“Do you see anything?” he shouts to me.
“N-no. What’s happening?”
In a decisive movement, he unslings the scabbard from his back before drawing the giant longsword, holding it in both hands before him.
For a split second, I think I see something move in front of him. Just a shimmering outline of a shape. Then a bastard sword materializes in the air before Kellyn.
Just the sword, floating in the air. No wielder.
“The hells?” Kellyn says. Then he has to move as the sword comes arcing toward him. The two blades connect audibly in the near quiet of the woods. “Are you seeing this?” he asks me as he dodges and swings at seemingly nothing.
“Y-yes.”
“Is this one of your weapons? Something that strikes all on its own?” Kellyn dodges a blow, leaping backward.
“Definitely not,” I answer. “I think you’re facing an invisible assailant. Not a floating sword. Ow!” A sharp yank at the back of my head snaps my neck in that direction. There’s a force against my scalp, my hair being grasped and pulled.
Then I’m being dragged.
“Kellyn!” I shout. I reach my hands up, my fingers catching on cloth-covered wrists, but through my watered eyes, I can’t see anything. The pain is quite real, but there’s no one there. Or they are, but I can’t see them.
The pain intensifies as I’m pulled backward. I dig my heels into the dirt, but all that manages to do is increase the pain at my scalp. I think I briefly catch sight of Kellyn trying to make his way to me, but then he’s forced to face his attacker again. He can’t help me.
I cry out again as my heel catches on a tree root, the burning sensation in my scalp escalating. The tension loosens only briefly as I feel something strike at my leg, causing the root to lose its grip on me. Then I’m being forced backward once more.
If I could just get my feet under me. Get some leverage to—
I can’t help the whimper that escapes my throat as a more intense burst of pain radiates from the back of my head. I feel clumps of my hair come free as I flip over, landing face-first on the ground.
But then the pressure is blessedly gone. I get my feet under me, ignoring the pain. I look up to find—
Temra. She’s there, wielding Midnight, the blade a dark ebony, and circling to find whatever it was that held me.
Just as before, another sword materializes, this time in the new assailant’s hand. Temra doesn’t even flinch at the appearance.
“Temra, run!” I shout.
She blatantly ignores me, and before I can do anything else, she leaps toward that floating sword, slashing just below it. The bastard sword curves down to block her strike, but Temra doesn’t pause. She spins to get more momentum behind her swing and sends it upward, toward where a head might be.
The attacker finally finds their own rhythm, sending a volley of strikes at my baby sister.
I gasp in terror as I watch her block blow after blow, before sending her own at the attacker with battle cries and impressive footwork.
Kellyn still deals with his own invisible assailant.
How is this even possible?
I search the ground for something I can use, and my eyes land on a sturdy tree branch. I place myself behind the floating sword as it advances toward Temra and swing. The branch connects, and I feel the strike bounce up my arms. Temra uses the distraction I made to thrust her blade forward.
A cry rises from the invisible person, and Temra draws back her blade, the point now stained with blood. There’s a thud, and then a red stain floats above the ground, moving forward and backward slightly.
With the strained breathing of the injured person.
Temra removes their weapon before running to help Kellyn. Meanwhile, I lean forward, grab a fistful of cloth, and tug. It catches on something. I feel around until I find a clasp at a throat. I sense fitful movement before everything stills and the rest of the garment comes free.
Beneath is a woman bearing the warlord’s colors, her glassy eyes unseeing. And the cloak I removed materializes once it’s no longer being worn. It’s a finely stitched cloth bearing a striped pattern of tans and beiges. I would think it completely unremarkable if I hadn’t seen what it could do once worn.
The assailant’s forearms are also invisible, and I remove her gloves, which likewise materialize, bearing the exact same stitching as the cloak.
I turn around in time to see Kellyn make contact with his attacker just before Temra reaches him. His strike connects with flesh, bone, sinew—each of these is revealed once the material of the cloak rips with the force of the blow.