Chapter 36

  The Disciplined Disciples

  Night swallowed the meadow whole.

  No moon.

  No fire.

  Just cold and the sour, musky smell of goblin on the wind.

  Chris had murdered the campfire until it was nothing but angry red eyes in the dirt.

  Jimmy crouched beside Dan, trickling the barest thread of Qi into his eyes.

  Everything turned sharp and silver.

  He raised two fingers, aimed into the black.

  Flash.

  A needle of light stabbed the treeline for half a heartbeat.

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

  Yellow orbs flashed back. Then gone.

  Jimmy’s voice was a whisper. “They’re already here.”

  Chris rolled his shoulders, palms glowing soft orange. “Save the big stuff for crowds, got it. Don't worry, I'll save the day.”

  Dan tried to breathe calm into his Seed.

  It sat in his chest like a brick.

  Stubborn bastard.

  Jaime sat wrapped in her own heat shimmer, blanket pulled tight.

  Belle pressed against her side, spear across her knees, tiny blue arcs crawling up and down the shaft like nervous spiders.

  George leaned on his spear, grinning at nothing. Old man looked happy for the first time since the drop.

  Annette drifted between them, silent.

  Nobody noticed the fear lessening.

  They were just suddenly more secure, stable.

  Kim knelt with Luna, fingers buried in fur.

  The pup’s ears were flat, body vibrating, staring at the darkness like it had personally insulted her.

  Minutes of silence that lasted a year.

  Then the first goblin scream split the night: high, eager, way too close.

  Dan’s Seed finally woke up and punched his boots six inches into the dirt.

  He grinned into the dark.

  “Come on then.”