The Shattered Land_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [57]
That was a mistake.
Lei spun in place as she rose from the ground, and her darkwood staff was a black blur as it smashed into the priest’s head. There was a burst of flame, but it dissipated harmlessly around her; even her staff was protected by the magical aura of her armor. Sakhesh cried out in pain and stumbled away from her, one hand rising up to shield his head.
Lei threw herself forward, striking again and again. The priest had his own magical shield that helped turn the brunt of physical blows, but he simply wasn’t prepared for the sheer ferocity of Lei’s attack. Neither was she. She felt as if she was being swept away by her own anger; she was guided more by instinct than conscious thought. Jode’s death, Daine’s affliction, Lakashtai’s cool condescension, and now Pierce’s injuries and these battles in a strange land—it had been building up inside her ever since they’d arrived in Sharn almost a year ago. Now she had an outlet for all that rage and frustration, some arrogant man who wanted to kill Daine and didn’t even understand how to show proper respect for the Sovereigns.
Sakhesh was no fool. He was no match for her physically, and he knew it. He fell back, circled the room, and tried to put obstacles between them. He clenched his fist, and Lei felt his hand trying to grasp her mind and freeze her in place, but his magic paled before her fury, and the spell shattered against the wall of her will. Gouts of flame were dispersed by the magic of her armor, and every moment that passed she landed another blow.
Finally, Sakhesh fell to the ground. His flaming aura had guttered and died. His face was a mass of bruises, and Lei was certain she had felt a rib crack on her last blow. Now a new feeling rose within her … a strange sense of shame. Was this really who she was, a thief, who would break into a man’s home and beat him? The point of her staff was lowered, ready to strike—but she paused, her anger finally fading.
Sakhesh glared at her, forcing himself up with one hand. Blood dripped from his mouth, and she could feel the raw hate in his gaze.
“Fool!” he spat. “You cannot fight me.”
“I think I just did.” She wondered if she should strike him again, silence him, but now that her fury had faded the idea of beating a fallen foe seemed repellent.
“You have won nothing!” A shattered tooth fell from his mouth as he gasped out the words. “You … you will lay down your weapon and return what is mine. Now!”
“And if I don’t?”
“With one word … one! I can turn my fires on your warforged, burning him from within. You cannot stop me in time.”
He was right. He’d fallen back when he’d dropped to the ground, and now she was too far away. He could cast one last spell before she could close, and Pierce was horribly damaged. Surely this … it couldn’t be worth it.
“Very well,” she said.
“Now drop your—”
He never finished the sentence. Even as he shouted his final demand, the point of a black dagger spouted from his throat.
“Trouble speaking?” Daine said.
He planted his boot on the priest’s back, grasping the hilt of his dagger as he pushed down with his foot. The blade was slick with blood as it emerged, and Sakhesh sank to the floor without another word.
Lei stared at Daine. In the battle with Sakhesh, both she and the priest had forgotten about him, and he’d finally broken free of the magical paralysis. Daine looked down at the corpse beneath his boot and the spreading pool of blood, and she wasn’t sure if his expression was one of sorrow or cold resolution.
“I guess I’m an assassin after all,” he said. He knelt next to Sakhesh and wiped his bloody blade on the priest’s robes. “Get Pierce on his feet and that scale in your pack. We need to go. Now.”
Daine took the lead as they charged up the stairs. Pierce was still wounded, and they couldn’t afford to take the time to fully repair his injuries. Lakashtai might be dying. Sakhesh could have called for help. There was no time to lose.
Daine leapt over