The Legend of William Oh

Danced with the Rotwitch.

• Climber idiom for ‘died horribly’

Will’s stats were very good…for a level twenty-four.

His Acuity was particularly excellent, so he was able to perceive about half the things that happened in the next fraction of a second.

Taking advantage of the heartbeat Will had bought, the Baron encased his son and grandson in living shield and shot them through the wall, the two younger Akuls disappearing in the blink of an eye.

An explosion and a screeching noise, as though someone had run their fingernails down the fabric of space, sounded to Will’s left-rear, but his head couldn’t turn that fast.

Baron Akul gave Will a sheepish shrug before Frederick Wyrd’s jaw flexed and the Baron exploded.

Rotwitch lunged forward, aiming to touch the Wyrd patriarch.

While she was still frozen in midair, the Marksman motioned as though he were drawing a bow, then released, sending an arrow of pure energy past Frederick Wyrd’s face.

Will thought he’d missed until a blast of air battered at him as the air formed a tunnel in the wake of his shot, nearly drawing Will into its influence like so much of the furniture that sailed through the roof of the building and into the distance.

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