Lizzy and Terra were bound back-to-back with gags over their mouths in some cave away from the town. Try as she might, Lizzy couldn't use her mind magic to communicate with her father. It made her anxious, like she couldn't move a limb—which she couldn't, honestly, since her arms were tied to Terra's.

One of their captors knelt beside a treasure chest in the corner of the room and opened it. Inside was Terra's plain sword. One of their other captors scowled at it. "That's the sword of a squire," he said slowly. Then he glanced back at Terra and Lizzy. She tried not to let her terror show on her face. What would they do if they found out Terra wasn't her brother? The man abruptly struck the one who had Terra's sword. "He's not a Drenlin, you idiot! He's Roland's squire!"

Lizzy grimaced beneath her gag and started squirming around, trying to free herself. Terra was breathing hard, and she could feel his palms pressed against hers, sweating. For some reason, Lizzy felt extremely concerned that they were going to kill him in front of her. Closing her eyes, she prayed, Please, please, Papa. Where are you?

. . . . . . . . .

Jacob Drenlin Sr. was speaking with Sir Roland in the latter's home. Contrary to popular belief, Roland and Jacob were actually incredibly good friends. They just enjoyed insulting each other and seeing who could provoke a fight first.

Sitting near a cage was Brent. He was watching Roland's squire's pet run around in a wheel, over and over again. After learning that Roland and his father were actually friends, he'd gotten quite bored. Particularly when Roland had promised he would see his squire and they could spar.

Jacob leaned back in his seat. "The Witchfinders have been at large again," he said to Roland. "It concerns me."

Roland was the only knight of Corttann who knew the Drenlins' secret—that all of them except for Brent had magic. He turned a blind eye on official business, but never failed to offer his aid in more personal affairs for the Drenlins. "I can see why," he agreed. "They're a nasty bunch. But they're less concerned with random magic users and more concerned with one."

"This River Meer," Jacob guessed, and Roland nodded. Jacob fell silent for a moment, thinking about River Meer. Those big brown eyes ... "Why do you suppose they're after this girl?"

Roland shrugged. "Money, maybe? Rumor has it she killed someone at the castle. Whether that's true or not is a moot point. What matters is that if the Witchfinders or the knights find her, they'll slaughter the child. That doesn't sit well with me."

"Me neither," Jacob agreed, thinking that the girl was the same age as Jake, his second youngest. "What could be holding up your squire, Roland? It's almost time to get this show on the road."

As if on cue, the door was slammed open and a disheveled-looking blond boy rushed in. Jacob turned his son Jake around to Roland. "Sir Roland, I'd like you to meet my youngest son, Jake Drenlin," he said.

"Papa!" Jake said, ignoring Roland as he turned to his father. "Papa, they took Lizzy!"

"Speak slowly, son," Jacob said, knowing that Jake tended to get even more scared if anyone showed any signs of fear. "Who took Lizzy?"

"These—these men," Jake stammered, his normally pale face incredibly white. A strange, doomed feeling settled over Jacob. "They just grabbed them."

"Them?" Brent asked, frowning. Jacob could see the anger on his son's face that someone had the nerve to abduct his older sister.

"There was ... another boy," Jake said, taking off his spectacles and polishing them furiously on his shirt. "He was probably ... Lizzy's age."

Roland, who had been listening silently, stood abruptly. "Brown hair?" he asked, and Jake nodded. Roland cursed. "That's my squire, Jacob. He's just a boy."

"Jake, stay here with your brother," Jacob ordered, grabbing his sword and sliding it into the sheath on his back. "Roland, let's go."

"Wait!" Brent exclaimed. "I want to help!"

Jacob frowned. "Somebody needs to watch Jake."

"I'll—I'll just stay here," Jake whispered, though he looked terrified at the thought. Brent stared at his father pleadingly.

Jacob sighed. "Come. We have to hurry. I don't want to know what they plan for Lizzy and your squire."

. . . . . . . . . .

The men untied Lizzy and Terra, shoving Lizzy into the corner. They dragged Terra to a little dwarf man, who glared at the boy. "You've ruined everything!" he snarled at the squire. "Beat him. I don't care if it kills him, beat him to death!"

Lizzy ignored the man guarding her as they raised the whip over Terra's exposed back. The squire had his head bowed, and she couldn't see his face as she used her magic to tear the whip from the man's grasp. The men started yelling in a panic, not connecting the floating whip with Lizzy—yet. She kept it away from their grasping hands, trying to stop them from hitting Terra. Tears spilled over her cheeks as their thoughts rushed to her, blinding her, overwhelming her. Why had her powers suddenly started working again?

"Lizzy!" The familiar voice made her sob with relief. Brent grabbed her, pulling her towards the entrance of the cave. The whip slipped through her grasp and one of the men grabbed it, facing Roland and Jacob. Lizzy wrapped her arms around Brent, the comfort of her brother overcoming her.

The sounds of fighting didn't make her raise her head until Brent's grip tightened around her. She looked up and saw two men approaching them, their swords out. Sir Roland and Papa were busy with the other men. "Lizzy," Brent said, "get behind me."

She stood behind her brother as he grabbed a sword off the ground. "Brent, you've never fought before!" she cried.

"I'll manage," he retorted. "Stay back. I'm warning you!" She tried to ignore how his voice trembled while facing them. She wished she could help, but her magic wasn't functioning properly.

The men were unimpressed by the boy's attempt to hold them back and approached. Lizzy pressed her back against the cave wall, her legs trembling. She kept one hand in Brent's free hand, clutching it for support.

Something appeared into sight and slammed into the side of one of their attackers' heads. He went down soundlessly, and Lizzy stared at the big rock. Where had that come from? The other man grabbed blindly and Jake flickered into sight. "Jake!" Lizzy screamed as the man raised his sword, holding on to Jake's arm. Her brother must have been creeping around invisibly until he'd attacked the second man.

Papa turned and saw the man holding Jake. He cocked his arm back, preparing to hurl his sword, but Terra moved faster. The young squire lunged forward with his sword and impaled the man holding Jake. Jake stumbled forward, and Papa caught him in his arms. "Jake. My boy. What are you doing here?"

"I—I wanted to help," he whispered, burying his face in his father's shirt. "I couldn't think of you just ... going away and never coming back."

Roland was kneeling in front of his shame-faced squire. "Sir Roland, I failed you," Terra burst out, tears filling his dark brown eyes. "I'm supposed to protect the weak, and I didn't. Worse, I got myself captured with her."

Roland laid his hands on Terra's shoulders. "You didn't fail me, lad," he said quietly. "You saved the life of my friend's son and you acted bravely."

"Maybe those boys at the castle are right," Terra said softly. "Maybe I am unfit to be a squire."

Roland rose, slinging an arm over the boy's shoulders. "They're wrong, and you are too. I don't know how to prove it to you, so there's just one thing that I can do for you. Train you more, and such a situation will never happen to you again. Come, my boy. Jacob, I assume this means the duel is off for today?"

Papa nodded his agreement. "I need to get my children home. The crowds will be disappointed, but that's life. Filled with disappointment. Come now, Lizzy, Jake, we need to get Kitty so we can go home."

Papa rested one hand on Lizzy's shoulder and the other on Jake's. With one last smile at his friend, Papa led the three children from the cave.

It would be the last time he ever saw Sir Roland and his squire.