CHAPTER ELEVEN
Zhudai’s triumphant laughter rang out across the courtyard. Phoenix saw Jade shiver at the sound. She gripped her new staff as though to keep from collapsing. She looked drained: her lips almost blue; magical reserves probably exhausted. Zhudai could do whatever he liked now, and she was as helpless as Phoenix felt. Where was Brynn? Where was the Horn? Where was their eleventh-hour rescue from dire peril?
The first guards approached cautiously, waving their weapons in the air; testing for Jade’s now-vanished shield. Emboldened by its absence, they advanced more quickly, slipping into fighting stances with swords, spears and knives at the ready. Behind, a rank of ten crossbow-wielding men stood, awaiting Zhudai’s command to fire.
“You sure there’s no more spells
