Justin slipped the jab and circled right, keeping his guard up as he went. Ahlund threw an elbow. Justin blocked it with a forearm, then counter-struck-easily blocked, of course-and backed away.

"There!" panted Justin. "Got it!"

Sweat poured down his face. His clothes were drenched with it. For hours, he and Ahlund had been fighting in the courtyard near the main hall. Beneath the shadows of Esthean's millennia-old stone towers, the two clashed in hand-to-hand combat. Deities ...