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how I knew what to do, but it worked. The blade flew toward me with all the strength of the Northman behind it, and slid off the bubble, injuring nothing but the earth and snow as it struck.

  I stood, somewhat unsteadily, as the man attacked again and again. Each blow was either turned aside or rebounded off the bubble. The power flowed within me. I attacked. The Northman didn't know what to do. With all of his attacks blocked, he wasn't fast enough to defend against my strikes. Within seconds, his arms were bleeding from various stab wounds, though I hadn't managed to get close enough to land a killing blow.

  Furious, I gathered the power and threw it outwards. It hit the Northman and threw him into the air, where he hung for a moment before crashing down on his back. His sword skittered across the snow, and I took advantage of the opening to leap onto his chest and drive my dagger into his throat. Panting from the adrenaline, I ripped the blade out and crouched on the large man's chest, scanning for another target to focus my power on.

  The power cut off so abruptly I reeled from the shock of it. Alarmed, I tried to grab it back, but it was like there was an invisible wall in front of it that I couldn't get through. It was then that I noticed the battle was over, and everyone was staring at me.

  One of the Quis stepped forward. "What's your name?" he asked in a gentle voice.

  I glared at him. How dare he be so condescending!

  "Okay," he said. "Maybe if I explain a few things, you'll be more willing to work with me. What you just did - that was magic. You're a Madman. A Warder, to be specific. I need you to answer a few questions to ensure the Madness didn't destroy your mind before I blocked you. If it did - if you're a Ratan - then I have to kill you. Understand?"

  The anger drained out of me, leaving me exhausted and shivering as the cold froze my sweat on my skin. I nodded to the Qui and took two tries to sheath my daggers. They still had blood on them, but I didn't care at the moment.

  At my acquiescence, the Qui relaxed visibly. "That's a good start. My name's Vairn. Yours?"

  "Ellis." My voice came out almost as a whisper.

  "All right, then. Ellis. You understand what happens now?"

  I nodded.

  "Good. I'm going to keep you blocked on the way to the Asylum, to prevent any accidents. Do you have everything you need?"

  Another nod.

  "Then we should move as soon as possible. I expect you to stay close to me until we get there, Ellis." Vairn turned away to talk to one of the other Quis, who had begun to pile the bodies of the Northmen. I had to suppress the urge to plant steel in his back. I calmed myself. It was only a week. Nothing I couldn't handle.

  Despite our required close proximity, Vairn had little to no interest in interacting with me over the course of the trip. Added to that, the mercenaries wouldn't even look at me. But that was okay.

  I'm used to being alone.