Chaos followed. The other warriors turned their horses toward the spot where the two beasts collided with the ground, but before they could come to Ira’s aid, the pair broke free of one another and shot back into the sky.

“Are you going to do something?” Shani shouted back at Kellen. Like the others, she’d charged her storm horse to help Ira.

“What do we do? What do we do?”

Vex’s rambling mirrored the thoughts racing through Kellen’s head. He wasn’t even in his second full day as a Beastcaller, and now they were under attack.

“Go help Ira!” Kellen said.

“Got it!”

Vex shot off like a golden basketball chucked in a last second full court shot. Heart pounding, Kellen gripped his storm horse with his legs and kicked it forward, toward Nokom. The old woman was a short distance away from the rest of the group, dismounted and gathering what looked like a ball of wind between her raised hands.

Deciding to play it safe and avoid another runaway on horseback, Kellen pulled the storm horse to a stop and ran on foot toward Nokom. He glanced overhead and got his first real look at the beast that attacked Ira. The enemy Mana Beast was a black bird the size of an eagle with bright red talons. Its long battered feathers looked like it had been spit out of a tornado but in spite of its tattered appearance, Kellen had no doubt it was deadly. He glimpsed criss-crossed fangs jutting from a wide beak before the black bird climbed higher into the sky. The closest comparison was some kind of vulture from hell with two long feathers streaming out of its bald, gray head similar to horns.

A whistling sound cut through the bird’s screams as it soared toward Ira, who hovered high above Nokom. The old woman’s ball of concentrated wind launched from the space between her palms and hit the bird hard in one wing just before it reached Ira. It careened to the ground in a crooked spiral and Ira dove after it, ears and wings pinned to his side.

The instant before the flying coyote collided with the bird, it flipped its red talons into the air. Kellen yelled a warning to Ira, but the coyote couldn’t slow his momentum. Ira hit the talons and let out a pained yelp, flipping over as he did and landing hard on the ground.

Kellen felt helpless. He had no idea how to summon the golden light he’d used against the bear. Vex arrived then, striking the bird with a blast of golden energy while it flipped itself over and flapped toward Ira. All three Mana Beasts were between Kellen and Nokom. Ira rolled back to his feet and stood on shaking legs while Vex distracted the bird. Kellen hesitated. Should he help Ira or Vex? Would he get in the way of Nokom’s attacks? He had no way of knowing if his mana would even work.

“Why are you standing here?”

Shani ran past Kellen, followed closely by Tama and three other warriors that weren’t protecting the storm horses. The group carried a mixture of spears and bows, although none of them paused to fire their weapons.

“Hyah!”

Vex spat a bolt of golden light from his mouth that struck the bird on the side of the head. It shook the attack off and unfurled its great wings, facing the oncoming warriors. One loosed an arrow that passed harmlessly by the bird’s head. Vex circled for another attack. Kellen stood rooted to the ground, paralyzed by indecision. He hadn’t had a moment to think about the situation with the bear. This time, his brain wouldn’t shut up and spun like an emergency beacon. He willed his legs to run toward Nokom as the warriors closed in, although each stride felt weak and loose, like sprinting on spaghetti noodle stilts.

A shriek erupted from the bird’s fanged mouth. A horizontal blade of green light sliced through the air toward Shani, Tama, and the others.

“No!” Kellen threw his hands up. A faint, crackling curved wall of gold appeared in front of the women, but the bird’s green attack passed through the fizzled defense. Each warrior went down like wheat to a scythe. Before Kellen could wonder if they were alive or dead, the bird kicked off the ground, straight for him.

“Kellen!”

He barely heard Vex’s shout as the Mana Beast pumped his short bat wings to catch up. As the bird closed in, Kellen saw his death in its ruby red eyes and gaping, fanged mouth. He raised his hands again with no clue what to do and only seconds to do it. He thrust his palms forward and shouted, eyes closed, braced for impact.

Whump! Kellen heard bodies colliding and a rush of air. He opened his eyes and found Ira and the bird locked in combat to his left. The flying coyote had come out of nowhere and saved Kellen’s life.

Growls, hisses, tawny fur and black feathers rose over the pair. Kellen wanted to do something, but the two Mana Beasts fought with such ferocity that he couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended. He cast his eyes about for a rock or a stick — anything to use as a weapon. Vex hovered close by with the same uncertainty.

A sharp yelp came from the brawl. Ira lay beneath the bird’s talons, which was all the opening Vex needed.

The golden bat form flitted around the bird’s head like a mosquito, narrowly missing snapping fangs. One wrong turn and he would be in the same or worse shape as Ira.

Kellen’s heart hammered in the back of his mouth. His arms and hands trembled when he raised them. Thrusting his palms out, he squeezed his eyes shut, willing a spear of golden light to shoot the bird. Nothing.

“Come on!” He repeated the motion. What was wrong with him? He’d done the same thing only a day before against the bear. Vex swerved to the side, just missing a snapping mouth. The only thing keeping Kellen’s mana beast in the fight was the fact the bird seemed determined to keep Ira pinned to the ground with its talons. Each passing second, the coyote struggled less and less.

A sound between a sob and a shout of frustration escaped Kellen. He’d lost Allison, he refused to let Ira die because of him. “Go on!” he screamed, advancing on the bird, waving his hands like he was back home herding a stubborn bull. “Go! Leave us alone!”

Vex swooped in and, this time, the bird knocked him from the air with its ragged wing. Kellen spiking fear rose to new heights. Vex had hit the ground on the far side of the bird. Kellen ran forward only to be knocked back by the bird’s other wing. He landed hard on his butt.

The bird tipped its head back in a victory call. As it did, a twisting, snaking white light formed between its crooked fangs.

“Vex, look out!”

A twisting, snake-like beam of white light shot from the bird’s mouth. It enveloped Vex, writhing and twisting around him like an octopus. Kellen felt a sharp pain in his right side where Nokom said his beast heart was.

Halfway on his feet, Kellen collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Chills and aches gripped him like the worst flu he’d ever experienced. He made it back to his hands and knees. Shani and the warriors who’d been protecting the horses raced toward them. Glancing the other way through unfocused eyes, he saw Nokom limping toward them. She shoved another sphere of swirling wind mana at the bird. Screaming in rage, it finally retreated, abandoning Ira and shooting upward into the sky. Kellen collapsed to the dirt.

His entire body shook. He swallowed and gasped for air through a dry mouth, each breath like he had to suck it through a towel pressed to his face and nose. Sweat beaded all over his body. He sensed Vex in the same sickened state. His fevered mind realized he must be sharing in the bird’s attack on Vex.

Tama suddenly appeared over him, her face furrowed in concern.

“You will live?”

Kellen thought so. He nodded as another cough wracked him as his nose ran freely. Tama grasped his arm and pulled him into a sitting position. Kellen’s head spun, and he wrapped his arms around himself, still shivering. He saw the rest of the group huddled around Nokom and Ira. The old woman had said a bonded mana beast couldn’t die unless its beastcaller did, but the coyote couldn’t be in good shape.

“Where’s Vex?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

One warrior Kellen didn’t know by name approached with a limp Vex in her arms. He’d returned to his fox form. She placed him in Kellen’s lap with a surprising gentleness. The fox’s downy golden fur was damp with sweat and he trembled in Kellen’s arms.

“Hey there,” Kellen said with a gentle shake. “Vex. Hey buddy.”

One bright green opened and looked up at Kellen. “I feel terrible.”

Kellen wanted to apologize for being useless. His throat tightened over the words and nothing came out. Eyes tearing, he nodded. He’d only known the little fox for a day but couldn’t stop the wash of guilt. How many of the group were injuired from protecting him?

Shani seemed to think the same thing. She rose from the circle of warriors and strode toward him. When she got closer, she raised an accusatory finger and pointed at him.

“Someone could have died because you cannot defend yourself!”

“Shani!” Tama’s voice cut between them. She stood over Kellen and he felt ashamed the chief was defending him. “Go see to your grandmother.”

Grandmother? Nokom was the only woman old enough to fit the role. Kellen only had a moment to process this new insight before Vex groaned and captured his attention. Kellen reached within himself to the right side of his chest but sensed only a trickle of the mana he had that morning. Not knowing if it would work, he focused on passing it through the bond he felt tying himself to Vex. The mana trickled away. Kellen couldn’t tell if it had done any good to Vex or not. He wasn’t sure if he’d even done anything or he’d just imagined the change.

Kellen looked up at Tama, who was still standing over him. He hated to ask, but his thirst was greater than his shame. “Could I have some water?”

The chief nodded and motioned to another Gray Dawn warrior. “I must see to Nokom.”

Nodding in response, Kellen kept his eyes on the ground as Tama walked away. She hadn’t been angry like Shani, but he could tell she blamed him.

The warrior — the one with the sides of her head shaved; Kellen still didn’t know most of their names — brought him a water skin. She tossed it to him and Kellen muttered thanks. He took a small sip. The water made him feel better at once and also awakened a terrible thirst. He drained the rest of the skin in short order.

“How’s Ira?” he asked.

“He was hurt badly in the battle,” the woman said.

Without waiting for Kellen to reply, she left. Kellen felt a rush of anger. What had they expected from him? Defeating the bear had been a fluke. He was no warrior or great beastcaller, just a regular guy who wanted to find his sister and take her home. He certainly had done nothing to give Tama, Shani, or anyone else a false picture.

The chills and shivering subsided, and Kellen managed a deep breath. In his lap, Vex sat up as well.

“Sorry, I should have saved you some water.”

Vex shook himself, puffing his fur back up. “I don’t need it, remember? I get my energy from the mana around us, and from you. If you’re feeling better, then I’m better.”

Vex’s comments solidified Kellen’s belief that the sudden bout of sickness resulted from the bird’s attack on the fox. Blinking back a lingering, pounding headache, Kellen stood up.

A short distance away, Nokom remained crouched over Ira. Shani and Chief Tama were nearby, but the rest of the warriors had left to round up the horses. Somehow, knowing that Nokom, Tama, and Shani were grandmother, mother, and daughter made Kellen feel even more anxious. It was about the last place he wanted to be, but he summoned the courage to approach the small group.

Ira lay on his side, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted like a dog who’d just given up chasing a car on a hot summer day. Nokom sat cross-legged beside him, eyes closed, hands in her lap as she chanted softly. She swayed side to side, and Kellen worried she might topple over at any moment. Kellen wanted desperately to hear that Ira would be okay. However, he didn’t think he should interrupt her trance to ask. He guessed the old woman was doing something to refresh her beast heart, just as she’d taught him that morning.

Kellen risked a glance at Shani. Concern creased the young woman’s face, a different set of lines than the customary scowl she wore around Kellen. Tama, too, looked worried. Kellen didn’t blame them. He’d been with the group a little less than a day and already had a taste of the roles Nokom served in the band. If Ira was seriously hurt, Vex — and Kellen, by extension — would be the only Mana Beast to defend them against another attack.

Nokom gasped for air, drawing in long, shuddering breaths. Her facade of strength faded for a moment and to Kellen she looked decades older, like a cloud passing over the sun. After one last deep breath, her shoulders fell and Ira sat up, shaking his head.

“I’m too old for fights like that,” the coyote said. “What happened? Did we kill it?”

“We drove it off,” Tama said. “I haven’t seen a beast like that on the plains before. Where did it come from?”

“That was not a wild Mana Beast,” Nokom said. “My guess is it came from the slavers. Whether they were testing our strength or they only have one Beastcaller, I do not know. It was at the guardian level. We are fortunate its caller was not here as well or things would have gone worse.” She paused and looked at Kellen and Vex. “I have never seen an attack like that before. How are you two?”

“Getting better,” Vex said.

“What about you and Ira?” Kellen asked. He was keenly aware their injuries were due to his own ineptitude.

“We will live,” Ira answered. He struggled to his feet and licked Nokom on the arm. The old woman had dark circles under her eyes, though her breathing was steadier now and she no longer swayed where she sat.

“Thank you,” Kellen said. His eyes fell to his feet. “I’m sorry that —”

“What happens when the bird attacks again?” Shani asked over Kellen’s apology. “He cannot protect us.”

“He has only been a Beastcaller for one sunset,” Nokom said in a stern voice. “We will rest and train.”

“We do not know enough about our enemies,” Shani said, changing course. “Let me ride ahead and see what we face. We need to be prepared for another attack.”

“No.” Tama’s voice was loud and left no room for argument. “We’ve lost enough today. We will make camp here and warm ourselves by a fire. If that Mana Beast really came from the slavers, then they will know our strength. They may even send warriors back to stop us.”

A twisting sensation gripped Kellen’s stomach. That black Mana Beast bird could have killed him with no effort. He’d been foolish to think he could become strong enough to make a difference in a fight with the slavers. He’d only get in the way, just like today. If Allison really was with the group they chased, he’d be forced to rely entirely on the Gray Dawn warriors to rescue her. It wasn’t a nice thought.

Worry, guilt and shame burned in him. He hated feeling helpless. Yet it seemed in Oras that was all he was.