Drake and Cortez turned to see trolls rushing onto the roof, and Drake sighed.

  Add making magical parachute to the list of important duties Drake, you can never go wrong with a fucking parachute.

  “Thoughts,” yelled Cortez. The building continued to shake, the entire structure shifting slightly, and Drake couldn’t lie, her first thought was absolutely ridiculous.

  “We’re Cultivators, can we jump and survive it?”

  “You might, and will have to drag my crippled body away if we even can manage to run from the mountain troll regrowing its leg below us!”

  Okay, jumping is a no go for now…

  Her next instinct told her to use her magical minions, they could both fly, but hearing the still charging attack behind her told her that their one chance to kill the mountain troll was nearly on the horizon and couldn’t be disrupted.

  So what do we do…, said Drake as Cortez fired handfuls of arrows at the approaching trolls. The sight of Cortez arrows giving Drake another ridiculous idea.

  “Cortez, how long can you make the vines from your trap skill?”

  “Come on, never used the skill before, but I guess as long as I have spiritual energy I can keep them growing, I don’t know, why?”

  “I’ll hold them off, you start growing the longest vine you can!”

  Sections of the roof began to cave in and Drake started to smile as the tall trolls stepped toward her without sure feet. The glances shared between the group of five made Drake wonder if the trolls had more or less primitive forms of communication. She began to pay more attention to her enemy, watching as the lead troll gestured, the subtle movements sending the trolls behind him to fan out.

  The more details she took in about the trolls the more Drake began to realize something was wrong with her. The trolls all wore relatively decently constructed armor, none held weapons, but the fact that she hadn’t paid attention to the new adaptation was bothersome for her.

  Are my eyes even open?

  Drake was beginning to feel as if something was drawing her focus. Her father had trained her not only to take in her surroundings but also to take in every detail of those around her, yet since she arrived in Imperial, much of her training since her childhood had been ignored.

  Their family had a mantra. Three simple words that kept them alive, and in that moment as Drake thought of the words, every color around her was enriched. Her skin began to tingle, and steam began to rise off her shoulders, as a subtle fog drifted from her lips.

  Think…

  Her body was in proper form. The only ailment left for her to consider was her broken right arm. Even that though was ignored as Zen’s still slightly glowing fingers flicked in her periphery.

  Drake widened her stance as the trolls stepped onto the balls of their feet, readying themselves. She took an incredibly deep breath in; her eyes slowly scanning each opponent.

  Analyze…

  Drake took in the movements of their muscles. The sweat that began to glisten across the multi colored trolls bodies. Even the imperfections of their armor became apparent to her.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Move…

  Drake strutted gracefully forward, walking with her hand at her hip, holding havoc like a swordsman would hold a sheathed blade at her side, stopping a mere yard away from the lead troll, then stomped down in front of her.

  A hole formed as the building continued to shake and wobble, and before the trolls could react, Drake whipped havoc out to her left. Her minion wrapped an open hand around the unprotected ankle of the left most troll, crushing the limb in one powerful squeeze.

  A yowl was heard and Drake simply stepped backward, pulling the troll she’d grabbed with Havoc off balance; simply letting them fall into the growing hole at her feet. The seemingly casual task performed in an instant at the shock of the other trolls.

  This was the Carter family’s confidence. What made their opponents tremble when facing them. A belief that they could achieve anything, a seemingly summonable forece that pushed them to new heights.

  Drake had always suspected this power her family believed they all held to be a myth, but not having had created a big enough hole to collapse the entire roof may not have been a possibility, but one large enough to drop her falling into the interior of the building instead of her enemies, absolutely was, making her wonder.

  Only the mighty may step into my path…. Thought Drake, letting out another breath, and all the remaining for trolls literally dove into action, even as their brethren plummeted through the collapsing building below them.

  Th first was ended in a flash, as Zen raised its hand palm upward high above Drake, only to thrust its elbow down in a snap.

  The collision at the back of the neck of the diving troll was instantaneous. The light left its eyes, and the arms that threatened to wrap around Drake’s midsection flailed uselessly before this troll too fell into the hole.

  The lead troll nearly collided with Drake, managing to get a single arm around her waist. Only for Havoc to rotate and stiff arm the troll as Drake took another step backward.

  Drake rotated, lifting her leg skyward, another powerful snap heard as life force was channeled toward her foot, just before her heel was dropped.

  Her heel sliced down, crushing the fourth troll out of the air, breaking its spine, letting the monster fall into the still opening hole.

  The final troll didn’t even make the jump across the hole to Drake, barely missing the edge.

  Drake’s only regret wasn’t finding a way to take more information from the map that now crumbled away. Her memory was powerful, but far from eidetic.

  We’ll just have to do our best with what we have.

  Drake turned, looking at her two magical minions, hoping that their attack was charged and ready. They would need to escape and handle the mountain troll in the next few moments. The building’s stability was eroded beyond recovery, and with what Cortez was doing, Drake wondered if they weren’t making matters worst for themselves.

  Drake’s eyes shifted to the young man, her eyes widening at the side. The young man seemed to be in a trance; a dense forrest of vines growing from his feet, The purple vegetation seemingly coated with shadows and darkness.

  “Cortez, we got more incoming, let’s get out of here!”

  His eyes opened wide, and Drake rushed toward him as he wobbled for more reasons than the crumbling building.

  That must have taken a lot out of him.

  Drake had to high step the vines, and even then some of the thick moving ropes tangled up her every step until she arrived at Cortez’s side.

  “You good?”

  “Yeah, that was just a lot more concentration than I thought it would be to get that done,” responded Cortez warily.

  “I hear you buddy, but we got to move.”

  Drake looked over the edge of the building to see the mountain troll on a knee, trying to stand, even with its still reforming leg spurting blood in every direction. Her giant minion stabbing at the leg while the mountain troll tried to reach for the building they stood atop.

  “What’s the plan,” said Cortez as Drake frantically started pulling one of the vines that dangled well over the edge of the building up.

  “Quick, tie the end of this to an arrow,” said Drake handing the vines end to Cortez; the young man forming an arrow out of magic to do what she instructed without thought.

  Drake looked for the nearest building, and tapped Cortez before pointing. His brow furrowed once he realized what she was pointing at.

  “What do you want me to do, fire an arrow over there?”

  Drake nodded and Cortez frowned.

  “Even if I make the shot with this heavy damned vine attached it won’t be nearly heavy enough to hold our weight!”

  “I know that you idiot, shoot it at the shadow of the doorway of that roof’s opening, make it enter the shadows or whatever your skill does, and up out of your own shadow so we can tie the vine to itself!”

  Cortez eye’s widened in shock at what he’d just been told to do.

  Can I even do that, I mean why not…,” muttered Cortez in question. The building rocked heavily as the troll used it to stand, Drake worrying that they were about to loose their chance to escape as the building groaned; more of its innards folding in on themselves.

  “We don’t have time Cortez its do or die!”

  Drake felt everything slow around her. She looked away from Cortez to stare down at the mountain troll. The monster had righted itself, and was standing on the skeletal foot of its nearly completed leg; her minion still stabbing at its ankle as the mountain troll tried to stomp down on the large armored skeleton.

  She felt the building shake, feeling an arrow whistle by her side, knowing instinctually that Cortez had succeeded even before he began to cheer, already tying the vine to itself.

  “Go,” yelled Drake, watching the mountain troll look away from her skeletal minion below, and up toward her. The monster and her making eye contact as it bent it’s knees to jump. Even as Drake pointed.

  “Sick em boys…!”

  The storm cloud above dipped. The whirling vortex of energy, wind and lightning pulsed, and was behind the troll in a mere clap of thunder, and discharged.

  Thee monster jumped, looking over its shoulder as a massive crimson beam that twisted with black tendrils of power and force, blasted through both its spine and the building beyond.

  The building fractured into bits, exploding in every direction, even as Drake stepped off the roof, Cortez yelling her name as the vine he held snapped on one end, leaving him swinging toward the adjacent building.

  “Drake!”