Elfsong - Elaine Cunningham [121]
Danilo rested the Morninglark harp against his shoulder. Quickly he tried the strings, learning their arrangement and ensuring that all were in tune. One misplayed note, one out-of-tune string, and the powerful spell could fail. If that were to happen, the patriarch Evindal Duirsar might find the temple burdened with yet another mad ward.
"You can do it," Morgalla said softly.
He gave his dwarven friend a reassuring nod, and raised his hands to the strings. The lilting dance melody filled the courtyard. He played it through to the end, then began to sing the riddle-filled spell in harmony with the harp's melody. Once again, Danilo felt the full power of the music course through him, as it had in the High Forest.
From the corner of his eye, the Harper saw a flash of silver in the alley. Six men, clad in the light-eating black garments favored by the southern assassins, burst into the temple courtyard. Each man wielded a long, curved scimitar.
"Keep singing. We got 'em" Morgalla assured him She tossed aside her spear and pulled her axe. Wyn, too, drew his long sword. The two took a stand at the foot of the stairs, determined that none would get past them
Danilo's friends fought hard, but they were badly outnumbered, and the assassins were skilled fighters. Morgalla fought with an abandon that was at once grim and gleeful, but even the fierce dwarf was not equal to the assassins. Over to the side of the courtyard, Elaith stood with his arms crossed, watching the fight with apparent amusement
"You could help out, you long-eared, orc-souled cur!"
Morgalla shouted at him. "Yer still partners 'til the spell is done!"
Her words struck home, and indecisionshimmered over the elf'sface. Elaith's chest rose and fell with a resigned sigh, and he drew his magic knife. A flick of the wrist, and the assassin battling Wyn fell to the ground clutching his chest. The moon elf then waded into the thickest part of the battle, his blades flashing in streaks ofsilver and streams of red.
Danilo sang on, and the spell coursed through him, stretching his mind and his skills to encompass the power of the elfsong. When the final notes of the spell rang over the courtyard, he felt the sorcery dissolve suddenly, pulling back in upon itself and sucking magic after it like a vortex. He collapsed, gasping from a force only he could feel.
The visible results of his spell were equally dramatic. The unnatural clouds simply disappeared, and the skies cleared to an even, placid shade of silver. The hail and rain stopped immediately. Most startling was this: the Morninglark harp disappeared from his hands. He rose, looking at hisempty hands in disbelief.
Morgalla dispatched the final assassin, then flung herself at Danilo, wrapping her arms around his waist in a bone-crushing hug. "I knowed you could do it, bard!" she crowed, and her blood-streaked face was wreathed in a broad grin.
Danilo returned her embrace, looking over her head at Wyn. "The harp itself was a component of the spell! Did you know that the harp would vanish?"
"I had an idea that it might. Your success was worth the sacrifice," Wyn said quietly.
"Doubt the elf thinks so," Morgalla observed, pulling awayfrom Danilo and pointing toward Elaith.
With an oath, Danilo sprinted across the courtyard.
Elaith stood over the bodies of the four assassins he had downed, his face set in a grimace and one hand clasped to his shoulder. With a quick jerk, the elf pulled a small knife from the muscle of his upper arm. The Harper reached Elaith's side just in time to catch him as he collapsed.
Dan called for Wyn, and together they lifted the elf and began to carry him up the long flight of stairs to the temple. Morgalla picked up the knife and sniffed it "Poison o' some sort" she said. "Better bring it along, so's the priests can figger out what best to do." She followed the men up toward the temple.
"Lord Thann," the elf said in a faint voice.
"Don't talk,"