might lunge at him and he would be forced to duck behind the safety of the column again. The glow still emanated from him, and it seemed to the alu that it might have grown just the tiniest bit stronger and steadier.
She wondered if it truly was just another trick, as Kaanyr suspected, or if the priest had somehow changed as a result of… whatever had happened. Either possibility seemed reasonable to her at that moment. Wisdom dictated that she expect the worst from Zasian, but even so, he might prove useful.
'Do you want to help me get us out of this mess?' she asked, watching his eyes carefully.
They never betrayed any sense of treachery as he replied, 'Yes. Are you angry with me like your friend is?'
Aliisza tried to keep her face smooth and emotionless. 'Do I have reason to be?' she asked.
'I don't know,' Zasian mumbled. He stared down at the stones and ran a toe along one seam. 'I don't remember.'
'Don't remember what?'
'Anything,' the priest admitted. He seemed ashamed.
Guilty? Aliisza wondered.
'I will only be angry with you if you don't help me,' she said. 'We have to find something.'
'Very well,' Zasian said, and he took a step closer. 'What?'
'Whatever is keeping this place whole,' the alu answered. She turned part of her attention back to the gloomy periphery of the rotunda, though she kept half an eye on the priest, too. She moved toward the spot she had chosen and passed between the columns. Zasian tentatively followed her.
The alu discovered a pair of doors set into the outer wall of the round chamber, a portal that must have led to an exterior hallway when the rotunda was intact. A lone figure lay sprawled within the opening, facedown and unmoving. Even in the near-darkness, Aliisza could see that it was a celestial being, a green-skinned, bald-headed creature half again as tall as she. Its white-feathered wings lay draped across its still form, but she could make out the armor encasing its body. A greatsword rested near the being's hands.
Zasian moved up cautiously beside Aliisza and stared down at the creature. 'What happened to it?' he asked, his voice filled with awe. 'What is it?'
Aliisza knelt down next to the celestial being. 'A planetar,' she said as she ran her hand gingerly along the green skin, checking for signs of life. 'A type of angel.' She glanced up at the priest's face to see his reaction.
Zasian merely stared at the angel with a wondrous look. 'Is it dead?'
Aliisza's answer was cut off as the rotunda bucked to the sound of a powerful blast. She pitched sideways, striking the floor hard and sliding a few feet along its surface. The alu grunted and tried to rise, but a second lurch of the chamber sent her tumbling again.
'Aliisza!' Kaanyr shouted from the other side. 'Help me!'
She struggled to her hands and knees and looked over at Zasian, who had been sent sprawling too. He peered around with wide eyes. She turned her gaze toward the planetar as she rose to a half-crouch, expecting another jolt. Magic crawled across the angel's skin and the tremors ceased. The celestial's wings had shifted with the tremors, and for the first time, she could see the wicked gash that ran along the being's chest. Blood leaked from the cut, soaking its wing. The planetar's the one maintaining the bubble, she realized, and he's dying.
'Whatever game you're playing at, we have no more time for it,' Aliisza said, looking at Zasian. 'We are doomed unless you can keep him alive while I go aid Kaanyr.'
The man opposite her said nothing, but he stared at her with large, frightened eyes.
Aliisza wanted to slap him. 'You're the priest, do something!' she yelled, then she turned and sprinted toward Kaanyr.
The hole had grown considerably wider than Aliisza remembered. Worse, the tip of one of the great tentacles was making the gap even larger as it probed the opening, ripping chunks of stone away as it sought its prey.
Kaanyr, on one knee, flinched back from the segmented feeler and raised a wand. He muttered something unintelligible and an arc of lightning burst in Aliisza's vision. Unlike the bolts Kaanyr usually employed, the charge of electricity appeared much more chaotic and unregulated than she remembered. Balls of fizzling energy sprayed out to the sides and careened off every surface, and the main bolt shimmered and shifted oddly in a haze of smoke.
Aliisza threw her arm up too late to ward off the blinding flash. She stumbled and nearly fell, but instead used her wings to hold herself upright. As the shimmering afterimage of the miscast bolt faded enough for her to see, Aliisza spotted two more of the tentacles joining the first, which bore a ragged black streak along part of its length.
All three of the probing appendages flailed wildly, riled by Kaanyr's attack. The gigantic creature seemed more determined than ever to get at its intended morsels, for it rapidly tore huge segments of the wall away and brought its beak in close to the ever-expanding opening. By that time, nearly all of one side of the domed chamber had been rent.
Kaanyr, still down on one knee, raised the wand to fire again, but one of the tentacles located him before he could discharge the magic and quickly latched onto the cambion. He grunted and arched his neck back in pain as the tentacle squeezed him and began to pull him toward the creature's maw.
'Kaanyr!' Aliisza screamed, stumbling forward to aid him. She felt helpless without a weapon, but her sword was on the opposite side of the chamber, still impaling her son.
'Stay back!' Kaanyr ordered her through clenched teeth. 'Hit it with this!' He tossed the wand to her. 'Say, 'Galvanos!' '
The wand skittered across the floor to the alu, who snatched it up. Even as she prepared to use the device, a second tentacle snaked its way toward Kaanyr and joined the first in constricting the cambion. Kaanyr's cry of anguish reverberated through the chamber.
Aliisza engaged the magic and the wand spit forth another misshapen bolt of lightning. She flinched as she uttered the magical phrase, sparing her eyes the worst of the flash. The alu's aim was effective; the arc of energy ripped into one of the tentacles and split it nearly in half. It trembled and uncoiled from Kaanyr, then withdrew with a sudden jerk.
Aliisza was on the verge of firing the wand again when yet another tentacle grazed her leg. It flapped in a frenzy, hunting a firmer grip. Shuddering in revulsion, she leaped into the air to evade the probing appendage, using her wings to hold herself aloft. The tentacle continued to flail violently as she moved farther out of reach.
'Aliisza!' Kaanyr screamed.
During her distraction, the great beast had dragged the cambion closer to its mouth. The maw snapped in anticipation.
Kaanyr had his feet wedged against its beak, scrambling frantically to hold himself back.
Heedless of the three new tentacles that writhed within the ruined chamber, Aliisza darted in close and aimed the wand. The burst of lightning struck true, crackling against the creature's mouth.
The thing let out a horrid, hissing scream and shook violently, making the whole rotunda rock and shake.
'Again!' Kaanyr screamed, his voice cracking in panic. 'Hit it again!'
Aliisza lined up for another attack, but a shadow of movement in the corner of her vision drew her attention.
The Micus-Myshik aberration reared up and into the alu's view as he galloped forward. Micus held the war axe high as he charged into the fight. It looked to her as though he intended to cut down Kaanyr. She opened her mouth to scream a warning, but she knew she was too late to help.
The war axe sliced down.
The blade severed the tentacle holding Kaanyr.
As the rest of the appendage whipped around and retracted, Micus used his other two arms to grab hold of Kaanyr and drag him backward, out of the way. At the same time, Myshik's mouth opened wide, and another burst of lightning shot forward, engulfing the exposed mouth of the octopus-thing. That bolt formed true, but it flashed a deep blue color.
With another angry hiss, the monstrous beast released the rotunda and retreated.
Aliisza sighed in relief and exhaustion and dropped her hands to her knees, breathing hard. She watched Micus-Myshik carefully, wary of what he would do next.
The fused creature set Kaanyr down. The cambion wriggled free of the limp tip of the tentacle and rolled
