Tamara turned her back on Wild Edric even as he spurred his horse toward her. With both hands she unleashed a bolt of magical power that arced across the road and struck whatever phantasmic barrier the ghosts had been able to place there. Blue sparks danced in the air, and then the darkness withdrew so that she saw only the ordinary night. The barrier was down and she saw the three men on the other side.
William had one hand up, fingers contorted in the midst of a spell, and she knew he had been attempting to find a way in to aid her. The relief in his eyes when he saw her made Tamara smile, but then William's eyes went wide and he looked past her and she knew that Edric was upon her once more.
"Some men," she said, spinning to face him, "are annoyingly persistent."
All the kindness had gone from Wild Edric's face now, replaced by lust and frustration. He reached for her again.
Tamara raised her hands just as William reached her side. In her peripheral vision she saw that Bodicea had unseated several soldiers from
