Masquerades - Kate Novak [6]
Once Alias reached the far edge of the plaza she nudged the saurial and, free of all human interference, the pair broke into a run. The three stalkers, no longer worried about remaining undetected, hurtled after them.
The chase was short, less than half a block, to a passage so narrow that Alias had to turn sideways to slip along it. By the light of the bonfire in the plaza, Dragonbait could see that their pursuers now had their knives out, and, as Alias had predicted, the weapons dripped with green ichor. The saurial dodged after Alias, annoyed that she had not shared with him whatever plan she had, no doubt because she knew he might not approve of it.
It was dark in the passage. The only light came from the entrance where they'd come in. In a moment, that too was in shadow as the Night Masks slid in after them. The thieves were laughing now, certain that they were about to make their kills. With his shensight, the paladin noted that their evil was stronger when they were together than when they stood apart.
Alias stopped in front of him. In Saurial she ordered, "Hand me the staff and take your own sword. Stay low and give me a light on my signal."
Dragonbait passed the ashen staff and took his own enchanted blade into his hand. Behind him he heard one of the assailants curse as he realized his night vision was no better than his prey's.
"Now," Alias commanded.
The thieves heard a deep growl in the passage before them. They halted, and a moment later cried out as the saurial's sword burst with a great roaring noise into a brilliant blue-white flame that temporarily blinded them. When they finally adjusted their vision to the now lighted passage, they were much less certain of their victory. Dragonbait crouched before them holding out his fiery blade. The passage was already warming from the energy the weapon gave off. Behind the saurial, Alias stood with her cloak thrown back and her sword at the ready. Dragonbait could smell the green ichor that dripped from Alias's blade, and he gave a low chuckle, which sounded quite ominous to their opponents.
"Come on, boys," Alias taunted. "Are we going to fight or not?"
While the Night Mask enforcers were not unused to resistance, their opponents were not usually equipped with such deadly weaponry. Raw steel did not frighten them, but they had no desire for a taste of their own poison, and the fiery sword made them cringe instinctively. There was also something unnerving about the fey tone in the swordswoman's voice. They were assassins, not warriors, and they'd come to kill, not be killed. They began backpedaling down the passageway.
They found their way blocked by a larger-than-man-sized ale keg seated upright. It became clear to the paladin what Alias had purchased from the dwarven brewer. With a grin, Dragonbait closed in on the assassins. Alias followed just behind him.
"Surrender now, and I'll let you leave with your lives," Alias said.
The Night Masks looked back at Alias and Dragonbait, then at the keg, then back at their would-be victims.
Dragonbait rotated his wrist so the point of his weapon traced little looping circles of light in the air.
The lead Night Mask dropped his poisonous weapon, and the other two followed suit.
"I don't think you have the paperwork for any of those weapons, boys," Alias said. "Better leave them all with me so I can evaluate them."
The Night Masks hesitated. Dragonbait growled and ran his fiery blade down the side of the building to his right so they could see the scorch marks left on the stone. Soon there was a pile of Night Mask weaponry lying at the saurial's feet.
"Keep stripping, boys," Alias ordered. "I'll tell you when to stop."
Out in the street the dwarven brewmaster had set up a second bar to handle the spreading crush of party-goers. The red-headed swordswoman had paid him to block the alley with the large keg once he saw the Night Masks follow her in. Then, as per the swordswoman's