit another invisible barrier and lashed out at it. Sparks spewed out from the wall as the thing advanced.

Gilda’s feet slid over the ground as the haest pushed both the barrier and her back toward the ring of fire.

Helen tensed at the thought of Gilda getting burned, but Drake stroked her back, telling her with his relaxed body language that everything was fine.

Gilda smiled and a second later, spikes made of stone shot up from the ground, skewering the haest attacking her. It waved its spindly legs in the air, but it did no good. The thing was trapped on stone spikes.

She was so busy with that monster that she hadn’t noticed the haest that had come up behind her.

Helen pulled in a breath to shout a warning, but it was too late. The long fangs shot toward Gilda’s back. A split second before they could land, she leapt high into the air and landed in a roll twenty feet away. The haest’s fangs were buried in the ground and it pulled at them in an effort to dislodge them.

Before it could free itself, another sudden growth of stone spikes erupted from the ground and impaled it.

By this time, one of the kajmela had consumed the sword in an effort to guard it and the other was flowing over the dirt toward Angus. He’d cut down one of the haest, and the other was backing up from his viciously aggressive attack.

It backed right into the kajmela, which absorbed it and grew larger.

Angus paid it no heed. He went to Gilda’s side and helped her to her feet. She brushed the dust from her skirt as Angus slid his hand over the back of her neck.

The air thrummed with power. Helen could feel it surround her, feel it vibrate the stones beneath her feet. Gilda bowed her head and her long hair fell to shield her face.

The kajmelas were heading toward the pair, getting closer and closer by the second.

The air around them cooled and when Gilda lifted her head, Helen could see fire burning in her eyes. Real fire. Gilda opened her mouth and a column of flame burst from her lips. She lifted her hand toward the kajmela and glowing drops of flame fell from her fingertips and pooled on the ground.

Angus’s face twisted in a pained snarl and Gilda’s body shuddered an instant before a pillar of fire as thick as a tree trunk shot out of her hand and engulfed the kajmela. A horrible high-pitched hissing sound erupted from the monster, but it continued to advance, spreading fire in its wake.

Gilda slumped, but Angus wrapped an arm around her middle and eased her down to the ground. He dropped his sword and spread his bare hand on the ground.

Helen felt the earth under her feet cool.

“Now!” Angus shouted.

Gilda weakly lifted her hand and another burst of flame spewed out, hitting the second kajmela.

That hissing scream doubled and Helen covered her ears to block it out. She didn’t care if none of this was real. It looked real. It sounded real.

One of the sgath had regained its feet and circled around behind Angus and Gilda.

Helen tried to remind herself that this was all j ust practice. An illusion meant to scare her. Well, it was working like a charm. She wanted to scream out a warning.

Drake’s hand covered her mouth. “Let it happen.”

As if she had any choice.

The sgath didn’t charge this time, it moved stealthily, keeping out of sight of the Theronai. The kajmelas were burning, getting smaller and smaller by the second, but still advancing.

Angus pushed himself to his feet and pulled Gilda up with him. They stood back to back in the center of the flaming circle using the giant carved boulder to protect one flank. Gilda was swaying on her feet, but the look on her face was one of determination. The flames in her eyes burned brighter and tears of fire spilled down her smooth cheek.

Angus saw the sgath and readied his blade to kill it while Gilda faced the two burning kajmelas. All three monsters attacked at once. The sgath was faster and Angus sliced at it, missing.

Its eyes glowed green in triumph as it went for Gilda’s unprotected flank.

As if reading Angus’s mind, Gilda spun at the last second, narrowly avoiding the black claws of the sgath. It slashed three razor-sharp gashes in her long skirt.

Gilda ducked. Angus’s blade sliced through where her neck would have been and embedded itself into the chest of the sgath.

The kajmelas were now close enough to reach out with oily black tentacles. One shot out for Angus, and Gilda let out a shout of fury and blasted it with a handful of fire.

Angus ripped his sword free from the defeated sgath and lifted Gilda onto the carved boulder with one arm. His hand locked around her bare ankle and Helen could feel the connection between them strengthen. That odd thrumming energy reverberated in the air with the power of the magic that flowed between them.

Gilda was fiercely beautiful standing there with her dark hair and pale skirt flowing out behind her, her eyes glowing with fire and a victorious smile on her lips. Helen had never seen anything so striking before in her life.

Gilda lifted both hands toward the kajmelas and released another fountain of flames at them. Fire flowed from her fingertips, writhing and seething as if it were alive. The kajmelas gave off more shrill hissing screams, but she did not relent. Her body shook with effort, but the fire continued, shrinking the kajmelas until only flat, greasy puddles remained.

In the center of one of those puddles was the sword.

The fire tapered off and Gilda collapsed from atop the boulder. Angus caught her easily and held her close to his chest.

The circle of flame around the battleground disappeared and the illusion of monsters did as well. Men lay on the ground, bruised and groaning, but none of them were bleeding or burned. They pushed to their feet and went to Gilda’s side.

Drake took Helen’s hand and led her across the clearing.

Angus sat on the ground at the base of the boulder and settled Gilda in his lap. She was unconscious and pale. His left hand encircled her throat and his expression was one of deep concentration.

“What’s he doing?” asked Helen.

“Reviving her. She used too much power keeping all the illusions going as well as protecting the men and fighting the battle.”

Helen could only boggle at how much energy that kind of magic had to take. Helen hadn’t even managed to make a spark and she was exhausted to the point of falling over. How much firepower did Gilda possess? It was a frightening thought.

“Angus is pulling more energy from the earth and feeding it into her through her luceria.”

Whatever he was doing was working. Already, Gilda was stirring, opening her eyes. They were a little bloodshot, but black again, which was a huge relief to Helen. She didn’t think she could look the woman in the eye if all that fire was in there.

Gilda struggled to sit up and Angus helped her. “I am well. Leave us,” she said to the men gathered there.

“Yes, my lady,” came the mass reply. This time, Drake didn’t join in. He stayed and held Helen by his side.

It seemed strange that a bunch of big guys would take orders from one little woman. Of course, that one little woman could probably roast any of their asses even on her worst day, but it still seemed odd.

When the men had cleared, Gilda looked at Helen expectantly.

“That was amazing,” she said.

Angus grunted. He didn’t look pleased. In fact, he was giving Gilda a look that promised she’d hear just how displeased he was later. “It would have been a lot more amazing if we hadn’t spent the past two weeks killing Synestryn every night, keeping them at bay so our men could find Kevin’s sword. You were too tired to have done this tonight.” He had a rough voice to go with his rough face. Deep lines were carved around his eyes and mouth. Everything about him was hard except the color of his eyes. They were a soft sky blue that seemed so out of place she couldn’t help but stare at them.

Gilda patted Angus on the knee. “It had to be done, Angus. I’m fine.” She turned to Helen. “Do you see now what is expected of you?”

“There’s no way I’ll ever be able to do what you did. Even if I wasn’t scared to death of fire, I still wouldn’t have been able to wield so much power.”

“Perhaps not yet, but one day you will. The question is whether or not you should try. Going into battle without fire would be like one of our warriors going in without his sword. You could do it, but it would be foolish and dangerous to everyone around you.”

Helen’s vision flashed in her mind. Fire surrounded her and through the wavering flames, she could see that proud half smile tilting Drake’s mouth. Only, unlike Gilda, the flames were burning her—blistering her skin. They were real and they hurt like hell.