Free The Chronicles of Kale: Dawn of Retribution (Book 2) by Aya Knight

Thomas’s spell was on their slightly singed clothing, where a hole remained.
    “They’re not attacking you because they now know you cannot win against them. I know because I tried, and look where it got me! These things are not human.” Kale narrowed his eyes. “They took Neelan. And though they hold me captive now—I swear I shall save her.” He shot a vicious glance toward the two, deathly still, attackers. “Do you hear me?! I will get her from you, and so help me—if you harm her, I shall make you regret your very existence.”
    “How in blazes did they capture you so quickly? We did not wait long before following.” Thomas cast a glance toward the two enemies. He held a cautious hand out in preparation to attack, should they make any movement.
    “They were standing right where I fell into this forsaken place. I’m certain they knew we were coming. It was no coincidence—they were prepared.” Kale violently tugged his arms to release his hands from the bindings.
    Thomas stood and turned to face the silent attackers. “Decisions . . . how do we proceed now?” He stroked his beard. “I presume you are not standing back to allow us passage. Thus, this leaves us with the option of fighting once again to see who shall continue on.” He was completely mystified by the strange behavior of the enemies. He could not make sense of why someone who seemingly desired to kill them both, was now patiently waiting for them to make a move.
    “Did you not hear what I just told you?! Open your ears, old man. You can’t hurt them.” Kale shook his head before dropping his voice to a whisper. “Try to outrun them. You must find Neelan before they harm her.”
    “I’m afraid that won’t be happenin’, kid. There’s no way I’m gonna’ run away from these things when we don’t know what lies within these tunnels. There could be more of them waitin’ up ahead for all we know. You say we cannot harm them, but I’m not going anywhere without tryin’.” Illadar lunged forward at full force toward the two statuesque enemies.
    As if predicting such behavior, the shaft of an enemy staff met Illadar’s blade. Knowing that they were skilled and swift, Illadar realized his only option was going to be attempting something unpredictable. He took a step back and began hysterically laughing.
    The two enemies tilted their head slightly to the side as if trying to decipher the unusual behavior.
    Illadar continued the manic fit of laughter, all the while tightening his grip upon the swords hilt. He stuck a foot forward and spun, pushing all of his strength into the movement of the blade. His weapon sliced straight through the torso of both enemies.
    “I got you!” He called out triumphantly.
    “Illadar . . .” Thomas softly spoke. “Illadar, move away—now.”
    Illadar was still grinning from the landed blow before glancing down to notice his claymore was completely dry. There wasn’t any blood or bodily fluids leaking down the blade as he had anticipated. His eyes shot toward where the sword had struck. As before, the only damage appeared to be on their clothing.
    Beneath the beige cloth, wrapped around each of the enemies’ heads, the small slit where their eyes should be began to glow a dim orange. They took slow steps forward toward Illadar and Thomas.
    “What in Pan’s name are you doing?! Run!” Kale called out.
    Thomas ignored Kale’s cautions and released a green blast in the direction of the attackers. It blew directly through one of the rival’s legs, sending him toppling to the ground.
    “Nice work, old man!” Illadar enthusiastically yelled.
    Another blast sent the other falling face-forward when his knees were obliterated from his legs.
    “See, kid, we can handle this. Now let’s get you outta’ here and find Neelan.” Illadar began to work on breaking Kale free from the handcuffs, which had him bound in place with a chain made of nothing more than sand. “How is this possible? These things