?The bandit woman smirked, tightening her grip. A fresh trickle of blood snaked down Mira’s neck, staining her torn dress.

  ?"No! Please!"

  ?Mira’s mother bolted from the house, her face a mask of sheer terror. She stumbled into the torchlight, hands clasped. "She's just a child! Take me instead! Please, let her go!"

  ?Oliver slowly lowered his sword to the dirt. The night patrol dropped their weapons . Even the angry villagers froze.

  ?But Alicia didn't move. She stood tall, her wand pointed directly at the bandit boss’s face.

  ?"Why would I care?" Alicia asked, her voice bored. "Do you think I’m going to risk myself and my friends for some random village brat?"

  ?The smirk vanished from the bandit’s face. She pressed the saber harder. "I'm serious, witch. I will carve this girl like a turkey if you don't drop that wand. Now."

  ?I watched from behind the well, confused.

  ?'Alicia is cold, sure. She’s arrogant. She’s annoying. But she gave me the stylus. She healed Kael for free. She was protecting us . She wouldn't let a child die.'

  ?Something was wrong.

  ?Mira’s mother let out a strangled cry as the blade bit deeper. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into the dirt, fainting from sheer terror.

  ?"Fine," Alicia sighed, rolling her eyes. "You win. No need for drama."

  ?She bent down slowly, keeping eye contact. "It's delicate. If I drop it, it breaks. Expensive, you know."

  ?The bandit boss watched her like a hawk, muscles tense, waiting for the wand to hit the ground.

  ?It didn't.

  ?Just inches from the dirt, Alicia’s wrist flicked upward.

  ?RUMBLE.

  ?The ground beneath the bandit boss exploded. It wasn't fire or wind. It was earth.

  ?Dirt, rocks, and clay erupted like a geyser, swallowing the bandit, the elite guard beside her, and Mira in a cloud of choking brown dust.

  ?We all coughed, shielding our eyes.

  ?When the dust settled, silence fell over the yard.

  ?Standing there were three statues.

  ?The bandit boss was frozen mid snarl, encased in solid stone. The elite guard was a terrified gargoyle. And Mira...

  ?Mira was a statue too. Frozen in stone, her face twisted in fear.

  ?"What... what have you done?!"

  ?Mira’s father and grandfather ran forward, staring at the grey stone figure of the girl.

  ?"You monster!" the grandfather screamed, pointing a shaking finger at Alicia. "You turned her to stone! You killed her just to get the bandits?"

  ?"He's right!" a villager shouted from the crowd. "She didn't drop her weapon! She sacrificed the girl!"

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  ?The mood shifted instantly. The relief of the bandits' defeat turned into angry murmurs.

  ?Alicia leaned against a support beam, blowing imaginary smoke from the tip of her wand.

  ?"You fools," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "If I had dropped my wand, you’d all be chained up and marching to the mines by sunrise. Did you want that?"

  ?She gestured to the statues. "And for the record, petrification is a high level spell. I was stalling. Chanting takes time, you know. I couldn't exactly shout 'Stone Prison' while she held a knife to the girl's throat."

  ?"But she's stone!" the father wailed.

  ?"Oh, relax," Alicia waved her hand. "Casting it is the hard part. Reversing it is barely an apprentice trick. Watch."

  ?She flicked her wand. A green light pulsed.

  ?CRACK.

  ?The stone shell around Mira shattered and fell away like dried mud. The girl gasped, collapsing into her father's arms, pink and breathing and very much alive.

  ?A collective sigh of relief swept through the crowd.

  ?"See?" Alicia smirked. "You're welcome."

  ?Everyone was busy hugging, crying, or thanking Alicia. The tension broke.

  ?But from my hiding spot, I heard something.

  ?A whisper. A rustle of fabric.

  ?I looked up, toward the tree line.

  ?Standing in the shadows was a woman. She was slender, dressed in green robes that blended perfectly with the leaves. She wore a wooden mask.

  ?She wasn't looking at us. She was looking at the bandit boss statue.

  ?She raised a thin, twisted wand.

  ?Silent and fast. It hit the stone prison holding the bandit boss.

  ?The rock crumbled instantly, turning into dust.

  ?Then, the masked woman turned and vanished into the jungle, moving so silently she didn't even disturb the leaves.

  ?'Who was that?' I thought, heart racing.

  ?Then I saw movement.

  ?The bandit boss shook off the dust. No one noticed. They were all focused on Mira. Oliver had his back turned, checking on Nora. Alicia was preening under the praise.

  ?The bandit boss reached into her boot. She pulled out a throwing knife.

  ?She raised her arm, aiming directly at Alicia’s exposed back.

  ?Panic seized me.

  ?'No!'

  ?I fumbled in my pocket. I grabbed one of my enchanted pebbles, charging it. I jammed it into the pouch of my slingshot.

  ?I didn't have time to aim properly. I just pulled back the rubber and let fly.

  ?Twang.

  ?The pebble sailed through the air.

  ?It missed the bandit boss by inches.

  ?It hit the ground beside her boot.

  ?BANG!

  ?The explosion wasn't huge, it was just a pebble, after all, but the flash and noise were enough.

  ?The bandit boss flinched violently. Her throw went wide. The knife sailed harmlessly past Alicia and thudded into a tree trunk with a dull thunk.

  ?Oliver spun around instantly. He saw the bandit boss standing there, arm extended, dagger gone.

  ?He didn't hesitate this time.

  ?In a blur of motion, he crossed the distance. His sword flashed.

  ?The bandit boss collapsed.

  ?Then he turned to the last elite bandit and finished him too.

  ?Silence returned, heavier than before.

  ?I sat behind the well, trembling. My hands shook so hard I almost dropped the slingshot.

  ?'That was close. Too close.'

  ?If I hadn't been watching... if I hadn't made those grenades... Alicia would be dead. Or Oliver. Or Nora.

  ?"It's over," Oliver announced, wiping his blade. "Check the wounded."

  ?Mira’s mother groaned, waking up from her faint. She looked around, dazed, until her eyes landed on Mira sitting by the tree.

  ?"Mira!"

  ?She scrambled over, tears streaming down her face. She wrapped her arms around the girl.

  ?"I'm sorry," she sobbed into Mira’s hair. "I'm so sorry, baby. I was wrong. We don't have to go. We can stay here. I promise. Just forgive me."

  ?Mira didn't hug back. She sat perfectly still, her head lolling against the tree bark.

  ?"Mira?"

  ?Her grandfather leaned in, frowning. "Why is her neck that color?"

  ?I squinted. Around the cut where the saber had pressed, the skin wasn't red anymore. It was a deep, bruising purple. And the color was spreading, spiderwebbing up her jaw.

  ?"She's sleeping," her mother whispered, shaking her gently. "Wake up, sweetie."

  ?Mira didn't wake up. Her head slumped forward like a ragdoll.

  ?Nora, sensing something wrong, rushed over. She took one look at the girl’s face and paled.

  ?"Alicia!" she screamed. "Quick!"

  ?Alicia sprinted over, dropping to her knees. She placed a glowing hand on Mira’s chest.

  ?She froze.

  ?Slowly, the green light on her hand faded.

  ?She looked at the mother, then at the purple veins on the girl’s neck.

  ?"It's poison," Alicia said, her voice hollow. "From the blade. It was coated in something fast acting."

  ?"Fix it!" the mother begged, clutching Alicia’s robes. "Heal her!"

  ?Alicia shook her head slowly. She gently lifted Mira from the tree and placed her into her mother's arms.

  ?"I can't," she whispered. "She's already gone."

  ?The mother’s scream shattered the night.