Chapter 1

In the cold predawn light, Rizelya rode in front of a force of fifty fighters. She glanced to her left at her half-sister, Naila. When Rizelya had entered the stable to saddle her horse, it had surprised her to see Naila doing the same. Since becoming the Strunland Keep Alpha, Naila rarely led a fighting-pack anymore. The demands of leading a Territory Keep kept her far too busy.

Like the other ten women in the group, Rizelya and Naila wore red from head to foot: leather shirt, pants, and boots. A hooded cape covered their heads and shoulders. Once they reached the monster’s nest, they would toss it aside.

Besides being the color of fire magic, the janacks and brechas, a symbiotic pair of monsters, couldn’t see red. The Malvers’ monsters had plagued their world since the end of the Great War, over a thousand years ago.

A sigh drew Rizelya’s attention to her heart-sister and best-friend, riding on her right side. A few of Kaieli’s dark brown, almost black, curls peeked from the hood of her cloak. Like all Posair women, her hair and eye color indicated her Talents, her magical powers. Kaieli was an extremely strong Brown, a worker of earth magic. Her blue-gray eyes showed her secondary Talents were Blue and Gray.

“Kaieli, I wish you wouldn’t come these battles,” Rizelya said. “Let the Browns, with less empathic ability, take care of us on the field.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Kaieli replied. “We all have our parts to play in our war with the monsters. Mine is to help the fighters with my healing abilities, and your job, Dear Heart, is to kill janacks and brechas.”

Rizelya’s lips tightened into a hard line. As much as she didn’t like it, Kaieli was right. Many fighters were alive and healthy because of Kaieli being on the field with them.

Rizelya’s own dark auburn hair and brown eyes proclaimed her a Red with some Brown. The Red’s fire magic was an effective means of fighting and killing the monsters.

Over the past seventy-five years, the formation of the monsters’ nests had fallen into a pattern. The Posairs could predict when one would develop fairly accurately. This allowed them to kill the monsters before they escaped into the wilds. The nest they rode toward should mature soon.

After an octar of riding, the group pulled their horses to a stop in a clearing. A large corral sat in the center, shaded by trees, with water barrels on one end. The fighters dismounted, loosened the girth straps on their horses’ saddles, and led them into the enclosure. Kaieli and the other two healers riding with the group agreed to wait with the horses until the battle was over. They removed blankets and baskets from the back of their saddles. Two of the thirty warriors stayed behind to guard the horses and the healers.

Rizelya grabbed her weapon, a helbraught, from its place on her saddle. Each woman carried one. Affixed to the staff was a two-foot long, slightly curved blade. It easily penetrated the thick hide of the monsters. Rizelya looked with longing at the other women’s helbraughts. All of them were several inches longer than hers. The user’s height determined the length of the staff. It meant she had to get closer to the monsters. On her belt, she carried a helstrablade, a dagger also made from helstrim. If needed, she could feed her magic into it, like she did with her helbraught’s blade. A blade made from helstrim never needed its razor edge sharpened.

The men had their own weapons: claws, teeth, and venom. Ages past, the men had traded their ability to work all but the most minor magic for the gift of shapeshifting. A wolf and a warrior-wolf were their two other forms. At a signal from their leader, the men shifted into their wolf form and slunk into the forest.

Eiden, the only non-Red female fighter in the group, threw back the hood of her cape and the sunlight glinted on her sunny-yellow hair. She grinned at Rizelya. Flecks of green flashed in her gold eyes. A few years ago, she’d cajoled Rizelya into teaching her how to fight after Rizelya caught Eiden following the pack into a battle. Tradition taught the Yellows’ air magic wasn’t effective against the monsters. Only Reds could damage the monsters with their fire magic. Being a double Yellow made Eiden’s air Talent impressive and strong. She was able to cool or heat air, and she had a gift for solidifying it. Even so, Rizelya felt responsible for Eiden and would keep her safe.

The group of nine women strode silently down the path, their hooded capes flaring as they walked. The shadowy shapes of the wolves flowing in the trees kept pace with them. A hush fell around them. Predators stalked the forest this dawn, and they were hunting.

The wind shifted slightly, and Rizelya drew in a deep breath and snorted from the reek of brechas and janacks.
Rizelya moved her helbraught in front of her. She fed a small amount of fire magic into the blade. Glancing at the forms shadowing the women, she nodded to herself. Yes, the men have caught the smell too.

The foul odor became more pervasive as the group drew nearer to the nest site. Although the timing of the nests was in an established pattern, the size never could be predicted. Sometimes, the stench would indicate how many monsters they’d have to fight.

This one smelled big.

Rizelya suppressed a shudder.

Naila didn’t pause when the monster stink wafted over them. Instead she led the group toward the nest, her pace strong and confident. She held her helbraught loosely in her hands. Rizelya admired her much older sister, who carried on the family tradition of becoming a Keep Alpha. Everyone expected Rizelya to become one, too. So far, she had evaded being even a squad-pack alpha.

A few milcrons later, the group reached the demarcation where forest and swamp vied for dominance. The pools of malignant magic caused both swamps and monster nests to develop. Rizelya had heard there were even swamps in the middle of the dry plains.

She, along with the rest, stopped at the edge of the marshy ground.

Soon the battle would begin …