ceiling, before slamming down on the soldiers, smashing the life out of them.
Looking back at his companions, ignoring their wide-eyed astonishment, he quickly made a decision.
"Get moving, to the docks," he said, flattening himself against the curved wall to give them room to pass. "Hengit, you lead."
"What about you?" Hengit asked.
"I'll delay any other soldiers long enough to give you time to escape."
"Don't be a damned hero."
Lucius shrugged. "It's my job, my responsibility. Yours is to your men."
"We only have one torch left."
"You take it," Lucius said. "I'll work better without it. Now go!"
Hengit snorted in frustration, then drove the thieves on. Lucius watched them go as he called upon his magic to wrap him in shadows.
The patrol coming towards him now was stronger than the last, with two dogs leading six men. They wore the same strange helmets as the others, but Lucius had already seen their weakness. While the devices might well make a voyage through the sewers more bearable, it also greatly restricted their eyesight and probably their hearing. That would make achieving surprise far easier.
The dogs bayed as they ran along, occasionally stopping to make sure their masters had not fallen too far behind. Lucius extended his magical concealment, allowing the noisome stench of the sewer to wrap itself around him too, making him invisible to the hounds' heightened sense of smell.
Leaning around the corner of the junction, Lucius took note of the positions of his enemies. The dogs were just a few yards away, the soldiers not far behind. He saw another man move up behind the soldiers. He was tall, and walked with a stoop to avoid scraping his head on the ceiling. He was wearing leather rather than chain and was unarmed. More than that, the stink of the sewer clearly did not affect him at all, as he wore no helmet.
"He's close," the man said, and then closed his eyes. Immediately, Lucius felt a sudden pressure in his head and, searching for the threads of magic, saw them buckle and twist under the strain of a new magical presence.
Lucius knew how the soldiers had found them so quickly. This man had to be one of their highly vaunted wizards.
Maintaining his shadow cloak, Lucius reached forward and mentally grasped a ball of air, no more than a handful, beside the head of each dog. With a quick, savage twist, he shunted the air out of place, creating an instant vacuum.
Two simultaneous bangs echoed around the sewer. The soldiers were startled, but the effect on the dogs was more profound. They bolted, whimpering as they fled back up the sewer, and nearly knocking one soldier off his feet.
"He's here," the wizard said.
The soldiers readied their weapons, and Lucius could see how they intended to fight. One soldier would keep him busy with a sword, while another fought past him with a spear, jabbing over the shoulder of his ally.
"Pull back," the wizard instructed. "This is my work."
The wizard stepped coolly past the soldiers.
Lucius dropped the shadows around him, and stepped out to meet him.
"Turn back now, and trouble us no more," Lucius said.
This elicited a chuckle from the wizard.
Lucius felt the strands of magic twist out of synch as the wizard began muttering, his fingers moving in a complex rhythm.
Magic surging from his pointed finger, Lucius hurled a bolt of withering energy, intending to shatter the wizard's concentration and ravage his body with the touch of death.
The wizard continued his incantation but raised one hand, the other still drawing patterns in the air. Lucius' bolt stuttered and dissipated. An instant later, the wizard unleashed his own spell, and Lucius felt his limbs go rigid as an invisible force clasped itself around his body.
Despite himself, Lucius began to feel an appreciation of the wizard's talent. Though it was clumsy and inefficient compared to the grace of the Shadowmage's path, the man had learned enough discipline to block Lucius' magic while continuing to
Looking back at his companions, ignoring their wide-eyed astonishment, he quickly made a decision.
"Get moving, to the docks," he said, flattening himself against the curved wall to give them room to pass. "Hengit, you lead."
"What about you?" Hengit asked.
"I'll delay any other soldiers long enough to give you time to escape."
"Don't be a damned hero."
Lucius shrugged. "It's my job, my responsibility. Yours is to your men."
"We only have one torch left."
"You take it," Lucius said. "I'll work better without it. Now go!"
Hengit snorted in frustration, then drove the thieves on. Lucius watched them go as he called upon his magic to wrap him in shadows.
The patrol coming towards him now was stronger than the last, with two dogs leading six men. They wore the same strange helmets as the others, but Lucius had already seen their weakness. While the devices might well make a voyage through the sewers more bearable, it also greatly restricted their eyesight and probably their hearing. That would make achieving surprise far easier.
The dogs bayed as they ran along, occasionally stopping to make sure their masters had not fallen too far behind. Lucius extended his magical concealment, allowing the noisome stench of the sewer to wrap itself around him too, making him invisible to the hounds' heightened sense of smell.
Leaning around the corner of the junction, Lucius took note of the positions of his enemies. The dogs were just a few yards away, the soldiers not far behind. He saw another man move up behind the soldiers. He was tall, and walked with a stoop to avoid scraping his head on the ceiling. He was wearing leather rather than chain and was unarmed. More than that, the stink of the sewer clearly did not affect him at all, as he wore no helmet.
"He's close," the man said, and then closed his eyes. Immediately, Lucius felt a sudden pressure in his head and, searching for the threads of magic, saw them buckle and twist under the strain of a new magical presence.
Lucius knew how the soldiers had found them so quickly. This man had to be one of their highly vaunted wizards.
Maintaining his shadow cloak, Lucius reached forward and mentally grasped a ball of air, no more than a handful, beside the head of each dog. With a quick, savage twist, he shunted the air out of place, creating an instant vacuum.
Two simultaneous bangs echoed around the sewer. The soldiers were startled, but the effect on the dogs was more profound. They bolted, whimpering as they fled back up the sewer, and nearly knocking one soldier off his feet.
"He's here," the wizard said.
The soldiers readied their weapons, and Lucius could see how they intended to fight. One soldier would keep him busy with a sword, while another fought past him with a spear, jabbing over the shoulder of his ally.
"Pull back," the wizard instructed. "This is my work."
The wizard stepped coolly past the soldiers.
Lucius dropped the shadows around him, and stepped out to meet him.
"Turn back now, and trouble us no more," Lucius said.
This elicited a chuckle from the wizard.
Lucius felt the strands of magic twist out of synch as the wizard began muttering, his fingers moving in a complex rhythm.
Magic surging from his pointed finger, Lucius hurled a bolt of withering energy, intending to shatter the wizard's concentration and ravage his body with the touch of death.
The wizard continued his incantation but raised one hand, the other still drawing patterns in the air. Lucius' bolt stuttered and dissipated. An instant later, the wizard unleashed his own spell, and Lucius felt his limbs go rigid as an invisible force clasped itself around his body.
Despite himself, Lucius began to feel an appreciation of the wizard's talent. Though it was clumsy and inefficient compared to the grace of the Shadowmage's path, the man had learned enough discipline to block Lucius' magic while continuing to
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