in the hearth, the flames r

into his hut. The old floorboards groaned beneath his furious steps. He yanked open a wooden chest, grabbing his satchel and st

e, the screaming, were no longer just haunti

h clenched teeth. "Enslaved my people. Burned

s shoulder and turned toward

e a ghost, silent and stern. "You can'

op walking. "Tr

re you take five ste

anger. "I don't care. I'd rather die fighting than

o me, boy. You won't bring justice by charging into the lion's den

What do I do, wait until they w

"You become the weapon

motioned for J

g faintly metallic. The wizard walked to a large stone basin and began chanting in an ancient tongue. He t

the warriors who raided your village. I killed him years a

the air, his voice rising into a deep incantation. The room darkened un

p in," the wiz

it burned against his skin, not from heat, but from something far deeper.

basin, chanting louder now,

his bones groaned as they shifted. His face felt like it was breaking and reforming

en it

amiliar body. He stumbled to a mirror, ba

s not

rs. A battle-scarred jaw.

is hands. "Garrick lives again,"

his reflection

oarse. "I'll walk right into the heart of their

ack cloak and a forged sig

"And remember, until the time is righ

He wrapped the cloak around him, stepped into the fading night,

the morning he had a

et deceptive light across the brutal land. His cloak shifted slightly in the wind, his eyes sharp

und, her face bloodied. She struggled and kicked, refusi

your master and walk away from it?" one s

t defiant. "I'd rather die on my feet tha

s whip again, but t

oug

he air like a blade. Fi

n their eyes widened. One of the

e wind lifting his hood as he m

ed. Even the slaves paused in their work,

it ca

he

rri

l or run. James moved to the girl and reached for her arm. Sh

t, turning her back on him and li

back to the crowd. They looked at him with a

ourt hall, the heart of the Bloodthorn leadership. He pushed

elders and officials. "I see the great

ot dulled the menace in his frame. His piercing eye

orward. "In fl

forearm. He stared hard into James's face before his expression

James said with

. "How can a dead man be reborn? Who's to say he isn't some imposter?" He circled James sl

e, revealing the very scar, thanks to t

eople can forge scars. This man, this

ough. If Garrick says he'

y, Draven. But... as you will." He bowed sl

e returned to us in a dark tim

s falling on a chained man being led out

id. "But for now, rest. You'

ded and w