Pathway

At first she didn't feel the arm that encircled her chest. The burning was too painful for her to notice anything. It jerked her upright, and Chang Chang felt herself smashed against a hard wall. The wall moved, drawing her to the surface. Whenever Chang Chang thought she would slip, the arm would pull her back from the abyss.

She broke the surface gasping, choking foul water when she tried to suck in air. Her muscles were on fire. But she was alive.

Ju Feng was treading water directly behind her, holding her afloat with his right arm. The wall she'd been crushed against was his chest. The light spell on her arm still functioned. She could see the wraith making mad, swooping circles all around Ju Feng's raft.

"What did you do to it?" he demanded. "Its senses are blinded."

"I'm not sure." Chang Chang coughed and spat water. "We have to get away from here."

She felt Ju Feng shake his head. "Won't get far without a boat," he said. "Drive it away. Use your arts."

The wraith burst into the air, spraying them with water. Its attention refocused on the swimming pair. A high-pitched scream rent the air, and the creature dived at them again.

Ju Feng dragged her underwater, and they barely dodged the attack. When they came back up, the wraith had circled around for another pass.

"Make your blood magic," Ju Feng ordered her. "Make it a good one. You won't get another before it kills us."

"You don't understand. I have no power." Chang Chang tried to swim away from him, but he pinned her against his chest.

"Your glowing arm suggests otherwise," he said.

"It's also bleeding. Let me go!"

"Listen to me." He raised her left hand in front of her face. Chang Chang remembered the silver ring given to her by king Laggarma. It rested on her finger, its light dull. "Everything this ring touches grows in strength, including magical essence. As long as it touches your skin, your runecasting should work."

Chang Chang closed her palm and felt a tingle of electricity coming from the ring. She searched her memory again. The fire rune was gone, but there was another….

"When I cast this, I will likely lose consciousness," Chang Chang said. She fought to keep her voice steady.

Ju Feng tightened his grip. "You won't drown—you haven't paid me my fee yet. I'll hold you up, only work your rune!"

Chang Chang blocked out his voice, the icy water, the wraith's screams. She waited for the creature to glide close to the water again. When it was in her line of sight, she muttered the words.

Burning pain erupted behind her eyes, a side effect Chang Chang only vaguely remembered from her early lessons. She had not cast spells of this magnitude for years. Her body was not ready for the shock.

Fighting oblivion, Chang Chang thrust her free hand above her head. The arcane pulse came again, strong and sustained. This time, the castl was going to work.

A stream of white vapor unfurled on the air like a sheet. It snapped and coalesced into a savage-looking spear, which shot across the water, trailing ice shards in its wake.

The magical spear impaled the wraith through its eyeless head. Unholy screams shattered the air. Ice flew in all directions. The force of the magic drove the creature back a full ten feet, and the light in its body flickered and died. The wraith collapsed in on itself, disappearing into the water without creating a wake.

For a long time, there was no sound except Chang Chang and Ju Feng's breathing. Chang Chang saw her breath in the wake of the cold spell. A fine layer of ice rimed the water in a straight line to where the creature had been. She watched the shards flake off like so much paint.

"That's i-impossible," Chang Chang said. Her head swam. "Never should have been so much, so big."

"It was the ring," Ju Feng said. 

"Oh, well." Chang Chang felt unconsciousness looming. She was more than ready for it. "That's nice, isn't it?"

"You live up to your name," he said, grunting as he lifted her onto the deck. The ice had melted, but he could still feel the brittle chill in the air, a chill that had nothing to do with the wraith's presence.

Ju Feng put a hand on Chang Chang's chest to make sure she lived. She breathed deeply—the sleep of exhaustion. Her light spell flickered and died, leaving him only moonlight for navigation.

He knew magic taxed a caster's strength, but he'd never seen a spell affect anyone the way the ice spear had wracked Chang Chang's body. He'd felt her trembling in pain. He just couldn't understand why cultivation was not functioning in this world. It would have been easier for them. He needed to get back to shore. Then he would find a safe location to attend to Chang Changl. He gazed down at the sleeping blood girl and smiled. Adventurer they were. She didn't even think about it before agreeing to help him. She was a hardy thing. Already her color was coming back.

"This way," he said, and began running.

Chang Chang hurried to follow. She could hear them now, the sounds of running feet pounding against the sand, gaining ground with each step.

They circled a caravel that had had its hull split in two. The jagged wood opened a dark maw into the ship's interior. Chang Chang thought Ju Feng meant them to hide inside, but suddenly, Ju Feng stopped short and cursed. He shoved her behind him and took a stance. He'd decided not to use his own swords.

"They're herding us!" She shouted to Ju Feng, just before the men jumped them.Two figures leaped over the side of the ship, landing on either side of Ju Feng and Chang Chang. One had bright, corn silk hair, the other was dark and compactly built. Ju Feng skidded on the sand to avoid plowing into their sword points. He dropped into a crouch and swept out with his leg, catching the two men at the ankles. He hit so hard Chang Chang thought she would hear the bones in his leg crack. But they did not, and the two men stumbled and fell.

"Behind us!" Chang Chang drew her glaive. She charged a second pair of men coming from the rear. Before they could reach for weapons, She cut a wicked gash across the first man's arm. He backed off a pace, clutching his arm and shredded shirt.

His companion came in low, dodging Chang Chang's swingin. He wore dirt-caked traveling clothes and a hooded, threadbare cloak. He brought a broadsword up to halt ChangChang's advance.was no trained fighter, Chang Chang knew. But what she might have lacked in skill, she made up for in sheer ferocity. She twirled the glaive once, letting the bloodied weapon dance in her hand. She smiled at the man with the sword, and the whites of her eyes were huge in the campfires' glow.

"Come on now." she shouted, stomping the ground, feinting left and right between his two opponents, letting his size intimidate the men and keep them on the defensive.

Caught between her companions, Chang Chang wrenched a loose board from the ship and swung it at the dark, burly man before he could rise to his feet. The plank hit him in the chest; a protruding nail tore into his skin. The man screeched in pain and fury.

"You better leave now." Chang Chang barked. The man with corn silk hair brought his sword down in an axe chop. Chang Chang dodged, and the blade buried itself in sand. She rolled away and came up practically between the man's legs. She snapped out a fist, connecting just below his attacker's ribcage. The blow would not trouble the man, Chang Chang thought. The man was much larger than her and she had seen the glint of mail armour through his thin robe.

To her shock, the man whooped out a breath and bent double. His sword dropped, allowing Ju Feng to come in around the man's guard. He locked an elbow around the man's neck until he was fast asleep. The sudden battle sent a sick coldness through Chang Chang's body.

"Watch out, Chang."

Chang Chang turned in time to see Ju Feng's weapon fly from his hand. The butcher fell back, clutching his arm against his chest. Blood dripped through the gaps between his fingers.

Horrified, Chang Chang dropped the board and started to run to him.

She felt a presence rise up behind her. She'd forgotten the dark-haired man. She tried to spin, but the sand slowed her. Large hands grabbed Chang Chang around the waist and slammed her sideways into the caravel's hull.

Chang Chang felt the breath leave her body in a rush. Her head hit an exposed board. Stars burst in her vision. She tried to call a spell, but her mind wouldn't function. She collapsed back against her attacker's chest. He manhandled her to the ground, pinning her arms in front of her while he fumbled for a piece of rope at his belt.