grab Benelux, and shove it hilt first at the Justicar.
The tanar'ri went one way, Escalla went another. She gave a roar of rage and began firing her last few spells into the time field. Magic golden bees froze as she aimed at the giant spiders. Her black tentacles spell hung half formed, frozen in time, ready to choke Recca to death. She swung Tielle's magic horn into her hands, braced herself, and opened fire. Bolts of blue liquid shot into the field and stopped. She aimed to hit Jus right in the chest, then Henry, Polk-and finally Lolth. The girl refilled the horn, fired at Lolth again from another angle, and then she saw the figures in the time field twitch.
'Morag!
Cinders lay beside the open portable hole. Escalla turned to refill the magic horn, and Morag threw Benelux in a glittering arc at the Justicar.
The engine room erupted into noise.
Spellfire flashed. A swarm of Escalla's magic bees blasted into leaping spiders, hammering them apart mid flight. Tentacles blasted up from the floor and seized hold of Recca. Water splashed and spellfire came from a dozen directions all at once.
Caught mid-run, Escalla looked wildly at Lolth as great bolts of blue liquid gouted through the air toward her. Escalla screamed in victory, her cry turned to a howl of despair as Lolth teleported away an instant before the blue waters crashed home. Escalla slid to the portable hole, plunged her horn into the blue liquid and felt it sucking in a titanic draft.
She whirled, ready to fight, and saw a vast shape looming over her. Lolth lashed out with one leg and smashed into Escalla. The faerie went cartwheeling away, the magic horn flying from her gasp.
Lolth pursued Escalla as the little faerie crashed against a wall.
'You pathetic little gnat! I'll make you scream for all eternity!'
Morag tried to attack but was smashed aside. Escalla looked wildly about for the magic horn. It lay ten yards away. She sprinted for it, but a wall of flames shot up in her path. Escalla skidded away in panic, backpedaling across the floor as the vast spider, fangs bared, towered over her.
'Morag!
A huge bellow shook the hall. The Justicar, his wounds healed by the magical blue waters, stood sheathed in blood, massive and wild with anger, as he ripped Benelux from the demon queen's shell. The titanic spider turned, and Jus chopped into one of her legs, hacking through the carapace to tear the limb free. Lolth screamed out a charm spell, but it spattered harmlessly from the counter spell of Jus's magic ring. Lolth recoiled backward and opened fire with a magic missile storm.
Red fire darts blasted at the Justicar. The big man roared and moved his sword in a blur. Glowing darts hit, spun, and ricocheted. Others stabbed home, ripping his armor of dragon hide and spraying blood across the floor, but the ranger stood his ground. Morag attacked from behind Lolth, cutting in a frenzy with her swords. She drew blood, and Lolth stabbed out another spell. A huge shockwave hit Morag and flung her against the ceiling. The snake-woman crashed to the deck, stunned and immobile.
Escalla flung herself at one of Lolth's feet and tried to climb up the demon. She planned to turn into a lamprey and gnaw through the demon's guts. Lolth stamped, kicking out her leg and throwing the faerie off. The Justicar ran at her. She turned, fired web from her spinnerets, and almost drowned the human in an avalanche of strands. Escalla flew free, rolling as she fell, the breath driven out of her as she tumbled like a ball across the floor. Bleeding, she managed to lift her head as Lolth reared over her prey.
With a flash, Lolth shapeshifted back to her dark-elven form. Mad wild with the ecstasy of victory, the demon queen paced past Morag, Henry, and Polk-past dead Enid and the trapped Justicar. She advanced on the faerie, panting with a lust for blood.
'No fast talk, Escalla? No clever little plans?' Magic crackled about Lolth's hands as she prepared to inflict an eternity of agony. 'Nothing to stop me killing you?' The goddess lifted her hands and gave a hiss of victory. 'Has anyone got anything cute they'd like to say?'
The voice came from behind. Lolth whirled, horror in her eyes, and a jet of blue fluid blasted into her chest. The goddess screamed, flesh boiling away, the blue water eating like acid into her face and arms.
Cinders lay on the floor before her, the magic horn gripped in his teeth, grinning like a mad thing as he hosed holy water all over his enemy. He humped through the flame barrier like a caterpillar, gleefully charging to the attack.
The blue water ran out. Cinders looked at his friends, wagged his tail, and champed the magic horn in his fangs.
The Justicar ripped free of the webs that held him, Benelux brilliant white in his hand, just as Lolth teleported away. Escalla dived, snatched Cinders and the portable hole, and swarmed onto Morag. She shook the tanar'ri until her teeth rattled, and suddenly Morag came to her senses.
'Lolth!'
'She's trying to leave the plane.' Escalla clambered onto Morag's back, dragging Cinders behind her. 'She's headed for the door into the Demonwebs!'
Morag surged up from the floor. As she began to teleport, Escalla yelled back at the Justicar.
'We'll take her!'
Recca had torn free from the black tentacles spell and was already screaming.
'Kill Recca! Take out his heart! It's not his! It's like his foot and hand!' Escalla's voice hung in the air even as she teleported away.
With a flash, Morag, Escalla, and Cinders vanished. Wiping blood from his face, the Justicar turned, looking across the corpse of his friend the sphinx. He flexed huge shoulders and strode slowly toward Recca to deal Justice.
The cadaver held its red sword, dropped into its fighting stance, and hissed like a serpent.
The Justicar never slowed. His stride sped into a hard march, then a run that ended in a sword blow against Recca's sword that drove the cadaver to the floor. Jus spun and kicked, sending the corpse flying like a puppet.
Recca smashed into a broken furnace, and the Justicar bellowed in fury as he relentlessly closed on his foe. Recca staggered and came back into the attack, lightning fast. The red blade flashed in a mad web of attack, severing pipes and levers as Benelux hammered it aside. Steel rang on steel. Sparks flew.
Henry groaned. Polk stirred. Both of them stared as the Justicar strode past them, driving Recca back in fury.
Recca fought exactly as he always had-his showmanship immaculate, his acrobatics dazzling. He leaped over his foe-exactly as Jus knew he must. Jus abandoned swordsmanship and grappled, and the fight suddenly became a battle of pure rage against rage. The Justicar's helmet smashed into Recca's face. He hit three times, then roared and punched his fist through the rough-stitched hole in Recca's ribs. Roaring, the Justicar clamped his hand and ripped the stolen, bloody heart out of his enemy. Recca screamed, green troll blood spurting from the wound. Jus shoved Recca back. Green blood drained from Recca's head and upper body, spattering the floor.
Recca staggered, took a two handed grip on his vampire blade, then made a wild swing at the Justicar. Jus blurred sideways, Benelux slicing a deep wound into Recca's thigh. Green blood drained from the wound. The cut flashed and healed, but Recca's upper torso was now drained of troll blood.
The monster attacked, leaping, whirling, screaming, slicing. Jus met the blade in three lightning-fast parries, spun, and severed Recca's arm. The limb flew free, green blood closed the wound, but this time the arm did not grow back. Yammering in rage, Recca blundered away, cocked his long sword clumsily in one hand, and charged straight at the Justicar.
Jus turned, caught the sword, and shattered Recca's elbow. The vampire sword flew out of Recca's hand. The undead warrior slashed with clawed fingers, and Jus twirled into the blow, caught, tripped, and shoved, ramming Recca backward to smash the cadaver's spine over his bent knee.
Recca screamed.
The undead swordmaster thrashed like a broken toy as the Justicar lifted him up over his head. Recca
