They pulled him off his horse before he could react, and, his head spinning, he could barely fend off the first vicious knife strike at his heart, deflecting it into his left shoulder where it left a shallow cut that stung and sharpened his mind into the instant. He formed a rune with his left hand and cast it with a flick of his wrist, sending a coruscating ring of power out that made the nearest bandit execute a flawless backflip back into the bushes belly-first.

Chapter One