Kaanyr engaged his magical cloak and headed toward the opposing commander. The half-devil spied him approaching and gave the cambion a smile and a mocking salute with one of his blades, then took to the air himself.
The two half-fiends swirled toward one another in the air above the larger battle. Kaanyr launched a thrust with Spitefang and watched to see how his foe would react. His counterpart spun and blocked the strike with one of his own weapons and then sliced low with the other. Kaanyr kicked the blade with his boot to deflect it. That drew a second strike from the half-devil's first falchion that the cambion was forced to duck.
'Not bad,' the other commander said, smiling still. 'I will enjoy this.'
'Not for long,' Kaanyr answered.
With that, the half-devil twirled in place and slashed at Kaanyr with a rapid succession of strikes that came from different angles and targeted various points on the cambion's body. Kaanyr gasped at the speed of the attacks, but Spitefang was well balanced and up to the task, and the cambion parried them all.
The two parted and circled again.
The half-devil's smile deepened as he surveyed Kaanyr's defensive stance. 'You seem a bit unsure,' he said. 'Would you like a moment to collect yourself?'
'Thank you, but no,' Kaanyr replied. 'I'm just relishing the chance to dispatch such a worthy foe. It's been a while.'
Kaanyr twirled Spitefang and beckoned his opponent to come. The half-devil obliged, and they began a dance of blades in earnest.
The ring of steel clashing against steel created a bizarre song above the swirling melee of demon and devil on the floor below. Kaanyr and his foe jabbed and blocked, swirled and circled, each trying to find a weakness in the other's defenses. Kaanyr had to work hard to keep the twin falchions at bay. More than once, a poison-coated edge got dangerously close to creasing his skin. Each time, he managed to evade the deadly strikes, but he was breathing hard with the effort.
Fortunately, Kaanyr's opponent was exerting himself just as much. The two of them separated and hovered in the air, taking a moment to catch their collective breath.
'You fight well,' the half-devil said. 'It's a shame you fight for the wrong side.'
'That's a matter of perspective,' Kaanyr replied. 'I could say the same about you.'
The half-devil grinned. 'True, bur I was not referring to your demonic kin. You stink of the taint of angels.'
Kaanyr blinked in surprise. Had his association with Tauran rubbed off on him that much?
'Yes,' the half-devil said, his grin growing more mocking, 'I can see by your sudden meek expression and quivering lip that I am right. Fall in with the wrong crowd, did you?'
Kaanyr glared. 'Hardly,' he said. 'Not that it's any of your business, but I found it necessary to deceive a few and associate with them in order to further my own agenda.'
'Which is how you came to be ensnared in one of their magical compulsions, is it? How's that working out for you so far?'
Kaanyr snarled and lunged at the half-devil. He slammed Spitefang at his foe's head, smashing the magical blade against the falchions.
The half-devil laughed as he defended himself against Kaanyr's enraged attacks. 'I must have hit a nerve, cambion,' he said gleefully. 'You let me know sometime how that agenda is coming along.'
The half-devil began to use Kaanyr's own rage against him, redirecting his momentum as the cambion slashed and hammered at him. Kaanyr's fighting became frantic and sloppy and it was only when he got nicked on the forearm by one of the poison-coated falchions that he recovered his wits.
Kaanyr backed out of the fight and hovered out of the half-devil's reach. As the other commander approached him again, Kaanyr reached inside his tunic and grabbed a handful of colored sand from a small inner pocket. He flung the sand toward his opponent and uttered a quick arcane phrase. The sand burst into light and sent a spray of dazzling color right into the half-devil's face.
The magical burst startled the half-devil. He threw an arm up to protect himself from its effects. Kaanyr used the distraction to shoot higher into the air, above the half-devil. By the time his opponent had recovered from the arcane attack, Kaanyr was swinging his sword down.
The cleaving blow sliced the half-devil's head in half. He seized up and then dropped like a stone from the air, nearly yanking Kaanyr down with him. Kaanyr wrenched his blade free of the half-devil's skull and watched his corpse plummet into a crater in the floor.
Kaanyr sighed in relief and cast a quick glance around. The battle between demon and devil had ended. Two demons still stood, both wounded but still able to fight. They had been watching the aerial combat from below.
'Go,' Kaanyr ordered. 'Find more devils to kill.'
The two demons grinned and took off, heading toward another tunnel. Kaanyr turned his attention to his injury.
The wound was slight, but it burned terribly. He saw that it was already festering and that pus seeped from it. What was worse, discoloration in the skin was spreading from it along his arm.
Blast, Vhok fumed. I let him taunt me into making that mistake. Been around too-noble angels for too long. Must not let that happen again.
Wondering if Tauran had at last awakened and might be able to heal the poisoned wound, Kaanyr turned and sped from the chamber, seeking his way back to the angel.
CHAPTER NINE
The two demons that had been left behind, presumably to watch over Kael, Tauran, and Zasian, turned suddenly and departed. Kael watched them disappear up the gloomy passageway just beyond the cramped cave where he and his fellow prisoners waited. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried. Kael certainly felt better, not having the vile creatures looming so near, but he wondered what would have drawn them away so abruptly.
He jerked again on the chain that kept his manacles connected, knowing he could not break it but needing to keep trying. To do otherwise felt too much like giving up.
Kael stole a quick glance at Zasian. The glow surrounding the priest had grown slightly brighter, more steady. He wondered why that might be, but he didn't dwell on it. The human just sat, staring at nothing. He had grown very quiet after recounting their ordeal, and the half-drow wondered if he was beginning to suffer from the grimness of their predicament.
He can't be doing well in this hellish place, Kael decided.
Kael tried to imagine what it must be like to have the sum total of his memory be only a few days old. He had grown convinced, based on the priest's odd behavior, that his new personality was not an act, but a genuine transformation.
At least he's not in as bad of shape as Tauran.
Tauran lay curled up nearby. His breathing was mostly slow and even, as though he slept, but occasional coughing fits interrupted his rest from time to time, and he tossed and turned as much as his bonds would allow, groaning or even whimpering. He had not said anything after Zasian's recounting of what had happened, either.
Torm, Kael thought. This place is killing him. We've got to get out of here. He yanked on the chains holding him captive once more.
In a moment of desperation, Kael managed to get to his feet and, taking small steps because of the restraints holding his ankles, walk toward the tunnel leading out of their chamber. He reached the passage and peered down it as far as he could see, until it turned and disappeared from his view. Kael debated continuing, seeing what he could find out about their prison, but the way was rough and uneven, and with his chains, it would be difficult to maneuver. Plus, he loathed leaving Tauran behind.
It's not like he's going anywhere, he decided, taking a few steps farther along his route. He braced himself
