can cow me?’ Ilumene called contemptuously, and launched himself into the swirling black mass.
Holding his sword in both hands, Ilumene struck once, twice, matching Telasin’s speed and continuing to drive the daemon-touched soldier back. Telasin tried to lure Ilumene on too far, but the big man caught one khopesh on his sword and leaned away in time to watch the other flash past his chest.
Telasin kicked out, but Ilumene rode the blow and smacked an elbow into his opponent’s shoulder — then he surged forwards to slam Telasin into the stone wall, where he pinned one arm down. With his sword still locked with Telasin’s other khopesh, Ilumene again lunged forward, skull-capped head leading, and caught him a glancing blow on the chest.
This time he followed up with a hefty punch in the stomach, thumping Telasin back into the wall, before grabbing a dagger from his belt. Quick as a snake Ilumene drove the knife up between the scales of his armour to pierce Telasin’s stomach, then he made sure of his kill by slashing at Telasin’s throat. He stepped away and Telasin staggered clumsily sideways, unable to bring up his free khopesh in time. The bastard sword hacked down and Telasin fell, a shriek of supernatural rage exploding through the corridor as the daemon was banished.
Ilumene wiped his sword, panting for breath as a sly smile spread across his scarred face. He looked around for threats and found none. The others had clearly taken the wrong stairway, or run into more guards. Then his face froze.
‘They’re not here to kill me,’ he muttered, looking up and summoning a mental picture of the Ruby Tower’s many staircases. On the east side was a servants’ stair — though it was steep and narrow, it was the faster route up. ‘They’ll have to check each room; Ruhen’s small enough to hide anywhere. We still have time,’ he muttered.
CHAPTER 14
Doranei paused and stared at the stairway ahead, leading up and down. Daken had run off so fast he didn’t have a clue which way the white-eye had gone — but before he could choose he heard footsteps and found Cetarn, Osh and the remaining thieves following him, with Shin the Bastard slinking up behind.
‘You three, check every room on the ground floor, then head up the tower, in case I need your God’s blessing with a door,’ Doranei ordered the thieves. They turned back without question, far from unhappy at missing the bulk of the fighting.
‘Cetarn, can you find Aracnan?’ Doranei asked.
Before Cetarn had the chance to reply Osh suddenly launched himself forward at Doranei. The King’s Man dodged to one side, turning and striking blindly. His sword caught nothing, but he caught a flash of movement before Osh swept past, his scimitars swinging in unison. The bulky Mystic of Karkarn moved with shocking speed, throwing his whole body into a full-extended lunge that felled the first attacker and left him crouching awkwardly as the second slashed above his head. With a roar of effort Osh lunged again and the scimitar point caught the guard in the throat and opened one side of his neck as Osh jerked it back.
‘Fires of Ghenna!’ The mystic hissed through gritting teeth, catching his balance on the wall and taking his weight off his left leg. ‘Merciful Gods, that hurt!’
‘Your knee gone?’ Doranei asked, reaching out in case the older man needed a hand.
‘Aye, right and proper,’ Osh said, his face tight as he fought the shooting pain in his leg. ‘Piss and daemons, an old man’s wound. You’ll have to go on without me — I’m not climbing any more stairs.’ He waved Doranei away. ‘Don’t stand there gawping, get moving, boy!’
‘That way,’ Cetarn said, pointing as he knelt at Osh’s side.
Doranei moved past, beckoning to Shim to follow, while the oversized mage clamped his meaty hands around the man’s injured knee. Osh gave a strangled gasp and dropped one scimitar as he fought to keep his balance. Cetarn ignored him and began to mutter a mantra, clipped Elvish words, as strands of green light danced between his fingers.
‘Better?’ he asked, heaving himself upright.
Osh put his foot tentatively back on the ground and gave a wary nod.
‘I’ve done nothing to heal it,’ the mage warned as Osh tried his weight on the leg and winced. ‘I’ve only dimmed the pain. It’ll come back, and worse than before. Any weight you put on it will cause further damage.’
‘Better crippled than dead,’ Osh said with feeling, and gestured