one was amused, the other a bit annoyed. “You could have told us to leave the room!” Nishan complained.
“Ohh, no,” Amanda moaned, placing her hands on the head between her legs. “No, I couldn’t.”
There was the briefest pause in Salatis’s work. “Practice, dear one,” she coached. “Practice.”
“Mmh,” Amanda grinned. “I like practicing.”
***
“I don’t know what happened to her when the tower fell!” gasped the beaten man. He sat slumped against the stone wall, his arm broken and his sword fallen away. Eric and Fallon had made short work of the warrior and his compatriot, who lay dead or broken in a mess throughout the alleyway. “Bel-Danab and his apprentices held a gathering of sorcerers from nearby lands and slew all but one, who escaped. The master and Randast left to pursue him. Then there was some terrible battle up above. Yaol was slain, but I saw not by whom.”
“You didn’t bother to look?” Eric snarled. He stood over Bel-Danab’s former guardsman with a bloody sword in his hands. Fallon lurked at the other end of the alley, watching the street for trouble.
That their battle had been heard by the neighborhood was not in question. It was a rough place, though; nobody seemed interested in summoning the town watch. Just the same, Fallon remained on guard for anyone who might feel compelled to investigate.
“I didn’t want to die,” the guard said. “When I reached the site of the battle, I saw what had been done to Yaol and the other guards. Some had been burned, others melted . How does any man fight such magic?” He gritted his teeth in pain. “Had I remained within, I would have died when the tower fell.”
“But you don’t know what caused it?”
“We saw blasts of magic from a rooftop hit the tower,” the man groaned. “They seemed harmless against the stones at first, but then a great fireball erupted in the middle of the tower. It started to collapse, and so we ran. No one saw who did it.”
“And you’ve been hiding out in taverns ever since?”
“Waiting for the master’s return. He will find me. He will, and then you will...you will pay.”
Fallon hissed sharply. She retreated from the edge of the alley, her sword at the ready. “Trouble,” she murmured.
“Hey!” came a shout from the street. A tall, scruffy and dangerous-looking man in a dark cloak stepped into the alley. He was flanked by several other rough-looking men. “You can’t rob people here! This is our territory! We do the robbing here!”
“Think we can handle these guys?” Eric asked in a low voice.
The leader of the thugs whipped out a dagger, hurling it straight at Eric. He lunged to one side, clearing the dagger’s path. It landed squarely in the throat of the man he’d been questioning.
“Is there any need?” Fallon asked with a shrug.
“Not really,” Eric frowned. The thugs came rushing down the alleyway with a roar.
“Then let’s not make any more noise than we already have,” Fallon said. Eric’s partner and mentor leapt up to catch the top of the wall of the dead-end alleyway. She swung herself up and over with hardly a pause.
Eric wasn’t far behind. He sheathed his sword, then stepped up onto the shoulder of the dying man sitting against the wall for a boost as he launched himself up after Fallon. They fled across the rooftop together, leaping to the next building and then down into a wide alley emptier than the one they had just vacated.
Less than half an hour later, they were on the other side of the city, slipping into the room they rented above a busy tavern. It was a decent enough place. With the gold they had taken from the priest of Set in their riverside ambush, Eric and Fallon were able to afford better blades, better gear , clothes and a comfortable place to stay. It was hot, of course, but then they were in the middle of a city in the middle of summer. The inn had been built with ventilation in mind, but even clever construction
“Ohh, no,” Amanda moaned, placing her hands on the head between her legs. “No, I couldn’t.”
There was the briefest pause in Salatis’s work. “Practice, dear one,” she coached. “Practice.”
“Mmh,” Amanda grinned. “I like practicing.”
***
“I don’t know what happened to her when the tower fell!” gasped the beaten man. He sat slumped against the stone wall, his arm broken and his sword fallen away. Eric and Fallon had made short work of the warrior and his compatriot, who lay dead or broken in a mess throughout the alleyway. “Bel-Danab and his apprentices held a gathering of sorcerers from nearby lands and slew all but one, who escaped. The master and Randast left to pursue him. Then there was some terrible battle up above. Yaol was slain, but I saw not by whom.”
“You didn’t bother to look?” Eric snarled. He stood over Bel-Danab’s former guardsman with a bloody sword in his hands. Fallon lurked at the other end of the alley, watching the street for trouble.
That their battle had been heard by the neighborhood was not in question. It was a rough place, though; nobody seemed interested in summoning the town watch. Just the same, Fallon remained on guard for anyone who might feel compelled to investigate.
“I didn’t want to die,” the guard said. “When I reached the site of the battle, I saw what had been done to Yaol and the other guards. Some had been burned, others melted . How does any man fight such magic?” He gritted his teeth in pain. “Had I remained within, I would have died when the tower fell.”
“But you don’t know what caused it?”
“We saw blasts of magic from a rooftop hit the tower,” the man groaned. “They seemed harmless against the stones at first, but then a great fireball erupted in the middle of the tower. It started to collapse, and so we ran. No one saw who did it.”
“And you’ve been hiding out in taverns ever since?”
“Waiting for the master’s return. He will find me. He will, and then you will...you will pay.”
Fallon hissed sharply. She retreated from the edge of the alley, her sword at the ready. “Trouble,” she murmured.
“Hey!” came a shout from the street. A tall, scruffy and dangerous-looking man in a dark cloak stepped into the alley. He was flanked by several other rough-looking men. “You can’t rob people here! This is our territory! We do the robbing here!”
“Think we can handle these guys?” Eric asked in a low voice.
The leader of the thugs whipped out a dagger, hurling it straight at Eric. He lunged to one side, clearing the dagger’s path. It landed squarely in the throat of the man he’d been questioning.
“Is there any need?” Fallon asked with a shrug.
“Not really,” Eric frowned. The thugs came rushing down the alleyway with a roar.
“Then let’s not make any more noise than we already have,” Fallon said. Eric’s partner and mentor leapt up to catch the top of the wall of the dead-end alleyway. She swung herself up and over with hardly a pause.
Eric wasn’t far behind. He sheathed his sword, then stepped up onto the shoulder of the dying man sitting against the wall for a boost as he launched himself up after Fallon. They fled across the rooftop together, leaping to the next building and then down into a wide alley emptier than the one they had just vacated.
Less than half an hour later, they were on the other side of the city, slipping into the room they rented above a busy tavern. It was a decent enough place. With the gold they had taken from the priest of Set in their riverside ambush, Eric and Fallon were able to afford better blades, better gear , clothes and a comfortable place to stay. It was hot, of course, but then they were in the middle of a city in the middle of summer. The inn had been built with ventilation in mind, but even clever construction
Similar Books
