Don Bassingthwaite - The Killing Song

Ashi passed him without a second glance, sheathing her sword as she moved. Dandra looked at him in a little surprise. “How did he find-?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Moon was the last through and looked at Singe with loathing. The wizard resisted the urge to punch the love-drunk youth, and closed the door behind himself. Maybe Mithas’s men wouldn’t think to check the door.

That hope lasted no longer than two turns down the stairs as the echoes of their racing boots filled the stairwell. The landings between the flights of stairs were lined with the doors of other apartments in the tower and people were beginning to open their doors to see what was happening outside. Singe had to dodge around a portly old dwarf as he stepped out from his apartment. Fortunately, the old man was faster than he looked, and he got back inside in time to avoid Ashi. Curses and shouts followed them. Periodic glances over the rail gave Singe a rough idea of their progress down the height of the tower. A third of the way down. Halfway-

Exclamations from high above joined the curses of the disturbed inhabitants. Mithas and his men had discovered their quarry’s escape. Singe, teeth bared against the exertion of running, allowed himself a taut smile. There was no way Mithas could catch them on the stairs. They’d be out of the tower and away onto the street before the sorcerer was even close. Maybe Mithas had realized that too. Or maybe he thought his tracking magic could find them again-Singe hoped that Hanamelk’s comment about confusing things was true. In any case, no footsteps followed them, and they approached the last few flights of stairs, Singe slowed. “We’re away,” he said. “They’re not chasing us.”

Dandra glared up at him. “They’re not chasing us because this is Sharn! Keep running!”

She didn’t slow-Singe increased his pace to keep up with her. They burst out of the doors of the tower and onto the street a few moments later. Heads turned briefly to stare at them. Singe looked at Dandra with curiosity, but the kalashtar had her face turned up toward the sky. He followed her gaze, but couldn’t tell what she was looking for. Dah’mir’s herons?

Then five forms launched themselves off the courtyard-roof of the great tower overhead. The energy that crackled around the soarsleds under their feet was dim in the afternoon sunlight, but the silver and blue of their Blademarks uniform jackets was bright. Soaring like birds, the figures arced out from the tower wall, then curved back and dived toward the street.

The crowd on the street scattered with cries of alarm. “Deneith claims its own!” screamed Mithas as he plunged down from above. “Stop the kalashtar first!”

The sorcerer hadn’t chased them through the tower because he’d known they’d come out the bottom-and because this was Sharn, he had a faster way to intercept them. Singe didn’t waste energy cursing. Options flashed through his head instead. They were all but alone on the rapidly clearing street, an easy target. Mounted on the soarsleds, the mercenaries could easily run them down if they tried to flee-the scattered crowd offered no concealment and the nearest cover was far along the street. If they ducked back into the tower, they’d be trapped. Mithas would just send men in from top and bottom to catch them in between. There was only one thing he could see to do, but at least it made the anger he felt toward Mithas burn with a joyful heat.

“Take them down!” he shouted. He thrust a hand toward the diving mercenaries and called out the words of a spell. A bolt of orange flame erupted from the air, streaking the sky with fire as it leaped for the men. Singe caught a glimpse of eyes that were suddenly wide and faces that were suddenly pale. The soarsleds curved away from one another, and the flame flashed through in empty space.

Exactly as he’d intended. Their charge broken, the mercenaries circled, trying to reorient themselves. “Scatter!” ordered Singe.

Dandra broke to the left, Ashi to the right. Singe stuck with Ashi, grabbing her hand as she reached to draw her sword once more. “No! No weapons-kill them and we’ll have the city guard after us.”

“Rond betch , what am I supposed to do then?” Above the scarf over her face, her eyes widened. “Moon!”

Singe whirled. The kalashtar still stood frozen in front of the tower doors. In the air overhead, one of the mercenaries had brought his soarsled to a halt. He had a shortbow in his hands, an arrow nocked and aimed at Moon. The head of the arrow was strangely blunt, but it shimmered with a strange amber energy that raised a chill on the back of Singe’s neck. He focused his will on the man, crooked his fingers, and hissed the words of the sleeping spell.

The man blinked, but nothing more. Singe bit back a curse-this was why he preferred fire spells! — as the mercenary pulled back his bowstring.

Ashi was quicker. Someone had abandoned a mesh shopping bag containing the still wet body of a good big fish on the street as they fled the mercenary attack. The hunter snatched it up, spun around twice, then let the bag fly. It hurtled through the air and struck the mercenary, slapping him completely off the soarsled. His arrow snapped out of the bow to strike the wall of the tower over Moon’s head. A spray of amber light burst from it, coating a broad patch of the wall in a honey-like sheen. The mercenary hit the ground with a hard thump and lay still. His soarsled-and the fish-tumbled down beside him. Mithas let out an angry shout.

Moon didn’t even move. There was a weird, hungry look in his eyes. Singe felt goosebumps rise on his arms and followed his gaze.

One of the other mercenaries, also armed with a bow and the shimmering arrows, had gone after Dandra, but she had simply stepped up onto the air. Gliding above the ground, supported by her power, she twisted and turned with matchless speed and grace. In order to have even a chance at hitting her, the man had to keep his soarsled in constant motion.

Moon’s eyes followed Dandra’s every move with a frightening intensity.

The sweep of a shadow overhead forced Singe’s attention back to Mithas and the remaining two mercenaries. They circled him and Ashi like vultures. Both held swords rather than bows and seemed reluctant to land and use them, but Mithas held the slim stick of a magic wand in his fingers. He watched Ashi in a way that reminded Geth of a farmer inspecting prime livestock.

“Surrender!” he called down.

Ashi spat a few words in the tongue of the Bonetree clan. Mithas may not have understood the words, but he clearly understood the tone. His face twisted into a savage grin, and he flicked the wand at Singe.

The wizard tried to throw himself aside, but dodging magic wasn’t quite the same as diving away from an arrow. The spell that leaped from the wand didn’t produce a tell-tale glowing ray, but instead seemed to bend the sunlight in the air around itself. For something with no apparent substance, however, the lancing beam carried a powerful punch. It caught him on the side, and his dodge turned into tumble. He ended up on his belly beside the fallen mercenary, staring across the filthy stones of the street as pain radiated through his side-it felt like he had taken a blow deep into his soft tissues.

His fall gave openings to Ashi and Dandra, though. He watched in a daze as Ashi sprinted forward and jumped up, grabbing for the edge of a soarsled that had drifted too low. Energy crackled around the hunter’s fingers, and the disc tilted wildly, but the mercenary on the sled managed to keep his footing, though his sword dropped to the street with a ringing crash. As Mithas whirled to flick his wand, Ashi gave a mighty twist and kick, pulling herself up onto the sled. The invisible bolt bent the light where her feet had been. Heedless of the disc’s wild rocking, Ashi grappled with the mercenary.