When he vanished.
It wasn't a trick of speed. One moment, he was there, leaning on his black pipe. The next, he was gone. Fena's eyes, which had been full of disdain, narrowed. She felt a whisper of displaced air behind her.
She didn't turn. A thick, thorny root, as wide as her arm, erupted from the ground right where she stood, coiling around her body like a protective serpent.
BAM!
The pipe slammed into the root with a heavy, dull thud. The impact sent splinters of wood flying, but the root held firm.
He reappeared a few feet away, the pipe resting on his shoulder. "So, you do know how to do more than just talk," he said, his grin wide.
Her gaze was cold. The root receded back into the earth without a sound. "A crude ambush. Predictable."
"Yeah, well, it's a start," he replied.
