The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [97]
Kail felt muscle tear when the blade came free sideways, carving a hunk of flesh from his arm. Aliyea's eyes glinted maliciously as he cried out from the pain. She gripped the dagger with both hands and raised it above her head.
The dagger burst into flame. Aliyea's eyes widened. She released the burning weapon with a yelp of pain. In one movement, Kali snatched it out of the air, turned, and plunged it through a gap in her armor. The fingers of his maimed arm came away blistered from the fire. His stab wound bled liberally, making him lightheaded, but he had no time to bind it. The cavetn swirled with fighters, far more of them foes. He jumped to his feet and over the twins, making his way to Garavin, who stood closest.
Near the rim of the chasm, the dwarf danced atop the ring of stones encircling the pit, swinging his maul angle-out, like a pendulum, to keep three Shadow Thieves at bay. Despite his heavy tread, the dwarf moved among the rocks as if he strode through mist, using his weight to lever the maul.
In the end, two of the men leaped forward. The man to Garavin's left swung a light flail in imitation of Garavin's maul.
Garavin feinted toward him but broke to the right, striking the second man a quick, snapping blow across the kneecap. The man's leg went out, and he was down, scrabbling on the rocks to keep from falling into the pit.
The distraction allowed the dwarf to focus on the flail. The spiked ball wtapped around the handle of his weapon. The chain cinched tight.
Instead of grappling with the larger man, Garavin relinquished his weapon to keep his footing. The man yanked his maul away. Garavin clasped his holy symbol and mouthed a fast prayer. The triumphant smile disappeared off his opponent's face. The maul turned upright, floating in the air as if held by invisible hands.
The man gaped at the rotating weapon. The maul shot out ovet the chasm, dtagging the flail chain and its owner with it. The thief lost his grip on the weapon and pitched headfirst into the dark.
Garavin snagged his maul and the flail before they fell, turning with both weapons to the second man on the rocks.
He brought the maul around as the man swung an axe blade in a reverse chop aimed at Garavin's chin. The dwarf blocked the b)ow, but the weight of both weapons was too great, and the impact of the axe dtove him back hard. He skirted the lip of the chasm. The axeman lunged forward to try to force him the rest of the way into the pit.
A blast of hot ait caught the dwarf from behind, pushing him forward. He smashed the maul through the axeman, clipping his opponent in the ribs. Bones cracked audibly, and the man fell back. Gatavin thtew a quick salute skywatd, where Meisha hovered above his head.
The cavern's ceiling was alive with aerial battle. Dantane and Meisha flew around each other, using stalactites for cover as they engaged the Shadow Thief wizard and his two protectors-a younger man and woman who appeared to be apprentices. Theit hands moved in frantic, mimicking circles, weaving spell-shields for their master.
Meisha hurled her last two stilettos. The blades caught fire as they spun through the ait. One burning missile caught the woman in the thigh, forcing her to break rhythm to put out the flames licking her robes.
"Dantane!" Meisha cried., but the wizard was already casting. With one palm atop the other, his ringers flush in a rough X shape, Dantane yelled, "Krevatcya, dannan shoe!"
The woman let out a desperate shout, but she couldn't get the spell out in time. A ball of black energy formed under Dantane's hands and streaked down to hit the other wizard in the chest, ruining whatever spell he'd been preparing. Instead of dissipating, the black energy mass crawled along his skin, trailing electrical sparks that singed his robes. The wizard tried to claw the ball off, gasping when his hands met a jolt of painful electricity.
Meisha spared Dantane a glance, but the wizard wasn't looking at het. He'd paused to witness the effects of his own spell. The black energy sizzled along the wizard's