Free The Sorcerer's Ring (Book 1) by Julius St. Clair Page B

He fell down on top of her and she grunted as she fought against his weight.
    She forced her eidolon to disappear so that his body slumped and she jumped out of the way in time. Unfortunately, she was vulnerable for a second, and a second was all the raid group needed. The big man punched her hard in the spine as one of the women punched her square in the face. Remi hit the leaves hard, already feeling the allure of unconsciousness, calling to her, singing to her, reminding her how good sleep felt.
    She refused its courtship.
    Remi extended her hand forward and her eidolon shot out once more, this time extending until it caught the woman who punched her in the foot. She howled and fell over as the big man grabbed her by the shirt and lifted her off the ground. He cocked back one of his arms to hit her as she hung from his steel grip.
    Steady now, she reminded herself. Steady.
    Her eidolon shot back into her body, and before the big man could attack, she shot her hand toward his face and then released her eidolon once more. The tip of the blade plunged right into his left eye and he let her go instantly. She scurried across the ground to gain her composure when someone kicked her in the chin. She fell over, and this time, her body refused to get back up. Caught in a vertigo, she watched as they surrounded her and pinned her limbs to the ground. She saw Olivia being thrown face first into the leaves by her side, already unconscious. And she heard Kace’s shouts and subsequent yelps as they stabbed him over and over.
    She tried to get up.
    She tried.
    She tried again.
    But her muscles refused. Doubt set in, flooding her veins quicker than her blood ever did. She felt paralyzed, and the fear became her world. It was all she felt. It was all she saw and smelled and heard. Even touch was numbed under its weight. Tears began streaming down her eyes as the worst came to her mind. Images of a beheaded Olivia. A dissected Kace—taken back to the town for study.
    And worst of all.
    Her back at home. Under a blanket and sitting on top of the bed. Alone and hungry and cold. As she had been since birth. As she had thought her future would be for all of eternity.
    Her people were cruel. They wouldn’t kill her. No, they wouldn’t grant her that mercy.
    For some reason, despite their abhorrence of her. Despite her uselessness and waste of space, they would let her live. And in a terrible turn of fate, somehow—she was sure—she would outlive them all. Her sickness would cripple her dreams and goals but it would never finish the job. She would live her life as just another living being. Nothing more. Nothing less.
    “No,” she said aloud, and a snicker followed her defiance.
    “You see?” a woman’s voice replied. “She’s not with you at all. Now let her go.”
    “Not going to happen,” the big man replied. All Remi could see was the big man’s disgusting bare feet. She tried to crane her neck, but someone’s hand was keeping their grip over it.
    “Then I guess we have a problem.” Remi was surprised by the woman’s boldness. Had she seen what the raid group could do? She suddenly heard a chorus of cries, and a second later, the big man’s head was right in front of her. Eye to eye. Face to face. Remi frantically climbed to her feet, not even thinking of how she gained her release.
    The raid group was backing up slowly as Remi stood in front of her savior—a stocky woman with red-violet hair and a tall halberd in her hand with what looked like a half pair of wings on the top. She wasn’t looking at Remi, but her former captors. Remi looked past her to see that Kace and Olivia were awake and free. Kace was hunched over from his wounds while Olivia looked tired. Surprisingly, a calm Eckard was standing between them.
    “She’s the one we want,” Eckard replied to the fiery haired woman.
    The woman stared down at Remi, assessing her.
    “She doesn’t look that impressive.”
    “Her potential is though.”
    “Whatever