"Oh, gods!" Surth hissed, his fingers trembling helplessly. "We'll never-"
Beside him, Bezrar drew his longknife, puffing like a walrus and sweating a river, and brought its pommel down firmly through the dirty pane in front of him.
There was a shout from within, and a roaring gout of flame burst up out of the shattered skylight. A dragon banked sharply overhead, thrust out its neck, and breathed something back.
Bezrar emitted a sort of frightened mew as he tumbled over backward. Spells were bursting out of skylights up and down the roof now, shards of glass tumbling in all directions, and dragons were diving down and breathing death of their own.
It was, yes, a luminescent time to faint, Bezrar and Surth decided in unison-and did so.
* * * * *
Caladnei and Laspeera did nothing but hold up shimmering shielding-spells around Alusair and Filfaeril as they all rushed together to the east end of the hall-which saved them, even as Red Wizards by the dozens vanished in dragon-spew.
The very floor-tiles of the central open hall exploded, heaved, and melted where the full fury of dragon-magic struck, and the roof started to come down in great crashing chunks.
The two highest-ranking War Wizards reeled, moaning in pain and clutching their heads, as their shieldings were torn asunder. Somewhere down there, the Obarskyrs were on their own, now . . .
Doors burst open in the darkness all over the hall as Rhauligan and the other Highknights decided that with War Wizards screaming and fainting and igniting like torches all around them they might already be too late to rush forth and perform a rescue.
The Red Wizards Starangh had been able to assemble were the youngest and most ambitious Thayans handy in Sembia, but they neither trusted each other nor had much experience in working carefully together in spell-battle … so in the flashing, bursting confusion of swooping dragons and men running about with swords, they soon started hurling death at anyone and everyone they saw, including each other.
Harnrim Darkspells looked around from a high balcony in disbelief as War Wizards and his fellow Thayans hurled spells, chairs, and knives at each other with equally blind fury. This was a swiftly unfolding disaster! He had to-
Something made him duck and turn, and the point of Rhau-ligan's thrusting blade flashed harmlessly past his arm. With a curse, Starangh teleported away, leaving the Highknight slashing empty air and airing a few curses of his own.
Down below, terrified nobles were swording everyone in their haste to escape what they correctly saw as a deathtrap. The ring and clang of sword-steel rose deafeningly in the hall.
Rhauligan whirled around and raced down the nearest stair. He had to get to Alusair and Filfaeril and keep them safe, whatever happened.
* * * * *
"Get down, Mother!" Alusair snarled, hacking a man to the floor viciously and stamping on his throat. "That gown won't stop a child's knife! I've got to set aside having to defend and worry about you! Too many of these dogs are getting away!"
"Look-unnh!-to your own back, dear!" Filfaeril called, whirling her overgown around a man's head and rushing past him to drag him off-balance. Wildly slashing nothing, he went down, and she leaped in to land knees-together on his chest, and drive her little jeweled dagger into a face she couldn't see. "I'm Cormyr's past, daughter-you're its future!"
Alusair laughed bitterly as two swords reached for her. "Yes, but for how long?"
* * * * *
"Gala, we've got to get back to Luse and Fee," Laspeera panted. "They'll get butchered!"
"If we don't drive off these dragons," the Mage Royal of Cormyr spat back, "we'll all wind up fried, crushed, and entombed before six-toll!"
"They're drawing off!" Laspeera gasped, pointing. "Look! They're flying away!"
* * * * *
"ENOUGH!" Joysil roared, in a voice that shook every spire in Marsember. "We can do no more without destroying every human down there! Come-to the sanctum!"
'To the dragonbinder!" dragon voices thundered in chorus, and wings flapped and wheeled in the sky.
* * * * *
"Shields!" Caladnei cried, clutching at Laspeera. "Find them! We must raise the shields around them again!"
Laspeera peered helplessly around the darkened confusion of the hall, made a sound of exasperation, and cast a bright radiance spell out into the chaos.
Everywhere, knots of men were fighting, their swords flashing. Bodies lay huddled in their blood everywhere, too, and robed War Wizards waving daggers were rushing down stairs and along balconies, shouting.
"There!" she cried, pointing to where she'd seen Alusair's familiar hair swirl, just for a moment, amid a glimmer of clashing blades.
Hip to hip the two mages worked a casting, then collapsed with a groan.
"I worked an ironguard on them," Caladnei gasped. "Rhauligan's coming-see?-and he should be able … to take care of… men who can only punch . . . and gouge and strangle."
"Wait, what's that?" Laspeera snapped. Where they'd thrown their shield, something flared like a momentary star.
"Fee's teleport gem," Caladnei said with a grin. "She's taken them back to the Palace. Find that portal, and let's get there before Luse tries to bring every last Purple Dragon in the place back here!"
* * * * *
"What was that, Mother?"
"My teleport gem," Filfaeril gasped. "This dolt of a Dracohorn brought his blade down on it, before I… before I…"
"Mother!" Alusair cried in alarm, whirling back to the queen. Filfaeril was clutching at her side. She sat down against a heap of bodies, managed a little smile, and said rather triumphantly, "Before I put my little knife through his eye." She waved a hand. "Don't worry, I'm just winded, not cut. I trust."
The singing of a shielding-spell-at least, Alusair hoped it was a shielding-spell-rose around them, and she waded through the dead and dying to get to her mother.
She was still two paces away when the balcony above, smoldering in the aftermath of a spell, tore loose and crashed down on them.
* * * * *
"Hah!" Darndreth Goldsword cried triumphantly, as something splintered and the door sagged open. "Out, lads! Out!"
The dozen or so nobles of the Rightful Conspiracy surged forward as one, panting in fear and weariness. This had all gone so wrong-dragons, by the gods!-wizards everywhere! More grim men with swords than they'd been able to muster in the first place! And all the doors spell-sealed, too!
This was the only one they'd been able to get open, and now they'd have to run far and fast before the Obarskyrs set the hounds of the realm on-
Darndreth staggered back with a cry, almost spitting himself on half a dozen swords. "Who-?"
"No one important," the lady who stood outside replied calmly, her eyes large and dark in the glow of the conjured dagger and whip-sword in her hands. "Just someone who grew bored in Can-dlekeep and looked in a scrying-stone to see what was happening back in Marsember. Not that I found anything surprising."
"Stand back!" one noble shouted.
"Make way or we'll kill you!" the youngest Goldsword added, in a snarl.
The lady slashed his thrusting sword aside with her own, the meeting of blades numbing his arm as if he'd touched lightning. "You may try," she commented pleasantly.
"Who are you?"
"The Lady Noumea Cardellith," she answered, parrying his furious attack, "of Sembia. Stay within, traitors, and face justice."
"Justice! You're not even of Cormyr!" a noble panted furiously, trying to reach his sword past Darndreth's shoulder to stab her.
"No matter. I stand for peace and honesty, whenever possible … to slaughter a ruling house always plunges a land into strife and outlawry and suffering, and the lurking monsters and dark cabals alike come prowling … or have you so swiftly forgotten what befell in Tethyr?"