stung his hands.
'It is a good thing he thought to strike you with Weller- ane's staff,' Vanisia said seriously.
Iydahoe studied the wizard. Feigh's eyes flashed hatred, and he remembered the wizard boasting about the destruction of the Kagonesti villages. Only then did he remember the pouch at the magic-user's side. Swiftly the wild elf reached down, roughly snapping the strap that held the stuff. Raising the flap, he took a few of the diamondlike flakes and sprinkled them over his leg.
The leg vanished.
The Kagonesti almost fell to the side, so surprising was the disappearance of his limb. Yet it was still there. He kicked outward, and Feigh grunted as the elf's toe slammed into his leg. The sensation of invisibility was deeply disturbing-but at the same time it might have its uses.
'It may be possible to slip past the guards. Get our weapons,' he said to Bakali, nodding at the bows and quivers while his eyes remained fixed on the cowering magic-user.
Iydahoe saw movement in the corner of his eye as the elfmaid came along with Bakali. The warrior realized with a shock that she had declared her allegiance with them. If she hadn't enchanted the staff, Iydahoe might already be burning. Now, without Wellerane to protect her, the legionnaires would make short work of the priestess. Or her end might not be so short, he thought with a glimmer of darker dread.
'You must come with us,' he said, surprised by how easily the words flowed out.
'I know,' Vanisia said. She stood, adorned in her robe and platinum medallions. A curling seashell, rimmed in gold, served as the clasp of her belt. She wore ornate, golden sandals, which would be impractical for walking, but there was nothing to do about that now. 'I'm ready.'
'There's no place on Ansaion where your kind will be safe!' sneered Feigh, sensing that he was about to be spared.
'You're wrong.' Iydahoe looked at the man, and he saw the burned bodies of four villages, the trampled huts, the slain warriors and women and babes. His hands were trembling as a red haze lowered across his eyes.
The steel axe moved more quickly than the striking snake. In an instant, the wizard's head thumped to the floor, rolling thickly to the back of the wagon. Vanisia, her hand pressed to her mouth, stared in horrified silence at the gory object.
As the bleeding corpse slumped to the floor, the wild elf felt a curious emptiness-the killing had not cleansed his soul of the horror or the fear, but a great enemy of his people was dead, and the one man who might have tracked their escape was no longer a threat.
'He had to die. He was an enemy of the tribe,' Iydahoe told Vanisia. With a shudder, she stepped past the bleeding corpse as the brave held out the pouch of magic dust.
'Come,' he said. 'You are a wild elf now.'
Chapter 28
'Here. There's a door in the floorboards. We can go out that way.' Vanisia pulled back an ornately patterned rug, revealing a brass handle and the outline of a small square.
'Good.' Iydahoe nodded as Bakali handed him his bow and quiver. He quickly sprinkled the disappearing dust over Bakali, Vanisia, and himself, marveling at the way their flesh vanished. He could see nothing of his companions and was startled when the brass ring of the trapdoor lifted upward from the floor.
'Wait,' he told Bakali, sensing the young warrior's eagerness to be gone. He doused the two lanterns that cast shadowy illumination through the wagon, knowing that their spill of light would have drawn the attention of every guard within a hundred paces. 'I'll go first,' Iydahoe declared in a whisper, touching Bakall's unseen shoulder.
Even through the magical concealment the older warrior felt his young companion's imploring gaze. 'Please, let me,' Bakall whispered.
The curious trance that had earlier captured Bakall had been Wellerane's doing, Iydahoe knew, but he always felt more confident when he himself was in the lead. Still, he sensed the young warrior's need to restore his own pride, so he reluctantly agreed.
The door rose silently, and Iydahoe heard Bakall drop to the ground. He saw puffs of dust as the warrior scuttled on his belly to the rear of the wagon. Swiftly, soundlessly, Iydahoe came behind.
Vanisia followed Iydahoe out of the wagon, dropping to the ground with surprising stealth. Together they crawled into the shadows beneath the nearby tree and looked around. Iydahoe saw guards gathered around a huge fire, while others still collected more tinder for the execution blaze. Numerous guards were posted around the wagon, and without the concealment of invisibility the elves certainly would have been seen-even by the night-blind humans. As it was, however, none of them took note of the elves' stealthy departure.
Bakall sprang upward and disappeared into the branches. Iydahoe leapt, pulling himself upward, then reached down from the tree branch to help the novice priestess with her initial upward leap. Here their invisibility hampered him. He didn't know where she was until the branch drooped slightly, sagging as Vanisia pulled herself up. Bakall moved on, slipping silently into the darkness, and the warrior worried for a moment that the female would not be able to keep her balance or move without noise among the dense limbs of the forest canopy.
Yet when Vanisia crawled behind Iydahoe on the limb, he could sense that she had no trouble keeping her balance. The Kagonesti warrior felt a glimmering of respect for this Silvanesti female, a feeling that he was strangely fortunate to have her come along with them.
He saw a great ring of legionnaires gathered around a heavy stake. Piles of brush towered nearby, while several branches were thrown around the base of the sturdy post.
'It's time!' shouted a man-Captain-General Castille, Iydahoe saw. 'Fetch me the elf!'
'Hurry!' hissed the wild elf warrior, helping Vanisia to slip past him, urging her after Bakali. Iydahoe paused to nock an arrow and draw back his bow. He had a clear view of the captain-general through a gap in the trees.
He sensed Vanisia pausing, knew that she was watching him, even though she couldn't see his skin or his weapon. He could not bring himself to shoot. Confused, he relaxed his bowstring and shook his head. Perhaps this was the practical choice. Killing Castille would only alert the legionnaires to their escape that much sooner, whereas the execution of Feigh had given them additional time to flee. He knew, however, that there was more to his reluctance than this pragmatic concern.
He hastened after Vanisia, following her progress by seeing the leaves that she brushed out of her way. Even though she remained invisible, he knew that her chances would be bad if she fell among the angry humans below. Taking care to avoid the branches directly over the human sentries, the three elves passed from each tree to the next. They followed the middle terrace of branches, thirty feet or more above the ground, sometimes crawling along, snakelike, and in other places standing to scurry down the broad, rounded limbs.
They had barely moved beyond the outer pickets when they heard the cries of alarm from the center of the caravan camp. Iydahoe imagined the human's fury. A grim smile tightened his face as he pictured the discovery of the headless wizard.
'Humans can't see in the dark like we can. Let's run for it!' he whispered to his companions, who voiced quiet agreement.
They dropped to the forest floor thirty paces beyond the outer guard posts and trotted through the darkness. Relying on their elven eyesight, they avoided the deadfalls, underbrush, and moss-covered rocks that occasionally blocked their path. Furthermore, Iydahoe led them on a roundabout, rough trail in an effort to discourage and mislead any potential pursuers.
As they jogged, Iydahoe was as impressed with Vanisia's endurance as he had been with her stealth. Never complaining, she held the same pace as the two wild elves, though the warrior suspected that her ornate sandals must be causing her no small amount of pain.
Finally, several miles from the Istarian camp, the dust of invisibility began to wear off. In a matter of moments, all three of them could clearly be seen-and since they were well beyond the nearest humans, Iydahoe
