“At least they don’t have swords,” Rynn said softly.

  “They have knives, Mrs. Yes. And fire. Remember the fire? Never fear. I have my stick.”

  She sighed. “You and that stick.”

  “Don’t knock my stick. It’s magic.”

  “You misunderstand me, Mr. No. I love your stick. Dearly. Believe me…I know it’s magic.”

  Gray walked up to Freek and his six squad mates. The heavy scent of the orcish rotmash hung in the air. Why they were drinking out in the cold, on the bridge, was anyone’s guess. Gray had grown up with stories about trolls under bridges scaring children, and he figured it might be something similar.

  Gray smiled. “If you let us pass, we won’t hurt you. It’s a good deal, Freek. I think you should take it.”

  Freek didn’t say a word. He only glared, weaving a little. That bastard was quite drunk, which made things better and worse. Better because he’d be easy to put down. Worse because he was liable to do anything.

  Kabe answered for him. The scarred orc grinned, showing a golden tooth that winked in the weak light of the mana lanterns that glowed on posts on either side of the bridge. “Freek don’t like you no more, human. You killed Sindara.”

  “What about the dwarf? Doesn’t Freek care about the dwarf?”

  The orcs laughed. The feeling of the malice hung in the air like a foul mist.

  “No, Freek don’t care about that murdered dwarf—”

  Freek himself cut off his friend. “Little fucker was poking his nose into business he shouldn’t. Fucking dwarves. Fucking humans. Polluting our city. My city. I’m going to fucking own Wrath City once I win the Testing. Two out of three will do it…we win the Soulshred and we win the Reckoning and we’ll have it done. Blood don’t matter.”

  It was as good as a confession. Gray had to remind himself that the drunk asshole in front of him was actually the son of a duke, Fenrik Rabbia, who would take over the family’s fortunes if he didn’t die.

  Freek continued to rage. “Fucking Pit City. It’s not called Pit City. It’s Wrath City. Just because we lost our tower, which wasn’t our fault. It was—”

  “That’s enough,” Kabe said. “You don’t want to say too much.”

  Freek turned on his friend and stared at him, like he had no idea who Kabe was. Then Freek smiled and laughed. “Right. Right. The only law at First Field is that murderers get murdered. Only fucking thing that matters is death because death is death is death. No coming back from dying…most of the time. It’s silence. It’s…it’s…it’s…”

  Freek stopped talking. A tear slid down his face.

  Dealing with drunk people was exhausting.

  “So,” Gray said after a while. “It looks like you’re having quite the party. We’re going to move past you.”

  “No!” Freek roared. “I was telling you. It’s fucking Wrath City, fucker. It’s not called Pit City. And we’re going to rebuild our tower when I’m in charge. We’re getting money from—”

  “No!” Kabe said. “No, we’re not talking politics. We’re drinking, Freek. How about we make these little human fucks drink with us.”

  Freek erupted. “That’s a great fucking idea. Get that little elf bitch drunk on rotmash and see if she takes off her top. Some girls get frisky with the sauce.”

  Gray felt the rage, and he channeled it right into his core. It was like drinking five cups of charbrew in a row. His entire system lit up. The orcs had fire magic, and that would be a problem, if they were close. But with Rynn, that wouldn’t be an issue, not for long.

  Instead of showing how pissed he was, Gray smiled and smiled. “We’re not drinking with you. We’re walking across the bridge. We’re—”

  “Why did you have to kill her?” Freek asked in a hurt voice.

  Ah, drunk people, what was worse—having to endure the repetition or dealing with the massive mood swings?

  “She was so pretty, so sexy, and we didn’t even have to fuck for her to…for her to push me over the edge. She was perfect. Why did you have to kill Sindara?”

  “I didn’t kill her,” Gray said. “We’re leaving now. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. I would suggest the easy way. You know what Rynn can do.”

  “What can that little elf girl do to us?” Freek sneered.

  Rynn moved past Gray and walked up to the hulking orc. The difference was unbelievable. And yet, Rynn radiated mana.

  “I’m Rynnanatha Sereph, and I’m a very good fighter. I’ve spent my life training, and I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. Let us pass, Freek, and I’ll forget all the terrible things you said tonight. Try and stop us, and you’ll regret it.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The old Rynn was back—she was confident in her abilities, and her humility resonance was generating mana like a furnace. The drunk orcs might not have seen it, but Gray did. There was a subtle glow to her, a golden light, radiating out from her core and filling her meridians.

  Freek had no idea what he was dealing with. He thrust a bottle of rotmash out. “Drink. Then you can pass.”

  “No.” Rynn hissed.

  Gray leapt back. “Do it, Mrs. Yes.”

  Kabe was still sober enough to know what was coming. He grabbed Freek and threw him backward and the jumped after him.

  The other orcs weren’t so lucky. Rynn screamed and vented her core—the side railings near her splintered. Freek and Kabe were flung back. Three of the orcs were flung from the bridge and into the frigid water below.

  Gray poured mana into Rynn, and she strode forward. “We are passing. Even if I have to destroy the whole bridge.”

  Again, she vented her core and more wood exploded around her, falling into the water. One orc went for her, and the flung a mana blast into him, and he went screaming into the water.

  Kabe and Freek stumbled backward.

  The other orcs were done with their bullying, and tried to run, but Rynn wasn’t done.

  When Gray fed her more mana, she exploded again, and more orcs took an unwelcome midnight swim.

  Freek was up, fire in his hands. “Why are you being so mean to us!” he whined. “We were just offering you a drink!”

  Rynn grunted as she hit him in the gut with mana. He was flung backward onto the ground. With a gasp, his fire vanished.

  But then a wall of flames appeared—standing in the middle of it was Kabe, grinning at them. “You’ve been gone a long time. We’ve learned all sorts of tricks. We won’t kill you, but we will toast you a little. Who doesn’t like toast?”

  Rynn flung mana, and he flung a fireball, and they exploded in the air.

  They heard shouts, growls, and whatever else down in the river as the soaking, half-frozen orcs emerged. If those other orcs could summon flames like Kabe, Gray and his bonded could be in real trouble.

  Rynn, though, darted forward and vented her core, which exploded into Kabe. His wall of flames vanished. Rynn, though, went down on one knee.

  She was only there for a minute. Gray filled her core with mana and caught her arm, and they ran past the fallen orc and sped down the path.

  Gray stopped, though. They had reached the other side.

  Rynn gave him a frown. “Why are you stopping?”

  Gray held up a finger. “Mad dog time.”

  He jogged back as Freek was getting up, though it was clear the real power of the time was clearly Kabe. Where had he gotten all of those flame powers? Did he have something that augmented his natural abilities?

  Gray’s core was nearly empty and so he could really use his meridians. He gave himself enhanced speed and strengthened his legs but kept his upper body normal. He also did something he hadn’t done before—he filled his stick with mana. When he struck Freek in the leg, there was a flash of golden light, and Freek howled. He went down and clutched his ruined leg.

  Gray pushed his stick into the orc’s throat and lifted his chin. “Stay the fuck away from me and my squad. We didn’t murder Sindara. And I won’t tell a soul that either you killed the dwarf or know who did. And most people thought it was the same culprit. Guess not.”

  Freek was grunting and hyperventilating against the pain in his leg. “You fucking fool. You don’t know a thing. There’s no way you and your squad of fuckers are going to win. There’s too much money betting against you. Too many people in power hate you…and that dragon bitch. Everyone hates her.”

  “I find that odd, Freek. We’re very lovely once you get to know us. As for Captain Sevanya, she does have issues. I have to give you that. But let this be a lesson to you, you big, green fucker.”

  He felt mana in the air as Rynn hurled blasts. They hit balls of fire that vanished.

  It was time to leave. But first…

  Gray shoved his stick against the orc’s throat, making him choke but being careful not to break bones. “Leave us alone or I start breaking bones every time we meet. I’m nice enough, but this stick is a different. He’s downright cruel. Remember, Fenrik. Don’t fuck with the stick.”

  Gray turned as fire erupted in front of him.

  He was quick enough to run through it without getting burned. He and Rynn then went running the path, laughing and laughing.

  “You’re fast, Mr. No. And were you really able to channel mana into your stick?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “If I had hit Freek in the head, it would’ve smashed his skull in. I think I’d probably get called into the Magistrate’s office if I killed the future duke of Pit City.”

  “Haven’t you heard? It’s Wrath City. Or it will be once Fenrik comes into his power.” She shook her head. “I just don’t get it. Why does he hate us so much? There’s no evidence that you killed poor Sindara.”

  “She was seen talking to me. There’s no one else, really. Maybe that one girl on her team that she was sleeping with got jealous, but she seemed to take Sindara’s death worse than anyone.”

  “Flaraminda,” Rynn said quietly. “Blythe calls her Flare, but she doesn’t like it. Maybe it was Freek who got jealous. We’ve seen that he has a temper and he drinks. It could be that he got drunk and lost control.”

  Gray picked up on her train of thought. “And now he’s trying to pin the blame on me. It’s a fine theory, Mrs. Yes, but there’s just one problem…I don’t think Freek is smart enough to put up such an act.”

  By the time they reached the steps up past the canteen, they had stopped talking about Freek and the murder and went on to discuss who would want them to lose. Freek had mentioned something about money being poured into First Field to stop them.

  They real problem was Captain Sevanya. Since she was their sponsor, everyone hated her automatically and so they hated her squad. Well, not everyone. Gray got along better with the Dame Hekla than most people. Mama Cinders had been really nice to them as well, even though it was clear that she didn’t like Settie one bit. Then there was Quinnly Quillswrath, who was the one person at First Field who adored them, and that was because Rynn and her had such a good relationship.

  By the time Gray and Rynn reached the barracks, Gray was completely sober and in the mood for a little alone time with his bonded. They raced up stairs and were soon in their room, naked, and in Rynn’s bed.

  After their quick time of love, Gray went back to his bed and fell asleep. He woke up when Ames came in, and he was glad to know she had made it home all right.

  * * *

  The best thing about the fight on the bridge is that the orcs left them alone. Freek might glare at him, but he kept his distance.

  Days past, and night after night, they went to the archive to talk, to read, to enjoy Quinnly’s hospitality, and before he knew it, it was the night before Soulshred Week started. They had to meet at the First Field Stadium at noon for the beginning of the worst week of their lives. Of course, they were all nervous.

  It was a little after eleven when there was a knock on their door.

  Gray got up to answer it. Unsurprisingly, the orcs were gone—probably in the Dice Market for one last night before the torture started.

  Tomi stood out in the hall all alone, looking worried. For once, the cat girl didn’t smirk or joke. “Midj left about an hour ago and hasn’t come back. We have no idea where she is.”