Thaer couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he and his honour guard followed the tracks laid clear on the snow. His father’s decision to send him east to Cinderfield had at first frustrated him.

The invader’s camp couldn’t have been manned by many powerful warriors, newly founded as it were. And indeed, the thousand-strong unblooded youths that laid siege to the barely finished camp. As for Thaer, he took the head of two of the invaders, using their gushing hot blood to mark his skin.

His Geist absorbed the power in their blood and even now, his skin grew as tough as the Bicorn’s hide. Well, there was less than half their number of invader warriors. The camp followers, the crafters, and labourers didn’t have the potency of blood to strengthen the Iron Skin, so they mostly left them alone.

They may have outnumbered the enemy but honour and power dictated a fair duel, even if the invaders used their ridiculous weapons to cut the tribesmen down from a distance.

After he’d taken his due, he had lingered outside of the camp. He wanted nothing more than to return back to T’Pyun and return to the one who was waiting for him. Ah, he could feel her silken skin against his, hot and soft, and delectably pliant. He’d been daydreaming when three of the invaders jumped over the wall and made a run for it. It was sheer coincidence that he had been looking in their direction otherwise he would not have bothered at all.

The girl’s breathtaking beauty seared into his eyes and if not for seeing the Progenitor, he would have been completely stunned. As it were, he couldn’t help but stare dumbly as the three women fled. It was only when they were halfway up the hill that he recovered his senses and called for his honour guard.

The two dozen single blooded warriors were just a few years older than him and were there to ensure that he returned to T’Pyun in one piece. They weren’t there to help him complete the Blooding Ritual but taking some girls captive was certainly within their duties.

The girl was running quickly, spraying snow every time her foot stomped down on the snowdrifts. But Thaer was entirely sure he and his guard would be able to catch up with them.

He leered at the girl when she looked back at him. Her eyes were pale blue, the only difference between her and the Progenitor. Well, their demeanour was different too. The Progenitor exuded arrogance and power, as though the merest snap of her fingers was enough to destroy. The girl had a more…innocent air, he thought. But that arrogance in the way she looked sent shivers down his spine.

He wouldn’t mind making her his despite the Progenitor’s claim. A dangerous game, Thaer knew, but the only thing the instructions gave was to bring the girl to the Progenitor. Of course, he could send a messenger back to T’Pyun, too, and it looked like that was what must happen.

The girls were steadily pulling away, incredible as that appeared to Thaer. By the time they crested the hill, the girl was nowhere to be seen. They left a trail though, which led to the forest, so there was no doubt where they went.

“Alfarin, take a couple of men back to T’Pyun. Inform the Chief of who we’ve found.”

“Aye, young chief!”

“Diarf, head south, see if you can find their trail. Eskil, do the same to the north.”

Both men grunted their assent and took two others and veered off the path. That left sixteen of them to capture the girl. There were only three of them, it shouldn’t be that difficult.

Thaer licked his lips, imagining how she would taste. He snickered, oblivious to the odd look his guard gave him.

They slowed from their run, not wanting to miss any tracks. Good thing they did: he almost missed where they changed directions. To the south, as he expected, back to the invader’s lands.

With a gesture, he sent half of his men further south, led by a warrior named Iarl, while he and the remaining men followed the tracks. It was a matter of endurance now rather than speed. They were well provisioned while the women only had the clothes on their backs. There were also a dozen leagues from here to the next invader camp. He had a couple of days, he figured.

The sun travelled across the sky, at times obscured by clouds. After the storm, the light bounced off the white snow blindingly. The tracks kept to the shade though, Thaer snorted. The forest cover wasn’t particularly thick.

Near the end of the day, he saw some of the men he sent south. What remained of them anyway.

“Huh,” he grunted.

Diarf and the two other men had broad gashes on their torsos, their toughened hides incapable of protecting them. From the looks of it, they were brought down with a single powerful cut each. The blood had cooled but that meant little in this weather. The third man was encased in ice, though the shattered head was the cause of death.

One of the girls’ abilities, Thaer presumed.

Well, nothing to it but to continue. Where were Iarl and his men?

They continued down the trail, noting that the distance between tracks had lessened. They had stopped running and were trudging now. They would catch them before nightfall, Thaer hoped.

The sun had set into the western mountains when his man Iarl came back with no casualties. Eskil came back, too, looking tired and cranky.

“Should we continue, young chief? The darkness hides them. We may miss their hiding place if we persist.” Iarl asked.

“If we don’t find them now, they will slip away from us,” Thaer grunted. “Keep a careful watch. They’re here, I can feel it.”

“Yes, young chief!”

At one point, the tracks disappeared. That was when Thaer decided that they must truly be nearby. They start to circle around the area, looking at every nook and cranny. One of his men found a cave, but it was shallow and occupied by a beast. The Chaos streams of the skies were drowned out by the Full Moon. Thaer glanced at it, squinting at the glare.

After a couple of hours, with nothing to show for it, the tribesmen returned to where the tracks disappeared.

“Where could they have gone?” Estil grumbled. “You think they just took to the air and flew?”

“If they had those flying transports, then yes,” Iarl snorted.

“We would have seen some sign of it if there was one,” Thaer growled, “but…”

He trailed off thoughtfully. The trees were bare of leaves, and the snow coating their branches would have made treacherous footing. But the trees were huge and their branches would have made a roadway in the air.

He remembered how the girl had leapt over the four-pace high palisade. The lower hanging branches would not have been an impediment. He headed to the nearest one, stabbing his fingers into the bark to find purchase. He climbed up in short order, and there, at the lowest hanging branch, he found some of the snow blanket disturbed. It led towards another wide branch, within easy jumping distance. He could see the trail now!

His heart leapt in excitement as he followed the tracks, taking care not to fall off. He’d probably be fine if he did but his dignity would take a bruising.

“Follow!” He bellowed to those underneath the canopy. Thaer leapt across the gap, landing neatly in the middle of the branch. It was easy enough to follow. Three girls ran across a branch that was barely wider than the width of their feet. It was inevitable that they would sweep the snow off. Plus, there were scuff marks on the trunk where a scabbard dragged across it.

He had hopped across the twentieth tree when his Geist suddenly screamed in warning. Thaer ducked, almost falling off the branch when a golden light flashed above him.

“Tsk!”

Thaer scooted back, dodging another blow. When he finally stabilised his footing, he found his quarry aiming one of those little things that blew fire at him. Thaer’s eyes widened and he crossed his arms just as she blasted him with fire. The bolt splashed against his forearm, but his Geist had materialised, covering his already tough skin with another layer of protection.

“You’ll have to do better than that!” he laughed.

The girl just frowned at him though and looked like she didn’t even understand the civilised tongue. Well, no matter, he would beat her to submission and bring her back to the Progenitor.

The girl leapt at him, leading with a powerful sword stroke, golden light in a jagged pattern coated the blade. Thaer hastily raised his axe, meeting blade to blade. The stone would chip at the metal if she was careless, and eventually blunt it. While his weapon, even if blunted, still had the mass to deal significant damage.

But when the blade met the axe head, the clash he anticipated didn’t happen. Instead, the jagged light bit into the stone, digging halfway through it before it slowed. Thaer reflexively twisted the weapon, hoping to wrench the weapon off her hand. He could see the muscles of her arm tighten as she instinctively fought to prevent the disarm. He had the mass and the leverage though and she staggered off balance.

He reached over to grab her arm but her initial instinct was quickly overridden. She followed the force of his twist, leaping off the branch and kicked at his arm. The weight of her boot bit into his skin, eliciting a grunt and a curse. But she managed to free her blade from the bind. She was in midair though, and the branch was nowhere near her.

Where were her companions? he wondered.

His eyes followed her all the way down to the ground. A pity the rest of his men weren’t under the tree. They were still about fifty paces back.

Thaer leaned over and stomped on the branch. The entire tree shook with his leap and he accelerated towards the girl. She spun in the air, her imperious blue eyes flashed into gold, and her body was suddenly covered in golden flame. The fire condensed around her foot, and impossibly, she used it to push herself out of the way!

They both tumbled to the ground, and even as they fell, she shot him twice with the firespitter.

“Hraagh!” Thaer yelled as he swept his axe and parried, scattering the bolts against the axehead. Unfortunately, it still dumped its heat on his weapon. The spots he used to block had turned red, droplets of molten stone dribbled into the ground.

They landed on the ground at the same time and both launched themselves against the other. Thaer swept his blunted axehead in a sideways slash, and even as she parried, her strength more than a match for his, he realized, he launched a vicious kick at her middle.

She chopped at his foot with her other hand, striking with the base of her firespitter. The impact sent pins and needles up his leg as he staggered back.

What kind of monster was she? Her strength was too much for such a petite frame! If they stood next to each other, he would tower head and shoulders over her. He was also wide enough that if he stood still, she could easily hide behind him.

Even as he staggered back, she launched herself at him, blade leading. Her face was cold and impassive, mouth set into a line, eyes glaring. She made not a sound, save for the occasional grunt when they clashed strength to strength.

His men ran closer but stopped a dozen paces away. This was his fight.

“Look for the other two!” Thaer yelled.

The girl’s eyes never shifted from him but she couldn’t help but grow distracted when the rest of them moved past them. She tried to intercept them but of course, he couldn’t let her.

“No, no, you’re staying here!” Thaer swung his axe, aiming for her shoulder.

She dodged back, but his swing was easily transitioned into a thrust, then another swing. He grabbed at his belt and pulled out an obsidian dagger, which he used to threaten and restrict her movements. He circled around or tried to anyway. She was lighter on her feet.

“This isn’t fair,” he muttered.

Still, his body was tough. He could probably take a blow and close it. But the image of his men cut down with a jagged cut made him hesitate. Instead, he moved to bind their weapons together and truly pit them strength to strength. He was confident to prevail.

His chance came when she moved to parry his swing, but he quickly changed the trajectory and stabbed at her with the dagger. Even though she couldn’t have seen his thrust, she shot at his dagger hand with the firespitter and managed to block his swing. The pain of the burn made him drop the dagger, but his hand sprung like a striking snake and he managed to grab her arm. His hand easily covered her slender wrist but even as he caught her, she expertly twisted her arm and escaped the grab. In the process, he moved in close and pressed down, successfully binding the weapons.

He leered at her as he bore down but her arms barely shook as she pushed.

“What!” he grunted.

It felt as if he was trying to push down a massive oak tree. The bark gave a little at his strength but moved no further. He gritted his teeth, his face only a few inches from hers.

Her eyes, oh her eyes. How they burned into his, the fury embodied stoking the fires within.

With a grin, he tried to smack her forehead with his but she moved out of the way. They were tantalisingly close. He stuck his tongue out to lick his lips, but her cheek was close enough that the tip touched hers.

“Oh,” he muttered. He didn’t…

Her eyes widened in outrage, and the next thing he knew, her knee had smashed up between his legs, caving in the protective codpiece.

Pain lanced up from the tips of his toes to the crown of his head and with a strangled gasp, he keeled over to the side. She wasn’t done, of course. As he fell, he saw her kick at his midsection, which barely gave him time to clench his middle and try to leap back.

It was as if a Bicorn had rammed him. An explosion of pain and he flew across the air, his impromptu flight interrupted by a tree trunk. He fell to the ground, and the last thing he saw was her running towards where his men headed. And his last thought was how soft her cheek was. He passed out with a grin.