Free Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three by Dean Cadman Page B

all to a man jumped over the edge of the mountain path.

Chapter Ten

    Alexia sprang from the cave, arrow nocked and ready to fire at the distant Empire agents. What she found instead was a single agent no more than fifty paces away in the open, and the remaining agents taking cover behind the freshly fallen boulders further down the mountain path. She let loose her arrow at the closest man, nocked a second arrow while she rolled to the side, and then released it at one of the exposed agents further down the path. She fully expected her arrows to bounce harmlessly off their magical shields, but instead she witnessed a bright blue flash come from each arrow as it passed cleanly through their shields, and a satisfying thud as both arrows buried themselves deep in the chests of the Empire agents.
    Alexia was so shocked by what had just happened, she barely avoided being hit by several incoming missiles sent by the remaining agents. She desperately dived for the relative safety of the cave, and just about made it inside as the missiles struck the giant pile of rocks outside the cave entrance, covering her with dust and debris once more. Her mind seemed to move in slow motion. She had fully expected to be killed when she attacked the Empire agents. She had only ever intended attacking them as a last act of defiance. Never for one moment did she expect her arrows to be effective against their shields.
    Alexia waited until the dust settled a little before carefully approaching the cave entrance. She had to confirm for herself, what she thought she had just witnessed outside. Creeping to the edge of the cave opening she gingerly looked out. She could clearly see the dead Empire agent lying on his back with her arrow protruding from his chest.
    “How?” she whispered to herself, completely confused by her own success. She risked poking her head out a little further to see where the remaining agents were, and was relieved to see they were still hiding behind the various sized boulders, right where she had seen them last. She noticed that one of the agents had his arm exposed whilst trying to hide behind a boulder that was a little too small to fully conceal him. She nocked another arrow and took the shot. The arrow flew true until it came within inches of its target, then it seemed to whip around at an impossible angle and into the side of his chest, just under his right arm. It too flashed bright blue as it passed through the agent’s shield. She heard a howl of rage come from one of the agents still hiding behind the rocks, and it made her smile.
    Alexia listened intently for any movement outside, but heard none. She was about to take another look outside when four more missiles struck the rocks outside the cave, showering her in even more rocks and dust. She heard movement outside in the distance and fully expected them to be storming her position, so she once again nocked an arrow and left the safety of the cave to meet the oncoming charge. She rolled to the side as she exited the cave, coming swiftly to her feet, ready to fire at the advancing agents. Instead of seeing agents charging towards her, what she saw instead was the last of them jumping off the edge of mountain path and disappearing from view below. She froze in position, scanning the large boulders further down the path for any signs of movement, but saw nothing.
    Alexia remained within easy reach of the cave entrance for another ten minutes before she dared move any further away from its relative safety. She fully expected it to be a trap of some kind, and once she had committed herself too much, they would surely come out of hiding and kill her. She moved further towards the edge of the path, giving herself a fresh angle from which to view the large boulders, but she could see no sign of any Empire agents behind them. Taking a deep breath, she silently approached the area she had last see the agents. She was convinced they were somehow hiding behind the rocks, but