Daron struggled to escape from the strong arms of his captor. The man was big and brutish, and he wore a burnished breastplate with the symbol of Amardis.
The brute called for help, and one of his allies ran over and secured Daron’s wrists. Daron was dragged into line behind his fellow priests, kicking and biting.
“S’that all of ‘em?” Grunted one, rubbing his arm where Daron had bitten him.
“Fink so.” Snorted another.
“Let’s get goin’ den,” ordered the first. Suddenly, a fistful of shadows punched him in the head, and he collapsed, groaning. His four allies swivelled round to see what had attacked their leader. Daron snorted as two tried to turn at the same time, and ended up smashing their foreheads together.
A young girl was striding through the village square, clearing a path through the women and children. She was closely followed by a dark-haired young man. As he watched, the girl scooped up a handful of water from the fountain, moulded it into a ball, and threw it. It sped towards the soldiers, and smashed into one of their heads.
Next, the girl created a globe of light. It was spinning, growing. When it was big enough, she fashioned it into a hammer, and sent it spinning towards the second soldier. He tried to dodge it, but was knocked out.
The third soldier ran towards the girl, while the fourth made a dash for the young man, drawing his sword. The young man waited until he was close, then stepped out of the way like a bull-tamer. The soldier hurtled past, skidding to a halt a few feet away, then turning to receive the young man’s fist. While he punched the soldier with one hand, he used the other to draw the knife from the soldier’s belt.
Meanwhile, his sister had encased herself in a protective bubble, and was throwing fistfuls of shadow at soldier number three. However, it was obviously sapping her strength. Beads of perspiration glistened on her brow, and her face had gone very pale. She shivered slightly as she finally hit the man with a shadow ball. He was knocked of his feet, and slammed into a nearby building. The bubble flickered and disappeared, as the pretty girl collapsed, her eyes unfocused.
The young man was also looking tired, as he stabbed and slashed at the brutish soldier with the small knife. Suddenly, he lunged and stabbed the soldier’s sword hand. Howling, the soldier dropped his sword, and the young man was quick to scoop it up. He hit the soldier with the flat of the blade, knocking him out.
The young man stood over the body, raising the sword to deal the final blow.
“Sam! No!” Screamed the tired little girl, suddenly alert. “You can’t kill him!”
Sam stared into the man’s unseeing green eyes, and nodded.
“Free the prisoners, Lil,” he said, handing her the blade. Wearily, Lil walked over to Daron and his fellow prisoners, and started to saw at their bonds, while Sam grouped the unconscious men together, and tied them with a length of rope from their leader’s belt.
Daron rubbed his wrists, sore and scratched from the tight rope.
“Thank you,” he said, slowly, “Thank you for saving me- us,”
Lil studied him. “You’re welcome.” She replied, finally.
Sam walked over. “Who’s this?” he asked the girl.
“Daron.”
“What- how do you know my name?” asked Daron, shakily. Lil ignored him. “So… you’re Sam?” he asked the young man. He nodded. “And you’re Lil?”
