The Wild Beasts of Anthony Mannis

The Kesla-Allay Disarray Tech Railgun (KA-DTR) is a CDF Spectre Officer’s primary weapon. Specifically designed to combat the beasts of rogue invokers, a fully charged blast is powerful enough to destroy a command-level invocation upon impact. Repercussions have been noted in observed invokers who have had their beasts removed by such means: symptoms range from nosebleeds to comas.

- Information Available to Borges Citizens, Pamphlet VIII

“Finally, Lanaya!” Hayley was giddy as they crested the hill, revealing the creaky settlement below. It had been two overcast days of hiking, cat jerky, and petty bickering since leaving Harold and Sharon, and she had been getting pretty tired of it all. “Just in time too, the sun is beginning to go down.”

She turned happily to her companions, her excitement draining as she caught the tail end of their most recent pedantry.

“So you’re saying that because it has eight legs it’s a completely different animal.”

“Yes, if it has six, it’s an insect, and if it has eight it’s an arachnid.”

“That’s stupid. They’re all bugs,” Anthony scratched his ear matter-of-factly.

“Taxonomy is not stupid!” Philip adjusted his glasses, “classification is a responsibility given to the caretakers of the world; to wit, us.”

Hayley groaned and rolled her eyes, but neither of them noticed her. She tried again and they still didn’t notice.

“Yea yea, that’s very noble. How about, you try to classify THIS!” Anthony summoned up a housecat-sized monster with seven legs and some wheels. It had two heads and was bright orange.

Philip scoffed. “That’s easy, it’s an uh…hey! Stop changing it!”

“Whatever, dude. We were originally talking about scorpion men. Let’s get back on track.”

Hayley whirled on them, straw flying everywhere. “You guys are cute, but can we cut it out for a second? I’d like to sleep in a bed tonight and I don’t want anyone to notice that you’re an invoker.”

Philip nodded and pulled on the hood of his jacket. “Oh yea, better cover up, too. Don’t wanna be recognized.”

It was late afternoon when they got to the gates of Lanaya. It was more of a rickety fence than a gate, and there were no formal guards—just a man leaning on said rickety fence. When he shifted, the whole setup groaned threateningly. Banging in the wind next to him was a hand-painted sign that read MARKET CLOSES AT SUNSET.

“Pardon me sir,” Philip ventured, “which way to the nearest inn?”

“Thataways,” the man gestured with his stubbly chin over his shoulder, “it’s almost nighttime. Better get inside somewhere.”

“Thank you, we will hurry.”

“You’re damn right you will,” the man laughed.

Philip looked back at the man as they walked on. “Was that ominous? That was ominous. Wasn’t it?”

They slowly moved down the street, gravel crunching loudly under their feet.

“I’m getting weird vibes from this place,” Anthony shivered.

Hayley furrowed her brow as if to help with recollection. “This is not the Lanaya I remember. Everything seems…dead.”

“Please don’t say that,” Philip shivered.

But they were all correct. The streets were empty. Shutters banged in windows with unlit rooms, paper trash swirled in the road, and it was overwhelmingly quiet.

Anthony wrinkled his nose. “This place smells like garbage.”

Hayley laughed, but it was hollow. Her laugh echoed blankly in the streets and died in a side alley. The sky seemed to darken.

Anthony watched a little boy scoot across the deserted main street, chasing a plastic bag. His mother ran out after him, scooped him up, and darted inside a house.

“Interesting.” Hayley murmured, her eyes darting left and right.

“Interesting?” squeaked Philip, adjusting his glasses with a trembling hand, “more like ominous. There are probably ruffians or black cats about! Why didn’t we just keep going on to the next town, Melville?”

Anthony made a little nervous sound with his throat.

“No black cats,” Hayley said, “nor ruffians. That mother who picked up her child looked up at the sky before she locked herself in. There are no problems at the street level. It could be a storm, it could be frigate birds, it could be…oh my goodness…”

Fifty feet high, the colossus towered over the buildings, a deep stone grey and with two yellow glowing eyes. It had the vague shape of a thickly built plate-armored knight; at its elbows each arm split into two, resulting into four unsettling forearms. The four giant hands at every end grasped at air unhappily, and the colossus roared.

“Holy hell! Where did that come from?” Anthony shouted.

Philip was equally shocked. “That’s the biggest colossus I’ve ever seen… It’s a humanoid figure but with a definitive abomination…I wonder where the invoker drew inspiration…”

Hayley grabbed him. “Well why don’t you go ask it then? You can go die, while we go find a place to hide! Oh damnit, he spotted us…”

The colossus grasped down at the only three visible people; they scurried out of reach as one huge arm plunged into the street, gouging two giant potholes.

“Well, that’s enough of that,” said Anthony, crouched against a rain barrel, “I’ll put a stop to this.”

Concentrating hard, he set to work on his own colossus, and it began to form in front of him. It was a Praetorian, human in form but with glistening skin of burnished bronze that was armored in gold, complete with a full-faced helmet. As Anthony’s colossus grew, it unsheathed a golden shortsword. Rising, it flexed as it grew larger…twenty feet tall…then thirty…and it stopped at thirty.

“Crap,” Anthony muttered, sweat beading on his forehead.

The two colossi stared at each other, a few houses apart. The stone one was almost twice as tall, and the Praetorian’s head barely came up to its stomach.

“Anthony…I don’t think you should do this…” Philip said warily, “you don’t have to fight everything you see.”

“Yes,” Hayley agreed, “but I do want to see this play out.”

Philip glared at her.

“What, he’s already summoned his beast!”

The stone colossus opposite them bellowed and raised its arms.

“Too late!” Anthony yelled, and his golden colossus ran towards the stone one, swinging its shortsword in an upwards arc at the stone colossus’s midsection. The cut rang true, creating a deep glowing gash in the stone body. The stone colossus responded by punching the Praetorian squarely in the face with a two-fisted arm. Anthony winced. Stumbling, his colossus grabbed a chimney for balance and it snapped off in its hands. Regaining composure, it shot out a golden leg and clipped the stone colossus on the knee, sending it reeling into the side of a house. Roaring, the stone colossus groped blindly and ripped off the thatch roof. It flung the roof at the Praetorian, who deflected it into another house.

“Cut it out, Anthony! You’re destroying the homes!” Philip yelled. He drew his revolver. “Let me shoot it!”

Hayley slapped his hand down. “What are you, an infant? That won’t do anything! Save your bullets.”

“I can take him!” Anthony shouted tiredly, “he’s weakened!”

Hayley jumped aside as part of the thatch roof fell where she had been standing. “Anthony you idiot, can’t you fight with a bit of spatial awareness?”

“Not the time, scarecrow! Nor the place! I—”

“What in seven blazing hells are you doing?” a deep voice boomed. It was the man who had earlier been leaning against the fence; now no longer acting the laid-back farmer.

“I told you idiots to GET INSIDE. You have no idea what you’re dealing with!”

“That thing has no idea what HE’S dealing with!” Anthony shouted through gritted teeth. His golden colossus locked grips with the much larger stone colossus. A courtyard wall crushed to gravel underneath their feet.

“You invokers are such children!” shouted the man, “Literally! I don’t have time to explain out here, get inside and we can talk!”

“You can go inside and hide like the rest of this cowardly townsfolk,” Anthony wheezed, “but I’m going to beat this thing and there is no way anyone can make me move—”

A thin scratchy arm wrapped around his neck like a noose and tightened, cutting off his blood circulation. The last thing Anthony saw before he lost consciousness was the stone colossus knocking his golden one to the ground.

#

“Wake up, stupid,” sang a distant voice.

Anthony’s eyes snapped open. He was in a room with a fireplace and a high ceiling. He was in a bed. Something kept jabbing him in the side of the head and it was annoying.

“How’re you feelin’, stupid?” Hayley was dabbing a damp towel on his forehead.

Anthony groaned and rolled away from her. There were circles of light dancing across his vision.

“What happened?”

“I choked you out,” she said with a pleased grin.

“Was that really necessary?”

“Nah, but it was cool. I just went FFFT!”—she re-enacted her chokehold on an imaginary Anthony—“And you went nighty-night.”

She went limp in mock unconsciousness and winked at him. “Then you slept for ten hours.”

With a dismissive snort, Anthony’s gaze wandered across the room as he absorbed his surroundings. He saw Philip and the old man from earlier, both leaning on the same table and watching him.

“What’s going on? Did I destroy that colossus? Hi I’m Anthony. Who are you? Am I in your house?”

“Destroyed the colossus,” the old man scoffed, “damn near destroyed the town.”

Philip nodded. “Stannek is right. If you had kept fighting you would have demolished more than a few homes.”

“Not only that,” The old man added, standing up, “you didn’t even come close to permanently hurting it. It was like watching a rat fighting a full grown black cat.”

“He cheated,” Anthony snapped, “I wasn’t prepared. It wasn’t a fair fight.”’

Hayley barked laughter. “Fair fight? What’s that? I wish I could be in one of those.”

Anthony scowled. “He cheated somehow. No one can make a colossus that big. Not even Munroe.”

“Aw, poor baby,” she cooed, “got your butt kicked and now you’re all embarrassed.”

“Shut up, Scarecrow. Where’s this kid and what’s his deal? I want to meet him. He probably ain’t so tough.”

Philip coughed. Stannek moved over to the side of Anthony’s bed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s a bit of a walk, are you up for it?” asked Stannek. Anthony nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

“Alright then. I already filled in your friends, we decided to wait till you woke up to go see Gavin.”

#

It was mid-morning when they exited Stanneck’s house, and people were already bustling around the streets. Many stopped to glare at Anthony as they walked around the debris left by his battle.

“Freak,” he heard one mutter.

“Don’t.” Philip put his hand on Anthony’s shoulder as the boy moved forward, hot-tempered.

Ignoring them, Stanneck began his story. “Lanaya’s always been a small town, just one of many logging villages in Forest Zone. Nothing too special about it, but it’s home to many, you know? Everything carried on like clockwork, ordinary, boring, you get the idea…until one of the kids started developing invoker powers… Gavin Neals. And what an invoker he was! Great commands, great imagination, good helpful spirit. Second-tier invoker, easy. It was very exciting at first: He made the logging easier and helped build many of the homes.”

Anthony crossed his arms. “Big deal, I did that too,” he muttered.

Stanneck paused as they turned down a sidestreet. “A few years ago the Borges decided Lanaya was a city of interest and trained some of our teenagers to be Public Safety Officers. We knew if they told the Borges of Gavin’s true invoker tier the Spectre Men would come knocking at our door, so we bribed the pissos to underrate him as a one-drop and we helped him keep his powers under wraps. No colossus, nothing bigger than crony level—you know, chicken-sized.

“I’m sure they think he’s something special now,” Anthony quipped.

“I’m getting there. A week or so ago he started coming down with Sweet Fever. He got it worse than most, and it weakened him. He falls in and out of consciousness still, and when he falls into a deep sleep…”

“…When he falls into a deep sleep, he unconsciously summons colossi,” Anthony finished for him, “through dreams, or nightmares.”

“You got it.” Stannek said grimly. They had turned down a small alley, and stopped in front of a thin home. Stannek knocked sharply on the door four times.

“Hey Mada,” The man dipped his head to the old woman who answered, “came to check on Gavin. Brought some friends.”

“He’s sleeping, but come in.” She gestured towards the back of the room, where a small brown-haired boy was bundled in blankets, shivering and muttering. The room smelled like menthol.

“Monsters only at night, huh?” Philip said quietly as they assembled around a table. “I’ve read of invokers like that. Dreams fuel their imagination, and in most cases their power.”

Anthony nodded, then remembered a question he had from earlier. “So he makes fantastic colossi every night. Why hasn’t he been snatched up by Spectre Men?”

Stannek sighed. “I’ve been wondering that myself. Luck, I suppose, and a good bit of quick thinking. Lanaya isn’t a major settlement, most travelers bypass it in favor of Oaktown; we don’t even get skydrones in our neck of the woods…we began to close the market at sunset so that the few traders we get leave long before Gavin’s colossus begins to form. You guys are the only visitors we’ve had in weeks outside of the traders, and you came from the east. Nobody comes from that way. Hell, there’s nothing out there but farmland and forest!”

Anthony started to say something about Mint Village but Philip shook his head.

“It’s only a matter of time before a chance skydrone or a bonehead ranger sees the giant fifty-foot beacon of trouble. Then we’re in for it,” Stannek sighed, and Mada patted his hand. “Gavin’s been getting worse, too. It used to just wander about, but now his colossus will attack anything on sight.”

It dawned on Hayley. “So that’s why everyone hides inside. Damage control.”

“Yep. Most everyone was understanding of the situation, but… it’s been weeks now and he hasn’t been getting better. Now the village is restless. I imagine someone might even turn him in soon.”

Mada turned to Anthony. “We think that Gavin’s recovery is hampered by his nightmares…that the invocations draw so much energy out of him it is affecting his health.”

She looks like a little wrinkly apple. Her idea clicked in Anthony’s head. “You need an invoker to fight him. To put down his colossus and break the cycle, so he can get full rest.”

“Yes,” Mada was solemn, “we have been pushing our luck, biding our time. We need to settle this before the Borges gets wind of it. And especially after last night, what with the damage…”

“Sorry,” said Anthony, not sorry, “I’d love a rematch with it. As soon as possible.”

“Tonight,” Stannek said, “And you’ll need to lure it out of town.”

“Fine.”

“Whoa there, soldier.” Philip interjected. “Maybe you’ve forgotten that Gavin’s colossus is almost twice as big as yours? Are we just going to get a repeat performance of you getting your butt kicked, no offense?”

“None taken,” said Anthony curtly, “I’ll be fine.”

“Size means nothing,” Hayley interrupted, a little too fiercely. She realized her tone, and relaxed. “Size means nothing. I’ve hunted bigger game and fought bigger people.”

“And lost, right?”

“And won, rude boy.”

She kicked the front of Anthony’s chair, tipping him backwards. As he flailed his arms, she caught the chair with her quarterstaff, stopping it before it hit the ground.

“You want to beat the bigger, stronger opponent? I can show you. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

#

In a field outside of Lanaya, Anthony and Hayley squared off, with Philip half-watching half-reading a short distance away. The wind whipped across the grass in waves.

“I’ve won against larger opponents. Many times,” Hayley announced, twirling her staff expertly, “more times than I can count. But more importantly, I’ve lost. To bigger, yes, but also the smaller, older, and weaker.”

Anthony tried to keep his eyes from rolling, but couldn’t.

“You don’t learn by winning, idiot,” she ignored him, “winning is just doing the same thing until someone figures you out. Then you start losing. Losing is how you learn—you adopt, you change, you adapt. It’s a beautiful cycle.”

“I’ve always figured the guy with the biggest rock won,” Anthony mocked, “you ever seen one of these, Scarecrow?”

He whirled up a saber-toothed tiger, blue with black stripes. It growled, pawing at the ground, before Anthony snapped it out of existence with his fingers.

“I don’t need to learn how to fight. I can summon something that does.”

Hayley smirked. “Oh yea? Didn’t look like it last night. You got ass-whooped.”

“A fluke. I never lose to anyone but Munroe.”

“Have you even ever rumbled with any invoker besides Munroe?”

“Well…not really…” Anthony shifted his feet, “but I did better against Gavin than you could have.”

“Really, now,” she turned to Philip for affirmation, hands on hips, “I guess the lesson is over and it’s time for application.”

Philip shrugged. He was more interested in a book he was borrowing from Stannek, A Detailed History of the Great Uprising.

“Put up or shut up!” Anthony shouted, glad to be fighting.

“Bring it on,” Hayley replied, “lemme see what you got.”

Anthony summoned a command-sized version of Gavin’s four-handed stony colossus, and it lumbered towards Hayley.

Hayley grinned, and ran towards it.

“What’s the point of the biggest rock,” she shouted, dancing under the monster’s swinging fists, “if the other guy can throw his?”

Anthony was about to say that that didn’t made any sense, but Hayley had just flung her quarterstaff at him, and the length of it got him squarely in the stomach. Before he could realize the lesson he was learning she was already on him, boxing him on the head and tripping him neatly while using her recovered staff to keep the automaton at bay.

“And what’s the point,” she purred into his ears as she again locked the forearm choke around his neck, “of summoning things to protect you, if they can’t?” A wisp of her hair fell on his face.

Anthony’s invocation flickered as he began to lose consciousness.

“You’re gonna lose, mate,” she continued, “but that’s fine. Losing is a part of life.”

Furious, Anthony struggled for breath. He jammed his hand in between her forearm and his neck, and he gasped sweet air.

Hayley smiled. “As long as you don’t quit.”

She flipped towards the invocation. Swinging her staff like a bat, she dealt the monster a solid blow to the head and it disappeared. She whirled around to face a gasping, prostrate Anthony.

“Your beasts and monsters,” she announced, “are nothing but rocks and boulders,” she twirled her staff happily, “for water to flow around.” She punctuated the last statement by fluidly pinning him to the ground with her knee.

“Speed kills.”

Philip, eyes still on his book, applauded distractedly and somewhat sarcastically a distance away.

Anthony scowled. “Let me up. Best two out of three.”

Hayley paused. “Don’t you want to know what you did wrong?”

“No.” he waved her off. “Let me up. Let’s go again.”

Hayley let him up. “You need to make a beast that’s faster. You—”

A large snake lunged at her, its body forming out of the air—over twenty feet of sinewy coils. Hayley ducked the the initial strike, drew her hunting knife, and slashed down its centerline. Red energy shot out of the cut with a loud hiss, evaporating into the air. With a resounding crack, the quarterstaff hit the snake on its chin, and the beast slumped in the grass.

“That,” she said indignantly, “was sloppy. Cowardly, rushed, and sloppy.”

Anthony’s face was red, a mix of anger and embarrassment. “Was not.”

“Take the time and do it right, or not at all,” she said coldly.

“Screw you!” he lunged at her with balled fists. Hayley laughed, easily dodging his wild swings.

“That’s fine, kittycat, get angry! It just makes it easier for me,” her eyes sparked.

Philip closed his book. She is serious. This is no longer a friendly sparring match.

She kicked out one of Anthony’s legs as he was planting it, causing him to stumble. “Rush-job.”

She grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoved his head. “Baby.”

Anthony bit her wrist but recoiled; he felt like had bitten into a sheet of metal. Hayley slapped him in the face, knocking him to the ground. “Freak.”

She sat on his chest and pulled her hunting knife to his throat. “You rush. You’re not calm. You have too much ego. Don’t ever pull a spastic stunt like that on me again.”

“Let me up!” Anthony screamed. Hayley bared her teeth at him.

“Alright that’s enough!” Philip said, with a surprising amount of authority in his voice. “Hayley, let him up. Why did you pull a knife on a thirteen-year-old boy?”

“Clam it, Philip,” Anthony winced as he rose, “I can take care of myself.”

“No, you clam it,” Philip whirled on him, “it’s time for you to listen to someone, for the first time in your life.”

They were all silent for a moment. The sky rumbled, black clouds overhead, and the grass around them whipped in the wind.

“Look, Ant,” he jabbed a finger at the boy, “why don’t you tell us what’s really going on. Part of the reason you rush so much is that you’re so dead-set on getting to Cirk Malpy ASAP. You’re worried about your powers disappearing. You think that by just being stubborn that you’ll win. But as you can see…”

Anthony scowled. Philip continued, “…Yea, you want to get your family out but you want to do it quickly, while you think you’re still strong. Well, guess what, you’re not. Hayley beat you and she can’t invoke, what are you going to do against a whole bleedin’ Borges army with SSI?”

He gestured to the lost battle, the wind gusting around them. Anthony’s left eye was beginning to swell. Hayley smoothed out a crease in her jacket.

“Fine!” Anthony shouted, exasperated, “you’re right. I am worried about my powers going away. I am worried I’m becoming weaker every day. But every single day I’m not there is another day that Munroe and Ma also sit in a Borges compound. Why shouldn’t I run in, guns blazing, and smash a way out while I still can?”

“A true warrior rushes heedlessly into a foolish death,” Hayley thought aloud, nodding in seeming agreement.

Philip rubbed his brow. “Thank you, Hayley, that was very unhelpful.

“I think,” he continued, “that with proper training by the right people, you can extend your window of invoking, exponentially increase your ability, thusly being able to properly mount a fantastic attack on the CDF.”

“There you go with that Desert Zone pitch again,” Anthony snapped. “There’s not enough time. What if I arc down before we get there? I need to free my family first.”

“You could not just free your family,” Philip argued, “but you could also stop the annexation of other towns, and prevent what happened to Mint Village to the entire Zone! We could even rally the OZM, and free all of Atos!”

“I’m no hero,” Anthony mumbled, “but I know I’m special. And I know I’m running out of time.”

The swelling around his eye had begun to darken, the same color as the sky.

“Hey guys, it’s going to be evening soon,” Hayley called, “we should head back before Gavin’s monster comes out. Remember? The monster you said you’d put down? Which is why we sparred in the first place? Ahh, screw you guys, I’m going back to Stannek’s.”

“Look Anthony, you really don’t need to fight this kid,” Philip put a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, “two colossi fighting may draw a lot of attention…Borges attention. The Spectre Men aren’t stupid, they can put two and two together. You’re letting them know where you are. We can just leave.”

“I’m going to fight that monster,” Anthony said stubbornly. He shrugged off Philip and began to walk in Hayley’s direction.

“Oh get off your ego! Don’t be sore because it beat you earlier. What do you need a rematch for!? You’re going to get us caught!”

“No,” said Anthony, whirling around, “I’m going to keep him from getting caught.”

He paused. “I couldn’t stop them from taking Munroe. And I still wouldn’t be able to if they came. If Gavin is left alone his colossus will eventually be found. I’m going to do my best to prevent that from happening.”

He turned back towards Lanaya. “What happened to my home will not happen here.”

#

The sky was covered with storm clouds by the time they had reached Stannek’s house. The evening sun was strainedly trying to shine through, causing the edges of the black clouds to glow. The house’s shutters rattled in the wind.

“You probably could have gone a little easier, Haystack.” Anthony groaned as Philip dabbed his black eye with a compress. “I do have to take down a colossus pretty soon.”

“Sorry.” said Hayley, not sorry. She grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and split it in half with her hands. “Wouldn’t do you any favors if I did.”

“I mean, ugh man,”Anthony tried to hide his hurt pride, “It wasn’t a real battle. I woulda got you in a real battle and I was going all out.”

“Everything is a battle,” she said with a sudden seriousness, “or a waste of time. And I wasn’t going all out.”

Philip thought back to when Hayley had pinned Anthony to the ground with a knife against his throat, and wondered what she considered going all out.

“You got a plan, kid?” Stannek interrupted. He draped a cold towel across Anthony’s back.

Anthony winced as the towel touched his skin. “Yes, I think I have something I’ve been working on.

“What?” he said, responding to Philip and Hayley’s incredulous expressions, “I have good ideas sometimes. Lanaya won’t be touched.”

“I hope not. We’re all counting on you.” Stannek clamped a hand down on Anthony’s shoulder, and from the window they watched the sky darken. Like the day before, people bustled hurriedly to clear the streets, doors and windows slamming left and right. Silence reigned in Lanaya.

“Here he comes.” whispered Hayley.

Thum. Thum. Thum. The colossus’s footsteps could be felt through the floor.

“Showtime!” exclaimed Anthony, throwing off the towel. He moved so excitedly it seemed like he hadn’t been tired at all. He ran out the door, Philip and Hayley after him.

Gavin’s colossus seemed almost shocked at the monster before it: a two-segmented body, with four long, slender legs that were so thin they made no discernible print on the ground. It stood near forty feet tall, its legs darting fluidly in between houses to find secure footing in alleyways and side streets.

Hayley made a face. “Gross, it looks like a deformed tiger-spider. Can’t you make it any cuter?”

Anthony made a face back. “I could, but I’m not going to.”

The mutant spider unfurled two whip-like appendages, which snapped in front of the stone golem. The golem swatted at them, annoyed, and blundered towards it.

Calmly, Anthony heard Hayley’s voice in his head, no rushing. Don’t be sloppy.

Baiting the golem, they moved down the street, the giant tiger-spider creature maneuvering deftly above them, taunting the golem with whips yet staying just out of reach of its giant fists. Soon they had cleared the buildings and were in the open field. The golem paused to absorb its surroundings.

“You’re in my world now, baby.” Anthony grinned.

Philip frowned disapprovingly. Hayley clapped a hand to her forehead.

The spider-creature disappeared and the Praetorian from the day before loomed instead. The stone golem rumbled a challenge, seeming to remember the gold soldier. It took a lumbering step forward. Anthony’s soldier jogged lightly forward, flexing its sword arm.

“I hope he remembered what I said during our sparring session,” Hayley murmured.

The golem swung at the soldier, but unlike the last encounter, the Praetorian did not block the blow. Instead it slipped gently under, the golem’s fist connecting with nothing but air. As the soldier passed it made several deep cuts on the golem’s body. Roaring, the golem attempted to grab it, but the Praetorian locked it in a bear hug and began to stab it in the chest. The short sword became embedded after one particularly deep blow, and the gold colossus used it as a lever to pull the golem to the ground. Using the same knee pin that Hayley had applied to Anthony earlier, it freed its sword and hacked at the downed golem as if it were firewood. Within a few ringing blows, the stone golem growled defeat and disappeared. The only sound to be heard was the sarcastic applause of crickets.

Philip whistled. “Well, I’ll be.”

Hayley sniffed, as if she had known how the fight would turn out. “Fight smarter, not harder, I always say.”

Anthony inhaled deeply, tired from the fight.

“You three!” shouted a voice from the woods, “Stop there! Hands in the air!”

“Rangers!” Hayley’s face went white. She gripped her quarterstaff tightly.

Weighted nets flew out of the darkness, pinning them to the ground. Five rangers jumped out of the underbrush and began to move warily towards the three. Their captain—identifiable by his shoulder patches—also carried a sword. He drew it and pointed it at Hayley. She glared at him but couldn’t move.

“Rangers! Thank goodness!” said a familiar gruff voice.

Stannek ran forward, clapping the captain on the shoulder. “You finally caught the three invokers that had been threatening to destroy our town.”

“Stannek?” Philip was bewildered, “we’re not invokers. What the hell is going on?”

“Stannek you son of a bitch,” growled Hayley, “you used us!”

She wriggled in the net. Stannek glared at them. “Quiet, you children. No one gets away with blackmailing Lanaya! They threatened to turn our town to rubbish if we didn’t pay!”

“That is not true!” Hayley furiously thrashed about to no avail, “we saved your damn town!”

Stannek shook his head sadly at the rangers. “You see how they will make up stories to save their skin? Of course, only after they get caught. Save our town, hah! From what?”

He went up to the captain, and continued speaking in a lower tone. “Now, you’re a smart captain. Smart enough to catch three invokers! I know you’re going to turn them in yourselves and get yourselves the promotions rather than hand them over to the Borges’ suck-up Spectre Men, right?”

“Do you take me for a fool, old man?” the captain sneered, “of course we’re turning them in ourselves. You think I wanna be a stinkin’ ranger forever?”

The other rangers nodded in agreement.

Stannek knelt down next to Anthony, who had been quiet the entire time. “You have a good time now at the School for the Gifted. Your friends will most likely go to Gabram’s Hold. I don’t know which is more unfortunate.”

He patted the boy on the cheek, nodded at the rangers, and went back towards town.

The captain barked orders to his team. “Rommy, Stomps, Webber. Pick up the cargo. Buckner, prepare to travel ahead and let Central Third know that we have three packages, all special delivery. Now—”

Anthony reared up, the net that had bound him falling off him in shreds. Bright arcs of energy swirled about him. The rangers stared dumbfoundedly as the energy formed into a tall, slender, silver humanoid that ripped open the nets binding Hayley and Philip. Philip dropped to the ground unceremoniously, but Hayley landed on her feet lightly and darted immediately towards the rangers, brandishing her quarterstaff and snarling.

“Stop them!” the captain squeaked. He raised his sword just in time to parry a blow from Hayley. She feinted and he took the bait; as he swung at air she broke his knee with the backswing.

Ranger Webber was the first to regain composure and unsling his rifle, his sights set on Anthony. He was also the first to be knocked unconscious by a well-placed head-kick by the silver humanoid, whose elegant long legs allowed for unnaturally extended reach. Ranger Stomps aimed his rifle at Anthony, but the silver invocation leapt gracefully in the line of fire. The bullets deflecting off of it rang like church bells.

Another powerful kick laid ranger Webber out cold. Philip tackled Ranger Stomps to the ground. They scrambled for the loose rifle and Philip, getting it first, swung it like a bat and cracked Ranger Stomps cleanly on the jaw.

“That last ranger is getting away!” Anthony shouted, pointing at Ranger Buckner who was running as fast as he could back into the forest, disappearing into the darkness.

“I got him,” Hayley shot past Anthony and his wounded beast, breaking her quarterstaff into two sections. She disappeared into the forest. There was rustling, a lone gunshot, then silence; she stepped briskly back into the clearing, reassembling her weapon. She pulled a piece of straw out of her hair and tried to attach it back onto her jacket.

“Let’s go back to town. I have a bone to pick with the old man.”

“I’m right here, little lady,” Stannek said gruffly, arms opened wide.

“Hold on, Hayley,” Anthony grabbed the lunging girl by the arm,“I knew he was going to do it. Stannek is a good guy. He and I had a plan. How else do you think I got out of the net?”

Hayley stared at him confused, but Philip jumped up. “I get it! You named us invokers so that Lanaya would have someone to blame for the damage, as well as two colossi. Gavin is in the clear.”

Anthony nodded. “Stannek cut my net when he kneeled down next to me. I could free you guys faster than you would be able to free me.”

“I could have gotten free on my own,” Hayley said, sullen.

“I see,” Philip said as it dawned on him, “he had the Lanayan officers call it in, huh? They say they saw an invocation and to send in some rangers. We’re in no worse position than we were before, but they’re clear from higher questioning and Lanaya will not be on any SSI watchlist anytime soon. As far as the Borges know, there are no colossus-capable invokers there anymore.”

“Gavin’s fever broke. He’s gonna be okay, ” Stannek said, “Anthony my boy, you are a hero.”

A smile crept across Anthony’s face, and his eyes shone. “We’re free to move on to Melville, Hayles.”

He winked at the straw-jacketed girl. “How you like me now? I saved the day and everything.”

“Yea, sure,” rolling her eyes, “but did you learn anything from this?”

“I learned that I’m awesome. And I guess I learned something from you, too,” he added, when Hayley mock winced, “a little humility. You were right.”

He threw a shred of the remaining net at her and ran hooting down the trail. She roared and ran playfully after him. Philip laughed. Moonlight dappled along the footpath.

As Anthony ran, grinning, he heard his father’s voice saying Stannek’s words, Anthony my boy, you are a hero.