Erik de Bie: Downshadow

A bolt of freezing amethyst light streaked past Rath as he twisted aside. It slammed into the wall, blowing hunks of stone in every direction and sending lines of frost crinkling across the stone. The dwarf looked at the patch of ice, then at Myrin, his face an arrogant mask.

"No more!" Myrin declaimed words of power and twirled her wand. "No more!"

Rath started dodging, but the bolt of force that shot from her wand stabbed him in the shoulder. The dwarf cursed, faltering in his dodge, and Myrin cried out in triumph.

As though he'd been waiting for just that moment of distraction, Rath lunged at her.

Kalen moved. Vindicator caught the dwarf s blade and pushed it harmlessly wide.

As Rath barreled in, a victim of his own momentum, Kalen whirled and dealt the dwarf a left hook to his burned face. Clutching at his wound, Rath tumbled back.

Kalen drew a circle with the Helm-marked sword, and a ring of silver runes appeared in the air. Their holy radiance sent Rath staggering back, and Kalen saw Myrin's face bathed in his threefold god's light. How beautiful she appeared.

Kalen and followed Rath.

They fought along the floor and off the walls of the small chamber, blades ringing and scraping. Kalen felt new strength-new fury- flooding his limbs. He felt everything, as though the numbness had fled him. He had no need of inner darkness to hide his pain, for it was gone. Rage coursed through him and he fought tirelessly. Vindicator blazed with light as he struck the dwarf's blade, knocking Rath back.

Rath weaved his blade and spun, and Kalen slashed at him. Their swords clashed and sparked, silver fire trailing. Kalen cut wide and punched around a parry, but Rath danced seemingly along the ceiling, flowing along slashes of Vindicator.

They cut through gears and pulleys, and once Kalen slammed into a bell, setting it to ring the dawn. Waterdeep would awaken many hours before dawn this day. In his fury, he didn't care.

Myrin shouted more words of power and multicolored stars burst into being in Kalen's eyes, dazing him. Rath might have struck in that moment, but the dwarf, too, staggered.

"That isn't helping," Kalen hissed, as he and the dwarf recovered in the same breath.

As Rath fell into a defensive stance, Kalen stabbed high. The dwarf ducked and turned a flip backward, kicking Kalen's hand up. The glowing bastard sword spun up into the darkness.

Rarh twirled back, kicked off the wall, and lunged forward, sword leading-and hit air where Kalen had been standing.

Kalen leaped after Vindicator, caught it, and slashed down. He cut open the back of Rath's robe.

Kalen landed two paces from the dwarf, and they stared at each other.

Then Rath leaped back, avoiding a beam of frost from Myrin's wand.

"Stop!" Kalen cried, but it was too late.

Myrin's face was drawn and haggard, and she collapsed to her knees. Blue tattoos sprouted all across her skin, as though the runes were taking over her body. Her wand sagged roward the floor. She stood near the room's window, where the portal had deposited Kalen.

As Rath surged to her, blade low, Myrin pointed the wand with her shaking hand.

A bursr of flame emerged from her wand and struck Rath's sword. The blade turned red almost instantly, and Rath hurled it at Myrin. The girl gasped and dodged, and the glowing blade flew out the window.

The dwarf's iron hands caught Myrin by the throat and wrist, holding the wand wide.

"Stop!" Kalen said. He held Vindicator level, pointed at Rath.

"Take another step, Shadowbane," Rath said, tapping his fingers on Myrin's cheek.

"Kalen!" Myrin croaked. "Just cut through me if you have to! I'm not important!"

"Myrin," Kalen said. "Myrin, don't be afraid. I'm going to save you.

"What Fayne said, Kalen! I'm not-gkk!"

Rath squeezed her throat tightly enough to cut off air. The knight waited, breathing hard, never taking his eyes from the dwarf's face.

"I wonder." Rath regarded Myrin for a single heartbeat then looked at Kalen. "Which is more important to you-justice or her?"

Kalen said nothing. Vindicator dripped silver-white flame like blood onto the floor.

The dwarf grinned. "Let us see."

He hurled Myrin out the window. She screamed and fell away, arms whirling vainly.

Kalen ran and leaped, sword leading. Rath slid a step to the left, his hands raised, but the knight went past him into the night.

Lightning flashed and an awful screech, as of metal on stone, joined the thunder.

Bain tore the night to shreds, and lightning bathed the high clock tower in light bright enough to match the day. Kalen hung from the tower, his righr hand on the hilt of Vindicator-which he'd wedged between two stones. A struggling Myrin hung from his left.

"You idiot!" Tears fell from Myrin's eyes as she beat at him with her free hand, trying to break his grip on her wrist. "Just let go of me!"

"Stop that," Kalen said. He swung her a little one way, then back the other way, like a pendulum-like the amulet on Fayne's breast…

Rath's head appeared in the window.

Kalen kept swinging Myrin, wider and wider. Her feet kicked at the rain-slicked tower stones, but Kalen knew she wouldn't find a hold. There was no ledge between them and the palace roof below. Only Vindicator kepr them aloft.

Kalen gritted his teeth and pulled. Myrin swung over open air-and back the other way.

"What are you doing?" she cried. "Are you insane?"

Kalen kept swinging her. Wider-wider. "Listen to me," he said.

"Just drop me!" she sobbed. "I don't want to kill all those people-"

"Listen," Kalen snapped. Myrin gaped. "The ring… laced in my sleeve. Put it on."

Myrin moaned. "Just let me go!"

"Put it on!" Kalen roared over the rain and thunder.

Then Vindicator shook. Myrin bounced and shrieked, and Kalen gasped at the strain. He looked up, and standing on the broad hilt of his sword-and his gauntlet-was Rath. The dwarf had scrambled down the wall nimbly as a spider and perched on Kalen's sword. Rain streaked around him.

"Interesting plan," the dwarf said.

Kalen couldn't spare a glance ar Myrin, but he felt her taking the ring from his sleeve. He prayed the dwarf wouldn't notice.

"I don't imagine my standing here hurts you-you can't feel it, can you?" Rath raised one foot, keeping balance. "But even nerveless fingers can'r hold you up when they're crushed."

Kalen gritted his teeth against the storm and the pain in his straining arm. "Make an empriness of myself… in which there is no pain…" He kept swinging.

Rath stomped.

Kalen felt it-less than he should have, but no amount of spellplague could mask the jolt of a broken forefinger. Just one finger-the dwarf was cruelly accurare. Kalen swung and almost fell, but kept a hold. Myrin gave a cry halfway between a scream and a sob.

"Put… it..-. on," Kalen hissed at Myrin.

Rath grinned. And crushed his middle finger. One ar a time.

Against the slipping agony, Kalen shut his eyes. "No pain- only me."

He kept swaying, swinging back and forth as though he might hurl Myrin to safety-as though any building was near enough or high enough. He could not reach the palace wall from this angle, and his hand was slipping.

"Kalen!" Myrin cried. "Just drop me! You can-"

"Put it on!" he shouted.

"Put what on?" Rath saw the ring and sneered. "Humans. So romantic, even to the end."

He crushed the third finger, almost sending Kalen down. Only by the Eye's grace…

Kalen coughed harshly. "Have you got it?" he managed.

Fear clouded Myrin's face. She was swinging away from the tower. "Yes, but-"

"Good."

And he let go of her.

Myrin swung to the side before she started to fall, her eyes wide and her face startled. Her expression changed to shock, and then heartbreak. She drifted into the rain and vanished without a sound.