The sky over the northwest road split open before Kiuga finished naming the terms of the march.
Sagiri felt the pressure a full breath before it landed, a weight dropping out of the clouds with no wingbeat, nothing announcing it before the strike came down.
He crossed the distance between himself and the squad in one stride, Nokai already low, planting the spear into the packed earth as the blow arrived.
The road buckled under the impact and threw broken stone in a ring around the point of contact, tumbling Bukata off his feet into the ditch grass.
Kaka caught Ulekai by the collar before the second wave of dust could take his footing, hauling him upright with one arm while the other stayed raised against the falling grit.
Zazarie was already moving before the dust settled, counting bodies with a glance instead of a voice, because a shout would have told the enemy exactly who still needed protecting.
