“He’s mine!” the second thug cried as the three of them charged me.

The second thug was a large man who bore a spear. My first challenge was to keep from getting impaled.

The moment before the spearhead touched me, I stepped to the side and struck the spear into the ground.

The combination of my fiery grasp and the two other raiders running into the spearman caused the weapon to break. I jumped out of the way as the three men fell into a pile. The third man, however, quickly recovered his feet.