Thomas Reid - The Fractured Sky

"Wine?" the mercane asked, gesturing to a crystal service set on the table. "Perhaps a sweetmeat?"

Still sated from the meal back at the palace, Kaanyr declined. He knew that the mercane considered it customary to engage in pleasantries for a few moments before getting down to business, but he had no time.

"I thank you for your hospitality, and your willingness to do business," Kaanyr said, "but time is of the essence. I need weapons. Can you accommodate me?"

The mercane sniffed, obviously put off by the cambion's brusque manner, but he nodded. "Indeed," he answered. "What sort of weapons?"

"I need an enchanted blade," Kaanyr said. "Something with a bit of bite to it. A good sword."

The mercane sat back and steepled his long fingers together in front of his mouth. "I see," he said. "And your funds? You wish to spend all of what you showed me?"

Kaanyr hesitated. He had other pouches hidden on his person, but those diamonds were a significant part of his fortune. And he wanted more than just a sword. "Perhaps," he said, refusing to commit. "Depending."

"On…?" the mercane asked. "I have the finest quality enchanted swords of every style imaginable in the entire city. I'm sure you can find something you like."

"I'm sure I can, too," Kaanyr said, "but I'm also looking for something a bit more arcane to round out my purchase. I dabble a bit in the dweomers myself, so I have some specific ideas in mind."

"Oh? And what would those be?"

"Well, I prefer wands," Kaanyr said. "Though potions will do in a pinch."

"And what kind of wands would you like?" the mercane asked.

"Something with some power," Kaanyr answered. "Flashy, potent. That's what I like. Oh, and I need a reliable means of flying. It's become an issue of late."

"I think I can accommodate you," the mercane said, smiling.

Kaanyr found the grin a bit predatory, and he fought the urge to shudder.

Later, after concluding his business-and after cursing himself for spending so much-Kaanyr worked his way back to the Palace of Myriad Amazements. He was still thinking how best to sneak back inside when he spotted Micus.

The angel walked on the far side of the street with another angel alongside, one that Kaanyr recognized as his jailor. Garin, he thought. I think that was his name. The sight of those two made him draw up short and want to vanish into the crowd.

They strode with purpose between a pair of utterly strange creatures. The creatures reminded the cambion of centaurs, though they were certainly not of flesh and blood. In some places, he could see alabaster skin, but in between, gears, pistons, and tubes of brass and steel shone through. The creatures wore golden armor, and they walked with the same sense of urgency that Micus and the other angel displayed.

Kaanyr followed them from a distance, but he already knew where they were headed. When they reached the steps of the Palace of Myriad Amazements, the cambion knew it was time to clear out. He turned to flee, to leave Dweomerheart by whatever means he could find, and then his mind betrayed him.

If you don't do something to warn Tauran and the others, you're putting the entire mission at risk.

That was all it took to force Kaanyr to try to help.

Aliisza sat bolt upright and reached for her blade. That innate sense of danger pounded, warning the alu to get out. She had her sword drawn and was on her feet before she even remembered where she was.

A quick check around the room told her that Kaanyr was gone and that Tauran and Kael still slept. The absence of her lover troubled Aliisza, but not nearly so much as the impending sense of a threat. She fingered Pharaun's ring and activated its arcane powers, seeking some evidence that her internal warning was justified.

The entire room erupted in a blaze of magical resonance, as if the whole chamber, including the air she was breathing, was highly magical. It made her worse than blind; it dazzled her with its intensity.

Fool, she told herself. You're at the very home of magic. What did you expect?

Dismissing the power of the ring, she concentrated on her other, more natural senses. There was nothing amiss as far as she could tell, other than the cambion's absence.

Then she noticed the food was gone.

She padded softly to the couch where Tauran slept, his breathing slow and deep. Getting one hand near his mouth, Aliisza reached down with the other and nudged him with a finger against his shoulder.

"Mmm? What?" the angel mumbled.

Aliisza clamped her hand over his mouth and put her other finger to her lip. "Shhh," she whispered. "Something's wrong."

Tauran's eyes widened for a moment, then he recognized her and grew still. Finally, he nodded, and Aliisza took her hand away. "What is it?" he asked.

"I don't know," the alu replied "I just get a sense sometimes, and it's telling me that we need to leave."

Tauran sat up and looked around. "Where's Vhok?" he asked in a soft but urgent tone.

Aliisza shrugged. "Nothing to deal with right now," she said. "First, we need to get out of this room."

"Don't wake Kael," Tauran said as the alu stepped toward the knight. "Let me do it."

She glanced back at the angel, then shrugged and nodded.

Tauran moved to one side and leaned over the sleeping half-drow. He whispered something in Kael's ear then shifted back, out of the way. In a single smooth motion, Kael bolted upright. The knight had his sword up in both hands and was staring hard at the door. Aliisza gaped at her son. She had no idea where he had been holding it beforehand.

Kael got his bearings and caught her staring. "I inherited more than just your good looks," he said softly with a grim smile on his face.

I'll say, she thought. Remind me never to wake you up.

She moved to the door and placed her ear against it. She heard footfalls growing louder from the opposite side of the portal, and her sense of threat grew more intense as she stood there. Whatever was spooking her, it was coming through that door, and soon.

She wove a simple spell upon the door, sealing it.

"What do you sense?" Tauran asked, freeing his own mace from the loop on his belt. "What's coming?"

Aliisza shook her head. "I don't know, but I don't really want to wait around to find out."

"Can you whisk us away through one of your magical doors?" Kael asked.

Aliisza shook her head. "I can sense that something would prevent it from working," she replied. "We can't escape, but maybe we can hide."

"Hide? How?" Kael asked, his tone filled with doubt.

Aliisza thought for a moment. "Like this," she said, and she grabbed one end of the couch where she had rested. "Help me," she urged the knight, and when he'd grabbed the other end, they pulled it a little less than a pace away from the edge of the room. "Get against the wall," she ordered, even as she moved there herself. The other two joined her, and she pulled a small block of granite free of a pocket inside her bodice. Chanting, she gestured with the tiny block where she wished to spring her spell.

A wall formed there.

Aliisza had conjured the wall so that it ran parallel to the one against which the three of them pressed themselves, giving it the coloring and texture to match. She left a hole in it near the middle and at the floor, large enough that they could crawl through it but hidden from the other side by the couch.

Aliisza put her fingers to her lips to motion for the other two to remain quiet, then she squatted down next to the hole and cocked her head to one side, listening. Tauran and Kael joined her.

For several agonizing moments, the alu heard nothing. Then, though she wasn't sure, she thought she detected the creak of the door opening. She held her breath.