Don Bassingthwaite - The Grieving Tree

Chain grunted and spun to follow her.

— running up to the-

Singe’s alarm blazed through the kesh as he saw what was happening. “Dandra!” he shouted, and his voice echoed both in her ears and in her mind.

She rolled to her feet with Singe shouting and Tetkashtai screaming in her head at the same time. It was too much to handle-she let go of the kesh and Singe vanished from her mind. Across the street, the wizard lunged back out onto the balcony, his eyes wide with shock.

“Itaa!” bellowed Chain as he surged forward, cudgel swinging.

Goblin shouts rolled up from the street below. Dandra saw Singe look down, then leap back into Bava’s house. The cudgel lashed out again. Dandra stumbled and it whistled past her belly.

Chain spun around to deliver another blow. Dandra jumped back again-and stumbled as her right foot slipped off the edge of the wooden platform. She staggered and the edge of the roof swayed in front of her, promising a long drop down to a street swarming with goblins.

Chain’s cudgel flashed down.

Dandra clenched her jaw and shifted her weight, pulling herself back from the edge. She pushed against the roof with her toes-and with her mind. Her feet left the uneven footing of the rooftop to skim the air. She slid back toward the expanse of the roof with the ease of thought, and Chain’s cudgel missed her for a third time.

The big man’s only reaction to her sudden display of power was a slight narrowing of his dark eyes. He shifted his grip on the cudgel, wielding it with both hands and beating at her with all the strength of his massive arms.

Dandra’s spear whirled up. She gripped the shaft, holding it across her body to deflect Chain’s punishing blows as she twisted and slid from side to side. The pale wood bent and shivered with each impact, but it didn’t break. The unrelenting force of Chain’s attack forced her back, then back again.

Burn him! said Tetkashtai. Visions of fiery white bolts and explosions of flame filled Dandra’s mind.

We’re on a wooden building , Dandra snapped back. There are people inside! And he’s too close! The instant it would take for her to draw on whitefire-or any of her powers-would be all the time Chain needed to get a solid blow past her defense.

“Chain!” she gasped. “What are you doing? We tried to hire you.”

“Tried.” Chain’s voice was a focused rasp. His cudgel hammered her spear again, the impact stinging her hands. “Didn’t. Someone else knew the value of hiring the best, though!”

Dah’mir! Tetkashtai wailed, her fear tangling Dandra’s thoughts.

Be quiet! Dandra moved back a little further. Chain followed her keeping her within his reach.

“What do you want?” she asked him.

“You,” the big man said. He drew back his cudgel.

Dandra slid away again-

— and her back hit something hard and unyielding, one of the chimneys that had inspired Geth the night before. Chain had backed her up against it deliberately. A thin smile creased the man’s face. His cudgel slammed forward.

Dandra released the force that kept her aloft, dropping instantly and crouching down even further. Chain’s blow passed just over her head to smash into the chimney pot. Sharp clay shards and crumbling mortar flew everywhere. Chain wheezed as a cloud of soot exploded into his face. Dandra pushed herself out from under him, jerking the butt of her spear up between his legs as she moved. Chain twisted to take the blow on his thigh, but his wheeze still turned into a hiss and he hopped back a pace.

Dandra spun around the chimney, putting it between her and Chain. She could hear the harsh, excited shouts of the goblins in the street, the distant, frightened cries of Bava’s children, the curses of the people in the building under her as the commotion outside finally roused them. A voice came floating up the ruined chimney. Dandra winced at the anger in it. “Sorry!” she called down.

“Bitch!” said Chain, his face blackened with soot. His cudgel whirled up. “You float, but you’re not getting off this roof unless you can fly!”

All the rage that Dandra had felt for the man after meeting him yesterday came flooding back to her. She spread the fingers of one hand and thrust them at the chimney. A wave of vayhatana rippled from her hand, snatching up bricks and debris loosened by Chain’s blow and blasting them at him. The bounty hunter cursed and spun around to shield his face. The chunks of brick that rained against his broad back made him stagger.

Dandra stepped onto the air and leaped over the remains of the chimney to fall on him as he turned back around. Her spear spun sharply and the butt cracked across his wrist. Chain yelped. His hand sprang open and his cudgel fell-but his other hand grabbed her arm. He dropped, rolling onto his back with a crash and dragging her with him. Caught off guard, Dandra flew over his head and slammed down hard onto the roof. She landed across the battered wooden platform. Planks splintered at the impact and pain arced through her back. The breath rushed out of her lungs. Her spear clattered down somewhere out of her reach.

Chain twisted around without rising and kicked out with both feet. Dandra rolled at the last moment, trying to absorb the impact, but the blow was still powerful enough to send her tumbling across the platform. She grabbed at the broken wood before she could slide right off. Right at the edge of the roof, fighting through the pain and Tetkashtai’s terror, she forced herself up to her hands and knees as Chain strode forward.

On the street below, the goblins were clustered around Bava’s door, pounding on it. A scattering of other people stood back on the mist-shrouded street, looking like they weren’t certain if they should get involved. No one was looking up at the rooftop.

Dandra swung back to Chain. He wore a sneer on his unshaven face. “Who’s the best?” he demanded. One hand reached down to grab her collar and drag her up. The other pulled back, curled into a fist.

The sudden roar that rose up from the street made both him and her look down to see Bava’s door swing open and Geth charge through like a raging beast. The shifter waded right into the middle of the packed goblins, clearing the way for Singe, Ashi, and Orshok to follow. The others had their weapons out, but it was Geth who drove the goblins before him with howls and curses. The little creatures fought back, though, shrieking and pressing forward. Dandra saw Geth slap one out of the air as it tried to leap over its fellows. He reached to his belt and swept out his sword, raising the weapon above his head with another roar.

For a moment, all of the goblins seemed to freeze, their heads turning to stare at the jagged, heavy Dhakaani blade-then their shrieks turned into yelps and their press into a frenzy as they fought to flee. Chain’s eyes went wide with angry surprise. He opened his mouth and drew breath to shout at the scattering goblins.

Dandra brought up her arms and drove both fists hard into the big man’s belly just below his ribs. It was like punching a wall-Chain’s muscles were solid-but the blow cut off his words. His shout became a strained grunt. His eyes turned back to her. “Bitch!” he hissed.

She shifted, jerking a knee toward his crotch in a feint. He twisted to protect himself-and Dandra spun a web of vayhatana around his cudgel, lying forgotten on the roof. She wrenched on the weapon and it leaped into the air. Heavy, polished black wood slammed into Chain’s head with a satisfying thump. His eyes rolled back and he crumpled.

Dandra heaved on his body, pushing him away from the edge of the roof. She panted and wiped her mouth as she stared down at him. “Dahr!” she spat.