When Damien walked out of his room he found Dad and Lizzy already gone and Jen not back yet. He sighed. So much for a family breakfast. He found bread and jam along with milk from the icebox and fixed himself a snack. He’d finished half of it when Jen pushed the door open and trudged through, her clothes torn and her sword dragging behind her.

“Hard fight?”

She shook her head and tossed the sword on the couch. “We tracked them through the forest, brambles, and thickets for hours then lost them. I don’t know how they do it! It’s like magic.”

Damien fixed her a slice of bread and jam then poured a second glass of milk. He didn’t have enough hands to carry everything over to the couch so he conjured an extra pair. Glowing, golden hands zipped Jen’s breakfast over to her. She flinched when the disembodied hands appeared before her, then took the food. Damien joined her and they ate together on the couch.

“Dad would have a fit if he saw us eating on the couch,” Jen said around a mouthful of bread.

Damien finished his breakfast. He was in too good a mood after last night to care what his father thought about him eating on the couch. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” She sipped her milk. “We’ve tried everything, but we always lose them after a few miles. Can you take a look? You don’t have to fight, just help us find them.”

“If they’re using sorcery there might be residual energy I can track. I’m not sure what the masters would say, but since this isn’t a proper mission there shouldn’t be any problem with me helping you out. When do you want to go?”

“Right now.” She kissed his cheek, leaving a spot of sticky jam. “Let me wash up and get some new clothes. My team’s getting breakfast and we were planning on heading back out anyway.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you in the hall.”

Damien left Jen to get cleaned up. He locked the door behind him so no one would walk in on her and headed down the hall toward the entry. He didn’t bother with his sword. In a real fight a steel sword was about his weakest option. In the entry hall a couple dozen students stood around chatting. He saw no one he knew. His class would have graduated last year and received their first assignments so it was no surprise everyone was a stranger.

“Well, well, what are the odds?”

Damien groaned at the familiar voice. He turned and saw Dirk and Donk coming from the general direction of the mess hall. He hadn’t expected those two idiots to be here. They were a year ahead of him and should be out on whatever assignment the military had chosen for them. “Dirk. What’s the matter, no one want you two in their command?”

Donk clenched his fist, but Dirk laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. “On the contrary, we completed our third successful mission and are waiting for our next assignment. Good of you to come home and provide us a little entertainment while we wait.”

Damien grinned. He wasn’t some scared kid looking to run this time. He was a sorcerer, with full access to all his powers. If these clowns thought they could push him around now, they were in for a surprise. “All right, let’s play that game you two liked so well. You remember, the one where I hit you as hard as I can then you hit me as hard as you can. I’ll even let you go first.”

“Brave of you, punching bag.” Dirk balled his fist.

“What’re you two doing?” Jen stood at the top of the stairs. She had changed into an identical outfit, this one free from rips, and carried her sword over her shoulder.

Dirk and Donk stepped back from him. Damien looked up at Jen. “It’s okay, sis, we’re playing a game. No need to worry.”

Damien poured power into his shield. “Don’t worry, boys, she won’t interfere. Right, Jen?”

Jen looked at him. She wasn’t a sorcerer and couldn’t see the power surrounding him, but she must have gotten a sense of his confidence. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” Damien tapped his chin. “Go ahead, give it your best shot.”

Dirk shrugged. “Your funeral.”

He swung with all his might. Soul force coursed through his body as he put everything he had into it. Dirk’s fist hit Damien’s shield and stopped. He could have punched a mountain and done more damage. The dumbfounded Dirk pulled his fist back and stared at it like it had betrayed him.

Damien turned to Donk. “Your turn.”

Donk tried an uppercut to Damien’s stomach with the same results as his cousin. They looked at each other then back at Damien. It would have been comical if it wasn’t so pathetic.

“My turn.”

Damien shaped a golden gauntlet around his right fist, then covered his arm and shoulder in more golden armor. He pumped a third of his power into the construct. Little sparks and jagged mini-lightning bolts sparked off the armor. Excess power caused the floor and walls to vibrate and dust to fall from the ceiling. It seemed like the whole fortress was shaking.

He drew his fist back.

Dirk and Donk ran back the way they’d come as fast as their soul-force-enhanced legs could carry them. The assembled students and Jen all stared at him with wide eyes. Damien reabsorbed the power and the vibrations stopped.

He glanced up at his sister. “Ready?”