Damien lay on his bed of moss, one arm over his eyes, trying to fall asleep. He could hardly keep them open earlier and now he couldn’t relax. He sighed in the dark. Jen’s soft snoring was the only sign he wasn’t alone in the world. She didn’t seem to think it would be a big thing, finding whoever caused the quake. He hoped she was right, but the more he thought about it the more it seemed maybe he and Jen weren’t the best people for this job. It might have been better to send someone with more experience questioning people, someone like Alden or Imogen.

Now if they already knew who was responsible he and his sister would deal with them in as efficient a matter as you could hope for. He sighed again. They were here now so they’d just have to make the best of it. At least the food had been edible. Eleck had brought them bowls of greens, some sliced-up crunchy white things, and a flat piece of bread covered in spices that burned the back of his throat. Not so much as a hint of poison.

After he left Jen had dug some of her jerky out and added thin slices to the salad. Jen didn’t consider it a meal unless meat was involved. Damien either for that matter. Now, belly full, in his borrowed bed, Damien tried again to sleep.

A noise out in the hall woke him from a light doze. For hell’s sake, what was it? He’d finally fallen asleep and now it sounded like a bellows wheezing outside. A hint of corruption twisted his stomach. It wasn’t strong enough to be a demon. He frowned and formed a viewing rectangle. Damien connected it to the barrier and shaped an eye.

Out in the tunnel five black-scaled reptilian things slouched a short ways away. Eleck stood with them. He’d removed his gloves and underneath he wore four rings, two on each hand. On his middle fingers were black rings that crackled with corruption. Those had to be what he sensed. His barrier must be blocking the worst of the demonic energy.

The other two rings weren’t demonic, at least not as far as Damien could tell. The one on Eleck’s right index finger was silver, or maybe platinum, and studded all the way around with chips of some black stone. The final ring was gold and studded with red stones.

Damien conjured a hand and shook Jen awake. She sat up and looked over at him. Damien held a finger to his lips and motioned her over. Soul force flowed to Jen’s head as she washed away the effects of her short nap. She slipped out of bed and joined Damien. He held out the viewer so she could see.

“Eleck?” she asked.

Damien’s thought exactly. It looked like they weren’t going to have any trouble figuring out who was behind the quake after all. Eight more monsters came down the hall, red-scaled creatures similar to the black ones, but skinnier. Eleck’s lips moved, but Damien couldn’t hear what he was saying.

“The black ones are soul force eaters,” Jen whispered in his ear. “The red ones breathe fire. We fought them with Master Shen last month while you were at sea. I never imagined this was where they came from.”

Jen crossed the room, pulled on her boots, and buckled on her sword. Damien followed her example. He was just tightening the last strap on his sword harness when his barrier vanished. The curtain burst into flame an instant before the black-scales charged through the doorway. Jen met them at warlord speed and two instantly fell, their heads chopped off.

Damien drew his sword and charged a third monster halfway across the room. The keen steel of his blade passed through its shoulder, but missed anything vital. He leapt back ahead of snapping jaws.

One of the red-scales appeared in the doorway. It faced Jen, who was busy with the other two soul force eaters. Flames dripped from its jaws.

Damien lunged at his opponent, piercing it through the throat. The monster went down in a heap.

The red-scale threw its head back. As it started forward Damien conjured a bubble around its head. Flames blasted out, struck the barrier, and rebounded in the beast’s face. The red-scale collapsed, its face a charred ruin.

Jen appeared beside him. “You okay?”

“Yeah, no problem. It was nice to fight with a sword again. Come on, let’s check on Leah and the wise one.”