The next day, we pack up and hit the road. Hours and hours of walking that makes the soles of my feet ache, even if I don't express the discomfort.

The ambush really is expertly done. One minute the road is clear, the next it is filled with bandits.

I am on the far side of Berit and duck when I see what is happening.

It is too late for Bill, whose shoulder is pierced through. He falls from his horse, groaning and rolling around on the ground, hands going up to pull at the arrow shaft.

"No!" I yell, grabbing Bill's hands and holding them away.

Bill looks at me with terrified eyes. His horse shields us from the rest of the skirmish, though I can hear the shouts of soldiers and bandits alike. Berit's voice is roaring orders.

"You... there's a letter... with my horse... for my ma..." Bill forces out.

I growl and pull Bill's sword from his scabbard. "Shut up. You're not going to die.”

Bill lets out a terrible hacking cough, as though he's trying to contradict my words.

I catch the reins of Bill's horse, hiding behind it as I approach the battle.

The bandits outnumber the soldiers at least two to one. The soldiers are better trained, but they are overwhelmed and already retreating into defensive positions.

I'm still mostly unnoticed, the bandits all concentrating on men they have already engaged. Most appear to be trying to break through the ranks of the common soldiers to get to Berit.

There is a space around Berit, though, and I soon realize why.

I am finally getting a glimpse of the Monster of Merryhead Bay.

Berit is casting magic, his arms moving in strange jerking movements. All who come within six feet of him are caught in his spell's clutches.

At first, it's difficult to see what he's doing, but then I see the red lines forming along the men's necks and faces as their screams reach a deafening level.

He is boiling their blood in their veins.

I don't notice the bandit sneaking to the side of me. Bill shouts a warning and I just get my blade up in time.

Metal clashes against metal. I spin away. I need more distance to draw the man away from Bill.

The bandit is tall, with heavy shoulders and strong arms. He has a tattoo at the centre of his forehead, a crescent moon with three stars along its edge.

The bandit attacks again, and again, and I parry blow after blow. I duck and weave around his blade, all the while edging further and further towards my goal.

"Stand and fight me, you mage supporting scum!" the bandit hisses.

I don't respond, tracking every movement the man makes.

A slight shift in weight and the man launches into an attack. I drop to a crouch, kicking out at the bandit's legs.

He stumbles. I see his foot pass the invisible line that makes up the barrier of Berit's spell.

The bandit is as good as dead. Another corpse in a pile of dead bodies surrounding the battle mage.

"Good job, Kit!" Berit shouts, dropping the spell.

He runs forward, his boots slamming into the back of a dead bandit as he bounds to my side.

“Now we've got rid of the stupid ones, how about we go for a real challenge?" Berit asks and charges towards another bandit.

I follow him, not sure what else to do but guard his back.

Berit shouts orders once more. I don't understand the code he's using but soon every man is fighting back to back with me at Berit's.

Berit fights fiercely, taking on anything within arm's reach with either sword or a spell that lights men on fire from within.

I try to ignore the scent of burning flesh that fills my nostrils.

A bandit charges at Berit out of nowhere. I don't have time to think, only react. My sword slashes down with a thunk, and I hear something hitting the ground. I don't look down, though I know what I'd see. I've cut off the bandit's arm.

Berit swoops around me, holding up his hand and setting the man's head on fire. The man shrieks and runs, leaving me to double over and wretch up my miserable breakfast.

Around us, the bandits are dwindling now. I watch as the soldiers run them through cleanly. When the last one falls, I finally become aware that I'm shaking from head to foot, my stomach churning over and over.

I try to wipe my brow, but my hand is covered in the man's blood I helped to kill.

"Well, that goes to show you're a natural in battle, lad." Berit claps me on the back.

"Bill!" I gasp, pointing towards where he'd been standing. Berit looks over sharply and immediately orders some men who weren't already clearing bodies off the road to check on him.

"Why didn't they run when they saw we were winning?" I ask. I can't look at the bodies, so I focus instead on Berit's face. He's looking over the corpses with distaste.

"They were members of the Brotherhood," he explains.

I've never heard of them.

"The Brotherhood?"

Berit looks at me in surprise and laughs.

"Ah, of course. I doubt they operate up in Geudwood. They're an organization that believes mages are evil. Some hogwash about everyone being equal and living segregated existences. They’ve got a bone to pick with the resurgence of slavery, too. They probably heard I was passing through and had to give me a special visit," Berit says with a shrug. "They have a code. If one still lives, they'll try to complete their mission. Bloody fanatics."

Why did my father never tell me about them? They'd be a threat to my brother. But then my father retreated from the world almost twenty years ago. A lot of things have probably changed in that time.

Though the casual way that Berit refers to slavery makes me hope it was only the Dark Mages who feel casually about it, and not a shift in attitudes throughout Vinculum. The thought of slavery makes something tighten, hot and spitting in my chest. Sizzling like a fire.

"Good thing it was us passing through and not a mage family then." I spit onto the ground to get the taste of bile out of my throat.

Berit gives me a shrewd look from the corner of his eye. Brotherhood blood has settled into his scar and made it glisten as though it were fresh. "Of course. If your brother had travelled this way, who knows what could have happened?"

My breath catches in my throat. The sizzling intensifies. "You've known the whole time?"

Berit nods, clapping me on the back again to dispel the tension.

"That I have, Master Unlucky. Now I'm sure you know all about my unsavoury past too. So why don't we make an agreement, you and me? You can become anonymous, but you must train in my guard," Berit offers.

Although he's smiling, I know it isn't a request.

"It will be an honour to fight by your side, Lord Berit.”

Berit beams at me.

"Thought you might say somethin' like that."