Return of the Sorceress (3 page)

The beast slavered and whipped its tail about, eager to get to killing.

“It’s disgusting!” Catriona said.

“I wonder what sort of spell Maddoc used to create the animal,” Sindri said. “Do you think he might tell me?”

Ayanti pulled the wagon up to the ramp at the edge of the Pit and started to unlock the cage door. Though the centaur had showed affection for the wolves and the bear, it was clear from her expression that she held little love for the lizard-boar. Nearra couldn’t blame her.

As soon as the door was open, the lizard-boar jumped onto the ramp and ran down into the Pit without any urging from Ayanti.

“What now?” Nearra asked.

Before anyone could say anything else, a shout came from edge of the crowd.

“Cheaters! Thieves!”

The crowd grew quiet, and turned to look at the cause of the commotion. The two bullies who had “greeted” the companions at the edge of town were pushing their way through, weapons drawn and faces twisted into masks of fury.

The crowd lost no time parting to make way for the angry thugs.

“I think perhaps it’s time we were going,” Elidor said nervously. But before any of them could move, Snake Skin saw them and jabbed his sword in their direction.

“You gave us iron coins coated with steel!”

His partner grinned and brandished his weapon. “So now it’s time to give you a taste of
our
steel!”

The two thugs rushed toward Nearra and her friends, swords raised high and murder in their eyes.

    A
s the thugs approached, Nearra and the other companions turned to look at Elidor. The elf thief smiled apologetically. “I told you it pained me to have to part with that much steel. So I, uh, gave them coins that were, shall we say, less than pure?”

Catriona scowled. “Well, that was brilliant.”

Elidor shrugged. “I didn’t think they’d check, at least not so soon.”

Nearra wondered where Elidor had gotten hold of counterfeit steel. She decided it didn’t matter. He was a thief, and he could’ve gotten it almost anywhere.

Bolthor stood and roared at the approaching thugs. “You two fools had better have a good reason for interrupting the games!”

The bullies stopped running and turned to Bolthor’s dais. His elf bodyguards had drawn their swords but they made no move to attack.

I guess no one trusts anyone in Ravenscar, Nearra thought. she nudged her companions, encouraging them to begin moving through the crowd.

“A group of travelers entered town a short time ago,” Snake Skin said. “We asked them to provide us a few coins as, uh, a tax—”

Cat Hide interrupted. “When we checked the coins, we discovered they were nothing but steel-coated iron!”

The outlaw chieftain cut the bully off with an impatient gesture. “Where are these travelers now?” he asked.

Snake Skin and Cat Hide pointed at the companions. “There!” they shouted in unison.

“Run! Davyn shouted.

Catriona grabbed Nearra by the arm and started pulling her away from the crowd. Davyn drew his hunting knife since there wasn’t enough room to use his bow. Elidor’s throwing knives appeared in his hands with a speed that seemed almost mystical. Only Sindri didn’t prepare to escape.

“But I want to stay and watch the monster boar!” he protested.

Davyn grabbed the kender’s purple cape and pulled him away from the Pit. “We’ll be fed to that monster for a snack if we don’t get out of here!” Davyn snapped.

“Do you really think so?” Sindri said sounding intrigued.

Before Davyn could reply, the crowd turned on the companions. Dozens of hands clutched for them, desperate to please Bolthor and claim whatever reward he might offer. Or perhaps the people were interested in watching what Snake Skin and Cat Hide would do to the companions.

Elidor and Sindri evaded the crowd’s grasping hands with the grace and agility of their respective races. Davyn whipped his hunting knife back and forth, keeping the blood-thirsty men and women at bay. The grim expression on Catriona’s face—coupled with the single dragon claw in her hand—was enough to deter most from even attempting to grab her.

Nearra was armed with her staff, but she needed two hands to wield it effectively, and Catriona had hold of one of her arms. But
just as she was about to ask her friend to let go so she could fight, someone latched onto Nearra’s free arm and yanked.

“C’mere, blondie! I bet Bolthor would like to have a word or two with you for disrupting his games!” It was a white-bearded dwarf.

Nearra tried to pull away from him, but the dwarf’s grip was too strong. “Catriona!” she shouted.

But the red-haired warrior was unable to come to her aid. one of the Kagonesti bodyguards—Kuruk—had managed to make his way through the crowd and was coming toward Catriona, sword in hand.

“Let go of my arm!” Nearra shouted to Catriona. “I need both hands to fight!”

The warrior glanced at Nearra, then at the elf coming toward her, torn with indecision. It was Kuruk who finally made the choice for her. He ran forward and swung his sword in a sideways swipe designed to take off Catriona’s head. The warrior released her grip on Nearra, drew her second dragon claw, and moved to block the bodyguard’s strike.

Nearra’s hand was free to wield her staff, but this also meant that there was no longer an opposing force pulling against the dwarf. Nearra was yanked backwards, and she dropped her staff as she stumbled into the dwarf. He let out a surprised yelp and they tumbled together toward the edge of the Pit. It was a twenty-foot drop to the stone floor, and there was nothing she could do to stop her fall.

Nearra suddenly jerked to a halt and hung in midair. At first she was confused, but then she looked up and saw Sindri standing at the edge of the pit, frowning as he concentrated, and she realized what had happened. The kender had used his magic powers to stop her fall.

Sindri hadn’t done the same for the dwarf. He hit the bottom of
the Pit with the harsh snap of breaking bones. The dwarf shrieked in agony, but his cries of pain turned to screams of terror as the lizard-boar gave an excited snort and starting shuffling toward him. The little man didn’t scream for long. Nearra resisted the temptation to look down. She knew she didn’t want to see what the beast was doing to the dwarf.

She cupped her hands to her mouth. “Sindri!” she called. “Can you levitate me all the way out of here?”

The kender’s face appeared over the edge of the Pit. His brow was furrowed in concentration and sweat trickled down his face.

“I’m trying, but it’s difficult … so much going on … hard to concentrate …”

Nearra suddenly dropped a couple feet, and she let out a cry of surprise. And then she heard the lizard-boar’s snort as the monstrous beast leaped for her.

Sindri fought to concentate as the lizard-boar jumped for Nearra and missed.

“Sindri!” Nearra shouted.

“I’m working on it!” the kender replied through gritted teeth.

Nearra began to rise faster, but her flight wasn’t smooth. Sindri felt as if he were lifting his friend with a weak, trembling hand that might lose its grip on her any moment.

The lizard-boar leaped again, and this time one of its tusks managed to graze Nearra’s foot. She screamed. The beast fell back into the Pit without getting hold of her. If the creature managed to get its teeth on her foot Nearra would be dragged down into the Pit and then … Sindri didn’t want to think about what would happen then.

Stay calm and stay focused, he told himself.

“Got you, kender!”

Sindri was yanked backward. He turned his head to see that Cat Hide had hold of his cape. The kender grabbed two of the iron spikes that jutted from the pit’s edge to give him more leverage against Cat Hide, but the thug was much larger and stronger than the kender. With a last hard yank, Cat Hide broke Sindri’s grip and pulled him away from the edge. The last shreds of Sindri’s concentration vanished, and he felt the magic power that was holding his friend aloft fade. Nearra screamed as she fell toward the lizard-boar.

Sindri tried to shout “No!” but he couldn’t get the word out. The collar of his cape was tight against his skin and cutting off his air. Cat Hide laughed as Sindri’s vision began to go gray around the edges.

Instinctively, Sindri reached into one of the many pockets sewn into the inner lining of his cape, and his fingers closed around a slender metal object.

Sindri leaped backward and turned as he pulled the silver candlestick from its hiding place within his cape. Cat Hide’s eyes widened in surprise as Sindri swung the makeshift club toward his head and thunked into the thug’s left temple. With a groan, Cat Hide collapsed to the ground. Sindri landed on top of him.

But the kender took no time to exult in his victory. Nearra needed him! He tried to pull away from Cat Hide, but the man still held his cape tight. Sindri quickly undid the cape’s clasp, shrugged it off, then ran back to the edge of the pit and looked down.

Nearra, appearing dazed and confused, but otherwise uninjured, stood with her back against the wall of the pit, watching the lizard-boar finish off what was left of the white-bearded dwarf. The hideous creature then turned its attention to her, and as the monster advanced, it opened tusked jaws to reveal two rows of sharp blood-stained teeth.

Sindri began to concentrate, ready to attempt to levitate Nearra to safety. But before he could begin to work his magic, Nearra started speaking in a language the kender didn’t recognize. A series of words came out of Nearra’s mouth in soft, liquid syllables of power. She pointed her index finger at the lizard-boar, and a ball of fire materialized at the tip. With a whoosh the fireball shot toward the beast and engulfed it in flame.

The lizard-boar shrieked in agony and fell to the floor of the Pit. It rolled back and forth in a frantic attempt to put out the flames that covered it, but this was no ordinary fire. These flames would continue to burn until they had no more to feed on. Soon the air was filled with greasy black smoke and the sickening stench of burning flesh. Even Sindri—who was something of an aficionado of strange odors—couldn’t stand the stink.

Looks like Bolthor is going to dine on roast lizard-pork tonight, Sindri thought. Soon, the lizard-boar ceased its thrashing and grew still. The flames began to diminish, for there was little left to burn beside bone. Even though the creature was an unnatural abomination and had tried to kill Nearra, Sindri couldn’t help feeling sorry for it. What a horrible way to die.

Sindri tore his gaze away from the grisly sight and looked at Nearra. He expected to see that she was equally disgusted by the beast’s death, but was surprised to see that she was smiling.

“Are you all right?” Sindri called.

“Just fine,” Nearra said. “Best I’ve been in ages, as a matter of fact.”

“That was amazing!” Sindri said. “The fireball, I mean! How did you do it?”

Nearra shrugged. “I’m really not sure, to be honest. But we can figure that out later,
after
you levitate me out of here.”

There was a haughtiness in Nearra’s words that was unlike her. It was almost as if she were giving Sindri a command. Still,
the kender decided she was right; time enough to worry about what had happened to her, if anything, after she was safe. Sindri concentrated and Nearra began to rise slowly. He couldn’t help noticing that she was still smiling.