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Olyva were bound. They were eating and drinking, telling stories and laughing. The magic was unseen and unfelt by the raiders, but Tiberius laid the thick mist over the crowd. Almost immediately the mood in the camp changed. They had been excited by their victory over Tiberius’ tribe and almost worked to a frenzy by the expectation of a savage execution. The copious amounts of Kumis only stoked the excitement of the group higher and higher. But as Tiberius cast his spell, the men began to relax. They lounged as they ate. Their raucous laughter turned into quiet conversations. Then Tiberius changed his spell.
    The calm minds spell still lay over the raiders like a dense fog, and to it Tiberius added the sleep spell.
    “ Somni Incantatio ,” he whispered.
    The spells mingled together. The sleep spell was lighter than the calm minds magic. It seemed to dance and sway almost playfully. Tiberius directed it out with his mind and almost immediately he saw the raiders begin to yawn. They continued to eat and drink. Tiberius let the spell fall over them slowly, so that no one would suspect what he was doing. Several of the raiders stretched out on the ground and were soon snoring.
    Bu’yorgi stood up and stretched. Tiberius thought they had almost forgotten him. He kept chanting the spell quietly, his voice barely even a whisper.
    “ Somni Incantatio , Somni Incantatio ,” he whispered.
    The big warrior looked around. Almost all the warriors were asleep. Bu’yorgi’s head snapped up, looking straight at his prisoners, and Tiberius could see that the leader of the Kepsmee knew what Tiberius was doing. He started forward, but Tiberius centered the spell on the big man. Bu’yorgi staggered, then went to one knee. He looked up at Tiberius.
    “Stop him!” he said, managing to raise a hand.
    Then he slumped to the ground. Tiberius smiled. His spell had worked. Then, without warning, a warrior Tiberius hadn’t seen on the far side of the group stepped forward and swung his club into Tiberius’ stomach. The blow knocked the wind from Ti’s lungs and caused him to retch.
    Bright sparks flared to life in Tiberius’ vision. He sputtered as he desperately tried to suck air back into his deflated lungs. Before he could, the warrior hit Tiberius again, this time in the side of his upper leg. The muscle cramped so hard Tiberius’ vision blurred with tears.
    “Recant this foul magic,” the warrior said.
    He was a small man, his face twisted with anger. Tiberius was coughing, desperate for air and some way to ease his agony. He tried standing up straighter to relieve the tension on his arms, but a wave of dizziness made him fall back onto the upright spear that held him fast.
    “Wake them up!” the warrior said, before bringing the club down on the top of Tiberius’ foot.
    “ Somni Incan— ”
    Before Tiberius could finish saying the spell, the man swung his club and smashed it into the side of Tiberius’ head. The wizard slumped, and his world went black.

Chapter 5
    Lexi
    Night had fallen without warning, and Lexi was left in complete darkness. She had no way to start a fire, and even though she had seen plenty of dried tamaka dung throughout the day, she had nothing that she could carry the fire in.
    A sense of defeat overwhelmed her. She had needed to get back to the camp before sunset. She was close, she knew that. Dancer, her furry new companion, had shown her that much when it was tossed into the air and caught the updrafts that lifted her high into the sky. Since then, the little animal had been curled on Lexi’s shoulder, its long furry tail wrapped around her arm to ensure it didn’t fall to the ground again.
    Lexi was exhausted and tempted to try and sleep through the night again. She carefully made her way back to the rear of the wagon. Rafe was no longer mumbling in his fever-induced delusions, but he was still extremely hot to the touch. His skin felt like a stone left out in the summer sunshine. She knew she