had managed to stand by the time Max reached it. He grabbed the hilt of one of his swords, sliding it out of its sheath. On the opposite side, a bandit slapped the horse’s haunch. The horse reared, neighing in surprise, giving Max a head start towards the cave. The horse dropped to all fours and ran off, allowing the bandit to chase after Max. When Max reached the inside of the cave he spun, swinging his sword as he did so. The blade clanged against the descending sword of the bandit.
Melody yelled from behind Max. “Knock him back!”
Max put all his weight behind his sword and thrust hard, shoving the bandit back a foot. The bandit took another swing at Max. Max brought his sword up again to block the bandit’s blade, but his sword stopped short, rebounding off the air. Max managed to hang on to the hilt as the sword reverberated from whatever it had hit. The bandit wasn’t as lucky, his sword sailed out of his hand, nearly beheading a second bandit who had come to aid the first. Both bandits shouted obscenities at Max, who moved back with caution and stood beside Melody, his eyes never moving from the cave entrance.
“Where did that barrier come from?
Melody stood, hand outstretched, shaking and short of breath. “I…created…it.”
“How long can you keep it up?”
Melody breathed deeply in and out, trying to calm herself. “Since I only have to block…the entrance…I should be able to keep it up for several hours.” The shaking slowly subsided. “But I’ll need to keep my attention focused on it.”
Max nodded as he began to feel pain all down the right side of his body. Max lifted his shirt a little to reveal minor cuts and bruises along his side. He didn’t see any tears in his pants so he assumed it was the same for his leg. Concerned that Melody might have received injuries as well, he visually checked for any sign of blood or tears on her clothing.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I think I twisted my ankle, other than that, just sore from the fall.”
Max saw that she favored her left leg, but found no other signs of injury. “Do you need to sit down?”
Melody nodded. “Yes.”
She started to sit, but lost her balance. Max wrapped an arm around her waist before she fell and helped ease her to the ground.
“Is anyone else coming, Max?”
“Tyco went on to the next camp. He said he would send guards back to look for us. I’m not sure they will be able to follow the tracks at night though.”
Melody nodded at Max’s sword. “How good are you with that thing?”
Max blushed, “Truthfully, I’ve never actually used it in a real fight, only practice.”
Melody gave a weak smile. “That’s more experience at fighting than I have.”
Max studied the entrance. It was smaller than he had first thought, perhaps only about one and a half the width of a normal man.
“At least they can only come one at a time. I should be able to hold them off for a little while once the barrier is gone. Do you have any weapons?”
“No. I can only create the barrier. There isn’t anything else alive out here to use. It’s a wonder as dry as the air is that I can even use it.”
Max wore a quizzical expression. “Huh?”
Melody gave a weak, amused smile. “You haven’t met anyone from the Children of the Immortals before have you?”
Max shook his head. “Huh uh, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Melody sighed. “Well, now’s not the time to go into it. Let’s just say I’m not going to be able to offer much help.”
“Got it.”
Max turned to the back of the cave. “It looks like the cave continues back into the canyon. Maybe there is another way out.”
Melody shook her head. “Without a torch we won’t get very far. Besides, the few creatures that can survive in the dead lands make their homes in these caves, most of which make the bandits outside seem downright friendly. We will have to stay here and hope the guards reach us in time. I will hold the barrier up
Melody yelled from behind Max. “Knock him back!”
Max put all his weight behind his sword and thrust hard, shoving the bandit back a foot. The bandit took another swing at Max. Max brought his sword up again to block the bandit’s blade, but his sword stopped short, rebounding off the air. Max managed to hang on to the hilt as the sword reverberated from whatever it had hit. The bandit wasn’t as lucky, his sword sailed out of his hand, nearly beheading a second bandit who had come to aid the first. Both bandits shouted obscenities at Max, who moved back with caution and stood beside Melody, his eyes never moving from the cave entrance.
“Where did that barrier come from?
Melody stood, hand outstretched, shaking and short of breath. “I…created…it.”
“How long can you keep it up?”
Melody breathed deeply in and out, trying to calm herself. “Since I only have to block…the entrance…I should be able to keep it up for several hours.” The shaking slowly subsided. “But I’ll need to keep my attention focused on it.”
Max nodded as he began to feel pain all down the right side of his body. Max lifted his shirt a little to reveal minor cuts and bruises along his side. He didn’t see any tears in his pants so he assumed it was the same for his leg. Concerned that Melody might have received injuries as well, he visually checked for any sign of blood or tears on her clothing.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I think I twisted my ankle, other than that, just sore from the fall.”
Max saw that she favored her left leg, but found no other signs of injury. “Do you need to sit down?”
Melody nodded. “Yes.”
She started to sit, but lost her balance. Max wrapped an arm around her waist before she fell and helped ease her to the ground.
“Is anyone else coming, Max?”
“Tyco went on to the next camp. He said he would send guards back to look for us. I’m not sure they will be able to follow the tracks at night though.”
Melody nodded at Max’s sword. “How good are you with that thing?”
Max blushed, “Truthfully, I’ve never actually used it in a real fight, only practice.”
Melody gave a weak smile. “That’s more experience at fighting than I have.”
Max studied the entrance. It was smaller than he had first thought, perhaps only about one and a half the width of a normal man.
“At least they can only come one at a time. I should be able to hold them off for a little while once the barrier is gone. Do you have any weapons?”
“No. I can only create the barrier. There isn’t anything else alive out here to use. It’s a wonder as dry as the air is that I can even use it.”
Max wore a quizzical expression. “Huh?”
Melody gave a weak, amused smile. “You haven’t met anyone from the Children of the Immortals before have you?”
Max shook his head. “Huh uh, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Melody sighed. “Well, now’s not the time to go into it. Let’s just say I’m not going to be able to offer much help.”
“Got it.”
Max turned to the back of the cave. “It looks like the cave continues back into the canyon. Maybe there is another way out.”
Melody shook her head. “Without a torch we won’t get very far. Besides, the few creatures that can survive in the dead lands make their homes in these caves, most of which make the bandits outside seem downright friendly. We will have to stay here and hope the guards reach us in time. I will hold the barrier up
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