kept him between me and the others, another mage by the door flung a hand up. He had no trouble targeting me around his buddy, and that same invisible power struck me again. It hurled me back against a counter.
Sindari was pinned by magic, one of the mages completely focused on him, but he kept trying to break free. He shook his head, roared, and waded forward, as if against a stiff wind. But two more dark elves ran inside, fingers splayed as they added their power to that of the others. Sindari was knocked back again. His muscles strained under his sleek fur, but even he wasn’t strong enough to fight that much power.
Outside, the chanting had stopped. Would the entire assembly swarm up here to use those torture implements on me? Or would one of them simply shoot me and end it?
My grip tightened on Chopper as two dark elves approached. I vowed to go down swinging.
My chest was as tight as my grip, and I grimaced, embarrassed and furious at the wheezes coming from my own throat. I was a warrior, damn it, not some cripple.
“Do we kill her, Synaru-van?”
The alchemist stood back, a hand gripping her bleeding shoulder, and looked like she wanted to nod vigorously. But she said, “Not yet. I will question her first. We must know how she found a way in and if others know about our entrances. If so, we will have to cave them in and make others. Just tie her up for now. And someone get rid of that slavering tiger.”
Sindari was still straining against the magic, trying his best to get to the dark elves, to protect me from them.
I swung Chopper as one of the uninjured dark elves tried to get close. Before the blade could connect, he twitched a finger, and I flew all the way back to the corner. My face caught the edge of a counter as I crashed down. Blood flooded my mouth as I accidentally bit my tongue, and I crashed to my knees.
The chanting of a spell, not some religious fervor, came from the doorway. My charm didn’t translate the words, but Sindari’s head bowed.
I’m sorry, Val. He knows how to force me back into the figurine.
It’s all right.
I don’t want to leave you. You need me.
I know, but I’ll figure something out. I’ll call you again as soon as I can.
The figurine grew warm against my chest, and Sindari turned to silver mist, then disappeared.
I hoped I hadn’t lied. I hoped I would get a chance to call him again.
An entire pack of dark elves strode toward me. More milled in the tunnel, peering in.
I couldn’t win, not right now. Maybe Synaru-van would question me alone. But they would take all of my belongings before tying me up, and I was nothing without my magical tools, nothing that could defeat mages and alchemists.
One of the dark elves reached down for me. I rose on my knees enough to slam a side kick into his stomach.
I smiled grimly around the blood dripping out of my mouth. Maybe not quite nothing.
But with so many more dark elves behind him, it was a futile effort. They fell over me, using their magic to pin me down. I turned my back to them and wrenched an arm free long enough to tug two of my charms off my leather thong, their tiny metal hoops snapping. I shoved them into my underwear an instant before both of my arms were pulled behind my back. I wished I’d dared pull the cat figurine off, but they had seen Sindari and would know to look for his charm.
They spun me around, shoved me against the wall, and proceeded to search me and steal all my stuff. Chopper, my phone, the sample kit, my dagger, my grenades, and even my inhaler—shit, I wheezed as I saw that go, worse than a heroin junkie watching her stash get confiscated.
One dark elf untied my necklace and took the rest of my charms, leaving me defenseless. He knew those were valuable, and he stroked the cat figurine, then tied the thong around his own neck. I wished I could shoot bullets out of my eyeballs at him.
He puzzled over the inhaler, then tossed it to the alchemist. Synaru-van smiled vilely at me as magical bonds similar to what Zav had created wrapped around me, holding me against the wall, keeping me from moving my arms or legs. The dark elves hadn’t