Chapter ONE - Weebly

them, conjured—
The phrasing slowed him down, made him stumble
over the Latin. Not a lot, but just enough. It was the
difference between putting one man to sleep and putting
all of them to sleep. And somehow Sephira knew this.
Even as he spoke, he heard her cry out something
unintelligible. Whirling, Ethan saw Nigel raise his pistol.
He dove to the side, just as he heard a loud report that
echoed across the Common. He hit the cobblestones
hard, scraping his hands and bruising his knees and
elbows. He also felt a burning pain in his upper arm.
Looking down, he saw blood spreading over his coat
sleeve and glistening in the glow of the fire.
He had been lucky. An inch to the right and the
bullet would have shattered his shoulder. A few inches
more and it might have hit his neck, likely killing him. As
it was, the bullet had merely grazed his arm.
Ethan started to push himself up, but as he did, he
saw something glinting on the road before him. The
knife dropped by the man he had hit with his stone.
First things first, though. He spoke another fire spell,
using the blood on his shoulder to build up the flames