City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [128]
“What do we do?” she said. She glanced over at Daine—and jerked back, just in time to avoid the blow of the chain. Dropping the wand, she took up a defensive posture. “What are you doing?”
“Get rid of the staff, Lei,” Daine said, moving toward her. She stepped back, but there was little room to maneuver on the narrow catwalk. “Throw it over the edge. It’s done something to you, and we can’t take any chances.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! It’s the only reason we’re still standing!”
“It’s manipulating you, Lei! If you won’t get rid of it, I will.”
Daine lashed out again. Lei managed to turn the edge of the blade with the staff, but Daine’s dagger drew a long furrow against the shaft. For a moment, the song took on a pained note.
It’s Chyrassk, Lei realized. The mindflayer was standing, unmoving, on the catwalk across the chamber. Chyrassk must be amplifying Daine’s fears and suspicions and using them to control him. If I drop the staff, we’re both defenseless.
“Daine, stop! What happens once the staff is destroyed?”
Daine was still weak from his injuries, and that was the only reason she’d been able to avoid his attacks as long as she had. But now he was moving in, trying to grab the staff with his free hand, and she was running out of room to retreat.
Calling on desperate reserves of willpower, Lei reached out with her mind. Her armor was a family heirloom, designed to hold temporary enchantments. While it normally took a significant period of time to weave an enchantment, she could weave minor effects into her armor swiftly, though it was just as much of a drain on her energy as crafting a longer, more powerful enchantment.
As Daine came forward, she whispered a word of power and leaped forward. The golden studs of her armor seemed to pull her into the air. It wasn’t full flight, but she could ignore much of the pull of gravity, and she sailed over Daine’s head. She landed on the platform behind him. Turning around, she gave him a quick shove with the staff. He staggered and almost tumbled off the edge of the platform.
“Damn it, Lei, are you trying to kill me?” Daine cried. He spun around, and now there was real fury in his eyes.
What can I do? She thought. In his weakened condition, it was possible that she could knock Daine off the catwalk. Then what? But if she let Daine destroy the staff, they’d both be helpless.
Daine charged again. Lei leaped a second time, but she had underestimated him. This time he was ready for her, and as Lei sailed overhead his chain wrapped around her ankle and she landed hard, barely staying atop the catwalk. Daine faced her, and his expression was grim.
“No more running, Lei. Can’t you see what it’s done to your mind? Or is it too late to save you?” He paused for a moment, as if listening to inner voices. “Either you throw the staff below or I’ll have to kill you. It’s the only way … the only way to be sure. It’s for your own good.”
She could hear the uncertainty in Daine’s voice, but clearly Chyrassk’s desires were worming their way to the foreground. He was shifting his weight, preparing to charge, and this time he would probably kill her.
Lei didn’t think her injured leg would take the strain of another jump, but Daine was still off-balance himself. If she timed it right, she might be able to trip him as he approached. He would certainly fall into the toxic fluid below, but she would live and she’d still have the staff to protect her.
But she couldn’t do it. She’d already sacrificed Pierce. She couldn’t hurt Daine, no matter the cost. She closed her eyes and waited for the blow to fall.
Even as Daine began his charge, there was a blur of motion at the entrance of the chamber—a massive steel shadow emerging into the light. Pierce raised his bow, drew the string back, and loosed. There was the whisper of an arrow in flight, and Chyrassk cried out—a weird ululating wail.
Daine froze, confused, as the mindflayer’s mental focus faltered. Had he really been about to attack Lei?
Pierce continued loosing, smooth and deadly. Arrow after arrow slammed into Chyrassk, and Daine could