driving back the remaining djinn.
“It’s over,” said Callatas. “Farewell, Balarigar. Die with…”
“You had to keep him alive, didn’t you?” said Caina. “You used his blood as a base for the wraithblood, and if he dies, the wraithblood stops working.”
Callatas’s eyes widened, and then narrowed again. “Is that what you think?”
“No one else knew,” said Caina. “Not Nasser, not Sulaman, not the djinn, not even your lieutenants. That was why you had to keep the Padishah alive, and why you never bothered to kill Sulaman. If the Padishah died, you could use Sulaman’s blood to make more wraithblood.”
Callatas stared at her, and then let out a quiet laugh. “Yes. What a vexation you have been. Your grandparents had not even been born when I started upon the path of the Apotheosis, and in the last two years you have caused me more difficulty than anyone other than Annarah.” He paused, tilting his head to the side as he listened to the shadow of Kotuluk Iblis. “Yes. He is right. You have indeed been worthy prey.” His smile took on a vicious edge. “And your reward is to die in failure, to die knowing how very close you were to victory.”
He made a fist with his left hand, and Caina screamed in pain as the bands of psychokinetic force closed around her. It was a crude spell, not nearly as sophisticated as the bolts of transmuting fire he had flung at her. He was simply going to crush her to death. Caina tried to reach for the wind or the smokeless fire or the lightning, but she could not concentrate through the pain…
A blast of white fire slammed into Callatas, and the shadow of Kotuluk Iblis wavered. The spell holding Caina collapsed, and she dropped to one knee, breathing hard, blood upon her lips. Through the archway at the far side of the Court of Justice, she saw Annarah, her staff burning with white fire, saw Sulaman and Nasser and the others storming into the Court with a mob of Kaltari warriors and Istarish soldiers.
“Kill her!” shouted Callatas to the winged creatures, whirling to face the new threat as he began another spell.
Caina had just gotten to her feet, still coughing, when a dozen of the winged creatures landed before her, claws raised to stab. She stumbled back, raising the valikon in guard, and the creatures pursued her.
There was another flash of white fire in the corner of her eye, and something blurred from the balcony to land next to her.
Kylon charged into the creatures, killing them back with powerful swings of the valikon. He had changed clothes since she had seen him last, and now a freezing mist wreathed the blade of his valikon as he fought. The creatures recoiled, and for just a moment, there was a clear space around Caina while the Grand Master and his creatures were distracted.
Caina spun, sprinted forward, and jumped into the cart, raising the valikon and stabbing it down. The blade sizzled as it drove through the warding spells around the Padishah, the hilt growing warm beneath her fingers, and the sword sank between his ribs and found his heart.
Nahas Tarshahzon gasped, his wraithblood-tainted eyes going wide, and then slumped back into his chair with a sigh.
“Thank you,” he whispered, and the Padishah of Istarinmul died at Caina’s hand.
Callatas’s scream of rage echoed through the Court of Justice.
Chapter 28: Broken Pact
Morgant killed another winged creature, taking off its head with a swing of his scimitar. His dagger had almost stored up enough heat to unleash another fireball, and he thought he might try to use it against the Grand Master. Once Callatas brought his spells to bear, he would mow them all down like a scythe through the grass. He would probably be warded against the power of Morgant’s dagger, but it was still worth the effort.
He looked for another foe and then stopped in surprise.
The creatures upon the ground had stopped attacking. More of the creatures fell from the sky and landed in crouches upon the balconies and the ground, shivering as they landed. Soon hundreds of them had landed, all of them trembling.
“Are they giving up?” Morgant said.
“No,” said Annarah, blinking as she cast a spell with her left hand. “No, that’s not it. I think it’s the wraithblood, I think the wraithblood is…”
Someone let out a startled scream. Morgant turned and saw Nerina Strake shuddering. She stood with her husband Malcolm and the other Ghosts near the Imperial Guards. Morgant hadn’t